Seven Days in Rural Brazil

I recently went down to Sao Paulo, Brazil to partake in a retreat centered around medicine ceremonies and doing inner work.

People hear “Brazil trip” and are quick to assume I went on a nice vacation. In reality, it was pretty far from that. The place is beautiful, but inner work is far from relaxing.

One of the reasons I try to do this kind of trip every year is because most of the answers about ourselves are already there. But if you don’t spend time turning inward, it’s easy to drift into a version of yourself that’s just reacting to the outside world. These experiences tend to bring information about your authentic self back to the surface.

One reminder that came up this time was playfulness. That sounds simple, but as adults it’s something we forget surprisingly fast. Somewhere between work schedules, stress, and daily obligations, that part of us tends to disappear.

Another reminder had to do with strength. A lot of people dim their light because they’re uncomfortable with their own power. However, balance is important, and that comes from learning to stand in your strength without letting your ego take over. That line is thinner than most people think.

Something else that came up during the ceremonies was how we show up for other people.

When someone we care about is struggling, our instinct is usually to jump in and fix it. But sometimes that interrupts something very important. Everyone is in their own process. You can support someone, stand beside them, and still allow them to go through what they need to experience.

One of the more challenging moments came during the third ceremony. I found myself fighting what was happening instead of allowing it. Eventually I came to the realization that pausing isn’t defeat. Sometimes it’s wisdom.

These trips also remind me how overstimulated we’ve all become. When everything slows down, you start noticing the sensations that are always there but usually ignored, like touch, smell, and stillness. Things that don’t require anything except presence.

Seven days later I came back with a belief I’ve held for a long time.

Your inner game is the only game that matters. Everything else is just the environment around it.

-G aka the Guy Going Inward

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