I am writing this to comment on my personal experience with Caya and to highly recommend them. Self-disclosure: I am a person in long-term recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder. That being said, there was some initial hesitation to this path.
Because of these reservations, I asked many questions and did a lot of self-reflection before attending my first ceremony at the original CAYA location. During my preparation period, I reached out to Crystal multiple times because of her background in the Behavioral Health field. That gave me comfort and confidence, helping me to come to the decision to move forward.
I met Damian on site, and I immediately saw the Ying to Crystal’s Yang. He is very grounded and wise, his connection with spirituality is palpable. The combination of the two of them helped me open up to the medicine and really gain maximum benefit.
18 months later, after having gone through one of the worst years of my adult life, I felt called back to Caya. I truly believe the lessons I learned with my first journey prepared me for my “Year of Hell”. Having been sober 13 years before the first Caya experience, there were points in my sobriety where I was “white knuckling” just trying not to give into the cravings. Post Aya, I never once had the desire to drink. Not once. In the worst year of my life. It was literally not there. The only difference was my journey with the medicine and having Caya help me process it.
The land at the new location to me is almost as powerful as the Aya journey itself. It definitely enhanced the experience for me personally. Being from a large Midwest city I had never spent that much time in nature before. The support volunteers make you feel safe and like family. The combination all of those factors held space for me to truly be my authentic self.
If you are considering including Ayahuasca as part of your spiritual path I strongly encourage you to research Caya deeply. For me, the integration phase was key to processing the experience of the medicine. Both of my Caya experiences gave me the perspective shift I needed to elevate myself and begin to live my best life.
I am so grateful for the opportunities to grow, the support I was given, and the freedom to make the entire process my choice, every step of the way.