The local time here in the cloud forest of Costa Rica is 11 a.m., and today is November 11, which means that in a little over 11 minutes, the full time and date will be 11:11:11 on 11/11-a cosmic alignment so conspicuous I can't help but feel like I've arrived in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. A resonant note of reassurance helps when you're contemplating a plateful of magic mushrooms in a circle of 10 mostly strangers and about to go on your first psychedelic journey, already far from home.
As for the place itself, I'm at Holos retreat center, part wellness destination, part incubator for plant medicine startups, a sensorial staging ground for a growing list of entrepreneurs who are building retreat programs around specific themes (leadership, in our case) for specific clientele, with the help of specific psychoactive medicines. The center is perched atop a high ridgeline that peers over the Diamante Valley. When you unzip your tent flaps in the morning, you see the 200-foot Nauyaca Waterfall, the tallest in Costa Rica, a mile away across the valley, a slow-motion strip of alabaster painted onto the cliffside. Breathtaking. Another type of reassurance, though not strictly necessary for the therapeutic process we're about to undergo.
In fact, the only reason I've come all this way is that I'd been disinvited from a psychedelic therapy retreat in upstate New York, hosted by a founder, because at least one of the guest entrepreneurs, politicians, athletes, corporate executives, and the like-had vetoed my presence. The vote had to be unanimous for me to attend, and it's easy to understand why.
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