SWEAT LODGE

Several community sweat lodge participants asked for more information and explanation about sweats. In response to such requests, this article is a compilation of notes gathered during years of listening to Elders; also included are excerpts from a few good books and hard earned personal lessons gained from our many experiences. It is easier to prepare and share detailed information about sweats when one is not engaged in actually preparing or conducting such a ritual at the same time. Like everyone, the authors are evolving, too. For them, writing creates a record of their own focus and growth; it also provides a mechanism for both self-evaluation and sharing.

Marcellus Bearheart Williams, an Oklahoma Creek Medicine Keeper, is the adopted uncle of Alderson-Fekseko. Bearheart taught Fekseko the basics of Indian sweats as he understood and practiced them. At the same time, Marcellus Bearheart helped Fekseko discover much about himself in the process. To his worthy student Fekseko, Bearheart presented a Sacred Pipe, an Eagle Feather and a promise that Fekseko would help many people in Tallahassee and Florida. Bearheart’s words were true. The other authors have also had equally valid, though different, sweat lodge experiences.

Since 1982, Fekseko has been closely associated with Pine Arbor Tribal Town, a mixed-blood Muskogean community. He is actively involved at their traditional ceremonials. Thanks to many teachers and especially Hokte-Pvhe and Sakim, Fekseko continues to learn the details of tradition and gracefully integrates this knowledge, where appropriate, into his sweats. Every sweat leader does things a little differently; no two sweats are ever completely the same. Differences accrue to the fact that many ceremonies and customs are geographically specific to a particular area due to it’s unique climate, environmental conditions, plant life and so forth. The purposes of the sweat bath, however, are fairly universal throughout the world. Whether we participate in traditional sweats here or on the other side of the planet, the benefits derived from a sweat lodge would be the same.

Saunas and sweat lodges are an historical fact in many parts of the world: most of North and Central America, Ireland, Finland and much of Europe, Russia, Africa, Japan, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Benefits of sweat baths have long been known. Spiritual renewal and the purification of body, mind, soul and spirit are the major purposes and benefits resulting from regular sweat lodge use.

Physical Benefits

Sweating rids the body of wastes. In this modern sedentary age of pollution, artificial environments, synthetic clothing and lack of regular exercise, a sweat bath can open clogged skin pores and stimulate the healthy flow of a body’s own natural sweat. Depending on how hot the sweat bath is and the climate in which it occurs, a fifteen minute sauna or sweat can perform the heavy metal excretion that normally takes healthy kidneys 24 hours to accomplish. Body sweat flushes toxic metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and mercury from the body. A sauna is often recommended as a supplement to kidney machines. Sweat can also remove excessive salts; this is generally believed to be beneficial for cases of mild hypertension. Sweat can also eliminate urea, a metabolic by-product. Excessive urea can cause headaches, nausea and in extreme cases, vomiting, coma–even death. Sweat may also draw out lactic acid responsible for stiff muscles and a contributor to general fatigue. Sweat lodge heat dilates capillaries; this increases blood flow to the skin. The heart beats faster and impurities in vital organs are flushed out by the flow of fluids. Finnish and German doctors cite studies indicating sweat baths help persons with high blood pressure and heart problems; many American doctors, however, continue to recommend against sweat baths for such persons.

Lungs benefit, too.

Clogged respiratory passages are opened by heat; this gives relief from colds or minor respiratory problems. Sweat baths are not recommended for persons with pneumonia and major respiratory problems. The heat of a sweat bath and the often rapid cooling afterwards, conditions the body. A well-tuned body is more resistant to colds, disease and infection. In cold weather, a warm glowing feeling often lingers for hours following a sweat bath. In hot weather, the body seems cooler afterwards.
Recent Finnish tests validate the practice of splashing water on superheated rocks as a means to produce an abundance of negative ions. This seems especially true if the rocks are heated by a wood fire and not electricity. It is known now that where there are too few negative ions and too many positive ions, have been linked to heart attacks, aggravated asthma, migraines, insomnia, rheumatism, arthritis, hay fever and allergies. By the way, major causes of unhealthy ionic conditions are: weather disturbances, central air conditioning, smog and driving too long in a closed automobile.
Spiritual Aspects

