Ayahuasca at Caya Shobo Healing Centre – The sacred Amazonian medicine path.
http://www.cayashobo.com/
Peru is often heralded as the most fascinating country in South America, with its diverse geography encompassing the beautiful Andes mountains, the Atacama desert, breathtaking coastlines and of course the vast and mysterious jungle of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest and host to a wonder of unparalleled natural diversity.
Along with these natural riches, Peru is also home to a multitude of Hispanic and native peoples, of many varied languages and traditions, and of rich cultural history, artfully expressed through brightly coloured quality textiles, precious jewelry, pottery, music, exquisite cuisines, and wondrous enchantments from the ancient world. The sacred city of Machu Pichu, for instance, the “Holy City of the Incas”, is world-acclaimed as one of Peru’s most exciting and spectacularly beautiful destinations. The city of Cusco also, which was once capital of the Inca’s vast Empire which spanned more than 60% of South America, is the oldest continually inhabited city in the Western hemisphere.
But deep in the Amazon jungle lies a less well-known gem of the ancient native world. Namely, the noble medicine of Ayahuasca, the “Vine of the Soul”, and the Shipibo tribal people, whose Shamanic Maestros and Maestras are the advanced knowledge bearers of Ayahuasca’s mysterious and esteemed healing powers, and holders of the secrets of attainment of more elevated levels of spiritual consciousness through the sacramental use of Ayahuasca – a plant brew that is ingested in ceremonial context under the guidance and care of experienced practitioners.
The Shipibo are a special tribe, one of the oldest and largest tribes of the western Amazon basin, with their own language, and an ancient culture estimated at over 2,000 years old. Living as they do in the embrace of the earth’s most vast and primeval natural environment, the Shipibo people hold a deep connection with the nature of the rainforest which infuses all aspects of their life – physical, cultural and spiritual. They were never conquered by the Inca empire and resisted colonization by Spanish priests. Through the passing down of their ancestral knowledge from generation to generation, the Shipibo shamanic healers have preserved their traditions and their age-old treasure of knowledge of the medicine plants of the jungle in a way that no other culture possesses today.
The Shipibo people believe the master plants are physical hosts of advanced teaching spirits; spirits of a high sentience and intelligence, profoundly different from our human intelligence, but that hold immense sacred knowledge, and are able to be accessed through special shamanic practices and dietary restrictions. During Ayahuasca ceremonies the Master healer or curandero administers healing treatments through the singing or chanting of ‘Icaros’ or songs that embody the spiritual energy and healing knowledge of the shaman, as passed down by his ancestors and enhanced through his own dream vision learning while in ‘dieta’ with the master plants.
Luz Universal by Luis Tamani. Peruvian Visionary Artist
Ayahuasca is believed to be the Great Mother of these plant spirits, the Cosmic Serpent, the great master teacher who can provide us a portal to the spiritual world of the plants, and who awakens our lost memories, reminds us of the beauty of our soul, and shows us the pathways to healing through helping us to access the deepest parts of our sub-conscious mind. Some believe the spirit of Ayahuasca has deliberately come forth from the depths of the Amazon and is now emerging into the global consciousness in order to bring peace, healing and harmony into a modern world that is far from its roots and contact with Mother Nature.
There is a growing stream of international interest in this relatively recent discovery of one of the world’s most fascinating ancient mysteries, with seekers journeying to the heart of Peru to find relief from a variety of physical ailments and disease, from the psychological anxieties and stresses of modern life, and to explore the possibility of a more significant and higher spiritual understanding through the experience of entering Ayahuasca ceremony and master plant dieta.
In the past decade many new centres of Ayahuasca healing have opened throughout the Amazon, with a variety of offerings, often combining traditional Amazonian shamanic healing with other western and eastern traditions such as Yoga and Massage. It is important to note that their are risks associated with the ingestion of Ayahuasca, in particular when combined with other plants that may be destabilizing to the function of the body or mind, or when it is used without the oversight and protection of experienced practitioners. Caya Shobo Healing Centre is a unique place of its kind: for its beautiful environs and for its seriousness and commitment to the deepest and oldest Amazonian shamanic tradition of the Shipibo medicine path, and the safety and well being of all its visitors. Caya Shobo is the only western owned Ayahuasca centre in the world to have received endorsement from Coshicox (the Shipibo Conibo Xetebo Tribal Council) as to the authenticity of its Maestros and its medicine offering in accordance with the true Shipibo traditions. Under the care of Caya Shobo’s expert teachers and experienced facilitators, this centre welcomes all who wish to explore the millennial medicine path of Ayahuasca in a beautiful, safe and natural setting in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
Caya Shobo is conveniently located just 45minutes from the famed jungle city of Iquitos, where guests can take time out to take a tour down the Amazon river, explore the artisanal markets, or visit the popular local restaurants. Iquitos is easily accessible by a short flight from Lima. Bookings to stay at Caya Shobo can be made online at www.cayashobo.com
