Very close to it lies Manasarovar, one of the most sacred lakes in the Himalayas. The contrast between the two is difficult to ignore. Manasarovar holds fresh water, life and movement. For generations it has been a source of water for communities and pilgrims, and it occupies a central place in the spiritual traditions connected with Mount Kailash. Rakshastal and Manasarovar appear as two opposite forces standing side by side: the moon and the sun, night and day, the hidden and the conscious.

This duality is part of the sacred geography of the place itself. Rakshastal represents what remains in darkness, what has not yet been integrated, the raw forces that exist outside the space of our awareness. Fear, anger, desire, insecurity, pain, and all those experiences that at some point were too intense to be fully understood or digested. We may try to avoid them for years, but they continue to act from deep inside us, influencing our decisions, our emotions, our relationships and our reactions.

Manasarovar represents the opposite movement: consciousness observing, recognizing and making space for what was previously hidden. There is also a natural connection between the two lakes. When the waters of Manasarovar rise enough, they can flow towards Rakshastal through the channel that joins them. Within the spiritual understanding of this landscape, the image is incredibly powerful: the waters of the sacred lake entering the Poison Lake, consciousness entering what was hidden in darkness.

And behind both of them rises Mount Kailash.

The Gateway to Mount Kailash

The two lakes form the great gateway towards one of the most sacred mountains in Asia. For the different traditions that have travelled here for centuries, Kailash is not simply a mountain. It is a spiritual axis, a place of transformation, and a territory you approach only after passing symbolically through these two dimensions of human experience. Before reaching the mountain you first encounter light and darkness, the conscious and the unconscious, life and what seems to contain no life at all.

Two weeks ago we performed the Kora around Mount Kailash, the great pilgrimage that circles the mountain. The route takes you for many kilometres through an extreme high altitude landscape, eventually crossing Dolma La Pass at more than 5,600 metres. On paper it can look like a difficult trek. Once you are inside it, it stops feeling like a trek. It becomes something else.

The mountain starts removing your layers.

When the Storm Comes

We walked for hours carrying our backpacks while the weather kept changing around us. The sky closed in, the wind came, then the rain, then the cold. At some point we were completely soaked and every step started becoming heavier. Wet clothes stuck to the body, the hands became colder and breathing became shorter and harder because of the altitude. The landscape was enormous and incredibly beautiful, but there was nothing comfortable about it. The mountain was not there to protect us or adapt to us. We had to adapt to it.

Then the storm came.

Wind, rain, cold, exhaustion. The feeling of vulnerability became stronger, and together with it came the first real doubts. Will we be able to continue tomorrow? Will we have enough strength to cross the pass? What happens if the weather gets worse? What if the body does not respond?

We spent a night where those questions stopped being abstract thoughts.

They were in the body.

And that is when our demons started coming out.

Not mystical demons. Not external beings.

Ours.

The weakness we normally hide. The fear of not being capable. The anger that appears when things stop obeying us. The insecurity. The frustration. The desire to quit. The part of us that wants to return to a safe place. The part that needs to control what is going to happen in order to feel calm.

When life is comfortable we can keep many of these things below the surface. We can even convince ourselves that we have already worked through them, that they are no longer there. But when the body is exhausted, you are cold, you are wet, there is less oxygen and you know that the next morning you still have to climb above 5,600 metres, some of those layers break.

And what was inside starts coming out.

Entering the Poison Lake

This is what it means to enter the Poison Lake.

Not looking at it from the shore. Not talking about it. Entering it.

Allowing what is hidden to surface.

Because the dark lake does not contain only beautiful things waiting to be discovered. It also contains everything we have learned to avoid. Our helplessness. Our vulnerability. Our anger. Our fear. The stories we tell ourselves when we believe we cannot continue. The exact place where our confidence begins to break.

That night was part of the pilgrimage as much as the climb the following morning.

Maybe even more.

We slept with the storm outside and another storm inside. And by morning there was no spectacular revelation. The fear had not disappeared. We had not magically recovered all our strength.

We simply got up.

We got dressed.

We put the backpacks on again.

And we continued.

That was all.

But sometimes transformation begins exactly there.

Not when fear disappears, but when you take the next step while still feeling it.

The Next Step at 5,600 Metres

We started climbing towards Dolma La, breathing slowly, managing every movement. At that altitude the body forces you to stop thinking in kilometres. There is only the next step. You breathe, you walk a little, you stop. You breathe again. Someone passes you. Someone falls behind. Sometimes someone helps you and other times you somehow find enough strength to support the person beside you.

Around us, hundreds of Tibetan pilgrims were doing the same journey. Some walked slowly, some prayed, some moved forward performing full prostrations on the ground. Watching them completely changes your relationship with your own suffering. Every person is carrying something. A story, a loss, a prayer, an intention, an entire life.

We kept climbing.

And every metre seemed to bring something else to the surface.

The anger came out.

The fear came out.

The weakness came out.

The resistance came out.

The need to control came out.

And little by little we began to understand that maybe the process was not about preventing these things from appearing. Maybe the process was exactly the opposite. Let them appear, and keep moving through them.

