Luke Storey: You're listening to a very special bonus episode of The Life Stylist Podcast. Now, due to popular demand and curiosity, I made the decision to do a very detailed analysis of my two trips to Costa Rican Ayahuasca centers back in 2019. Once I got back from the most recent one, Soltara, everyone started asking me which one is better, which one should I go to, et cetera. And there is just no way to answer all those messages and give a thorough enough explanation. So, I just decided to write out a little script here, and I outline with some key points. And I'm going through every detail of those two experiences from a customer's point of view, so that people can make the decision for themselves. 

That being said, before I dip into this, I just want to say that I am, by no means, an expert in the world of plant medicines or psychedelics. And I'm also not a proponent for every person in all times. This is something you want to be very thoughtful about. It's serious business when you start interacting with your soul, and psyche, and healing trauma in profound ways that plant medicines tend to do. So, I always recommend people, do your due diligence and really make sure that your being guided by people who are trustworthy, who have much experience, who follow the traditions from which these ceremonies came from, et cetera. 

So, that's my disclaimer there. But really part of the reason for me doing this episode is to do just that, to give you some more information. And if you are someone who's been considering taking some of these plant medicine journeys or you're someone who already has and wants to do more of it, such as myself, then I think this episode is going to be very useful. 

And for context here, in case you're new to the show or you didn't hear the shows that came out earlier this week. I want to encourage you to go back and listen to my complete reports that I did prior about both my trips to Rythmia in January 2019, which you'll find in episodes 202 and 203, and the most recent one that came out, as I said, this week when I went to Soltara in December 2019 which are episodes 262 and 263. So, again, the Rythmia episodes are called Welcome to the Jungle. That's 202 and 203. And then, the Soltara episodes are 262 and 263. So, you can find those in the feed. 

Now, before I jump into this, we've got a little housekeeping here, as I like to call it, the announcements. Don't fast forward this. It's important. It's not an ad. There's no ads in this show because it's a bonus show. It's just for fun and for free y'all. Tuesday though, I have a really, really cool show coming out. It's called Soulmate GPS: Finding the Love You Want Without Losing Yourself with third time and immensely popular guest, John Wineland. So, make sure you subscribe to The Life Stylist Podcast. So, that episode would John just gets magically downloaded to your device or computer. 

Then, we've got some upcoming events. I'll be, of course, speaking at Upgrade Labs Biohacking Conference, March 27th through 29th in Beverly Hills; Paleo Effects, April 24th through 26th in Austin, Texas. And then, back in LA for Meet Delic, May 2nd and 3rd. And if you're listening to this episode because you're a plant medicine aficionado or a newbie that's just curious, you might really consider joining me at Meet Delic. I'm really excited about this event. It's a psychedelic wellness. A summit, essentially, where I'll be speaking alongside Dave Asprey, and Chris Ryan, and Duncan Trussell, and all sorts of fascinating people from the medical community on the psychedelic, clinical side, and then also the ceremonial plant medicine side. So, Meet Delic, May 2nd or 4rd. All of the events that I participate in can be found at lukestory.com/events.

Next thing is - and this'll be quick - are you on my newsletter? Did you know that each and every Tuesday - and in some cases Fridays because this is a Friday episode you're listening to now - that I send out a very detailed newsletter with all of the show notes, and links, and bullets from every single podcast episode, as well as links to the videos? And the one you're listening to right now, in fact, has a video. I'm just checking, making sure it's recording. Yeah, we're good. This one has a video also. So, even when I do these solo shows now, I just figured out I can just crank open QuickTime and do a little webcam video to accompany the audio podcast.

And for those of you that listen to the podcast and have been for some time, you might not even be aware that there's a video for 99.9% of every single audio podcast I do. So, if you're on the newsletter, you're going to get emailed the link to the audio, the link to the video, as well as every single thing we talk about in the episode because I know for myself, as a listener to podcasts, that while-

I just actually just did this this morning. I was listening to Ben Greenfield interview Dr. Matthew Cook, who's one of my favorite guests on Ben's show. It's just these guys geek out on such another level of biohacking. It's insane. And I was listening to that, and they were mentioning stuff, and I was like, "God," like doing screen grabs and making little screen recordings that I could send to my friend over at NXT Health, and Dr. Shah over there or no, Darsh? Yeah, Darshan Shah. 

And so, I find it like really annoying sometimes when I'm on the road, or on a flight, or something and something's mentioned on a podcast, and I want to go research it further. And it's really nice to just get a newsletter in my inbox with all of those links, so I can just refer back to the newsletter and find a clickable link for something obscure that was mentioned in a show. Like today, they were talking about different peptides and things like that, and I'm like, "Ooh, I gotta try that peptide." I can't remember the name of a website or what some weird peptide was called. 

So, my newsletter is very useful for that. And then, if I have any events or anything cool going on, I send you that as well. I'm very respectful with the newsletter. I'm not a spammy kind of guy. I would never, ever, ever share your email with anyone else.

So, here's how you get on the newsletter - lukestorey.com/newsletter. If you want to use a browser, that's lukestorey.com/newsletter, or you can text. On a US phone only, you can text the word "Lifestylist," all one word, "Lifestylist" to the number 44222. So, get out your text app, put in the number, 44222. And then, in the body of the text, type the word "Lifestylist." Click send, and it'll prompt you to enter your name and email. And wallah, you'll be on the email list. 

