Retreat Testimonials
"Working with Alberto and Doug was phenomenal."
Before this retreat, there were days on end when I wandered around the house feeling lost and sluggish. When I showed up powerfully in my life, it felt, in part, like I was forcing something so that people wouldn’t completely give up on me. I was not creating myself as I intended and lacked the discipline to transform my patterns. I let the world move me. I didn’t move the world. It was survival and an almost complete waste of the gifts I was born with.
The retreat was an experience I will fondly remember throughout my life. Everything about it created a powerful, safe and nourishing space that allowed us to expand into the deepest corners of our minds and emotional bodies and access old experiences and ways of being and thought patterns that no longer served us and heal them with expert guidance. It was absolutely the most profound 4 days I’ve had doing men’s work.
Whether a man is just beginning his inner work or has been doing it for years, there is something here that they want even if they don’t know it yet. Never before in my life have I felt so seen and understood, nor had an experience tailored so perfectly to fit exactly the way my brain works. Doug and Alberto created a structure in which I was in full consciousness sitting in the middle of my own mind, history and issues. Then, they guided me with a “spring cleaning,” helping me to access and clear old emotional sediment. At the end, I sat in gratitude, in contact with the pure and divine aspects of myself, and it was like a veil had been lifted.
Working with Doug and Alberto was phenomenal. Both men are incredible at reading right where a man is at and responding with expert precision. The trust, regard, and respect that these men have for one another are visceral. Each of them has so much wisdom and knowledge that it is nothing short of magical watching just one of them work solo, but to bear witness to both of them working together; that is nothing short of a miracle. The indigenous practices that Alberto brings with sounds, smells, space and reverence interweave wonderfully with Doug’s ability to navigate the human psyche and talent to get to the root of things to create an experience the likes of which I had never before seen in many retreat and therapy settings.
Since the retreat, I have had a more complete range of emotions and the capacity to deal with them. The times when I would have felt completely lost, I now see light at the end of the tunnel and have direction. I feel like I have a very pure, clean-burning fuel powering my system. There are still hiccups, but the fact that I can now look at those hiccups as just that is a huge success for me. This was definitely a system upgrade. It feels like the experience of the retreat lives in my body, like some sort of heart implant. It’s hard to explain but it is absolutely beautiful.
"I am accepting a positive relationship with myself."
Before the retreat, I was experiencing distress about my future in my relationship, my business, and with my son. Over the past couple of year, I have been on a roller coaster of ups and downs, feeling shame, unhealthy behaviors and self-sabotage. At the retreat, I connected with other caring men who, though we have different lives, have many of the same issues and feelings, and I now know I am no longer alone in the world. I found a place where I can be me, the real me, and not the “manly man” I’ve been conditioned to be. I started the retreat with a lot of anxiety and before the end of the first full day, relaxed, trusted what was happening and allowed my own process. I feel like a rubber band snapped in my brain once the anxiety ran it’s course, and then changed from anger, guilt, shame and finally acceptance of how I really feel. Working with Alberto and Doug was just what I needed. They are two intelligent and gifted men who, while working together, made it obvious what I needed to do to heal. My biggest improvement thus far is a calmness as I am accepting a positive relationship with myself, which I have longed for. I now view myself as kind, loving and intelligent, and I know that I want to be heard and understood. I am free to continue to shed the shackles and chains that have restricted my life. Thank you all again for such an experience in growth and healing.
"I left with clarity, a feeling of deep peace and a new-found confidence."
Combining Doug's techniques in psychotherapy and intuition with Alberto's Shamanistic, peaceful energy proved to be a powerful combination for healing and growth. It is amazing how much healing and clarity can happen when men come together in a setting like this to support each other, as we worked through our deepest emotions that create blocks in our lives.
Doug and Alberto created a safe and spiritual space that allowed me to really go deep into myself and release past hurts and shames that were affecting my life and personal growth. The FireCreek Mountain retreat lodge is a beautiful and serene location that set the stage for this amazing weekend of transformations. I arrived at the retreat unsure of what the weekend would bring but wanting changes and personal growth in my life. I left with clarity, a feeling of deep peace and a new-found confidence as well as having formed amazing bonds with the other men that were here with me. I also feel that my sense of empathy and intuition have increased due to emotional clarity. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed working with Doug and Alberto.
"The retreat...helped me shift on many levels."
Before the retreat, I was experiencing depression related to challenges trusting men and having meaningful relationships with them. I loved the retreat, which was powerful and helped me shift on many levels. Doug and Alberto are a wonderful combination and the retreat has resulted in improved presence, more confidence, and I’m happier.