Ceremonies & Sacred Meditations have been part of the human experience for tens of thousands of years. They are no less powerful today than they were when performed by our ancient ancestors, underneath the stars. These rites of passage and holy rituals satisfy our longing for spiritual communion, personal & collective healing, and a reverent, intimate understanding of our place within the primordial universe. To participate in such an experience is to dedicate oneself to the mysterious adventure of continual awakening.

I've worked with a variety of entheogens over the course of my life, including Ayahuasca, Wachuma, Peyote, Hapé, Psilocybin, Chiric Sanango, and Iboga. When used with integrity and proper guidance, these plant medicines can help you connect to your intuition, heal from past sufferings, refine your perception, dissolve egoic patterns, open your heart, and experience the interconnected nature of reality. After a hapé ceremony, specifically, many people report feeling "lighter" inside—or they describe a "grounded clarity."

Hapé is often thought of as being masculine, benevolent, and wise. Indigenous peoples across South America use hapé to clear their energy, reconnect with the Earth, and center themselves. Unlike the more fantastical, vision-producing plant medicines, hapé (also known as rapé or hapeh—or to the Yawanawá: rume ) is not a psychedelic. It is a legal mixture of dried Amazonian plants, typically sacred tobacco (mapacho) combined with ashes from specific trees, vines, or flowers. Most of the hapés I offer are made with ashes from the bark of the medicinal Tsunu tree, known for its stabilizing and protective properties.

Being served hapé is a very embodied experience; you are unlikely to journey to alternative dimensions, dissolve into non-form, or see wild visions. Of course, if you are a seasoned meditator and/or have rich visions and out-of-body experiences naturally, that's another story... but hapé mostly keeps you grounded in your physical body in a very Earthly, present state of being. There is no risk of misinterpreting a fireworks show of imagery because there is no psychedelic 'shock and awe' during a hapé meditation. 

Having said all that, hapé can still kick your butt. The Yawanawá of Amazonian Brazil regard hapé as one of their most powerful master plants—just as healing as ayahuasca, but in a different way. The Yawanawá use hapé during ayahuasca ceremonies to restore balance and grounding, and to help participants avoid getting lost internally. They also frequently use hapé on its own, for clearing.

Hapé is an incredible plant medicine to help you release and let go. During a hapé ceremony, you may suddenly begin to cry, sweat, or purge. All of this is normal. The medicine is energetically clearing your system; submitting to this process is part of the healing. You may even become aware of what, exactly, is being cleared when you purge: anxiety, doubt, self-hate, old attachments, or trauma. On some occasions, people aren't noticeably affected by the plant medicine they've received. I've seen people sleep through through entire ayahuasca ceremonies (while others around them were hanging on for their dear lives.) I don't know what to say to that other than what a teacher once told me: the medicine always gives you exactly what you need.