Melinda Atherton

HOST, BWITI STUDENT
​IKARA RETREAT CENTRE
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​My partner Jamie and I moved to Costa Rica from Australia and set up Ikara Retreat Centre as a lifelong commitment to providing a space where we may express our intentions and beliefs by conceiving, operating and participating in carefully constructed retreats that develop the individual. For the last 30 years, I have traveled and explored the inner realms of my psyche through traditional entheogenic plants. My exploration with Iboga gave me a direct understanding of how thoughts and beliefs are actualized into experience and through that direct experience comes knowledge - this is an emotional reality for me which may not be felt by all. I can only talk from my heart and share my experiences with those who visit us. As a host, I am here for anything that is needed in your personal journey. I hope to assist people with their integration process. and will use the knowledge I have gained to help them translate their expectations into a physical form.

I am a Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor and also a dedicated student of Iyengar yoga. I came from a background in Science and obtained my PhD in Astronomy in 1998. I was institutionalized by choice for a further 8 years working as a research associate at the Univeristy of NSW. During this time I ran my own electronic music label, distribution company and toured internationally. Throughout this time I conducted my own practical research into entheogenic plants and their effects. In 2006, I decided that that was enough externalization of thought and moved from Sydney (Australia) to a quiet town in the Snowy Mountains and became a School Bus driver. The true lessons of life were learnt here in this quiet town, away from the city and all its distractions. Now disengaged from the machine and with the love and support of my eternal soul mate - the real research could begin.,

I now use all that I affectionately learnt while contained within the system to apply to my inward study of the self. One thing that Astrophysics has taught me is that the focus should never be outwards into an unknown universe but simply towards the creation of the self. Which could in fact be termed the "Big Bang"  ?

Throughout my life I have learnt that we create our own experience and that nothing that we experience exists outside of the self. Accountability and responsibility is paramount for a happy life. Through our thoughts and beliefs we attract events that reinforce the beliefs we hold. It is only through observance that we can bring focus to habitual thought patterns and begin to change what we experience in our lives., quite simply by changing our thoughts. Observance of thought allows us to finally see what beliefs we hold. Beliefs that are limiting our life experience and preventing us from being spontaneous and joyous. It is an artform that is my lifes work. These are the teachings that came with Iboga. For this reason I wanted to work with Iboga as I saw it as a great tool for people to get instant change in their lives. It is a spirit for the modern world - other plants are transpersonal in nature, Iboga takes you directly to the seat of creaturehood, through a direct soul connection, so that you can change your life for the better,