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Posted on 15 Nov 2017 by Pangean Path

Noya Rao - The Path Of Truth

Noya Rao is almost a mythical tree that grows in the Amazonian forest. Little to no information is to be found on this majestic tree, and it’s all for a very valid reason, that needs to be underlined in the first paragraph – to protect it. Within the Shipibo-Conibo tribe’s traditions, who are widely considered to have the most symbiotic and very conscious approach to plant-based medicine, Noya Rao is generally seen as the great-great-grand Mother of all the other plants. Little information is to be found about this sacred plant online, so here is what I have learnt from the local communities, my Maestra, and from my own research, narrowing it down to only what is allowed to be shared by its guardians.

Noya Rao is known in the local vocabulary both as the ‘Tree of Light’ and the ‘Camino a la Verdad’, which translates into ‘The path of Truth’. Its wisdom is considered extremely powerful, it represents pure good, connected to white light and those who had the honour to drink yellow coloured tea brewed from the bark of Noya Rao claimed it changed their life paths forever. Noya Rao is extremely precious and the old recipe for the potion is kept secret. The tea extracted from the bark of the tree has no noticeable taste, it’s faintly sweet and very delicate. But here is the most magical part of Noya Rao’s physical form. Its leaves and bark have fluorescent properties and glow faintly in the dark, which was documented and photographed by a few. It looks like a still from the Avatar movie, with the exception – it is all real. The tree, however, is so rare, that most shamans who know where Noya Rao grows, keep that knowledge unexposed and protect it with the uttermost care and love.

This is to be understood. It is to protect it from the eyes and hands of those who could have hurt it. To keep it safe from the ignorance of those who see yet another attraction to be checked on their to-do lists. To keep it well, potent, and alive in its cosy shelter. To not be exploited like every other essence we have found in the ecosystem and conquered. Maestra Juana, our beautiful wisdom keeper, and her family are local guardians of Noya Rao and usually do not offer an opportunity to work with this powerful and beautiful plant to many. There are only very few Noya Rao trees known to them and their locations are, no surprise, kept a big secret. According to their tales medicine cooked from its bark is the ultimate key to the world of beings of pure light, which is believed to be one level lower than the world of the Gods.

Our little group, who decided to stay in the area of Pucallpa and continue our work with Maestra Juana was kindly offered to drink Noya Rao decoction at the beginning of our dieta with Ayahuasca. To say I found this kind act of humble offering a great honour, which I certainly do, is not enough, as I also consider integration with Noya Rao a big internal and external responsibility. Within the Shipibo tradition integrating with Noya Rao is seen to be the essential, necessary, and possibly even the only path to becoming a healer. This mental and spiritual expansion that I have received during my current plant dieta, is believed to bring a person to yet another level of inner integrity and involves a huge increase in spiritual intelligence and a perfect integration of three pillars of one’s entity, which in Shipibo language are as follows: Yora (body), Shinan (Mind) and Kaya (Soul).

I’m in the process of assimilating the knowledge and what I can at least say now is that the whole experience I received in the last month gave me remarkable clarity of what lies within me and my mind and soul are now being illuminated by the light of this tree. Noya Rao works on many levels. My final month with Juana was dedicated to the integration of the previous processes and expansion toward the awareness of internal healing abilities that we all carry within ourselves. This manifested mostly in the verbal and vocal exercising ignited by the medicine, in two words – we sang. A lot. This simple yet extremely powerful part of our prolonged dieta was extremely rewarding. I received my first Icaro, a song that heals, that came out from the corners of my hearth and, as I sang it out, I found this revelation extremely empowering, beautiful and purifying on so many levels. Singing has replaced the purging part entirely. The experience of Noya Rao combined with Ayahuasca was less ‘violent’, less immobilizing and much more pro-active and conscious. As mentioned, there were no bigger effects on the body too, no vomiting and a great release of the tension of my muscles. The visions also changed becoming subtle and less ‘striking’ and have been replaced by those of a very internal, intimate, and peaceful nature – visions of pure light and its inhabitants. At some stage, I saw crystal light cities floating on the light sparkling clouds and a tall tree reaching the sky and far beyond, with numerous cracks from which the bright light emitted, surrounded by millions of millions of small light-beings insectoids.

Noya Rao journey was the most magical experience I ever tapped myself into and almost feels like a dream. A very real one. As a matter of fact, this whole experience reminded me of some of the lucid dreams that I luckily happened to have previously. Yet, those visions were somehow organized, very crisp, and very real. I decided to stay in Pucallpa for another month and conclude my dieta soaked in the bright blue-white light of Noya Rao.

Never forget. What lies within us is incredibly potent and beautiful.
Text: Karol Liver / Pangean Path.

The Myth of Palo Volador As Told By Maestra Juanita

The setting for Maestra Juanita’s legend is a small ShipIbo village to the north of the Ucayali river. In this small, isolated village was a young boy who lived on his family’s farm together with his mother and brothers. On the river’s edge, there was a majestic tree, known to the villagers as Noya Rao. Many witnessed that fishes who contacted the tree had transformed into birds and soared up and out of sight. The young boy used to disobey his mother and in order to avoid working the family’s farm he would run far into the jungle and spend his days playing in the river water beside the tree. One day, his mother became worried as the boy had not returned by dark. Days passed and the boy never returned. Despite desperate attempts to locate the boy, he was never found. His mother continued to call his name for years, and the village people came to believe that he too transformed into a beautiful bird and flew far away.

