Retreat Info
About the Retreat:The Earthlings Institute welcomes you to learn more about Self Contact Retreat, our flagship weekend small-group retreat on our Pacific Northwest island oceanfront sanctuary.
The God Molecule, 5-MeO-DMT, has helped us and hundreds of journeyers connect to ourselves, humanity, and nature.
Our team of competent and compassionate 5-MeO-DMT facilitators create a community with and for our journeyers that is founded on love, respect, and honesty. From the foundation of trust and camaraderie, we build a temple for our psychedelic sacrament, 5-MeO-DMT, to be experienced with safety, care, and inspiration.
We have put on 20+ small group Self Contact Retreats for journeyers from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Oceania.
Description of Services:Who We Serve
We serve people who have a sincere desire for transformation, to heal and grow, and to move through life with love, belonging, compassion, and authenticity. Over hundreds of sessions, we have witnessed our journeyers:
- Heal trauma, whether from childhood, occupational, or other life events.
- Emerge from depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles.
- Navigating points of transition in life, including seeking purpose and clarity in their path forward.
- Process grief and loss.
- Deepen into their spiritual inquiries, finding their place and belonging in the universe.
- Heal from spiritual abuse and find the spirituality that is authentic to them.
- Find a deeper sense of self and interconnection with the world.
We also specialize in working with non-monogamy, polyamory, and repair and healing from infidelity. We welcome queer and marginalized folks. Whoever you are, we honour your human experiences without judgment or shaming.
"This is a very thoughtfully designed experience and is executed by skillful facilitators who have clearly done their own work to show up with this kind of loving and non-directive presence."
— K.W., psychotherapist, 49
The Medicine
5-MeO-DMT brings us powerfully into contact with our core self, allowing us to be with ourselves, our emotions, and our spirit in a way that feels courageous yet familiar and deeply held. In traveling to this innermost, intimate core of our being, we have the opportunity to release what no longer serves us and transmute our pain into our power.
We share 5-MeO-DMT two ways: smoked through a handblown glass bubbler and snuffed through snuffers handcrafted on Vancouver Island from arbutus. The smoked form of the medicine is fast and deep, bringing us from baseline consciousness into the core of ourselves in just 10 seconds, and back again soon after. The snuffed form is a slower, gentler, and longer experience, inviting us to take more agency in being with and exploring ourselves. Used together, these two ways of taking the medicine give us complementary lenses into ourselves.
Unlike many other psychedelics, 5-MeO-DMT is not a scheduled substance in Canada, where we practice, opening a legal pathway for access. You can continue your exploration of this powerful molecule with our deep-dive article What Is 5-MeO-DMT? or read our comparison article on 5-MeO-DMT vs. N,N-DMT.
Outcomes
We are in the service of facilitating awe, not only awe for the picturesque sunset or majestic cedar trees without, but also the deep awe of our existence, the universe, and consciousness within.
This work heals emotional wounds, alchemizes trauma, and connects us and brings us back to the spirit—the Self with calmness, clarity, compassion, connectedness, confidence, curiosity, creativity, and courage, as described in the psychotherapeutic modality Internal Family Systems.
"'Powerful' is a tremendous understatement. This was the most profound experience of my life. I am forever changed in the most positive way."
— Kipp, 54, Ontario
Our Sanctuary
Our island sanctuary is a serene Pacific Northwest paradise that we take care of and tend to with love, peace, and grace. We share a collective steam ritual in our cedar-barrel sauna on the morning of the medicine, then build the courage to offer ourselves to the ocean in a plunge. We make fires for our circles and let you immerse in our majestic tree-lined hot tub under the stars after your medicine journeys.
Who Is Ready?
The most important question is the deeply personal one that only you can answer: Are you ready to face yourself on the deepest levels, and step more fully into your life?
We specialize in major life transitions, personal transformations, and rites of passage. We create a loving, accepting, and encouraging womb for you to give birth to yourself.
We conduct a comprehensive review of medications, medical and mental health history, and professional and personal supports so that you can feel confident that you will be safe in your journey. For complex and rare medication profiles, we run your medication profile with our pharmacology consultant, Dr. Trina Nugyen, PharmD.
