Peru part 2 (Amazon Jungle - Temple of the way of Light) Odyssey 2014

It´s taken four days for me to be able to begin to feel how I would be able to put to words the experience had at the Temple of the way of light which is deep in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, only accessible by boat and a long march up a muddy track. Once we arrived we were met by the faciliators (Gringos..Westerners) and the Shipibo Shamen Maestros (Men) Maestras (Women) who were there to litterly put us through, which end up for me at least, one of the most challenging physical, spirital, mental and emotional experiences of my life to date. To put it in a bit of context. Westerners are now coming enmass to the Amazon to undertake this type of healing workshop, to assist in clearing away a lot of Western junk that some if not most of us build up in our lives. I believe and feel strongly that a lot of the western so called civilisation as lost it´s connection to Mother Earth and the relationship we are meant to have with the planet that our bodies are made from. And this disconnection is the root course of so many issues that relate to the Mind, Body and Spirit. And that we have also lost our way to the point of destroying her, harming her, scarring her, however there she still is waiting for us to reconnect. The Shamen live in the Amazonb, it´s a traditional life that has become almost extinct, however they choose to be there to assist us willing Gringos that have made the trek to this part of the world, and it´s a challenging part of the world to begin with, let alone be put through some an intense program for two weeks. But in saying that, the perfect location within paradise for such a program. I was sure that they must see all of our junk when we walked across the bridge and into the entrance space, and I felt the same disconnection from them too. Who were these Shipibo...bla bla bla went my westernised ego. From then on the orientation was fantastic and we were assigned our own Tambo(Hut) in the Temple groups, amongst the rainforest, that only had a compost toilet and a old Kerosene lamp, however Diesel is used due to Kerosene being banned in Peru to help the stop of Cocaine production.. No electricity for two weeks, and we slept and woke to the effects of the sunsetting and rising. It was alive, and yes this was living :) Our group consisted of 22 people from all over the planet, I met two Aussie guys, which was refreshing as they bought me back to some true Aussie roots that I had been away from for some time on this Odyssey. There were a group of Romanians, Ukranians, Canadians, Americans and also from Germany. A group of 22 people that I now call friends and feel so much love for as we purged and grew so close together during the two weeks at the Temple. During the two weeks we had seven ayahuasca ceremonies. Ayahuasca is a plant medicine brew that has been used across Latin American for ovr 4500 years as part of traditional healing. Once taken orally in ceremony it envokes the body to heal across the physical, spirutal, mental and emotional aspects, and encourages the mind, body and spirit to purge all that no longer serves the drinker. Purging physcally as one may know involves a lot of throwing up and time spent on the toilet, the more healing required, the more purging occurs, ridding the body of the junk that we bought into the Temple. The Shamen move throughout the group who sit in a circle in ceremony and sing individual song called ´"Icaros" which works with the Ayahuasca to move through the body and activate and begin the healing process. Every ceremony was different and involved very different Icaros everytime. Those Shamen knew us better than we knew ourselves. Ayahuasca can also envoke powerful visions and allows the drinker to access different spectrum of light not available normally. This process was quite powerful for me, and the insights seen were profound and at sometimes disturbing. The Ayahuasca separates the EGO for long enough for the heart to jump in and balance the EGO. However it was quite facinating to see both my EGO and higher spiritual self battle it out, with the EGO always trying to rationalise the experience and "think about it". The heart though is a much stronger part of our being and envokes the drinker to "feel about it", and after a number of ceremonies my EGO was broken like a horse is broken in and ultimtly succumbs to the higher/strong power. It just surrenders and begins to be more healthy and symbiotic with you. The Temple process also involved a one-on-one consultation with the healers and faciliators to discussion our reasons to being at the temple, and our intentions for healing. From this we were prescribed various traditional plant remadies, and massages that also work in tandem with the Ayahuasca healing process. I am still assimilating the changes within me and will probably write an addendum to this part of the Odyssey once I am back home and back into my routine. However the overarching aspect of what Mother ayahuasca gave to me, was the consumate sensation of me feeling my heart again after most of my lifetime being blocked by many things that I had put there to stop being hurt and that had manifested elsewhere in my body and causing significant health issues. She gave me what I needed, and I needed to love myself again in order to begin to love outwards again to all and everything that is my very being and for my body to heal. As I said, I´m still assimilating that part of my journey. We were fed a diet of specific food to assist in the journey, and we all needed to adhere to a specific diet two weeks before the workshop, as certain foods inhibit ayahuasca ability to work with the body. Foods such as Pork, processed meats, red meat, suger, salt, chocolate, spices..`pretty much western diet..and the food cooked for us was exceptional, however after day 10 a lot of conversations with the group were the longing for certain foods.. I for one had a vision during a ceremony of M&Ms flying around me. Yes I was addicted to Chocolate, thanks Ayahuasca..haaa We were exposed to such universal light and love during this time and it´s an experience that I already know has effected me so much and am grateful for all faculties allowed to me, that have assisted me to undertake the ayahuasca workshop at the Temple of the way of light. Sitting back here in Iquitos and meeting the "newbies" as they check into hotels and mingle about and we discuss the Temple. I saw myself in them just over two weeks ago. We bond over the the respect we have for them for making their own journey and respect for the process they are entering into. When we all leave and then head back to our respective parts of the world, we take back with us the healing of Ayahuasca and spread that healing energy through our lives, and as more and more Westerners arrive in this part of the world for Ayahuasca medicine healing, more and more re-connected gringos go back to the world to continue their healing process connected to Mother Earth, and more concious of living with her, not just on her. Today marks the last day of my time here in the Amazon. I am heading home a week early to allow myself more time to reintegrate this energy and change within my familiar environment. I´m looking forward to being at home with this feeling. -Namaste-

