Prepping For My "Spirit Cleanse."

In a little over five weeks I return to the Amazon.  I get on a plane a little after midnight, fly to Lima, and then on to Iquitos... A city you can only reach by plane or by boat. Then I get taken by ferry up the river to the new location of the Blue Morpho retreat center, and begin what I hope will become an annual cleansing of my spirit.

I very much enjoyed the first experience I had at Blue Morpho in January this year. It was a profound experience, in that getting away from all of the distractions and allowing my mind to quiet down was peaceful and productive. Add on top of that the energy work from the shamans and drinking tea made from the plant life... It was one of the best experiences of my life.

Spirit Cleansing is - to me - simply taking time away from everything you typically do to focus on rest in every way. Stillness. It's a reboot and rejuvenation of your mind.

And in order to get ready for that cleansing, this time around, I intend to intentionally do a few things:

Hot Yoga. Prior to going last time, I wasn't practicing much because I was traveling. This time, though, a sweating and "purging" the mental energy from my brain consistently will make me a little more ready for the experience in the ceremony hut each night (where the energy work is done). This time, I won't be doing the Shamanic Dieta, which I am sure helped make my last experience positive.

Eliminating Sugar. Two weeks prior to going, I am eliminating sugar.  Sugar is eliminated from the diet while you are at the retreat. But doing it before going will help as well. 

Eliminating Alcohol. I don't drink much as it is. But I am planning on not drinking any alcohol two weeks prior to going to Iquitos.

Daily Meditations. I'm getting about three meditation sessions in a week right now. But starting Labor Day, I am going to start doing them daily... No matter what. Filtering the thoughts that float randomly into my mind will also help with processing everything that pops into my mind during the evening ceremonies.

As I mentioned... I'm hoping that this becomes an annual trip for me. Many people I have met from the first retreat - and through the network - are repeat visitors. It's that helpful/insightful/wonderful.