Since I first heard these ideas two months ago, my appreciation for Water and life has expanded in a very beautiful way. This is why I have taken the time to pass on this important message, channelled through a great teacher I found here in Israel. His name is Shir and his words run deep. Here I have put together the essence of his inspiring message. Enjoy.

+++

It is important to understand the role of Water in our life. Science has proven that Water receives energy and holds memory. We know this, yet so often we forget the importance of this finding.

Consider this: approximately 65% of each and every one of us is made up of Water. That’s more than half of our bodily composition.  The fact that Water is so receptive and open to programming by intention offers a great opportunity for self-creation.

The Water Spirit is a traveller. It cycles through the planet, from the underground spring, to the cloudy sky, falling back down with the rain to join itself in the rivers and oceans of our planet. This cycle of reincarnation continues again and again throughout eternal time and space.

One could even say that Water is the “collective consciousness” incarnate as it travels around the globe, communing every single living being. On the first day of creation, Water arrived on earth and took on the biggest, highest responsibility to care for all of the creatures of this earth. Without Water, life would not exist.

Today there is the same amount of Water on earth as there was on the first day of creation. Science has even proven, that not a single drop has disappeared from the face of the earth since the dawn of time. Over the millennia it has just recycled throughout the complex life systems that support its journey across earth.

As we know, Water holds memory, and memory is information. As Water travels, it collects memories, gathering together a huge bank of information, documenting all of life’s history and evolution. As we drink from the same Water and allow it to pass through us, we both receive and contribute to the distribution of this information.

Being 65% Water, means we have access to all of the information in the world, within us at all times. However, most of us are not really used to listening – and I mean, really listening – enough to understand the wisdom Water is so willing to share with us. Instead we play games of guess and check, questioning our inner knowing, not believing that we can know all those things until we see some physical “proof”. Then we are suddenly surprised when we have a “new idea”, when in fact, we are just remembering – or acknowledging this information that is being shared with us, always.

Unfortunately, Water is something we tend to take for granted. We have been conditioned to expect that when we turn on a tap, Water will come. But this is merely a convenience of the modern world and we must recognise this for the luxury it is. If there is no Water in your taps tomorrow, perhaps you wouldn’t freak out immediately. Instead you would go to the supermarket and buy some bottled Water. But what if that was unavailable also? Okay, so you would find another beverage to quench your thirst. But how long could this really sustain you?

We need Water; pure Water, to grow into fully conscious human beings.

Always remember, that without Water, life cannot exist. If we stop drinking Water we get dry. When we get dry, we get weak. When we get weak, we die and like this, we return to the earth. They tell us there are places where there is “no Water” but there is not a place on earth where Water does not exist. At the very least, the spirit of the Water is in the air and when we breathe with conscious awareness of this, we drink.

If you think that we humans treat the Water with respect, then you are very much mistaken. Perhaps personally one by one, yes, but as a society, there is very little respect for the Water that sustains us so generously.

When you turn on the TV and you see moving pictures of a boat with a motor and oil driving around the Kinneret, you may realise with alarm What? We are suppose to drink this Water? (The Kinneret used to be the biggest source for drinking Water in Israel, until recent years as it has become polluted.) This is our disease as human beings – we don’t take responsibility for our own Water.

Today, as you read these words, I am calling out for your awakening. Take care of your own Water. Give intention to your Water. Love your Water. Give thanks for every drop that graces your reality. Know that when you speak to the Water, directly to the molecules, it listens. Likewise, as you drink, you open yourself to receive to the Water’s message. For as we approach Water with love and respect, we prolong the relationship. Yet if we continue to make Water feel disrespected and unwelcomed on this planet, one day it will surely leave us.

The Water asks for love and we give love through our appreciation. That is it. Imagine when you are parched and those first drops of Water touch your tongue. This is the gratitude we should feel with every sip, acknowledging that without Water, we would not be alive.

So give thanks for the Water and use Water with divine intention.

When you drink, say thank you.

When you bathe, say thank you.

