About Our Sacred Ceremonies at Two Birds Church
The Heart of Our Practice
At Two Birds Church, sacred ceremonies are the living center of our spiritual path. Rooted in the Amazonian tradition of Ayahuasca and carried forward with care and modern awareness, our ceremonies are designed as spaces of truth, healing, and transformation.
Ayahuasca is our sacrament and teacher. She does not heal us directly but serves as a compassionate mirror, reflecting what must be faced, released, or embraced. Each ceremony is an invitation to step into deep self-responsibility: to sit with yourself honestly, lean into discomfort, and discover freedom and love on the other side.
Each ceremony night typically lasts at least six hours, creating the depth and spaciousness needed for a profound journey.
Facilitators and Sacred Space
Our ceremonies are facilitated by James and Christina, partners in life and in service. James brings over a decade of experience with traditional Ayahuasca practices, while Christina enriches the space with music and deep empathy. Together, they hold a safe and balanced container, reflecting both strength and compassion, masculine and feminine.
Our ceremonies are inspired by Shipibo traditions yet blended with our own grounded practices. While we honor the darkness, silence, and soundscapes that have guided generations in the Amazon, we also incorporate English-language songs, psychological awareness, and modern approaches to self-reflection. This integration creates a bridge between the ancient and the present, allowing the medicine to meet us exactly where we are.
Ceremonies are held in complete darkness within our Maloka. Each participant has their own mat, serving as a personal sanctuary for the night. Silence is observed, allowing the natural sounds of release and the flow of music to shape the journey.
Ordeal Medicine: Facing What Arises
We call Ayahuasca an ordeal medicine because her teaching often comes by asking us to sit with what we most want to avoid. In ceremony, vivid experiences may ariseâchallenging visions, intense emotions, or overwhelming sensations. In our understanding, these experiences are profound reflections of our inner world: unprocessed fears, hidden wounds, or emotions we’ve pushed aside rising to the surface to be acknowledged.
Rather than viewing these as external forces or literal entities, we see them as messengers from withinâparts of ourselves that need attention, healing, or release. The path through isn’t to fight or flee, but to meet these experiences with courage and curiosity. When we stop resisting and start listening, transformation becomes possible.
This is not a space for escape, entertainment, or distraction. It is a sacred space for truth-tellingâwith ourselves, to ourselves. Each person sits with their own experience – no one works on or heals another person during ceremony. Healing may express itself through purging, tears, laughter, profound stillness, or deep insights. All forms of release are honored as natural expressions of the soul’s healing process.
The discomfort we sometimes feel isn’t punishmentâit’s illumination. It helps us see what we’ve been unwilling to look at, bringing awareness to patterns that no longer serve us. This is where the real work happens: in our willingness to take responsibility for our inner landscape and choose growth over comfort.
Music and Silence
Music is the heartbeat of ceremony. Medicine songs from many cultures weave together, creating a sound journey that carries participants through their inner landscapes. Sacred instrumentsâbowls, drums, flutes, and chimesâare chosen with intention, sometimes gentle, sometimes challenging, to help emotions surface and move through you.
Equally important are the moments of silence, when the darkness and stillness themselves become teachers. These quiet intervals flow naturally like the rhythm of night and dawnâsilence giving way to song, guiding us through cycles of surrender and renewal. In the deep quiet, your inner voice can be heard most clearly, offering profound insight and clarity.
The music doesn’t just accompany the journeyâit helps guide it. Each song, each sound, each pause is part of the container that holds you safely as you do your inner work. Sometimes the music will meet you exactly where you are; other times it will gently invite you deeper into places you’re ready to explore.
The Divine Within
Our ceremonies are both deeply psychological and profoundly spiritual. Ayahuasca doesn’t create anything newâshe simply helps us remember what has always been true: the divine spark that lives within each of us.
This isn’t about belief or theory. In ceremony, participants often experience direct connection with what some call God, Spirit, Source, or their highest Self. Through the honest work of facing our shadows and releasing what no longer serves us, we rediscover the wholeness and love that were never actually lost.
This is Ayahuasca’s sacred giftânot the medicine creating magic, but the medicine revealing the truth that was always there. The real transformation happens when we recognize that everything we’ve been seeking outside ourselves has been within us all along.
Safety and Preparation
Two Birds Church takes our duty of care seriously. Every ceremony is guided by trained facilitators, conducted in a safe, sober environment, and supported by strict protocols for medical screening, secure handling of the sacrament, and emergency readiness.
Because Ayahuasca is powerful, all members must complete the Sacred Ceremony Preparation Course before attending. This course provides detailed guidance on:
- Dietary preparation
- What to bring and how to prepare
- Safety expectations and consent
- Integration practices after ceremony