Tobacco and Plant Dietas

A diet (or dieta in Spanish) is a term used to describe a process of learning from a plant.  Unlike reading a book to learn about a plant, a dieta is a direct, experiential practice to learn from the plant.  In this way it is said that the plants teach us.  We can learn and heal using the plant as a medium to open us to this space of light.  Different plants have different healing properties and can teach us different things.  Every plant can heal specific conditions and also has the ability to teach us about its own unique light.  Ultimately all plants are pointing us towards the same truth, that which we are.  These plants are teaching us about nature, natural law, ourselves, our place in this world, and opening us to worlds beyond.  Beyond all, they are teaching us to be in harmony, to be at peace, and to live in accordance with Truth, and with Knowledge, and not book knowledge, but experiential knowledge.  

A dieta usually consists of going into isolation for a designated period of time; this could be anywhere from a few days to a few months.  The process in which we work is a series of seven day dietas, although the duration could be extended or shortened depending on the condition of the dieter. During this time the participant stays in her room, isolated from others.  He restricts his food to something very light, usually juice or soup, and only at breakfast and lunch.  The plant medicine is ingested every night and is drunk with the guidance of the curandero who accompanies the patient for the initial duration of the experience, which can be intense.  After drinking the plant and possibly purging, the dieter and the plant medicine will continue to work in her dreams. This medicine usually awakens strongly the dream world which usually brings information about the cleaning process that is being done. The curandero is available for questions and for guidance, but much of the process is spent in isolation with ones thoughts, mind, and being.  In this way repetitive thought patterns, beliefs, fears, and that which is holding us back can be brought to light and eventually released.  

The specific plant that you will work with will depend on a diagnostic by the curandero.  The plants are given specifically for what is seen will be beneficial to the patient.  Most of the plants are trees, which traditionally are seen as the bridge between the earth and the heavens.  They are strong and old and wise and have the ability to help us learn.  On a physical level they tend to be very cleansing, cleaning our blood and stomach and intestines - areas which we carry much sickness.  On the level of the mind, they help to clear thought patterns, belief systems, and mental systems that have been holding us back.  On an energetic level they help to clear blockages, opening ourselves so that life energy can flow freely again.  This the same concept of meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine or Ayurveda.  

In general, the plants are administered with tobacco.  Tobacco is seen as the carrier plant, the plant which allows and regulates the other plants ability to work.  Tobacco is seen as the grandfather plant, the ancient energy that allows all other plants to exist.  Tobacco is a strong medicine, and a very powerful teacher on its own.  Often tobacco will be the first plant one works with, as it is a most powerful cleaner of the body on all levels: physical, mental, and energetic.

All of these plants are first working on cleansing the body.  As the body, mind, and energies are cleansed, then healing and teaching can begin to happen.  Often this process of cleansing can be challenging, as often a lot of purging can happen.  The action of tobacco in liquid form is mainly as a potent emetic and as a purge aimed at energy purification.  Purging can take the form of vomiting, diarrhea, crying, shaking, fits of heat and cold, etc.  It is important to mention that unlike what happens in our Western culture where the purge has an associated negative connotation, traditional medicines like in the Amazon and the Ayurvedic system for example, agree that it is extremely important to perform purges regularly in order to detoxify at the energetic, physical, emotional and spiritual levels, discharging and eliminating from the body/mind impurities and toxins, including negative emotions and thoughts.  Through purging the patient begins to notice changes within such as the liberation of stagnant energies and feeling a new sense of inner peace.

We begin to diet trees as trees are considered some of the Master Plants. Trees symbolically connect us to heaven and earth. Their roots go into the ground, connecting us with Mother Earth as well as the symbolic nature of the underworld, or in Andean philosophy, the Ukhu Pacha, and the realm of the emotions. The trunk symbolizes our physical body and this world which we call reality, in Andean the Kay Pacha. And the branches spread skyward to the heavens, representing our spiritual body, in Andean the Hanaq Pacha. Through the dieta and fasting and isolation, these trees therefore have the ability to heal us on all three of those levels: the physical body, the mental/emotional body, and the spiritual body. Each tree has its own personality, its own characteristics. Each tree is good for treating certain physical conditions, it works on certain aspects of our mind and emotions, and it has its power and teaching in the spiritual or shamanic realm. When we complete the dieta we have a connection with this tree. It can be said that this tree is now our ally and we have a spiritual contract with it; a connection has been made. This tree will continue to teach us as time goes on, much like how at first there is a seed and then with proper care the seed begins to grow and eventually becomes a strong tree which gives us its fruits, flowers, wood, shade, protection, strength, wisdom and medicine.

As with all strong plant medicines, a true desire must be present to work with these plants.  The experience is not always easy, rarely so in fact, but the rewards can be great if the person has the willingness and courage to undertake the journey.

I am currently running dietas in Urubamba in the Sacred Valley of Peru and travel abroad around four times per year with my colleague Merav Artzi.

To learn more about my work running tobacco and tree dietas, visit my work website, NicotianaRustica.org