A profound journey in Costa Rica
Sometimes, when you cross an experience that genuinely marks you, the urge to share it becomes almost impossible to resist — especially when you suspect your siblings might find something useful in it.
That is why I chose to write this. Not as a polished account, but as an honest one — tracing what this journey cost me, and what it gave back in return.
Three months is both a short time and an entire world, provided you stay open enough to receive what comes and vulnerable enough not to deflect it. I won’t try to cover everything. I’ll go straight to what matters most.
One last thing before we begin : words are a poor vessel for the texture of lived reality. So take what resonates, set aside what doesn’t — and above all, go live whatever experiences might bring more life into you. That will always outweigh anything written here.
NATURE
In my opinion, nature is the only true home. Some people appreciate beach front areas more than anything as I do, but I believe any type of natural environment is fantastic.
However when you have been living in crowded areas and got used to it, you may feel weird at first ; your inner state is somehow in confrontation with the atmosphere itself I would say. I took me about three weeks to fully accomodate, to release what I had to release, to be one with the space.
I guess some people could need more or less time, or perhaps could not even reach that absolut peace of mind, but it is such an awesome feeling to finally feel 100% good in your bubble, even alone and thousands kilometers away from your native land.
Plus, I have been through multiple harsh experiences, especially one that I will discuss later. Paradoxically, each and every one helped me reach that serein inner state (“no matter what, it’s always a gain” type of perception).
To get back to this first aspect, I realize how valuable it is to be away from big cities and handy technology. Yes power sometimes went off, yes ants were trying to take over my space, yes it would have been hot without AC,… but it was fine.
You get to experience pure life (well, Pura Vida as they say there !) and you have to deal with what is totally normal, actually. The first place I stayed was Hermosa, just outside Santa Teresa and it was one of the rawest environments I had ever lived in. But it was still pretty convenient because I had a small market right in front of my basement, the only one in town.
Also, I must say that you discover beauty again. I was astonished by colibris and their colors, sometimes metallic purple, sometimes green. I had the chance to contemplate the Trichonephila clavipes, a wonderful spider which produce a golden web (yes, the color is surprising). The baby remains close to her mum when a prey is targeted on the web, something funny to watch ! Like “let’s go mum, gotcha !”
The second place was at Montezuma, in a street called Pura Vida, and the home was away from everything except fauna and flora. I spent a dozen of days there, sometimes without seeing any human during two to four days straight, and the peace that comes with it is immaculate.
Last but not least, in the heart of Santa Teresa, I experienced the opposite but I was close to raw nature still. I found myself in crowded areas again, but bare foot and with natural elements like fire and water around me. So it does not hit the same at all.
I also had the chance to swim at the Montezuma waterfalls ; breathtaking in every sense, and jumping fifteen meters into the water is not something you walk away from unchanged.
And without mentioning whales, scarlet macaws, white-nosed coatis, golden ants,…
The wonderful hidden spots, the sweet smiles and magical encounters…
The profound and outstanding discoveries…
I can confidently tell that the world deserves to be seen, or contemplated as I like to say. You have got to explore and feel by yourself ! Your very, very old mother is waiting for you.
Downloads
Firstly in this part, I would like to include the wart story. Yes, I had an ugly wart on my left hand palm for years. During the first weeks of the trip, I saw zero change. Then suddenly, somewhere near the end, I noticed something was different. The thing was dying !
Actually this was the second time in my life that I experienced that type of healing . The first time was in Lebanon when I was 11, same stuff but in a way larger scale (I had plenty on the left heel and my fingers). When I left, everything was gone too.
Now you may ask yourself, how getting rid on a wart is linked to a download ? Well in my opinion “downloads”, as spiritually opened people like to say, are meant to “clear the field” and advancing in a purer way according to my understanding. It can be mental, but also physical. Obviously there are multiple factors, you cannot determine what is the exact cause or the exact causes without being fully omiscient, but you can see the effects unfolding undoubtedly.
Beyond this wart I had multiples downloads, especially one that I would like to discuss precisely.
This meme represents the idea very well. But the question is : How did I come to this conclusion ? Let me developp.