Practitioners:Co-founder Sagan Bolliger grew up close to nature on a farm in Nova Scotia, steeped in rich solitude sitting by the river or under the willow tree, where he found a deep longing for soulful connection with Self and World. He studied psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence before feeling called to return to his own inner realms, and stepping into psychedelic guiding. He brings to his work compassion and acceptance, rooted in his own journey through trauma to wholeness.
His life partner and co-founder Helena Zhu 朱晓逸 grew up between a quaint university campus and the mountains of Sichuan in the wild west of China. She has also lived in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom studying social sciences and working in journalism, public policy, and international development. She is fascinated by humans, and in awe of our innate nature to heal, grow, forgive, and love. She brings joy, love, and understanding wherever she goes.
EDUCATION
Master of Arts in Economics, The University of British Columbia (Helena)
Bachelor of Arts, Double Major in International Relations and Economics, The University of British Columbia (Helena)
Master of Science in Computer Science, University of Toronto (Sagan)
Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Philosophy, University of Toronto (Sagan)TRAINING
Toad School with Dr. Trina Nguyen and Lucy Everylove
Phoenix Academy Psychedelic Therapy Training with Bradley Foster, Linda Nicholls, and Liz Razanson
Internal Family Systems The I in the Storm workshop with Dr. Richard Schwartz at Esalen Institute
Hakomi Training for Psychedelic Practitioners with Georgia Marvin (Sagan)
Opening to Grace Relational Somatic Therapy Certification with J. Mariah Moser
Numa Somatics Breathwork Immersion with Trevor Yelich
Crisis Centre BC Distress Services Program Training
First Aid TrainingTeam/Medical Staff:We work with a team of six on-site, full-time staff to deliver our group retreat for six journeyers, including two lead facilitators, two assistant facilitators, and two cooks. We also work with an integration massage therapist, sanctuary keeper, and pharmacology consultant.
Our pharmacology consultant is not only a trusted and respected psychedelic pharmacist, but also a leading 5-MeO-DMT educator and practitioner. She brings two decades of pharmacy education and experience in both the United States and Canada to advance emerging psychedelic therapies.
She specializes in the interaction between medications and the safety and intended use of psychedelics. She developed a contraindications and interactions guide for pharmaceuticals and psychedelics, which is published in the Manual for Psychedelic Guides. A respected authority in psychedelic pharmacology, Trina reviews journeyers’ medications and informs protocols for safety and therapeutic effectiveness.
We work closely with her for the safety and desired outcomes for our journeyers.
Details
Founder(s) / CEO: Sagan Bolliger, Helena ZhuGroup Size: 4-6 journeyersPrice Range: CAD $2,200 - CAD $3,200 (Approx. USD $1,600 - USD $2,300)Our Process
Overview of Experience:Self Contact Retreat is our three-day, small-group 5-MeO-DMT retreat, Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, at our oceanfront sanctuary on a small island in Howe Sound, an hourly ferry from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Up to six journeyers are held by our team of experienced facilitators, bodyworkers, and chefs. Over the weekend you will take the medicine in two forms, smoked and snuffed, in guided circles, with preparation, integration, and all meals and accommodation included. 5-MeO-DMT is not a scheduled substance in Canada.
Intake Process:Taking the first step on your journey requires great courage. That step is the product of all the steps in your life that have led to it, and in this moment of decision you hold the power to reinvent your life. Taking this step is also a deeply personal decision that nobody else can make for you. Having stood at these thresholds ourselves, we deeply honour you in this moment of possibility, and all that may arise within as you consider your decision.
If this medicine and our approach feel aligned, we would love to meet you for a consultation, where we can provide any information that would help you with your decision. You are welcome to use our contact form or email us directly at [email protected].
Supplemental Modalities: We gather wisdom from nature, honour experiences of our journeyers, draw from psychology and somatic therapy, listen to our own intuition, work on our own spiritual connection, and live with humility.Psychedelic Substances Offered: 5-MeO-DMT, cacaoHow does this Center source medicine?:We source our medicine from chemists who specialize in providing safe and high-quality medicines for psychedelic practitioners. They have strict manufacturing requirements and test all batches for purity. In addition to their process, we send all medicine that we receive from them for third-party testing at our local university.