When you flush the toilet, say thank you.

When you turn on the taps to run a bath, or wash the dishes or Water your plants say thank you.

When it rains, say thank you.

Realise the role Water plays in your life and give thanks, because Water is Spirit.

With the awakening of this realisation, you will begin to open and become more receptive to its knowledge and wisdom.

Bless the water.

+++

Stay in Touch – Friend us on Facebook!

Last week I had the privilege of both witnessing and participating in the manifestation of an event of a lifetime. Inspired to help support the healthcare of sick, orphaned children in Israel, a friend of mine – lets call him Al – put together a DIY fundraiser.

Over the course of two weeks, what started as a “nice idea” became a full-blown reality. This was manifestation at its best.

Hailing from Brazil, Al had bought with him Ayahuasca, the sacred medicine of South America. His idea was to put on a three-day retreat that exemplified a really high-quality way of life. His vision included three days of workshops on nutrition, yoga, healing, sweat lodges and medicine ceremonies. As he began to discuss his vision with others, inspiration took on momentum and it was not long before many came together to help make it happen.

Land was donated for the week, along with infrastructure to make shelters, compost toilets, showers, a kitchen, sweat-lodge and ceremonial space.  Food was donated by each of the 200 participants who came through over the three day period. This assured an abundance of nourishing wholefoods. Healers, yoga teachers, storytellers, an NLP guru and even a magician came together to share their crafts. The result was three days of deep spiritual work, and I can tell you now, it really has changed my life.

The whole event was run entirely by donation, and by the end of it all, 25,000 Israeli shekels were collected - all of which went straight to the children. The fact that such an epic event came together in such a short period of time, (and based entirely on donation!) is a truly inspiring example of collaboration. Add to that the intense healing that benefited all participants, makes this a fundraiser “pure genius” in my books.

The Sweat Lodge…

On the first evening, I joined 40 others to partake in the first sweat.  “We come together in this womb to pray together and our prayers are the songs that we sing…” said Matias, the facilitator, as he opened the ceremony. He was an interesting character with long brown dreads, clear blue eyes and a muscly body, heavily tattooed in sacred geometric symbols. A stranger may have been intimidated by his stature and alternative image, but when you heard him speak, his words were so full of love – his kindness undeniable. “Family is everything and the children are our future, and let us not forget that we are all children at our essence…” he reminded us.

One by one, we each held our hands towards the fire before crawling beneath the low ceiling of the makeshift cave. Inside we sat shoulder-to-shoulder loosely holding knees to chest. The women sat on the right, the men to the left. In the centre of the lodge was a dirt pit. One by one the stones were taken from the fire outside and gently stacked in the pit.

The smell of cedar filled the air as it seared upon the rocks. Once the entrance was closed, everything became dark. Voices hung loosely in the air, without bodies to ground them. We were no longer individuals, but a metaphor for disembodied consciousness. As the heat gently wrapped its warmth around me, I welcomed the steam into every cell of my body. It was comforting and I felt safe to melt into the darkness without having to project any self image. In the dark, I could pull any face I wanted, feel happy or feel sad, smile or cry, without worrying about being “appropriate” in the moment. In the dark, my feelings were mine to feel. Matias began to sing, shaking his rattle to the tune, heya heya heya heaya ho… Gradually more voices joined united in the darkness, improvising on his melody.

The ceremony was split into four parts, each representing the opening of a spiritual doorway in alignment with each of the four elements. After each segment, the door was re-opened and more hot rocks were added to the centre. After the opening of the third door, we were given the opportunity to share one of our own songs with the group.

Now I love to sing, but I can still have a lot of blockages when it comes to singing in front of others – especially acapella. Despite my inhibitions, I figured here, in the dark was the best time to conquer this fear. Though it took several false starts, I eventually found my voice, singing a simple portugese medicine song that I had learnt while traveling around South America.

Com suas flores, limpe o meu coração

Com tuas águas limpas a minha alma

Hey mama…hey mama Oxun.

