Hola! I am writing to you from a small village in the remote part of Peru, strangely from an Internet cafe! There are 10 old computers … which I must say are a bit difficult to get used to the keyboard… which is arranged a bit differently with some spanish symbols I am not used to… and slow keys. So if you see any weird typos just forgive them for this is a unique experience.

I arrived two days ago from a stopover in Pucallpa, a small city about an hour airplane ride from Lima, Peru. We had gotten in about midnight the night before that, gotten our rooms and off to bed for about 6 hours sleep before a full day of adventure. We flew to Pucallpa, and immediately went to the market… many call it the witches market, for you can find many amazing things there. You will find anything from fresh fruits and vegies to fresh fish and chicken splayed out on boards for all to see and choose from. I personally doubt I would ever buy any sort of meat at these places with my American prejudices. I am no Anthony Bourdain of the Food Channel! However, it is a most wonderful place to find many medicinal plants from the jungle, as well as flower waters.

Seeing how I am here to work with tobacco as a healing plant, I of course bought fresh tobacco and agua florida (flower water) for the healing dieta (diet) that I have come to do here with the shamans.

I will tell you more about that soon! Next we picked up a few more items from a few local Shipibo market people, then had our last supper before a day of ceremony and diet.

We head down to the river to catch our small covered boat, probably about 22 feet long and 5 feet wide maybe. I am beginning to drop deeper into relaxation mode as I get further and further from Western Civilization. It is a beautiful one and a half hour boat ride to our port at the village. Now mind you that readching the port is like pulling up to the side of the bank which actually has about 25 concrete steps up toward the top of the bank. Once our helpers give us our bags, we then proceed to roll our duffles another 5 or more minutes up an incline that has stepping stones, then we walk across a bridge of 1 by 6 inche planks that are about 7 feet wide… of course wih about 2 inches between each plank… sort of like rolling your bag across a railroad track. Once we are across this 300 foot bridge, we roll our bags up another trail of 100 yards or so… By this time we are all dripping in sweat, as it is a bit hot today. It really is not bad according to jungle standards, yet….

We are in the village now but have another 10 minutes to roll our bags to the first malacha (hut) where we will keep a good portion of our goods, and where we will meet for meals. However, this is not our final destination. We are on a stopover where we will separate out what we need for our night ceremony and for our day dieta. We have another 10 minute hike to the ceremonial malacha deeper in the jungle.

On our walk into town we are blessed with many children of all sizes who come to help us bring our bags and belongings into town. Most of the children are somehow part of the family of the shamans we will work with. However, this is truly where the concept of it takes a village to raise a child originates. For many children run and play together and there are many mothers who make sure their needs are taken care of. The fathers are equally loving and engaging. It is a beautiful thing!!

Once we separate our things out, we take our next walk to our resting place of the malacha in the jungle. There we set up our bug huts inside the malacha, which is a very large round hut with partial walls of board, and screened in all around. The roof is a very tall round roof that is thatched. A great place to rest and relax and do a jungle spa week… one for the adventurous and somewhat courageous.

Once we are all settled we move into a night ceremony that brings us home to the jungle and cleans us from the western world. This is a preparation for the next morning of working with our plant diet. We come to bed about 2am so we can get up early the next morning for the first day of the diet.

This particular diet is not for the light of heart or for anyone who has not done any preparation. It is a diet of drinking tobacco prepared with another plant. The combination of the two plants helps one heal the energy matrix of the physical and energetic bodies, providing protection as well as assists in extracting toxins from the body. It prepares the one experiencing the plant diet to learn extraction work in the shipibo style of healing. This is the first of a regimen of plants individuals can work with to build a matrix of energy beneficial to not only healing ones individual body, but also to helping them work more effectively as a healer in removal of bad energies others carry.

To learn the Shipibo method of extraction one must first do this protocal, otherwise they cannot learn the extraction work. The plants have specific energies that protect the healer, the tobacco has the energy of protection, and the plant it is coupled with has the energy of extraction. Together they do magic in the body and the energy field. Tobacco is a male essence is brings that energy to the matrix too.

After two days of this diet I must say that it is a bit like drinking fire at first. It is a fire medicine and is hot going down, as well as hot in my belly. I have felt it healing old things in my body and energy field. Day one I saw some past lives and connections to the healings, as well as other things in this life that the medicine was healing. During the diet one lies in a hammock for 6 to 8 hours while the medicine works. You also cannot eat or drink during the day while taking the medicine.

Once the shaman returns and says we are done for the day, return to the village for some watermelon and soup to break our fast. Several hours later we have a light dinner and head to bed, preparing for the next day of diet.

Today we got a bonus of a Shipibo shamanic massage. This massage is a deep tissue massage breaking up any dense or stuck patterns in the body. It felt great today as it moved through some of the energies that made me feel a little sick in my body today. This is intense work and it is working deeply in my body and my essence. The massage is another tool to move the energy and heal the patterns in my body to greater balance.

Now it is time to return to the group. So I hope you enjoy a little of the life in the jungle via my writing for now. I will come back to write a little more if possible while here. It is however quite a strange thing to be in this little building with computers when most of my trip I am living in the jungle without electricity and these wordly things!

Ciao!

To read more about shamanism and this particular journey in the jungles of Peru, go to:

Shamanism Around the World: Off to the Jungle
Shamanism Around the World: Notes from the Jungle
Shamanism Around the World: More Notes from the Jungle

To read other articles on shamanism, go to:

Shamanism Around the World: the Q’ero of the Andes
Shamanism Around the World
Owl Medicine Blessings