CEREMONY OF LIFE

A TEA, nature AND painting RETREAT

Santa Marta, Colombia

— Feb 17-23, 2024 —

You’re invited to gather in vibrant community, deepen with Tea as a plant medicine & weave your dreams into life.

In this weeklong journey in Nature, you’ll immerse yourself in ritual, ceremony and in deep, nourishing sisterhood.

Come with your curiosities of how to live with more meaning and purpose — where ritual & deep connection are a way of life — and leave with your feet rooted deeply in the Earth, your heart open and lifted high to the heavens, and a deeper alignment to your true self.

Two dozen women gathered at a quiet sanctuary in nature, weaving new ways…

We greet the Sun together.

We drink Tea together.

We weave our dreams together.

We dance, laugh & cry together.

We experience a new way together.

When we leave, we will not only remember that anything is possible, but be living into the most beautiful vision for our lives. Weaving a new way, together. Whether you hear the whispers or not, this entire world is alive & talking to you.

Yet in this chaotic, busy world we can barely hear the messages from Nature over the nonstop notifications. We barely have time to hear the whispers of our own hearts, let alone the songs of life whirling around us.

The space to slow down and listen were our ritual spaces…

Intentional time to connect with our Relations and remember our place in the sacred web of Life. Sacred space to receive instructions on life, love & purpose.

We didn’t read books for answers,

We sat in ritual and allowed the path to reveal itself.

We didn’t pay others to be heard,

We sat around a sacred Fire and supported one another.

We didn’t look at art behind velvet ropes,

We weaved, beaded, painted, sculpted, created.

This retreat is about living another way…

TEA

There’s a magic when you start working with Tea...

She is the most drunk beverage in the world, yet very few of us have ever turned back to this humble little leaf and asked what she has to share with us.

When we sit with this precious plant medicine, we begin to see the beauty within & without.

We experience a deep love for self, even the hard parts.

We start to see the life in the world around us, even the things we never noticed before.

We start to understand that there is beauty in everything and that our life is a profound blessing.

She opens a portal to a deeper experience of life than what is possible in our regular routine…

And when we sit with Tea in community, all of this is compounded by our love for one another.

We are each a mirror to the others in this ceremony and the power of community grows exponentially when we share our experience.

Painting

During our time together, we'll explore painting as a bridge to your intuition, contemplation, and deeper self trust.

Painting is a conversation, a dance, a call and response. 

We'll deepen our ways of seeing and expressing, all while learning from what wants to emerge through us in the language of color, symbol, and our own unique mark making.

In community, we will open up to the flow of play, curiosity, and create talismans to anchor in our dreams, desires, and intentions. With pieces to take home, and tools to take with you in any creative practice.

ALLISON STRICKLAND

will be guiding us through this transformational painting journey. She is a transdisciplinary artist exploring the bridge between Spiritual receptivity and Material making, and how they are in constant, inseparable play. Her meditative abstract paintings are informed by contemplative practices, color psychology, mysticism, emotion, and indigenous wisdom. Her paintings continue the conversation of multi-dimensional mystic artists, traditional craftsmanship, and dharma art. Her work is held in private collections across the US. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Our retreat is taking place in beautiful Santa Marta, Colombia, located on the northern coast of the country, at an eco-resort called Gitana del Mar.

The resort lies at the foothills of the impressive and magical Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the world’s highest Coastal Mountain Range. This area is referred to as the Heart of the World.

Where we're going

Gitana del Mar Boutique Beach Resort is located on Caribbean Coast of Colombia.

As a Venezuelan, I am super excited to be able to offer this retreat so close to my ancestral lands.

What we'll be doing

ceremony, creativity & adventure

Here are some of the things on our itinerary:

  • Drink incredible Teas together in ceremony

  • Spend Sacred Mornings with Mariana, learning how to start your day honoring Life

  • Gather in Circle together to share our hearts & deepen our community connections

  • Participate in a local, cleansing fire ceremony

  • Paint our dreams, desires & prayers into a beautiful painting for your home altar space

  • Travel to a local indigenous village (these mountains are home to beautiful tribes that are still living in their pre-Hispanic ways)

  • Hike & experience the beautiful Nature of the Sierra Nevada Mountains

  • Enjoy the beautiful beach and Caribbean Sea

  • Eat delicious, local, nourishing meals together (the food is ridiculously good!!!!)

  • Have time to nourish yourself, relax, rest, and commune

  • If you have taken Serving Love you will have the opportunity to practice serving small groups.

  • If you have taken Start Your Own Tea Practice you can volunteer to assist Mariana or one of the other servers in their Tea ceremonies

  • You will also have time & space to ask questions and receive feedback on your Tea practice

Sample Day

MORNING

Tea Ceremony / Morning Practice

Breakfast

Painting workshop

MIDDAY/AFTERNOON

​Lunch

​Free Time for nature, spa & community

​Group Tea Ceremony

EVENING

Dinner Feast

Sacred Fire on the beach

your guide

Hi! I’m Mariana

your guide on this journey home to Nature

I am a woman who sees life where others don't. For the past two years I've guided hundreds of women back to their hearts & the heart of the Earth through courses on Tea, ceremony & ritual, and reconnecting to Nature. My community is full of amazing women who are making profound shifts in their lives by saying yes to the natural cycles of this planet.

