– Ayahuasca Ceremony at Caya Shobo –
When we come into the Maloka we experience the sensation of being in a sacred place. In this place, everything is more silent, more tranquil, more subtle. Some feel expectant, some feel nervous, some feel a little fearful, and others feel happy. The candles illuminate the mystery of the medicine. The Shaman offers the medicine and everybody, one by one, goes there and drinks Ayahuasca. When the circle is complete the candles are put out.
- The Journey Starts -
For everyone the experience is different. Each one of us is an entire world within ourselves. The medicine acts in different ways in each one of us, but always it offers a reflection of ourselves that we need to observe with calm, peace and much attention. Sometimes this reflection may not be as agreeable as we might desire. For that reason we always recommend trying not to hold too much expectation, or at least not excessive expectation. Each of the indications or “messages" we receive from the medicine – in the level of the mind, body or spirit – is important information for us that we need to attend to.
At the same time the journey might be very pleasant and relaxing or a very moving experience and often it is revelatory. Always the Ceremony can be of benefit.
- Waking Up The Consciousness -
The human mind has a general tendency and structure which determines our way to be in relation with the world, and this is essentially founded on maintaining control of our emotions and our logic. This logic and control loses its place of importance in the context of the experience of the Ayahuasca Ceremony. The experience of the medicine escapes any rule of control, and such uncertainty can bring us to an uncomfortable and potentially intimidating zone, especially when we don’t want to see the reality of the root of our suffering.
This blessed predicament we may recognize as a first step in the waking up of the consciousness. An authentic experience of the truth that we are not only what we believe we are, we are much more than what we see or what we think. And that who we are is determined by our experiences, both negative and positive.
Ayahuasca in the ceremonial context confronts us with a mirror, which can be both beautiful and terrible in the same moment. Gratitude is a beautiful key to initiate the process of the healing, which in the Shamanic world we know as the path of liberation.
- Cleansing and Healing -
Ayahuasca is a powerful master spirit that brings up all the bad and all the good within us. The Maestros, with their advanced knowledge and the power of their Icaros, help us clean away the bad energy and clarify and enhance the good. Read more about the Healing power of the Icaros here.
Cleansing in Ceremony can occur at every aspect of our being – at the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. This can be a challenge but there can also be learning in the process – about our issues and also our potentialities.
- Rest and Integration -
A generous period of rest and reflection is recommended after participating in Ayahuasca Ceremony. Support in the form of guidance from experienced facilitators and/or Maestros can be helpful for integrating your experience.
Read more about Preparation for and Integration of Ayahuasca Healing Ceremonies here.
Meeting Walter you immediately recognize his natural warmth and humility as a person, as well as his impressive capability as an experienced Onánya Maestro healer. His beautiful, lower toned voice and variety of melodic Icaros can transport you to a place of peace and reconciliation with your life’s experiences and your healing path. Walter is always solid in the middle of the storm.
Maestra Maricela is a highly experienced Shipiba Onánya curandera and Raomi herbalist. Born in the Alto Ucayali river village of Roya, south of Pucallpa, her father Nicolas Vardales is a well known Shipibo medicine man with a strong famileal lineage of medicine knowledge. At age 13, in receiving treatment for some serious health issues of her own, Maricela began to learn about the healing properties of Amazonian medicine plants. She continued dieting with different master plants until she started working with Ayahuasca in her early 30’s.
Immersed in the medicine world her entire life, Maestra Lucinda is the eldest daughter of renowned Shipibo Onánya Maestro Pascual Mahua Ochavano, born in the Shipibo village of Paoyhan or ‘Water of the Pearls’ located on the banks of the beautiful Ucayali river, north of Pucallpa. When she was a tiny infant of 4 months old her father opened her first learning dieta to bring her the advanced knowledge of the Noya Rao “Tree of light” of her ancestors.
Orlando also belongs to the famous family Mahua. His great-grandfather Manuel Mahua was renowned as one of the most powerful Onánya shaman in the entire history of the Shipibo tribe. Manuel’s daughter Manuela, grandmother to Orlando, is also a well – known living Onánya Maestra. Manuela brought up Orlando from early childhood and opened his first medicine plant dieta at age 7. 
Fernando Levi, also born in the village of Paoyhan, is the grandson of Pascual Mahua, and, like his father, his grandfather and many generations before him, Fernando has inherited the Shipibo name “Sani Piko” which means “The Great Medicine Men.” This legacy of ancestral knowledge and the discipline Fernando has brought to developing its power within himself is clearly evident in his Icaros, in his medicine and also in his extensive knowledge of master plant dieta for healing and learning.
Francisco (or Pancho) has been working with the Shipibo medicine path since his early 40’s, and is now in his late 60s.
Rafael was born into a family of Ayahuasca Curandero Medicos in the Shipibo village of Santa Rosa de Dinamarca, 5 hours journey by riverboat to the south of Pucallpa. Growing up immersed in the world of Ayahuasca, he observed his parents and the men and women of his extended family always working in healing ceremonies and guiding plant dietas. At the age of 18, his curiosity to learn more about this path inspired him to open his first plant dieta, and he has since been learning and dieting with different master plants over the past 15 years.
As a teenager, Pablo felt the call of the medicine, but without access to knowledgeable teachers in his own family or community, he pursued his own learning path with Ayahuasca in the way of the ancient Shipibo Maestro Onánya – by entering the jungle alone and following the call of the plants in isolation dieta.