TOBACCO AND TREE

Traditional healing with Tobacco and Tree medicine

South Wales, UK

TOBACCO

For many pre-industrial cultures, everything in the world that is physical is also pervaded by spirit.

A plant for example has its physical and chemical attributes, many of which are proven medicine,

but there is something active beyond these parameters.

The spirit of the plant is also at play and it is an integral part of a plants healing capabilities.

Within this world-view there is also a hierarchy. Some plants promote subtle and gentle healing, whilst others are considered Masters, or Teachers and an can promote profound healing and learning. The Spirit of these plants can teach us because they contain millennia of wisdom as they evolved, finding equilibrium and balance amid turbulence and change. These plants teach us how to find the same harmony for ourselves. They can be seen as a reservoir of memory that can guide us back to health and balance. They contain within the laws of nature that have been forgotten. They address the imbalances within us and promote an healthy relationship with all of life.

In the Amazon rainforest, Tobacco (Mapacho) is considered a Master plant Teacher of the highest authority. Tobacco is considered the original medicine, the great grandfather and embodies the qualities of the divine masculine;

structure, clarity, protection, truth.

From this base foundation life can unfurl; the divine feminine.

In almost all old cultures Tobacco can be found. It is always present, a totem of this memory, a map of how to be, the unspoken plant of men and women.

The spirit of Tobacco is cleaning, clearing, aligning, grounding, balancing, empowering, connecting, crystalline, pure.

Tobacco is revered as a tool of communication between things, a vehicle of prayer and intention. Tobacco is considered the word through which all other things can communicate clearly. Then Tobacco helps us to perceive the subtle forms of communication that surround us, it awakens our senses. It connects us to the subtle world of spirit, intuition and dreams. It makes the invisible, visible.

Tobacco as a medicine provides unique and profound healing on all levels of the physical, mental and energetic system (spirit);

Physically cleaning our digestive system, blood, organs and sinuses. Removing toxins, parasites, virus and bacteria.
Clearing our minds of behaviours and patterns that no longer serve us and releasing emotional blockages.
Cleansing and opening our energetic system, allowing energy to flow freely and in positive alignment.

From Tobacco we receive the grace and simplicity of being present and healthy in this world, to see things as they truly are with sovereignty, and to walk through this life with an open heart and an honest stride and word.

The Tobacco used in this way is different from the commercialised product we are familiar with.

Medicinal Tobacco is often a strong Amazonian species named Nicotiana Rustica and is far more potent and pure without the use of chemicals or additives.

This Tobacco is grown organically, cured naturally, and rolled into logs with the aid of a little alcohol for fermentation and preservation.

TOBACCO CEREMONY

Drinking Tobacco medicine

Traditionally Tobacco can be administered in a number of ways.

It can be smoked and blown over a patient, snorted by the patient through the nose as a liquid or powder, chewed, applied topically or even as an enema.

In our lineage we predominantly serve Tobacco as a liquid maceration (tea) to be drunk within a

ceremonial context. Tobacco in this way should only be given by an experienced Tabaquero/a (tobacco doctor) who has a strong relationship with the medicine.

A ceremony is an opportunity to experience the powerful healing effects of Tobacco, cleaning our mind, body and energetic system for new ways of being.

Ceremonies will be held at night where we will sit together by candlelight. The Tobacco medicine is cleansed and blessed with Ikaros (traditional healing songs) and served to you to drink.

The immediate effects of Tobacco can be varied depending on a person's constitution and generally last

for half an hour. You are likely to feel some heat in the body, oscillation between hot and cold, sweating, nausea and purging.

Following the immediate effects, we are often left with an experience of inner peace, clarity and gentle insight.

Over the next two or three hours you are invited to rest in that open space as I continue to work with my Tobacco and songs. After the ceremony has closed, you can sleep with the intention to remember your dreams. Tobacco is a dreaming medicine and connects us with our dream space, where much of the healing and insight is received. In the morning after some rest, there will be some time to share any dreams or experiences that came to you during the night.

Ceremonies are available for one, two or three nights. Generally two or three nights are a good amount to go deeper with the medicine.

During the day, you are free to rest in your room, house or garden and a simple breakfast and lunch will be provided, after which we fast before the night's ceremony.

Everything you will need will be provided during your stay.

I am currently holding ceremonies at my modest house in South Wales where I live with my partner Yui who is also working with this medicine. At this time, spaces will be limited to one or two people.

For at least 3 days before a ceremony, it is important to abstain from alcohol, sexual activity of any kind,

meat (especially pork), heavy fats, spices, iced/excessively cold food and drink, dairy and ferments, gluten, processed foods, excess sugar and salt, stimulants, pharmaceutical drugs. Marijuana and other drugs should be abstained for at least a week before, preferably longer. If you are on prescribed medications we can discuss this separately. The idea is to have a clean and clear system before we drink. Aim to eat lots of delicious vegetables and a little fruit and keep hydrated.

If you can, try to spend some days before, centering yourself, spending time in nature, going inwards.

Following a ceremony, it is good practice to rest for a day and maintain a quiet and supportive environment.

The price for each ceremony is £100 (inclusive of accommodation and food)

WHO IS TOBACCO FOR?

Tobacco is suited to anybody who wishes to embody the healing, teaching and fundamental principles of Tobacco.

Its is said that whilst illness manifests in the body and mind, the dis-ease originates in the spiritual makeup of a person, from an imbalance.

Tobacco addresses and cleans at this level, clearing the way to alleviate conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma, repressed or blocked emotions, addictive behaviors, low self esteem. Tobacco is not a magic pill, but rather an active process of transformation that we carry for the rest of our lives.

Consideration must be carried out with this work as Tobacco isn't always the correct medicine.

For those with heart conditions, abnormalities in blood pressure, cancers, epilepsy, asthma, pregnancy, PTSD and those on heavy medications, Tobacco is not recommended.

For these situations i offer different Amazonian and European Trees that contain their own respective medicine. Tobacco will still be present in each case, but worked with in a different way.

A careful screening process is in place with a medical questionnaire, as well as a diagnosis either over Zoom or if possible, in person. This gives us a chance to get to know each other, answer any questions you might have and to see what medicine will be good for you at this time.

ABOUT ME

My name is Nicholas Ward.

I apprenticed under my teachers Merav Artzi and Jason Grechanik who are of the Mamancunawa lineage of Tabaqueros from Iquitos, Peru. I received my blessing from Master Ernesto Garcia Torres and hold the title of Tabaquero - Curandero. (One who works and heals with Tobacco)

I hold the view that the Plants are the healers. My role is to use my strong relationship with these plants to guide the medicine to where it needs to go, using my tools to amplify and direct the medicine, to create and maintain a safe space for you, and to guide you through the process gently, I hope with humility, gratitude and integrity.

I have a great deal of trust and respect for this traditional work and I have seen some beautiful transformations.

Please get in touch if you have any inquiries about this medicine, i look forward to connecting with you!

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Teachers

Jason, Merav and Ernesto