Introducing, Rev. Irenka Lerman, “Abyo Sumaq Wayta (healing medicine woman), facilitator of indigenous medicines of the Americas” show recorded 5-54-2021 We’re pleased and honored to
welcome returning guest
to speak with us about integrating indigenous medicines in our modern world.
Disclaimer: This show is not for treating, curing, preventing or diagnosing. While we are trained health experts, we are not MDs and are not dispensing medical advice. We share our experiences as inspiration for our listeners to be curious or learn more about indigenous plant medicines.
Irenka spent the last 10 years working and living with the indigenous peoples of South America and also in the USA. Works with IMTAAMPAC and was trained by indigenous Maya, Inca, Toltec peoples, and master Peruvian Shaman “doctor of doctors.”
Plant medicines have been with humans as long as humans have been on earth! These ancient healing ways have been a saving grace as long as we have properly cared for and understood the way of the healing plant, yet over time humans got lazy. I just took my brand new baby kitty to the vet to get checked out last week to deal with an eye infection she carried back from her litter mates and received the old stand by penicillin antibiotic. WONDER DRUG!
Overnight her eye was cleared up! Just like magic it was clean and taken care of, it’s no wonder I thought, why humans love this stuff so much! When working with plant medicines, since we are dealing with the entire system as opposed to targeting one specific area, it takes longer. It takes consistent effort, which is why when the wondrous antibiotic made its way to the planet through the marriage of science and nature (penicillin was originally found in mold- don’t forget! As most other drug or medicines are as well, we extract the one constituent known to help a problem, synthetically copy it, patent it, and mass produce it!, both over the counter or prescription, ignoring the whole healing spectrum) the whole planet cheered and basically discarded the ancient ways of natural medicines.
As we have seen in our modern healthcare systems, the overuse of these “wonder drugs” is just as dangerous as using plants to heal without real training or scientific knowledge. It was mind blowing for me to realize there are as many different types of specialty shamans as there are modern day specialists! Of course that would be true, yet since we are so far removed from our indigenous roots, it doesn’t come through in our language or thoughts toward these ways!
Several key points to keep in mind when using plant medicines in our overall well being include:
The need to precisely follow directions given by practitioners, at least at first until we are more in tune with our own bodies and intuition again.
The need to have a properly trained doctor or shaman facilitating our healing processes.
The need to have the correct shaman for our specific issues.
There are about 50 different types of specialty Shamans in the field! We would never choose a heart specialist to perform brain surgery or go to a general family physician to deal with eyesight or dental issues! In the same stream, when choosing a shaman doctor to help with physical pain, we do not hire a shaman specializing in soul retrieval. The crossover for indigenous protocols is wider than in modern medicine thanks to the shaman doctor being trained in the whole human yet clearly we want to hire a natural healer with the same care we would hire any other modern medical physician.
In dealing with key 2, receiving care from a properly trained shaman doctor, can you imagine going to open heart surgery and NOT seeking out the best specialist in the field?! Would you trust your life to someone who has “done it a few times” on their own (yuck, don’t think about it ;) or who hasn’t been trained professionally?! NO WAY. The same concept applies to any healing! Even when we aren’t dealing with a body part, per se, we are definitely dealing with our body in some other form like the mind or spirit! When dealing with our emotions and spirit, we are inviting someone inside us! Though there is no cutting or surgery seen, there IS energetic and spiritual cutting going on! This is why Irenka has dedicated her life to bringing these pure healing techniques to the rest of the planet, in order to safely and effectively bring back the old to be married with the new in perfectly balanced and harmonious ways!
Finally, key 3 reminds us, as with any medicine, to follow the prescribed method of taking said medicine. Length of time, consistency of use, protocols before and after treatment, follow up appointments, etc. all matter greatly to the success we either do or do not receive. This is common sense yet taken so out of context and skewed especially when dealing with plant healing. In our minds, plants are safe so we can basically use them in any willy nilly way and still be okay, which is to some degree truer than deadly pills or other drugs synthetically produced that our bodies cannot break down the same way as natural agents BUT it is to our detriment if the same respect isn’t given to all medicines.
