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-