Contact: John or Barbara by email or telephone or in person to discuss your participation in the trip.
Barbara — bbrodsky@deepspring.org    (734) 971-3455     or     John — bodhi@duke.edu    (919) 286-4754

If we agree this trip is suitable for you, then ... 

Forms and deposit: Download the Application Contract and also the Casa Indemnity Form
from this web site and fill them in. Send them with your $500 deposit made out to Vipassana Healing to:

John or Barbara will call or email you to further discuss your participation.

Passport: To obtain a visa (info below), your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the start of this trip. If needed, please apply for one immediately. Passport service is running slow right now, due to new federal rules.

Ticket: Before you get a visa, you'll need an airplane ticket.  You may take any flight of your choice, in order to use your award miles or a preferred airline, or if you find cheaper fares, but many would like to travel together and we find that working with our travel agent gives the best results on a group tour. For people coming from different parts of the country, we usually plan a central location for the flight from the US to Brazil so participants can meet there. When you register for a trip, we will let you know the travel plans. Our land transportation will be based on these arrival and departure times, so if you take a different flight, please plan to arrive in Brasilia by the time the group arrives and to leave Brasilia  no earlier than the group departure. Our ground transportation will be based on these times and will change only to accommodate changes or delays in the flights.

 Outbound Flight TO Brazil

 Sun, Jan 13    1:35pm Depart - Detroit, MI (DTW) Delta Air Lines  684
    3:36pm Arrive - Atlanta, GA (ATL) nonstop — Connection Time: 3 hrs 59 min

Sun, Jan 13    7:35pm Depart - Atlanta, GA (ATL) Delta Air Lines  61  nonstop
Mon, Jan 14    8:10am Arrive - Rio De Janeiro,
Brazil (GIG) Flight time: 9 hrs 35 min — Connection Time: 3 hrs 50 min

Mon, Jan 14    12:00     Depart - Rio De Janeiro,
Brazil (GIG) TAM Linhas Aereas S.A.  3822
    1:43pm Arrive - Brasilia, Brazil (BSB) Flight time: 1 hr 43 min nonstop

Return Flight FROM Brazil

Sat, Jan 26    5:25pm Depart - Brasilia, Brazil (BSB)TAM Linhas Aereas S.A  3601
    8:25pm Arrive - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (GIG) 1 stop — Connection Time: 3 hrs 30 min
Sat, Jan 26    11:55pm Depart - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (GIG) Delta Air Lines  60
    Sun, Jan 27     6:45am  Arrive - Atlanta, GA (ATL) nonstop Flight time: 9 hrs 50 min
    Connection Time: 3 hrs 45 min
Sun, Jan 27    10:30am Depart - Atlanta, GA (ATL) Delta Air Lines 1122
    12:31pm Arrive - Detroit, MI (DTW) Flight time: 2 hrs 1 min

    If you choose a different flight, we suggest you find flights that give at least 3 hours between segments, to allow time for delayed flights and to pass Customs. We have found it more pleasant and easy to enter and leave Brazil in Rio than Sao Paulo, but either is OK. Rio is a newer and better organized airport. We’ve found Atlanta to be smoother than Miami or the NY airports for departure.
    This fare is, as of July 12, 2007, $1,459.20 per person . It's the best price we were able to find that allows reasonable connection times (at least 3 hours and not too long). Please remember that prices are not guaranteed until flights are ticketed. This price is for electronic tickets. If your itinerary requires a paper ticket, additional fees may apply.
    Conlin Travel in Ann Arbor will help you to book the flight if you prefer their service ($42 booking fee) to booking through the airlines by Internet or phone. If flight changes are made by the airlines, Conlin would alert you and work with you to rebook appropriate flights. Their phone number is 734-477-6000. The agent is Sandy. Conlin can help people flying from outside the Ann Arbor/ Detroit area too.

Visa: You must have a ticket to obtain a Brazilian visa, and may apply for your visa 90 days before departure. You must send in your passport for the visa. You may send it in the cheapest way, which seems safe but takes longer, or through a Visa service. Please go to our Vipassana Healing web site, for additional visa information and links.
The visa application will ask for a place in Brazil where you can be reached in emergency. Please give the address of the pousada.  State “Tourism” as reason for travel.

Reading: If you have not already done so, we request you to look at the Friends of the Casa web site.
Please carefully read the Casa Guide at  http://www.friendsofthecasa.org/casaguide.htm.
Also read the “Vital Answers to Questions” section of our web site. After reading, contact John or Barbara with any questions. Other suggested reading (not compulsory but helpful) , John of God by Heather Cumming and Book of Miracles by Josie Ravenwing.

