The Road to Enlightenment
The Dieta
The way of Amazonian Shamanism involves accessing one's inner knowledge and ancestral wisdom. The primary method of learning the way of the Amazonian Shaman-Curandero (healer) has remained unchanged for thousands of years. For lengths of time, a person desiring to learn is sequestered in a secluded area with nothing but one's own inner world.
During this time, dietary restrictions are in order and the person has little to no contact with the outside world, only to the shaman with whom he is studying. The shaman gives specific plants to the person for both healing and learning. The person may want to apprentice to become a shaman or may seek to heal a physical, emotional, mental or spiritual ailment. By limiting most external stimuli that can draw the mind and senses away from one's true center, the intention of the Dieta is a deep inward exploration of the Self and an encounter with the power of Plant Teachers which spark healing and teach us to heal others.
The foundational practice of Amazonian Shamanism, the Dieta, consists of an extended period of isolation with the master shaman within the jungle, in which deep teaching from and through the sacred plants is offered. Translated the word "Dieta" means diet. During this time one "diets" a variety of master plants, while keeping one's food intake extremely simple in quantity and quality. Plain rice or oats (without any salt, spice or condiment) and boiled plantains are served daily. In this pure diet, the plants have the correct environment to work on many levels to teach, cleanse and heal our bodies and spirits.
In addition to ingesting medicinal plants, each day plants are given with which to bathe. The absorption through the skin of these gentle but potent substances alters us in beautiful ways, helping us to strengthen, release fear and find more grounding. While it is a foreign concept to many that mere plants can accomplish such things, the dieta shows us another world that the peoples of the Amazon have known and accessed to the benefit of humanity for millennia.
The Dieta offered at Sachavacay by Don Diego is a truly transformational experience. For twelve days, the shaman and his thoughtful staff manage all of one's cares of daily living. Specific plants prescribed for each person by the shaman are brought daily to the "tambos" (open air huts) where participants spend much of their time during the period of diet. The shaman makes personal visits regularly to each participant to offer guidance and counsel. Don Diego's painstaking care for the well being of each member of the Dieta creates an atmosphere of true safety, even in this jungle environment that is unfamiliar to most.
The centerpiece of the Dieta is group ceremony, guided by Don Diego, where we come together to partake the highest master plant of the jungle, Ayahuasca. Five times during the dieta, we gather for such ceremonies to enter into the true mystery of life that this plant affords us.
The journeys with Ayahuasca are both exacting and exquisite. They challenge us in many ways, and also offer a window into profound spiritual truth. Ayahuasca allows us to see our blockages, our weaknesses and strengths. One must enter this work with humility and with the understanding that it will ask much of each of us. But when one is willing to truly open to the teaching of this holy vine, the fruits that grow from the experience are beyond imagining.
Entering into the realm of the "madrecita," as the vine is lovingly called, can permanently alter the course of one's life. In the words of one participant, Ayahuasca shows us "the wisdom of eternity."