Upon listening to the stories recounted by the Shipipo elders, it is evident that this tree is understood as having the power to profoundly transform lives and communities. The Shipibo are indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest in Peru. They are also called “the masters of Ayahuasca” and are known for their profound and ancient healing traditions of plant medicine/curanderismo (shamanism). The Shipibo say, that their knowledge of healing and plant medicine comes from the plants themselves, especially though dieting master plants (such as Noya Rao) and working with Ayahuasca. This tradition is empowering, as it teaches us to take responsibility and be an active part of our own healing – we help ourselves with the help of nature. Plant dietas are the cornerstone of the Shipibo healing tradition of curanderismo. They can be seen as deep personal meditations where one enters into a relationship with a master plant, to form an alliance, a partnership for life. By fasting, drinking the plant’s extract, and Ayahuasca ceremonies, the spirit of the plant will be the teacher during the dieta and will share its wisdom, medicine, light, love, and protection. It will transform old structures and connect you to love, light, and nature.

Medicine songs (icaros) learned in this time, will help you to reconnect to that sacred space at any time. Plant Dietas often teach discipline and spiritual growth. They often include intense fasting and consuming only one plant at a time with small portions of food. Dietas like this may last for days, weeks, or months, and are commonly done in isolation in the environment where the plant is native. This journey is guided by the Maestros in preparation for the ceremony, too.

Dietas are designed to help clear the body of toxins, and habits, healing energies, release egos, uplift physical health, and prepare the body for medicine plant ceremonies. Awakening can take place and you start to operate mainly from intuition. Inspirations and deep insights for your life occur as a result. There are a lot of documented accounts of profound changes in people attributed to their taking medicinal plants. It’s a huge blessing to be able to sit in ceremony with these maestros of the Mahua Lineage. They are the last of their kind. Their healing culture is slowly dying out because most of the younger generation has lost interest in the depth of their healing art. This generation mostly wants to belong to the western world and no longer grows up in an environment in which they are connected from an early age with the plants and nature spirits. Working with this old generation of Shipibo healers is something very precious. This Shipibo tradition of plant medicine work, in this original form, is something which may not exist so much longer on the planet. They are not many of these traditional Maestros left and it’s a great privilege for us to carry that tradition for you.

Extract from Taj Simrit's book

As yet unpublished, to be published in October 2023

These retreats are not for the faint of hearts. However, once you’ve had a sip from the silver cup, so to speak, you’ll want to return, not out of need or compulsion, but because you’ve been shown a clarity that cannot belong to this realm.
Imagine a giant tree living in the Amazon rainforest with its branches climbing up to the heavens and its roots reaching down to the center of the earth.
Let’s plug this solitary tree into the wood wide web, add all the animals and insects who visit this tree or make their home in it. This tree, along with the fungi network connecting all the other trees and plants together, is an intrinsic part of the miracle of creation, along with its fruits, flowers and seeds.
Have you ever walked in the forest, sat down and meditated next to a giant tree?
Have you tried leaning your head against its trunk and listening to its heartbeat?
Doesn’t this tree contain, in its totality, all the codes of the universe?
What if you could unlock the mysteries of life by being one with the tree, the blood running in your veins in symbiosis with the sap flowing through its branches, your parasympathetic system in unison with its wisdom?

Entrain your own energy to the pure and powerful energy of nature. Welcome to the Noya Rao diet of the Shipibos. Darwin’s Noya Rao had been macerating for two years, and I’ve been drinking a glass every afternoon for the past six weeks. Combine this with Ayahuasca ceremonies, fifteen times a month, two days on and two days off. I reckon it’s a direct pipeline to God himself, all the elves and kind spirits of the forest are bound to take up residence in your consciousness. I’m only halfway through my diet, and the seeds of this sacred tree are slowly taking root at the core of my being. The Mahua family have been the guardians of these trees and their location has been kept secret for obvious reasons. I wouldn’t blame you for being skeptical, but don’t tell Maestra Juana, who started dieting the Noya Rao when she was fifteen and has facilitated countless diets with “pasajeros” over the past twenty plus years. Incidentally, Darwin told me that there were workers in the forest who reported having seen light coming from the tree canopy, at night in the distance. During the day, however, they couldn’t find the source of the light. Even if you were to walk in the jungle at night, which isn’t necessarily a good idea, and came miraculously across a Noya Rao, you wouldn’t necessarily see the luminescent light from the leaves, unless you’d already dieted the tree or had the purest of hearts and intentions. This makes for an almost mythical story and adds an element of exclusivity to this lore. For one thing, I didn’t mind; I hadn’t come all this way to stay in the square box of my mind. Besides, Darwin had shown me enough evidence of this tree’s existence to convince me that I was privileged to be here and partake in this experience. It’s a blessing to be able to sit down with these maestros and maestras of the Mahua lineage. Every day, 10,000 acres of virgin rainforest are cut down for timber and grazing cattle. According to researchers, there could be tens of thousands of knowplants in the Amazon basin that have yet to be discovered. How many of these plants could cure the physical diseases, not to mention the psychological illnesses of our modern times?

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