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“After spending my December in the Czech Republic at the Tantric transformation center of Cevernisko and after a rebirth at the exit of a sweat lodge on December 31, here I am in the plane to join the Feathercrown.com center of Jan Rotlinka in the middle of the Equatorial jungle.
A ten hours flight, arrival in Quito in the evening. I chose the Colibri hotel, one of Barbara’s recommendations who assists Jan in the organization of the retreats.
The timing of my arrival in Quito is perfect and the communication with Jan is efficient. The cab is precise, the driver takes me to the comfortable, quiet, simple and very affordable hotel in the heights of Quito. I feel reassured. An Ayahuaska retreat is not just any trip and I feel that I need this organizational precision to feel really comfortable. I feel impatient to find out what happens next. Ayahuaska called me in November of last year.
The cab drops me off at the Colibri Hotel, the weather is delicious, the banana leaves and the flowers take me out of winter. The adventure begins. I dive into the pool after a light meal. I swim alone in the water, it is night. The next day the cab comes back to pick me up at 8 o’clock. First step, to meet the other participants. A Texan family, a lady from Los Angeles, three Slovaks, a Syrian, a Czech and me from Belgium. Throughout the retreat we form a close-knit group.
We drive for about 4 hours in a beautiful landscape of mountains covered with a thick and lush forest. Sometimes the peaks are crowned with white snow.
We will stop for a delicious meal in a hostel near a river. Many rafters and thrill seekers are there too for an encounter with the forces of nature.
It is about 2 pm and the minibus stops at the side of the road near a small entrance that opens to our steps. The steps are in wood, a little slippery, monkeys in the distance. FeatherCrown, Yes !
After about ten minutes of walking we arrived in this magnificent paradise of nature.
Barabara takes us to the kitchen, which is run by a wonderful Quetchua team and two small, reckless parrots. The rooms are made of wood with a large window that overlooks the forest. A minute’s walk away, at the end of a small path, another sublime and feminine spectacle takes the form of an emerald colored river. I bathed there almost every day, naked (shhhh). Its mood changes if a mountain storm occurs in the hills. The river swells and becomes an indomitable fury. The spectacle of its moods is inspiring. On calm days, the fresh water is clear and pure.
In the evening we enjoy delicious bananas after a vegetarian meal served with medicine leaf tea. Between the rooms scattered in the park, Jan has planted medicinal plants that he was happy to introduce to us. Each plant teaches something to the person who takes it. Some of them require the practice of the “dieta” like the Bobinsana for example. The dieta is a specific diet that allows the medicinal plant to act and inspire my healing. The evening of the first day we meet Sina who will be our Peruvian shaman throughout this extraordinary adventure.
In the morning we prepare the ayahuaska according to the ancestral method. Its heart has the color of the cosmos. It will unfold after hours of boiling mixed with Chakruna. To finally become this dark concentrate with a particularly bitter taste.
4 shots of this brown beverage during the retreat. Each experience is incredible. I feel good I have the chance to have experiences that open my mind. An openness that cannot be described. My brain splits into parts. It is an indescribable world. New windows open up and allow me to look at myself differently. Each thought is associated with an emotion. Good and evil in the form of a sensation or the appearance of a ferocious animal, my family that I love, my human dreams, imaginary beings sometimes too, the devil or spirits appearing and disappearing, I see a white heart on the ground, I speak with a frog, I understand whispers in the distance, my senses are heightened.
I sing with Sina the Shaman. I see the music in geometric forms. Everything seems real to me, everything is real even the unreal. My mind works, my heart opens. It will open again and again in the days that follow my mind cleanses itself.
Sina and her son sing the Icaros, songs with the same vibratory levels as the vibrations felt during the ayahuaska. The shaman is present and sings for each of us. His presence is an immense mental security. Some of my thoughts frighten me; ayahuaska amplifies the phenomenon while healing it. My imagination takes back its true place. And after a few hours, the effect diminishes. The waves are always calming down. The effect does not last. The learning remains in me. Sina’s songs soothe my mind, which is running wild, while healing my being. I sometimes vomited, very little actually. Once or twice out of the 4 ceremonies. Sometimes I have taken too much for my body. Two drinks. It’s very powerful. The mind can always get out of it, I’m concentrating between the choice to let the medicine work on its own in my chaos and my choice to stay in control. I can decide everything but I cannot stop the visions from appearing. Nor my body from feeling my imagination. What I do with these visions matters. My testimony may be quite different from that of one of your friends. It is mine.
