1. Setting your intention

Coming into any plant medicine journey, it is important to bring something with you. YOUR intention plays a crucial role in the entire process. Remembering what brought you to explore and heal in the first place it what can re-center you.

So, what are intentions exactly?

They are nothing more than a response to the question you have had coming up within yourself. These intentions are very important for the actual ceremony and in the days, weeks, months and years following to adopt new lifestyle habits that enable you to continue to grow, heal and thrive 

When our intentions are clear, when we are sure about what we want, we give the universe full permission to deliver it to us. When we focus on what we don’t want, the universe is likely to deliver us more of the same drudgery that led us to want to transform our day-to-day reality.

Clarity of your objective, of your purpose and intention will enable you to experience profound healing beyond your wildest expectations.

When setting an intention for this work, you may like to contemplate the following questions:

• What is it I want to realize for myself? What would be my ideal outcome? How would I
like to feel?

• What is my main aim or objective? Think about this in terms of what you want (not what
you don’t want)

• What is my purpose for wanting to do this work? Be sure that it is an authentic purpose,
not simply wanting to check an experience of your bucket list

• How does this purpose look and feel to me? Try to imagine it in your mind, write it down
or draw it out

Setting your intention includes the mind set! Your intention of the journey’s mindset is defined as the emotional and psychological state of your approach and experience. An intention is like a prayer, it is a statement of one’s motivation or direction. Your intention directs your journey and communicates to our Higher Self what it is that we are seeking.
 

You can support the process of setting an intention by journaling, making art, playing music, singing, or writing as a way of expressing what is coming through. Try to write every morning. Read through old journeys (if you have journeyed before) and reflect on how far you have come. Explore wounds, painful memories and issues, and open up emotionally. If you are not a meditator, begin a simple daily practice of mindfulness. You can take 10 minutes and focus your
attention on your breath and journal. Record your dreams! Uncover your subconscious.

2. Physical Preparation – The DIETA

“The body is a sacred garment. It’s your first and last garment, it is what you enter life in and what do you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor.” - Martha Graham

The practices and dietary protocols followed leading up to a ceremony are known as a Dieta — and though the word most obviously refers to food intake, the preparatory practices extend to behavioral abstinences and spiritual practices as well. The way we physically prepare our body for an expanded state of consciousness is of utmost important ~ to diet, to cleanse and purify for the specific purpose of enhancing the healing potential of a journey. Simply stated, it is best to simplify your diet as much as possible in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. Eliminate processed foods, colorings, and preservatives; avoid salty, sugary, and spicy foods; cut out animal products, particularly meat; and eliminate all sexual activity, addictive substances like alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and recreational drugs. Avoid cannabis and other psychoactive substances for a minimum of one week before the journey. Try sticking to organic wholesome meals. Drink plenty of water and light herbal teas. Avoid coffee or strong black tea. We have a doctor on staff that we work with in order to identify which of your medications are compatible with the medicine you are going to journey with and which are NOT. Together we will determine if and in what time frame you can eliminate your reliance on prescription drugs where possible, particularly if you are on MAOI or SSRI drugs. These medications will interfere directly with the effects of plant medicine and, in some case the interaction can have serious health repercussions. DO NOT attempt to work with Ayahuasca or
Psilocybin while taking these medications and always consult with us first!! The most potential change in behavior that is suggested before meeting the plant spirits is abstinence from sexual activity, both with others as well as on your own. Shamanism understands sexual intimacy as a form of energetic connection between the people involved; it would make sense then, that in ceremony you might feel the energy or presence of that person in a strong
way. This can lead to a confusing experience, distracting from your ability to focus on your own healing and to see your connection with the other person clearly. Sexual activity with yourself is said to deplete the individual of spiritual energy that would
otherwise be used in the healing process during the plan medicine ceremony, limiting your ability to dive deep and preventing the medicine from communicating with you clearly.

Sleep at least 7 to 8 hours for three days before and after the journey and take naps if you feel tired from your activities. Take care to cleanse and purify your physical body so that you feel ready for that your experience, using sage, incense and salt baths. Go into nature to stay grounded. You want to move stagnant energy out of the body, and on the other hand you want to quiet the physical system. You want to go into a journey with a sense of vitality, yet rested enough
for the experience. It can be helpful to get a massage or go to a sauna to begin the process of relaxation. It is a
matter of discernment and balance.
 