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All right. So, getting back to today's episode about which I'm intimidated and very excited. There's a lot of data to cover here. I spent a lot of time putting this episode together in terms of the outline because there's just so many minute details to these two experiences. I wanted to make sure to make it very comprehensive and thorough for those of you that have asked the question, "Which place is better? Which one should I go to?" So, this is not a Rythmia versus Soltara episode. This is a side-by-side comparison. And it's very difficult to do this without just stating the facts. So, I'm going to state the facts about the two different centers, and also what some of my preferences were. 

But my preferences are going to be different than yours. So, this is really like a vanilla versus chocolate or lemons versus limes side-by-side comparison. I mean, I love me some limes, man. When I drink Pellegrino, I love having a wedge of lime in there, but if I drink some cold spring water like I did this morning, I went out to my backyard and picked a couple of lemons. It's the great thing about living in California, lots of citrus even in the winter. And man, I had some lemon water, and it was delicious. But if you like held a gun up to my head and made me tell you what's better - lemons or limes - that would be an impossible question to answer, and you would just have to end it for me. And that's kind of like trying to pick between Soltara and Rythmia. They are both freaking awesome. 

I could probably name five people that would prefer one over the other, depending on their personality and their level of experience with ceremonies, et cetera. While I was at Soltara, I remember thinking of certain friends of mine or people that I've had relationships with and like, "Oh my God, she would really love this place," or "He would really love it because they're so low key, and this place is a super low key." And then, I thought of other people, I'm like, "Oh my God. No, they would freak out here. They would like Rythmia because it's just much more … it's just different." 

So, I'm going to explain the differences to you and. if you're not someone who is interested in plant medicines at all and never will be, this might not be the episode for you. But if you're someone who's curious about healing yourself on a mental, spiritual, and physical level, these are some great ways to do it if it's a right fit for you.

So, let's start this thing up. Rev the engines, folks. First thing I want to cover is, of course, the cost. I mean, that's the first question people have, right? And I did an updated research on this because prices change and things. So, at the time of this recording, which is February 9th as I sit here today, 2020, Rythmia prices for a seven-night retreat, and these are both based on seven nights, range from $3500 to $5700. And that, of course, depends on your accommodation, the size of your room, whether you share a room, all of that. And then, Soltara by contrast is a bit less expensive. Their prices range from $1750 to $3750. So, that right there might be enough for some of you to make the decision. 

Next, let's get into the locations, the properties, and what the travel was like. To get to Rythmia, you land in the Liberia Airport in Costa Rica, and it's much closer to the center. It's about a three-hour shuttle from the airport to Rythmia. It's a very low-key airport. It's a smaller city than San Jose by contrast, which is where you typically fly into and get to Soltara. So, you can fly the same day and go straight to Rythmia, at least, from California where you need to stay in San Jose when you land to go to Soltara. Then, travel there the following day. And San Jose, I found to be much more hectic and just full of cell towers and craziness. And it was not a city I would ever visit for any reason unless I was trying to get somewhere else. Not to say that I would hang out in Liberia either for any considerable period of time, but Liberia is just a smaller city, and it's just easier to navigate. There's less traffic, et cetera. 

And then, the journey from San Jose is a bit more arduous. You've got to take a ferry ride. It's just a longer route. I mean, not necessarily in distance but because it's out on the tip of this beautiful peninsula, which I'll get to in a moment. It's a little more difficult to get there. That said, Soltara offers a shuttle service that will take you from San Jose right to their center, and I'm sure that was fine. I just elected to rent a car because I wanted to spend some time exploring Costa Rica after my Soltara Retreat, which was awesome. And Soltara is only two hours from Santa Teresa, which is an amazing little surf town that I really enjoyed visiting, not because I didn't stay for integration after my Rythmia journey. I'm not sure what towns and cities and whatnot are near Rythmia, but I get a sense there were also some great coastal, towns and villages and whatnot around there too. I just didn't have a chance to explore. 

Now, if I went to Rythmia again, I would definitely elect to rent a car as I did when I went to Soltara, so that I could allow for some travel after that experience and really integrate. It was a bit jarring coming back from Rythmia, just kind of processing the experience that I had 'cause I left like the day after, and I was in a car accident, as some of you will remember, after the night of the last ceremony at Rythmia. And I wasn't hurt, but it was definitely a bit traumatizing and jarring in a sense. The car flipped over and all this kind of stuff. 

Some amazing friendships developed out of it though, as superfans of the show will be able to put this story together, but there's a woman named, Alix, who is the founder of two amazing properties or hotels in Mexico respectively called the Cuixmala and Hacienda De San Antonio. And we were in the car accident together and became friends. And I ended up traveling down to Mexico to those two beautiful, insanely cool hotels and interviewing her about her businesses and her life. And she's just an amazing woman. So, that was kind of an interesting little ending note at Rythmia to drive off property, and flip a car, and people got a bit hurt and whatnot.

That said, Rythmia also allows you to leave the property during your stay; as Soltara does not. And Soltara, for that matter, is much more remote. So, there's nowhere to really go anyway. There's a beach like on the Soltara property, essentially. So, you would never have a need to drive anywhere; where at Rythmia, there is a beach, but it's not walking distance. You can ride a bike over there, which I did one day. And I learned, "Wow, I really hate riding bikes, especially when it's hot as balls."

Actually, when I was at Rythmia, one day, I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to ride a bike to the beach." I was all optimistic because I had a great ceremony the night before. And I took this bike to the beach, and halfway there, I was like, "Oh, I wish I had a cell phone 'cause I would call them to come pick me up right now." I made it to the beach, did some recording out there, and had a great time. And then, actually, called Rythmia, "Hey, please come rescue me and my bike," 'cause I found out I don't like riding bikes. 