Jan’s center is an invitation to travel, I recommend it. Sina the Chipibo Shaman was always present at every moment and also during the integration during the day and in the morning and during the rounds. Thank you Jan, thank you also to Barbara for her presence. Thank you to the kitchen team and thank you to this magnificent medicine that is ayahuaska.
NOTE: Jan is also working to protect this beautiful forest, you can help.”
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator from French
“I found Feather Crown as I was looking for a place to go to for my second Ayahuasca retreat. Feather Crown is a beautiful, simple and comfortable place to work with the medicine. The medicine here is potent and administered in a principled, respectful way. What was important to me was also to find a place that explicitly states indigenous land rights and safeguarding cultural traditions among its core values. Ronin Sina is a grounded, loving Maestro and I truly felt I could trust the process in his guidance. Jan is a caring, knowledgeable facilitator with a soft-spoken no-nonsense presence. The whole team’s warm-heartedness set the tone for the experience. The meals were fulfilling and fresh and served with love. I was glad to be able to find a good balance connecting with other retreaters and seeking my own quiet time to do the work and connect with the surrounding nature. I very much appreciated the guided nature walks as well. My time in Feather Crown was a reminder of how I belong to the Earth and that my work on self needs to always involve deeper reconnection with plants and nature. We are part of Mother Earth caring for herself and all beings whose life depend on her. My retreat was five days and while I wish I could have stayed longer, the experience was complete and meaningful, with deep insights that have continued to unfold as I do the integration work. Thank you Feather Crown.”
“I have just had the privilege of taking part in a 5 day retreat at Feather Crown. It was a wonderful experience and I would recommend it to anyone interested in experiencing with Ayahuasca. All logistics were managed efficiently, Jay and his family were welcoming hosts, the food was great, the set-up ideal, and the ceremonies expertly managed. Thank you for the amazing experience.”
“The best 5 days of my life. I met such amazing people. I mean the most amazing souls. Jan is amazing and such a great host. Omar was such a kind soul. I have so much love and respect for them both. I did not miss watching TV or using my phone. It had not taken me long to adjust to the natural environment. My spirit is already yearning to be back. The food was amazing and I miss the meals. I lost my appetite after the ayahuasca ceremonies and couldn’t eat all my delicious meals, which I wish I could have brought home with me. I had the most amazing tasting apple. The fruits in the US don’t compare. I feel like I’ve grown and learn so much about myself in the 5 days than I had in 33 years. The world had me convince that something was wrong with me and I was bad. During my first ayahuasca ceremony, I was forced to face what I thought of myself. I was forced to say it out loud. Then I was forced to see how wrong I was. That in fact, I was good and pure. And I was forced to speak that truth to myself out loud. Then I purged. I was able to see my ego apart from my true self. And saw how it fed off my insecurities. I was able to put myself above my ego. I can’t wait to go back…”
“I recently had the good fortune of sitting in Ayahuasca ceremony with Jan. I am delighted to say that most of the details of the retreat ceremony met or exceeded my expectations. His staff of four local Kichwa helpers were kind, helpful and very dignified. The personal attention that Jan afforded to us during the journeying was greater than I had hoped. Jan was careful to use several different synergistic medicine plants during our ceremonial retreat. The combination of sacred medicine plants Jan introduces provide a most genuine healing experience based on proven wisdom traditions from the jungle. The cleansing that Jan preformed during ceremony was for me the most high holy sacrament that I have ever ever been party too. For anyone ready to work with the spirit vine and look into the vast depths of their own life, I can highly recommend the Sacred River.”
