A seven-day immersion designed to support you in moving through life’s challenges and opening to meaningful change.
"Through the Healing Intensive I underwent a profound transformation. I experienced fears and panic attacks in my life. …. It was challenging at times and the support and love I received helped me move through my fears. I felt lighter and a newfound sense of peace gently settled upon me like a warm embrace. I feel stronger and more courageous in my life after coming back from the Healing Intensive. I would encourage anyone to experience this magical place and be surrounded by Shamans and staff who are extremely supportive. I am so happy and grateful that I listened to the calling in my Heart."
– Jessica S., Healing Intensive participant 2022
The Healing Intensive is a six-day experience created to offer support, depth, and transformation. It is especially well suited for people seeking a profound shift toward spiritual growth and integral health, particularly when conventional healing methods have not brought the results they hoped for. It can also be helpful for those carrying long-standing challenges who are ready for a significant breakthrough in their healing process.
This ceremony opens the door to deeper relationships, fresh perspective, and spiritual practices that support a better way of living.
Drawing on the wisdom of the Wixárika tradition, the Intensive helps restore a living connection with nature as a source of guidance and renewal.
While the process is demanding, its benefits are far-reaching. It offers a safe and contained space for profound change across the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Participants are given tools and experiences that can support a healthier, more fulfilling life, accelerating healing that might otherwise take years.
The Healing Intensive is for those seeking significant shifts toward spiritual health or facing long-term issues that have not been resolved through regular healing methods.
Wixárika shamanic medicine is considered one of the oldest continuously practiced healing traditions, preserved through unbroken lineages over millennia in the naturally protected canyonlands and mountains of the Sierra Madre in northwestern Mexico.
The mara'akame, meaning “one who knows,” is chosen through the tradition’s sacred understanding and confirmed by elders and Tatewarí, Grandfather Fire, regarded as the original shaman of the people. In service to the community, the mara'akame remains accountable to the council of elders, the kawiterutsirri, and to the wider community.
As in the path of Don David, from apprentice to mara'akame and later tsaurixika, there are years of rigorous fasting, pilgrimages to sacred places, ceremonial participation, initiations, education, and work with clients in sessions such as the one you may attend. Annual mandas, or spiritual “demands,” are also required to maintain the proper relationship with the gods, the community, and the tradition itself.
As an experienced shamanic practitioner and teacher in the Wixárika tradition (mara'akame-tsaurixika) from the remote Sierra Madres of northwestern Mexico, Don David Wiley has traveled widely to share this ancient and timeless approach to spiritual healing and counseling.
Early in his work, he recognized that people in modern societies do not have the same support of ceremony, healing, and spiritual life that Wixárika communities experience in their villages. He began bringing individuals to Mexico for extended stays and a series of sessions, allowing them to step away from the cultural environment of their daily lives. The results were powerful. He then explored how to make this work more accessible for those unable to travel for a month or two, while still preserving the right setting.
Through his connection with the Blue Deer Center in the Catskills Mountains of upstate New York, he found a place where nature could support this profound process within a shorter timeframe. From that collaboration, the Healing Intensive was born.
"To address deeper seated spiritual, mental or physical challenges you must remove yourself from daily life in order to find true healing."
– Don David Wiley – Mara'akame (Traditional Healer) in the Wixárika (Huichol) tradition
We are here to help you.
Healing Intensive is a residential retreat offered only at Blue Deer Center and limited to 12 participants. An application is required and will be personally reviewed by the program provider.
Time: July 28 – August 4, 2026
Arrive on the first day between 4 and 6 pm. The program ends on the last day after breakfast.
Price: All-inclusive price: $3990. After acceptance, you may register by paying in full or with a non-refundable deposit.
The all-inclusive price covers lodging in a shared room, all meals, ceremonies, teaching, healing treatments, and nature activities on the land and river. A limited number of private rooms are available at an additional cost.
* All of our programs are made possible by the generosity of our donors and volunteers.
BiographyIn the mid-1990s, while living in Mexico, Don David Wiley experienced an apparition that was later recognized by Nahua and Huichol elders as the Spirit of Fire. He was asked to become a shaman, despite not seeking that path or even knowing what it meant at the time. He accepted in response to the astonishing, undeniable miracle before him. David...
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As Administrative Director, Linda Felch has been a foundational presence at Blue Deer since its beginning, helping to shape the center’s daily life with steady care and remarkable technical skill. Her work supports many essential functions behind the scenes, including program registration, database management, website maintenance, and communication with volunteers, donors, and participants. With patience and calm, she navigates the...
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1155 County Hwy 6, Margaretville, NY 12455, USA
Margaretville
Price
$3,990.00
Tue, Jul 28 – Tue, Aug 4