GUIDED BY
MARCELA LOBOS & MONIKA NATARAJ
WITH GUEST FACILITATOR HELEN FOST
When the outer landscape has the power to favorably impact our inner world, it is worth considering this as a place of pilgrimage. For almost forty years combined, Monika and Marcela have handpicked destinations to facilitate deep transformation for groups and individuals.
This time our journey is to Eleusis, Delphi, and Delos, where we revive some of the most interesting and transformative mysteries of ancient Greece. Storytelling, ceremonies, sacred medicine, nature walks, and meditation are ingredients in our daily practices.
In Eleusis, we contemplate the inevitable decent to the underworld for renewal. In Delphi, we ask the deep questions of the soul. In Delos, we weave the wisdom of the past into the tapestry of a more enlightened future.
We follow the footsteps of the ancient seekers who searched for the meaning of life, inquired into the journey beyond death, and sought revelations from Gods in caves, oracles, and temples of Gnosis.
Imagine all of this draped over the portal of Equinox, amplifying the epic proportions of this adventure, indeed.
If you feel called to be part of this intimate group of mystical travelers, please see what we have crafted and conjured day-by-day for our Mystery, Myth and Muses pilgrimage.
DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
Sunday, September 17
We launch this once-in-a-lifetime journey with a late afternoon meditative circumambulation of the Acropolis. We invite the area’s sacredness and timelessness to dance within, as we crystallize our personal and collective “why” for this cherished odyssey.
After, we enjoy a group dinner at a picturesque restaurant with an inspiring view of the Acropolis. Our “arrival” day is a wonderful opportunity to meet your kindred spirit-travelers, share intentions and begin the sublime process of re-empowering the mystical rites of ancient Greece.
(*Lodging on own. The welcome dinner is included.)
Monday, September 18
Morning meeting in Athens for our private bus departure, symbolically retracing the pilgrimage parade to Eleusis, home of the archeological site where the Eleusinian Mysteries once took place. Here we delve into the cult of the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, who returned to the underworld every year at this autumnal time. Ponder the rituals, secrecy, and mythic meaning of the ceremonies of Eleusis and how this influenced the Greek psyche and beyond.
After lunch, we continue to Arachova and settle into our lodging for three nights. The early evening brings us to a sacred theatre activation and an embodied experience of the cycles of life, death, afterlife, and the central theme of celebratory dissolution in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
O/N Arachova
Tuesday, September 19
The morning starts at the Corycian Cave located on the southern slopes of Mount Parnassus. The cave is named for the nature spirits and the nymph Corycia, and is regarded as the primary place of worship of Pan, the god of the wild, and is considered a ritual home of Dionysus.
After feeling into the subtle vibrations of the cave, we hike approximately four hours on the ancient pilgrim’s trail to the sanctuary of Delphi. This is more than a scenic walk through forests and ravines: our procession symbolizes the dynamic between wilderness and civilization -- the transition of chaos to order! Every step morphs into a lived, integrated prayer and a weaving of past, present and future. (For those who choose not to hike, alternate transportation to Delphi will be arranged.)
Our efforts and sacrifices open the portals to more expansively discover the oracular myth and magic of Delphi and to “Know Thyself”.
Drive back to our lodging after Delphi. Evening sharing circle.
O/N Arachova
Wednesday, September 20
We take personal space in the morning for quiet contemplation and self-care.
Then, expanding upon our experiences in Eleusis and Delphi, we imbibe in the wisdom of plant elixirs. This is an immersive, meditative journey of transcendence and immanence. Alchemizing our lifetimes of insight, we expand in the realms of muses and magnificence, healing and wholeness, purification and prayer, truth and transformation, bounty and bliss.
O/N Arachova
Thursday, September 21
Retracing our path back to Athens by bus, we board the ferry to Mykonos. Upon arrival, we settle into our island hotel, where we spend three nights. After check-in, there is time to explore the charming shops and restaurants in town, the area of Little Venice, the iconic windmills, or to stroll along the beach and the crystalline waters. Bathe in beauty!
