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Temple of the Way of Light
The Temple of the Way of Light is a traditional plant-medicine shamanic healing center located in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest that offers intensive ayahuasca retreats with female and male Shipibo healers. We are dedicated to providing our guests with the opportunity to benefit from the ancient healing wisdom of the Shipibo people, and to helping this unique culture preserve its knowledge and identity in the 21st Century.
We work with some of the most respected and powerful healers (Onanya) from the Shipibo tribe. They are highly experienced, gentle, caring, and deeply dedicated to healing and embodying the wisdom and sincerity of their people. The healing traditions of the Shipibo people offer an ancient yet pioneering path to health, re-discovering our true nature and re-awakening to our true purpose.
The Temple firmly believes in respecting and honoring the ancient practices of the Onanya, experts in ayahuasca healing and plant-spirit shamanism of the Amazon. They bring a rich cultural and medicinal legacy to the healing process: time-honored rituals, intricate practices, an expansive cosmology, an encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal plants of the Amazon, and a far-reaching ancestral lineage.
The Temple has safely facilitated healing for thousands of people since 2007 and has forged an exemplary reputation for stringent safety protocols, compassionate care, and a balance of female and male healers and facilitators. We have used our experience to fine-tune a synthesis of ancient Shipibo medicine traditions and modern and Eastern integrative practices that now extends to comprehensive aftercare and integration support long after guests have returned home. All this takes place with an institutional focus on sustainability, permaculture, ethics, and social responsibility.
We offer ayahuasca retreat programs of varying duration, focus, and intensity, with a balance of female and male Shipibo healers, experienced western facilitators, floral baths, a steam bath, a high ratio of healers to guests, a high number of ayahuasca ceremonies, individual consultations, a nutritional and balanced ayahuasca food diet, and a strong focus on how to process and integrate healing, both during and after each ayahuasca retreat.
The safety of our guests is paramount. We are constantly working to offer the safest container and most effective ayahuasca healing experience in the Amazon. We have developed the most stringent health and safety protocols available on any ayahuasca retreat in Peru. The Temple’s commitment to guests begins with in-depth medical and psychological screening during our booking procedure and continues after the retreat through our integration support. Guiding you safely through deep personal healing and growth is our priority, both in and out of ceremony.
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Esperanza
May 13, 2014 at 12:00 amTemple of the Way of Light Review.
I first heard about the Temple from a friend who had visited soon after the Temple opened its doors, a good few years ago now. She spoke and wrote so movingly about the healing she had encountered there, and the principal of the ?divine feminine? that the Temple was based upon, that I made a mental note to visit myself if the time ever felt right.
My chance came in March of this year. I was at a very low point in my life, and knew that I needed some healing.
I had a real mixture of emotions as I journeyed to the Temple ? fear that the medicine wouldn?t be strong enough, fear that I wouldn?t receive the healing that I so desperately felt I needed. Mostly fear. But excitement too. I was long overdue for an encounter with myself and the limiting patterns that I had carried for years.
My experiences there were by no means easy, but from start to finish; being greeted by a line of tiny, grinning, Shipibo and Shipiba healers at the door, to leaving, feeling as light as I ever have, I felt supremely held.
The accommodation is basic, but great. The food is phenomenal. The facilitators have integrity. The attention to detail is wonderful. Above all though, it is those extraordinary healers that make the difference. I know there are many retreat centres out there, and having visited only one, I cannot speak for them all, but it seems to me that this is what sets the Temple apart; those loving, mischievous, funny, tireless healers, most of them female, that you will encounter there.
The ceremonies were challenging. There are no short cuts with this work. So much of what I was working with was fear. The phrase that kept coming up for me was ?the only way out is through.? The only way through my fear was to experience it fully, to go back to its source and release it.
So I spent many nights lying on a mat in a dark, thatched hut, writhing around, wondering what on earth had made me want to travel thousands of miles to have this experience. But my goodness was it worth it.
One month on and I still feel the medicine working in me. I hope it continues to make its presence felt for a long time yet. Such strong, wise and generous medicine. Thank you!
Garuda
April 29, 2014 at 12:00 amI have recently returned from two weeks at the Temple. It was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. I do not normally write reviews, however as the experience was so incredible I feel compelled to make an exception.
On arrival you are made to feel extremely welcome and it is immediately apparent that it is a very safe space. The jungle is of course beautiful and peaceful and every day I marvelled at just how lucky I was to be there. The facilitators you work with are incredibly helpful, supportive and always available if you need them. Everything is meticulously planned and organised which makes the healing part infinitely easier. Very rarely in life are you able to solely concentrate on yourself!
The maestras and maestros are very much the heart of the place; they work tirelessly and give so much, it is impossible to put into words just how thankful I am. I was aware from our first meeting how powerful and strong their love and desire to help is.
As everyone?s experience with ayahuasca is different, there is no need to go into my own person journey. I will say however that it was without doubt my favourite part (which says a lot considering how much I enjoyed the flower baths). You drink as much as you need to and there are always people on hand to help if necessary. You couldn?t be in a safer environment. It is still very early days but it seems to be life changing in the most positive way.
Everything that you learn during the ceremonies is reflected in the ethos of the temple. I couldn?t recommend it more highly. Their focus on permaculture is truly inspiring and their work with Alianza Arkana hugely important. It is a place full of love. I hope to go back again and again!