Practice reciprocity with local communities?: YesPhotos
Reviews
16 Reviews on “Earthlings Institute”
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Retreat Info
Details
Our Process
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Reviews
16 Reviews on “Earthlings Institute”
Leave a Review
My husband and I have experienced the amazing retreat as well as sound baths hosted by Sagan and Helena. They are truly so kind and so gentle and loving, having the right environment and people around you as you experience this incredible journey is so important and we could not be more grateful for both Sagan and Helena and the team they bring together. We will always cherish the retreat as well as the sound baths, it has helped in more ways than I can express. Truly an unforgettable experience.
My journey into greater mindfulness and attempting to explore my definition of consciousness lead me to Helena and Sagan with Earthlings Institute. My solo guided experience left me with the inability to fully articulate the power of my feelings. Their attention to every detail of my expressed desires for the journey allowed me to fully accept their experience with the medicine.
After almost 120 days since my journey I continue to feel the attention to my surroundings has deepened the mindfulness and awe I was looking for. I don’t and may never fully understand the ‘oneness’ I am experiencing, but I am looking forward to the future as never before.
— W. Taylor, 75 years old, Bellingham, Washington, USA
I had such a profound experience at Earthlings Institute that it has taken me several months to process everything I experienced and find the words to formulate this testimonial.
I arrived at the retreat feeling like a shell of myself. I was at one of the lowest points of my life, struggling with burnout and work-related trauma, in addition to carrying many personal losses and stressors that I had never really allowed myself to slow down and process.
5-MeO was recommended to me as a way of loosening some of the strong defenses and patterns that can make it difficult to process difficult experiences. I came to the retreat with one simple intention: to process whatever I needed to process so that I could move on with my life. I never expected the retreat to become a catalyst for something much bigger—a new way of thinking, a greater capacity for self-love, and a deeper acceptance of who I am.
What surprised me most was that this transformation did not come solely from the 5-MeO experience itself. The support I received from the facilitators—Sagan, Helena, Brendan, and Jana—before, during, and after the journey was an equally important part of my experience.
The facilitators were incredibly attuned to what each participant needed and found thoughtful ways to support us throughout the retreat. This included guided meditation sessions, a bedtime sound bath, and therapeutic touch when requested and consented to. They created an environment where I felt safe, supported, and cared for, both in preparing for the journey and in beginning to understand and integrate the messages and lessons that emerged from it.
Helena and Sagan, in particular, are truly lovely human beings. Their patience, compassion, and kindness throughout the experience were invaluable to me.
I was initially nervous about participating in a retreat in a group setting, but that ended up being one of the most meaningful aspects of the experience. Being surrounded by others who were going through their own journeys created a sense of community and mutual support that I hadn’t anticipated. We supported one another during the retreat and, importantly, continued to have a community of support as we began the process of reintegration afterward.
When I left the retreat, I felt more peaceful, but I also felt as though I had only the echoes of the lessons I was meant to learn. I couldn’t fully grasp their significance at the time. Now, five months later, I am beginning to understand just how profound those lessons were.
One of the biggest things I learned was that I don’t have to constantly push away negative or traumatic experiences from my past. I can acknowledge them, accept that they are part of my story, and stop fighting against them. I have become much more aware of my thoughts and, as a result, I am much kinder toward myself.
The people closest to me have commented that I seem lighter and more at ease. My counsellor has also noticed a significant improvement in my ability to open up and engage during our sessions. These changes have extended far beyond my own internal experience.
I was recently reading the regular newsletter from the Earthlings Institute, in which Sagan wrote about the idea that the healing from this work can ripple outward into our communities and families. That really resonated with me. It made me realize how much more authentic and meaningful many of my relationships have become since the retreat. I have been able to be more genuine and open—not only in therapy, but also with the people I love most. That openness has deepened and enriched many of my relationships in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
From a practical standpoint, the retreat itself is in a beautiful waterfront setting in a peaceful neighbourhood. The home is comfortable, welcoming, and feels like a place where you can truly slow down. My room and bed were very comfortable, and the sauna was a wonderful addition—particularly after taking a cold plunge in the nearby ocean.
