Stage 1 in San Diego
October 3rd – 9th, 2026. San Diego, USA
Stage 1 / The Initiation
The Awaken as Love Initiation is a journey open to everyone – it begins with a choice to go on an adventure that will expand you beyond the boundaries of your current existence. What will it bring to you? More awareness, more love, more inclusion, more juice to your life and more depth if you allow it.
This first stage is called “Initiation” because if you choose this then all your experiences up til now have led you to this point and you are obviously ready to step into a wider reality – in doing so you enter fresh and new, open to discovering more.
As you step into this journey you will encounter maps that help you understand the larger world and your place in it (this is beyond your imagination), tools which help you to play more fully in this world, embodied experiences which help you to anchor a new reality and finally ongoing resources which help to integrate and incorporate this into your life.
What is this Training?
Your Instructors
During this course you will be held by 3 of the Awaken as Love faculty (and a full team of assistants) – they each come from different backgrounds but all are inspired to facilitate the evolution of humanity.
Catheleene Cienfuegos
Lead Instructor
Awaken As Love Lead Facilitator, Healing Arts Practitioner & Trainer. She brings deep spiritual lineages, as well as contemporary philosophies, cutting edge practices and much humor, compassion and empathy. She creatively weaves ancient and contemporary wisdom streams to create Integral sessions and retreats that inspire and invite Conscious Evolution.
Cathleene spends her time traveling, learning and teaching Awaken As Love, Tantric Healing Arts Practitioner Trainings and her business program Standing in the Fire. She has been a featured teacher and author on Playboy.com and mytinysecrets.com for her groundbreaking work in pleasure and healing with full body orgasm.
Find her at www.bliss-life.com and receive your free copy of The Erotic Anatomy Guidebook for Women.
Peter
Petersen
Lead Instructor
Peter Petersen has been teaching for 19 years and has been a certified Sheng Zhen Qigong teacher for the last 17 years, where he has been teaching in health clubs, hospitals, retirement villas, and several different wellness/spa resorts in Mexico and the United States, such as Rancho La Puerta, Mayacamas Ranch, and Present Moment Retreat.
Peter has traveled with Monique for over the last 3 years teaching Tantra all over North America, the EU, Asia, and Australia. Peter is also a personal wellness coach. This Qigong practice helps people ground themselves into their “now” to increase their present moment awareness of their behaviors, and find solutions to problematic habits such as: eating, moving, negative thinking, and sleeping. The result of this tool box of healthy information is that clients become their own health advocate and regain a sense of stability, peace, and well-being into their everyday lives.
Anna
Ceniceros
Instructor
Anna has been on an evolutionary spiritual path for over 30 years. Her unconditional and all inclusive nature has made her open to many teachings and lineages and she shares those with groundedness and much humor.
Anna studied Awaken as Love under it’s creator and founder James Stevenson and several of the lead facilitators like (Cathleene Cienfuegos) and (Monique Darling). She is committed to the process of helping others awaken to their full potential through these transformative processes. She is a welcomed and amazing addition to the Awaken as Love faculty! Through embodied pleasure, spiritual and shamanic practices and higher thinking concepts, she creates a place for you to ask your biggest questions and experience your soul’s desires.
Anna has also been part of a recovery community for over 36 years and continues to support people in their recovery journeys through one on one sponsorship and a support network
Some of Areas Covered in this Training
- Tantric Bodywork
- Individual Partnered Tantra Meditations
- Archetypal Group Rituals
- Inner Masculine & Inner Feminine Aspects
- Character armour
- De-armouring
- Integral Maps
- The 4 Dimensions of Reality
- States of Consciousness
- Stages of Consciousness
- Lines of Development
- Typological Mapping
- Experience of Theory U
- Shadow & Spiritual Bypassing
- Gifts of the Wound
- Difference between Ego and Identity
- Identity & Regression
- Teachings of the 4 Shields
- Shamanic Medicine Walk
- Mindfullness and Heartfullness
- Satori Experiences
- Group Dynamics
Some of the areas covered in this Training
It is not necessary to already have an understanding of any of the areas mentioned below – you will be guided through each experience. This is simply for those who are curious about the content.
- Tantric Bodywork
- Individual Partnered Tantra Meditations
- Archetypal Group Rituals
- Inner Masculine & Inner Feminine Aspects
- Character armour
- De-armouring
- Integral Maps
- The 4 Dimensions of Reality
- States of Consciousness
- Stages of Consciousness
- Lines of Development
- Typological Mapping
- Experience of Theory U
- Shadow & Spiritual Bypassing
- Gifts of the Wound
- Difference between Ego and Identity
- Identity & Regression
- Teachings of the 4 Shields
- Shamanic Medicine Walk
- Mindfullness and Heartfullness
- Satori Experiences
- Group Dynamics
How can this advance me working in these areas?
