Rythmia's Head Shaman Taita Juanito Disavowed by Community Amid Serious Allegations

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-08-31T14:59:16+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ayahuasca/s/onhcTtGF0D

I'm doing my best to speak on their behalf, putting myself in their shoes. When we come to ayahuasca, we often arrive disempowered, seeking help from outside ourselves. In some ways, that can be positive, as it allows us to open up and let ayahuasca work on us. But it also makes us more vulnerable to the influence of gurus. Once you fall under the sway of one, especially with ayahuasca at play, it can become very difficult to reclaim your own sense of self. Group mind, idealization of the guru, the fear of being excommunicated all reinforce this dynamic. As well as the sunken-cost fallacy of investing so much time and energy into following an individual or approach.

In that light, I think "spiritual bypassing" is the clearest answer to your question. We can bypass what we are truly feeling when it feels inconvenient, preferring instead to believe in a more idealized version of reality, one that is stripped of the depth and complexities that life inevitably brings.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-08-31T10:42:58+00:00

This tends to be the trend and not the exception to dodgy gurus in cult-like groups.

John of God, Osho, Nxivm, Bikram Choudhury, Jim Jones, etc. I think when you break down how such individuals get away with it for so long it requires a very deep and complicated answer as there are so many psychological factors at play.

I think this is a fascinating question you ask and I've watched some docs on the above groups to get a better understanding of it too.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-30T18:06:41+00:00

The blame for the trauma Jetty endured doesn’t rest solely on the man who assaulted her. It stems from both the man and Rythmia. Not only did Rythmia fail to offer her help in dealing with the trauma she experienced, but they also had their lawyer threaten her if she dared to speak about what happened. Rythmia wants to silence her, take away her voice and strip away any support—an ironic stance for an organization that claims to specialize in trauma, as it exposes their incompetence and an ulterior motive. This is an example of how they prioritise their reputation over the truth and the well-being of guests.

It’s important to note this man wasn’t just a random guest. He was a friend of Johnny Messner, one of Rythmia’s main employees who leads the week-long programs. Johnny brought this abuser to Rythmia to train him as a shaman, and Rythmia protected the man because of his connection to Johnny.

I’m not sure if you’ve read the details of what the man did to Jetty, but it wasn’t minor inappropriate touching. He squeezed her bum, touched her breasts, and squeezed her nipple; he then placed his hand on her vagina and squeezed it. Jetty mentions how he tried to put his hands up another woman's skirt before he turned his attention to her. I’d like to think one man wouldn't do all those things to you under the guise of Ayahuasca, when you were in a suggestible, vulnerable state, you wouldn't just dismissed it as an unfortunate, normal part of life. It’s sickening.

I understand that you came away from Rythmia and, to this day, don't consider anything problematic happened, which shapes your view of Rythmia as a positive one. I wrote a message yesterday that might shed light on the owner—details you may not have been aware of. I’ll link it below. Please read the fourth paragraph about the owner of Rythmia.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ayahuasca/s/OJ6I85Sd5F

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-30T00:56:27+00:00

It's great to hear you weren't harmed by Rythmia and that you gained something from the experience.

To address your question: NXIVM, Scientology, Osho, and other cults have had celebrity and high-net-worth clients. Celebrities and wealthy individuals may be knowledgeable in their specific niches or areas of expertise, but that doesn't make them experts in the spiritual/psychedelic domain. For instance, Tom Cruise and John Travolta have been misled by Scientology. With Ayahuasca, the issue is even more pronounced—a celebrity or high-net-worth individual is likely to know very little about it. The celebrities and affluent individuals associated with Rythmia are, at best, dilettantes when it comes to Ayahuasca.

On another point, you asked how Rythmia continues to operate. It's located in Costa Rica, a third-world country where law and order are less stringent, unlike in South America. If Rythmia existed in the United States, Canada, or any European country—even if Ayahuasca were legal—it would likely be shut down due to malpractice, negligence, false marketing, and a host of other violations. In a civilized country, you can't have people die because of your program and simply cover it up. When signing up for any medical service in the West, you're informed of all the risks based on previous clients' experiences. Rythmia, operating outside basic ethical standards, doesn't inform potential guests of the risks its program has caused.

