099: "Death of my father and the process of grief with Ayahuasca" with Charlotte Nicholson
Description
What effect does it have on our lives to accompany a parent in the dying process and to hold them in our arms as they take their last breath? Is it even possible to prepare for such an event? And how might psychedelics be able to support us?
Earlier this year Charlotte Nicholson, the Body-Breath-Mind program director for Essentiya and also one of our facilitators, felt the call to go back to the Amazon and work with Ayahuasca. This time with a very clear intention: to process her deep-seated grief as her father lay slowly dying.
Charlie had 4 ceremonies led by Shipibo shamans and, in addition to confronting the loss of her father, was given other extremely challenging experiences, including confronting a future that may not include parenthood herself, and the fear of her own death.
All in all, her week in the jungle was marked by a great deal of darkness and pain. So why put oneself through that?
In essence, as Charlie's process reveals, because suppressing or numbing ourselves to unprocessed emotional pain causes a build-up of tension, energetic blockage and chaos deep within our emotional body (the psycho-neuro-endocrine-immune or PNEI network); whereas turning to face and feel the pain - which psychedelics like ayahuasca can very effectively bring to the surface of our body-mind consciousness - can release some of its charge, soften its edges and allow a reconnection with the vividness of life.
The ceremonies also opened up within Charlie the space and softness she needed to calmly support her father on his final journey, which happened just a short time after her return.
Probably the most emotional (English) episode on the podcast.
---------------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this episode!
To receive the latest episodes and updates on our upcoming psychedelic retreats by mail, feel free to sign up for the newsletter.
---------------------------------------
More about me:
Retreats & Newsletter:
Personal:
https://www.alexanderfaubel.com
Instagram:
United States