Bring out what lies at the bottom of the lake.

Bring it to the surface.

Breathe with it.

Look at it.

Walk with it.

Crossing Dolma La

Because as long as a part of us remains buried in that dark lake, it continues to hold power from underneath. It continues shaping our decisions without needing to reveal itself. But once something rises to the surface, once it can be consciously felt, our relationship with it begins to change.

Eventually we reached the pass.

Dolma La.

More than 5,600 metres above sea level.

After the rain, the wind, the cold, the exhaustion, the doubts and everything that had appeared inside us, we were there.

And the feeling was not simply that we had reached the top.

It was the feeling that we had crossed something.

We had entered our night and we had not stayed there.

We had looked at weakness and kept walking.

We had felt fear and kept walking.

We had felt anger and kept walking.

We had not defeated those parts of ourselves. We had carried them with us all the way to the top.

And that changes the whole experience.

What We Carry Back

After crossing the pass we began the descent. Close to the top, beside the sacred lake that appears immediately after Dolma La, we left our prayer flag and a Tibetan khata carrying our intentions for life: more truth, more power, more confidence, more authenticity.

At that moment those words were no longer just wishes.

They had been tested.

Because asking for confidence after walking through fear means something different. Asking for power after seeing your own weakness means something different. Asking for authenticity after facing the parts of yourself you normally hide means something different.

We had brought something out of the Poison Lake.

And now we could carry it back with us.

This is the deeper meaning of the journey. Entering the Poison Lake, entering the night, touching what is hidden and moving through it until it can return to consciousness. It is not about destroying darkness or trying to turn every difficult experience into something positive. It is about recovering what became separated from us.

Because those unconscious places do not contain only pain. They also contain strength, instinct, desire, creativity, the capacity to choose, and an enormous amount of energy that became trapped together with experiences we were once unable to integrate. As long as that energy remains hidden, it also remains unavailable to us.

The Spiritual Adventure of Descent and Return

Very often we learn to do exactly the opposite. We try to live only in the Lake of the Sun. We search for wellbeing, peace, safety, pleasant experiences and elevated states of consciousness while keeping anything uncomfortable at a distance. But the great spiritual traditions have never spoken only about remaining in the light. They also speak about descent, darkness, confrontation with the unknown, and return.

The spiritual adventure begins when we stop trying to escape these parts of ourselves and enter them consciously. Because whatever we refuse to look at continues to have power over us. When we are able to see it, feel it and move through it, something starts changing. We recover freedom, the ability to choose, and a much deeper relationship with our own life.

That is what makes this place so extraordinary. Rakshastal, Manasarovar and Kailash seem to form a natural architecture of the spiritual process. First come the two lakes, the two polarities. Then, behind them, the mountain. It is difficult to move through this landscape without understanding why people have travelled here for centuries to pray, meditate, walk and search for transformation.

A pilgrimage is not about abandoning your life. It is about temporarily stepping outside the structures that keep your life always the same, so you can discover what exists underneath them. And then you return. You return to your relationships, your work, your projects and your decisions, but you bring something back with you that was hidden before.

This same principle will be at the heart of our next pilgrimage in February, in La Gomera. The landscape will be completely different. Instead of the extreme altitude of Tibet, we will have ancient forests, volcanic mountains, ocean, beaches and the presence of a much more fertile and intimate nature. But the inner movement will be the same.

We will spend six days walking, working with nature, practicing and consciously entering those spaces that normally remain underneath our everyday life. The purpose is to reveal, observe and embrace what lives in our own night, dissolve some of the obstacles that separate us from our strength, and return to life with more clarity, more confidence and a much deeper sense of our own path.

This is the sacred movement of pilgrimage.

To enter, to cross, and to return.

Maybe our soul does not want a completely predictable life. Maybe it also needs mystery, challenge, discovery and moments where we have to enter territories within ourselves that we still do not know.

Because every time we consciously enter one of those places, a part of our power comes back with us.

When I was in my early twenties, I didn’t love myself. Honestly, I didn’t even know what self-love was. I was filled with deep, existential doubt.

Because I felt empty inside, I spent all my energy begging for love from the world around me. I became a professional at seeking validation.

I looked for it in women. I wanted beautiful girlfriends who would adore me, thinking that if they loved me, I would finally feel worthy. I looked for it in my family. I did everything they wanted me to do. I said “yes” to everything. I became the perfect “good boy.”

I also looked for it in my friends. I wanted to belong, so I acted exactly like them. I betrayed my own personality and desires just to be accepted.

I was chasing a feeling that I called love, but it wasn’t love. It was just a cheap substitute. It was an anesthesia to numb the pain of my own emptiness.

I was constantly anxious, trying to “rob” energy from the outside world because I couldn’t generate it within myself. I forced my behavior, my words, and my actions just to keep everyone else happy. Eventually, this pressure caused me to explode existentially. That breakdown was the beginning of my spiritual path.

The Solitude Paradox: Finding Connection When You Are Alone

Seven years later, my life looked completely different. I had gone through a massive spiritual awakening and moved to a new city where I didn’t know a single soul.