So, yeah. So, that's kind of something to consider also. The Rythmia beaches are maybe a 10-minute drive, and there are two massive beaches that are, sort of, a part of luxury resorts there in close proximity to the Rythmia center, and it's really easy to swim out there and hang out. They're very clean and safe. No one's trying to steal your shit and they're awesome. But I really liked the fact that Soltara's property is right on the beach. I mean, you walk down a hill, and you're on a smaller but quaint beach. And it's on this peninsula, so the waves aren't crazy. It's really easy to swim. It's just beautiful. 

There's actually two beaches that you can just walk right down to from Soltara. So, while you can't drive around at Soltara, which I found out 'cause as I said, I rented a car, and I thought I was going to be driving it up and down the hill to make the walking easier, and they're like, "No , dude. We don't allow driving when you're on Ayahuasca." I said, "Well, I respect that. It makes sense;" whereas at Rythmia, you could do that but based on the fact that I was in a car accident there, I might not advise that. Although I wasn't driving.

Okay. At Soltara, the property, oh my God, it's just it's so beautifully situated, they have the most epic sunrises. I don't want to exaggerate, but I think I can say this unequivocally that Soltara has the most epic sunrises I've ever seen in my life. I mean, just rising right over the sea and just … it's insane, and they're made more beautiful because when you're watching the sunrises, you are still very much in the medicine of Ayahuasca. So, add Ayahuasca to the view at Soltara out on their stargazing deck, it's a sight to behold and something I will never forget. 

Now, that said, because Soltara is situated on these beautiful cliffs above the beach, it's a really steep walk to the rooms. And, I mean, it was doable, but it wasn't the most awesome thing to climb up the hill to get to my room coming down from the medicine at dawn. I find it very hard to walk, in general, even on a flat surface when I'm full of Ayahuasca. It's like trying to walk … this is just me. Some people are different but for me, it's sort of like trying to walk drunk but you're not drunk. Just your body's drunk, but your mind is essentially clear. 

So, there was some talk of getting a little golf cart or something at Soltara for lazy asses like me that don't want to hike up the hill to my room; whereas at Rythmia, the property's flat. Just the layout is different. It's not on a hill. So, it was easier to walk back to my room at Rythmia. And even if I couldn't, Rythmia did, as I recall, provide golf carts for people that were just too smoked to even walk on a flat surface, which I was a couple of nights but I thought, "Luke, don't be a baby. Just deal with it." And I did. 

Both of them have just absolute, beautifully maintained properties, very clean. I mean, just amazing landscaping, all of the structure. They're both just really, really well done. Both have beautiful swimming pools; however, Soltara, as they do to ensure your safety with the driving bit, do not allow use of the pool after ceremony, which makes sense. I mean, you'd want to be careful when you're still kind of in medicine zone. 

But I really actually enjoyed going swimming in the dawn hours after my ceremonies at Rythmia. They didn't have a problem with going in the pool there. And I actually really liked that because one of the things that grounds me back in this 3D world after ceremony is getting in water. So, I elected to go take a shower at Soltara, which has the same effect, but I did really enjoy my early morning Ayahuasca swims. I didn't really swim, to be honest. I just kind of like wait around in the water and just, sort of, allow the medicine to work itself through me at Rythmia. 

And both locations have very clean rooms, like really nice. I'm a stickler for a remodeled bathroom. And I don't want mold and funk and germs. I like a nice clean room. One thing I really like is cold ass air conditioning, especially when I'm in a tropical climate such as Costa Rica. I can't play with like the heat thing. I just can't do it. I can't sleep. So, both spots had just crushing air conditioning. It was like cryotherapy, which is how I roll. 

I would say the Soltara rooms are a little newer. The bathrooms were … I think, all the buildings were just newer. The property at Rythmia is beautiful, but it's an older property and don't take that to think it's not nice. I mean, it's still very much a luxury, but it's like bungalow style resort. And so, it's just not brand, brand new as the rooms at Soltara were. 

And both of them have a solo room or shared room options, which, of course, changed the costs of the experience, as I indicated earlier. And Soltara is just a smaller, more intimate property with less buildings; whereas Rythmia is more of a tropical resort vibe with those bungalows. 

They also have a full medical clinic, a hot tub, a cool plunge, which by the way, if anyone from Rythmia hears this, let's just turn the cool plunge into a cold plunge. I mean, come on, guys. That's the only thing. I was like, "This is so amazing, and you can't complain," but I was like, "Oh, sick, a hot tub and a cold plunge, but the cold plunge was just tepid, sort of cool water." And I was like, "Oh, I would die for an ice bath right now." One thing at Rythmia that was really dope is they have a really great nontoxic steam room, meaning that the water creating the steam is not full of fluoride, and chemicals, and chloramines, and chlorine, all that kind of stuff. I don't do steam rooms because they're always toxic water, but their water is coming from a well, so there's no chemicals in it, which was awesome. 

Both properties have a gym. With the Soltara gym being more modern with a kind of CrossFit and functional movement vibe, all those tools, free weights, kettlebells, et cetera; while the Rythmia gym is more like a hotel gym with machines and whatnot. Now, that said, I don't think it really matters to most people because you're so smoked from being up all night in ceremony. I mean, the last thing you really want to do, honestly, is go work out, but it is there.