THE DIETA
Foods to avoid

o Dairy products (highly mucus forming)
o Red meat (pork, beef, goat, tuna, eel, etc.)
o Processed, canned, sulfured food and chemical preservatives
o Fermented and aged foods such as soy sauce, fermented dairy
o products, soybean paste, tofu, bean curd, miso soup, teriyaki sauce, shrimp
paste, and pickled foods
o Sourdough bread
o Processed sweets, chocolate, and anything with reAined sugar and products
containing sugar (eg. bread, sauces) unless homemade!
o ArtiAicial sweeteners
o Spicy and excessively salty foods
o Products high in gluten such as cakes, cookies, and white bread
o Various protein- and yeast-based extracts or supplements
o Overripe fruits (e.g. bananas)
o Onions, garlic
o Pineapple
o Papaya
o Avocado
o Coffee
o Black, green, kava, matcha tea
o Alcohol of any type, including wine and beer, even minimal amounts in cough syrups
o All street and recreational drugs, including Marijuana
o Violent Ailms and video games
o Other intense psycho-mental or spiritual stimulation
o SpeciAic medicinal herbs such as: St. Johns Wort, Kava, Ephedra, Ginseng, Yohimbe,
Sinicuichi, Kratom
o Any form of sexual contact, including masturbation

Preferred food
• Fresh, locally grown, organic foods!
• Organic fruits
• Organic vegetables
• Organic grilled chicken,
• Fresh wild caught fish
• Organic eggs
• Oatmeal, quinoa, buckwheat, rice
• Homemade bread, gluten free
• Raw cashews or almonds, unsalted
• Little salt
• Coconut or olive oil, sparingly
• Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated
• Herbal teas
To prepare carefully read over and follow the guidelines:
Specific restrictions with potentially LETHAL interactions:
• Antidepressants: SSRI's, MAOI's, Serotonin enhancing medicines like Seroquel
Antihistamines, medicines for colds, sinus problems, hay fever or allergies sleep aids
Medicine for asthma, bronchitis or other breathing problems
• Antipsychotics
Appetite suppressants (diet pills)
• Central nervous system depressants
• Opiates or synthetic opioids, Morphine, Vicodin ...and the like

• Amphetamines Ritalin, Adderall Dexadrine, Benzedrine and the like
• Do not take anything other than an aspirin/ibuprofen within 10 days without consulting
first
• Prescription drugs against high blood pressure, please notify us what kind you are taking
• Anyone taking anti-depressant medications will not be permitted to participate
• Anti-depressants must be stopped at least 2-4 weeks before the ceremony! Please
contact your doctor and inform us
• Women who are pregnant are not permitted to participate
• Dental: Please, do not schedule any dental work or surgery one week prior to and
following a ceremony!!
Clearing out your digestive system from fatty and heavy foods, your circulation from intoxicants,
and your mind from impure thoughts, certainly has its benefits. But they don’t always come easily.
Many of us are medicate ourselves with food, and thus removing all those tasty dishes can be
irritating. This is part of the surrender and discipline process necessary for making the most of the
experience. Plus the Dieta will make you feel healthier and maybe more ready for challenges,
with a clearer mind to focus on your intentions. It also brings energetic balance to your system,
allowing the medicine to do its work more effectively. Some of the items on the list are included
for the purpose of bringing you to an optimal physiological and spiritual state to receive the
medicine, while others are there for factual health reasons.
At least 6 weeks before:
Any medication that has an effect on the serotonin system, including Selective Serotonin
Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and MAOI drugs, should be cleared from your body through a slow
weaning process with advise from your or our doctor so you are off your medication until at least
2 weeks before the actual ceremony.
At least 4 weeks before:
Eliminate pharmaceutical drugs (prescription & over the counter). This includes allergy pills,
hormonal supplements, NSAIDs, and more. Again, always consult with a medical professional
and us first.
At least 1 week before:
Start the DIETA that we have provided in the attachment

Body Inventory
Questions to ask yourself and journal about:
Breath
Do you breathe easily and deeply?
When you exercise do you feel your lungs expanding?
Do you know what it feels like to be out of breath?
Have you explored breathing practices, such as Transformational Breath® work or other?

Food
Do you take the time to prepare food for yourself?
Is feeding yourself and enjoyable activity?
Do you eat junk food or sweets?
Do you forget to eat sometimes?
In what ways is your relationship with food a healthy one?
In what ways is it problematic?
Exercise and movement
What do you do for exercise and movement?
Do you exercise too little or too much?
What physical practices do you want to explore?
Sleep
How do you prepare for sleep?
Do you go to sleep early or stay up late?
How many hours do you sleep per night?
Is your sleeping environment nourishing to you?
Do you wake up feeling rested?
What do you dream about?