On the surface, it looked like I had lost everything I used to chase. I had no friends in town. I had no girlfriends. I lived alone in an apartment and spent most of my time working or being by myself.

But something incredible started happening.

Every night, I would lie down in a huge bed in a lonely room, in a neighborhood where nobody knew my name. And yet, I felt completely full of love.

One night, I opened my eyes, stared at the ceiling, and asked myself: “How is this even possible?”

Back when I had friends, girlfriends, a good job, and social success, I felt empty. Now, when I was more alone than ever, I felt more love than ever.

That was the moment I began to understand. I realized that self-love isn’t something you get from others—it’s a state you enter. And to enter it, I had intuitively followed a process that I want to share with you now.

Step One: Radical Acceptance (Meeting Your Shadow)

The first and most important step to finding self-love is acceptance.

But be careful—people often confuse acceptance with resignation. Resignation is when you look at something you don’t like and say, “Well, I guess it’s going to be like this forever.” That is not acceptance. That is giving up.

True acceptance is the ability to include everything in your perception. It means looking at what is happening in your body, your emotions, and the world around you, and letting it be there without trying to push it away.

Stop Hiding Your “Underworld”

In shamanism, we talk about the Underworld or the Shadow. This isn’t some mystical place in another dimension; it is right here, inside you.

Your Shadow is where you store all your pain, guilt, unresolved wounds, and the parts of yourself you are ashamed of. It lives in your body—in your muscle tension, in your joint pain, and in those intense, uncomfortable emotions you try to avoid.

For years, I tried to hide my Shadow. For example, I used to be a bit chubby, and I hated my body. Instead of accepting it, I covered it up with clothes and looked the other way. I put on my “good boy” mask to hide my insecurities from others and from myself.

But here is the secret: You cannot feel love if you are hiding.

To find love, you must start observing the parts of yourself you don’t like. You don’t have to like them, but you have to feel them. Ask yourself: “Why does this make me feel bad? Do I feel ashamed? Sad? Weak?”

Relax into those feelings. Include them in your experience. This is the prerequisite for love to enter.

Step Two: Trusting That Life Makes No Mistakes

Once you develop the habit of looking at your dark places, you need something else to keep you going: Trust.

You need to trust that your pain, your shadow, and your struggles are not mistakes. They are not glitches in the system. They are a fundamental part of your existence.

The Limiting Belief That Kills Love

Most of us walk around with a subconscious belief that life is dangerous, chaotic, or accidental. We think that if we stop controlling everything, things will fall apart. We believe that pain is proof that something has gone wrong.

This belief is the enemy of inner peace.

The truth is that life does not fail. Nothing that happens to you is accidental. Everything in this universe follows the law of cause and effect.

Your “Underworld”—that heavy baggage of karma and pain you carry—is actually there for a reason. Without it, your life would have no direction. It is intimately connected to your life purpose.

There is a hidden order behind the chaos. The ultimate goal of every experience, even the painful ones, is your healing, your growth, and your eventual return to love. When you start to see life this way, you stop fighting against reality and start trusting the process.

Step Three: The Art of Losing Control

This was the final piece of the puzzle for me. Once I accepted my shadow and trusted life, I started to develop a new ability: entering a state of non-control.

I used to try to control everything in my life to get what I wanted. But it never worked. I realized that the most beautiful things in life—like authentic love—only happen when you stop trying to manage the outcome.

Love is not a math problem. You cannot solve it like an equation. You cannot force it.

Transcending the Mind

Love only occurs when we transcend the mind and enter a space of non-control. This is what we do in our shamanic rituals, meditation, and breathwork practices. The goal is always the same: to stop directing the experience and just let it flow.

In this state, you stop fighting. You start including everything.

• A difficult emotion comes up? You include it.
• A painful memory surfaces? You include it.
• A negative thought arrives? You include it.

Instead of pushing these things away, you welcome them with care and trust. This capacity to include everything is what love actually is.

Love is not just a sweet, romantic feeling. Love is your capacity to connect with everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is the energy that binds you to reality when you stop resisting it.

That is why you never fall in love with the person you expect to fall in love with. It happens spontaneously, on a random day, when you least expect it. Why? Because love needs spontaneity. It needs the absence of control to breathe.

Conclusion: True Love is Connection, Not Need

When you learn to accept, trust, and let go of control, you arrive at a beautiful, unique place in your life. You realize that you don’t need anyone to feel love.

The people in your life will be there because you want them there, not because you desperately need them to fill a void. Your relationships will come from a place of freedom, not dependency.

You will feel lighter, more energetic, and more joyful than ever before. Instead of adapting your life to get validation from others—like I did when I was younger—you will finally start creating your own life.

Ready to Go Deeper?

This power is already inside you, but you have to learn how to access these different states of consciousness.

If you are curious about how to enter these states of non-control, acceptance, and trust, we are here to help. We are always working with these energies through practices in nature, retreats, and community gatherings.

Contact us, leave a comment, or join our community. Let’s walk this path back to love together.

We are connected. See you soon.

I remember a specific time I went to lead a shamanic ritual. The setting seemed perfect. Everyone was ready, sitting or lying down in their positions, waiting to begin.

