Sacred Pathways Retreat in Brazil

I came to the retreat to deepen my connection with the Plant Teachers and myself. To heal parts of myself that I have not been able to reach through other means. I believe that this work can give me a fresh perspective and a new approach to inner healing.

The preparation phase for me started months before the retreat. Through the private session, I was able to delve deeper into the longings and pain of two of my very young parts. This helped me to set a clear intention and identify specific aspects of my journey that I wanted to focus on. The inquiry with partners was a crucial part of my preparation, it helped to crystallize my intention as it encouraged me to explore my motivations and desires more thoroughly. As our majé, Mapauani brought profound wisdom and a deep connection to the Huni Kuin traditions. Her stories were enlightening and added a rich cultural context to our experiences. I felt incredibly safe and cared for under her guidance, which allowed me to fully immerse myself in the journey. Cali’s deep wisdom and compassionate presence created a safe and nurturing environment for everyone. Her teachings were profound and accessible, making complex concepts easy to understand and integrate. This work allowed me to attune to a different rhythm of life, slowing down enough to hear the voice of my soul and the guidance of the plant teachers.

I find myself acting and behaving in new ways that reflect the deeper understanding I now have of myself and my value.

I was drawn to the retreat to learn more about myself and the world I exist in. The preparation phase was a vital way to calm and reassure my parts about the process. I benefited from talking to others in the group and most importantly the invaluable support and guidance of Cáli and the intention setting. Together, Cáli and Mapuani were like a dream team of care, consideration, love and deep wisdom. I enjoyed listening to Mapuani’s teachings on the master plants and found them engaging and a vital aspect of the process. The ritual, ceremony and reverence she and Cáli created was very moving and felt like a sacred experience. This was my first time with healing plant teachers, I feel like the intention really guided my process and all that I received. I was given direct answers to questions related to my intentions. What I’m nurturing right now is an honouring of the truths I was given.

The program was well structured and perfectly balanced around sessions, ceremonies, and free time.

The retreat was an amazing experience, safe for a first timer with an amazing support team, who were very attentive when needed, who also contributed significantly to the joy and intensity of the experience through the music, dances and songs. Mapuani’s care and attention to the sacredness of the plant medicine, and the ritual around it made the ceremony extra special. The most valuable part was the pre-work with Cali that we did to create a part-aligned intention, it anchored me and allowed me to maintain my center through strong moments. The food was, of course, amazing.

My preparation was very thorough and guided. I spent a considerable amount of time with my intention for the retreat which grounded me before and during the time.

The chat group and preparation group call were also very calming and felt exciting to begin connecting ahead of time together. The individual session with Cali to review my intention was so clear and wonderful to have it recorded to reconnect again later in the time between that session and the retreat. I always love and appreciate Cali’s guidance and this time was no exception. Many gems were shared, especially in the context of considering IFS & master plants together. I am so very grateful for Mapuani’s strong, playful and loving teachings. She is such an embodiment of the plant teachers to me.

The need to heal childhood trauma and move forward with my life brought me to this retreat. I received a lot of guidance, many wisdoms that I am now integrating into my lived life. One such piece was a mantra of: Accept, Allow, Be.

Out of the 8 plant teacher journeys I’ve embarked upon before; this retreat was light years ahead of the other journeys. Cali created an environment where I felt safe and held. I was able to relax and trust the process as a result. The ceremonies were given with a level of grace and skillfulness that was startlingly beautiful. It was a deep privilege to be present and have Mapuani reveal and share her ancient ancestral line to her people and the forest. Even though we, as a group, were going through our own experiences alone, we were kept as one. We experienced the tribe. Cali and Mapuani’s chemistry, experience and ancestral legacy provide an ancient, grounded and breathtakingly skilful journey.

My intention was that I wanted to be free from a strong belief that my parts held about right and wrong. The first ceremony gave healing and brought peace to what I wanted to be free of, and the second ceremony, even though I kept the same intention, brought in what I needed to replace it.

It’s difficult to express what I got, but these gifts shift my reality, it’s like ‘now this is true’ but there aren’t the doubting parts and thoughts of ‘did I get this right’, it just is. My parts have accepted it is so. It is also a surprise, the insights/gifts come in a way my parts don’t expect, but they trust. And so, since the retreat I have just been continually seeing how this new way of being is my new reality. I can see myself approaching situations differently and have the confidence to go with and tune into my own truth. This was a sacred and beautiful healing.

I was curious to try a new way of working with plant teachers. I prepared well and meeting Cali was super helpful in making my intention crystal clear.

I loved how Mapuani was approachable and that I could receive guidance from her. I loved how Cali gave her FULL heart to this retreat, she truly cared about the process, her team and the participants. I struggled to be focused for so many hours when we sat in for integration sharings. For me what’s important in preparation and integration is to get out of my head and be more in my body. I was able to find my own space before the ceremonies to move, and I appreciate having the space for ourselves to prepare the way we need. It was very helpful for me to have one day in between the ceremonies. I’m still getting more insights, dancing helps to get out of my head, the insights keep coming and the experience is still integrating and unfolding in me.