This song is a prayer to the water goddess, Mother “Oshun” and roughly translates to “with your flowers, cleanse my heart, with your waters, cleanse my soul.”

I had hoped others would be familiar with the tune and sing with me. In fact, my biggest fear was that I would be left to sing alone. So guess what? This fear was quickly realised. It seems to be true – that which we fear, we become. Nonetheless, fighting my ego, I  continued to sing the song a few more rounds until, gradually more voices joined me.

When the third door was opened, a crystal jug of water was blessed and then passed around the circle.  More prayers were sung, more sweat released, and two hours later, we emerged together, dizzy beneath the moonlight.

The whole experience was intensely spiritual. Much more real than any other (non-psychadelic) religious ceremony I have experienced. Before the sweat, Matias told us “this is where we come to pray,”  and I get it now, I really do. However, prior to entering this sacred womb, I didn’t really have a reference point for what true prayer is particularly as I never connected to this idea of prayer as “asking God for stuff…”

In the hot, damp, darkness, sit bones in the mud, I realised that prayer is really about coming together, celebrating life and surrendering to the discomfort as the mundanities of day to day living dissolve. Singing together is a powerful way to pray and I am learning more and more every day about the spiritual power of music. It blows my mind.

Overall, this whole experience left me wondering why it took me so long to brave the heat and darkness, considering the numerous opportunities I’ve had to participate in sweats around the world. Contrary to my apprehension, the  perceived suffering of the mind is nothing compared to the benefits I reaped, because when I sweat, I find my answers.

…To be continued…

The secret to desire in a long term relationship…

I just watched this TED talk and felt compelled to share it.

“In long-term relationships, we often expect our beloved to be both best friend and erotic partner. But as Esther Perel argues, good and committed sex draws on two conflicting needs: our need for security and our need for surprise. So how do you sustain desire? With wit and eloquence, Perel lets us in on the mystery of erotic intelligence…”

‘I just…feel like I should have more to show by now, you know?’ said one of the girls.

This got me thinking a lot about the western view of life and our struggle to accumulate security through the accumulation of material wealth.

It seems to me, that at the end of the day, all any of us have to “show for ourselves” is what we think of ourselves.  No one really cares if you have a mercedes or a beach house in Hawaii. In fact, they are much more likely to be irritated or jealous by your wealth as it reminds them of their own (self-percived) “failure”.

The truth is, material wealth by no means indicates your value as a human being. Your value as a human being is solely influenced by what you think of yourself. So the question is, do you have an inner fan or an inner critic?

To me, the only true failure is failure to love oneself. That is, failure to see the beauty that is present in any given situation. When you derive your self-worth from your job or accumulated wealth it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you need a high-ranking job to be successful. But really, this will only help you to appear successful. Real success depends on what you feel from within.

Anthony Robbins teaches us how important it is to understand our emotional values in life. Based on our emotional values and goals, we tend to create a set of  beliefs (or rules) and measure our own success or failure by our ability to meet these emotional values and feel pleasure. Beliefs often come in the form of ”if-then rules”.

For example, “if enough people know who I am, then I am successful.” or “If I earn $xxx,xxx then I will be successful.” Whatever.

On balance, there are also rules that influence our ability to deliver on our values. These are the limiting beliefs that hold us back from taking the risk of following our dreams. A common example of this is the belief, “if I feel successful then I will lose my motivation”. The real truth is, when you get too comfortable, then you are likely to lose your motivation. Paradoxically, “too comfortable” is often the mindset we get into when we continuously hold ourselves back from following our dream; when we fall deep into the security of a predictable reality.

Unfortunately, many of us have not written our own beliefs or “life-rules”. Instead they have been impressed upon our minds from the very early years of our lives. This is why it is so important to discover and define what beliefs you have collected over the years and decide for yourself if they are serving your best interests.

This is your chance to write your own life rules because life was never meant to be difficult. If you want success, it is up to you to set yourself up so that you can win this game of life.

So ,based on my values, here are my rules for life:

If I see beauty, then I feel joy.

