Way Forth: The Substrate — May 16, 2026
A one-day immersive ceremony · Guanacaste, Costa Rica

WAY FORTH

The Retreat
Part One: The Substrate

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.

May 16, 2026 · Finca Cuarzo · Guanacaste, Costa Rica

When things are ready to bloom, it is inevitable.

In our current times, a cauldronous change of paradigm is taking place. Many of us find ourselves at a pivotal point, at the threshold of a marvelous unfolding.

Integration and housekeeping are crucial to deepen this remembrance. Spaces where we can self-actualize, reset and strengthen become necessary. This is the core aim of this retreat. We dive into the raw materials of our humanness and organize our house, meeting the uncomfortable, the decaying, and welcoming the refreshing and the fertile. The basis. The substrate for a Way Forth.

A ceremony in three movements.

8:45 AM

Arrival & Opening

Sattvic juices and herbal infusions. Settling into the land. Setting intention.

9:30 – 12:30

Body Intelligence & Healing Mechanics

The body is a mandala, a portal into the subtlest architectures of consciousness, a hologram carrying the memory of all waves' collapse. We dive into the inner workings of this magical vehicle: to metabolize, alchemize, and access the cockpit of self-healing.

Familiarizing with its language is a journey towards empowerment and the capacity to access the cockpit of self-healing. In this initiatory workshop, we will dive into the inner workings of this magical vehicle and the possibilities that this opens to metabolize and alchemize life's lessons and karma.

Through a synergical blend of techniques to work with the body, mind, and energy complex, participants will leave with the basis of a solid practice to cultivate self-healing, purification, and spiritual development, integrating all of this into daily life.

12:30 – 1:30

Farm-to-Table Biodynamic Meal

A sattvic meal grown and harvested from the land of Finca Cuarzo. Nourishment as practice.

2:00 – 4:00

Plant Technology

Cultivating right relationship with life supersedes any other action. The study of the elements and plant allies is a rite of remembrance and impeccability. We dive into that nearly-forgotten, instinctual relationship with plants, the lands, and the crude substances of life.

By activating our communication pathways with the elements, getting to know plants of these lands in an intimate way, making our own medicines, preparations and ritual preparations. Understanding the diverse ways of how we can commune with these, such as plant baths, lotions, blowing waters and such, we will initiate a journey into reconnecting with our natural instinct of healing and craft.

4:00 – 4:30

Snack Break

Herbal infusions, juices, a sattvic snack. Integration time.

4:30 – 6:30

Satsang Ritual at Cuarzo Beach

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.

Creation implies destruction, transformation implies nakedness, and stepping onto that fire, as uncomfortable as it already is, requires divine folly. These are all implications of authorship, self-governance, and our dutifulness towards the great mystery. Here, ritual becomes the bridge that instinctually spurs from our guts to catalyze forth the latent majesty of our spirits.

Through the fire ceremony that will be birthed through the group, we will cook our medicines, pray to the elements, sing and awaken the potency of prayer as we learn to commune with the sacraments and the fire.

For those at the threshold of a new form of aliveness.

This is for you

  • You are ready for authorship over your own unfolding
  • You are not afraid to meet your shadow, and the power that is yours to retrieve
  • You carry new blossoms alongside the remnants of a dark-night period
  • You are seeking a space to metabolize, embed and anchor your Way Forth
  • You are looking for solid methods for self-healing and spiritual development
  • You are longing to awaken your connection with plants, their medicine and power
  • Accountability is part of your lexicon

Finca Cuarzo, Guanacaste.

"A thriving 60-hectare 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.

José Andrés Arvide Zamora

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 these traditions with a great sense of dutifulness. This marked an initiation onto a path I am just now truly choosing.

From 16 to 27, my life was cataclysmic. 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.

Shamanism

Apprenticeship under Taita Juan Chindoy

Tibetan Medicine & Herbalism

Sowa Rigpa International College, Nepal; Sowa Rigpa Institute, USA; Pacific Rim College

Tantric Buddhism

Tutelage under Lama Kharpo

Buddhist Philosophy

Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Nepal

Ashtanga Yoga

Rolf Naujokat (India); Mauricio Victorica (Nepal, Mexico)

Somatic & Body Work

Laban/Bartenieff · Bioenergetics · Human Garage Fascia

Coming in clean.

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.

  1. Getting clear on your intention for the retreat. What are you arriving with? What are you asking for?
  2. A spiritual dieta for 3–5 consecutive days: no consumption of wisdom plants or any consciousness-altering substance.
  3. Clean, whole eating for 7 consecutive days leading up to the retreat.
  4. Reducing overstimulating activities for 5–7 days: media consumption, sexual activity, idle chatter.
  5. Plant baths for 3–5 consecutive days leading up to the retreat.

What's Included

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. Coordination can be arranged upon request.

Words from those who know the work.

"His listening is true, his empathy genuine, and his presence transmits peace, trust, and containment. He has a special gift for accompanying transformation... his light and his mission are authentic and make a real difference."
Adriana Cordero
"I arrived looking for tools but learned more than I expected... What transformed me most were the group conversations, where there was space to release things I didn't even know I was carrying. Without judgment, with great love."
Jeremy Rojas
"I admire his integrity and his willingness to share his knowledge... Those of us who have participated in his workshops are deeply grateful for his guidance and his ability to transmit it with clarity and simplicity."
Ana Hernández
"The time you invested in me helped me through the most difficult moment of my life... I learned to govern my ego, to listen to my most legitimate emotions, and relaxation techniques that were extraordinarily useful."
Luis Almeida

A ceremony. A commitment.

Details

DateMay 16, 2026
LocationFinca Cuarzo, Guanacaste
Investment$210

Payment Options

PayPal Bank Transfer Cash Sinpe Móvil

You'll receive a confirmation with investment details and payment instructions within 24 hours.

Received.

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.

A retreat series by José Andrés Arvide Zamora
Nosara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
[email protected]