Peru part 3 (Iquitos) Odyssey 2014

Iquitos is deep in the Amazon and was my pick up and drop off point for my Temple of the way of light experience.  Arriving in Iquitos I was struck down by a severe bout of sickness...and the first two days had me in my hotel room, only venturing out to buy the final things needed for my workshop and to find some Ayahuasca dietas food to eat. Funny enough everywhere i went I met people who were either going to the Temple or worked there...It was here I met Sasha, who is the Managing Director of the Temple and who was facilitating our workshop.

Iquitos was hot and sultry and sits on the Amazon river and has the tag of being only accessible by boat or plane. Its people are very different to those in the Cusco area, and I got the impression that the men there were not particularly keen on Gringos. I can understand why, western people historically have come and killed, maimed and imposed their way of life on the traditional culture and also i felt that it was a tough life there.

Every day outside of my hotel there were always up to 10 steeet hustlers, that would get you anything and everything, all for a price though haaa.  They knew our itinerary and when they saw a new person they swarmed him or her, usually shouting, "Ayahuasca" to get their attention. Funny enough when i asked around most Iquitons had either not tried Ayahuasca or had only tried it once or twice. Not the 7 times we Gringos  did in ceremony. Again a pointer to the destruction of their traditional culture by Spanish missionaries. 

After the workshop I was able to go on a tour several hours into the Amazon, up the Amazon river to fish for piranha and take a look at several animals indigenous to the region. I also toured Belen markets which is the local traditional markets, full of everything and lots of pick pocketers, i managed to stop one from taking a look in my pockets. I was also taken to the floating city, which is an area of Iquitos near the markets that is right on the river and built in a way to be floating in the wet season and sitting on the ground in the dry season. Or houses that simply didnt use their ground floor during the wet season due to flooding.

I was due to stay in Iquitos for a few more days, however with the departure of my workshop colleagues to their many and varied homelands and the continual hustling of the hustlers outside, I decided to leave in order to be home a week earlier to assimilate these changes and to recover from the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual emancipation that I had gone through at the temple.

I traveled from Iquitos to Lima to Dallas to London to Dubai and am just about to land in Brisbane.

This is the second last post of this Odyssey 2014, I shall write a final edition once back in a routine and have had time to reflect on the journey that has been life shaping in so many ways.

Take care 

Peru part 1 (Cusco) Odyssey 2014

Arriving in a foreign country during political protests, particularly at the airport where i was arriving at was interesting to say the least. The road blockades and subsequent diversions around the outskirts of Cusco, made for an awesome scenic tour..haaa. They were not protesting about tourists, in fact when they saw we were, they let us through. Their gripe is with the Peruvian President not delivering on election promises and the cost of living. I support their plight.
Cusco is an amazing place. My Hotel (Kenamari Hotel) went out of their way to ensure every moment of my short stay went smoothly. Even to the point of coming and collecting my bags and me from a blockade and scurrying us to the safety of the hotel on foot.

Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire which lasted until those nasty and violent Spanish conquesters came and destroyed it. Gone are the Spanish now and back is the spirit of the Incan.

As I always like to do, i walked the back streets, up the steep and steps filled roads to get lost to find my way again. The people are friendly towards us Gringos as tourism is a massive income for this relatively poor country.  The plazas around central Cusco are full of life, i recommend walking to other plazas as there are more locals there and less tourists. 

The tourism and the operations are run perfectly, and Australia should take a note of the processes and interpersonal ways that Peruvians approach their tourism. And I work in the industry back home!!

I thoroughly recommend doing the Cusco City tour, which I thought was going to be a boring tour of even more boring Spanish churches ( note previous comment about Spaniards of old). However I was mistaken 100% and was guided through the older Incan cities and temples that are in and around Cusco.

The Temple of the Sun is in central Cusco however the other temples are located above Cusco between 3500-3800 metres above sea level.  These were used for ceremonial purposes and as the gateway to the Sacred valley.

Machu Picchu was simply a must, and its easy to see why it is the signature tourist destination for Peru. Its awe inspiring and if it is not already on your bucket list, put it on it. The transit to Macchu Pichu in itself is worth the trip and I recommend paying the little bit extra for the Vistsdome.  The town at the base of the mountain is quaint and the bus ride up the 20 or so hair pin turns is a laugh ( or cry, depends on what you are like with heights)!! 

Cusco wasn't originally on my itinerary as my focus was the Amazon, and clearly my thinking in this department was wrong.  Thanks to my Boss (Dom) for info and insight from his travels here. I already want to return, ill put my leave application in asap ;) 

Off to Lima and then into the Amazon Jungle on Saturday morning!!!