Wisdom Forest 💚

I came to Wisdom Forest, an Eco Yoga Farm and Ashram in the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle, to check it out for a week or so, and to let my heart catch up to my body after so much fast moving around. It turned out to be just what I needed (although it took me a while to realized), and I ended up staying 2 1/2 weeks (longer than I stay in most places). During this time I cleansed and strengthened my body and my mind so thoroughly. That wasn't my intention when I decided to come, but through the daily yoga, meditation, a very conscious, all organic, vegan diet, hard physical work- mostly serving Mother Nature, freedom of media/Internet, surrounded by the beautiful, lively jungle and so many good people -- giving me a renewed sense of strength and power. Living this wholistic lifestyle gave me the time and space to tune into myself and to bring out my creativity, re-discover my strengths, and work on my many faults. It helped remind me of the pleasures found in simple, beautiful, non-materialistic life, and reconnect me with nature -and in such a new and exciting way!

The day I arrived was a Sunday - a bit of a chill and rest day at Wisdom Forest. We all decided to head out for a waterfall hike early. So, about 10 of us walked down to the small, winding, jungle road and hitchhiked a few miles up the road, then walked up a long dirt road before reaching Pimpilala. I wish I had pictures of this majestic hike we did, but as we were climbing under and up waterfalls it wasn't wise to bring any electronics along. We hiked for a couple hours following a stream curving its way through the jungle, past impressive, big trees, squeezing through ravines, climbing up gushing falls, all the time under a high and hanging canopy of vines, huge leaves, and colorful flowers! We were all the while in the company of big jumping spiders, minuscule, brightly colored frogs, sprightly birds, well hidden, beautiful tropical snakes, and all the loud jungle noise makers! The walk back to the road was a slippery mudslide down the steep hillside, leaving us cut up, bruised, covered from head to toe in mud, and smiling from ear to ear! It was the kind of wild, all-sense-stimulating walk people pay hundreds to be guided on, and here we were, free in the wild jungle! 

I only spent a few short weeks here, but boy did it feel like longer! And, I am going to try my darnedest to tell you some of the countless things that awed me everyday, although I'd have to write a paragraph for every minute I spent at this special place in order to express how much it meant to me.

Wisdom Forest is a community of followers of Vedic Principles starting up an organic farm and nature reserve. Their were some house rules inspired from the Hare Krishna religion like: no eating/tasting or drinking in the kitchen as it is a place of meditation. All food must be "offered" to Krishna before being tasted or served, because Krishna has provided us with everything and so deserves it first. No onions, garlic, or mushrooms are to be eaten, as they are aphrodisiacs (sexual relations are prohibited before marriage). No intoxicants. There is meditation and mantra singing (optional) every morning at 5am, and afternoons as well. Yoga every morning before breakfast (also optional). We all ate breakfast sitting in a circle on the floor. 

Etc.

The community welcomed me in, and right away made use of and truly appreciated my work ethic and knowledge of garden work, cooking and nutrition knowledge, and my handywoman smarts. It was great feeling like I had a purpose, and that my efforts were coming to something, especially when I would see a big smile spread over faces when they tried a new vegan recipe I brought to the farm: giant fiddlehead ferns, or vegan borritos, or vegan carrot/beet/zucchini bread, banana flower salad, banana coconut ice cream, Etc. 

I also learned some new and truly interesting and useful skills from them: how to plant, care for, harvest, ferment, and dry cacao, and then how to make chocolate, how to make "vegan cheese" (fermented oats), and kinds of sprouts, how to cultivate, care for, and prepare bananas and plantains, yucca, pineapple, sugar cane, chonta, papaya, papa china, guava, oranges/lemons/limes/grapefruit, turmeric, ginger, guanabana, and many other fruits of the jungle, learned a lot about yoga, meditation, religion, shiatsu massage, people, etc. 

We had some activities that added an integration element to our otherwise mostly isolated community. Every Friday we did something called the Spoon Revolution, where we would cook a huuuge pot of healthy vegetarian food which we would bring to Tena (a small city, 1/2hr away), and serve in banana leaves to any and every passerby. We would give them all an educational paper explaining how unnecessary it is to eat meat at evey meal, and how many lives vegetarianism can save. It was amazing to hear and see their awe at how delicious a simple dish of rice and veggies could be without any meet, and then talking to them and hearing them say that they wouldn't live as long if they didn't eat meat. The kids coming home from school, and the poorer workers on the street would remember us and come back the next week for the FREE MEAL!, and then little by little would also pick up on what we were trying to promote.

On Thursdays an Ecuadorian Krishna devotee and I would go to the market in Tena and ask at every fruit and veggie stand if they had anything they were throwing out anyway, and in this manner collected SOOO much free food. We'd come back to the farm with 30 bell peppers, 6 pineapples, 6lbs of radishes, 20 plantains, 40 carrots, etc., all with little brown spots, but after some time, effort and love was put in, we'd be in town smiling and making a difference - and almost for free!!!

The owner of Wisdom Forest also had an English school where we would go and spend some time with the kids, teaching some basic English through games and activities, and sometimes take them out on trips! It was great getting them out into their beautiful jungle which they so rarely explored, and to see their faces light up from the beauty and adventure!

On my last evening at Wisdom Forest we did a Temascal - a sweat lodge ceremony. It took one person a full day's preparation in order to collect all the firewood, and then get a big fire blazing over some large volcanic rocks for 6-7hrs. 

At 8pm, the 10 of us participating in the ceremony stood in a line for the ceremony entrance. I was the first in line and stood (in a bathing suit) with arms spread for my body to be covered in stinging nettle (ortiga). [This tradition is thought to bring the pain and suffering of our ancestors into our bodies, before the purifying and cleansing of the sweat lodge and chanting, which would liberate us.] Next, I stepped into the swimming pool (hand built out of stones, only using the natural drip of the stream as it's water source).

I then crawled into the low, round lodge, lined with banana leaves, and with a hole in the middle for the glowing rocks that were being taken out of the fire! 

It was all done very ceremoniously, to the beat of drums and the hum of a shaman who was conducting it all.

Once we had all come in one by one kissing the earth and saying a short, silent prayer upon entering, circled to the left in the pitch dark, the shaman took the big, red hot (volcanic) rocks out of the fire and placed them into the center of the small lodge.

The Temascal carried out for 3 "rounds" of about 20 minutes of loud chanting, as the shaman ladled herb infused water on the hot rocks, and drummed rhythmically. Each round was hotter and more intense, with the option to leave between rounds and cool off in the pool. All but three of us stumbled out of the Temascal, falling out of heat dizziness after each round, and only about half of the 15 made it through to the end.

The last round was so hot, so long, so loud, so intense that we all entered a deep meditation. We had to crawl out and wait in or near the pool for 10-15 minutes before we regained our equilibrium and state of mind enough to walk.

We had to do the Temascal on an empty stomach for pretty obvious reasons, so even though it was 23h by the time we made it back, we indulged in yet another incredible, vegan meal - a novelty at Wisdom Forest.

I left, with tears in my eyes, from this beautiful place with some friends...more on our next adventures...