If I am learning, then I know I am growing.

If I eat consciously (it doesn’t matter what) and enjoy my food, then I eat well.

If I move my body then I am healthy.

If I am alive, I know that I am loved.

And this one I stole form Robbins: If I learn something new, then I am successful.

Because, there is no such thing as failure.

The fragility of intimacy

who you are and where you´ve been

the unbuckling of desire

sunlight, white sheets, take me higher

the transicence of a fleeting moment

can leave you in a state of torment

a beating pulse

that becomes and obessesion

a secret that

becomes a confession…

Relationships, sexuality, seduction and the enigma of true love have always been a natural curiosity to me. Most recently I´ve been reading about the art of seduction and reflecting on my own experiences with love, lust and attraction.

A common theme amongst all of this is love’s temptation. When a person stirs our emotions in such a way, love often calls us to surrender and lose ourself in the other. At first this can feel so right; a refreshing release of responsibilities. An indulgence in new and exciting passionate emotions where we find ourselves driven to do crazy things in the name of love. But this is loves test. She will push your boundaries, hoping not that you yeild, but that you define your position and take a stand.

I will be the first to admit, there are times when I have failed this test epicly. Failed, in the sense that in “surrending” over completely to love, I have withdrawn the greatest gift I could ever offer to a lover; me being me.

You see, you being you and me being me is the greatest gift we could possibly give to one another and a healthy relationship, however passionate, must be based on a mutual commitment to stay true to ones self. After all, a couple comes together because they liked what they initially saw in one another, no?

On pondering this truth, I’ve learned that surrendering or loosing yourself within another does not equate to intimacy. Rather, intimacy is a bond created through the transparent exploration of one anothers boundaries, coupled with the sharing of both past and present experiences.

For this reason, it is important to be conscious of the energetics involved when you approach another. Perhaps the most seductive way to approach another is with the inner mantra “I am my own person”. Don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of being lame prey, going out of your way to please. Instead, remember that when it comes to new relationships, we are all excited by risk and mystery and this is generated through a little resistance.

You can read Part One and Part Two here.

That night we opened the dieta. I drank a fresh cup of Bobinsana about an hour before the ceremony. It had pungent a smoked-bacon flavour to it, though certainly preferable to the rancid bitterness of Ayahuasca. The ceremony came on quick and strong. I was surprised at how Arquelis and Maria began to sing almost immediately after drinking – where as traditionally I had experienced an hour of silence in-between.

Before the medicine had even been able to set in, there was a loud crash and bang which scared the shit out of me. It was the small tin roof collapsing over the kitchen, for no apparent reason. It pushed a wave of fear through me too suddenly and I felt like a timid little creature, too vulnerable for the outside world. Maria was sitting with me beneath my mosquito net, but her voice was sharp and scary to me in that state. I wanted space from her so I moved to the other end of my bed and curled up in the fetal position.

The medicine was strong and my emotional state became quickly amplified and disorientated. One half of me was in turmoil experiencing the discomfort of sad emotions and physical pain triggered by memories of other incarnations. The other half of me was in ecstasy seeing brilliant visions of me, claiming my full potential, though I found this beauty too intense to stare it straight in the eyes. It was simply too confronting to realize how great I could be, yet how much work I had to do to get there. So I meandered between states, unsure of what to make of the situation.

As I dipped into an emotional underworld of sadness, grief and suppression, I heard Arquelis reminding me that it was okay to just focus on the beauty. In any given reality there is light and dark forces at work. The darkness works hard to get our attention; to entrance us with the belief that it has more to offer than the light. The mystery reveals itself when we realize that each force is of equal value as they are rooted in the same source.

Often I have found myself undervaluing the light because I perceive it to be too easy, too beautiful and too obvious etc. As a result, I remember being confused with my initial Ayahuasca experiences during my first trip to Peru. After all, I had heard Mama Aya had a gift for conjuring up visions of ones personal hell, and I figured it was by confronting this darkness that the real work was done. “Bring it on” I begged her, yet the majority of my experiences have been all too beautiful. That is why, to Arquelis’ mild confusion, I allowed myself to indulge in the dark side of my visions.