I picked up my drum and started playing. My intention was clear: to connect with the spirits and start the healing process. We wanted to journey into the “underworld” to cut cords with the past, release old pain, and let go of the fear stopping us from living the life we wanted.

But then, something strange happened.

As I beat the drum, I couldn’t move the energy. It felt completely stuck. Solid. Heavy. It just wouldn’t shift or flow. It ended up being a very weird, difficult session.

Confused, I later went to my master and asked him, “What went wrong?”

He explained something that changed everything for me. He told me that whenever you want to journey into the underworld to do shadow work or heal the past, there are two fundamental things you must do. Always.

If these two elements are missing, you won’t be able to go deep. You will get blocked. Instead of healing, you’ll just get trapped in your own heavy emotions and looping thoughts.

Let me share these two missing keys with you, so you never get stuck again.

Element #1: Activate Your Vitality (The Warrior Energy)

The first thing my master told me was simple yet profound: “Your vitality must be active.”

In our modern world, we often arrive at spiritual practices feeling drained. We come from long days at work, scrolling on phones, or being stuck in our heads. We are disconnected from our bodies. But you cannot enter the underworld in this state.

That is why, before any deep ritual, we often go for a hike, a walk in nature, or do physical exercise. We need to wake up the body and ignite the inner fire.

The “Victim Trap”

Here is the hard truth about energy healing: You cannot heal while you are in a state of victimhood. It is 100% impossible.

The underworld is filled with heavy energies—grief, guilt, sadness, and lethargy. If you enter that space feeling weak or thinking, “Poor me, life is so hard, my parents did this to me,” those heavy spirits will eat you up. You won’t heal; you will just get stuck in the mud of your own complaints.

To avoid this, you need to be in a state of power. You need to be a warrior.

Even if you feel weak, you must generate energy temporarily. Jump into cold water , run for an hour, do intense breathwork, or practice yoga. Do whatever it takes to fill your system with fire. With that fire, you can journey down, face the shadows, and come back up. Without it, you just get tired.

Element #2: Open Your Heart to the Spirit

The second missing key is the reason why, sometimes, I spend a good 30 minutes (or even an hour) praying before I even start a ritual. I simply cannot move the energy until the hearts in the room are open.

This element is prayer.

Shadow Work is a Team Effort

Many people try to do shadow work alone, from a mental place. They treat it like a mechanical fix—like taking a car to the mechanic. They think, “I want to fix my trauma so I can be more successful,” or “I want to feel like a powerful shaman.”

But doing it from the ego, or treating it just like a business transaction, will not work.

Real shadow work is done with the help of the spirits. You cannot do it by yourself because the whole point is to remember unity. It is a guided journey.

When you release deep pain or trauma, you aren’t just throwing it into the void. You are handing it over to the spirits. They are there to receive what you are ready to let go of. But for them to help you, you must ask for help. You must be humble.

You don’t need to be religious. You don’t need to believe in a specific “God.” But you do need to open your heart to something bigger than yourself and trust the journey. Only when you surrender and say, “I can’t do this alone, please guide me,” does the real magic happen.

How to Know If Your Shadow Work Is Working

So, how do you know if you have successfully navigated the underworld? It’s actually quite simple.

When you have both your vitality activated (the warrior) and your heart open (the humble student), the spirits can finally guide you deep. Your vitality protects you from the heavy “victim” energies, and your open heart allows the release to happen.

You will reach a moment of intense emotional release. You let it go.

The clear sign that the work is done is how you feel afterward. You should feel lighter, joyful, and motivated. You feel a spark of life returning to you.

Even if you haven’t solved the “root of the root” of all your problems, you have cleared enough space to move forward. You have energy for your life, your projects, and your passions again.

The Warning Signs

On the flip side, if you finish a session feeling drained, stuck in negative loops, complaining, or criticizing yourself, it means one of the two elements was missing.

Remember this for your next healing journey: Bring your Fire, and bring your Prayer. Without them, you are just walking in circles in the dark.

Have you ever felt stuck during shadow work? Or have you experienced that rush of energy after a good cry? Let me know in the comments below. We are connected.

Join Us in the Dark to Find Your Light

We have talked about traveling to the underworld and the importance of doing it with a guide. Now, nature is inviting us to do exactly that on a cosmic scale.

We are approaching the Winter Solstice. This is the darkest night of the year—the “Zero Point” where everything stops. It is the ultimate moment for shadow work.

If you are in Brussels, I invite you to stop running and sit in the silence with us.

Winter Solstice Drum Ritual: Into the Silent Sun

On Saturday, December 21, 2025, we are gathering at the Inner Spark Ashram for a powerful 3.5-hour journey.

We will apply exactly what you learned in this article:

• Activate Vitality: We will recover the energy trapped in your past.
• Open the Heart: We will connect with the spirit of the Winter Sun to guide us.
• Deep Release: We will use the shamanic drum to journey through the four worlds and let go of the heavy baggage from 2025.

You don’t have to do this alone. Come sit by the fire (metaphorically and spiritually) and prepare yourself for a new beginning.

