FAQ
Women and men come together through their love and devotion to a body of work that is based on rites of initiation and known as The Gift – A Woman’s Rite to Herself and The Grail – A Hero’s Quest to the Self.
The Gift is a 3-day transformational journey for women based around a Rite of Initiation that offers the opportunity for women to rediscover and embrace their own feminine voice. It has proved over and over to be a powerful and safe space for deep and life-changing transformation to occur. Because it is such a safe environment, each woman can explore her deepest truth to clarify what she must let go of so that she can call in that which she most longs for.
The Grail is a 3-day life-changing, extraordinary journey for men. It is based around a Rite of Initiation into the feminine mystery that offers the possibility for each man to welcome and honor his wild and instinctual self. In doing so, he is able to come into a greater sense of his full potential as a man.
Visit any of our programs to see a listing of upcoming events and contact details of Organisers in your area
The Gift and Grail weekends are based on an individual Rite of Initiation that each of the participants step into. During the weekend each woman or man will have the opportunity to explore their deepest truth, and be witnessed in their essence. The incredible power of being seen in this way is life-changing.
Shematrix has been offering these transformational events since 1996. We provide a safe space that is unique and like no other, a space where you will be able dive deeply into yourself and get in touch with your essence to explore all aspects of your particular incarnation. Almost all participants say they have never experienced anything like this work. There is no hierarchy, no fixing, no advice-giving of any kind. We always create a beautiful space and often people comment that they received way more than they expected from attending.
In the work of Shematrix, we are using a contemporary, but timeless, form of initiation to activate a network of support for all those in major life transition. A Rite of Initiation is a ceremony marking an important stage in someone’s life. It is an initiation that honours transitions from one stage or cycle into another. You will be asked to courageously and with support let go of something that doesn’t serve you anymore and, embrace the new, the unknown, the Mystery. There are very few places so sacred and safe to encounter one’s deepest truth.
The Guides are experienced facilitators in this work, and are highly trained and qualified to support the participants throughout the weekend, especially during their individual Rites of Initiation.
The team consists of 2 or 3 trained Guides, an Organiser, and 4 assistants. The team all work together to hold the energy of the weekend, whilst participating in the circles throughout our time together. There is no hierarchy to the circle and the team both participates and supports the participants.
The normal size of the circle is 15 participants, 2 or 3 Guides and a team of 5 assistants who come to hold a loving presence of compassion and support. This ratio of team to participants is rare at an event of this kind, and we strive to offer unwavering support to participants throughout the weekend.
People often connect more strongly with their inner guidance, and with their deep essential self. Participants often leave a Shematrix event with a new-found sense of self-love, joy, and an ease and relaxed confidence with their self-expression that manifests as a deepened trust in life. Heightened emotional intelligence, along with compassion for yourself and others is a big part of what you receive in this process. People often feel a stronger sense of clarity about their direction in life.
It depends on the severity of the disability or illness. During the enrollment process we will look into whether it is advisable for you to participate, or if there are some physical aspects, which may prevent you from attending.
During the process we ask participants to refrain from alcohol and any recreational drugs. We strongly advise staying on any prescription medications, but putting aside anything you take only for recreation to alter your state. These are often ways to avoid feeling deeply and refraining from them will help deepen your process.
No. You just need to be clear you are ready for a deep and wonderful adventure.
At the moment the weekends are only led in English, so you must be able to speak and understand English well in order to participate.
We will ask you to devote all your time and energetic attention to the Circles and Rites of Initiation during the three days. Of course, after hours you are welcome to do your life-enhancing practices.
Food at the weekend events is high quality. You will get a catered main meal per day at non-residential events, and for residential events you will be provided with a catered lunch, a light dinner and breakfast. You will be asked to bring a food offering for the snack table, which is available throughout the day. Some special dietary needs can be catered for, if we are given good notice.
We offer both residential and non-residential weekends. In a residential setting the benefits are enhanced by staying on the site. Each venue varies, however each participant is provided with comfortable bedding.
We ask that during The Gift or Grail weekends you arrange things so that you can fully focus on yourself as if you were on a meditation retreat. Plan not to make or receive calls unless you must check in with your family. Of course, if an emergency arises on either end, you can reach your family member or they can reach you through a number, which will be provided.
Ideally, it is good to have a few days after the weekend for integration, but many people do return to their work and family lives immediately after the process.It is recommended that if at all possible, you take at least one day after the event to support your integration of this powerful time.
Shematrix has a Pay It Forward Fund, financial assistance that is offered as a way of supporting women and men to attend the weekends who would otherwise not be able to afford it. The idea is that they are partially funded by the generosity of those who contribute to the fund. As a community, we are weaving continuity, connection and healing through a generosity of spirit and abundance. Each application is individually assessed by the Pay It Forward Fund Committee and there is a form you will need to fill out to apply for this assistance. The organiser of the event you wish to attend can support you with this process.
Though we are not registered as a non-profit organisation, we have some of the qualities of that kind of organisation. The majority of our organisational income comes from the tuition for our weekends and our Shematrix Mystery School Training. We run with a balanced budget to the extent possible, and donate monies to organisations such as Amnesty International, Equality Now, and Our Jinpa (supporting Tibetan refugees in Northern India). We also receive donations to continue our work in the world. Shematrix has no brick and mortar headquarters, and while Guides and Organisers and some Administrative staff are paid nominally for their time, it is not about profit for any of us. We are primarily interested in serving people by providing them access to this gateway as we have all benefited so much from it ourselves. Many people love the work so much that they volunteer their time to make sure that it continues and expands and is available to more and more women and men.
There are follow up Initiates circles, Days of Rite’s, local community events, Gatherings and Trainings (see Mystery School) that will be available to you once you have completed a weekend.
It is a training for women in how to hold sacred space, and how to show up more clearly for ourselves and in deep service to others. Together we are called to share this transformational opportunity with ever-widening circles. The Shematrix Mystery School has been an amazing, deepening and exciting journey for many women since 1996. Being part of the Shematrix training has been an essential step in the journey for all women who are now qualified as Guides to facilitate the work in The Gift and The Grail. The Guide level training is a separate ‘invitation only’ path.