Daniel, the co-founder of Soltara is a really big swell guy. Definitely does a lot of working out. And so, I have a sense he had something to do with making sure that really cool gym is the way it is. And I actually did go work out a couple of times at Soltara; whereas at Rythmia, I did not. And that was largely due to the fact that at Rythmia, they had fake news CNN blasting, not on one but all three TVs in front of the treadmills. So, you can imagine you're in this really beautiful, spiritually-connected space going through those four ceremonies, and you walk in, and see the CNN thing in your face. It was just like, "Oh my God, I would do anything to unplug those right now." So, I just left. I just literally could not be in that energy field. And I don't even have to be in the middle of an Ayahuasca experience to avoid that energy field. 

Anytime I'm in an airport, and CNN, like, no one watches it cause it's fake and dumb. I mean, to me, it's just complete propaganda. No offense if you like CNN. Dude, you do you. Just my own personal interpretation is that it's just a complete propaganda. So, you don't want to be lied to when you're sitting there under the influence of Ayahuasca. And in fact, they're so bad that they have to pay airports to actually force feed it to people, which is a further indication that is, in fact, propaganda. 

Anyway, another topic entirely, but these are the kinds of things you become aware of when you do plant medicines. You see things from a totally different lens, and you're able to zoom out and have different interpretations of reality. That said, have fun if you're a CNN fan. Okay. 

Another nice feature at Rythmia is the availability of great body work and colonic treatments, which are available for an additional fee. And that was really nice. I mean, you do so much cleansing and purging when you do plant medicines that I found it just awesome to get. I think I probably had three colonics while I was at Rythmia. And when you're on the medicine and stuff's coming out of both ends of you, it's good to have not much in there to come out. Let's just say that. 

Now, out of my eight ceremonies, I've only actually vomited and purged in that way once, which was one of the nights at the recent Soltara Retreat, but many people do have that experience. So, the dieta and all of that is a big part of it. And I found the colonics and the massage just really helped me kind of handle those experiences, more easily.

Okay. Now, I'd say, all in all, both properties, back to the real estate element here, are beautiful and really allow for plenty of space to spend time alone and reflect. I have to say that the Maloca at Soltara though, which is a giant dome, like a geometric dome structure, really added a lot to the experience for me. It's just a very high vibe type of building, and it's just spectacular to experience while doing Ayahuasca. And the soundscape of the surrounding, wildlife, and the dogs, and farm animals, and the fact that you can hear the waves crashing in the Maloca during ceremony at Soltara was amazing. That said, the ceremony room at Rythmia is also beautiful while just a bit more of a traditional building.

Another nice touch at Rythmia was the availability of the golf cart, as I said, for those people that were unavailable to walk. I think maybe one night he did. I can't quite remember. But I do remember the walking was difficult, as I alluded to earlier. So, in terms of just the property layout, the little paths, and the flat ground were a bit easier.

Another plus for me at Rythmia was a giant fire pit, which was lit each night during ceremony. And when I needed to kind of shift my energy, I would walk outside, and sit by the fire and pray, or throw a stick in there, move the logs around. It was just this epic firepit. And I actually liked being able to leave the ceremony room to go outside and regroup, while it's required that you stay in the Maloca for the entire ceremony at Soltara, which I totally understand, since the property at Soltara sits atop of huge ravine, which could be potentially dangerous, honestly; whereas Rythmia is totally flat and harder to choke on. 

And at Soltara, once the official ceremonies over, you're free to roam about the main areas of the property and go up to that insanely beautiful sky deck, which overlooks the sea and those amazing sunrises. So, both awesome. But just in terms of the ceremony, traditions, and rules, I preferred having a little more freedom, but we'll get more to the ceremony traditions later.

On to food and drink. Due to the fact that Soltara follows the Shipibo Dieta tradition very closely, which I respect, the food very much followed those guidelines. And as a result, the food is purposefully bland without salt, fats, or sugar. And while the food at mealtimes is very healthy, totally organic, local, fresh, and abundant, I found it hard to feel full. But I guess that's what the dieta is all about. And so, as someone who's on kind of a high fat diet, high fat, moderate protein, I found it difficult to just eat a lot of carbs. You know what I mean? So, I was hungry a lot.

While both Rythmia and Soltara recommend similar dietas for some time before arriving for ceremony and during like no coffee, no sex, no drugs, red meat, pork, et cetera, I was definitely relieved that Rythmia, which was much looser on the food restrictions once I arrived. They actually had coffee available. I use that very sparingly. I wanted to follow the kind of recommended more traditional dieta, but there were a couple of days where I was just hurting and I did have half a cup of coffee. So, they don't tell you that it's going to be there 'cause they're like, "You can't drink coffee for two weeks," or whatever it is. Then, you get there and you're like, "Oh dope. If I need it, it's there."

It's also worth noting that there seem to be a lot more purging going on at Rythmia, which might have something to do with the fact that they're much more lax on their food rules. Maybe it was a different brew of the medicine that has a lot to do with how much people purge, et cetera, but I definitely noticed that there was more purging going on. And it might have had something to do with people were just filling up. 

There were also more kind of hearty snacks available at Rythmia, which I enjoyed. I didn't find that I was so hungry. And I personally just preferred the looser approach to food at Rythmia, although I very much respect that Soltara follows the ancient traditions closely. Like I get it. And so, I was fine with that. And I also learned my lesson at both places, eating food after ceremony, as I did get many strong flashbacks when I ignored the advice to go back to your room and don't eat anything, just have water until the following day. I just was so hungry. And at both of those centers, I just got completely thrown back into the medicine when I didn't necessarily want that to happen. I was ready to just kind of go to sleep. I thought I'd have a little snack. And poof, I just went back into the vortex there.