Where: Inner Spark Ashram, Woluwe Saint Pierre, Brussels
When: December 21, 2025 | 17:00 – 20:30
Spots: Intimate group (only 10 spots)

Are you ready to close the cycle and reclaim your spark?

Book Your Spot for the Solstice Ritual

(Hurry, spots fill up fast!)

We have all been there. We have these situations where we yell at the people we love, we get into fights with important people in our lives, or we just fight over silly things. Sometimes, we explode emotionally without any real justification.

Other times, we stop ourselves. We sabotage what we are doing with negative, destructive thoughts, undervaluing the beautiful things in our lives or our projects. Or perhaps we pour our energy into addictions—food, tobacco, drinks—wondering why our energy manifests destructively and feeling like we can’t do anything to stop it.

But before we go any further, I want you to know one thing: You are not broken.

Thinking “I am broken,” “I am doomed,” or “everything I do is wrong” is just another negative, destructive pattern.

The truth is much simpler. The only thing happening is that you have an excess. You have an excess of creative energy that you are not using. Destructive patterns simply feed on the creative energy that we are holding back due to fear and blocks.

Your Gifts Are Not for You

Now, what does this river have to do with you?

Every single one of you has a gift. You have gifts and talents that you received from God, from life itself. We all have them.

But what exactly are these gifts?

• For some, it is intelligence.
• For others, it is fire—a strength and confidence to do things in this world, an incredible vitality.
• Some have the gift of consciousness, the ability to see the truth of what is happening.
• Others are masters of beauty.
• Some have an innocent heart that never judges, that forgives with deep compassion.
• Some have a strong, resistant body, a physical power to achieve great things.
• And some have the gift of humor, bringing joy to the spirit.

Whatever your gift is, imagine it is that river of energy flowing toward you. It is a faucet you cannot turn off. Just like the water from the mountain snows never stops coming, this energy never stops coming to you.

But here is the key you must understand: These gifts are not for you. They are for you to give.

In fact, you often cannot even recognize you have a gift until you give it away. That is why a person who is naturally extremely strong, confident, and full of fire might actually feel weak. Why? Because they aren’t expressing their great gift.

We usually have our biggest blocks right where we have our biggest gifts.

Think about it. Imagine you have that internal fire—the energy of a warrior. But you live in a world conditioned for a quiet, comfortable life where the only goal is simple survival. If your life is just going to the office, going to the supermarket, and maintaining a routine, you cannot express that quality. That fire screams to be put into a great battle, a great project.

Or imagine your gift is creativity. It is screaming at you to create something new, something incredible. But if you are in an environment that is rigid, hermetic, or stuck in old habits, that creativity has no space to get out.

And so, the river gets cut off. The energy accumulates, and accumulates, and accumulates… until it becomes too much.

Why “Managing Emotions” Doesn’t Work

So, how do we solve this? Or rather, why does everyone fail when they try to solve it?

The reason is simple: Everyone tries to manage the consequence.

You tell yourself: “I have to manage this conflict. I have to manage my emotions. I have to manage my intensity, my fear, my anger.”

But the truth is, it is unmanageable. You cannot manage it.

Once your energy has been invested in fear, conflict, frustration, or anger, and it grows enough… you can no longer control it. It dominates you. It covers you. You act based on it. It is almost as if you are possessed by that destructive energy.

And that is when the destructive attitudes come: the fights, the judgments, the negative internal dialogue, the self-sabotage.

Trying to stop the flood after the dam has broken is impossible. You are working at the wrong level.

The 3 Levels of Healing

So, how do we actually work with this?

We can work on three levels. It is super important that you understand these and apply them in your life.

This process of redirecting your energy to a place where it can be expressed takes time. Sometimes, you need to restructure your life. You need to change habits. You need to try new things, invent new projects, and—crucially—you have to “let go” of some things.

It is a profound transformation process, and most people skip it because it’s hard. But here is the roadmap:

Level 1 & 2: The Deep Work

These two go hand in hand, and they are the foundation.

• Identify your gift. You need to find that specific quality (fire, beauty, intellect, etc.) that flows through you.
• Create a space to express it. You must create a project, an environment, or a place in your life where that energy can be redirected.

If you have a creative gift but believe “I have to be a farmer like my father” or “I don’t want to hurt my family by doing something different,” that is your block. You have to dissolve those beliefs to create that space.

Level 3: The Bridge (Energy Alchemy)

Now, what do you do while you are building that new life? What do you do while you are transforming?

You still have that “stagnant water”—the anger, the frustration, the negative self-talk.

This is where Energy Alchemy comes in. You need practical support to handle the destructive energy right now. You do this through spiritual practices:

• Meditation
• Breathwork
• Hikes and walks in nature
• Rituals (like using the drum)
• Ocean baths

These aren’t just for relaxation. Their purpose is to transform heavy, destructive energy (lead) into light, constructive energy (gold). They return you to a state of inspiration and clarity so you can see what is blocking you and keep moving forward.

The Invitation to Transform

This is the great transformation—the secret that almost nobody tells you. Everyone works on the level of the “situation,” trying to fix the fight or the bad habit. Very few people work at the higher level of how you are redirecting your energy.

