Natem the Sacred Plant for Our Times
The teaching of the Union is holistic and varied and includes many of the following: diet, prolonged fasting, healing, herbalism, solitude, meditation, sacred medicine, initiation rites, transmission of power, chanting, spontaneous experiences of Arutam, a Masters’ guidance, nature, deep vision, reflexion, love, chants, perception of the mysteries in life, silence, ceremonies…
One of the most effective methods that exists today is the ceremony of healing and spiritual evolving. For my purposes here, I will focus my writing on the master plant the Natem, commonly known by its Quichua name, Ayahuasca.
I started my studies in the ways of the Uwishin with the Shuar people while I was very young. Then, what I had never betrayed, woke inside; what I had tried to remember for years and through many hardships and disciplines came to me, “The Union in Arutam”. Later, the realisation would mature into mastery, and the eternal feeling of Arutam would be my sense of life. All of this was accompanied by a lot of guidance from masters: plants, healers, chants, prayers, and my own experience of Arutam.
Natem, that originated in Shuar terminology, is strong as a tiger, it tears off preconceptions and illusions from the mind. It diminishes the revolting ego rapidly into the real state of experiential misery of a confused being. It rips the hatred and rage out from the jaws of that which possesses us, its painful and maddened claws pushing us day after day in silence.
Other Sacred plants
Many medicines are for times of peace and for the experience of the ethnic tradition to which they belong. An example of this is our beloved Amanita Muscaria (highly toxic and not recommended for the public), a master plant for joy, life in nature, love, the encounter with ecstasy, and the awareness of the plenitude of the forest and its spirits. Others, if they are done properly, such as the Andean spirit of San Pedro, must be taken in high doses which probably would disable a person who follows the normal course of modern living. The expansion of consciousness that occurs frightens the newcomer. Despite all of this, brothers often select this herb for ceremonies in all those places where I am accompanied.
Floripondio, “Wanto” at Arutam Ruymán´s home
The family of “sorcerers” - Floripondio, Wanto, or others - are plants gifted with extreme power, capacity to heal, miraculous vision, and magical encounters. In addition, if used in small doses, it is used as a potent medicinal remedy. A lot of purification and strength is required to exercise oneself in the correct ancient practices of Wanto as handed down by the Masters. These can be risky and this risk should be weighed against all the good and miraculous things they offer.
The little children, our mushrooms, also require the intake of a high dose to reach that depth in sacred matrimony with Everything. However, the process becomes arduous due to the emotional interferences, plus the toxicity, not recommended for the public. The manifestation of power is very intense from the beginning, and one must be ready for that, mastery comes after a period dealing with it and not everybody arrives clear or is able.
Natem (Ayahuasca): Arutam's Gift
Natem also requires certain necessary adaptations that every individual must take upon themselves. In this time, under the conditions of globalisation, in deep suffering and blindness, it is difficult, especially for those who truly wish to go deeper, to find the Union in Arutam. But with an accomplished Master and prolonged work, it is possible to heal the mind, heart, and body with the true fury of Arutam. The effectiveness of the process at a therapeutic level, the spiritual development, the duration of the results, the apptitude to continue growing alone, are but small details that pale compared to the ultimate goal of the Union.
There is only the Union. Natem helps stunningly in a ceremony to understand the sacred Union in Arutam, and to seek it in life. In big urban prisons, where full of beings are betraying themselves, moved by dark forces who don’t belong to the clear perfect harmony of birth, life is being devoured. I see this ritual as an important part of healing, a total antidote to the essential venom which runs through consciousness. It is an initiatory force, more so than any learned resistance.
Above, I explained why I focus more on Ayahuasca. However, any process with any other master plant must follow these guidelines. They are adapted depending on personal needs and on the peculiarities of the spirit whom we are going to learn from. There are also shamanic rituals where no plants are consumed. I would say that my life is a mystic and powerful ritual to transmit at every occasion.
The “Un-Natem” origin, traditional Shuar tale about the root of one variety of Ayahuasca.
Extract from the book The Great Chant of Shamanism. The Path of Ayahuasca and Tobacco.