This article is a submission for the Ayahuasca Awareness Program, an initiative by the Spirit Vine Center in Brazil. The program aims to help increase awareness of the potential of ayahuasca by sponsoring free ayahuasca retreats every month for people who feel the call for spiritual development with ayahuasca and other methods.

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How to Fill the Emptiness Inside Yourself?

kats1When we feel that something is missing, we start looking outside ourselves; we are looking for a partner to fill a void within ourselves; alcohol, overeating, may be working obsessively or may be go shopping as an escape or addicted to television.
Nothing wrong with these activities but none of them truly fulfill us.

We can feel unsatisfied, unfulfilled, a feeling that something is missing inside – a gap. And this gap we only can find inside ourselves.

Fulfillment, love and peace do not come from outside. The one thing that can fulfill the human heart  is Unconditional Love. No one can fill that gap other than yourself. Only you can make yourself whole.

Many of us think that loving ourselves means buying a new car, new gifts for yourself then we are loving ourselves. We are always changing our surroundings but may be finally we have to realize that isn’t working.

We can have fame, money, beauty, but still remain an empty vessel and still won`t be complete because our hearts will be yearning for something more.

We all will realize at some point of time that “I will not find personal happiness, absolute fulfillment, liberation , joy and satisfaction in my personal life till I start to love myself unconditionally”.

We need to truly slow down and drop from our heads into the depth and wholeness of our being. Every time we say “I love you” to our own hearts, our inner barriers, imprisonment dissolves and we find permanent peace, joy, fulfillment that has always been there.

“How do you become unconditionally loving?”

When you embrace your perfection in this very moment. You accept that there is nothing wrong with you – that you are perfect exactly as you are.
We all have parts of ourselves that we judge, things we think we did wrong. But we must embrace them all if we want to experience self love.

Think of self-love as a muscle. Right now it’s weak and it feels like a struggle, but if you use it every day then you will develop with a massive muscle.

kats2Some tips for self love:

It might feel stupid at first, but what`s really stupid is wandering around trying to get other people to fill that hole for you. You are the only one who can give it to yourself.

Shower yourself with love every day, pour total love and affection onto yourself.. The kind of love you’d shower on a beloved newborn baby.

This can be:

– Physical: hugging, stroking/massaging yourself lovingly

– Emotional: feeling a huge surge of love well up inside of you and sending it all over your body

– Mental: Speak to yourself, you can use affirmations: I love myself(attention to the heart), I am totally worthy of love, I value myself, etc…

Sometimes you`re going to feel like you are faking it. That’s OK, do it anyways, over and over again. It takes persistence, practice and consistency.

Author: Kate Cassidy

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Spirit Vine COVID-19 Update

Last Updated: 9th August 2022

We have established guidelines to ensure that we provide the maximum amount of safety to all participants who attend the retreats.

We are following the guidelines provided by the Brazilian government which you can find below and have added some necessary precautions suitable for the retreats.

In the Itacare area, where we are located, there are very low number of COVID cases.

We will update this section when new information is available.
Content listed here is subject to change.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Brazilian Government Recommendations for COVID-19

The current guidelines from the Brazilian government state that anyone who wants to enter Brazil must present a Covid vaccine certificate. You do not need to take any other vaccines to enter Brazil. These guidelines may change in the future.

Travelers must also fill out an affidavit 24 hours before departure acknowledging the health measures that must be complied with during the period that they will remain in the country. You can find the affidavit here.

Prior to leaving Brazil, depending on the requirements of your destination country, you may be required to present an RT-PCR or Antigen test. If you need a PCR test we recommend you to budget the required time of 6 hours to take the test and get the results at Sao Paulo Guarulhos airport. Antigen test can be taken in the town of Itacare near our center before you go to the airport or at the airport in Sao Paulo.

Please note that Itacare and Ilheus do not have RT-PCR testing centers.

Spirit Vine Guidelines for COVID-19

We require that vaccination must be done at least 2 months prior to drinking ayahuasca. This is for the safety of participants to make sure the vaccine doesn’t have any reaction with the ingestion of ayahuasca. 

We also require all visitors to provide a valid Covid-19 test prior to entering the Center. The Antigen test is only valid for 24 hours and PCR test is only valid for 72 hours. A valid negative test result must be sent by email prior to entering the Center.