My Story

Prior to discovering plant medicine, shamanism, and detox therapy my life was a mess. 

At 25 years old I’d already hit rock bottom. I was severely depressed, without hope, and had constant thoughts of suicide. The intensity of these thoughts and emotions felt too much to bear. I used substances like food, tobacco, and alcohol to numb them. As a result, I was overweight, lethargic, and heavily addicted to smoking. 

Looking back I can see that my circumstances were largely the result of unresolved trauma and emotion.  The first 11 months of my life were spent isolated in a hospital incubator fighting a lung infection. Within hours of arriving home from the hospital, the room I was sleeping in caught fire, and my face and hand were badly burned. I underwent seven surgical procedures to fix my hand and three to heal my face. I also had my face dressed with bandages every day for three years to heal the skin. 

Growing up in wartime Lebanon was not without difficulty either.  Shelling and tank fire was an almost nightly occurrence. Even though we lived some distance from the conflict, my mother still insisted we sleep in an underground basement every night to keep us safe. 

By the time I was 25, I was unable to cope with the weight of the trauma and pain I was carrying. I knew that something had to change. Like so many others in similar circumstances, I started looking for something that would give my life meaning. Something to save me from the misery I felt my life had become. 

In 2008 I came across an article about Ayahuasca. The article was a vivid account of the author's experience with Ayahuasca, and detailed how it had healed her lifelong depression. I’d heard about Ayahuasca before, but never in the context of healing depression. Needless to say, I was extremely curious. In 2009, I packed my bags and headed off to the Peruvian Amazon to participate in my first Ayahuasca retreat. I didn’t know it at the time but this was to be a turning point in my life. 

The Ayahuasca ceremonies were hard and at times terrifying. While I can’t recall all the details of that first retreat, I do know that two things stood out. The first was a deep knowing that I had found what I had been looking for. The second was a vision given to me by the medicine spirits. In the vision, I saw myself learning and growing in the medicine, and eventually sharing it with others. Naturally, I dismissed this vision as a fabrication of my imagination. In my mind, it seemed ridiculous to think I could ever become the person I saw in the vision, let alone a Shaman. 

Despite my hesitations and doubts, the desire to train in the medicine persisted. Over the next five years, I returned to Peru whenever I could and participated in 12 more plant medicine retreats. During every retreat, I worked hard to heal my body and mind, diligently purging, transmuting, and aligning my energies to the best of my abilities. After five years, I was invited to move to Peru and take up a position with the plant medicine organization where I had been attending retreats. During that time, I experienced massive transformations in my being, and my learning was greatly accelerated.  

Despite all the healing I had done, I still had moments when the heavy feelings of depression would creep back in. I was also still a smoker. I knew I had come a long way, but it seemed that something was still missing.  

In 2018 I came across the work of Arnold Ehret. The central tenet of Ehret’s work was that the body could be healed using a raw food diet. I knew from my shamanic training that everything was energy.  My common sense told me that living foods, like raw fruits and vegetables, were a cleaner, more vital source of fuel for the body, than non-living processed foods.  After taking all this into account I decided to give raw foods a go. 

In the beginning, it was hard. It took some time to transition onto a completely raw food diet; however, after I did, the transformation was rapid. Immediately I started to feel lighter and I noticed my energy increasing.  As my body cleansed itself, I could feel my consciousness and awareness expanding into new vistas and dimensions. I also noticed that my shamanic capacities increased exponentially. The change was so fast, so efficient, and so apparent that friends started to ask me what was going on. When I told them, some asked for my help. Happily, I was able to assist friends and family members to heal from a variety of physical and non-physical issues. 

Over the past two years, I have continued my studies in food therapy, detoxification, and herbalism. As part of this, I completed training at the International School of Regenerative Detoxification, to become a qualified Detox Specialist. I integrated everything I learned with my shamanic training to create a practice I have termed Regenerative Shamanism. 

Regenerative Shamanism is the result of years of healing, learning, and Shamanic training. I can confidently say I have healed from the depression, addictions, and traumas of the past as a result of this practice. Sharing Regenerative Shamanism has become not just my work, but my passion. I can’t wait to share it with you, so you can enjoy the same healing and benefits I and others have received.

Life can be extremely challenging, but the challenges always come with tremendous opportunities for growth and transformation. You may not be able to see the dazzling light of your own being at the end of the tunnel, but trust me, it's there. If a depressed, traumatized, and frightened kid from a war-torn country can become a competent Shaman, who is happy and at ease within himself, then anything’s possible. ;)

You can follow Samer on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/samer.b.mouawad/