Eventually enough was enough though. I saw his point. My personal growth was to learn to let go of this pain, by turning my attention to the beauty that was being presented to me. This is the alchemy of our existence. To realize that in any situation, there are both light and dark forces at work and that that which we give our attention to is what becomes real.

For the following five days, we all became noctournal creatures, drinking Ayahuasca at nightfall and fighting our own personal demons until dawn. Looking back, its hard to separate ceremony from ceremony as they all melt into one another.

The days also took on a dreamlike aesthetic as the diet and lack of sleep weakend our bodies to allow the plants to take up residence within us. We’d sleep intermittently throughout the day, lazing around in our hammocks. We’d bathe in the river around midday and have a main meal of fish, roasted plantains and quinoa around two or three in the afternoon. Yep, while I am mostly vegan, I found Bobinsana – the winged, zombi-mermaid goddess that she is, to have an insatiable hunger for fish. Honestly, the fish was so fresh and tasty despite the lack of seasoning. Other than that, most of the day would be in silent contemplation.

In the early hours of the morning, when all the hard internal work was done, I’d stay up whispering to Aster between our mosquito nets, full, satisfied, and in love with life. I was blissed to my bones, reflecting on my life experiences, as most ceremonies ended with comforting visions of all the beauty I had been blessed with in this lifetime – the people, the places, the joy, the love. Though these seemed such distant memories – far away from the present reality – it reminded me of why I was here. We’d share our visions and experiences, hopes and dreams for the future, occasionally indulging in our dirtiest food fantasies (several days of a bland monodiet can really give you a guilty apetite). Aster was also an incredible musician player and in our heightened state, my favourite thing would be to listen to him play and sing his inspired songs off the cuff.

I remember one night after ceremony, watching the sky with him. There was some strange lightning and noises going off in the distance – a very curious sight, like nothing I had seen in the sky before. We mused that it was aliens and playfully discussed common alien conspiracy theories. I love a good story after all and enjoyed hearing Aster’s own conscious conclusions.

Within the hour a forceful storm was upon us and it made me giddy with excitement. I remembered storms this epic as a child, how I loved to hide under the blankets listening to the rain and hail crash down onto the roof. Everything was blowing in the wild winds. We had to hold on tightly to our belongings – even our sleeping mats beneath us. While everyone else sought cover from the storm, I felt a strong desire to meditate in the midst of it. To me, this was a divine gift and I was very much enjoying the experience. Alas, it came and went too soon.

On about day four, after a rough night of ceremony, I found myself recapitulating on my whole life. Where in the past, this had been a daunting task, I found it effortless and healing. It was as if my brain had been re-wired with such clarity. I could see how the events of my past were interconnected and how they had shaped me to be who I was today. I could identify my beliefs and fears so clearly.

Inside my head, I was speaking directly to Bobinsana and she was helping me to make the connections I needed to understand myself on a whole new level. This brought me great peace and gratitude. I remember sitting by the river, recapitulating with her, feeling things I had not, until then, allowed myself to feel. While I felt pain, hurt, fear, frustration and anger, I was grateful for this opportunity to process these emotions in a healthy and timely manner. Where in the past I hadn’t really understood how to let these emotions flow through me, here, my blood had cooled and I was able to approach my traumas from a higher perspective, with appreciation for the gifts of growth that were handed to me in the face of adversity.

Part Four coming soon.

We interrupt the Ayahuasca Experience to bring you a very simple, but important message:

The more you say no to what you don’t want in life,

The more the universe says yes to what you do want.

Don’t buy into the fear that you can’t have what you are dreaming of.

You are worthy, no matter the extravagance of your desires.

Just believe that anything is possible and work with a gentle intention.

This is where it pays to be gullible.

