The Sacred Land Immersion is for those called to go deeper, within themselves and within nature, while in living relationship with the sacred lands, primary forest and rivers within the territory of the Bribri & Cabécar indigenous peoples of the south Caribbean of Costa Rica.
Over four days, you will be held in an immersive experience that weaves healing work with a genuine cultural experience — an opportunity to learn from, sit with, and be received by one of the most intact and alive matrilineal indigenous cultures in the Americas.
You arrive with an intention. Perhaps to connect deeper to your inner world, to clear, or to listen to what the natural world is communicating with you. Together we weave this intention throughout our focused work, in sacred Bribri ceremony, and in the ample space you will have to rest, integrate, listen or create.
This experience is designed for someone who appreciates a deeply intentional and continuously held space, similar to a retreat, but 1:1. My attention, my field and my care are continuous for the full four days, with ample quiet space baked in. This is a living, breathing, sacred container. We will have a total of three 1:1 sessions, and I’ll accompany you through the immersive experience of connecting with the sacred lands of Talamanca and the Bribri Cabécar world-view and cosmovision.
Our session work together will draw from a weaving of shamanic energy medicine, somatic processing and ancestral inquiry. Responsive always to what is moving and in relationship with the land. Our early morning sessions are often opened with cacao, held as a plant ally and companion to the work, distinct from the sacred Bribri Cabécar tradition of cacao. Offered in its own humble and intentional way.
This journey is offered in collaboration with Se Siwá, a Bribri Cabécar family project dedicated to supporting their community and sharing the living culture and wisdom of Talamanca.
The Sacred Land Immersion unfolds over four days, arriving Thursday morning and departing Sunday afternoon.
Thursday — Arrival & Opening
We arrive at the lodge in the morning and settle into the space before being welcomed by Gama, our indigenous host and guide, for a two hour orientation conversation that opens the door to the territory, its people, its history and its spirit. We share lunch together before moving into a cacao experience with Se Siwá in the early afternoon. The remainder of the afternoon is yours for inner time, meditation, writing, creativity or simply being. As evening falls we share dinner, and then gather at the fire — a sacred intention setting space that marks the threshold of our time together in relationship with the land.
Friday — Deepening
We rise with the early light and drop into our first healing session together, moving into whatever your process is calling for in those liminal morning hours. After breakfast, the morning is yours for inner time — rest, reflection, writing, art, integration. We share lunch before embarking on a small hike up the mountain with Gama. Connecting deeper with the territory, communing with the spirits of the forest, meeting an ancient grandmother Ceiba tree, and finishing with a cleansing swim in the river below. The evening is for dinner, fire time or inner time for yourself.
Saturday — The Sacred Center
We rise again with the early light for our second healing session. After breakfast, the morning is yours for inner time — rest, writing, art, integration. Following lunch, we make our way to the Telire River — a boat journey into the sacred territory, culminating in a swim in those living waters. As evening falls, we arrive at a Bribri Spiritual Center where we will be held in a Temazcal, a traditional cleansing ceremony. We will then share dinner at the Spiritual Center before returning to the lodge to rest.
Sunday — Completion & Departure
We rise one final time before the day fully wakes for our third and closing session together, completing the arc of the container. After breakfast, the morning is yours for inner time — to tend to what has moved through you over these days, to write, to sit, or simply be. We share a final lunch together before packing, saying our goodbyes, and departing.
A note on what to expect:
This is not a luxury retreat. The eco lodge where we will stay is a simple, traditional indigenous space. Rustic, and held with great care by the family who built it. You will sleep simply, eat simply, and move through the territory like a local.
This is an immersive primary forest experience. The jungle is alive around you. Birdsong, insects, the sounds of the forest at night. Your sleeping space is elevated and secured with bug netting.
The rawness of the natural environment is part of the experience. The jungle is not a backdrop, it is our host and teacher. If you are someone who needs comfort to feel safe, this may not be the right experience for you right now. If you are someone who finds aliveness in simplicity and the wild, you will feel immediately at home.
The Se Siwá project is located approximately 75 minutes from Puerto Viejo de Talamanca in the south Caribbean of Costa Rica, approximately 6 hours from San Jose.
If the land is calling you, trust that. Reach out with a brief introduction and tell me what is drawing you to this experience and I will send you more detailed information.
Vané
Sacred Land Immersion
A 1:1 healing retreat & indigenous cultural immersion.
Deepen your relationship with your inner self & the sacred lands of Talamanca.
Offered in collaboration with the Se Siwá project.
My relationship with the sacred lands of Talamanca has unfolded slowly, deeply and beautifully over the last six years. These lands called me here, held me through profound cycles of healing, growth and initiation, and have continued to reveal themselves to me in ways I could not have anticipated.
My relationship with this territory is central to my path. A slow, trust-built entry into the spiritual and cultural world of the indigenous stewards of this land, one that continues to deepen with time.
I am deeply committed to being in service here. Supporting the raising of indigenous voices, the development of indigenous-led projects and bringing of community visions to life. The relationships I have formed are built on trust, time and genuine presence on the land.
It is from this place, of relationship and humble ongoing learning, that I am able to hold the Sacred Land Immersion with integrity. We will not be going somewhere I have visited. We will be going somewhere I have found a sense of belonging.
