By Laura Shapiro

A master plant dieta is a marriage between a human and a plant spirit where you merge consciousness with a plant, allowing a deep healing process to occur. A dieta is a mental, physical, and spiritual purification process where foods and pleasures are restricted, allowing you to connect deeply with your specific master plant to gain wisdom and insight. The connection is made when a shaman opens the dieta portal with a sacred song called an icaro, and then the person dieting consumes the plant through daily teas and essential oils. Some diets can also be done through scent alone, but most master plant diets are consumed via tea.

One of my most powerful, unforgettable dietas has been with seemingly innocent, serenity-loving Lavender; first I’ll share a bit more about the dieta process, and then I’ll be transparent about this wildly difficult - and equally beautiful - dance with Lady Lav.

The Different Ways to Diet

There are two different ways to diet. There is an isolated dieta, where we are in nature and cut off from the outside world. During this process, there are serious dietary restrictions, we do not consume any media, we have very little social interaction, and we have multiple days in silence, meditating and deeply connecting with our plants. Isolated master plant diets in the jungle typically include ceremonies with Ayahuasca as well. When we offer master plant dieta retreats at Plant Medicine People, we include 2 - 3 Ayahuasca ceremonies in each retreat, as this helps us to go even deeper with our master plant in this sacred container.

Then we have what is called a social dieta. During the social dieta process, we maintain our connection with the world—meaning we go on with our daily responsibility of work and home life. However, there are still strict protocols in place surrounding food, consumption of media, and no sex or self-love - so this process takes a lot more discipline. Social diets almost seem harder since we are confronted by the outside world constantly, and it takes a lot of energy and dedication to deeply connect with the plant on a daily basis while juggling our other responsibilities.

Some restrictions for a social and isolated master plant dieta include:

No salt
No spice
No sugar
No pork or beef
No sex or self-love
No citrus
No strong scents – ex, perfume, deodorant, soaps, cleaning products, etc
No dark media
No herbs besides the plant we are dieting
No recreational drugs

We have these restrictions in place to honor the plant, but also to keep our vessel clean so the plant can come in and connect more deeply. The cleaner our vessel, the deeper the connection can go. And if we have salty food or sex, it tends to cut the connection between us and our plant - this is what we refer to as breaking the dieta.

Merging with Lady Lavender

Lady Lav, what can I say - you are a brutally deep and confronting Master Plant Dieta.

At the start of Covid, in the first few weeks of April 2020, I embarked on a master plant dieta with Lavender. Lavender was my second master plant diet ever, and still my hardest dieta to date. My initial thought was since there was a lockdown, and I basically could not leave the house, Lavender would be the perfect plant partner-she is so nurturing, relaxing, and sweet. I envisioned lots of naps, luxurious Lavender-scented bubble baths, and deep serene rest.

I had the complete opposite experience.

It’s so interesting how our intentions with these master plants work - they give us what we need, not what we want. This certainly happens in Ayahuasca ceremonies, but I did not expect the 180 turn that my dieta with Lavender had in store for me.

A Lavender dieta shows us how to relax - she goes deep into our nervous system – she is the queen of serenity. But she also exposes all the ways we inhibit true relaxation. And she shows us our attachment to stress. Lavender will also expose where we are out of alignment in our lives. She seems so sweet with her pretty flowers and intoxicating scent, but beware, she is secretly the silent assassin.

Medicinal Benefits of Lavender

Lavender is considered a Nervine. Nervines are plants used to calm nerves. Lavender is a gentle sedative, and she can help with anxiety, stress, and insomnia. These are some of the medicinal benefits of Lavender:

Helps with mood, anxiety, and depression
Promotes deep sleep
Ability to calm the nervous system
Antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties
Reduces blood pressure and heart rate
Self-compassion

The Breakdown Before the Breakthrough

I was on a two-week-long social dieta with Lavender, and two days before I opened the dieta portal, I had a blow-up flight with one of my business partners and left my company. I knew this was divinely orchestrated by Lavender, as she exposes all the ways we do not relax and have peace in our lives and bodies. The two-week diet with Lavender was one of the hardest points in my life. I had a full-on existential crisis, where I questioned everything. And by leaving my company, I was deeply confronted by all the places in my life that I did not relax or trust. She exposed the chaos - it felt like I was opening pandora’s box. Lavender was holding me accountable for the stress I was allowing into my daily life. I felt like I had lost my purpose, my passion, my mission, and my financial stability. Needless to say, I fell apart. At that point, I could only see the breakdown, not the breakthrough.

During my Lavender dieta, I could not sleep, I could not relax, and I cried a lot. It was a full-on process. But I kept drinking my Lavender tea two to three times per day. Lavender forced me to let go of trauma and old ways of being. Lavender was tearing me down to build me back up - but I could not see this at the time. It’s so fascinating how master plant diets can expose our gifts, but also the shadowy elements within us, so that we can heal these wounds and patterns and step into the new lives we are creating for ourselves.

The Breakthrough

I managed to stay on the dieta for the full two weeks, even though I debated closing the dieta portal early every day. But I knew that I wanted to have some sort of breakthrough before I closed my dieta, so I stayed on, showed up, and followed her lead. It did not get any easier, but I persevered.

Fast forward to a few weeks later, I was racking my brain on what I would do with my career. Lavender had brought in a few ideas during the dieta, she was flirting with different plans, but I was not in a place or headspace to listen clearly at that point. I was resisting. One day, I was sitting in my apartment in Berlin, and it hit me—Lavender brought in the idea of Plant Medicine People! At this point, it all made sense. I needed to let go of my other company to make way for a fresh, new start. And from this experience, Plant Medicine People was born.

I am still quite terrified of Lavender, and I am not sure if I will be dieting her again anytime soon. But I am forever grateful for the gifts I received during my time with her. Lavender is an ancient, wise, and powerhouse plant. Don’t let those sweet purple flowers fool you; this plant takes no prisoners. But from her brutal honesty came one of the greatest chapters of my life. That’s par for the course with a master plant dieta :)

If you are feeling called to recalibrate your nervous system, consider giving a lavender master plant dieta a try. We offer these diets at our retreats and in social dieta settings.

About the Author

Laura Shapiro’s life was saved over a decade ago by Plant Medicine, and since her recovery, she’s been a pioneer in working with Ibogaine to help people heal from near-fatal addictions. She co-runs Clear Sky Recovery, an Ibogaine detox center, as the Director of Admissions, and co-founded Plant Medicine People as a natural next step to expand her reach and healing impact on behalf of the plants. During a brutally deep and profound Master Plant Diet with Lavender, Laura (and Lady Lav) first conceived of the PMP vision, which has now magically actualized. Laura runs the nuts and bolts of PMP, produces all retreats, and has a special penchant for creating the most incredible boutique travel experiences, paired with the power of sacred plants. She’s also a tried and true Scorpio, so beware the stinger, and the heart of gold.

Lavender: The Story of A Master Plant Dieta