“It’s been more than a month since I came back from Feather Crown and the love and gratitude I feel towards Jan and his team is growing every day. My experience with this beautiful medicine was powerful and life changing on many levels. Eventhough it can be quite chalenging, you feel you are in good hands and that they know what they are doing. They take great care of you and you become part of the family. And the nature… I’m coming back in december.”
“The two-week retreat at Feather Crown was a remarkable and life-changing journey for my wife and me, both senior citizens from the States. Jan, a veteran shaman, is an incredible healer and counselor. It is clear that being a shaman is not a career for Jan – it is a calling. He is a genuine spiritual adviser who has dedicated his life to helping people replace dark energy with light. The temple and cozy huts are located in Ecuador’s beautiful and amazing rainforest, a two-minute walk from a spectacular fast-moving river populated with huge boulders. Jan was available to discuss our experiences in the days after each of the four intense Ayahuasca ceremonies, Jan has surrounded himself with an unbeatable team that includes his wife, Erika, their angelic 7-year-old daughter, Sharon, and the coolest puppy ever, 9-month-old Chaupi. Jan’s right-hand man, Omar, speaks little English, but his efforts speak volumes about how much he cares for Feather Crown guests. Omar was available at a moment’s notice to help during the Ayahuasca ceremonies; he was our guide/protector on numerous jungle hikes; and he even walked us through an art-and-crafts class. The meals, crafted by Carlos, Romel and Omar, with an assist from Erika, were outstanding. The chefs created some of the best soups I’ve ever tasted. They even made popcorn for us! Go to Feather Crown with the confidence that you will be in the capable hands of a true shaman and his caring staff. Bill from USA”
“I stayed here for 6 days and I really had a wonderful time. The place is so peaceful and everything is created with so much love. During my stay I felt all the time very welcome, the crew kept always on everyone, prepared very delicious food for us and kept everything clean. For my personal journey it helped me a lot and I am glad that I was able to find that lovely place Jan and his crew created. I would like to thank Jan, his family and especially Sharon, and all crew for that transforming, cleaning and growing experience. And I have to thank the group I stayed with, you all are so warmhearted and open-minded. Looking forward to come back net year with my boyfriend David. Big hug and many thxx, Susan.”
“We had a fantastic experience at Feather Crown. It all starts with Jan, a genuine shaman, who cared for us and protected us druing this healing process. Jan shared his spiritual insights inside and outside the temple. The rain forest setting is perfect for personal growth. It took a team to make this life-changing experience: Jan, Erika, Sharon, Omar, Carlos, Romel, Pajaro and Chaupi were gracious hosts. The meals were incredible: the soups were 5-star restaurant quality. A special thank-you to Omar, who was our guide and protector. He was everywhere! Feather Crown is a most special place on earth.”
I recently attended a 2-day retreat with Jan. I am a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, where I served as an infantryman. For nearly a decade I have struggled with the heavy burden that war brings to many. I tried everything I could find in an attempt to find healing, from traditional psychotherapy and EMDR to Reiki and shamanic work. Through my exploration of shamanic practices, I first learned about Ayahausca. I did research for two years, and even lived in Ecuador for a year before I decided that I was ready. One must be very careful when looking for a place to work with Ayahausca. I had read a lot about Jan before I decided to give Feather Crown a try, and I liked what I had seen. Jan is a gifted healer. I highly recommend Ayahausca to anyone in search of healing, especially to my brothers and sisters suffering from PTSD. I trusted Jan and felt safe during the ceremony. My girlfriend, who did not partake in the ceremony, was allowed to be there by my side. It is difficult to describe my experience in words, and in favor of brevity all I will say is that my mind was opened and I was shown what I can do to continue my healing. For the first time in nearly a decade, I am feeling emotions again and have a positive outlook on life. Ayahausca opened a door for me, and I will continue my work with therapists and others, but I will be back to do some more work with Jan. I am truly grateful for this experience and cannot thank Jan enough for his guidance and compassion. I highly recommend Jan and Feather Crown to anyone searching for healing.
“While in the Amazon Jungle I was lucky to have chosen, in my opinion, one of the best places (Feather Crown – with shaman Jan Rostilinka) to experience the sacred ceremony of Ayahuasca.