Next, let's get into the itinerary, the activities, the schedule. Rythmia offers a very full agenda of activities, talks. They have a really robust educational curriculum that was spot on. And it was really great for integrating a new mindset and their whole metaphysical approach via Michael Beckwith Companion Teachings, and all of the guest speakers, and what have you. And those were awesome. Some of the talks are mandatory, others are not. 

Despite the fact that all of the speakers and activities at Rythmia were topnotch, I did feel there that I was kind of always on the go, that I always had to be somewhere, but also you've got to keep in mind that I was recording a lot of interviews and doing all sorts of stuff when I was there too. So, if I went there as a regular civilian, I might not have found the schedule to be as grueling. So, at Rythmia, between the voluntary colonics, and spa treatments, and classes, I did long for a little more time just to chill out and rest, and I found that I was just very busy. 

Alternatively, Soltara allows you a grip of free time every day. You can nap, go to the beach, read journal, whatever. There were only a couple mandatory talks, which were also cool. They were very, helpful and supportive because they offered a way to get to know your fellow ceremony friends, and they talked a lot about integration. At Soltara, there's a lot of emphasis on that. So, I liked the kind of loose schedule at Soltara tar where you can just kinda hang out, and integrate, and relax, and get some sun; whereas I felt at Rythmia, there was just a really heavy curriculum. And as I said, that curriculum was awesome. 

And I think, too, it's worth saying, at Rythmia, I can see how that curriculum would be very supportive for people that were relatively new to spirituality, meditation, yoga, plant medicines, all of that because it really created a framework to act as a container for the medicine experiences; whereas at Soltara, not to say that it wouldn't be good for newbies because most of the people at Soltara had not had any plant medicine experience, but it was just kind of like you're more in charge of your own schedule at Soltara, and your processing and integration is really kind of more in solitude, and it's just a much more laid back experience.

I could say actually between the two are really great and simple explanation would be this, that Rythmia is a plant medicine resort and Soltara is a plant medicine retreat. And I think if you really just ponder that for a moment, you'll get the idea just in terms of the whole layout, and the curriculum, and all that. So, both awesome again.

Let's see. I think the classes and other supportive offerings at each place would be very useful to people. just depending on how much personal growth work you've done. You know, the Rythmia situation is fully immersive. It's this complete learning experience; whereas, Soltara just gives you a lot of space to do your own work and your own time, which might better support someone who's had more experience with plant medicines, and meditation, et cetera. But as I said, there were plenty of people there that had not had the experience and they did fine. You know, both places. 

In terms of my fellow attendees, prior experience with Ayahuasca, the majority of people at Soltara were doing it for the first time with only a couple of us having done it before, while many more people seem to have had prior experience at Rythmia. And that might be due to the fact that my Rythmia group was maybe 40 or 50 people; while Soltara limits their groups to 20, so everyone can fit in the Maloca and all of that kind of thing. 

The smaller group at Soltara would be, I think, much easier for some people to manage, but it didn't really have an impact on my preferences in terms of numbers. Like once I'm in ceremonial medicine, I couldn't care if there were 10 people in the room or a hundred, I'm doing my own thing, I'm in my own world talking to the entities and like it's a whole thing. So, I didn't really mind. 

I mean, actually, here's one thing actually on that note. I was thinking about this last night in preparation for this recording. I have to say, I'll take that back. I would say I would prefer a smaller group. [A], you have a chance to get to know people in your group better at Soltara. My 19 other participants, we got first name basis, we got to spend some one-on-one time, and I found I had a lot of space in the room, even though, as I said, I'm not really that aware of what's going on, but there wasn't competition for like getting the mattress you want. 

That was one thing that … I mean don't want to say it stressed me out, but every night of ceremony at Rythmia, I was like, "Oh, I got to get first in line because I want a spot against the wall or just somewhere where I felt really comfortable." A lot of the mattresses at Rythmia are in the center of a room. And so, I wouldn't have had a place to lean on. I would have had to prop myself up with pillows if I wanted to sit up. And one such night, I was in the middle at Rythmia. And it was fine. I had a great experience, but, actually, that night was one of my favorite nights, come to think of it, but I did like being against the wall. 

And in order to do that, you really have to kind of elbow people on your way into the beginning of ceremony at Rythmia and find your spot; whereas at Soltara, they like said, "Does anyone have any preference 'cause we're going to assign you a spot?" And my preference was, give me one that doesn't lean against an outlet, so I'm not getting fried by electrical fields all night. I'm the tinfoil hat guy in the ceremony. Yes, you know it's true. And they obliged and had a great EMF free spot leaning on the wall. And my neighbors weren't too close, which is nice too. If someone's purging, you don't get the sense that they're going to purge on your face, which is always a plus. 

So, I think that's kind of it on the itinerary, the activities, what goes on. Now, let's get into the ceremony and the traditions. But before I do that, I would just like to invite you, since this episode is ad-free, I'm just going to throw in my own here because why not? I'd like to invite you to go to lukestorey.com/store. That's called the Master Market, folks. And anything and everything that I've ever used that I think has any validity and purpose in terms of health, biohacking, detoxing, working on your hormones, sleep, whatever it is that you want to do to be healthy can be found there. And in most cases, you're going to also find a discount code for those products there. So, that's lukestorey.com/store.