The food, prepared by Jiawen, was another highlight. Everything was nourishing, thoughtfully prepared, and incredibly tasty. Jiawen also did an amazing job accommodating different dietary needs. She prepared meat dishes for most of us while also providing gluten-free and vegan options for others in my group, all while making everyone feel equally cared for.
I am immensely grateful for my experience at Earthlings Institute and for the people who supported me throughout it. I arrived feeling disconnected from myself and overwhelmed by everything I was carrying. I left with a sense that something had shifted, even though I didn’t yet understand exactly what that shift meant.
Five months later, I am still discovering the depth of what I learned.
I am deeply grateful to Sagan, Helena, Brendon, Jana, Jiawen, and the Earthlings Institute community for being part of that journey and for creating such a supportive space for healing, reflection, and integration.
I attended the self contact group retreat at Earthlings in late 2025.
The decision to attend the retreat was the culmination of several years of healing and self exploration. I was hopeful that I would have a powerful experience. “Powerful” is a tremendous understatement. This was the most profound experience of my life. It is nearly impossible to fully explain with words, however I can say that I am forever changed in the most positive way. Sagan, Helena and their support team were absolutely wonderful. Their sanctuary is nestled into a beautiful cove on the ocean, it is welcoming, comfortable and full of positive energy. The entire experience lives in my heart.
I have deep gratitude for the entire experience.
I am so grateful we found Earthlings!
We had been considering a 5MEO-DMT journey and it wasn’t until we met Helena and Sagan that we felt ready to go for it. I wanted to go on this journey to break out of the ruts created in over 50 years of living, experiences, mistakes, numbness, regrets….let all that go and open up new possibilities for the next chapter in my life. I went with my partner of 16 years and we both had transformative experiences with this medicine, both as a couple and individually.
Helena and Sagan and their wonderful team create a beautiful, safe and supported place for exploration of this powerful medicine. So patient and kind. The small group format is ideal for those who may be a little anxious about going on this kind of journey. Hearing others intentions, connnecting as humans and feeling like you’re not taking this on alone was a huge help in surrendering to the life-changing experience.
The setting was perfect! Beautiful ocean views. Immersed in nature. Sauna and cold plunge such a great tool for intention setting and after for integration. The food was AMAZING and such a beautiful part of the overall experience. Every need was met with love and kindness.
Thank you Helena, Sagan, Brendan, Linda and Jaiwen for leading us through this truly incredible experience with such love and intentional care. My life is forever changed 🩵
I attended Sagan and Helena’s self contact retreat in May of this year (2026). There is no way to adequately describe the experience. What I can say is that I got what I was looking for and more including some dear new friends in my fellow travelers. An unexpected bonus is that since then I can easily move into a much deeper state during meditation that was not available to me before. It reminds me of the first few seconds after taking 5-MEO but I can sit with it. I believe my experience at the retreat cracked that door open. I will also say that Sagan and Helena, Linda and Brendan are truly amazing, as is the space and food! Thank you!
The Earthlings team are amazing facilitators who genuinely strive to make sure all your needs are met and exceeded. If you’re considering working with this medicine, I wouldn’t look anywhere else. This will be a life changing experience for you.
Thank you for an incredible experience with 5-MeO-DMT medicine and the beautiful opportunity to facilitate together. 🙏✨ It’s been a truly magical journey, full of connection, growth, and profound moments. Thank you for your dedication, your beautiful work, and for sharing this journey. With deep gratitude and love! ❤️
Big thanks for an amazing experience with 5MEO-DMT medicine and opportunities to facilitate together, it’s a magical journey🙏 Deep Gratitude for your work! Jana
Big thanks for an amazing experience with 5MEO-DMT medicine and opportunities to facilitate together, it’s a magical journey🙏 Deep Gratitude for your beautiful offerings! Jana
I had a very good time,they are so friendly.
As someone who suffered a lifetime chronically fantasizing about suicide, feeling like they didn’t matter, and feeling confused about their existence, the Self Contact Retreat completely flipped my world upside-down. I’ve literally never felt happiness before in my adult life before the retreat. I’m not exaggerating, now that I know what it feels like. Can you imagine that? What it’s like to live decades of total unhappiness and suffering? Now I know that happiness feels like my body is physically lighter and like I’m floating, and since the experience I have felt this every single day. The medicine and Earthlings saved my life.
