Below is a little digital album of our trip so far. We have added captions to the pictures, so enjoy! 
We completed our stay and isolation fast at Takiwasi, and have now eaten up with some healthy food.

The next stage of our journey will be at the retreat center: Medicine of Light a retreat center founded by our friends Jimmy and Miska. This center is still in its infancy stages and we are very grateful to be of help in its development! We have a lot to learn and look forward to the discipline of farm life. 

We will not have access to internet or electricity for extended periods, starting from later this week, so Adios Amigos!

link to the album: 
https://weavingthevine.bandcamp.com/releases

Our soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/weavingthevine_

Zain & Zahra

​"revalue the human and natural resources of Amazonian traditional medicine."After a long interview process through letters and official documents, we are confirmed to partake in DIETA (click to read more). After this we are free to explore the Amazon and its mysteries, with our intuition and prior 3 years of experience guiding us, we feel confident that we will be safe and that we will find the perfect circumstances to support our learning process.  
​
In related news:
We are still working on our album and are aiming to release it within this blessed month of December. 
This sharing of our hearts through music has taken on a new significance as we find ourselves growing nostalgic of even the most routine aspects of our day, with the knowledge that life will soon be looking very different. The spirit of a farewell embeds itself in the music as we record, motivating us to give our best efforts to the process. 

The song "We are One" will not be on our upcoming album, but can be listened to and downloaded for free on soundcloud. Lastly we have compiled videos of memories from our experiences from the past few years and though it is mainly a farewell to our family here in New York, we'd like to share it with everyone who has had an exchange with us in one way or the other. 

Love,
Zain and Zahra

The picture above was taken on a wintery autumn morning. I greeted a tree that I sit across from at work with sacred tobacco smoke. As I did so, the rays of the sun and rainbow colors were revealed in the smoke: A reminder of the ever present unseen layers of beauty that are revealed simply with a shift in perspective.

In this moment of grace a fresh thought came with a high degree of clarity and cohesion. 
To these moments, I pay extra attention and board the train of thought willingly.
It went something like this:

Being "Indian," or rather, Native or Indigenous is a state of consciousness.
For example Inca, Maya, Apache, Lakota, and even current isolated tribes around the world are literally occupying a stream, a current of awareness in the ocean of consciousness. Beyond birth, each individual is raised with certain norms and values which direct their lives with a particular outlook. 

Building on this insight, all the various forms of the prophecy of a Global Tribe is true because slowly the masses of a once misdirected and lost culture of "modern-Western-civilization" are slowly learning to direct their consciousness towards an all inclusive global awareness. Generation after generation we are fully realizing our Global Citizenry: 

Humans are learning the dance of contradictions, or seeming opposites. 
Soon it may be the case that our current group of generations will have a fitting title, or name that will evoke a sense of deep time and awe in the hearts of our children's children's children. For what is a name other than a label on a specific tuning of the unseen strings that vibrate our reality into being? 
Much like the string on a guitar we label with an arbitrary letter for organization's sake, throughout the ages language and labeling has been used to identify and establish identification with feelings, thoughts, states of awareness...
Labels are reference points to consciousness- a piece of art, music, a language, or even a stone can be assigned as a reminder to a particular vibration.

The idea of "Native American" for most people around the world has become a romantic "Cowboys and Indians" notion that is restricting their scope of thinking, of feeling and knowing. We are not facing galactic matters just yet, we're still figuring out basics like how to educate our children and take care of our health and this is why we are all in dire need of the wisdom of the Earth which is still very real and fresh in many tribes like the Kaxinawa Huni Kun, Yawanawa, Kampa, Sentinelese, Kokiri, and many others around the world. It is arrogant and ignorant to think of our civilization, lifestyles and culture as the only one worth noting. It is not true that Native Wisdom is a thing of the past. 

There is medicine out there.

There is wisdom out there.

And vibrations that await to be heard and felt.

Don't doubt all tribal dances, face paint and seemingly "primitive festivities" that we all too often judge as "for show" and "attention." There is significance in what we, at face value, can easily judge as nonsense. There are states of being that take experience to know.
They do not fit into intellectual schemata and wordy explanations. 

