shamanism
Shamanism is a universal practice that we know dates back at least a hundred thousand years. The word itself is a tune. This word comes from a Siberian, indigenous culture, and is traditionally seen as meaning one who sees in the dark.
The beauty of the practice of shamanism is that it is spirit driven, when humans entered this amazing planet earth, they really had no resources or tools for how to survive, the helping spirits look down on what was happening in the world, all around the world, because people everywhere around the world, all of a sudden were opened up to the world of spirit and, the spirit shared tools and resources and how to talk to the plants and the trees and how to make medicine and how to talk to the spirit of the animals to be able to find food.
Many people who take plant medicines report experiences that are hard for them to describe.
“Otherworldly,” “Spiritual,” “Transcendent,” are just some of the phrases you
might hear. An umbrella term for the profound personal revelations that someone
might encounter during a shamanic Ceremony journey is “Mystical.”
The Plant Medicine dieta is generally recommended for both spiritual and physical reasons. it’s important to know the reasons behind dieta
As you may have guessed, “dieta” is the Spanish word for “diet.” It simply refers to the dietary guidelines to follow when preparing for an ayahuasca ceremony.
Here, we’ll explore the pharmaceutical contraindications and spiritual purpose behind the dieta rules
What is Plant Medicine Dieta?
The main recommendations coming from almost all ceremonies traditions are flavorless food (no salt, sugar or spices, especially hot peppers, onions, and garlic), no sexual stimulation, no alcohol, and no pork, red meats, or cured meats. The dieta usually lasts 10-14 days before a shamanic ceremony
The shamanic reason behind wanting flavorless food before an plant medicine ceremony is that spices and sugars obstruct the energetic flow of the plant medicine. Therefore, a de-spiced body is a clean body that will allow the medicine to work in you more effectively.
Alcohol and processed meats can also clog up your body with processed chemicals and harmful toxins, which are thought to impinge upon a shaman’s ability to move medicines energy through your body.
spiritual cleansing
Many of the dieta recommendations are for the purpose of clearing out your system so that you are more energetically sensitive and able to receive the healing benefits of the brew. Eating a lighter, healthier diet will allow you to be more receptive to the healing potentials of working with the Medicines
Its recommended not to eat at least 6 hours before the ceremony, however is not necessary a strict fasting, you can have small things, teas etc
From now until the ceremony I suggest that you keep your body as pure as nature intended so that the sacred medicine can work on giving guidance rather than having to clear the layers of toxins first!
From now until the ceremony I suggest that you keep your body as pure as nature intended so that the sacred medicine can work on giving guidance rather than having to clear the layers of toxins first!
Recommended Avoiding Tyramine-Containing Foods
The beta-carbolines in the Aya vine block the monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzyme, which normally is an important part of your metabolism. MAO is essential to process the amino acid tyramine, and if excess tyramine starts circulating in your body there is a risk of dangerously high blood pressure. This is why, when preparing for an ayahuasca ceremony, it’s important to refrain from eating foods high in tyramine – otherwise, your body will struggle to process it.
Foods that contain tyramine include:
- Pork, Red meat, Aged cheeses, Fermented foods like soy sauce, fermented tofu, and sauerkraut, Yogurt, Alcohol, Nutritional supplements like protein powders, Aspartame, Caffeine, Chocolate (in large amounts), Peanuts (in large amounts)
Setting Intention
Please examine your motivation for participating in medicine ceremonies. Your participation should not be taken lightly. These are not recreational experiences but deep personal healing journeys.
Having a series of spiritual practices will allow you to spend time with yourself, and set your intention for the upcoming communion with the medicine. Developing a clear goal for what aspects of yourself or the world you are hoping to visit during your experience will increase the likelihood of taking something positive from it.
“Intentions” vs “Expectations“
Be sure not to confuse “intentions” with “expectations.” You may spend days or weeks setting a very clear intention, only for the medicine to decide it won’t be answering that question for you this time. Consider your intentions like a foundation – some firm ground to come back to if you get lost. But don’t expect for those intentions to be a guide that the medicine will take for granted. Be prepared to lose control and be taken in unexpected directions.
Working with the plant spirits does not just end after a ceremony has closed. The most essential part of the process is how you integrate your experiences into your everyday life. Integration is the key. As the plants open us up to our multidimensional existence using altered states of consciousness, some form of daily spiritual practice is advised when you are embarking upon a journey such as this.
