#56 ~ John Sarvis ~ Secret Smile Sanctuary
Episode of Seekers of the Eternal · December 11, 2024 · 1 h 14 min
Palehorse talks with John Sarvis about hosting an ayahuasca church at his flood-devastated Smile Sanctuary, his transformative ceremonies, resilience, meditation and reframing negativity.
Summary
Host Palehorse spoke in person with John Sarvis, owner of the Secret Smile Sanctuary in Dade City, Florida, which has hosted ceremonies of the Kamentsa Inga ayahuasca church, led by Taita Hector Ortiz of Colombia, for about two years. Sarvis described buying the property as COVID-19 lockdowns began, intending an artist-retreat Airbnb, before drum circles led him to the church's organizers. The episode was recorded after three hurricanes left the property under about 13 feet of water.
Sarvis said ayahuasca was rarely psychedelic for him and was more like hard cleansing work, but that it stripped away social programming and caused habits such as smoking and drinking to fall away. He recounted his most recent ceremony, in which he felt every past injury, saw himself torn apart, and after purging felt reassembled; he said the Taita told him his DNA had been rearranged for big things to come. He also described accepting the possible loss of his home under new flood rules before learning stilt houses were exempt.
The two discussed finding beauty in destruction, community support including a GoFundMe, cold-water immersion, building a daily meditation habit, and deliberately changing perspective to avoid knee-jerk reactions. Sarvis urged listeners to stop watching the news and proposed a daily good-news broadcast, while Palehorse described escaping years of conspiracy-focused negativity. Palehorse closed with the story of Swami Kriyananda rebuilding Ananda Village after a wildfire without government money and a reading from Yogananda on calmness.
Chapters
- 0:01
Introduction and context
Palehorse introduces John Sarvis, the Smile Sanctuary, the Kamentsa Inga church, and the hurricane flooding that devastated the property.
- 4:01
The Kamentsa Inga church
The hosts describe the traveling ayahuasca church led by Taita Hector Ortiz and where it holds ceremonies.
- 6:14
Founding the Smile Sanctuary
Sarvis recounts selling his house as COVID lockdowns began, buying the land, and meeting the church through drum circles.
- 11:45
What ayahuasca did for him
Sarvis explains that ceremonies were mostly hard work rather than psychedelic and stripped away habits and social programming.
- 16:38
Torn apart and rebuilt
Sarvis tells the story of his latest ceremony, in which he felt dismantled and reassembled, and the Taita's interpretation.
- 23:47
Flood rules and acceptance
Sarvis describes accepting the possible loss of his home, learning stilt houses were exempt, and seeing beauty while canoeing through the flood.
- 29:39
Community and support
The pair discuss the GoFundMe, ceremony sharing circles, and the rarity of ayahuasca churches in Florida.
- 37:10
Inner happiness and cold water
They discuss how external achievements fail to bring lasting happiness and Sarvis's daily cold-water immersion.
- 41:20
Building a meditation habit
Palehorse advises small daily meditation commitments and describes how meditation led him to Kriya Yoga and guiding groups.
- 50:35
Changing perspective
Sarvis lays out his method for reframing irritations such as traffic until the reframe becomes automatic.
- 59:37
News, negativity and good news
Sarvis urges listeners to quit the news and proposes a good-news station, while Palehorse recounts escaping conspiracy-driven negativity.
- 1:06:00
Closing, Ananda Village and Yogananda
They announce upcoming ceremonies, Palehorse tells the story of Ananda Village's rebuilding after a wildfire, and reads Yogananda on calmness.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- John Sarvis
Sarvis says that for him ayahuasca was mostly not psychedelic but more like torturous cleansing work.
“highly psychedelic it was more like uh torture i mean you go through it it does some cleansing”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis argues the medicine revealed how media and society had programmed him to believe he was flawed.
“It becomes so evident of how I was programmed. And how I was taken away from self and molded into this belief system that I'm flawed”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis says ayahuasca did not make him quit smoking and drinking by effort, but that the habits fell away on their own.
“Like some of the things like smoking and drinking, I'm not going to say I quit any of that. It kind of quit me”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis says ayahuasca experiences are highly individual, so no one can predict another person's ceremony.
“every person's experience is different so one person can't tell you what you're going to experience in ceremony they can only tell you what they've experienced”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis recommends that ayahuasca be taken with a shaman who knows how to move energy.
“it's a very special medicine very powerful medicine and it has to be done with a shaman really it should be because someone really knows how to move the energy”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis recounts that after his latest ceremony the Taita told him his DNA had been rearranged to prepare him for what was coming.