“I could not have picked a better place to experience Ayahuasca for my first time! When I have the chance to work with Ayahuasca again, I will most definitely go back and work with Jan at Feather Crown – that should say it all! Here are some details that will hopefully help you decide if it is right for you. Don’t be afraid to email or WhatsApp Jan with questions, he speaks very good English and is very helpful. It is located on the outskirts of the Amazon with just a quick walk from the ceremony space to the Napo river. It is easily accessible by an inexpensive 5-hour bus ride from Quito, an hour bus ride form Tena, or a 2-hour bus ride from Banos. The ceremony space is an open-air gazebo located a 20-minute drive down a dirt road from any sign of civilization, plus a 10-minute walk. It is a very peaceful space. Each mattress was outfitted with a bug net, but we had no mosquitoes at all during our ceremony in mid-June and no one used them. I was told that there are rarely, if ever mosquitoes at the space. There is no known Malaria or Yellow Fever risk in the area. Jan is an excellent shaman who thinks of Ayahuasca and ceremonies as a medicine, and brews it in a way that it is meant to be less visual and more spiritual/inward-looking/healing (Primarily Ayahuasca Vine with a relatively low amount of D. Cabrerena leaves mixed in). With that said, this is still quite strong and many in our ceremony did have very strong visuals. The one participant who had previous experience asked if he could drink twice at the beginning, and Jan happily let him. All others were invited to drink again one and a half hours into the ceremony if they wanted to. One cup was a perfect introductory dose for me, though if I have the chance to go back I will likely drink twice to go deeper. There were two sober volunteers during the ceremony to assist you with anything you needed, such as a walk to the bathroom. The staff were supportive, yet unobtrusive and asked for as silent of a ceremony as possible – an ideal environment to go deep within yourself and let the ayahuasca work. We had 11 people at our retreat, mostly new to ayahuasca, and all felt very comfortable in the environment. The price was very reasonable for a ceremony (and primarily goes towards a rainforest protection fund). I highly recommend this place if you are interested in using Ayahuasca to look inward.“
“Highly recommend this place! Jan is serious Shaman who really knows his job and his team are responsible people. Very tasty food. Strong Aya tea. The place is wonderfull! Near by is river. Hope to come again. Thanks a lot, Jan.”
“For me the Feather Crown 10-day Ayahuasca retreat in December 2016 was a great and extraordinary experience and really wonderful to have met you all.”
“Jan is not a talker, but a contemplative; Jan is not an oracle, but a shaman. Jan holds the ceremonies or the Ayahuasca retreats offered just as genuine as he is in person. Rather than a philosophy, the sacred is beholden in the way the Ayahuasca retreats or the ceremonies that Jan holds are conducted: with respect and humility, gratitude and appreciation. Thus, Feather Crown or Sacred River can be recommended without any reservations, if you, the reader, is called to do such a retreat. There is make-believe, just as there is the genuine; the latter speaks to Feather Crown or Sacred River in the absence of adding any additional words other than that neither Ayahuasca nor Jan are bound by nationality…”
“We I can’t thank Jan and Don Ramon and their partners enough for providing guidance and care through such a heavy healing process. Our lives will forever be changed for the better If you’re on the search for a retreat like we were and you’re wondering if Feather Crown is a safe place for healing look no further. We seriously can’t recommended Feather crown enough!
We’d be pleased to share our experiences with anyone who’s curious. Feel free to message. Muchas Gracias”
See also blog post: ““My story of lyme disease, and physical, spiritual, emotional, and spirit healing with the sacred plant, Ayahuasca“”
I was initially feeling a little nervous about the ceremony but once i was in the ceremony space i felt comfortable and safe. Don Ramon is a truly powerful healer. I had a very soft and gentle experience with the medicine and the entire time i felt nurtured and cared for. Since the ceremony i have noticed changes in myself that i can see every day. I am forever grateful i was able to experience the medicine at feather crown and i hope to go back one day soon to continue healing and to explore aspects of the universe and myself.
With eternal gratitude,
