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Exactly one year ago

Exactly one year ago, I was at Anahata Ayahuasca Retreat Centre in Pisac, Sacred Valley of Peru. I was there for my own reasons, but once again, my journey had led me to someone who had been pushed into a corner by life and forced to make a change.

During my trip to Peru ( July to October 2022), I met several people who had taken the Giant leap to change their lives.

This blog post is about how I met Michael Love, the founder of Anahata Ayahuasca Retreat Center. His remarkable life story touched me so much that I felt a deep need to share his story with those who find their way to my blog or those wanting to sit with Mamma Ayahuasca.  

That is how it all started: 

“What will it show me? Me who feels everything so intensely already. Will I lose my mind?” My worries about my own vulnerability had held me back for a long time, but medicine had begun calling to me.

One night I asked for guidance through a dream before falling asleep.  “I dreamt that I was forced to move to a new place, which I disliked, only to discover that I was in a rural location with lots of beautiful nature around. Maybe I could make the best of it, and take advantage of new opportunities?” Waking up, I was no longer in doubt. I would face my fear but wanted to take medicine with the right people. Michael had been recommended to me by Rafael. He was a Peruvian guide and the reason I travelled to Peru and the Sacred Valley during my first trip to South America in 2018. If you missed my interview with Rafael, “Complementary science of Life,” you can read it here.

Medicine from heart to heart

Rafael’s recommendation led me to Anahatas’s website, “Medicine from the heart to heart,” and from there, onto Michael Love—the man who had started the centre. 

I felt a heart connection in conversation with Michael, and I signed myself up for a week-long Ayahuasca retreat.

“You go in individually and tell Maestro Roberto your intention for the ceremony,” says Michael. He is dressed in white and looks like Jesus himself. 

“Ayahuasca is a plant medicine with feminine energy. It is wise and will show you what you need to see,” people responded when I asked about their experiences with Mamma A. 

During my stay at the Anahata Ayahuasca retreat center, I heard a bit of Michael’s life story, the winding roads that had led him to the jungle in Peru in hope of healing. 

Living simply in the jungle and working with the plant Medicine he faced death and so realized that he did not want to die. After his stay in the jungle he ended up in the Sacred Valley of Peru volunteering for a plant medicine Center. He wanted to learn more about plant medicine, and continue the healing work on himself, but life was still bumpy, and things were not flowing easily.  After a period of movement in different directions he was encouraged to open his own center and lead ceremonies. 

“I was not sure if I could do that and felt humble for such a task, but after a time of pondering I went all in and started the center with great help from my community and fundraising,” he told me. 

Today he runs the Center with his partner, Sami, whom he also met in the Sacred Valley of Peru. They are expecting their second child. You can visit their site here:

Anahata Ayahuasca retreat centre 

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The interview with Michael Love is number 4 in my series of people who have stepped in to create change when life has become stagnant and unfulfilling. 

If you missed my first interview in this series, you can watch it here. All I could do was dream & Amazonas in Darkness and light & Santuario de la Verónica

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You can also visit my website and book an online coaching, sound or body movement therapy session with me. If you have any questions about my services, please do not hesitate to email me. And I promise you; I will not spam your inbox with endless emails. 

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