Additionally, not only are you supporting your own health and getting some great discounts over there and not having to spend the time to research and vet all of these products and brands yourself, but you're also going to be supporting my work here at The Life Stylist Podcast and make it possible for me to continue to deliver high-quality content such as this to you. So, get to lukestorey.com/store. Thank you for that. 

Now, let's get back into the ceremony and traditions. Now, each center has a very different approach to ceremony, although they both typically offer four ceremonies in these seven-day packages. I think you can go for a longer period at Soltara and do more ceremonies, but they're kind of a weeklong with four nights of ceremony. Now, a Soltara follows the Peruvian Shipibo tradition to a T, even down to the two maestros or healers that lead the ceremonies. I mean, they are people that have been leading ceremony for many, many years. I think, I asked them, and they've said they couldn't even count. So, I'm guessing into the decades, these are not, people that are new to serving medicine. 

And all four nights at Soltara are exactly the same with the same two shamans leading, drinking the same exact batch of medicine, which was brewed by Shipibo people down in Peru, and then shipped to the center. At Soltara, there are two healers supported by the same two facilitators each night. So, you really know what to expect; whereas at Rythmia, by contrast, each night, there are a number of different shamans serving the medicine and facilitating ceremonies. There might be like four to six main healers with up to a dozen support staff on hand to help tend to you. 

At both places, I was made to feel completely safe and secure. I felt very much, held and watched over by the staff. There were just more of them at Rythmia, likely due to the fact that there were double number of attendees. And one thing I really liked at Soltara was that we had a really nice yin yoga session in the Maloca each night leading into ceremony. And this was a great way just to slow down, and become very present in my body, and to become completely relaxed with slow breathing and some light stretching. So, that just kind of sunk me in, so that when the healers come in and start singing the Ikaros, and you drink the medicine, you're just like … I don't know. I just felt really grounded, and calm, and still. 

And, also, while each night at Soltara follows the same flow and the sequence of events, at Rythmia, each night provides a completely different and novel experience. So, the brew, the ayahuasca brew at Rythmia is from a different country each night. And one night, the medicine had actually been cooked on site there on location. 

At Soltara, the soundscape is very different also. The only sound you hear all night are these just … I mean, you can't even describe them. While you've been here some Ikaros, actually, in between these tracks, the Ikaros are spiritual songs sung by the Shipibo healers going back, I don't know, probably be for recorded history. Who knows? Hundreds, if not thousands of years. There are no instruments played. There's no prerecorded music. Nada. This provided its own really powerful experience but, generally, it was much more chill, and the whole scene is just deeply introspective, and there's this stillness that pervades the Maloca at Soltara. It's pitch black. There's zero light. There's candles lit while they're serving the medicine at different points throughout the ceremony, but it's black. There's no sound except the Ikaros. And it's just more solemn. It's more of an internalized experience.

Whereas at any given moment at Rythmia, someone could be up front dancing, playing instruments, performing songs together. The Rythmia music is ever changing. It goes all night long. Countless people perform all varieties of live, traditional music, as well as the presence of almost nonstop recorded music during all other times in the ceremony. There are also moments of stillness and quiet, but overall, there's a very beautiful circus of sounds present from the very moment ceremony begins at Rythmia until the early A.M. hours when people tend to kind of wander back to their rooms, et cetera. 

So, I loved both, but very different. I really liked the stillness and silence at Soltara, but that could also be kind of unnerving to someone who has not spent a lot of time with themselves, so to speak, in meditation, et cetera. I'm quite comfortable in stillness, and quiet, and dark. And I really like to just chill out. And for example, one of my favorite things in the world is going into a sensory deprivation chamber, or a float tank, or float chamber. And to some people, they would lose their mind doing that because they are not used to really being that intimate with themselves, I guess you could say. So, I dug that part of Soltara. 

Alternatively, there the near constant motion and bells and whistles of the Rythmia experience could also be a bit overstimulating to someone who's not used to such a multisensory experience. So, again, there's not a good or bad, better or worse scenario here. It's really just up to personal preference. I really liked both styles of ceremony for different reasons. And I'd be happy to go back and do either one. I think because Rythmia were my first experiences, I really enjoyed like the bumping system they had. 

And I mean, at one point at Rythmia, and people that are very traditional would probably balk at this, but at one point there was this like spoken word music over some sort of quasi rock and roll. And I was like, "What the hell is this?" And then, eventually, I figured out it was The Doors. Like there's no Doors being played at Soltara. Man, I mean, they really, really respect and adhere to traditions.

That said, the night that they were playing The Doors and whatever other secular music at Rythmia, I had one of the most profound and healing experiences of my life. So, all of this stuff is really an inside job and just opened to preference. And I think it's just a matter of being really open minded and respecting the traditions and also being willing to take those traditions forward and perhaps present them in a way that is accessible to people from different cultures from around the world.

At Soltara, the moment the healers come sit directly in front of you and sing your personal Ikaro, man, that's just something I will cherish forever. It's just one of the holiest and most pure things you could ever hope to experience. And as I was researching some music for this episode, the Ikaro that is played in the interludes of, not this episode, I'm sorry, the Soltara recent episodes that dropped earlier this week where I had the interlude music - I was thinking that was this episode but it's not clearly - that is one of the Ikaros specifically that was sung in our ceremonies at Soltara. 

