Business ProfileforMystic Arts Studio

I attended a weekend retreat hosted by this business this past weekend (Feb. 23 - 25). I paid a total of 1400.00 for my daughter and I to attend. The advertised information on ********** (report filed with them as well) and material I received from the business described a very thoughtful, intentional, ceremonial weekend workshop (please see attached material). I have several concerns around the skillset of the facilitator and owner of the business (Kasia). Kasia did not facilitate the event as she advertised, many of the offerings described in the advertisement did not happen or were offered at a substandard level. The schedule was not followed. The food preparation/service was substandard in terms of ** **** **** standards. The business provided and encouraged participants to consume *********** (premade chocolate mushroom truffles - **********************) with little to no concern regarding safety/***** considerations. We did not partake and I was concerned for the well-being of the participants who did as the organizers seemed very unclear about the strength and dosage of the truffles. Kasia’s partner, *****, did all the cooking and provided the premade mushroom truffles which he makes himself. The focus of the weekend was to celebrate and honour the full moon, not consume recreational mushrooms. I have contacted the ****** as well as I am not certain if they are aware of what was happening on their property. At the end of the weekend, Kasia invited all the participants to reach out to her if they wanted to have a conversation about what had happened over the weekend. I reached out to her when I arrived home. My intention was to offer her feedback and let her know that I would be requesting a partial refund as I did not feel that she delivered on her advertised information on what the weekend would be. She escalated the conversation very quickly and was not willing to talk with me in a timely manner or in good faith. She immediately became defensive and claimed I had gotten my money’s worth and that she would involve her ***** team. I encouraged her to have her “***** team” contact me as I felt that would be more effective than dealing with her. To date, I have not heard from said team. I have a record of the detailed text exchange and am happy to share that (in full) if required. At several points throughout the weekend Kasia admitted that this was her “first retreat and she did not really know what she was doing”. My daughter is eight months pregnant and this retreat was intended to be very special for us as a family. This is my daughter’s first child and my first grandchild. My focus was on my daughter and making sure she enjoyed her time. My daughter and I did stay for the entire weekend. We did consume food and we did enjoy the crystal bowl sound sessions Kasia performed. The location was quite lovely and we enjoyed the setting. On Saturday we were left alone in the house for over four hours while the group left for a “forest bathing”. We enjoyed our one-on-one time. We did everything we could do make the best of a very awkward and uncomfortable situation, including making our own lunch on Saturday. This particuar ****** rents (entire house) for about $500.00 per night. Kasia added minimal value to the weekend, certainly no where near to what she advertised. I originally requested a portion ($400.00) of what I paid as I thought this was fair. I was not trying to be unreasonable, and I wanted her to acknowledge that she can not advertise things she is not able to provide. At this point in the journey, I would like to receive a FULL refund as she has made this so difficult for me. Here is a small portion of the text message exchange in which I address a good number (not all) of my concerns to no avail/response/acknowledgement: …And, please take note that I am acutely aware that I am not the only person who feels this way. And, I am more than happy to escalate this situation, if that’s what needs to happen. I strongly suggest that you take a pause, a deep breath and work with me and be realistic about what actually happened over the weekend. You admitted that this was your first retreat and that you had no idea what you were doing. This was very clear from the moment we arrived on the property. My daughter and I enjoyed many aspects of our weekend. The location, the sound baths, some of the food, the ocean and some of the other guests were delightful. However, let’s be crystal clear, this was NOT an intentional, ceremonial retreat as you advertised. This was a casual weekend gathering for you and a few folks who know you and your work as a sound bath facilitator in Vancouver. That’s it. Your partner provided the food and was nurturing. I believe he did his best to support in the ways he could. You did NOT facilitate any of the experiences you promised would occur nor did you guide the group in any type of *********** way. I paid for that experience and I did not receive it. You will compensate me for the lack of *********** facilitation as was advertised and promised. I suggest you give this deep consideration before we have our conversation tomorrow. I am trying to be fair and you need to acknowledge your limitations and failure to deliver what you advertised and I paid for. You need to be realistic about what you are promising people and get really clear about what your skill set is before you present yourself as a workshop facilitator. At this point in your journey, with all due respect, you are absolutely not a workshop facilitator. You are a sound bath facilitator, you are absolutely not able to hold space for a group of people who came together for the type of experience you advertised. What happened over the weekend was not facilitated, intentional, ceremonial or organized. You cannot simply sit by a fire and read a script off your phone and call it a full moon ceremony. Nor does speaking about tarot for less than 20 minutes in a very superficial way constitute any kind of a tarot “workshop” or divination conversation of any kind. The food was not plant-based as was advertised. There was no Forest bathing, it was simply a hike up to the falls. We were left alone on the property for 4 1/2 half hours while the agenda promised lunch, quiet time and an acupuncturist. The agenda was completely meaningless. There was no lunch served on Saturday. We had to make our own coffee on two separate occasions and rummage for food on Saturday while you went shopping for more food. Upon our arrival you were actually trying to store your personal items in the room that I paid for which was completely outrageous/inappropriate. The first impression was not a good one Kasia, not a good one at all. You did not even properly welcome us or anyone. There was no intention setting or even a proper introduction circle ceremony for the participants to meet each other. And it only continued to disintegrate over the weekend. And if you think my daughter and I did not notice that you didn’t even make eye contact with us as you went around the room thanking everybody you’re sadly mistaken. Like I said in the beginning, I was open to navigating this with you in a respectful way but your attitude with me trying to set up a face-to-face call and you bringing up the cost of the weekend and how you were trying to work with “my budget” has really not landed well with me - at all. Honestly, you have a lot to learn in regards to what it means to host a conversation and/or facilitate a workshop and provide respectful customer service to people who pay good money for what you promised/advertised. As a consumer, I trusted your advertisement and our phone conversations. I believed your advertisement and at the end of the day it was *****. Even your agenda served to be nothing but words on paper. You did not attempt to follow the agenda, you did not guide the group in terms of timing or inform us what was happening. **** **** *** *********** ****** **** ** **** **** **** **** **** ******** *** *** ******* ** ****** *** ********  Saturday night at the dinner table was extraordinarily awkward. People were literally sitting with their plates full of food waiting for you to join us and/or at the very least say something about starting the meal together. You were consistently more concerned about setting/clearing the table than you were about your participants. I have facilitated hundreds of workshops throughout my life and I have attended hundreds of workshops throughout my life and I have never, ever, experienced anything like what happened on the weekend. At every turn, I chose to make the best of it because it was a very special time for my daughter and I. I will always hold that part of the weekend in my heart. We had a fabulous time with one another because we made a conscious and *********** decision to make the best of a very weird and uncomfortable situation. The sound baths were lovely but two sessions of that would have been more than enough. I would not have attended had I known that it was going to simply be a sound bathing weekend - which is all that it was. At the end of the day, it is not a question of whether or not you will be reimbursing me, it is a question of how we will get to a number that i can live with…. Here is a collection of links to her various advertisements: Retreats with KASIA (*****************) Full Moon Weekend Retreat in Ladysmith, BC, Ladysmith, February 23 to February 25 | ************ Mystic Arts And the intake form: Full Moon Weekend Retreat Intake Form (**********)