Examining important elements used in the Native American sweat lodge sheds light on its spiritual benefits. First, is the “symbolic” lodge itself. The lodge is often built (or renewed) during the morning of the chosen “Sweat Day.” People fast while working on the lodge to help their intent remain focused, pure. Prayer is offered as willow or other saplings are cut, as holes are dug for the placement of saplings and as the pit for the hot rocks is excavated. Tobacco, a powerful herb now commonly misused, is often used for offerings–a visible “amen” to prayer. Such lodges can be, and often are, a portal for communication with a Higher Power, the Creator; it is very necessary to exercise care and good intent in all things connected with a sweat lodge, its construction and its rites.

Willow, it seems, is universally preferred for sweat lodge construction by most Native American groups. Words from Bobby Woods, Sioux sweat leader, illustrates some of the many symbolic attributes associated with willow. “Willow branches used to construct the lodge also taught bathers a lesson. In Fall, leaves of the willow died and returned to earth… in Spring, they come to life again. So too, men died but lived again in the real world of Creator where there is nothing but the eternal spirits of deceased things. A foretaste of this true life could be known here on Earth if they purified their bodies and minds, thus coming closer to the Great Spirit who is All-Purity…..” Also, according to Bobby, the willows used in the lodge were set up in such a way as to symbolically mark off the four quadrants of the universe–everything of the world and sky was represented within the framework. The relationship of all things is visible here.
Muskogees use willow extensively for sweat lodges, brush arbors and medicines. Willow bark contains salicin, an analgesic and ingredient in several aspirin-like compounds. There are many ailments for which willow and aspirin are effective. Cutting or pruning willow encourages additional branches to sprout. A willow’s life cycle reflects the natural cycle of life’s many stages, too.

 

SAN PEDRO

SAN PEDRO CEREMONY

Huachuma, also called San Pedro or plant that elevates. Huachuma is a purifyng plant which cleans the body and spirit. Drinking huachuma is experience and a very special ritual it dates thousand of years back. Trichocereus pachanoi, khown for some ethnies as Huachuma,Hawaccollay, Achuma and nowadays as San Pedro, is a blue-green –coloured cactus,its bronches, cylindric and a bit curvea, can reach 7 meters height. Its beautiful flower is big and has the shape of a bell, it’s white, and the sepals are red and orange, it grows in the hight part of the Yunga region ( 200-2300 meters owen the sea level ) and also in the Quechua region ( 2300-3500 m.o.t.s.l.) between the northern provinces of Piura, Lanbayeque and la Libertad. It’s ewen more likely to find it in the Huancabamba valley ( Piura ) and in the Santa Cruz Quebrada, in the white cordillera ( Ancash Province ).

Fenite tilamida and Mescaline are extracted from the white pulp of the Huachuma ,2 grans porcentage for every kilo of plant. The preparation and use of Huachuma has a religious poupose, this is wery today’s scientific and investigators want to eliminate the wrong names people use and so recognize it as Enteogena plant, Greek voice which means “ Good inside of us” shamanic flight :The Huachuma is a plant which lets people look for the Spiritual world and it is used to understand better the world in which we live.the person who takes it feels like floting, the body is weightless, goes into atrance, feeling no tireness, no pain, some cry of emotion, others fall an their knees with open arms, willing to hug the cosmos and they feel so grateful for feeling in infiniti peace and love. The huachuma’s efeect appears after 40 min. Some throw up.

 

AYAHUASCA

AYAHUASCA MEANNING

The Word ayahuasca comes from the Quechua language and means” soul plant,” death plant”or”vision plant”. This plant is known by many different names by the 72 cultures that ingest it in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. This Legendary hallucinogen is used by shamans to cure illnesses and to communicate with the spirits. Various shamans From the rain forest simply refer to it as the”cure-all”.To the indigenous people, it is a sacred medicine that can cure-All illnesses. Without a doubt it is the most celebrated hallucinogen of Amazon region.

Ayahuasca is unique because of its strong psychedelic effect, which is caused by the combination of at least two Plants-the banisteriopsis caapi and the psychotria virdis or any other hallucinogen containing the alkaloidDimetiltriptamine (DMT). According to the indigenous folklore Ayahuasca is the fountain of knowledge and therefore the best Way to reveal the mythological origins of life. The anthropologist Gerardo Reichel-Donatoff once wrote that to consume yage was to become the center of the cosmos. You get to the origin of your existence and see tribal divinities, the creation of the universe and of mankind and the aminals,Adam and Eva and the establishing of the social order.

