During our retreats, everyday we cleanse and purify our minds in different ways – with meditation, purification, and with different forms of tobacco. Gaining new relationships with different parts of nature, or improving your current connections, is a crucial part of integrating your experience. However, before any power plant medicine ceremony, we have to begin a holistic detox and purify ourselves, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Purification 

There are several purification (what some might consider a form of detox) practices that we use to cleanse ourselves before entering the sacred space to work with plant medicines. One of these practices is meditation. Another is temazcal, or sweat lodge, where the heat allows us to purify all of our 5 senses, including releasing the toxins in our body. Through sweating and with the addition of various herbs and prayer, we purify our emotions and undergo a full 360 degree purification process.  We also use Sacred Tobacco for purification, in 3 forms – liquid, smoking, and offering it to the Earth.

Sacred Tobacco

Tobacco, which is native to the Americas, is of course well known for its use in commercial cigarettes. However, it was used first thousands of years before within native traditions, and is considered the highest power plant of all the medicinal plants. One reason for this is because of its use is  linked to the 4 elements – Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. During a retreat, you will get to experience the many beneficial and sacred ways to connect to this power plant.

Perhaps you are surprised to hear that tobacco is part of ceremonial spaces. We are NOT talking about cigarrettes. There are two species of tobacco that are commonly used today – Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustica. Nicotiana Tabacum is the variety used by cigarette companies, mainly because it is smoother and less potent so it can be used more habitually. Nicotiana Rustica, a much stronger variety, is used in the native traditions, including in Native America and the Amazon.

Liquid Water Tobacco

The Amazonian cultures of Ecuador use liquid tobacco for purification. The practice includes making a “tea” in which the tobacco plant is soaked in water. Then, we inhale this water through each of our nostrils, cleansing all the breathing channels that lead to our mind.  That same water we exhale by spitting it out our mouth. Beyond the physical cleansing, energetically this practice allows us to open and activate the pineal gland so our breath can connect to it directly. This process is used to literally cleanse the thoughts. It allows us to refocus and cleanses the mind.  If we do it well, we cleanse all of our thoughts.

This is one of the main ways we use this strong power plant. We inhale water tobacco before sweat lodge and before ceremonies, to get our minds ready to focus on our main purpose.

Smoking Tobacco

In native cultures all around the world, it is said that the tobacco plant has a memory of the way that humans have used it.  We give direction and power to the plant depending on the use that we give it. The tobacco plant has been used for centuries to communicate with God, or the Great Spirit. When we smoke tobacco, we are opening a direct pathway to connect to God, and to the Universe.

This is how we can communicate our intentions through the smoke. The belief is that every inhalation of tobacco is one less breath for your life. That is why when we are smoking tobacco, we pray carefully and focus our intention.  And we send this little bit of energy of life through the smoke up to the sky to connect to the rest of the Universe.

Offering tobacco to the Earth

Beyond cleansing and praying, we also use tobacco for offerings, protection and connecting to everything that is sacred.  It is well known all over the world that nature recognizes the language communicated through the tobacco plant. For example, when we get to a new place, we give a little bit of tobacco to the Earth. It is a ritual action just to say, “Hello, we are here, we are going to honor and care for you, Mother Earth.”

And there’s more! 

There are several other ways we begin the process of purification and detoxification, including rapé or snuff which is the ash from tobacco and other sacred plants, and offering tobacco to the fire to set our intention. Another key step for purifying and detoxing is following a simple cleansing diet. Head over to our FAQs to read more about this, and subscribe so you can receive our next blog which will dive into the explanation behind eliminating certain food groups in preparation for a ceremony.