My journey to awakening with Heka

It all began with a sudden urge to be in the jungle, so back in 2022 I did exactly that! 

I had been working with plant medicines for a few years prior to this and had already cultivated a very deep relationship with cacao and was working with her on a daily basis. During this period of 'awakening' I dipped in and out of the new version of myself and often found myself falling back into old patterns. I found stability in my daily cacao rituals and it was this that always called me back onto my path.

A few years later, after weeks of travelling through my own personal darkness and struggle I looked at my mum and said 'I need to go away'. She looked straight back at me with a look in her eye that I had never seen before and told me to do what I needed to do. So I did....

I arrived at Florestral an 'off grid' community deep in the Diamante Valley in Costa Rica in march 2022 and it was here that I embarked on a journey into the unknown.

I had applied to be a volunteer and spent 6 weeks in the community tending to the land and co-creating. I had no idea what to expect, I had never been to the jungle and this was my first extended solo trip abroad. I knew I was walking into something huge that would change my life forever.

Part of my reasons for choosing this particular place was so I could explore working with Ayahuasca. A plant medicine that is known for its healing and awakening properties (amongst many other things). Leading up to my jungle experience I had gone on an Iboga retreat in 2021 and received a very clear message to travel to the jungle. I saw a vision of myself dragging my suitcase through the jungle and at the time I didn't really know how or when but exactly a year later I was indeed dragging a ridiculously over-sized suitcase through the jungle. 

Ayahuasca is not native to Costa Rica so the owners of this land planted the Caapi Vine and Chacruna plants themselves to create a sustainable source of medicine as they stand strongly against overharvesting.

Part of my role as a volunteer was to tend to medicine plants and build a relationship with them. The vine pictured here became both a friend and teacher.

After 6 weeks of hard work on the land and a number of ayahuasca ceremonies, I realised that the medicine I was seeking was not just in spirit of ayahuasca but also in the land itself. I was looking outside of myself when really the medicine was within me and once I began to focus on my connection to nature the true magic and awakening began.

One of my teachers said to me just before my journey to Costa Rica that 'Shamans believe that the only true sickness in this world is disconnection'. This was one of my biggest lessons whilst in the jungle. Learning to reconnect was my most powerful tool for healing and recovery.

Towards the end of my stay in the jungle I was sat by my favourite spot by the river that ran through the community with my cup of cacao thinking about how I would return to my 'normal' life in the UK and what I would do next.

A few nights before I had experienced a very profound vision whilst in an ayahuasca ceremony whereby the Goddess Isis came to me. I was experiencing what I believe to be a dissolution of the ego and I had forgotten who I was. In this moment I had no body and all parts of me were scattered. All that was left of me was energy and as I tried to put the parts of myself back together nothing made sense.

Isis took me on a journey through ancient Egypt and said to me 'if you don't know who you are then start here' and I knew exactly what she meant. Since this moment Isis has one of my teachers and guides and I became a student to the 'Mystery Teachings' of ancient Egypt.

Back to the river..

As I sat with my cacao in hand I looked down at the cup and noticed the blue flower and I knew it had meaning. At this time I already had a deep connection to Egypt as I had spent many years travelling to and from the place I call 'my soul home', but now with Isis by my side I started envision my future and what parts of myself I would bring back from this experience.

I knew that when I returned I would complete my Cacao Facilitator training but this blue flower had something to do with it and somehow I was going to weave Egypt into my story.

Once I got home, I embarked on my Shamanic Practitioner training and alongside this I began to study the Egyptian pantheon which is where I met Heka, the ancient Egyptian god of magic and medicine. As I got deeper into my studies I realised the importance of the Blue Water Lilly (known today as Blue Lotus) in ancient Egyptian culture and this is what lead me to become a Blue Lotus Practitioner. 

I realised that I could weave all of these elements together to create a beautiful fusion of magic, shamanism, cacao and blue lotus. A collaboration that continues to grow and expand.