Accommodation
What is Ayahuasca
A HEALER THAT CLEANSES OUR BODIES FROM DISEASE, OUR HEARTS FROM SUFFERING, OUR MIND FROM ILLUSION.
Shamans understand the language of the plants and it was the spirit of plants that showed the Shaman, Ayahuasca. Coming from the great forests of the Amazon of South America, Ayahuasca is a medicinal ethnogenic tea prepared from two main plants: Banisteriopsis Caapi, a jungle vine also known as Jagube, combined with the leaves of Psychotria Viridis or Chacruna known as Rainha (Queen).
The plants are cooked with water over fire for numerous hours until the elements merge into the golden liquid light that is Ayahuasca.
Ayahuasca or Ayawaska is Quechua for Spirit Vine or Vine of the Soul; 'aya' means Spirit while 'huasca' or 'waska' means vine. Quechua is a language spoken by indigenous Andean people of South America. The Medicine is also called by many other names. Ayahuasca is a true medicine, because it is healing us in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions of our existence. Very importantly, Ayahuasca is showing us how we are to heal ourselves. She is a Healer that cleanses our bodies from disease, our hearts from suffering, our mind from illusion. She brings us the light of consciousness, opening our hearts and eyes to look within ourselves where we can find the Divine. She teaches us how to live. And the way to live in harmony. We feel that the Ayahuasca is an entity, sent from the Spirit Realm, manifesting in the earth, to accompany us in our quest and soul journey towards liberation and union.
Santo Daime Tradition
From the deep heart of the Peruvian jungle the forest spirit wanted to reach more people.
So someone was summoned, who would be courageous and humble enough to listen and be guided to create a new spiritual container in which the medicine of the forest would be served and received. That person was a simple yet profound Afro-Brazilian, Irineu Raimundo Serra. He worked in the forests of Peru as a rubber tapper where he experienced the brew through the guidance of the shamans and upon drinking it he received an awakening that brought him his great life mission. Through this meeting with the Queen of the forest, in his visions, Irineu was guided to bring the teachings, healing and the medicine to his home in Brazil.
With time the Doctrine of the Santo Daime became established, literally meaning the Holy Give-me. It is an eclectic religion, stemming from Peruvian shamanism, Kaidist spiritually and African spiritism. This doctrine grew and spread, attracting a variety of people. Hence the sacred brew became more and more internationally known. Out of many new paths were born that have been spread globally. Now Ayahuasca or Santo Daime can be drunk across the globe. This doctrine forms part of the foundation of Sound of Light’s medicine path. We have a lot of reverence to the doctrine, and we respectfully integrate many aspects of the doctrine into our work, through prayer, structure, ritual, hymns and invocation.
She teaches us how to live. And the way to live in harmony. Ayahuasca is an entity that has been sent from the Spirit Realm to accompany us in our quest and soul journey towards the One.
Preparing Ayahuasca
At our Forest Sanctuary we grow the medicine plants with a lot of care and intention and several times a year we cook the medicine. The process of cooking is called Feitio and lasts around 10 days. We were taught to cook the medicine in the way of the Santo Daime, usually we cook during the Solstice and Equinox. We also welcome people to join in the process of cooking, from harvesting to reducing. It is a labor of love and devotion and it is so very special to make the brew as community, as we work, sing and pray together throughout the process we bring our united intentions of healing and gratitude into the brew.