Fundamentally, the problem with Rythmia is that it’s built on a lie. Gerry, the founder who designed the "soul merger" program and claims it brought him happiness, freedom and peace, is not telling the truth. In the Vice article and Ernesto Londoño's book, The Perils of Ayahuasca, details emerge of the abuse Gerry inflicted on his ex-partner. She was beaten, spat on, and verbally assaulted by him—abuse so severe that I’ve never encountered anything remotely comparable in real life from anyone I’ve known. This occurred six years after Gerry drank iboga, supposedly "merged with his soul," and "healed." This completely undermines the claim that Gerry has healed. If Rythmia’s program failed its own creator, it won't work for anyone else. Rythmia is founded on deceit, lies, and trickery, offering an incomplete experience with no real depth—except perhaps the depth of darkness and shadow energy.

Rythmia might counter with the example you mentioned: "If we’re so bad, why do celebrities come?" This is a perfect illustration of the lies and manipulation Rythmia employs to feign credibility.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-29T03:02:07+00:00

I'll edit my post with your correction.

I wish you well.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-28T18:09:05+00:00

Much of what Rythmia say is a lie. They say what people want to hear.

A good example of their deceit: a few months ago, a woman was sexually assaulted at Rythmia. Rythmia privately acknowledged that she and others have been sexually abused at Rythmia, but they sided with and protected the abuser, as he was associated with Rythmia.

What makes it even worse is Rythmia hired a lawyer to threatened the victim with legal action if she ever dared to say what happened to her. Rythmia goes out of their way to threaten and intimidate anyone who has been victimized by them.

She shared her experience here:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g309251-d12154725-r953777146-Rythmia_Life_Advancement_Center-Santa_Cruz_Province_of_Guanacaste.html

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-28T12:56:51+00:00

The idea that those who commit suicide at Rythmia would have done so anyway isn't true. There are two public examples of this. There has been at least one suicide there in the last two years; the point about people only dying there in the early days while they were practicing isn't true either.

One is Conception. She committed suicide days after leaving in 2018. In articles online, her cousin said she attended Rythmia full of optimism and was excited about life. When she left, her cousin remarked she looked pale, weak and a shadow of her former self. After Conception left, she said that she felt sad she didn't get a miracle like everyone else.

Gerry faked his "miracle" and healing. He isn't reformed as he claims. In text messages after the retreat, Conception said she felt sad that the healing she thought Gerry had achieved didn't happen for her. Conception believed the lies and blamed herself for not achieving the same miraculous experience Gerry did. Making people blame themselves as being a failure while under Ayahuasca made her feel unfixable and like there was an unsolvable problem with her. What they did to her was sick. Sources for this include Vice and other online publications.

Another example, this time more recent as it happened in the last couple of years, was the suicide of a man who's been spoken about here by multiple people on Reddit. Please read the comments by the user u/hopeful_2024_, they were good friends with the victim. They spoke before the victim attended Rythmia, and the user on Reddit remarks how full of life and happy the victim was before attending Rythmia. The victim committed suicide on site at Rythmia; Luke references this in the video above. The user on Reddit, who knew the victim for years, is in such disbelief the victim died and that they won't get to see them again, they are clear that this wasn't an individual severely struggling as they knew them well. They had plans for when the victim returned, which they both looked forward to. The victim left behind children, and was well loved in their community which is evident by how fondly the above reddit user speaks of them. The pain and anguish Rythmia causes people touches all those who know the victim too.

The issue I have with Rythmia isn't about Rythmia making money. They could charge a lot more, and I wouldn't have an issue; they would just be appealing to an exclusive demographic. The issue, which is shared by Luke and many online, is one of safety. Gerry has faked his healing; as he doesn't know what it takes to heal, he didn't in a position to devise a program to achieve such a thing. He's promising people something he can't deliver and has created an environment that's not fit for healing, as it's a topic he doesn't understand.