I will be sending another link for the integration guidelines.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Sit by Yourself in Silence or Meditate: The importance of sitting with yourself on a daily basis cannot be understated as you prepare for your ceremony or retreat. Plant Medicine is a tool for recognizing, understanding, and healing the root causes of our physical ailments, mental anxieties and insecurities, emotional imbalances, and spiritual bodies. During ceremony you will be forced to look deeply at your thought patterns, your habitual behaviours, and nearly every other aspect of your life. By sitting with yourself in silence for between 10 minutes to an hour a day, you can start to feel what aspects of your internal, familial, and social lives need realignment and healing. This intuitive knowledge will greatly enhance your experience with the medicine and will allow the healing that you receive from the Ayahuasca to be much more comprehensive and easier to integrate after your ceremony
- Limit Screen Time: We all use technology to some degree in our daily lives. Depending on our professional vocation, our level of addiction to Whatsapp and Facebook, or the number of shows that we binge watch, that use can distract us from our internal worlds by allowing our minds to process stimulating external inputs.
When the mind is occupied online or with our cell phones or televisions, there is no space for us to feel how we are doing in the depths of our beings.
- As Ancestral Medicines are a tool for gaining self-knowledge, healing the roots of past traumas, and reconnecting to Mother Earth, Open the heart, we need to be very aware of the inputs that we are absorbing in the weeks leading us to our ancestral medicines ceremony. If you must use technology, use it consciously and avoid violent, sexual, or otherwise disturbing content. *
Shamanism & shamanic ceremonies are dedicated to the study, cleansing, and balancing of subtle energies. These energies are stored at all levels of our beings, and are present in each of us whether we recognize them or not.
Dream Journal: Keeping a dream journal can help us understand deeper parts of our subconscious that we normally do not have access to. This practice reaps the greatest benefits when is done for a month or more before ceremony.
Smudge your House: If you have access to white sage, copal, cedar, sweetgrass, or other cleansing herbs, use them in your house. These plants refresh the energy of the spaces where they are used, which leaves us protected and with a calm and clear space to eat, work, socialize, and meditate. Smudging our bedrooms can also help us fall asleep more easily and can even give us more pleasant dreams. This practice is especially useful if we have a number of different people entering our homes. Read my Article at my Blog
Cook Your Own (Healthy) Food: We are what we eat, and in the buildup to Shamanic Ceremony this becomes a major point of emphasis. When we make our own food, we are able to put love, joy, and care into what we make. Moreover, we can choose our ingredients and ensure that we are eating the freshest and healthiest foods and that the preparation is clean and done in the way we desire. Cooking our own food is a way to promote self-love and awaken our internal healer. In addition, but cooking our own food in the buildup to our ceremony or retreat we can avoid ingesting the potentially unbalanced and unhealthy energies that other chefs, cooks, or waitresses might inadvertently pass on to us. Lastly, cooking also gives us a greater appreciation for what we are ingesting and we can understand and feel that our food comes from our mother, the earth, and that it is a gift
Do Exercise & Yoga: Exercising in the weeks before a ceremony or retreat is another important form of self-love and care that aids our healing process with the plant. Depending on the strength of the brew, it can be extremely physically demanding. We need to be able to sit and work with the medicine all night and activating our physical bodies in the weeks leading up to the medicine will help us have stamina and strength.
Creative Expression: If you are a writer, write. If you are a painter, paint. Any form of creative expression that you choose to practice or explore will be a therapy for you and begin to put you in touch with the joy, vision, clarity, and love that you have within. These are the same elements of the plant medicines so why not jumpstart the process?
Take note: The dieta is by no means a requirement. If you are a reasonably healthy, mentally-balanced individual who is not currently using pharmaceutical drugs that can have dangerous drug interactions with Medicines (which we’ll get to), ignoring the dieta will not result in bodily harm or death. In fact, you may not notice anything
.
If you develop a continued relationship with plant medicines, you will start to notice that the lifestyle you lead and the food you eat, can have a discernible impact on your ceremonial experience. Notably, your ability to access different levels of consciousness and spiritual energies can be affected by the level of toxicity in your body and mind. Some of the most sublime energetic vibrations are also the most subtle; these are more easily experienced when you are physically and emotionally clean.
Ayahuasca is a safe substance but you should consider before the journey.
There are few confirmed dangerous drug interactions with ayahuasca, although it’s best to avoid mixing any strong medications with the brew. Here are some substances that you should take extra care with.