It came up in a discussion with a friend recently, where I examined how in school, we would laugh at one another for being “gullible” – calling one another naive and stupid. But I sense that this is really just a program put in place to set limits upon our reality. I say be gullible. If you want to let magic into your life, you can’t be afraid of appearing a fool. Anything can happen but you have to first allow the possibility to exist in your mind. Fantasise and familiarise yourself with your dreams. Know there is very little difference between your imagination, reality and the dream world. Use this knowledge to your advantage. There are always exceptions to rules, and that exception can be you. All you need to do is believe that what you want is possible and that you deserve it.

Now go, play, create. That is your life purpose after all, and remember: you’re making this all up.

You can read Part One here.

I had my heart set on working with a curandera (female shaman) from the beginning, but they seemed to be hard to find these days. Nevertheless Aster and I went hunting. After meeting with two or three, we invited Maria to join us on our journey with Aquellis, thinking it would bring balance to the masculine and feminine energies of the dieta.

Maria is a strong jungle woman. She stands about 5ft tall yet has a jaguar edge to her that is not to be reckoned with. More than once Aster and I were astounded by her seemingly superhuman strength as we watched her carry huge buckets of water from the river to our campsite, obediently balanced on her head without the aid of her arms.

Originally we set out to a shipibo community south of Pucallpa, taking a three hour car ride along the narrow winding dirt roads into the jungle. There were five of us crammed in the tiny car together: the driver, Aquellis, Maria, Aster and I. We stopped to get some food along the way and I cringed to see Arquellis carelessly toss his plastic rubbish out the window as we drove on. Here is a man who shares a very deep connection with the plants, yet is so oblivious to the impact of his waste. Sadly this is a common theme throughout the third world.

When we arrived the sun was beating down strong. Upon leaving the car we walked into the chakras for about half an hour before coming upon a clearing. This would be our home for the next few weeks.

It was a humble abode; a simple thatched roof (no walls) over a dirt floor with chickens and dogs roaming free. Just outside the “hut” was an open fire and to the right of that was a simple wooden bench supporting two big buckets of river water. This was our kitchen.

Take a short walk down yonder and you would meet the river, which was abundant with fish. This was where we bathed daily, taking care not to disturb the sting rays or Yacamama (a giant water anaconda – the guardian of the river). Alternatively, behind the clearing there was also a lake, covered with pretty lillys but we were told this was also home to caiman crocodiles.

I remember feeling anxious when I first arrived, shocked at the simplicity of the situation, to think that this would be my home for the next three weeks. I calmed my self promising that I would get through so long as I took things second by second. Besides, I’d lived in simpler situations before, camping in the wild. I guess what really struck me was the fact that this was how these people really lived every second of their life. They didn’t have a fancy house to go home to when shit got too real. This was it.

We strung up our hammocks and set up our beds beneath mosquito nets, taking refuge as dusk claimed the day. For after dark, it was near impossible to find peace from the biting bugs outside.

The following day we rose early to collect the Bobinsana needed for my dieta. It was a three-hour boat ride upstream. Note: this “boat” was essentially a precariously balanced canoe with a motor tacked onto the end of it. There was no shade and the sun was hot. Both Aster and I got a little burnt with our white gringo skin, but other than that, it was an enjoyable ride as we sat in the hull eating watermelon and papaya.

Eventually we came upon a beautiful old Bobinsana tree, rooted by the river’s edge. Together we harvested roots, leaves and bark. The roots and bark were later boiled for hours, reduced into a thick, pungent tea. I drank this morning and night for the duration of the dieta.

On the way back we stopped at a little beach for a swim and Arquillies cast his net, reeling in over a dozen fresh fish with each throw. The fish were then gathered in the hull to be scaled and filleted by Nei, a seven year old local boy.