“His DNA had been rearranged and put back together for big things that are coming”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis says he learned that stilt houses like his were exempt from post-flood rules requiring damaged homes to be raised or demolished.
“He says, all the stilt houses are exempt from that. I was like, really?”
- Palehorse
Palehorse says Yogananda's teachings emphasize that remaining calm amid suffering makes a person invincible.
“a lot of what Yogananda's teachings and what I've been studying is that this calmness is invincibility”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis says Florida went from two ayahuasca churches to one, which he hosts.
“How many ayahuasca churches are there in Florida? There used to be two. Now there's one”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis believes daily cold-water immersion is helping him lose weight by activating brown fat.
“I think it's activating my brown fat, eating up all my white fat”
- Palehorse
Palehorse advises beginners to set a small, attainable daily meditation goal rather than ambitious long sessions.
“well make yourself a code maybe it's like okay i will at least meditate for five minutes every day”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis argues that with practice, reframing irritations becomes an automatic reaction.
“When things start irritating you, it'll almost become a knee-jerk reaction to rethink it another way”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis recommends that people stop watching the news and listen to calming music instead.
“number one thing if you want to feel better in life stop watching the news folks cut the news off put on some nice music”
- John Sarvis
Sarvis proposes a daily good-news show compiled from short positive reports by people around the world.
“having a good news station where we kind of plug into some different people around the planet on a daily basis”
Linked moment · 1:02:54Skip to 1:02:54 using a listen link in the info box.
PalehorsePalehorse says he spent years absorbed in conspiracy theories searching for villains, which made him unhappy.
“I fell into this trap for a long time where I was just looking for the negativity”
- Palehorse
Palehorse argues the biggest conspiracy is the effort to divide people against each other.
“I realize the biggest conspiracy is that they're just trying to divide us all”
- Palehorse
Palehorse recounts that Swami Kriyananda refused government compensation after a wildfire destroyed Ananda Village, choosing to rebuild with community funds.
“he told them that we came to this area to give, not to take. And so we're not going to take any money”
People
In the conversation
- PalehorseArtist and host of the Seekers of the Eternal podcast, also referred to as Chris
- John SarvisOwner of the Secret Smile Sanctuary in Dade City, Florida, and longtime stage technician in the entertainment industry
Discussed
- Hector Alirio Ortiz JimenezColombian taita (medicine man) from the Putumayo region who leads the Kamentsa Inga ayahuasca ceremonies
- Monica VasquezOrganizer with the Kamentsa Inga church who translates for the Taita and appeared in episode 51
- Paramahansa YoganandaIndian yogi and author whose writings the host quotes at the episode's close
- Swami KriyanandaDirect disciple of Yogananda and founder of Ananda
- Nayaswami JyotishAnanda spiritual teacher whose gratitude affirmation Palehorse quoted
- Michael SingerAmerican author of The Untethered Soul
- Joseph CampbellAmerican mythologist
- Thomas EdisonAmerican inventor cited for calmly watching his factory burn
Topics
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From the publisher
Visual artist Palehorse talks with special guest John Sarvis of the 'Secret Smile Sanctuary' in Dade City, FL - An outdoor retreat space that hosts the 'Kamentsa Inga' - a traveling Ayahuasca (Yage) church, lead by Taita Hector Alirio Ortiz Jimenez, who is a medicine man with over 23 years of experience from the lower Putumayo region of the Colombian Amazon. In this episode we are connecting with John shortly after the Smile Sanctuary was hit by three, back to back hurricanes, leaving his property and home under 13 feet of flood water. This podcast is packed with a vibration of resilience, staying positive and recognizing that everything that comes in life is for our greatest good. In the past two years since the Kamentsa Inga Church has been hosting Ayahuasca circles at the Smile Sanctuary, John has participated in 23 ceremonies and in this interview he shares the profound impacts that the medicine has had on his life and way of being. You'll also hear a story from his latest ceremony experience where John was psychically torn to pieces and put back together as an upgraded version of himself to prepare for the work ahead to rebuild and continue this work for the community amidst the challenges of the natural disaster. Please enjoy this episode and see below for links to support and join the community! | CONNECT WITH THE KAMENTSA INGA CHURCH | https://ayahuascayage.com/ | SUPPORT THE REBUILDING OF THE SMILE SANCTUARY | https://tinyurl.com/yd4b7cx5 | CONNECT WITH JOHN SARVIS | https://www.facebook.com/sarvisrocks | PALEHORSE ONLINE STORE & OFFERINGS | https://palehorse.myshopify.com/ https://palehorse.komi.io/ | MUSIC BY SOMA KIRTAN | / soma_kirtan
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 24, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.