A great purification:Ayahuasca has never been used casually or for recreational purposes in the above mentioned traditional societies. On the contrary, it is used in order to bring about a chemically induced state of trance for those who wish to embark on the “search for vision”.
They are guided by a shaman, who is doubtlessly the most important person in this ritual. This ceremony cannot take place without him if a positive outcome is desired after sunset the mystical drink is passed around from person to person in a circle.

The shaman begins to sing or chant about the visions that will be experienced by the participants. Upon hearing this songs they will feel a slight tingling on the lips and a burning in the stomach. A nauseating energy will overwhelm you, and you might get sick and vomit. Diarrhea is another possible temporary sign that the desired effect is about to begin. (However, this is not the case with everyone).

This is a strong and unstoppable movement of the colon that penetrates all organs, passing through the intestines like a liquid laxative of the soul, cleaning the entire body. You will get rid off all parasites, emotional blocks and feelings of resentment whose origin lies in your personal past. That is why the natives of the Amazon region call it “the purge” when they refer to this drink. “One cannot help but be impressed by the notable improvement in their attributed to the purging caused by the plant”, wrote an anecdotal report of the complete disappearance of certain types of cancer after but one or two session using Ayahuasca. The rejuvenating effect of “the purge” explains the extraordinary health of those who use Ayahuasca, including even the oldest people.

A great purification:

Ayahuasca has never been used casually or for recreational purposes in the above mentioned traditional societies. On the contrary, it is used in order to bring about a chemically induced state of trance for those who wish to embark on the “search for vision”.
They are guided by a shaman, who is doubtlessly the most important person in this ritual. This ceremony cannot take place without him if a positive outcome is desired after sunset the mystical drink is passed around from person to person in a circle. The shaman begins to sing or chant about the visions that will be experienced by the participants. Upon hearing this songs they will feel a slight tingling on the lips and a burning in the stomach. A nauseating energy will overwhelm you, and you might get sick and vomit. Diarrhea is another possible temporary sign that the desired effect is about to begin. (However, this is not the case with everyone.) This is a strong and unstoppable movement of the colon that penetrates all organs, passing through the intestines like a liquid laxative of the soul, cleaning the entire body. You will get rid off all parasites, emotional blocks and feelings of resentment whose origin lies in your personal past. That is why the natives of the Amazon region call it “the purge” when they refer to this drink. “One cannot help but be impressed by the notable improvement in their attributed to the purging caused by the plant”, wrote an anecdotal report of the complete disappearance of certain types of cancer after but one or two session using Ayahuasca. The rejuvenating effect of “the purge” explains the extraordinary health of those who use Ayahuasca, including even the oldest people.

A voyage through time and space:

Having gone through the inevitable purging, your senses will sharpen and the experience of ( initiation to) a “magnetic liberation of the whole world” will begin. Spectacular vision will be coming like a turbulent pandemonium of images that change faster than one is able to think. While under the influence of Ayahuasca, people frequently have the sensation of being separated from their bodies and being catapulted into a strange area of perception. During this voyage outside reality, marvelous sights and enchanting landscapes appear that will unexpectedly give way to unsettling encounters with wild jaguars, enormous iridescent snakes and other predatory beasts, that might try to attack you. The famous author William Burroughs described a sensation of flying long distances after having drunk Ayahuasca during a South America expedition in 1953.”The jage drink is a trip in time and space”, he wrote in a letter to Allen Ginsberg. The blood and spirit of various races, such as the Black, the Polynesian, or Mongolian race and also new ones never experienced before, will pass through your body. You will go on incredible journeys through mountains, deserts and jungles, especially when it is ingested by people from other continents. Rivers and an electric radiation that illuminates the sky are classic elements of that experience, too. A native once said: “Whenever I drink Ayahuasca I have such wonderful vision that I have to cover my eyes, because I am afraid someone will steal them”.

Note: At fast one day is absolutely necessary as preparation for this Incredible experience.