So, anytime I go back and hear that, it's just like, "Whoa!" It brings back the experience in a really profound way. And I just found their singing to be otherworldly and just so beautiful. When I'm lying there at Soltara during ceremony listening to our two healers sing, when you see the two healers in the daytime, you're like, "Wait, that's the person that was saying last night?" It is impossible to fathom that such beautiful, pure song could emit from these two people, husband and wife, couple in this case. Just otherworldly in every sense and beautiful and unique in its own way. 

So, another difference between the two ceremony styles is that once the Soltara ceremony officially ends and the healers exit the Maloca, there's no more sound or sight to be had. You're really on your own to sit and pray with the medicine. And at time, I found this somewhat alarming as it's common for the medicine to hit me personally kind of after the official ceremony has ended, and that happened a couple of times at Soltara, which you heard about if you listen to those episodes earlier this week. I mean, I'm thinking, "Okay, well, they're leaving. They've announced that it's the end of ceremony. So, I guess things are gonna wind down." And the next thing you know, I just get thrust into this interdimensional, galactic, ET space healing zone that's like stronger than at any time during the ceremony. So, I think that was something that was quite different. 

Whereas the ceremony at Rythmia, it pretty much goes on all night until everyone's done and the sun's up. There's never a dull moment in the Rythmia ceremony. And that, of course, depends on who's leading at Rythmia and what tradition they are following that particular night, because each night at Rythmia is very different; whereas, Soltara, it's always the same. The sameness at Soltara has its own kind of sweetness as each night progressively builds on the one before, and you're really able to sink into the ceremony with increasing comfort and familiarity because you've done it before. You're like, "Oh yeah, I kind of know what's happening now." You get the rhythm of it, so to speak. 

Another aspect worth noting are the smells. And this was huge for me. At Soltara, all you smell is the very pleasant odor of mapacho, the sacred tobacco smoked throughout by both the healers and the participants alike along with me. I love smoking those things. I'm glad they don't sell them at 7-Eleven in LA, or I'd have a real problem with the old mapacho by now and probably be doing it very unceremoniously. And then, you also have the faint smell of the Shipibo perfume, which is made of a traditional brew of certain plants, flowers, and essential oils, which smells divine because it's just completely organic and natural and plant-based.

While at Rythmia, on the other hand, each night, you are or, at least, I was completely overwhelmed with every sacred ceremonial smell imaginable. So, Palo Santo, mapacho, copious amounts of copal incense, a number of different brews of this perfume mixture. However, for some reason, I found the perfume smell at Rythmia to be completely nauseated. 

And, again, if you guys hear this, this is just me. Everyone else loves the smell of these jungle perfumes. Each night, I would literally be praying to God and to the medicine that they didn't come spray it near me. It just reminds me of some kind of cheap toxic perfume like you'd buy from the 99-cent store. I was assured at Rythmia that it was nontoxic and it wasn't chemicals, but whatever it was, I just disliked it to the point that I actually promised myself I'd bring one of those face masks, those little dust mask next time I attended to actually block the smell from invading my nostrils. Now, I forgot my mask when I went to Soltara, and I was really afraid, but their perfume didn't bother me, and it was much more subtle. So, other than that perfume, I actually love the variety of smells at Rythmia, as powerful as they were at times. But there are definitely a lot of strong smells going on in ceremony.

Another minor difference was the abundant use of hape or rapé, as they call it at Rythmia. It's a mixture of that very special tobacco and some herbs that's grounded to a fine powder and administered as a snuff by a shaman blowing it up your nose through this little kind of pipe, straw type dillio. And it's quite jarring to me personally as I've never been one to snort tobacco, but I do see its value and place in ceremony. But I personally prefer taking the tobacco via smoking mapacho at Soltara.

Now, let's take a moment to talk about the integration. While both places offered a lot of advice on how to integrate the experience afterward, I would say Soltara placed a bit more focus on this element by holding a lot of talks about it and providing a really useful workbook to help you document and integrate the experience before and after your time there. And I think different people will find various ways to integrate based on their lifestyle, the support system they have back home. 

If someone has experience with plant medicines and has people in their lives back home who have shared similar journeys, the integration would be a bit smoother, I would say, than someone that's new to all of this with less support when they return to their home. And this is why I elected to take some time to myself in Santa Teresa after the Soltara visit. I actually can't really imagine getting on an airplane the day after the retreat ends at this point. Taking the time in nature to reflect on that experience was critical for me in this particular situation.

That said, though, most people do just hop on a plane and head right home after both of these centers. So, I'm sure it's quite possible to achieve successful integration that way as well. And that's what I did when I went to Rythmia earlier last year, and I lived to tell the tale, and everything was fine, but I definitely prefer to take some time in the area and just really be still, and find some time to meditate and get to know the landscape, and spend a little bit of time before getting back on a plane, and coming back to a massive city like Los Angeles. 

I think if you lived in a more rural area and had a nice neighborhood and home to come back to that was relatively chill, that would be easier, but flying into LAX and dealing with all of that could be, a bit jarring, for myself personally. So, in my future travels, I will definitely be taking some time to integrate. But both centers definitely give you a lot of support in that way. I did not, by any means, mean to indicate that Rythmia doesn't pay attention to the integration because they definitely do. And there was a lot of support there, but it was just something that was heavily emphasized at Soltara. 