Buuut before revealing it, let me describe some wildness. I discovered what it feels to be stung by a Paraponera clavata on the tip on my finger (I wanted to feed my dear Trichonephila clavipes and her baby in my garden you know). The neurotoxin is really powerful, the pain is real.
In the same period, during a training session, I had the misfortune of dropping an Olympic barbell (made of cast iron, 45lbs) on my left foot. I feared it was broken, because it swelled and I couldn’t walk properly the next 24–48 hours, but thankfully I was fine. By the way, this happened on a Monday.
Maybe it has not been broken so I could live one of most difficult moments of my life. Four days after almost wrecking my foot, on Friday, I was back into business f*cking around. And I found out ! I just wanted to join the surfers (without a surf board) where they wait for the waves. But something unexpected happened.
I went to the spot easily (the current at Playa Hermosa is strong), but the challenge had been to get back to the beach by taking the same path. In reality, it was not the ocean that I was fighting, it was the weakest part of my mind. If you do not know how does it feel to avoid drowning, let me describe this for you :
Imagine that you are aware of a danger which has the potential to make the body you are in stop functioning forever. To make you “die” as we commonly say. Your ego starts freaking out and try to use the mental as much as it can by making you fearful of what might happen (even though you need the opposite to make it, which is having a calm mind and remaining grounded, focused).
Indeed the real battle was inside, and it was a bit chaotic at first. But when I did figure out that I was able to make progress — I had to swim vividly to advance toward the beach, otherwise I was going nowhere, while “managing” the waves that were falling repeatedly behind me — I started to believe that is was doable. Little by little, step by step, I knew I had the capacity to reach the sand once again.
But the truth is, I did not have a choice : the sun was almost gone, zero surfer around me, no possibility to call for help (wether with signs or by screaming). I only had one option : FIGHT TO LIVE. Next thing you know, I reach the beach, exhausted, and I feel a deep contentment. I am safe and sound, I can breath !
The truth is, I had already been in that position once before — at seven years old, and arguably in worse shape, since I could not swim and panicked completely. That time, it was a pool, and someone pulled me out. This time, there was no one coming. Full accountability. That said, I did invoke the divine — because when you are fighting the current, you do not refuse a little help.
The very next day, I told it to one of the boys in the surfing camp (Take Off Surf School), and I was troubled when he said that multiple people died at this spot, regardless of the age. Sadly most of the time, it is children. And the funny thing (at least fun to me lol) is that he said I did not have to deal with the worst case scenario with even bigger waves and current.
Magically, the next few days, I was free of the weird internal feeling I had during the first weeks after my arrival. I have been through the baptism of fire and I came back lighter than ever.
I had other violent experiences well into the end of my trip, but the joy and state of content I was having at the same time made everything considered as “bad” negligible. And just like the meme says, when you notice the pattern of figuring it out every single time, you just stop worrying easily. You become even more confident because you KNOW that life has your back if you let go of the mind (especially the wet chicken inside it). You rely on something really deep and unmovable.
Tap into the source !
Inner child rebirth & psilocybin
I always felt like the western world was suppressing, or at least trying to suppress the inner child within each single human (pretty much since primary school). Personally, I managed to keep it safe, whatever it cost. However, in France, I barely have the opportunity to share/express it, it remains something private.
The contrast is wild with Costa Rica. No matter the place, I was free from the idea of being judged or getting attention for this or that. I am not someone who is affected by the opinion of others, but I still know that something is going one when it happens, let say I notice it.
And realizing that I could mind my own business without being the center of the world was a fabulous feeling. A very few gives a f*ck ! And when a f*ck is given, it is for something meaningful, not scabby or strange. It is pure. This has no price, especially when you are aware of how cheap people became in some places. This is clearly the reality here, realness is becoming rare.
So, to get back on track, imagine that you feel perfectly fine expressing yourself, being yourself, and match with other people this way. To be frank I would say that this is pretty normal in a sane world, but guess what, not putting a mask is often viewed as childish from where I am from !
Seeing parents play with their children in the water, warm gatherings being common, smiles and openness,… everything that feels human after all. I am not saying that it was perfect and that the only creatures I met were saints, but you get the vibe.
I believe there is a link between the Pura Vida lifestyle and the inner child welcoming kingdom. The sun, the beach, the animals, the colors, the waves,… It is not artificial, so it does not ask to sacrifice your true self to fit in. You are, you do not need to perform.
