The Temple of the Way of Light – BENA CAYA AINBOBO (A New Feminine Spirit) is a traditional plant medicine healing centre located in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest offering intensive ayahuasca retreats with female and male Shipibo healers. We are dedicated to providing our guests the opportunity to benefit from the ancient healing wisdom of the Shipibo people, and to helping this unique culture to 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. All our Onanya are highly experienced, gentle, caring, deeply dedicated to healing and embody the wisdom and sincerity of their people. The age old 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. We firmly believe in respecting and honoring traditional medicinal practices of the Onanya who are experts in administering ayahuasca and traditional plant medicines of the Amazon. They bring time honored rituals, intricate techniques, an encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal plants of the Amazon and a far reaching lineage to the healing process.
We are not a new age movement, nor based in any religion; healing from the plants is for everyone on the planet irrelevant of race, creed, color and social or financial status. The core of our work is focused on deep healing on all levels; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
The Temple offers two distinctly different ayahuasca retreat programs which have been designed to meet the varied needs of guests who want to experience ayahuasca and traditional plant medicine healing in the Amazon: a 12 day ayahuasca retreat and a 1 month ‘deep immersion’ ayahuasca retreat.
The main pillars of our work are:
Working with predominantly women healers: A unique focus on working with Onanya Ainbobo – indigenous women healers working within the rich and complex medical tradition of the Shipibo people. The women healers are complemented by Shipibo male healers who provide a necessary balance to the healing work. Our healers each have from 20 to 60 years’ experience working with ayahuasca.
A compassionate and safe environment for deep healing work: Fundamental to our work is offering ceremonies within a protected, caring and loving environment within a container of integrity.
A high ratio of healers to guests: Our 12 day ayahuasca retreats & ceremonies are run by five or six healers with an average group size limited to 22 people to ensure that each guest has individual and close attention throughout their healing process. In every one of our ceremonies our guests receive ikaros from all of the healers culminating in 35 to 42 ikaros (sound healing treatments) per 12 day retreat. This is one of the main reasons we have been able to achieve such positive results over the years. Our ‘deep immersion’ ayahuasca retreats offer a smaller ceremony group size (limited to 22 guests on site and 11 guests in ceremony) and are held by one female and one male healer.
A high number of ceremonies: We hold 7 ceremonies on our 12 day ayahuasca retreat and 8 ceremonies on our 1 month ‘deep immersion’ ayahuasca retreat. We are passionate about our work and deeply committed to facilitating lasting healing. We offer such a high number of ceremonies to ensure that our healers have sufficient time to reach into the roots of our guests issues – this level of cleansing cannot be carried out with less ceremonies. Our retreats are intense and challenging healing experiences that have been structured by the Shipibo healers which also initiate a much longer term healing journey that continues to unfold for months / years after coming to the Temple.
Stringent Health and Safety Standards
Your well-being is our priority, both in and out of ceremonies, to guide you safely through deep personal healing and growth. We operate with rigorous health and safety protocols including
Medical screening, on site nurse, staff trained in first aid, fully equipped first aid kits, emergency protocols, permanent communication on and off site (cell and radio), 24 hour transport to Iquitos, contract with medical clinic in Iquitos, 4 staff supervising each ceremony (2 facilitators, door person, toilet assistant), complemented by a support staff of 60 people throughout the Temple grounds.
Focusing on social benefit rather than profit: We are a socially responsible, purpose driven organisation that acts as a funding mechanism to implement outreach programs through our NGO’s – Alianza Arkana and The Chaikuni Institute. We believe strongly that we need to “give back” and are committed to partnering with the people of the Amazon to support them to preserve and protect their traditions, lands, identities and ancient medicinal practices.
Community, permaculture and sustainable living: Incorporating the principles of self-sufficiency, regeneration, and social responsibility, since 2009 we have been implementing a comprehensive permaculture program on the 175 hectares of Temple grounds and in our local village which includes wide range of projects: food forests, perennial vegetable production, staple crops, medicinal plants, renewable energy systems, rainwater harvesting and natural spring water systems, aquaculture systems, animal husbandry, sustainable buildings, reforestation, and the production of fuel, fiber, sugars, and oils.
Location
Iquitos, Peru
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