The tobacco, due to its properties, helps us to quiet our thoughts, to focus and centralize us in the present moment and in ourselves. It is a preparation to be able to listen to the spirit guides, the spirits of nature and the beings that inhabit other dimen-sions or planes of consciousness. In the ceremonies, we use it to accom-pany the grandparent plants to make offerings to the sacred fire and thus become part of the circle of the medicine.
The ceremony of tobacco is part of the heritage of our ancestors in which the essence is to honor the word through listening and the consenting expression of our hearts, to agree through sharing how we want to live and be thankful for every moment of our lives.
There are different ways of using tobacco. One of them is in a corn leaf representing Mother Earth. We place intentions in the tobacco, then smoke in a circle, with the purpose that guides the words of everyone and we share them together. In this way, we express our understanding regarding the great purpose, adding to it our own desires and rounding everything off after the circle is completed. Thus we know that the word heals so much, like our ability to listen to others and we allow the wisdom of everyone’s experience to emerge to be shared in our lives.