You can read about this, but to truly heal, you often need to step out of your current environment and experience it.

If you want to take this journey, we are traveling to La Gomera for our next retreat.

In this retreat, we are going to do exactly what we have discussed here, but we are going to do it with our bodies and souls, not just our minds.

Over the course of 6 days and 5 nights on this incredible volcanic island, we are going to:

• Reconnect with nature: We will hike in the mountains, meditate in ancient forests, and swim in the ocean.
• Experience the alchemy: We will connect with dolphins and use powerful practices to transform that negative, heavy energy into something light and vital.
• Find your clarity: You will leave understanding exactly what your gift is and, just as importantly, what specific fear or block has been stopping you from expressing it.

This trip is a gift you give to yourself. It is an escape from the tension, the conflict, and the fear. No one can just “tell” you this truth; you have to feel the process of energy alchemy within yourself. You will be amazed at the shift.

You will finally understand the missing element needed to escape these destructive cycles forever.

Join us in La Gomera (February 2026).

Don’t miss this opportunity to change your life’s flow from a flood into a river.

Reserve your spot here: InnerSpark Life – La Gomera 2026

It all started with a message that made no sense at the time. During a retreat, a tarot reading gave me a strange piece of advice. I drew the Moon card, and the reader looked at me and said, “Pablo, you have to overcome the influence of the moon.”

I just stared at him, perplexed. Then I looked up at the sky. The moon? What was it doing to me? I couldn’t understand it on a spiritual level. “What is that influence?” I asked him. “What is the moon doing?” I was confused and, honestly, a little scared. Did that giant rock in the sky have some kind of power over me? I needed to understand.

His answer changed everything. He told me, “The negative influence of the moon is your negative emotions.”

And suddenly, it all clicked.

Unmasking the Moon’s Shadow: The Energy of Heavy Emotions

The “lunar” energy he was talking about wasn’t about astrology in a technical sense, but about a very particular type of feeling. It’s that gravitational pull of negative, heavy, slow emotions that can completely take over your day. It’s like walking around with a heavy blanket over your shoulders that you just can’t shake off.

Think about it:

Sadness and Sorrow: A general feeling of melancholy that you can’t seem to shake, tinting everything in a grayish color.

Nostalgia for the Past: Getting lost in old memories, especially those tinged with regret or longing, replaying conversations and moments over and over.

Regret and Guilt: When you make a mistake and get emotionally entangled in it. You replay it in your mind endlessly, blaming yourself, feeling guilty, and wishing you could turn back time.

This is the moon’s shadow. It’s emotional quicksand. Once you step in, it slowly pulls you under. You start overthinking, blaming yourself, and feeling heavy. This emotional storm consumes all your energy, your vitality, your creativity, and your drive. You end up exhausted on the couch, feeling completely empty, having accomplished nothing you set out to do.

When you’re trapped in this energy, your life can’t move forward. It becomes mechanical, low-vibration, stagnant. You can’t do what you truly want to because all your power has been drained by these dense feelings.

A Universal Pattern We All Share

As I listened, I had a powerful revelation. This wasn’t just my story. This was a pattern I had seen my whole life, but one I had never put a name to. It was an invisible inheritance, passed down from generation to generation.

I saw it in the men in my family: my father, my uncles, my grandfather. This lunar energy would take away their capacity to act, their masculine power to move forward and make things happen in the world. I also saw it in the women, who often express these emotions more openly, making the pattern even more visible.

This isn’t a personal failure. It’s a human tendency. We all have a “moon” inside of us, an emotional tide that can drag us into these dark, unproductive states. The key isn’t to pretend it doesn’t exist, but to learn how to manage it when it arrives.

The Antidote: How to Instantly Shift Your Energy

So, how do you overcome this influence? The solution is surprisingly simple and incredibly powerful: shift from your mind to your body.

The moment I feel that gloomy, heavy energy starting to creep in, the instant I notice my thoughts starting to spiral, I know I have to move. I don’t think about it; I just do it.

I put on music and dance.

I do an intense workout.

I practice a yoga session.

I go for a brisk walk in nature.

By moving your body, you immediately break the spell. You pull your energy out of the mental story of sadness or regret and anchor it in the present moment, in your physical body. You don’t give the gloomy energy a chance to settle in and take control. This simple practice has been a game-changer for me.

The Other Side of the Moon: A Gateway to Healing

But here’s the beautiful paradox: the moon is not our enemy. Its energy is not just negative. The moon is also the gateway to our unconscious mind, the realm where our hidden emotions are stored.

This is why the full moon is such a powerful time. During a full moon, our emotions surface with incredible strength. If we aren’t conscious, we can become very reactive, leading to arguments, conflicts, and anger.

However, if we use this time consciously, it’s a golden opportunity for healing. We can perform rituals or meditations to consciously connect with that energy. It allows us to see the emotions that are normally suppressed—the old wounds, the hidden fears—and bring them to light to be healed.

By doing this, we are no longer victims of the moon’s influence; we are consciously working with its power. We are using its light to illuminate our own shadows and turn it into our ally.