I am so grateful to have attended a self contact retreat with Earthlings in March 2025.
Helena, Sagan and the facilitators they work with are the most professional guides available. They set group intentions and create group processing with tremendous skill and ease. They assure each participant’s safety in deep ways. Offering the right amount of support with psychedelics is a difficult thing to navigate but they have the skill to intuit what is needed. They are comfortable going with people to what is most uncomfortable so that it can be released. A lot of trauma got released on my retreat and people are forever changed in positive ways because of it. The retreat space is gorgeous with comfy beds, the sauna and dips in the sea are amazing, and the food was delicious and healthy. Even the music was perfect!
This molecule and how it is worked with has a capacity for healing that is unparalleled.
These are the people who truly know how to work with this molecule!
Working with the medicine in the ways they provide allows for increased comfort, safety, and I also think increased transformation. Each dosing protocol is a separate experience but I found themes emerged that truly allowed energies I no longer needed to carry to be released, something that no other healing modality has been able to do.
The Self Contact retreat is one of the best ways a person can offer themselves true healing toward a transformed self.
This retreat was one of the most impactful experiences of my life. The space was beautiful and the food was amazing. Helena and Sagan had everything well organized from intention setting, preparation, swimming, hot tub, music, sauna, medicine sessions, reflection, meditation, integration. We were all very well supported and we became very close over the weekend. The whole support team was knowledgeable and experienced and adapted to what was needed in the moment. The retreat would have been worth it even without the medicine.
With the medicine, I worked through some difficult experiences and emotions and in the end I experienced the core of consciousness with everything else stripped away. It was a perfect place of stillness and pure bliss. It was like coming home to the place I started and where I will go back to in the end. I realized that that place is always available to all of us and it is what we are all seeking, even though we may not know it with our rational minds, or remember. I’m grateful that Sagan and Helena helped me find that place. Now that I recognize it, I am able to access it in my everyday life by just being in the moment with activities, or going inside with breathwork and meditation. I experienced the place that meditators and monks talk about getting to, that I’ve attempted to get to over the years, that part of me thought sounded kind of boring. It turns out it’s not boring – it’s perfect.
I was developing a fear of death in the second half of my life, which was impacting my ability to fully live life. I found myself worrying more than I wanted to. Since the retreat my fear of death seems to be gone. I see worry pop up here and there but it seems to just bounce off me now. If this is the kind of depth you are looking for (all the way) in your inner work, then this retreat is for you.
I recently attended the Self Contact Retreat this March 22, 2024. It was so profoundly transformative that language does fail to describe this life altering experience!! What was so extraordinary about the experience were the Guides Sagan & Helena. It was my first time with the ‘medicine’ and the space they created was filled with Trust for one another, I felt very safe & supported and deeply cared for. This allowed me to fall deeply & divinely into a place in my heart that fully awakened an unconditional love I had not meet before. Their guidance, patience & understanding for not only the ‘medicine’ yet of each individual participant who was there, is unlike any retreat I had attended. The weekend and friends I made will forever be indelibly etched in time. It is remarkable the Heart Space they live from. I feel so blessed to have found them for my initial journey. I would Wholeheartedly recommend them Heart & Soul if you are wanting to walk this sacred and extraordinary path.❤️.
I recently attended their 3 day Self Contact retreat in Vancouver. There was an initial consultation which allowed us to get to know each other followed by a preparatory session for me to ask questions, discuss intentions, etc. These were instrumental in my feeling comfortable and prepared for the retreat which was truly amazing. There were 5 of us participating and 4 facilitators who were incredibly kind and competent. We got to know each other Friday afternoon and evening. There was plenty of education, intention setting and safety discussions. Saturday was a sauna and cold-plunge prior to the meditation then handshake, hug and full-embrace doses we started at 10am. These lasted all day until our celebratory dinner together. I felt 15 pounds lighter Sunday from the trauma purging and enlightenment. 2 weeks later there was an integration Zoom session with Sagan and Helena. I made 8 friends that weekend and began the start of my Life 2.0. I can’t recommend this retreat enough.