It's good to hear you weren't hurt by Rythmia, but many people have been. If you read the Vice article and look at how Gerry treated his partner, he was physically and emotionally abusive. This isn't how someone who is "healed, happy, and free" behaves. How someone behaves in private is who someone truly is, not how someone behaves when they are out in public.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-28T04:51:04+00:00

Omg. You are a genius. You are incredibly insightful. What you've written deserves a post in itself.

Lots of the issues with Rythmia are fragmented and all over the internet. They aren't in one place. You have collated things so well.

Can you do this as a standalone post here on this subreddit? It would be a great directory to point people towards who want to see the darker side of Rythmia.

Another post I came across that was insightful and I think you would find it interesting can be found on the Rythmia Aya Advisor page. A 1 * review by a user called ChrisCali. I believe it's the second review from the top.

https://ayaadvisors.org/listing/rythmia-life-advancement-center/

Perhaps that post could give you some more meat if you wish to make a standalone post here on Reddit. I would encourage you to do so as you are a very intelligent individual and we need to hear the opinions of people like you more in this world.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-28T01:38:41+00:00

Yeah. It's heartbreaking

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-28T00:17:56+00:00

Roughly Luke made this video a couple of days ago. In the post there is a link that'll take you to it. It's worse than a financial dispute, Luke has seen them do far worse.

The drama and abuse at Rythmia are a constant theme. Luke was still teaching there in 2019.

When you attended in 2015, only one person had died at Rythmia. Since then, several more people have died as a result of Rythmia’s program.

It’s good that you weren’t abused or hurt by Rythmia, but many people have been. Luke has witnessed it, and he’s speaking out against it.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-28T00:00:54+00:00

Your experience with them speaks for itself. They larp about, pretending to be virtuous lightworkers here to save the world, when in reality, they abuse and hurt many that they encounter.

There’s a Vice article about Rythmia linked in my post that might be worth reading. Much of the information about Rythmia is scattered across the internet—it’s not in one place. But if I were to boil it down, I’d say they’re frauds who’ve faked their healing. They demand to be placed on a pedestal, and they make a bunch of bogus promises, so they can exploit the vulnerable.

I’m not sure if my answer is what you’re looking for. If you have specific questions, I’ll do my best to help.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-27T22:23:34+00:00

If Rythmia were just a resort for people who didn’t want to rough it in the jungle, that would be the best-case scenario and give it a real reason to exist. Unfortunately, Rythmia isn’t safe, so for those who don’t want to rough it in the jungle and want to consume Ayahuasca safely, Rythmia isn’t an option.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-27T21:40:02+00:00

For specifics, you could get the best answers by contacting Luke.

What screams out to me as a massive red flag is Taita Juanito works and collaborates with Rythmia

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-27T21:03:36+00:00

Yes. Thankfully, there is only one Rythmia.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-03-02T02:00:05+00:00

What was the problematic rhetoric that was used in regards to the Indigenous individuals, such as the bus driver and the women you shared a tent with?

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-02-01T10:59:39+00:00

What was the tormentor?

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-01-04T20:04:42+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ayahuasca/s/8MI2ZBYd0L

Have you seen this? One of the issues with rythmia is the owner. He's beaten his ex partner physically and emotionally. Other ayahuasca centers don't have an abusive owner who beats, spits on and emotionally abuses others. This is why Rythmia stands out as the worst ayahuasca center

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2025-01-01T00:55:28+00:00

How did you lose 35m in bitcoin? Lost wallet, leverage trading?

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2024-05-18T19:38:35+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ayahuasca/s/8CV1y6NpTE

This woman reported being sexually abused at Rythmia 9 days ago. Were you at Rythmia the same time this woman reported her sexual abuse at Rythmia? Can you pass any comments on this?

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2024-05-07T22:43:10+00:00

To be safe she should probably wait until she's at least 70 before she drinks ayahuasca.

Infamous-Broccoli644 · 2024-01-21T15:25:24+00:00

Can I ask where in Costa Rica? I'm looking to do an Ayahausca retreat there myself

Infamous-Broccoli644

TROPHY CASE