I live in mountains of Boulder, CO on ten wild, forested acres. I am committed to the remembering of how to care for and steward all life on this planet.

I am here to be a good relative of every being seen & unseen and am honored to guide you on your own path to your Humanity.

As for Tea, she is my beautiful guide & gateway back to the Natural world. Tea is a gentle, yet powerful teacher and Feminine force on this planet. When we sit with her, she reconnects us to self, community & Nature. If you haven't sat with Tea yet, it's all good... just show up and allow her to teach you through the Mystery of Life.

ACCOMMODATIONS & PRICING

Gitana del Mar is an absolutely stunning eco-resort on the ocean. All the rooms are gorgeous and restful. In an effort to deconstruct the capitalist notion that if you have more, you get more, accommodations are going to be selected intuitively and NOT based on how much money you spend.

See below for retreat pricing that is based on financial accessibility to select which tier suits you.

PAY IT FORWARD

$3,500 USD (or five payments of $720)

Choose this price if you have money in savings, you are employed or do not need to work, you own a home or vehicle, you can comfortably provide for your basic needs and then some, your money has come from earth extractive practices or jobs, you can buy new things, you can afford to take vacation, you have health insurance, you do not stress about money on a regular basis, or if you just feel called & excited to share your abundance with those who are not as financially fortunate.

FULL PRICE

$3,000 USD (or 5 payments of $620)

Choose this price if you are employed, you have some debt or stress about money, but can still meet your basic needs, your spending includes earth extractive practices, you buy things that you don't need, you own or lease a car, have access to health care, you have some savings, you have the ability to be spontaneous with your money from time to time, you don't have mouths to feed or can comfortably support those dependent on you, you feel good paying full price for this offering knowing that it is an investment in the Earth & her wellbeing.

SOLIDARITY

$2,500 USD (or 5 payments of $520)

Choose this price if you carry debt that you struggle to pay off, are an artist or an activist, work on behalf of planet Earth & her beings, do nonprofit or humanitarian work, other humans are dependent on you and you worry to meet their or your basic needs, you have no access to savings or have little expendable income, you do not have healthcare, you are regularly stressed about money, your housing situation is unstable, you are unemployed.

We are so happy to support you, my love.

FAQs

  • Transportation can be arranged with Gitana del Mar from 3 different airports. You can fly into either Santa Marta (about 1 hour away), Barranquilla (2.5 hours away) or Cartagena (5 hours away). Depending on which airport you choose and how many people are in each car, this can cost anywhere from $10-$100 USD each way. I highly recommend flying into Santa Marta directly.

  • This retreat includes:

    - 7 days and 6 nights at Gitana del Mar eco-resort

    - A beautiful welcome gift from Mariana (including a custom Tea bowl, made just for this retreat)

    - Sacred Morning practices with Mariana during the week

    - All teaching, materials & workshops to make your own pair of beaded earrings

    - 3 nourishing meals a day and unlimited water, coffee & tea during the day

    - Group activities including hiking, a visit to an indigenous village & ceremony (final details will be shared closer to the retreat date and only the activities on the schedule are included)

    - Daily Tea ceremonies, workshops & guidance with Mariana

    - Use of the resort amenities including the pool, beach, yoga shala, library & other common areas

  • This retreat does NOT include:

    - Transportation to and from Gitana del Mar, as well as additional stays before or after the retreat

    - Additional tours or excursions you want to take

    - Spa treatments

    - Additional food & drinks outside of the 3 daily meals

  • Once you sign up for this retreat you are committed to the spot. You can either pay up front, or pay in a 5-month payment plan that has a $100 additional fee. Depending on your financial situation, this retreat costs $2500-$3500 USD.

    I highly recommend you get insurance for this retreat (and any international travel during COVID times) so that you can be reimbursed if you get sick before and cannot come. If you cannot attend because you get COVID, you can either transfer your fee to a future retreat with Mariana within 1 year or you can have another woman take your spot. If Mariana has to cancel the retreat for any reason, your retreat fee will be transferred to a future retreat.

  • This is a retreat for Nature-lovin’, ritual-seekin’ wild women. If that sounds like you, you are so welcome.

    You do NOT need to have a Tea practice to partake in this retreat.

  • No, I only teach ritual in Start Your Own Tea Practice or Serving Love. There will be two SYOTP’s before this retreat, so if you want to dive into Tea beforehand, you’ll have the chance! For those of you who have already taken one of those courses, I’m happy to share feedback & answer questions on your practice!

  • In terms of what to expect... I want you to think back to how you felt before the last time you did something that changed your life. Think about how you didn’t expect it and then how you felt afterwards and the awe & wonder you didn't know was coming for you. That is what you can expect here. A deepening that is just as transformative, heart-melting & special as that moment.

  • First and foremost I'm so excited to meet you in person and serve you Tea. I have recently started serving public Tea ceremonies again and it has been so fulfilling and nourishing to all those present. Tea ceremony is my deepest teacher & my deepest offering, so I am excited for you to experience it. I’m also so crazy excited to be on these sacred lands in Colombia…there is some serious magic waiting for us there!

    Last year this retreat was incredible and taught my soul so much about the Old Ways of living connected to the Earth. When we got there I knew that this is something I will be offering for decades to come, it’s THAT special. I cannot wait to see what next year has to offer us.