On the way back we got into a discussion with Aquellis about spirit guides and Ayahuasca visions. Aquellis spoke of his own spirit guide taking the form of a brilliant white Pegasus. He asked me about mine and when I told him I hadn’t quite found one yet, he asked me what I would like. I laughed at the idea of being able to shop for such strange and mystical creatures, but  thought about this playfully for a moment and envisioned a tiger with the rainbow wings of a macaw parrot. “I’ve always had a connection with Tigers… but I also have a thing with birds and want to fly…then again, maybe I just want the rainbow wings,” I confided. “I’ve never seen one of them,” said Aquellis. Aster and I laughed about this, but Aquellis was serious. “Very well, I will find this for you…” he said, looking pensive.

The next day he came to me with the excitement of a child on Christmas day. He was holding a special vine he had collected during his morning walk. “This, will give you wings,” he told me. It was a “bat wing” plant (though I can no longer remember its native name). He showed me how beneath the little wing-like leaves were little claws, like that of bats.  By afternoon he had made it into a thick ointment to be rubbed onto my back before our Ayahuasca ceremony. “If we do this 3-5 times, you will have wings by the end of the week.” I was open to his mad train of thought, so I gave it a go.

Read on, Part Three Here…

ayahuasca experience

Finally a moment to break this writing hiatus…

As you can imagine, a lot has been going on in my life. Its crazy to think that only three weeks ago I was living deep in the Amazonian jungle, doing dieta with a shipibo shaman called Aquellis. This was the most intense and revealing experience of my life and I am dedicating the next several posts to sharing the experience with you in detail.

For those of you who don’t know, a dieta is an ancient shamanic initiation in the Amazon which involves dedicating oneself to a non-psycho active “master plant” for a set period of time. During this time, contact with the outside world is minimized, often causing subjects to retreat like hermits into the deep jungle.

By eating a very bland diet, without the use of any sugar, salt, spices or other stimulants, the body is weakened, allowing the spirit of the plants to transpose itself into the human body. Thus a relationship is formed and a mutual exchange of alternative experiences between plant and man is shared.

Traditionally shamanic apprentices would do a dieta with a particular plant for 1-2 years. These days however, subjects are able to do dieta from anywhere between a week to a year. During this time Ayahuasca is traditionally taken 2-3 times a week (or more) and works as the translator or mediator between the master plant and the initiate.

This time, I chose to diet a master plant called Bobinsana, which happened to be the first plant that caught my eye when I first arrived in Peru. I took it as a sign and Aquilles later confirmed that B. had indeed invited me.

Bobinsana grows by the waterside with beautiful white/pink blossoms. To me, her spirit is a winged siren – a gorgeous (sometimes sharp toothed) mermaid with a fiercely protective mother energy. This is contrasted with the friendly playfulness of some childlike fairy creature. She works deeply with ones emotions and opening up the communication channels with the precision of a hummingbird.

This being my second trip to Peru, I found the dieta to be a very interesting and rewarding way to deepen my relationship with Ayahuasca. In particular, I found that my journeys felt much more focused on healing and letting go of past traumas and my visions were much clearer.

Finding the right shaman was essential of course, and I was lucky to have had a lot of the searching done for me by my good friend Aster who had arrived in the jungle a month prior. Considering the amount of Ayahuasca tourism that goes on in the Amazon these days, it can be difficult to find a legitimate shaman of pure intentions.

Our shaman, Aquilles, was a kind hearted man in his mid forties. He lives in the small town of Yarina Cocha with his wife, children, two daughters in law, grandchildren and a couple of young orphans they adopted from the streets. Altogether there is 21 of them, who share the dirt floor of their humble four-bedroom home.

What instantly struck me about him was his authentic generosity as he kindly opened his home and heart to us. Unlike many of the other shamans competing in the area, he encouraged us to pay him by donation after covering the expenses of our trip. This is unique considering how many mouths he has to feed and how money hungry the society is out there. Amidst pollution and overpopulation there is a lot of struggle to make ends meet in the “city”.

I first met Aquilles in a feverish state after arriving in Yarina from Cusco. The cold of the mountains had taken its toll on my immune system and I had contracted some parasites which left me in a cold sweating fever for three days. During this time he and his wife visited me day and night with medicinal plants and with their aid I recovered quickly.