O/N Mykonos
Friday, September 22
Hailed as “the most sacred of all islands”, Delos is a treasure trove of temples, ruins, sanctuaries and breathtaking land- and seascapes. This uninhabited island and UNESCO World Heritage Site is reached with a short boat crossing from Mykonos. We continue our ritualized group processes and then embark on a vision quest of Gnosis. Delos is regarded as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, and holds a vibration of fascination and intrigue.
O/N Mykonos
Saturday, September 23
Equinox is 09:49 a.m. today. We sanctify this point of perfect balance when the Earth crosses the threshold of seasons. Equal parts light and dark, this is a time to face outward as well as turn inward, and a most auspicious moment to dive even deeper into the mind-shifting practices of ancient Greece. We celebrate Equinox in medicine space and prayer.
O/N Mykonos
Sunday, September 24
Like any good story, the ending comes … but as initiates of the great mystery, we honor all the new beginnings bound to unfurl. With full hearts and clear vision, we hold our closing circle and send wishes for blessed onward journeys.
(Guests return to Athens, continue their holiday on Mykonos or travel farther on to other islands.)
Important Note:
This immersion will fill fast as there are only 12 spaces total available for participants. Please inquire directly for additional registration and logistical details.
INVESTMENT:
$5,250 USD per person for double shared room, additional $500 USD for single room supplement.
For more information and registration please write to: contact@marcelalobos.com or monikadancer@yahoo.com
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
Hotels in Arachova and Mykonos from September 18 – 24. All tours, guides, admission fees and ceremonies, plus internal transportation for group activities and travel from the bus pick on the morning of September 18 thru the morning of September 24 (our conclusion at the hotel in Mykonos). For meals, we have opted for the greatest flexibility to honor participant’s varying food preferences, thus the meals included are the opening dinner on September 17 and breakfasts from September 19 – 24.
“Know thyself, and thou shalt know the universe and God.” ~Temple of Apollo at Delphi
MEET THE FACILITATORS
Marcela Lobos has been initiated in the healing and spiritual traditions of the Amazon and Andes. She is the author of Awakening Your Inner Shaman: A Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery through the Medicine Wheel and co-author of the Mystical Shaman Oracle deck.
Born and raised in Chile, Marcela graduated from a prestigious journalism program. In her mid-twenties, she pursued studies in yoga and wellness and in 2005 she graduated from The Four Wind Society's Light Body School. Soon she joined the teaching staff and since 2009, spearheads its Spanish programs.
Marcela hosts retreats at Los Lobos Sanctuary, the center she and her husband Alberto Villoldo built in the mountains of Chile. She travels internationally to teach shamanic wisdom and leads sacred journeys for people to awaken their own power and grace.
Monika Nataraj was born in India in 1966 and currently resides in Koh Phangan, Thailand. A life-long traveler and devotee of Shakti ~ Gaia ~ the Great Mystery, Monika enthusiatically explored more than 70 countries and all 7 continents. Her passion is sharing ritual space in the name of conscious (r)evolution.
Since 2001, Monika has been offering women’s sacred practices around the globe through workshops, retreats and teacher trainings. For 7 years, she co-led a yoga, tantra, meditation school in Dharamsala, India. She is a champion of Mystical Dance® and has studied, performed and taught Middle Eastern dance, Indian classical dance and Sufi whirling.
Monika holds degrees in Chemistry and Art History from Case Western Reserve University. She served in executive positions in corporate philanthropy and human resources strategy, as well as being a board of trustees member to various foundations in the US.
Helen Fost M.A. (Oxon.) studied English literature at Oxford University and taught in the University of Siena in Italy for ten years. She is a Fellow of the Association of Professional Astrologers International and has been a practicing astrologer for 25 years. Helen trained in NLP, life coaching, hypnotherapy, Time Therapy and Process Work. She then studied with the Four Winds and in 2005 graduated from the Light Body School. She also trained in meditation, altered states and healing with modern mystic Manuel Schoch for 20 years until his death in 2008.
She studied archetypal theatre with Enrique Pardo (Pantheatre) and in 2005 created her own experimental theatre company 'Temenos Theatre' to explore the roots of theatre in healing and soul retrieval. She has written and performed solo performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Avignon Festival, and in Italy. She teaches Sufi whirling, meditation and shamanic techniques for actors and lives between Greece and the UK.