There is fear in modern people that "others" not part of the societal structures of western civilization are dangerous because we think they don't have the same conscience, the same values, and the same folkways, mores and taboos. We do not want to be misled, made fools of and sent on a wild goose chase. These fears all come from an attitude of lack. Know yourself, take pride in your global heritage, in your far-reaching awareness, in your multi-ethnic background, your versatility and yes even your possible misfortunes of growing up in dysfunctional family structures, which encoded you with the experiential knowledge of what needs to be healed in humanity's collective psyche...
​
There is much we are to learn, as well as teach. No one has all the answers; we are all co-creating a new existence for humanity. There are even decedents of mutilated tribes who are rediscovering their roots and reconnecting to old customs with a new twist. We are blessed with traditions that have been passed down for generations, and most importantly we are also staying true to the guidance in the NOW.
Rituals are meant to serve us, to make us present and aligned. When we begin serving them instead we literally shut the gates on Grace coming to kiss our hearts. We dance upon the surface of rituals and they provide us with a platform to take-off of into freeform creativity with integrity and with an aim towards higher and higher vibration. 

It is about heart, not about blood.
We are all natives to this Earth.
Natives are taught by nature, the stars, the universe, the mystery...
We have been, we are and will be, living and learning into infinity. 

Zahra's 29th birthday:
a reminder that "All energy is only borrowed and one day you have to give it back." - Avatar
Early October 6th we were taking a walk and came upon a dead turtle. We felt really good about having a burial on the day of the birthday as it was symbolic of a new phase of life, a shedding of a old shell, and also a reminder that life is short. 

"Your Party"

One of the biggest lessons I learn again and again from working with Ayahuasca is not to run from my problems, to walk into what I fear and earn conviction by transforming my fear into strength. 

When I saw this video by Stromae, a French artist, I saw my past enacted in this drama. As a teenager it was overwhelming to realize that my family, my loved ones, my friends besides being my support, also had the capability to be my destruction.
In fact, the whole world is this way- the Earth itself -"she gives us milk and she hunts us."

In my teens I thought that I should put my family...no, my whole life behind me. A new start, a fresh perspective...it sounded so enticing and many people in my age group were in the same thought process, as they were rebelling against the status quo, so I thought I was on the right track. All the ties I was born into, all the love...it started to feel like suffocation. Maybe there were nice people out there, a new family, an enlightened bunch who truly knew how to live and love.

Soon however the "fresh new world" started to look and feel a lot like the maze I thought I left behind. 
-Zain

“I’ve put in so much work, why do I still feel so uninspired, left behind, grumpy, (etc.)? Why isn’t my life blossoming into what I’ve been trying to manifest? Why do I feel so stuck!?

First off... you’re not alone...the process of ‘awakening’ is not always a glorious feeling. It’s a consistent re-evaluation of your environmental, physical, mental and emotional processes. Unfortunately, what you’ve accomplished yesterday isn’t enough. We must continue to plant new seeds, prune our weeds, and water our soil daily.

This poem was written on 9/5/13 at 8:47am
just after Zain drank his last dose of a tree medicine he was dieting with at El Santuario Huistin.
In dieta one eats neutral foods like potatoes, plantains, white fish and rice without any salt, oil, or seasoning in general. 
The body becomes receptive and attuned to the subtle plant medicines like Aho Sacha. 
The dieter is in meditation with the plant teacher and learns about Nature through this exchange. 
Click on an image below to expand the gallery, use arrows keys to browse:

May we create something that endures eternity over the course of this lifetime.

May each day bring renewed devotion to invest in this Holy endeavor so that we are ready to die peacefully each night knowing that we've done something inspiring (life giving), even if it is as big as sharing a few heartfelt words.

May the gifts we leave behind serve our children and our children's children yet to come.

🌰🌱🌳🌌

~
The Creator gathered all of Creation and said,
“I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it.  It is the realisation that they create their own reality.”

The eagle said,  “Give it to me.  I will take it to the moon.”  The Creator said, “No.   One day they will go there and find it.”

The salmon said, “I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean.”The Creator said, “No.  They will go there, too.”

The buffalo said, “I will bury it on the Great Plains.” The Creator said, “They will cut into the skin of the earth and find it even there.”

Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said “Put it inside of them.”

And the Creator said, “It is done.”

~
The moral of this story is those who look outside dream, those who look inside awaken to the truth. 

In a passing breeze 
there may be the laughter of an angel
the perfume of a great master
the whispers of happiness…
Sister
Brother
Be present 
and Receive

It is our intention to regularly check out of the flow of society and return to the jungle to work with plant medicines; people’s reactions range from “what a waste of time!” to “wow, you must really trip out!” We simply go to be Reminded.