The tikos (natives) are the ones who made me feel like this the most. Being cool is the norm. Well, surfing waves for a hobby is highly cool so it makes sense.
Psilocybin
Aldous Huxley, one my favorites writers (if not the one), wrote a book in which he talks about mescaline. He had a very profound experience with it, and lately I started to think about trying it too. Obviously, you need to go step by step because it is pretty intense and mindblowing, so I decided to start with shrooms (I used to hit the brocoli time to time, so I already consider myself as a psychonaut, a beginner one).
Instead of forcing it, I simply let things come to me as naturally as possible. Opportunities began to appear, but none of them felt quite right… until I decided to go to Tamarindo ! In this city, psilocybin is well known, you can buy it in stores (in chocolate mostly). I met a very cool girl (if you are reading this Michelle, I salute you ;) ) who suggested that we try together.
With this first micro dose, I tapped into a part of myself that is very fluffy I would say. I could tell that my perception was pure and wonder was present, just like when you discover new stuff as a child (and judgement/mental schemas do not exist). I quickly knew that this was unique, nothing like the famous substances like alcohol or weed. I was also surprised to learn that psilocybin is less harmful than caffeine !
After this charming experience, I decided to go further. One week after, at Santa Teresa, I decided to go for a walk on the beach while taking one gram (which is a decent dose). It lasted around four hours, which have been pretty intense. I left at 3pm and got back at home at almost 8pm.
The variety is called golden teacher, and frankly and I had multiple teachings. Those were very simple : becoming aware of vital energy/power of will, human connections and laughter. We could name all of this the realization of one’s self perhaps. Here was the place when the trip ended with the last lesson : El Peñon rock !
The intimacy was high too because when I arrived, only one girl was sitting there and she left right after the sunset so it was really great.
Looking at this image now, around five weeks after, and seeing the NY Times calling it “The Next Tulum” is crazy for me. I feel like it was outta this world ! If you ever have the occasion to go there… just go ! Maybe you will find me laying somewhere near !
Get Guillaume’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
To conclude this part, I can confidently say that making space for your inner child is the most important thing you can do. Otherwise, you truly lose your inner being in the sauce. So please do yourself a favor, do not be afraid of being called “childish” by old children pretending to be what they are not and getting triggered by your authenticity.
Worries, loosh farming and distractions
As I said previously, at a certain point, I started to become aware of the fact that everytime I had a bore (more or less disabling), I ended up in a better place a few days after (like higher lows and higher highs type of market strcuture).
So obviously, realizing this made me even more confident and ready to take more risks (or at least not decelerate). This is the opportunity to mention a part of The Doors of Perception from Aldous Huxley :
“…Il serait probablement plus proche de la vérité de dire, avec Saint Jean de la Croix, que «l’inquiétude est toujours de la vanité, parce qu’elle ne sert à rien de bon. Voire, même si le monde entier était jeté dans la confusion, avec toutes les choses qui s’y trouvent, l’inquiétude à ce sujet serait encore de la vanité.» Ce qui est vrai des choses éloignées dans l’espace et dans l’avenir est également vrai des choses lointaines dans le passé. Nous devons nous enseigner à ne pas gaspiller notre temps et nos occasions de connaître la réalité, en nous appesantissant sur nos souvenirs. Laissez aux morts le soin d’enfouir leurs morts…”
If you don’t understand french, here is the english version :
“…It would probably be closer to the truth to say, with Saint John of the Cross, that ‘anxiety is always vanity, because it serves no good purpose. Indeed, even if the whole world were cast into confusion, together with all the things in it, anxiety about it would still be vanity.’ What is true of things distant in space and in the future is equally true of things remote in the past. We must teach ourselves not to waste our time and our opportunities to know reality by dwelling on our memories. Let the dead bury their dead…”
Actually, you do not need any specific book to know reality if you show up and embrace your environment with all the joy, love and peace that you can. It will take time to cultivate this state of being for sure, but in my opinion, when you start to recognize the patterns and fortunate situations you find yourself in, you cannot go back. It is a one way path.
