Flagship Retreat · 6 Days · Colorado
Awaken
Six days at a 150-acre wooded retreat property in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. Three psilocybin ceremonies, a cohort of around ten, and a month of integration support that walks with you after you leave.
What is Awaken
What is the Awaken retreat?
Awaken is Ceremonia's flagship six-day psilocybin retreat, held at a private 150-acre wooded property about 40 minutes from downtown Denver in the Colorado Rockies foothills. Cohorts are capped at around ten participants, small enough that every person gets real attention from facilitation, large enough that the group becomes its own source of support. Our facilitators include Austin Mao, Tamara Golden and Jo Ann Forristal, who each hold a Colorado natural medicine facilitator license. Our ceremonies are held under RFRA. Each retreat includes three full psilocybin ceremonies, preparation sessions, integration days between ceremonies, and a four-week post-retreat integration arc with group circles and 1:1 calls. Awaken is designed for people who are ready to do real inner work inside a ceremonial container, not a clinical trial, not a festival, not a solo experience. The setting, the cohort design, the facilitator-to-participant ratio, and the integration support are all built around what the research shows makes psychedelic-assisted work translate into lasting change.
Read the full safety and screening criteriaWho this is for
You might be a fit if...
- You have done years of therapy and feel stuck below the surface
- You are a leader, founder, or creative carrying invisible weight
- You want a safe, ceremonial container, not a clinical trial
- You are not in active crisis but ready to do real work
- You have heard about psychedelics for a decade and finally feel called
- You want to be seen and held in a small, high-trust group
The retreat arc
Six days, held
- Day 1
Arrival (Tuesday)
Arrive from 2pm. Opening relational and somatic practices, dinner together, and an evening of breathwork.
- Day 2
First Ceremony
Morning movement and workshops, time to rest, then the first ceremony beginning at 4pm.
- Day 3
Second Ceremony
Integration circles and time to rest, then the second ceremony beginning at 4pm.
- Day 4
Integration Day
A full day of integration with relational workshops. No ceremony today.
- Day 5
Third Ceremony
A daytime ceremony beginning at 9am, followed by singing and an evening integration circle.
- Day 6
Closing (Sunday)
Closing workshops and a closing ceremony. Departures around 2pm.
What is included
Everything you need is here
6 days lodging at the property
Private and shared room options available
All meals
Chef-prepared, organic, dietary-restriction friendly
3 psilocybin ceremonies (RFRA framework)
Facilitated by Austin Mao, Tamara Golden and Jo Ann Forristal, each a Colorado natural medicine facilitator licensee
2 facilitators on property at all times
Ratio of 1 facilitator per 5 participants
On-call MD and clinician support
Medical oversight throughout the retreat
1 month post-retreat integration support
Weekly group circles and one 1:1 session with your facilitator
Lifetime alumni community access
Integration circles, peer connection, and future cohort priority
Round-trip transport from DEN airport
Group shuttle both ways included
The science
What the research shows
Two landmark studies changed the conversation. Carhart-Harris and colleagues published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2021) found that a single high-dose psilocybin session paired with psychological support produced remission rates in treatment-resistant depression that antidepressants took months to approach. Davis and colleagues published in JAMA Psychiatry (2021) found similar signal for anxiety and depression in a broadly healthy population. Neither study was about retreat settings specifically. Both were about what psilocybin does when held inside a structured, supported psychological container.
The Awaken retreat is built around the same principle: the medicine opens a window; the preparation, facilitation, and integration arc determine whether anything lasting happens inside it. We do not claim clinical outcomes. We do take the research seriously enough to build every part of the program around what it shows works.
Mechanism
How psilocybin opens a window
A simplified view of what the research suggests happens in the brain during and after a ceremony.
Step 1
5-HT2A binding
Psilocin binds serotonin 2A receptors on cortical neurons.
Step 2
Default mode network shifts
The self-referential DMN reduces its rigid control patterns.
Step 3
Brain-network changes
In patients, fMRI measured increased brain-network integration about three weeks later.
Step 4
Integration
Practice and support during this window encode lasting change.
Mechanism is illustrative; outcomes vary and are not guaranteed. See the research library for primary sources.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
Will I be in an altered state the whole retreat?
No. The psilocybin ceremonies each run five to six hours. The rest of the retreat is preparation, rest, integration, and group work in ordinary consciousness. Most participants find the non-ceremony time as important as the ceremonies themselves.What if I have a difficult experience during ceremony?
Difficult experiences are part of the range, not a sign something went wrong. Two trained facilitators are present throughout every ceremony. The container is designed to hold difficulty without pushing past it or forcing resolution. We use grounding techniques, somatic anchors, and facilitator presence to work with what arises rather than against it. The integration days afterward exist specifically to process what was hard.How are the ceremonies held?
Our facilitators include Austin Mao, Tamara Golden and Jo Ann Forristal, who each hold a Colorado natural medicine facilitator license. Our ceremonies are held under RFRA.What about medications I am taking?
Medications are reviewed in detail during the 60-minute clinical intake call. Some antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and cardiovascular medications require case-by-case review. Never stop or change a medication without your prescriber; we'll go through your medications during screening. Lithium and MAOIs are not compatible with psilocybin.What if I am not religious or spiritual?
Awaken is held inside a 508(c)(1)(a) religious framework. Participation does not require any particular belief system. The ceremonial framing is about intention and container, not doctrine. Many participants describe themselves as secular, and find the structure useful rather than exclusionary.Can I bring a partner or a friend?
Cohorts are designed as intentional containers, not social experiences. Bringing someone you know can shift the group dynamic in ways that affect the whole cohort. If you and a partner are both interested, the right conversation is the intake call, we can help you think through whether attending the same cohort serves you both or whether separate cohorts make more sense.What does the one-month integration program look like?
A month of structured support: weekly group integration circles, one 1:1 session with your facilitator, daily journaling prompts for the first two weeks, and access to the alumni community for ongoing connection. After the first month, you have lifelong access to alumni integration circles. Many participants also connect with an outside therapist who specializes in psychedelic integration during this period.How is Awaken different from a therapy retreat?
Awaken is a ceremonial model, not a medical model. That means the container is built around intention, preparation, and witnessed experience rather than diagnosis and treatment protocol. Ceremonia does not diagnose or treat any condition. The psilocybin facilitation is held inside a ceremonial and spiritual framework. Participants who want a more medically structured experience may find a therapy retreat model a better fit. We can help you think through which approach matches where you are.
Related reading
Go deeper on the science and the medicine
What is psilocybin
Plant medicine reference page on psilocybin's history, chemistry, and ceremonial use.
Psilocybin for depression: the research
Carhart-Harris (NEJM 2021) and follow-up trials on treatment-resistant depression.
Psilocybin for anxiety: the research
Davis (JAMA Psychiatry 2021) and related anxiety-spectrum studies.
Neuroplasticity and the window
How psilocybin opens a multi-week window where integration sticks.
Ayahuasca, compared
How ayahuasca's pharmacology and ceremonial container differ from psilocybin.
Begin
Ready to find out if Awaken is right for you?
The readiness quiz takes five minutes and gives you an honest picture of fit. Or watch the masterclass first.