Spinoza

1 Review on “Spinoza”

• RSH 2 weeks ago

  Traveled from southern Germany to attend and it was well worth it. A wonderful experience that I highly recommend. The atmosphere (or the “vibe”) is really pleasant and positive and all the people – both from Spinoza and the other guests – were great. The tone was always just right.

  I was a little unsure, going into it, about the idea of live music, since a lot of more clinical places (like Johns Hopkins) use headphones, but it was fantastic. The music and the lyrics (mostly in English, with some Dutch and, if I recall correctly, other languages) were perfectly suited and really helped a lot. A couple people said afterwards “I kept getting lines in the singing that were exactly what I needed to hear.” (I later bought our guide’s album, which I treasure, and I’m sure the other guides have excellent music too.)

  Having had prior experience with psychedelics, I took a larger dose than the rest, and enjoyed it enormously. (Had had a fair amount of LSD and mushrooms in the past, but that had ended nearly two decades ago, and I wanted a safe and positive place to trip again – and got more out of it in my late forties than I had in my teens and twenties.) Really saw clearly inside my own mind, and figured a number of things out about myself. (It was, as Horace might say, «dulce et utile».) Some people, even with smaller doses, had rather emotional trips and faced some challenging problems, but by the end everyone was so happy for having gone through what they did. Many people shed something unhelpful, and everybody gained something valuable.

  The dinner after the ceremony was more than just a break to our fast, but itself a warm experience of community. Though there was nothing explicitly religious about it, it had something of the character of a “love feast,” though perhaps gentler. We all sat around one big table, feeling a bit tired yet renewed. I didn’t think beforehand that the dinner was going to be significant, but it turned out to be the perfect complement to the psilocybin experience preceding it. And the food was delicious.

  It was really lovely after the meal and some informal post-dinner talk to go back to the beautiful yurt and spend the night there, and I think everyone slept really well. In the morning everyone was cheery and grateful and open-hearted, and I really enjoyed listening to other people describe (as well as one can) their experiences.

  There are some other companies that offer longer retreats, and if you can afford that, you might prefer that. But for a 24-hour retreat at a reasonable price, Spinoza was perfect, and I’m very glad I picked them. There’s also preparation beforehand, through Zoom meetings and a rather good app, and follow-up afterwards. A psilocybin retreat is not for everybody, but it *is* for a lot of people, including people who maybe wouldn’t have considered it in the past. I thought Spinoza was fabulous and am so glad they’re doing the good work they’re doing. I look back on the time with fondness and have recommended it wholeheartedly to friends.

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