Rapé Changes Lives
Some of the most gratifying and fulfilling things we have received with Ancestrina have been the testimonies of how rapé has transformed and provided health and awareness to users of our community. We recently received a story shared by one of our users. This testimony shows the path, the process, the challenges and obstacles that can be encountered with rapé, and at the same time, the positive and healing qualities that we recognize and appreciate in rapé and that move Ancestrina to continue transmitting and impacting the community with our service:
( Benefits of rapé )
“My first encounter with rapé was several years ago. Initially I didn’t really understand what it was for, what use it had, and even so, I decided to let myself go and explore a little. In the beginning I used it with my co-workers at the beginning of the day before sitting on my desk, before dedicating myself to my daily work. It became an everyday routine , and like many things for me, when it became a routine it lost its charm and I stopped using it. It served me a lot, it left me ready and awake , but this was not enough back then and I walked away from it. A couple of years later on a retirement trip to a distant beach, I had a respiratory crisis; my lungs closed, the cough was quite intense and a colleague who was also there, invited me to share his rapé medicine with him . I had had these crises on several occasions and until that day, the only way I could breath again was going to the emergency room.
( The snuff, me and Ancestrina )
I lay down on a mat, I remember the sound of the waves, I was silent, I asked for healing , I used a good amount of rapé and this friend started playing the didyeridoo. I lay down and got ready for the rapé to do its work on my body, I listened to the music, stood still and I totally gave myself to this experience . I used rapé two or three times a day for several days and my lungs cleared, I breathed and discovered one of the most powerful properties of snuff : rapé is medicine,rapé healed me . The rapé and my attitude of surrender and confidence in it, allowed everything to happen. After that, my relationship with this medicine changed , I knew then more about its effects, about its impact in my body. Before, I only knew that it help me focus, clear my thoughts, it help me be in the here and now; but now I knew that its cleansing and healing went not only to my mind, but to my body as well.
By continuing to engage with rapé, and using it more frequently, not just when I needed it, but when I felt its calling, I discovered the rest of its magic. Today I can say that rapé cleanses and heals my body and mind , and that it also cleans and ignites my heart, I can say that connect my spirit with the infinite river of existence , that it gives me space, that connects me with my own wisdom, that it gives me refuge and relieves my tensions. Today, rapé is not routine, I let myself feel and my interior tells me when I need it and when it wants to find me. I use it when it calls me, when we share it as a family with my children , when my partner and I feel like we want to have that moment together, when I’m tired, overwhelmed or when my chest closes up again.
My relationship with It is natural, it is instinctive, it is sacred; I take the time, I dedicate my emptiness to it and I dedicate love to it, I trust it and let it act on me, I enjoy it; even when cleaning myself causes sneezing, phlegm, mucus or dizziness, or even though, as we say, the rapé “hits me hard” well, I know that it is for the better, that it is doing its job and that on the other side of that discomfort, there is stillness, understanding, silence, the enjoyment of the present moment, or whatever I am needing. I appreciate the encounter with rapé in these years , I am grateful for the process and what I am experiencing today from the use of this medicine, I thank the earth for the resources it gives us to be here with greater awareness, well-being and health.” Testimonies such as this one maintain our inspiration and dedication, and reinforce the admiration, gratitude and respect that we have in Ancestrina for these sacred medicines that we have available and at hand. May we all find the path and healing , may we all maintain searches and paths of consciousness, may we be together as humanity on this journey of life.