Take Your Connection to the Next Level: Retreat in La Gomera

Understanding the moon is just the beginning. Imagine being able to extend this awareness to all the planets and stars, and doing it in one of the most magical places in the world for sky observation.

That’s why we want to invite you to a transformative experience. From February 17th to 22nd, 2025, we will be holding a special retreat in La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands, recognized worldwide for having one of the cleanest and most spectacular night skies on the planet.

In this retreat, we won’t just talk about the stars; we will learn to feel their energy in our bodies through movement practices, meditation, and rituals under a blanket of stars. It’s an opportunity to disconnect from the noise of daily life and connect deeply with your own energy and the cosmos. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

If you feel the call to transform your connection with the universe and yourself, this is your moment.

Discover more and book your spot for the La Gomera retreat here.

Embarking on a shamanic journey to the underworld is a profound experience that allows you to confront the darkest parts of yourself while connecting with powerful spiritual forces. In shamanic traditions, the underworld is not a place of evil or punishment, but rather a realm of deep truths, ancestral wisdom, and hidden energies that shape your life. It’s a sacred journey where the soul ventures into the depths of consciousness, guided by a shaman or spiritual practitioner, to uncover the shadows we often avoid in daily life.

During this journey, a shaman typically enters a trance state, often aided by rhythmic drumming or chanting. This altered state of consciousness allows them to traverse different spiritual realms, including the underworld. Unlike our common perception of this realm, the underworld is not a place of torment but rather a domain where hidden aspects of ourselves—our fears, trauma, and unresolved pain—reside. It’s a place where personal and ancestral healing can occur, as long as we’re willing to face the shadows we find there.

While this journey is challenging, it’s deeply transformative. It’s not just about understanding your darkness but also about healing it. When approached with respect and guided intention, a journey to the underworld can offer immense spiritual growth and empowerment, unveiling truths about your soul’s purpose and the hidden forces that influence your life.

How to Prepare for a Shamanic Journey to the Underworld

Before embarking on a shamanic journey to the underworld, preparation is crucial. This isn’t a casual meditation; it’s an intense, spiritually charged process that can unlock deep insights and bring up old wounds for healing. To ensure a safe and effective journey, here are a few key steps to take before diving into the underworld:

1. Find Your Sacred Space

The first step in preparing for your journey is identifying a sacred space—a place that feels energetically potent or spiritually significant to you. This could be a natural environment, like a forest, or a quiet room in your home where you’ve performed rituals before. Your sacred space should feel safe and help you connect with your spiritual guides. Creating an altar with items that hold meaning, such as crystals, feathers, or ancestral symbols, can also amplify the energy of the space and guide you during your journey.

2. Clear Your Mind and Spirit

Entering the underworld with a clear mind and spirit is essential. Begin by practicing mindfulness or deep meditation to release any attachments to daily concerns. You need to approach this journey with a sense of openness and readiness to confront whatever comes up, whether it’s past trauma, unresolved pain, or forgotten memories. Let go of societal labels, the roles you play in life, and even your fears. By clearing yourself of these attachments, you’re preparing your soul for the depth of the experience.

3. Set a Clear Intention

One of the most important aspects of a successful shamanic journey is setting a clear intention. Why are you embarking on this journey? Is it for healing? Spiritual growth? To uncover hidden knowledge about yourself or your ancestors? Your intention will act as a guiding light throughout your journey, helping you navigate through any challenges or obstacles you may encounter in the underworld.

Remember, the underworld is not a place of punishment but a realm of personal discovery. By entering it with a clear purpose, you’ll be better equipped to face your inner shadows and find the healing you seek.

The Role of the Drum and Other Ritual Tools

One of the most essential elements in a shamanic journey to the underworld is the use of ritual tools, particularly the drum. In many shamanic traditions, the steady beat of a drum is believed to mirror the heartbeat of the Earth, creating a rhythm that helps you enter a trance state. This rhythmic pulse is your guide, helping to shift your consciousness from the everyday world into the spiritual realms. The repetitive drumming patterns facilitate an altered state of awareness, making it possible for you to access the underworld and communicate with spirits, ancestors, and other energies that reside there.

The drum is often considered the shaman’s “horse” or “vehicle” because it carries the practitioner to other realms. As you focus on the sound of the drum, your mind detaches from ordinary reality, allowing you to cross the threshold between the physical world and the unseen realms. When preparing for a shamanic journey, it’s important to let the drum’s rhythm guide you naturally. The goal is to surrender to the sound and allow it to open the doors to the underworld.

Other Ritual Tools and Symbols

In addition to the drum, many shamans use other tools to aid in their journey. Rattles, chanting, and sacred objects like feathers, crystals, or stones are often incorporated into the ceremony. These items carry spiritual significance and can act as protective symbols or focal points during your journey. In some traditions, specific plants or herbs—such as sage or palo santo—are used to purify the space and the body, ensuring a clear and focused connection with the spirit world.

In certain cases, plant medicine, like mushrooms or ayahuasca, may be used to deepen the connection to the spiritual realm, but these should only be taken under the guidance of an experienced shaman. They are potent and can greatly amplify the experience, making it essential to have proper supervision and respect for their power.