WOW right! My mind was further blown when Irenka tells us how not only are different plants, techniques and even shamans used for specific desired results to occur, we learn that plant medicine use and protocols differ according to the region one lives in!
For example, healers in coastal regions tend to use the local plants to transmute or dissolve dis-ease in the body by ingesting properly prepared medicines, whereas the mountain people can use a poultice protocol to draw out or infuse into the body. Further, peoples in the jungle regions are most familiar in working with the spirit and the personality of the plant in order to bring about correct harmony and balance in one's bodies. Isn’t that awesome! This along with realizing there are many different areas of specialty in the shamanic healing world, were the two main takeaways from this practicalsaint talk for sure! Diversity!!!!!!! Diversity brings unity :)
This is where modern healthcare is headed very quickly as we are already integrating medical grade essential oils into our USA hospitals and medical facilities, as have been integrated long ago by Europe, Asia and Africa :) As we remember and bring back the true correct ways of plant healing ALONG with new scientific breakthroughs we merge the worlds of science and nature in ways that continue to build upon one another with miraculous outcomes! Again, we are so blessed to receive and transmit this message and others like it at this time now!
Plant medicines like peyote and cannabis have been widely used for a while in the USA specifically, of course these healing plants are used globally, yet the newer plant on the block straight from the jungle is
ayahuasca
! Irenka worked deeply with the preservation and application of traditional medicines with the indigenous people of the Americas and was specifically trained to be a trusted ambassador to correctly bring the healing benefits of this beautiful plant on her last stay in the Amazon jungle of Mexico and Peru. We are honored to receive her awesome wisdom and knowledge, especially in these times of global health awareness!
As we gather this information, we also remember there is a lot of misinformation surrounding this topic of plant medicine in general that we seek to clear up a bit in this piece. We keep in mind that too much or incorrect amounts of medicine and/or receiving medicines from a not properly trained facilitator overseeing the ceremony or giving instruction for use of medicine can be as dangerous as self medicating and dosing with any synthetic modern medicine or drug like opioids or other prescription drugs. Please notice the term “drug” is used in modern settings where the term medicine used to be used. To be clear- “medicine” is term that is
defined by Oxford Languages
as a compound or preparation used for the treatment or prevention of disease, especially a drug or drugs taken by mouth. Or a healing substance. Medicines come in many many forms and we are narrowing in on healing plant medicines during this interview.
The goal of indigenous medicines is always to harmoniously balance the total Being as gently and graciously as possible! SOOOO BEAUTIFUL! As we compare the synthetic modern medicine way to that of ancient natural medicines, we see how a drug prescribed by modern medical doctors uses one or maybe two active chemical constituents designed to work in the body to achieve a specific result whereas natural chemicals found in the whole plant has hundreds of active ingredients that can go in and intelligently work with ALL systems in order to bring about a correct working order in the whole system! Plant medicines have played a HUGE role in my own personal healing over the last decade as well as a staple of caring for my 4 younger sons still at home.
There isn’t a day that goes by that my family doesn't harness the healing power of plants from all around the world! We stay super healthy and bright as a family and have worked with thousands of families from all over the globe who have all received the same benefits. While we are not against anything and certainly not against modern medicines, we are for integrative beneficial medical modalities and seek to share with our audience the real benefits of healing the whole person as opposed to dealing with one system at a time. Besides the limited target of modern synthetic agents or medical professionals, there can be very real harm to the whole human when we go in and work with a compartmentalized mindset. The whole society reflects this targeted and narrow minded focus with a separatist and egoic view as well.
If we look at some of the culturalized fear or ignorance toward plant medicines, Irenka mentions Christianity for example, we notice patterns of ignoring historical facts and replacing them with dogmatic societal “norms” that have proved to be non beneficial when allowed to “grow.” It is worth mentioning that the christian bible along with hundreds of other religious documents and texts record the use of plants and herbs and other naturally occurring medicines in all kinds of ceremonies and healing arts. There is no separation when it comes to what grows from our beloved planet and health. Even as we abuse our water, sun and soil , the intelligence of mother nature and father sky come together as loving parents to tend and mend us, the children of earth. Let us show extra respect to our planet from now on as we remember this truth.