Immunizations: Check with your own doctor for what is advised for you. There is no malaria in this part of Brazil. The immunizations we suggest are tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A and B, and yellow fever. Yellow fever immunization is highly recommended. Many insurance companies cover such immunizations for travel. In Ann Arbor, you may wish to consult the University of Michigan Hospital Travel Clinic.

Travel health insurance: is compulsory on a group trip to the Casa. We must have a copy of your insurance contract no later than 45 days before the start of the trip. This can be purchased through many on-line sites. The plan we have used is through Access America. There are various options that offer more or fewer features. Trip interruption insurance and baggage loss are optional but for travel with our group you must have emergency medical coverage (Emergency Medical / Dental Coverage and Emergency Medical Transportation) that will pay your medical costs in Brazil and provide emergency transportation home if needed. Access America Basics ($71) or Basics Annual ($124) are good choices.
    Why would some one who is in reasonable health need such insurance? In 2004 Barbara was knocked unconscious by a wave in North Carolina, and ended up with serious injuries and broken bones, 1000 miles from home. She learned the value of this plan! 

Meeting with John or Barbara: By phone or in person if possible, to discuss your present meditation practice and your intentions and desires for the trip in more depth. By now, the entities are working with you and you may feel their energy or presence at times in your meditation. It's helpful to begin to talk to them, literally, to express your gratitude for their help and your healing intentions at all levels.

Picture: If you wish, in the fall we can arrange to send a picture to the Casa. The entities may reply by starting you on herbs that support their work with you. This is an optional step. If you do so, when you arrive at the Casa they will know your needs better which is an advantage. and you will go through the second time line. However, this is optional.

Intentions: Please reflect further on your intentions for the trip. This process is part of the healing, as we come to hold a clearer intention for what wholeness means to us, and our highest intentions at all levels, physical, mental and spiritual. Bring this reflection into your meditation. Before the trip, we'll ask you to write it out.

Packing: Please see the suggested list on the web site. The entities ask that we wear white clothing as much as is possible during the days each week when we are at the Casa. The reason for this is that they can see our energy field better when we wear white. While this is not compulsory, it does help them to help you. Try to respect this request from them. Colored clothing is fine for other times of day. We recommend modest clothing, no shorts, halter tops or strapless dresses.
    You can hand wash clothes at the pousada or pay the house keeping staff to wash them. There are ample clothes lines. Pack lightly. The list will give suggestions. Feel free to ask John or Barbara for advice.
    We usually travel with a second, almost empty, wheeled suitcase to carry some blessed, high vibrational water home. Once it is home, you can dilute it and make it last a very long time. Plan to bring a flattened cardboard box that will open to fit into the suitcase, with the water put in the box to prevent breakage.

Money: You will want to change money before the trip, as late flights can create a rush during connections as you travel. You will need between $200 and $250 US for your personal expenses on the trip, depending on what you want to buy. $200 will cover your herbs and extra crystal bed sessions (we provide the first one) if prescribed, water, and an occasional ice cream, taxi, or swim, plus a little extra. If you want to buy souvenirs, crystals, or have money for a pizza or some other larger treat, bring more money. It's not possible to convert money in Abadiânia. It's costly to have to take a 45 minute taxi ride to another town for that reason. Barbara has used Conlin Travel in Ann Arbor to convert money.

Medications / prescriptions: Be sure you have adequate supply of any prescriptions for the trip. The entities request you continue all prescriptions while at the Casa. To carry through customs, prescription drugs must be in the original container. Some drugs such as certain painkillers may require a letter from your doctor. Please ask your doctor about this, and/ or check with the airlines.

Group gathering: We'll gather once or several times in late fall in Ann Arbor and Durham areas if several people are coming from those areas, to discuss the trip, see some slides, meditate together and get to know each other. For people at a distance from Ann Arbor or Durham, we'll spend more time together by phone or email to answer your questions.

Final payment: Your final payment of $1,100 (US$ 800 for people who have traveled to the Casa with us before) is due no later than 30 days before the trip departs. Details are in the contract.
Please make the check payable to Vipassana Healing, and send to:
Barbara Brodsky,
3455 Charing Cross Rd.,
Ann Arbor, MI 48108.

We will send an e-mail update to those registered with any new information.