Sensory Pleasures
What beautiful things do you surround yourself with?
How do you relate to your personal sensuality and erotic flow?
How is your erotic expression with others? Is it inhibited, uninhibited, expressive, happy, too little,
or too much?
How do you express your sexuality?
How do you express your gender identity?
Clothing
Do you dress for comfort or for beauty?
Is it important how people see you?
What are your favorite things to wear?
Health
What do you do to maintain your sense of health and balance, chemically or hormonally?
How do you choose to take care of yourself, when you don’t feel well?
Are you able to ask for and receive support when you are sick?
Psychosomatic Awareness
Where and how do you hold fear, stress or tension in your body?
How do you deal with stressful situations?
Do you experience waves of depressive or anxious energy?
If so, how do you experience them in your body?
Do you tend to your physical body and appearance; your hair, your skin, your nails, and your
teeth?
3. Mental and Emotional Preparation
In expanded states of consciousness, we are granted access to the domain beyond our normal
ego structures. The veil that lies between our conscious mind and the vast ocean-like realm of
our unconscious becomes more permeable. Because expanded consciousness gives us access
to these normally elusive layers of our minds, a journey should be thoroughly prepared before
entering the space. We can do this by becoming familiar with the ways the mind functions.

As human beings, we develop defenses and strategies as well as ways to cope with the painful
experience of not getting our needs met or having been violated in any way. These defenses and
strategies take shape as coping behaviors, thinking patterns, habits and fears. On a basic level,
the function is to create safety and avoid emotional pain associated with challenging
psychological material.
It is a basic animal instinct to not want to feel pain and to do whatever is possible to avoid it.
Expanded states of consciousness have the effect of relaxing your psychological strategies and
defenses and bringing a face-to-face with the content of our ego structure normally keeps hidden.
We also want to become familiar with the content and flavor of the emotions that arise in our body
and awareness. The more in touch we are with the way the states arise within us, the more
profoundly we can engage our core material and expanded states of consciousness.
To best engage the preparation process on the level of the mind and emotions, we begin by
bringing mindfulness to our immediate experience. In this way, we begin to prepare a conscious
mind through the simple act of becoming aware of our actual states, whatever it is.
For most people, the thought of going inward to explore unknown territories of the mind will
trigger apprehensions. Facing the unknown with some apprehension is a normal response.
Just like in everyday life, expectations are the root cause of disappointment. Although we live
calculated, scheduled, and, for the most part, predictable lives, we are usually under the illusion
that we are in control of many things. At any given moment, a disruption to our routine and
predictions can incur massive frustration and loss just because it’s unexpected. On the other
hand, experiences we look forward to and build up in our minds often underwhelm us, just
because they are different to the image we constructed beforehand.

The answer? It's good to have an intention but no expectation ☺

Let go and surrender

Mind & Emotional Inventory
Questions to ask yourself and journal about:
Intellect
Can you describe your intellectual strength?
What kind of books or podcasts stimulate your intellect?
Do you find yourself obsessing about the past or worrying about the future?
Is there a person or memory are you constantly think about or a recurring situation that you are
trying to figure out?
What practices do you have to calm your mind and manage your stress?
Emotional processes
What are your emotional strengths?
In what ways do you consider yourself emotionally wounded?
What emotions do you have a hard time feeling?
How do you express emotions?
In what ways do you repress anger, grief, or joy?
Do your fears affect how you interact with the world?
When do you feel joy or well-being?
Could you be more honest with yourself?
Do you have a supportive environment for your emotional process such as a therapist, body
workout, or a 12 step group?
Love
Do you feel love?
Where in your body do you feel it?
Do you love yourself?