Loosh farming
I realized how detrimental it can be to monitor a situation that you cannot control at all. You give your energy (loosh is a range of emotions basically, but negative ones like stress, fear, despair, etc) and give away your ability to feel emotions to entities that are not benevolent or caring. That is why I talk about loosh. In the Pura Vida environment your life force is way more preserved, especially if you focus on what is here and there, not worldwide propaganda.
The past vanishes, the future is promising, and you feel aligned with who you are and what you cultivate daily. Instead of giving your energy/attention to the machine, to the beast, to the matrix, to the demiurge and the archons — call it whatever you want — you embrace the only real aspect of life, which is your very consciousness. We tend to forget it when we are caught in our fast lives, but this is so precious !
I had the chance to experience a place that was genuinely sane — somewhere you are not drained, not guarded, not on edge. When peace is abundant outside, it becomes far easier to cultivate it within. Joy and love arise more naturally, and the people around you stop feeling like strangers. They feel like brothers and sisters.
Protect your awareness and make sure it is not used against you !
Distractions
They are literally everywhere. It is hard to avoid them completely because no matter what you do or think, there is always something that will try to make you look in a certain direction. Although it is by design in this realm, we can diminish consequently the quantity of non sens we surround ourselves with and make it clearer, simpler, wider.
I would like to mention another part of Aldous Huxley’s book about this topic :
«Les contemplatifs ont comparé les distractions à la poussière, à des essaims de mouches, aux mouvements d’un singe piqué par un scorpion. Toujours, leurs métaphores évoquent l’image d’une agitation sans but. Et c’est précisément là le caractère intéressant et important des distractions. Les passions présentent essentiellement un but, et les pensées, les émotions, les fantaisies qui se rattachent aux passions, ont toujours quelque rapport avec les fins réelles ou imaginaires proposées, ou avec les moyens par lesquels ces fins pourront être atteintes. Il en est tout différemment des distractions. Il est de leur essence d’être incohérentes et sans but. Pour se rendre compte à quel point elles peuvent être vides de but et incohérentes, il suffit de s’asseoir et d’essayer de se recueillir.
Les préoccupations rattachées aux passions viendront probablement à la surface de la conscience, mais avec elles se soulèvera une écume oscillante de souvenirs, d’idées vagues et d’imaginations, mêlés au hasard, — des souvenirs d’enfance du chien de manchon de sa grand’mère, le nom anglais de la jusquiame, un projet généreux pour attraper en plein air les bombes incendiaires, — en un mot, toute espèce de non-sens et de stupidité. L’affirmation des psychanalystes, suivant laquelle toutes les divagations du subconscient emportent une signification passionnelle profonde, ne peut se plier aux faits.
Il suffit de s’observer soi-même et d’observer les autres pour découvrir que nous ne sommes pas plus exclusivement les serviteurs de nos passions et de nos impulsions biologiques, que nous ne sommes exclusivement rationnels ; nous sommes également des créatures possédant une machine psycho-physiologique fort compliquée qui moud incessamment, et, au cours de sa mouture, lance dans notre conscient des extraits de ce nombre indéfini de permutations et de combinaisons mentales constituées pendant qu’elle fonctionne au hasard. Ces permutations et combinaisons d’éléments mentaux n’ont rien à voir avec nos passions ni avec nos processus mentaux plus rationnels ; ce sont simplement des imbécillités, de simples produits de déchet de l’activité psycho-physiologique. Sans doute, de telles imbécillités peuvent être utilisées par les passions pour leurs propres fins, comme lorsque le Vieil Adam qui est en nous lance un barrage de distractions intrinsèquement sans intérêt afin d’essayer d’annuler les efforts créateurs de la volonté supérieure…» p.108/109
In english :
“Contemplatives have compared distractions to dust, to swarms of flies, to the movements of a monkey stung by a scorpion. Always, their metaphors evoke the image of aimless agitation. And that is precisely the interesting and important characteristic of distractions. The passions essentially present an aim, and the thoughts, emotions, and fantasies connected with the passions always bear some relation to the real or imagined ends proposed, or to the means by which these ends may be attained. It is quite otherwise with distractions. It is of their essence to be incoherent and without purpose. To realize how empty of purpose and incoherent they can be, it is enough to sit down and try to recollect oneself.
