Reflections from the Amazon...

What can I say? I’ve had the most amazing month out here in the amazon. These are the ‘lungs of the earth’ and the energy here is incredibly strong and known to be transformational. When people arrive here they typically take a couple of weeks to readjust, kind of like an energetic detox ;-)

I had the pleasure of staying with a small group of some of the most warm-hearted, kind, generous and positive people I’ve ever met. Staying here gave me the inspiration to watch my own thoughts, words, and to take responsibility for the energy I was bringing to the space. I felt as though I had a glimpse at how well community can work and the joy of giving selfless service, or seva.

After arriving at Paititi and spending a few days working in the hot sun, I felt like a big, fluffy marshmallow, and only slightly less so after being here a month. The locals are pretty tough out here ;-)

I had the pleasure of working aside some great permaculture knowledge and enthusiasm, never have I seen people so excited about compost! I was starting to feel the same way by the end :-)

While I was here I took part in a couple of Ayahuasca ceremonies which was an intense and deeply cleansing experience. The ayahuasca medicine works to purify the ‘lower’ energy centres of the body and I was shown aspects of myself the ego does not usually wish to acknowledge. As intense as these were, I found the following days a great sense of peace and ‘letting go’. The post-ceremony sharing sessions seemed almost like partaking in lifetimes of wisdom.

One of the ceremonies took part with our neighbours at ‘natures hospital’ across the road (I say this but really it is a 1 ½ hour hike into the jungle in thick mud). This is also an awesome project, deeply rooted in natural healing and preservation of the jungle. It was very inspiring to see a westerner purchase so much land for the purposes of preservation. The land here is very cheap by our standards and certainly within the means of folks back home. Given I’ve heard all kinds of rumors ranging from ‘Chinese families buying the jungle and clearing it for palm oil’ to ‘the Chinese government using the land for nuclear experimentation’; it would be great to see more of this kind of sustainability action happening.

Needless to say after spending a month in nature, eating good clean vegan food, away from (most) electronic distractions and being exposed to amazing mind expanding books, movies and conversation, I feel an amazing sense of peace and gratitude for the experiences I’ve been presented with. I must say I did enjoy that first vanilla frappuccino however ;-)

As I write this I am sitting on a bean bag in Karma café, Iquitos enjoying a camu camu refresco, listening to some funky tunes surrounded by awesome people. Life is good.

Alas, my time here has come to an end for now. I am heading to Buenos Aires tomorrow before the UK with excitement to see where this next phase will take me :-)