How do you express love towards yourself?
When have you feeled the most loved?
What does it mean to you to love someone or something?
What and whom do you love the most?
Are you comfortable expressing love?
How do you nurture what you love?
How could you express your love more?
What are you here to learn about love in this life?
Accessing the Subconscious
How do you relate with your subconscious?
Do you record your dreams when you wake up and work with them?
Are there maps that help you reflect on your life? E.g. astrology, numerology, or Gene Keys
Do you go to workshops/seminars to explore healing and therapeutic modalities?
4. Spiritual Preparation
“The spiritual path is simply the journey of living our lives. Everyone is on a spiritual path, most
people just don’t know it.”
Marianna Wllliamson
Step back and take a look at your current lifestyle. Where are there pockets of negative energy
that you can reduce or eliminate in preparation for your journey? The spiritual preparation for a
healing experience involves clearing your mind and your energetic space. Take a break from your
television and Netflix subscription, cut down your internet time, and spend more time in quiet
solitude. Get out into nature as much as you can to breathe and connect with Earth.
You can create an altar in your home to support your spiritual connection. An altar is a shrine,
table, cabinets, shelf, or platform on which spiritual or religious objects and images are placed
together in a way that invoke a sense of the sacred. When all the objects are brought together in
a particular arrangement they create a unique field of energy that represents and reflects those
who participate in it’s making.
Preparing for a ceremony can be through observing a period of silence. Just listening into the
inner self requires quieting the mind to practices such as meditating, watching the breath,
meditating with a candle, or focusing the sensors on one object. A quiet mind can also be
obtained through reciting prayers, mantras, or sutras.
Before entering a journey space, we can reach out to people who possess a certain level of
sensitivity and compassion. We recognize the preciousness of certain relationships and the
richness that they can offer to our process, especially if they are friends or family who have gone
through a similar experience.
“Wealth is determined not by how many things you have, but by how many people you have
around you.”
Malidoma Patrice Somé
Spirit inventory
Questions to ask yourself and journal about:
Spiritual background
Do you consider yourself to be a spiritual person?
Did you have a religious upbringing?
If so, did it impact your life negatively or positively?
If not, what has shaped your relationship with spirituality?
Do you believe in a God, many Gods or no God at all?

Do you believe that life is sacred?
What is your relationship with the elements, or the local rivers and mountains? Do you consider
yourself to have faith?
How do you express your gratitude?
What do you value most in your life?
Pure Being
How do you connect with your core essence?
Who are you when you are not doing anything?
Are you comfortable simply being with yourself?
Are you comfortable simply being with someone else?
What do you think happens when your body dies?
Do you relate with the terms pure being, God, source, awareness, emptiness, open presence,
transcendence, great mystery, or the divine?
Do you make space for the power of pure being to be felt?
How does this presence inform your life?
Practices
Do you have a spiritual teacher?
Do you belong to a spiritual community?
Do you gather together to meditate, pray, sing, or do acts of service?
What rituals or spiritual practices do you perform?
How do you celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or significant deaths?
Which spiritual or inspirational books do you love?
Where do you put images of spiritual teachers, meaningful objects, or special photos ?
Do you meditate, pray, or spend time in nature?
Do you include times of silence and quiet when you are by yourself?
Do you take time for spiritual or personal retreats?
Community Inventory
Questions to ask yourself and journal about:
Personal relationships
How is your relationship with your family of origin?
If you need a friend, who do you call?
Are you able to cultivate lasting friendships?
Do you have a friend or friends you can trust and depend on?
How do you share your vulnerability with people in your life?
How do you feel when other people express vulnerability?
Do you tend to over focus on others in a relationship, listening and supporting? Do you tend to
over focus on yourself, asking for help and seeking attention?
Group Belonging
What does it mean to you to belong to a community?
Which work, sports, spiritual, or artistic communities do you belong to?
If you go to a workshop or a ceremony or traveling with a group, how easy it is for you to relate
with all of this?
What qualities or actions do you contribute to your communities?
What are your ways of connecting with new people?
How do you maintain connection with the people in your life?
Do you have unfinished business with any of your friends, family, or other people in your
community?
Do you take interest in global events?
Do you empathize with others experiencing suffering or triumph?
How do you contribute to the evolution of human consciousness?
Giving and Receiving
Do you feel nourished or exhausted by your social commitments?

How well do you balance time with others with time for yourself?
Are you more withdrawn or introverted or are you more outgoing and extroverted?
How could you be more balanced in the ways that you relate with others?
In what ways do you give back to your communities to service?
Creative inventory
Questions to ask yourself and journal about:
In what ways do you consider yourself to be creative?
How are you creative in the way is your dress, how you eat?
How are you dressed, how do you eat, or how do you express yourself through words and
actions?
What are you curious about?
Do you practice and expressive art forms?
What believes do you have about your capacities to be creative?
Do you feel blocked in your creativity?
What blocks you?
How could you relate with someone you know in a more creative way?
What aspects of life would you like to bring innovations to?
What new things could you explore?