To join this retreat was the greatest gift I have given myself in a while. My heart is full and I can’t wait to see the unfolding of the insights I gained during this time.

My intention and the guidance I received are still unfolding, but what I know now is to accept every part of me, taking care of myself with love and listening. I know that I‘m very strong and I understood that I can access this part whenever it is needed to take action and to move things forward. It is also related to self-worth and honouring my opinion and my knowing and standing my ground even if others may think differently. Also what came through is to honour more my femininity. It was and still is so beautiful to have been with all these strong women and also this motherly energy and care for each other made me realise how much I miss this in my life. Not having my mother around for many years, it felt like this beautiful gift for me and my parts who silently were crying about this loss of connection. Thank you for a truly magical 5 days!

I went to this retreat with a desire to dive deeper into my soul and bring more understanding to my internal thought processes and habits. The calling to try plant teachers in this specific setting with IFS and Cali was clear.

The most beneficial for me was the enquiry sessions before with the people who were joining the retreat. A clear intention and the session with Cali to figure out what this intention could be. Also very helpful was for sure the diet and writing my intention on the mirror in my bathroom to see it every day. Once I made the decision with the intention to connect daily with the parts in me who wanted to maybe change the intention or were doubting if this is the right one. During the retreat, I had a part in me who wished Cali could talk and talk and share more. Listening to the teachings and guidance was very healing, and very good for my parts to feel calmer when things started to get challenging. It was very nurturing. I love Cali so much, what a wonderful soul. Mapuani, soooo much wisdom so much love. I love her strength, her care and her beauty. What an amazing being. Looking forward, who I want to become by taking action and being gentle with myself. Life is a celebration and it has to be celebrated daily, with little things that make me happy. So much gratitude!

The journey in Cali’s retreats has long-lasting impacts and afterwards the support I receive allows integration to occur continuously, revealing the graces of the plant healing slowly over time.

I have been with Cali for 16 years attending retreats and as they evolved, I followed her recommendation for this particular type of work. The depth and breadth of her dedication, her guidance, love and caring support have never wavered in all these years. Mapuani now brings traditions and a deep respect for the plant teachers. Through her, I have taken into my being the sacredness of the master plants. I can see that their Brazilian roots have brought them together to deliver a very powerful message and experience. Now I am allowing the days to unfold with more ease and clearer direction. The guidance I received during the ceremony was clear, however, it was the grace of tolerance, gratitude and inner peace that is allowing my intention to unfold. I had an unforgettable experience that I am certain I will never get anywhere else.

A need to get past the chatter of some parts and connect with guidance brought me to this work.

It was very special having Mapuani communicate and embody the sacredness, ritual and tradition of the plant teachers, it allowed me to connect with the privilege of receiving and added to the connectedness I felt during the ceremonies and the entire retreat. When Cali sits in front of a group something magical happens, she has a way of connecting with you in a unique way, sharing her own life experiences with the teachings, this makes it so real, keeps it grounded in reality and helps my parts receive and accept the messages. I would have really appreciated some silent time, to be in the presence of a group but to be focused on the inside would have helped more my integration. Receiving plant master teachings heals my parts like nothing else I have found. You have to do the work to find and set an intention but the relaxation my parts feel when they know they don’t have to figure out the answer themselves is such a relief. They trust that I, and the medicine, have this, they can just be with me, watch and observe and learn new stuff (which is one of their favourite things). For me, it has been a life-changing experience that has opened up a whole new way of being me and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to receive this from Cali & Mapuani.

The profound connection of the tribe, the joy, and the sense of unity with everyone present made these ceremonies incredibly powerful and unforgettable.

I appreciated the thoughtful alternation between movement and contemplative inner journeys and ceremonies, as well as the balance between interaction with other participants and solitude with journaling and contemplating. The long group sessions were a bit challenging where we needed to sit for extended periods, but I also found them to be very valuable. These sessions provided deep insights and meaningful connections, despite the physical discomfort. The guidance I received during the retreat brought to the surface the ways of being that I need to embrace more fully, as well as the obstacles that stand in the way of what my parts long for. It has been an intense journey so far, and I am committed to nurturing these new insights and continuing to grow through them. I would like to express my deep gratitude for the entire experience. The retreat has been profoundly transformative, and I am incredibly thankful for the guidance, support, and incredible space that was provided. Every aspect, from the setting to the teachings and the community, has contributed to my growth and healing in ways that words cannot fully capture. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Words aren’t quite enough! Cali’s guidance was critical to experiencing a wonderful, energising and insightful retreat. Mapuani’s guidance is just as critical as Cali’s!! Her words, her chants, her touch and her dance led me and guided me through the ceremony and afterwards with care and a joy that was beautiful to feel.

I have been a client and student of Cali’s for nearly 20 years and I was very keen to do my first plant healing retreat with her. I am working and feeling through many insights since receiving the plant teacher’s guidance. The ceremonies gave me insights into my initial intention – my feelings towards not feeling a clear path in life – but also started to open up many other embodied feelings that were new to me, for example feeling safe and easy in my own body. I am spending time after the retreat to continue integrating and exploring these insights.