Our Future Is Ancient

Our Future Is Ancient runs Soul Medicine, a ceremonial psilocybin retreat at Haliksai, a family-run eco healing centre in the beachfront jungle outside San Pancho in Nayarit, Mexico. The retreat lasts eight days and seven nights, for at most 12 guests.

Approach

The founder and lead facilitator, Pia Sewelies, is a yoga and somatic movement teacher who trained in Compassionate Inquiry with Gabor Maté and spent a decade learning from Indigenous teachers. She leads with Alberto Herrera, a kambo practitioner, Reiki master and Tantra yoga teacher who carries the chanupa and temazcal traditions of the Fuego Sagrado de Itzachilatlan. The week holds two psilocybin ceremonies and a third on the beach, all around a sacred fire with live medicine music, plus two temazcal rituals, a kambo ceremony and a cacao ceremony. Between them come breathwork, sound healing, ecstatic dance, somatic movement, meditation and integration work, and meals are plant-based.

Practical details

A single bed in a shared jungle cabin with its own bathroom costs $3,200, and a private glamping tent $3,600, with $2,000 for a second person. A $600 deposit secures a place, payment plans and community prices are offered, and people on low incomes or from underrepresented groups can apply for a scholarship. A shuttle leaves Puerto Vallarta airport, about an hour and a half away, at 1pm on arrival day.

Care and safety

After a free discovery call and the deposit, each participant has a personal call to check suitability. A psychiatrist consults for the team and takes part in check-in calls, especially for applicants in medical treatment, all staff are trained in first aid, and medical help is available in San Pancho. Preparation runs through a five-part online workshop series, and integration continues online after the retreat.