- SSRI medications. Any medication that has an effect on the serotonin system, including Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), has the theoretical potential to induce serotonin syndrome when mixed with serotonergic psychedelics like ayahuasca. Its recommend to have caution. It’s also important to balance the risks of suspending your medication with the potential risk of an unpleasant interaction. Common SSRIs include Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, and Zoloft.
- 5–MeO–DMT & Bufo alvarius. The practice of smoking the secretions of the Sonoran Desert Toad, or Bufo alvarius, has recently entered shamanic circles. The secretions contain more than a dozen tryptamine compounds, the most important of which are bufotenin and 5-MeO-DMT, which may have contraindications with the harmala alkaloids in ayahuasca.
- MAOI medications. Some medications contain MAOIs, the same substance found in the ayahuasca brew. Mixing MAOIs with ayahuasca is known to cause dangerous side effects such as severe liver and kidney impairment, severe or frequent headache, uncontrolled hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases (Savinelli & Halpern, 1995). You should safely suspend your MAOI medication before taking ayahuasca. Common MAOIs include Emsam, Marplan, Nardil, and Parnate.
- Lithium. This is sometimes given as a mediator in combination with some forms of medication. Numerous reports suggest that lithium can cause fatal seizures and heart attacks when mixed with psychedelics like ayahuasca (Brown, 2003). Do not take ayahuasca if you are prescribed lithium.
- Medications that affect heart rate. San Pedro can change your heart rate, so avoid taking it if you’re on medications such as propranolol or captopril, or if you have a heart condition.
- Stimulants. Drugs like amphetamines affect your heart rate, and should be avoided for that reason. This includes Adderall and Ritalin.
The plant medicines Purge
One of the first things you will experience upon taking plant medicines during your ceremony will be the purge. This may include vomiting, diarrhoea, and intense feelings of physical discomfort.
The purge is one of the reasons why the dieta can be helpful – having a cleansed body can make this step much more bearable!
Not everyone purges during an ayahuasca ceremony, and even those who do will purge to different extents. Nevertheless, the purge is traditionally seen as a necessary step in the healing process of an ayahuasca ceremony. Letting go of your demons or toxicity through the physical purging of your body is one way of allowing you to encounter the spirit of the medicines as a clean, humbled being
The point of going into a deep cleanse prior to plant medicine ceremony is to clear out any toxins from your body and mind, so that you can be open and receptive to the healing and wisdom that teacher plant has to share with you. If you don’t clear them out prior, you will spend your ceremony clearing them out, and visions and insights you could be having will most likely be obscured by many hours nausea, overall discomfort, alongside mental, physical, and emotional purging.
By following dietary guidelines, you will optimize your experience and allow yourself to go deeper into the spirit world, and receive profound psycho spiritual healing.
Letting Go with plant medicines
You will probably encounter shocking, unpleasant, or disturbing sensations and thoughts during the experience. That is natural: most of us are not accustomed to coming into such close contact with profound spirit medicines, and it is unusual for people to have a purely comfortable experience.
The key to not letting the intense or negative parts of the experience overwhelm you is letting go. Being able to release control and trust that you will be looked after.
This isn’t to say that you should be able to conquer your fear of the situation. Fear is a natural response to intense experiences and, in the words of Terence McKenna
“[The fear] marks the experience as existentially authentic. […] A touch of terror gives the stamp of validity to the experience because it means, ‘This is real.’ We are in the balance. We read the literature, we know the maximum doses, and so on. But nevertheless, so great is one’s faith in the mind that when one is out in it one comes to feel that the rules of pharmacology do not really apply and that control of existence on that plane is really a matter of focus of will and good luck.” – Vayne (2017)
So it is expected for you to feel fear when you are thrown out of your normal framework of understanding, because suddenly all that solid ground under your feet becomes a vast drop to somewhere completely unknown.
Being able to accept this new and scary situation is important. Rather than flailing around and scrambling for some essence of solidity in the void beneath you, remember that this is a natural part of the ancestral medicines experiences, and what will help you is to let go. Accept the fear, accept this scary new reality, and let it happen to you.
Remember that you are being looked after, you are safe; and embrace the pains and joys of the experience
Many people recommend giving up your sense of self to the medicine, and remembering that the medicine knows best. Take every lesson the medicine gives you with humility and openness
I hope you enjoying the reading, if you feel I have miss something.. please let me know.!! We are ONE !!
I would be grateful to get your thoughts. Love
When we do plant medicine, and we see love, we realize right then and there that it was never apart from us, that in fact it was a part of us.”
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