In 2013 we lived in the Peruvian Amazon for about 4 months at El Santuario Huistin. When we returned to New York in October we found that we had to live the lessons before we could share what we had learned. So the journey began to learn how to make a living independently, to have a home, and to live together to test the science of life that had started to be imparted to us. 
Now in the glorious summer of 2015, from our little home, we wish to share a lesson on receiving. 

The plants are masters at living. 
The lessons they impart to you- if you are willing to listen -are life lessons, lessons for living. Sure you’ll have the big experiences now and then but those experiences are the cliff notes, the subtle wink, the knowing smile of the master that inspires you to trust that underlying the many illusions of this world are not the screeching clockworks of a universe of mayhem but the exquisite weavings of awesome beauty. 

Dearest fellow humans,
It is July already. We are past the half-way mark for 2015.


                                          A true portal for change and evolution this year has been. 


In the past few years there have been so many deaths of people we either knew personally or were somehow linked to us. However lately, we’ve begun to lose count of all the new beings coming into this world: there are so many acquaintances, friends, and family celebrating pregnancies.

Also, this is a time of transitions. People we know are moving, changing careers, leaving school systems, getting fired, or relocated in their jobs; new management structures in large corporations and long standing hierarchical structures are found to be increasingly inhumane and unstable. 

Observations journaled below, little appetizers for thought:

Though this age is ripe for spiritual unfoldment and the future that humanity has strived for is here, only waiting for people to open their eyes to realize it, we are still polishing ourselves, our societies and are moving towards greater understanding of consciousness. 

It is the time to be open, with our hearts shining and guiding us. 
It is not the time to be gullible and scattered.

It is the time to follow intuition and courageously step into the stream of synchronicity in life.
It is not the time to be foolhardy and ignore when your intuition is guiding you to be still and present to the synchronicity that is already present in your life that you may be blind to because you are seeing through the lens of negativity or apathy. To be firm and choose your current reality over “the grass is greener on the other side” reality takes courage too.

Now is the time to explore the depth of our emotions. 
It is not the time to get consumed by negative emotions of fear, jealousy and hate by losing the center of perception that allows you to observe thoughts and feelings as characters that put up a play momentarily in your theater. 

Shamoriri...
My vision is to complete this one day as an endless loop of of clouds, snake and curandero coming out of each other. 
-Zain

As part of our seven year anniversary we treated ourselves to a present: a course on relationships!

We thought, "well, we've been investing in all sorts of things that we love- good foods, books, trips to the jungle, a sacred living space, etc. but how about we start turning our attention and 'investments' to what, or rather, to whom we love the most, each other!" Of course by doing what we love we enrich our relationship but the study of the art of relating helps us put concepts and words to the ups and downs we experience as a couple. 

In this post we share notes and expand on session 3 of the Evolver Learning Lab's "Falling and Staying in Love", which was taught by Bryan Franklin and Jennifer Russell. 
There is a lot of information in this one and so some things may be unclear. We recommend focusing on whatever resonates with you and seeing how you can apply it to your partnership. 

Ayahuasca doesn’t tell a person what to do or what is necessarily better or worse for them- they decide that. This medicine can be approached as a powerful guide that lays out all the options and has one viscerally experience- activating the limbic system -what each choice would entail. The light and dark, positive and negative, Yin and Yang of both sides is felt. It is then up to the individual to move forward and stick with what is the healthiest choice, based on their capacity to discern what that is, at that moment in time. This step in a healthy direction will further the person’s evolution and they will gain an ever greater capacity to discern goodness, beauty and truth. 

While working at the Mohonk Preserve we sometimes catch sight of creatures like snakes, falcons, bears, vultures, bucks and others...

Ye who pass by and would raise a hand against us,
heed well our prayer before you harm us.
We are the fuel for your fires on cold nights,
the friendly shade protecting you from the fierce sun;
and our fruits are refreshment to quench your thirst
 and cheer you as you journey onwards. 
We are the rafters of your roofs, boards of your tables and bodies of your boats, 
the seats of your stools and the boards of your beds.
We are the handles of your hoes, the gates of your homes, 
the wood of your cradles and the shells of your coffins. 
We are the saviors of your soil from loss by rain and wind,
and to your soil we give richness and life for the benefit of all mankind.
We are the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty.
You who pass us by listen to our prayer and harm us not.
Anonymous

The bear, the eagle, the wolf...all spirit animal totems, all well known and identified with by many. However there is one virtually unknown and quite an unexpected totem: The jolly Sea-Monkey!