The preoccupations connected with the passions will probably rise to the surface of consciousness; but along with them there will arise a shifting scum of memories, vague ideas, and imaginings, mixed at random — memories from childhood of one’s grandmother’s muff dog, the English name of henbane, a generous plan to catch incendiary bombs in the open air — in short, every kind of nonsense and stupidity. The assertion of the psychoanalysts, according to which all the wanderings of the subconscious carry a profound passionate meaning, cannot be reconciled with the facts.
One need only observe oneself and observe others to discover that we are not exclusively the servants of our passions and of our biological impulses, any more than we are exclusively rational; we are also creatures possessing a highly complex psycho-physiological machine which grinds away incessantly, and, in the course of its grinding, throws into our consciousness extracts from that indefinite number of permutations and mental combinations formed while it functions at random. These permutations and combinations of mental elements have nothing to do with our passions nor with our more rational mental processes; they are simply imbecilities, mere waste products of psycho-physiological activity. No doubt such imbecilities can be used by the passions for their own ends, as when the Old Adam within us unleashes a barrage of intrinsically uninteresting distractions in an attempt to nullify the creative efforts of the higher will…”
Talking about higher will, having more ease at getting my thought process together and getting rid of random thoughts or past emotions — that lead to speculation of different outcomes or ways to potentially react — durably allowed me to ground myself and connect with the essence of reality itself. I know, that is deep, but experiences and inner feelings do not lie !
So stay sharp against hollow distractions and conjure your spells.
₿itcoin and chinese medicine
Well, I had the pleasure to enjoy smoothies and meals by paying with the ultimate peer to peer network ever known to humankind. Not only some shops were already accepting btc (via the lightning network mostly), but when I talked about it to pre coiners, I clearly felt the openeness.
Before developping this, let me give you some stores :
- Rico’s
- Satori
- Gaucha
- Buggy Blue Rentals
- Santa teresa mtb
- Hamburguesas Jairo 2
Other stores that I more or less orange pilled :
- El Tercer Ojo
- Bernie’s pizza
- Xolo Pet Boutique & Grooming
Indeed, I was not an alien there except for a few people obviously. However compared to France, it is clearly more advanced in terms of global adoption ! Costa Rica has a central bank, but I see a world where you can live in a sane monetary system anyway. It is very encouraging and I wish that the youth learn why it is crucial and how to use it. By the way, I met a commited bitcoiner there who is starting a very nice project for families and children : https://generationbitcoin.co/
Here is the first episode of the podcast, I highly recommand : https://open.spotify.com/show/1w8Iq5wikF6Km5BLYmhoA3
Plus, I had the privilege to pay my rents with btc, but you can also find easy ways to proceed via Bull Bitcoin (this is an affiliate link which gives you a lifetime bonus, 0.25% of discount for every single magic internet money purchase).
In a few years, this place will very probably be a heaven for individuals who prefer to use bitcoins instead of fiat.
Chinese medicine
I have been amazed by the accuracy of Rakesh in his practising, and I can only recommand anyone who never tried…to try ! (he also accepts btc :D)
The feeling is weird but the effects are great, I can tell.
Last few words
I did not highlight one important trick : not being on socials, especially Instagram ! I only kept X, but this is clearly different. I believe it is MANDATORY to cut off this type of distractions too.
Again, being able to focus on one thing is actually magical, and our attention span is under attack so we have to do what is needed. Thankfully, given the place, you do not crave for social media attention. At least it was not my case.
Secondly, I’m not saying that we NEED to suffer to appreciate life and grow. I think this is BS, it is more subtile than we often think. Even though there is some truth in “the deeper the roots, the greater the fruits”, we better avoid traumas and destructive patterns. According to me, suffering is not required to smoothly transition from this incarnation to other realms, so why bother ?
Inevitably, I forgot/omitted some elements, but as I said in the beginning I cannot cover everything.
So my dear reader, if you enjoyed this, please feel free to share it and do not forget, you are very welcomed. I wish you an intense trip overall ! Have fun !
“Chaos is what we’ve lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. It is feared by the dominant archetype of our world, which is Ego, which clenches because its existence is defined in terms of control.”
― Terence McKenna
