We are intimately and innately woven into the fabric of creation. Our connection and interdependence with nature is embedded in our DNA. When we slow down and observe, we find we have a natural reverence and connection with all of life; the plants, the animals, the elements, the winged ones, the insect nation, and our celestial allies. The tangible recognition of this relationship is something our ancestors knew deeply, and is the sense of peace our hearts crave. We are the living dreams and prayers of our ancestors.
For me, to love nature is to love myself, and to love myself, is to love nature. We learn who we are through witnessing Nature.
My journey with herbalism and plant medicine started when I was 20. I moved to Peru and lived with the indigenous Amazonian peoples. Witnessing their relationship with nature awakened a memory inside of me; a very ancient and natural way of being with the Earth and all the relations that dwell upon her. The Amazon River is their life blood, they know her song, they feel her story. Time runs differently in a place like that, and the consciousness of the human being must meet and merge with the consciousness of the jungle in order to survive. This relationship raises a very different kind of person.
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…. The sun had just rose, the sound of praise and song filled the village. I went to greet the day and witnessed the local peoples praying… elders, mothers, children, hunters,… everyone.. giving thanks for the invitation to a new day.
Over the last 10 years, I have lived with various indigenous peoples. A common thread weaves through the way they live. The simplicity of their lives invokes a depth, a sense of purpose, and a tangible connection with Source, as they are consciously living and breathing their interconnection with the world around them.
The people living closely to the Earth communicate with the plants; receiving the intelligence of their spirit, and the ability to wield their medicine through both hand and heart. They make offerings to the plants and spend intimate time with them. It is not simply a relationship of “what can you give me?/how can you heal me?,” but a deep kinship and lifelong partner.
“Dieta” is a Shipibo term from the Amazon jungle that simply translates to “Diet.” It is a process that includes time in isolation, generally anywhere from 9 days to 2 years, “dieting” or engaging with a specific plant and its spirit.
During the dieta, one abstains from salt, sugars and oils, eating very simple and bland. The dieter puts all their attention on the plant. Giving up egoic desires and all external stimulation in order to fully receive the plant.
During the dieta, an energetic connection is established between the spiritual consciousness and physical energy-body of the person dieting the plant and the energy of the plant spirit.
Reasons for going into dieta vary. Some people go in to increase their abilities as healers/practitioners. Certain plants enhance the healers sight in the spirit world and allow practitioners to better see what’s going on in a patient’s body. Other plants offer psychic and energetic protection. If a patient comes to a healer with something big to heal, often the healer will put them into a dieta, so they may integrate the medicine on all levels, and have space to unravel any emotions and experiences that may have gotten lodged into the person’s energy body, helping to arrive at the root cause, and therefore eventually becoming well.
For me, dieta reflects the deeper layers of how plant medicine is working on human beings. The plants are effective because they work on multidimensional levels. Through their chemical constituents, they physically balance out different ailments within the body. Meanwhile, each plant is a doctor, a therapist, a healer in and of itself. They have spirits and personalities that are able to restitch the ways in which our brain fires, counsel us through the triggers and traumas that can resurface in dieta, and clean our spirit body. Each plant holds its own unique doorway of consciousness.
The plant dieta opens space for people to remember who they truly are, therefore becoming whole. The plants open our hearts. It is through this heart channel that we are able to hear their spirits, and it is from this union we remember who we are. It is in this way, they bring us closer to our true nature.
In addition, after one immerses themselves with a plant in this way, they will have an ally, counselor, doctor and friend to be with for the rest of their lives. Each year, the plants grow in us. You may diet a plant for 4 days, and over the next 361 days, experience it become stronger inside of you. In the Amazon, the people empower the plants by respecting them and honoring them for the power in which they carry. In this way, the plants receive power from the people and in turn return that power. It is a symbiotic relationship. As one follows the teachings and truths that arise in dieta, they are empowering that plant’s medicine. As one works with the plant to continue to heal themselves or others, the plant spirit is fed and continues to grow inside of the person.
During the dieta process, it is also important to watch one’s dreams, for it is during dreamtime that many messages and symbols from the plant will appear.
During waking time, the person dieting spends much time in their hammock; listening, processing, singing to the plant and witnessing life around them. Each dieta is as unique as the person and the plant that is involved. Like life, the dieta is a work of art, to be created and written by each participant. A strong intention, silent presence and receptive curiosity will lead to a life changing experience.
This experience is designed to arouse deep physical, mental, and emotional transformations; to awaken dormant and numb spaces within your spirit and psyche and re-invigorate your passion, courage, and physical wellbeing.
Blessed bee this Wild Earth. May we never be tamed by the mundane; magic is alive in every moment. 🐆
