The complete story
Aude speaks in the third sharing circle, after the retreat’s final ceremony. Her account first returns to what came before her arrival: experiences in other contexts, which she distinguishes from this retreat. Those are the memories she brought with her.
Aude arrives with considerable apprehension. She says she came reluctantly. In this brief account, she returns to a previous retreat that had been very difficult for her. She recalls a vision of her son's death during that earlier experience, alongside feelings of rejection and solitude.
On this ayahuasca retreat, Aude looks back in the third sharing circle on her decision to come despite strong apprehension. An earlier experience had left her with memories of very difficult moments. She returns carrying that memory, but also an intention she can name: forgiveness. What she shares with the group is one concrete step: being present with what she still wants to move through.
Shortly before coming, she had taken part in a ceremony elsewhere and then had to leave that place the following day. She says how hard it had been. In the same account, she connects that disappointment, the memory of her earlier stay, and her arrival here.
On this ayahuasca retreat, in the third sharing circle, Aude names what she has come seeking: forgiveness. She had known a difficult experience and arrives with apprehension. In the final sharing circle, she can express that intention in front of others and thank them. Her story remains open, but the direction she expresses is clear: she has come to forgive.
She does not yet give an account of what returning home will change in her life. Her words remain those of this moment: apprehension, coming despite it, an intention, and thanks.