All right. So, summary. At the end of all this, I think each person just kind of has to follow their own heart when choosing a center like this. And between these two, I'm just going to say, in my opinion, you're in really good hands. I would not personally recommend just randomly doing plant medicines with people you don't know in a random sort of, "Well, I hope it all works out," sort of way. I mean, this is something you really want to take into careful consideration. These medicines are incredibly powerful and require the utmost respect by both the practitioners - you, me, and as participants. It's like everyone here at this party, although it's no party, it's actually a really bad term to use for it 'cause it's not like that at all, but I think everyone has to really have some discernment, and some prudence, and just respect about the way this all goes down.

So, whether or not you choose either one of these centers, or a different one, or something closer to home, keep in mind, Ayahuasca is technically illegal in the United States; whereas, in Costa Rica, there are laws that allow centers like this to exist above board completely. But I'd say do yourself a favor and do your own research and due diligence to make sure you're in good hands and that you're able to really feel safe and well looked after, especially if you are new to the world of plant medicines.

And with that, I would just say in closing that I wholeheartedly recommend both of these centers equally. I think based on the information I've given you in this episode, you probably have an idea of which appeals to you. And for some of you, that might be the financial piece. For some of you, you just might want a more solemn, chill retreat kind of environment that I think Soltara offers. And some of you might want a little more of the resort feel, and a busier schedule and more opportunities for different types of healings with the colonics and the spa kind of vibe that goes on at Rythmia. 

But I plan to go back to both myself. I think I'll probably go to Rythmia again next just because I want to mix it up. And then, perhaps, after that, I'd go back to Soltara. At least, as long as I'm called to keep exploring with these medicines. When I came back from my recent trip to Soltara, I set the intention that I wanted to explore some different medicines as well for myself and also to spread the good word about them in the world and relay my experiences to listeners and people that choose to consume the content that I create. 

And, also, because I'm in the process of the very early stages of writing a book, and I definitely want to cover different experiences with these medicines from the perspective of someone who doesn't drink or do recreational drugs. I have a little bit of a different experience, I think, than some people because I'm not running off to Burning Man like doing E in the sextant. You know what I'm saying? Like, I've a pretty monastic, really clean life. And so, experimenting with plant medicines and psychedelics, it's new to me in this context after 22 years of not doing anything like that. So, I'm going to include those experiences in my book as well as upcoming podcast.

That said, when I came back, as I explained in the Soltara episodes earlier this week, randomly or not, I ran into a friend and was invited to two peyote ceremonies, which I found to be very profound and very, very different. That was one weekend. I went for a one-nighter again a week later. And so, I did a total of three peyote ceremonies. And at the time of this recording, I've got on the books, a Bufo Toad, 5-MeO-DMT experience coming up soon. 

I'll also be doing a  journey a while in Austin, Texas. And I think there was something else too as part of my research and development, really. I'm not taking one for the team like, "I'm doing this for you, man." I'm very thoughtful about this. And when I choose to partake in any medicine, man, I really, really vet and research who it is that's doing the serving, the setting, and the venue. I want to really know what I'm getting myself into. especially as someone who has some degree of influence just by the sheer nature that I document on social media and on this podcast what I'm up to. And so, I want to make sure that I'm doing it right and in a safe and conscientious way, so that I can wholeheartedly with integrity, recommend that others partake in a similar fashion should they choose to.

And I'll give my disclaimer again, as we close this episode. I do not recommend this for everyone. I'm simply sharing my own experience. I found it to be profoundly transformative as someone who's done a lot of work on myself because I've needed it. And I've done so out of necessity, not out of valor or virtue. I had a really rough childhood. I had a rough early life, a lot of problems with addiction, and behavioral issues, and mental health issues, and codependency and everything screwed up that a person can have, apart from an eating disorder. 

Actually, I probably have had an eating disorder, but not in the form of bulimia or something more dramatic, but just kind of the orthorexia side and being like so paranoid about what I eat. So, I've had a lot of goddamn issues. That's the point. And I've done a lot of work from … well, I've talked about it on prior podcasts, but anything I come across that has meant to heal you or help you on any level, I just do it. And at the time of this recording right now, it's 3:31 PM on Sunday, February 9th. And the minute I click stop on this one, I'm headed out to a Joe Dispenza retreat in Indian Wells, California, where I'll be spending the next eight days or so working on more healing on the mat. So, just know if the plant medicines aren't for you for whatever reason, there are a lot of other ways to heal and grow spiritually. And I think the Joe Dispenza Retreats are one of the most powerful ways, from what I understand. And I will soon find out as I check into my hotel in about three hours from now.

So, thank you so much for joining me on this special bonus episode. I trusted that it was useful for those of you that were curious about the difference between these two plant medicine centers in Costa Rica. And again, I'd like to invite you to join my newsletter. You can find that at lukestorey.com/newsletter. That's lukestorey.com/newsletter or if you have a US phone, you can simply text the word "Lifestylist" to the number  44222. That's Lifestylist, all one word, to the number 44222. 

Once you sign up for my email list, all that's going to happen really is every Tuesday and sometimes Friday, I will send you an email with the complete show notes and the links from every single podcast episode to make it really easy for you to follow up on everything discussed in each interview, including this one. So, anything I talked about in this episode will be hyperlinked in the newsletter that went out today. So, if you're not on it, you wouldn't have gotten this one, but you'll definitely get the one that comes out next week, which is going to be with John Wineland. And we're going to be talking about next level healthy relationships, because that's something I'm really interested in learning more about and practicing. And thankfully, now, have an amazing woman in my life that I'm going to practice with.

And with that bit of gratitude and appreciation, I will sign out. Thank you so much for listening. And as always, don't forget to share this episode with someone you love. Peace.

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