Andy
April 24, 2014 at 12:00 amMay 2013 i did a 12 day aya retreat. It is now one year ago and I am still very happy that I went all the way to the jungle in Peru from Sweden.
My first seven ceremonies was very rough and it took a lot of will to keep going, but the support from the staff, the facilitators and my group helped me through and the fifth ceremony changed it all for me and the last tree ceremonies were wonderfool.
The tools I got is still helping me in my every day life back home here.
Accomendation was good and the food great – and very powerful medicine.
The permaculture project they do there is impressive AND the work with Alianza Arkana is so important. A place full of love.
I?m planning to go back again later this year.
Andy
LiveOak
April 14, 2014 at 12:00 amI first attended ceremony at the Temple in February 2012. It was my first ever ayahuasca experience, and I chose the Temple after a recommendation from a friend who worked for their sister NGO, Alianza Arkana. A little research confirmed it was a reasonable place to try.
What I found was more incredible than anything I could have imagined. Not only was the Temple an oasis in a physical sense, with a huge emphasis on beauty and harmony in living in the rainforest, but it was the most transformative experience of my life.
The medicine served is strong and lovingly prepared, the maestros and maestras are dedicated and loving and the approach is one of all around plant-spirit medicine, including not just 7 ceremonies, but also plant remedies and floral baths daily, along with energetic massage by the maestros.
The maestros are available 24 hours a day for any issues that come up, as are the staff. The Temple is populated by loving and open hearted people, including local workers, foreign staff and healers, that love what they do and want to share it in a supportive and attentive way.
The food is excellent and plentiful. The accommodations are perfect and all that one needs. In very short order one feels deeply a part of the land and the community there.
I returned 7 times in the next 18 months (that is not a typo), as I was drawn deeply to the medicine and incredibly comfortable with the accommodations and community there. I have returned many times with my wife, and have met several close friends there, and recommended it to several others who have all had similarly incredible and positive experiences. Many have returned more than once.
To be completely open, after my 7th workshop in 18 months, and my deepening connection to the medicine and the Temple community, I was asked to return as a facilitator. I agreed to do so and have been leading workshops every 3 or 4 months as a “guest facilitator” ever since.
I know it is a bit questionable to offer a review as a facilitator but the reason I do so is this:
I am not paid to work there. I pay for my flights there and all of my expenses. My wife often joins me as a guest and we gladly pay for her spot. I can think of no greater testimony than to say that I eagerly volunteer my time there to contribute to the beautiful mission of the Temple and the amazing work they do there. I believe in it that strongly.
If I was not facilitating I would still be coming 4 or 5 times a year as a guest, as I was doing when I was offered the opportunity to facilitate.
I am sure that there are many wonderful, supportive and incredible places to have an aya experience, and each is unique. I can promise you that if you feel called to the Temple of the Way of Light you can feel safe and certain that you have chosen well, and will get the experience your soul is hoping to have. You will have it in a safe, open-hearted, loving and comfortable environment.
Ayagirl
April 10, 2014 at 12:00 amLooking at some of the negative reviews, it is beyond my why anyone who genuinely has worked with Mother Ayahuasca, the powerful Shamans of the Temple and most importantly–who’ve taken the time to work on themselves and invest in themselves would come on here and write such dishonest and vile lies. It’s more of a question of who these people are and their own self-centered motives than anything else having to do with the Temple. With that said, I give my honest review of this magical place called The Temple of the Way of Light. The Temple is in the heart of the Amazon surrounded by a vortex of healing energy and its orchestra of exotic gorgeous wildlife that only a chosen and sacred land can offer. Just arriving at the Temples grounds alone, you will automatically feel as if you’ve entered a different dimension all together. It’s quiet, scenic, healing and most of all the people who work there are genuinely concerned with helping you through your own individual experience in healing (I believe their purpose in working their is a deep calling in helping humanity evolve and a respect for nature –they’re not just there for a paycheck!!!!) Once you arrive at the Temple everything is organized– you get your own personal Tambo (hut) fully furnished and comfortable– if you need to have laundry done or need an extra towel, or a basin of water– someone is always around to provide that for you. Shortly after that, you get your own individual consultation as discussed between you, the amazing facilitators and Maestros/Maestras, where a plan of treatment is tailor made for you in addition to Ayhuasca, and you WILL see the difference in a week in terms of your overall body condition, your mental state and your emotions.The food is always fresh, yummy, satisfying and very cleansing I noticed. I actually adopted their menu once I returned home and lost a bunch of weight too–and I look better ; ) With all that said–I understand every person who works with Ayahuasca will always have a their own personal experience. I can’t speak for others, but all I’ll say about working with the wonderful, light hearted yet very powerful Shamans and Mama Ayahuasca is it saved my life. It’s not an easy journey working through the shadows of your mind, but if you just relax your mind, breath in a bit–allow for Aya to do the job she’s always done, I guarantee you that you will not be the same person you were before. You’re a brand new person, with an open heart, with an unlimited capacity to love others–and you just may find your second calling in life–as I did. I will always be grateful and indebted for my incredible facilitator who not only showed me love, kindness and compassion but took care of all of us–while the Shamans and Aya did the massive healing and cleansing through out the successful workshop. Thank you thank you thank you! You truly saved my life!!!!!!!!!!