Navigating the Underworld: Facing Your Shadows

Once the shamanic trance has been achieved, the real work begins: navigating the underworld. This journey is deeply personal and symbolic. The underworld in shamanism represents your unconscious mind—it’s where the deepest parts of yourself reside, the parts you may have ignored, suppressed, or forgotten. Here, you will meet your shadows: past traumas, fears, negative emotions, and unresolved conflicts. These shadows are not inherently bad, but they are parts of yourself that need to be acknowledged and healed.

As you descend into the underworld, you may encounter spirits or beings that represent these shadows. They could manifest as frightening figures or unsettling emotions, but it’s important to remember that their purpose is to guide you, not harm you. Facing these shadows can be challenging, but doing so allows you to integrate these forgotten aspects of yourself. By confronting them directly, you take the first step toward deep healing and transformation.

Often, the shadows you meet in the underworld are tied to old wounds or unresolved issues from your past. They could be linked to your childhood, your ancestors, or even past lives, depending on the tradition you follow. The key is to approach them with courage and compassion, recognizing that these parts of yourself need to be healed in order for you to grow spiritually.

Learning from the Spirits

During your journey, you may also receive messages or guidance from spirits or ancestors. These entities may offer wisdom or show you specific areas of your life that need attention. Some spirits act as protectors or guides, while others may challenge you in ways that force you to confront deeper truths about yourself. In many cases, these challenges are the catalyst for transformation.

As you navigate the underworld, remember that the experience is unique to each individual. No two journeys are the same, but the ultimate goal remains consistent: to face the shadows within yourself and return with the wisdom and power to heal and transform your life.

Returning from the Underworld: Integration and Healing

The journey to the underworld is just one part of the process—the return and integration are equally important. Once you’ve faced your shadows and gained insights from the spirits, it’s crucial to bring that wisdom back into your everyday life. This is known as the “return” phase of the shamanic journey, where you come back to the material world with newfound knowledge, clarity, and healing.

After a shamanic journey to the underworld, it’s common to feel a bit disoriented or emotionally raw. You’ve just confronted deep aspects of your psyche, and now it’s time to integrate what you’ve learned. This can be done through grounding practices, such as journaling about your experience, meditating, or connecting with nature. Allow yourself time to reflect on the messages you received and how they apply to your life. The wisdom of the underworld may not always be immediately clear, but over time, its lessons will begin to unfold.

Some people find it helpful to speak with their shaman or a spiritual mentor after their journey to process the experience. Integration is key to making the most of the insights you’ve gained. By reflecting on your journey and applying its lessons to your life, you can use the power of the underworld to heal past wounds, release old patterns, and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose.

The Importance of Self-Care After the Journey

Because a journey to the underworld can be emotionally and spiritually intense, self-care is essential in the days following your return. This might include practices like taking salt baths, spending time in nature, eating nourishing foods, and getting plenty of rest. Your body and spirit need time to recover and integrate the powerful energies you encountered. It’s also important to stay grounded—engaging in activities that keep you connected to the present moment, such as yoga or walking barefoot on the earth, can help you feel balanced again.

Remember, the goal of the journey isn’t just to visit the underworld but to return transformed. By taking time to honor your experience and nurture yourself after the journey, you’ll be able to fully absorb the healing and wisdom you gained, allowing it to ripple out into every area of your life.

The Benefits of a Shamanic Journey to the Underworld

Though a shamanic journey to the underworld can be challenging, the benefits are profound and far-reaching. By confronting your deepest fears and unresolved traumas, you’re able to access a level of healing that’s not possible through conventional methods. This type of shadow work allows you to release old wounds, break harmful patterns, and reconnect with your true self, leading to a sense of wholeness and inner peace.

Many who undertake these journeys report feeling more empowered, having greater clarity about their life’s purpose, and experiencing a deeper connection to the spiritual world. As you integrate the lessons from the underworld, you’ll notice a shift in your everyday reality: you may become more intuitive, more resilient in the face of challenges, and more aligned with your higher self.

Healing Trauma and Emotional Wounds

One of the most significant benefits of a shamanic journey to the underworld is its ability to heal trauma. By facing the shadows that represent past pain—whether from this life or ancestral wounds—you’re able to release the emotional charge these traumas carry. This leads to deep emotional healing, freeing you from the weight of old wounds and allowing you to move forward with greater freedom and joy.

The journey can also bring to light ancestral patterns that have been passed down through generations. By breaking these cycles, you not only heal yourself but also bring healing to your family lineage, creating a ripple effect of transformation for future generations.

A New Perspective on Life

Ultimately, a shamanic journey to the underworld changes the way you see the world. You return from the experience with a broader perspective, understanding that the shadows you once feared are actually gateways to your own power and healing. By embracing the darkness and integrating its lessons, you unlock the potential to live a more authentic, empowered life.

If you feel called to embark on this journey, remember: it’s not just about facing the underworld, but about finding the courage to transform. The shadows you confront in the underworld are, in reality, opportunities for growth, healing, and spiritual awakening. And by undertaking this journey, you gain the strength, wisdom, and inner peace to navigate both the spiritual and material worlds with grace and purpose.