Essence Institute

The ceremony begins at noon on the second day, after a morning of yoga, bodywork and breathwork. Participants lie down with their eyes gently covered, and the session runs six to eight hours. A facilitator is always present, one for every five participants. It is the center of a three-day format that Essence Institute has been running since 2019.

The institute was founded that year by mental healthcare professionals. Derk Mulder is named as founder, a psychologist who later became a mental healthcare director and who meditates in a modern Dzogchen approach. Willem Fonteijn, born in 1949, is co-founder, a clinical psychologist and mindfulness trainer, and author of the book Circle of Awareness. The pages say most of the team have backgrounds in psychology and mental healthcare, and that they have also spent years on a spiritual path. Their stated mission grew from their own experiences with psilocybin. The institute reports more than 2,250 participants from over 30 countries.

The legal footing is Dutch: magic truffles may be bought and consumed there, while magic mushrooms may not. The retreats happen at host venues. Samaya is a small priory monastery near Utrecht, with four hectares of English landscape garden, and each guest room has its own bathroom. Athanor stands on a three-hectare estate in the east, ninety minutes from Amsterdam, and each bedroom has its own shower. Centrum Venwoude sits between Amsterdam and Utrecht, among sixteen hectares of forest and gardens.

Groups are small, about twelve people, and every participant goes through an application and intake. Participants under 25 are not accepted, nor are those with certain diagnoses, a heart condition or high blood pressure, and some medications rule people out. Meals are vegan. Preparation guidance arrives beforehand, and the third day is given to integration, with a workbook and journal to carry the work home. The pages say the retreats are not a substitute for medical or psychotherapeutic care.