I encourage everyone to listen or watch the entire interview, as Irenka beautifully describes in depth the true ayahuasca tea preparations, what to look for when choosing a proper shaman doctor, how the ceremony will be properly held, the beauty of the harmonies of energies in the tea itself and how we can begin to integrate the indigenous wisdom and agents in with our modern medical systems.
As we look at integrating these two seemingly opposite healthcare models, we are reminded of what harmonizing opposites produces! The ayahuasca plant carries mainly male traits and true ayahuasca tea is always made from at least two plants, one being the male the other containing the female components to absolutely harmonize and heal the whole self. This was yet another eye opening fact I personally received from this talk. Diversity always brings unity!
#differentnotless :)
In these ceremonies dealing with facilitators, we not only open our physical, mental, and spiritual selves up to discovery and unity, we need to be aware we are also open to whatever energy the facilitator is attached to as well! Again, the importance of properly choosing to safely participate in these amazing healing ceremonies cannot be overstated. This isn't to deter us from doing due diligence in seeking out these correct healers, only to remain conscious of what to look for before proceeding.
Bringing qualified shaman doctors to the western world is something Rev. Irenka is very passionate about! Because she knows the amazing benefits of correctly using all indigenous healing modalities, she has dedicated her life to this mission :) We continue to harmonize modern and ancient healing methods to heal our bodies and planet. In doing so, we must always keep in mind as well that modern medicines treat mainly either physical symptoms or emotional psychological issues separately and almost totally ignore the spirit essence in our bodies while traditional medicines are often perceived as just dealing with the spirit which affects our general emotional health, which are both ineffective and incorrect.
Traditional medicines, or natural medicines both deal (not band-aid type treatments designed to suppress symptoms as in modern medicines but get to the root issue of dis harmony or dis-ease in order to fix said issues!) and heal physical pain and problems as well as emotional and spiritual issues- all of which make up our earthly bodies we live in while on earth. Over time as science and technology have come into the picture of our medical care, modern physicians have realized the super importance of looking at the entire picture before diagnosing and treating any illness or problem. Because of the efficacy of this wholistic modality, we are in the beginning stages of ever lasting change in our planet's health and wellbeing!
Over the last decade, I have been on the ground working towards this goal as well and have seen incredible leaps in the US medical industry to begin safely and effectively integrating these worlds and with continued concentration and efforts, it is our desire to have safe and correct beneficial medical care available to every single Being on earth.
In like manner, if we want to begin integrating plant medicines into our regular modern medical routines, we can take baby steps (as Irenka instructs us to take all along this journey) and begin adding in
less invasive yet equally powerful plant essential oils
of all kinds from all over the planet which are grown, harvested, produced, and distributed in a wholistic and beneficial approach. Irenka and her teams and kolee and krew are always here for you to begin discovering a whole new world (enter my mermaid music :) of integrative healing medicines that can truly transform anyone’s life for the better. We hope this talk inspired our readers and listeners to take action and begin living the life we really have been designed to live!
Irenka also gives us a few awesome pro tips to help us start integrating whole health care into our daily lives when dealing with issues, at whatever level. And again, I encourage us to listen to the entire talk because Irenka gives fascinating background information for all these tips! I’ll briefly recap them here for us too:
If we are feeling ‘off’ and not in tip top shape, GO TO A NEW LOCATION for a bit! It’s called a vacation :) We can use this change of location to harness different engines of the air, sun and elements of these different locals.
Go to the water! Water has immense healing qualities that are often overlooked when looking to deal with our health. We can go to a river or creek, ocean or sea, lake or just start to really intentionally heal through drinking pure water and bathing in it!
Lastly and certainly not least, ask for help! We are communal Beings and are designed to work together in community :) Simply reaching out to anyone linked in this show or a local trusted healer can bring about exponential beneficial change in ways most of us never dreamed:)
We ended the show with a beautiful message from spirit by pulling a card from the
“Mystical Shaman Oracle deck
from the highly respected Shaman Robert Villoldo and author of
One Spirit Medicine
(I was blessed to get mine back around 2016 ish on kindle version, these are only available in hard copy it seems now so get it asap if it interests you!).
PS my computer died exactly as the show was ending, so forgive the abrupt stop :)