The Wake Circle weekend together with 21 day journey that followed, has been a life changing experience. My wife had encouraged me many times to seek emotional support as she was aware I was struggling . Somehow when both my daughter and son recommended the same, ,it really made me think more seriously about the need for this. I had thought what I was experiencing was normal, given the work-related strain and a particularly rough past 2 years. I was aware I was stressed and on edge, but thought I had done a good job of hiding this from my family. I started to look at options and my son suggested I consider an Ayahuasca ceremony, and gave me some online references . These got me interested, but as a 56-year-old who is set in my ways and conservative, this seemed very much out of my comfort zone. I said as much to my son and he suggested I meet with Heinrich, who gained my confidence and I decided to go ahead with the journey . I am so thankful for having taken the step. Unknown to me , I had buried layer upon layer of painful memories. It was tough and hard to face these but once I had worked through this stage, I felt liberated and as if a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The ceremony also revealed how, by suppressing hurtful emotions I was doing the same with happy emotions .I was amazed at how Ayahuasca helped reveal this and other issues so vividly. This has resulted a much greater awareness of inner emotions and triggers, as well as being conscious of my own patterns of behaviour. I am a private person and have difficulty experiencing my emotions ,so I was apprehensive about the process of going through this process with a group of strangers. I now see the power of shared experiences and hearing others articulate what they are dealing with, helped me put my emotions in words and become more comfortable to open up. I might have started the weekend participating with others as strangers, but came out feeling a strong common bond and real sense of unity. Hymnj’s unwavering support and gentle manner created a safe space throughout the process, with his wisdom, allowing me to discover the answers. I will always be thankful to him and others in the Wake Circle team who held space during the ceremony, as well to my family for the encouraging role they played throughout.