Shipibo culture
indigenous nation of the peruvian amazon
The Shipibo people are an Indigenous nation of the Peruvian Amazon with a long-standing relationship to plants, sound, and healing practices passed down through generations.
Central to Shipibo culture is the understanding that healing is relational. Plants are approached as teachers, not tools, and knowledge is transmitted through direct experience, apprenticeship, and oral tradition rather than written doctrine. Music, particularly sacred songs known as icaros, plays a vital role in guiding and stabilizing ceremonial spaces.
Shipibo designs, often seen in textiles and art, reflect patterns understood as energetic maps of harmony, balance, and protection. These designs are not decorative alone. They represent a worldview in which health, environment, and community are deeply interconnected.
Lakeborn honors this culture by working in relationship with traditional practitioners and by approaching ceremony with humility, discipline, and respect for lineage.
Ceremonies
We honor the Shipibo tradition, integrating sacred music, a meditative approach, and structured practices that support healing. Each ceremony is held with care and intention, allowing space for presence and integration.
Healing Journeys
Our facilitators are trained and experienced, guiding participants through the journey with compassion and expertise. This ensures a safe, respectful, and sustainable approach to healing with plant medicine.
Guided Experiences
Each retreat invites participants into a space for discovery and personal growth. We emphasize emotional and physical healing, allowing for meaningful shifts in one's life and perspective.
The Medicines
The Brewed Relationship
When brewed together, ayahuasca and chacruna form a synergistic relationship that makes the experience possible. The MAO-inhibiting properties of the ayahuasca vine allow the DMT in chacruna to become orally active, creating a prolonged and intentional experience rather than a brief or overwhelming one. In traditional frameworks, this partnership is often described as the vine providing structure and protection, while the leaves offer insight and vision. Together, they create a balanced process that emphasizes not only perception, but integration, meaning-making, and personal responsibility.
Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi)
Ayahuasca refers to the woody vine Banisteriopsis caapi, which has been used for centuries by Indigenous cultures of the Amazon basin. The vine contains naturally occurring beta-carbolines, including harmine and harmaline, which act as MAO inhibitors. Traditionally, ayahuasca is understood not as a hallucinogen on its own, but as a foundational plant that supports introspection, emotional processing, and nervous system regulation. Many traditions regard the vine as the primary teacher of the brew, associated with grounding, clarity, and the ability to navigate difficult inner terrain with steadiness and resilience.
Chacruna (Psychotria viridis)
Chacruna is a leafy shrub native to the Amazon rainforest, most commonly used alongside the ayahuasca vine. The leaves of chacruna contain DMT, a naturally occurring compound found throughout nature and even in trace amounts in the human body. In traditional contexts, chacruna is often described as bringing vision, imagery, and access to symbolic or emotional material. On its own, DMT is not orally active, which is why chacruna is traditionally prepared only in combination with ayahuasca vine.
shipibo influence
tradition
Lakeborn ceremonies are informed by traditional Shipibo approaches to plant medicine, which emphasize structure, sound, and energetic containment rather than spectacle or excess.
MUSIC
Music, particularly sacred songs known as "icaros", plays a vital role in guiding and stabilizing ceremonial spaces.
design
Shipibo designs, often seen in textiles and art, reflect patterns understood as energetic maps of harmony, balance, and protection.
Keep it small, keep it REAL
We intentionally keep groups small. In traditional contexts, smaller groups allow for greater safety, attentiveness, and responsiveness.
This approach makes it possible to maintain clear energetic boundaries, offer individualized support, and reduce the risks that come with overcrowded or rushed ceremonial environments.
Smaller groups are not about exclusivity. They are about care and responsibility.
