When one begins their journey with Ayahuasca, the first step that our shamans take is one of cleansing.
Coming from a world of that tends to contain dense energies, as well as those which the guest brings with them internally, it is often the case that the intention set by the shamans for the first Ayahuasca ceremony is one of cleansing the spirit and preparing it for deeper work in subsequent ceremonies.
To prepare you to dig deeper we offer 3 separate opportunities for you to cleanse your energetic body.
nunu (Rape')
The first is the Nunu ceremony. This ceremony, with a mixture of jungle tobacco and other plants collected from the jungle, is meant to cleanse your nasal passages, open your third eye, and awaken your spirit to the world of plant medicines.
It can help ground you and open your senses to the surrounding jungle, clearing your head and inducing a sense of calm which helps relieve any anxiety about the work ahead.
Finally, it opens the ceremonial space with your group and connects you to what the shamans consider Grandfather medicine – tobacco. Jungle tobacco (which is wild-grown and contains no chemicals or additives) is a sacred medicine in the Shipibo tradition, and is considered a plant spirit which acts as a conduit for other plant-spirit healers to be called upon by the shaman.
There is a legend in the Amazon basin that the spirit of tobacco was the one that guided the ancient indigenous tribes to discover the combination of plants which led to the discovery of the Ayahuasca brew. This sacred medicine of Nunu connects us to these plants and opens our path to begin our work with the medicines.
kambo
The second way is by using Kambo (frog venom) ceremony, if you wish. This powerful medicine acts as a deep physical cleansing agent, resetting your immune system by flushing your whole body with white blood cells.
It is a short ceremony, only about 10 minutes per person, but the effects are immediate and it flushes your whole body in such a way that people often experience great physical and mental benefits using this medicine alone.
It has been shown to treat pain, inflammation, depression, and a variety of illnesses. It may induce vomiting (or purging), which serves to further cleanse the intestines and liver.
Building upon the energetic cleansing of Nunu (Rape'), Kambo acts as a thorough physical cleansing, without the extended time purging and feeling ill required for other cleansing medicines used throughout retreat centers in the Amazon.
We find this medicine to be an extremely powerful precursor to your Ayahuasca ceremonies.
flower baths
Finally, prior to each ceremony (only in the Amazon), we offer floral baths made from various jungle plants and flowers. Our female shaman, Angelita, lovingly prepares these cleansing baths with multiple plants grown around our Center and in the surrounding jungle. Guests are invited to put their intention into the bath, asking the spirits of the plants to cleanse and protect them as they enter ceremony.
As always, the intention that is put into an activity or ritual is a marker for how much you will get out of it, and this is a final opportunity before ceremony to calm the mind, cleanse the spirit, and set the intention. We place a strong emphasis on physical and energetic cleansing surrounding your work with Ayahuasca. The Amazon jungle is sacred land, and the world of Ayahuasca shamanism embodies that fully.
It’s important that this work is done with as clean of a mind, body, and spirit as possible, in order to lay a strong foundation for the process. At Arkana, the alchemy of our work involves substantial preparatory cleansing in order for you to get the most out of your experience, and we invite you to take advantage of every opportunity to do this and prepare for your transformation.