The Heart Medicine

I recently had the good fortune to interview Don Diego and hear the story of the heart medicine that he is offering in the May Dieta. I would like to share this story with you here as I prepare to embark for Sachavacay to diet with this master plant. Following Dieta I will be posting pictures as well as testimonials.

Don Diego tells us that during a period of study with his master, he was told that his master’s master was really old and was in a good space for teaching. Don Diego’s master contacted this man and he agreed to meet Diego. This master, who was in his 80’s, lived in an area of Peru called San Martin. Don Diego and this man became friends and he agreed to teach him. This man told Don Diego that when he was really young, witchcraft was done to him. No matter who he went to see, no matter what medicines were tried, nothing would heal him. He went into the jungle and discovered a plant called Ushpawasa Sanango. He dieted this plant for ten days and was healed.

Very few people work with this plant. Many have heard about it but do not use it. Under the guidance of his new master, Don Diego dieted this plant several times a year. In his own words, he describes meeting the spirit of Ushpawasa Sanango. “I began to diet the plant and I was open to receive the energy. One night I got woken up. I opened my eyes and everything was dark. Someone was pulling on my blanket and I thought someone was trying to steal it. Normally I wouldn’t have reacted, but a little fear was in me. I pulled my blanket back up, but again it was pulled down. I reacted by jumping on the person. My mosquito net broke as we fell down, wrapped up in the net. I felt the person moving. When I took everything away from around us, what I saw was not a person, but a being with short legs, no neck, small arms, and a v-shaped body with skin the color of blue-gray ash. I looked at him kind of scared and he responded with a smile and opened his arms and hugged me. This spirit was the mother of the Ushpawasa.”

From Pucallpa, Don Diego makes a long and sometimes dangerous journey to collect the Ushpawasa. Travel requires an hour plane ride, three hours by car, and an hour trek by foot or by horse across several deep rivers. He and his team arrive in San Martin after traveling this distance and make their base. From here, he walks with a group of people between 10-24 hours, in deep concentration, searching for the plant. It is in this area that he encounters the ceros, steep mountains and the cejas de selva, the place where the Andes begin to grow within the jungle. The journey is made across strong, rapid-filled rivers and waterfalls. The trees here have never been touched because access to them is too difficult. The journey is always made with a group because there are risks of snakes and many are needed to carry the sacks full of the plant. The bags are heavy and many miles must be walked.

Ushpawasa refers to the back of the leaves that are the color of ash. In brewing this medicine, only the root of the plant is used. It is washed and the bark is scratched away, leaving only the heart. After cooking for many hours, a greenish, bitter, potent medicine is created. During Dieta, Don Diego begins our journey with this plant slowly, giving small doses. This allows us to enter into the experience little by little. We might feel dizzy and weak. Our work in Dieta with this plant will produce a subtle opening in the emotions. Solitude is so important. Solitude allows us to tune into the experience. As our emotional bodies open, it is important for us to be in connection to them. Emotions begin to blossom and we are able to recognize them because of the privacy of our tambos. As we concentrate, our attention helps us stay connected to what is happening within us, allowing us to be in a concentrated state of sensitivity.

It’s common to have memories surface and find a strong emotional attachment to these memories. We will find ourselves in a variety of emotional states during this process. Be present with the emotions that arise. The Ushpawasa will help us deepen our connections to our emotions. As we begin to understand our emotions from a place of love, we are able to resolve the emotion inside of us. This plant gifts us with the opportunity to experience and recognize our emotions by bringing them to the surface and allows us to process them in the safe, loving vibration of Sachavacay.

Don Diego would like us to know that this will most likely be the second and last year that he will be able to give this rare medicine.

In loving service of Don Diego,
Nicole Gamblin