The Plant Path
A relationship built over years, not weekends.
Sixteen years of commitment
Sixteen years ago, I began walking a path with the plants, not knowing where it would lead or how much of my life they would come to shape. What started as a search for understanding became a relationship that would challenge everything I thought I knew about myself, healing and the world around me.
Over the years, I've watched people come and go in the plant medicine world. I've seen practices become trends, ceremonies become experiences to collect and people rushing towards qualifications and titles. Yet the longer I've worked with the plants, the more I've understood that this path cannot be rushed. It asks for something far greater than enthusiasm or curiosity. It asks for commitment, discipline, humility and a willingness to keep showing up, even when the teachings are uncomfortable.
My journey has taken me deep into the Peruvian Amazon, where I've had the privilege of spending time learning with Asháninka healer Don Juan Flores, whose relationship with the plants and traditional knowledge has been part of shaping my own understanding. My path has also brought me into the Shipibo tradition, where I continue to learn through plant dietas, ceremonies and the guidance of my maestro, Sanken Sena.
These are living traditions, carried through generations, and I hold enormous respect for the people, families and
communities who have preserved this knowledge. My time in the Amazon has taught me that working with plants goes far beyond what happens in ceremony. It is about the relationships we cultivate, the responsibility we carry and how we choose to live when the ceremony is over.
There is incredible beauty in this work, but I don't believe in romanticising it. There is sacrifice, discomfort, uncertainty and a great deal of unlearning. The plants have humbled me many times, and I know they will continue to do so. For me, becoming a maestro was never about reaching the end of my learning. If anything, it has deepened my understanding that no matter how many years we dedicate to this path, we must always remain students.