Before heading out for our dieta, we spent a week with his family in town as Aster and I organized what was needed for our trip. This included finding land, transportation and gathering enough food and plant medicines (including Tobacco, Ayahuasca and Chiddy Sanagoe) for the duration of our stay. During this time we’d often go over to his home for dinner and his children and grand children would always greet us warmly, running towards us with hugs.

We celebrated his birthday that week and it was brilliant to see how similar things were to my own life back home. Family members gathered at his house to eat, drink and be merry. Speeches were made and children laughed and played chasy in the background. Despite the differences, it was humbling to recognize the cultural similarities of a family coming together to celebrate the life of a loved one.

…To be continued…Part Two coming soon…

I have been on the road for about three months now, and I have travelled to what I would say is the most beautiful place in the world. These mountains broke my soul, in the best of ways, taking me into a divine state of grace. With tears in my eyes and a dove in my heart, I felt satisfied and whole at the sight of beauty. I hope you feel this way sometime; empty and complete, full of gratitude, wanting nothing, needing nothing more than what is present. And the beauty of the world does not stop with the land. I have also found it refracted in the souls of many who were once strangers to me.

We were camped out in a valley in the Andes, nowhere in particular. The days were warm and sunny but the nights were crazy cold. My sleeping bag wasn’t really enough up in the mountains, so I would often Every morning I would wake up with numb fingers and toes. This is what got me out of my hammock, to run up the hill, over frost covered grass and sumberge myself in the warm waters of the natural hot springs. From dawn till midday, I’d stay naked in the hot pools, bathing and talking with new friends. As the sun rose over the mountains, we would gradually migrate down to the cooler natural swimming pools. The first week at the festival was a little isolating at times, as my spanish wasn’t very good and not many people spoke english, but by the second week my spanish had improved a lot and I made many friends.

I remember meeting David from Switzerland when I first arrived. From the moment my hazel eyes met his, soft and  brown, I  found myself crushing on him big time. He was perfect, bar the fact that he could not speak a word of english.  At first we both tried to communicate through our pigeon spanish, but it was frustrating and we both soon gave up (his first language is french).

A week later, on an ominous, rainy night, I went to check on my friends tent… Beneath the moonlight and raindrops, mud squelching beneath my boots, I made my way between the tents of “Camp Avalanche”. This is the name we had jokingly given the tents parked at the base of the crumbled mountainside.

I found my friend’s tent cold, damp and vacant. There was nothing I could really do about it while the rain was still falling, so I zipped it up and began to walk back to the kitchen where everyone was huddled. I’d taken about ten steps down the hill, when I heard the music; the most incredible, beautiful music calling me to find the source. I saw candlelight in a nearby tent. It took me a moment to find the courage to invite myself in, but when I finally did I was welcomed warmly by David and his Swiss brother from another mother: Jonathan. The two of them were so beautifully inseparable.

Tired and wet, I lay curled up like a cat in their tiny tent letting their melodies and rhythms wash over me as they  played my dreams into reality. What touched me most deeply about their music was that it was all improvised, never to be recorded or heard again. This was it and i savoured every note, tasting its flavour as it come forward and then melted into the greater composition of the moment.

Then the moment ended. Or changed, rather. After an hour of non-stop jamming, they were tired, but I didn’t want them to stop. Jonathan opened a box of cookies and passed it around. “Do you play?” David gestured, offering me the guitar. Swallowing my insecurities, (talk about a hard act to follow) I accepted the guitar and began to play and sing one of my own songs. It wasn’t long before  David picked up the other guitar and started to play with me. Then Jonathan fumbled for his flute and we played together in a timeless reality.  Without the need for words, music became our language and we jammed for another two hours, loosing all sense of time and pain despite our cramped positions, being three people and two guitars in a two-man tent.

Eventually we emerged from the tent, smiling, so god-damned high on life. The rain had ceased, the clouds parted and the moon was full.

After that it became absolutely necessary to jam together every day. We needed our fix.

Click here for part two.