A ceremony into the hearth of our humanship — where we organize the house, meet the uncomfortable, and prepare the ground for what is ready to bloom.
Limited to 11 participants
Ritual is self-sacrificial, a striving for remembrance and integration. At the core of our human longings, there is a seed that must be explored through inner inquiry and relationship to the whole of life.
As life unfolds, threads are woven, and many are found undone or tangled. The path of pith aspiration requires resolving the ground level — and constantly returning to this soil. This act is ceremonial and devotional. It is the way to develop virtue: maturity, impeccability, congruency, honesty, purposefulness.
In this retreat, we dive into the raw materials of our humanness and organize our house. By meeting the uncomfortable, the decaying, and welcoming the refreshing and the fertile. The basis. The substrate for a Way Forth.
This is not a space to tend the obsolete or bypass the uncomfortable. Not another ripple of fragmented wellness models. Not a fast track onto a projection of our notions. Not a magical incantation or a bubbled echo chamber. Transfiguration occurs when the unclaimed is honored and the work is done against the complacency of the ego.
The promise is embedded in the genome, encoded in the depths of our yearning. Way Forth ceremonializes what is already latent in our essence, with the end goal of course-correcting, strengthening, and facilitating the process of bloom and spiritual maturing as a central lighthouse in our lives.
Sattvic juices and herbal infusions. Settling into the land. Setting intention.
The body is a mandala — a portal into the subtlest architectures of consciousness, a hologram carrying the memory of all waves' collapse. In this initiatory workshop, we dive into the inner workings of this magical vehicle and the possibilities it opens: to metabolize, alchemize, and access the cockpit of self-healing.
A sattvic meal grown and harvested from the land of Finca Cuarzo. Nourishment as practice.
Cultivating right relationship with life supersedes any other action. The study of the elements and plant allies is a rite of remembrance and impeccability that requires integration of all spectrums of life. We dive into that nearly-forgotten, instinctual study and relationship with plants, the lands, and the crude substances of life.
Herbal infusions, juices, a sattvic snack. Integration time.
Creation implies destruction, transformation implies nakedness. Ritual is the bridge that instinctually spurs from our guts to catalyze forth the latent majesty of our spirits. We awaken the artistry of gathering around fire, praying, and revealing our decree to life — celebrating, embedding, and allowing the ripening of our Way Forth.
"A thriving biodynamic farm with private access to Playa Cuarzo — a beach filled with naturally occurring quartz stones. The land itself is a participant, not a backdrop."
Every element of the day is grown from or held within this land. The food sourced from its soil. The closing ceremony held at its shore. Finca Cuarzo is not a venue — it is a living being whose elemental intelligence informs everything that unfolds within it.
Triple college dropout, artist at heart, a mystic with a yearning soul, and a human spirit with a commitment to service.
More than half my life has been spent in serious pain, serious search, serious studies, and incomparable blessings. It began at 14 with herbal medicine, at 15 with yoga and Eastern Medicine, at 16 with plant medicine in a traditional context. Near-instantly absorbed into that tradition with a great sense of dutifulness — this marked an initiation onto a path I am just now truly choosing.
From 16 to 24, my life was cataclysmic. Two years in Nepal at a Tibetan Medical College. A mental breakdown that went on for several years. The study of Tibetan Buddhism in search of sanity. Construction work in the U.S. Dropping out again. Following a wild old yogi. Witnessing everything collapse.
Fast forward, as I enter my third decade: I feel more human than ever. The intensity has brought more than acquired practices and raw life experiences — it has awakened innate abilities and forces that, in these times of crescent delusion, seem appropriate to share.
My craft is called Pathkeeping: the iterative commitment towards absolute resolve. The essence of this work is the refinement of our inner lives and our ways of relating with what we may call outer life. Everyone who tends to their path becomes an artist, and therefore a source of inspiration for others.
Apprenticeship under Taita Juan Chindoy, 2012–2021
Sowa Rigpa International College, Nepal; Sowa Rigpa Institute, USA
Tutelage under Lama Kharpo
Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Nepal/Online, 2021–2023
Rolf Naujokat (India); Mauricio Victorica (Nepal, Mexico)
Laban/Bartenieff · Bioenergetics · Human Garage Fascia
The following preparations are deeply encouraged in the days leading up to the retreat. They are acts of devotion — an offering to your own path forth. Undertaking even one is already a huge step into wholesome commitment.
Welcoming juices and herbal infusions upon arrival
Farm-to-table biodynamic lunch
Cacao and medicinal herbs throughout the day
Sattvic snack in the afternoon
Access to Playa Cuarzo for the closing ceremony
All three workshop sessions
Transport to and from Finca Cuarzo is not included. Participants are responsible for their own arrival.
These are not testimonials for The Substrate — this is the first one. These are words from people who have worked with José, sat with him, or been touched by his path.
You'll receive a confirmation with investment details and payment instructions within 24 hours.
Your expression of interest has been received. José will be in touch within 24 hours with details and next steps.
In the meantime — begin your preparation. You've already stepped onto the path.