Permaculture, Ayahuasca, and Social Justice Unite in the Amazon:
(...)
The Amazon and much of the world's wild areas are threatened by human development, which seems to be both a crisis of human exploitative action, and a symptom of a disconnected and fear-based human consciousness. Through the Temple and the Chaikuni institute you are addressing both of these factors- the material through permaculture and the subtle through ayahuasca retreats. What do you see as the niche roles for these two approaches and how do they interrelate? Is one more important or pressing than the other?
"I see the two areas as directly related and equally important. Energy gives rise to matter. At our core we are energetic beings. When we carry negative energies - inner shadows - they block our systems, resulting in emotional, mental, and physical imbalance. These negative energies come from trauma. Trauma is a fact of life and shared by us all. It has become so commonplace that most people don’t even realize its presence. Trauma is felt by everyone at some stage in our lives. Unresolved and unintegrated trauma leaves negative energies in our system, resulting in past pain leaching into and driving our present day experience.
This internal disorder is outwardly projected and collectively accumulates, creating the disorder that we see across the planet: into our families and communities, into our society, into business, politics, and mainstream religions, permeating out and affecting our entire civilization. The collective shadow influences every aspect of our lives. At the very depth of our global crisis there is a calling for an unprecedented transformation and collective healing.
The cruelty, madness, and injustices that we face across the planet, driven through the dominion of corporations and organized religions, are emanations of our shadow, both personally and collectively. When we are able to face our shadow, recognizing the opportunity and transformational potential of integrating our pain, balance within is restored. The more of us who return to our natural state of Being, the more the outer landscape will subsequently reflect the harmony within.
All negative emotions, whether fear, sadness, depression, anger, panic, etc., are ‘altered’ states of consciousness. When we return to our natural state of consciousness, we reclaim a loving relationship with our authentic Self. This relationship then begins to extend to everyone and everything around us. When we return to this state of Being, it is only natural to come into service, and hear a call to action to tirelessly seek solutions to the issues that we face on our planet. By re-embracing our connection with the natural world, especially through appropriate and respectful use of plant medicines, nature itself can bring our species back into alignment and harmony with each other and to the environment around us.
At the Temple’s core, we are focused on causal medicine – a healthcare system assisted by plant medicines that reaches to the energetic cause of our issues – which brings balance and the remembrance of our interconnectedness to nature. Through working with ayahuasca we are able to recognize the shadow and the opportunity that sits at the core of all negativity, which, when faced and integrated, is a powerful catalyst for transformation and spiritual evolution.
By facing our shadow we are often met on the other side with a remembrance of our purpose. A deep passion or calling is re-awakened within us – in our case, to commit our lives to traditional healthcare, preservation of indigenous traditions, permaculture, environmental advocacy, and education. When this happens, your creativity expands exponentially and a stream of inspired new ideas begins to flow. In permaculture terms, as we regenerate within ourselves, we are then called to regenerate the land around us.
There is no dualism here. As we address the subtle, the material follows. Each individual's personal healing moves the world towards a collective critical mass of positive transformation. A hunger to serve the collective purpose of the planet and all its beings follows. For us, the mission of the Temple and our NGOs is driven by this sense of hungry enthusiasm to work together creatively and effectively towards participating in creating a new vision for the world around us, one that comes from our light and no longer from our shadow."
(...)