There are a few ways in which this training will support you in your journey as a guide, teacher or practitioner. It is an accredited course from Awaken As Love – you will recieve a certificate on completion and you can state that you have completed this training on your personal biographies.
You will also be eligible to attend the next levels – Deepening & Radicalization to eventually become an Awaken as Love Facilitator.
In addition you will be gaining direct tools that you can then use in your own workshops and practices as well as a deeper understanding about how to work with groups – and meeting a larger international network of practitioners and teachers to create and stay in on-going connection. We routinely give opportunities to Awaken as Love graduates to be part of the festivals we create.
This training is designed to jump start your expansion into this level with the mission of helping that 10% to emerge.
So, do you feel some truth in this – is there some part of your body that says yes even if your mind doesn’t understand? If so then you are aligning to a mission of being an ambassador of planetary change – as an already existing teacher, guide or practitioner, or just one who hears the call.
The Venue: Cactus Blossom Retreat
Cactus Blossom Retreat is located on 4.5 quiet and masterfully landscaped acres on a private hilltop. This property boasts sweeping 360-degree mountain views, botanical garden-worthy specimen plantings, a 30-foot heated pool and spa, a well-stocked vegetable garden and fruit trees.
There is also a large heated and covered gathering space for group events, outdoor dining, yoga, and mindful movement practices. Walking trail from the property connects with the 3201-acre Daley Ranch Nature preserve.
Accommodation
The apartments here are are stylish and rooms accommodate between 2-3 people. There are Private Bathrooms, AC & Fan in Every Bedroom.
It also includes Toiletries & Beach Essentials, Fully Stocked Kitchens for Casas, Weekly Housekeeping and Great Wifi Throughout the Property. 3 meals a day are included.
Meals
3 Meals a day are inclusive of the accommodation price and fully vegetarian although we do consume dairy products and eggs. We use organic vegetables, pulses/legumes, grains and oils as often as possible. If you have special dietary needs then please mention this in the additional information area of the booking form so we can accommodate your needs as best as possible. Coffees and teas area available throughout the day.
Practical Information
Dates
The training runs from the October 3rd – 9th 2026.
Venue
Cactus Blossom Retreat, 11763 Alps Way, Escondido, CA 92026, San Diego.
Ticket Price
Current Super-Earlybird prices start from $1350. Prices will rise by $150 on the 1st July 2026.
• Special Offer •
Book both this Training and the Awaken as Love Tantra Festival together to get $100 discount off the training!
Choose your accommodation
Choose your accommodation from the options below. These additionally include breakfast, Lunch & Dinner offered during the training times. NOTE: You can either pay the full amount now or just an $800 deposit to reserve your place and price.
Stay Off-site
$1550 Sale $1350 per person
Sleep off-site at night in your own accommodation. Includes full training, 3 meals a day and access to bathrooms, comunal spaces to relax between structures
Single Cot in Shared Room
$1650 Sale $1450 per person
Stay on-site in a single cot bed in a shared room (with same gender) – includes full training plus 3 meals a day.
Bunk Bed in Shared Room
$1750 Sale $1550 per person
Stay on-site in a single bed in a shared room (with same gender) – includes full training plus 3 meals a day.
XL Twin in Shared Room
$1850 Sale $1650 per person
Stay on-site in an XL- Twin bed in a shared room (with same gender) – includes full training plus 3 meals a day.
2 Tickets in Queen Bed in Shared Room
$3200 Sale $2800 for 2 tickets
2 Tickets sharing a Queen Bed in a shared room – includes full training plus 3 meals a day.
2 Tickets in King Bed in Shared Room
$3700 Sale $3300 for 2 tickets
2 Tickets sharing a King Bed in a shared room – includes full training plus 3 meals a day.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created.
Albert Einstein
In fact it is not the next level of consciousness but the one after that which integrates the previous ones which will facilitate real change.
So what are you waiting for?
You can choose between either event or book both for a 10% discount on the training.
Book the Festival
Jump into the fun and book tickets for the California Tantra Festival
Book the Training
Reserve your place in the Awaken as Love Stage 1 Training now
Awaken as Love Tulum Tantra Festival
& Stage 1 in Tulum
Paledora Resort, Predio el Venado, MZ35, LT02,
Chemuyil, Quintana Roo (77774) Mexico.