Hello Dear Elder,
I am glad to see that you are open to the Ayahuasca Healing Church in the USA, as it is truly a beautiful thing to bring this medicine to the USA in a way people can find more accessible. It has always been my dream to do so, but we have been functioning in Ecuador for several years because we did not see a legal way to offer it in the states before now.
I’m originally from California, (Arcata and then Grass Valley in fact!). My name is Christine Breese and I am the founder of Gaia Sagrada Shamanic Retreat Center in Ecuador (www.gaiasagrada.com) where we have been holding shamanic ceremonies working with Ayahuasca, San Pedro medicines and Sweat Lodges for the past few years. I have personally been firekeeper and helper to the shamans in over 400 ceremonies and have been in training myself for longer than that. I am also the founder of University of Metaphysical Sciences (www.umsonline.org) which is one of the largest schools of it’s kind with thousands of students in 127 countries, and Wisdom of the Heart Church.
My question to you is if you would be open to allowing others to be associated with your church in order to also bring these medicines to the states or ONLY the Ayahuasca Healing Church. Would you be willing to work with us too?
We have a long history of facilitating ceremonies in with integrity, with hundreds of positive reviews from our past retreat participants, not a SINGLE negative review, and we are told we offer this service in a truly transformative way from the heart with humbleness. We have a very large amount of experience in running a shamanic center and we are about to start school for shamanism next year. Our experience makes the ceremonies safe and truly life changing in how we do them. We bring a level of history and experience to what we do so we can handle everything that comes up in a really balanced way. After 400 ceremonies we have just about seen it all, but of course there never ceases to be surprises that require our experience in order to handle everything that can happen in a balanced and sound way.
We have talked before with other Native American Churches but did not feel confident with proceeding before now as we did not want to take on the legal system. We have already been through that and had to spend years doing a huge legal battle in the USA for the right of Metaphysical schools to exist, as they tried to shut all metaphyscial schools down a decade ago, and it was expensive and exhausting so we were a little hesitant to take on that kind of situation again. However, we won and preserved the right of metaphysical schools to exist in the USA. Thank you for paving the way for Ayahuasca in the USA! It looks like you have walked a similar path to ours, so thank you very much for making the Native American ceremonies available to all of us in the states. I myself in my younger years have sat in about 150 Native American peyote ceremonies, which was my introduction to the plant medicines in my 20s. I am now 50, 2 years away from entering the house of the elders! (Yay!)
I know you are probably going to receive lots of requests like this, but please consider my letter and working with us because it looks like now that the door is open there will be many people beginning to do this as well in the USA and contacting Native American Churches for their blessing. Consider that we have a massive amount of experience behind us, we would love to work with YOUR Shamans and provide them the opportunity to offer ceremonies, not just our own, and in fact I would like to support YOUR shamans more than any others in the USA, not just bring shamans from South America or do ceremonies myself. We are here to support the traditions. With our experience and backing we can offer this in a beautiful way.
Please consider also that we have always operated as a non-profit, have always kept our prices very low for both the school and our shamanic ceremonies, at expenses level only, so as to provide this opportunity to more people than just those with money. I myself have always only accepted $340 per month stipend for my long hours as a shamanic retreat facilitator, firekeeper, and shaman in training.
If you would like to know more about who I am, www.youtube.com/MetaphysicalSciences. My motivation has never been money, and literally millions of $ pass through my hands but I never keep much, as I believe that money is a tool for changing the world and helping humanity to awaken. Helping people is my motivation, because if humanity doesn’t awaken soon, we might not be able to stay here on Earth! My karmic account is the one I’m keeping an eye on! A life of service has always been my journey.
If you would NOT be interested in working with us as a separate entity, would you consider connecting us in your endeavors with the Ayahuasca Healing Church in the USA? I will contact them as well to see if they would like to have our help and backing. We have learned how to do it in a very humble and beautiful way with integrity.
No matter what your answer, thank you! Thank you for being so courageous, for paving the way, and for encouraging the young people of the Ayahuasca Healing Church as they face the challenges and the lovely experiences, both ends of the spectrum, that are coming for them! I also thank you personally, James my elder, for your wisdom you showed them and helping them to do it well, and I thank you for your life’s journey and all that you have accomplished to bring healing to all the people you have worked with in your life. I see it in your energy. Beautiful!
Many Blessings!
Christine Breese
Gaia Sagrada Shamanic Retreat Center (www.gaiasagrada.com)
University of Metaphysical Sciences (www.umsonline.org)
Wisdom of the Heart Church