Archive for December, 2009

my student
my student

December 10, 2009

front seats

front seats

December 10, 2009 

    Front row seats on the bus to Orongate. We have a thee hour ride then a long taxi to a town .where we will get the horses. Tomorrow all day on the horses. Carrie says his community is off the map.

buying groceries

buying groceries

December 10, 2009 

   We are buying food for the community. Pretty wild that there is cell reception here. Thanks to all of you who are writing. I feel like my heart is with you. I am so happy to share this experience.. I am in another world and still close to my loved ones.

skyward

skyward

December 10, 2009 

    I had a hamster when I was 5. I would not wear a shirt without a pocket. He went in first thing in the morning and stayed til I got in my PJs. Mostly he slept, but every once in a while he would peek his head out. Your messages remind me of taking Bubbles out of my pocket to play.

medicine wheel

medicine wheel

December 15, 2009

      I have returned from the Q’ero lands. This photo is of the Medicine Wheel I built for you. I went down my list and visualized your face as I chanted prayers for you. Then I did some toning that was inspired by the land itself.
     The llamas roam freely in the area. The houses in the background are Juan Gabriel’s community. I used the nice new camera Sue gifted me to take photos of the people inside their houses. They rarely see themselves and I quickly made friends with everyone. I will try to download some and add them to my web site. Photos are expensive to send with my Blackberry so please check there for future postings.
It was deeply meaningful for me to build the wheel and to do a chanupa (pipe) ceremony with his relatives and neighbors. He has done pipe ceremonies in the US and felt blessed to connect the eagle and the condor in his home.
     My traveling companion, Sophia, pours water for the Inipi (sweat lodge) ceremony at her home in France. She was trained by a Dutch man who hosted Denver’s Grandpa Wallace Black Elk. I frequently had experiences with him as a teacher and always was moved by him in ceremony.
     So strange to feel the connection between she and I. The web is extensive. Seems like every time I mentioned something about my life she said, “Me too!” She is involved in translating the book written by the Thirteen Grandmothers and participated in their gathering in Spain.
She runs a womyn’s drum circle and we have shared purpose in helping womyn journey through menopause.     
     She initiated me in a form of energy healing called, Ilahinoor brought forward by a man named, Khara. It is associated with whales and dolphins and calls in Divine Feminine energy. It shifts the DNA and balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain. It is a world wide movement that I will be excited to share with you when I return. In my session a white eagle came and said “My wings were open wide and I was flying my life” sitting at the Medicine wheel and looking out on another world it did feel like it took wings to get there.
     I pray that you are able to feel the deep appreciation I feel for each one of you and that many blessings come from our connection through this sojourn. You live in my heart and share in each step with me.

Susanita

Susanita

December 15, 2009

      We had a big celebration on Saturday night. This is a special hat we all took turns wearing. Everyone got slap happy on chica morada a type of moonshine that was served from a recycled Coke bottle. I tasted some as it was necessary to offer some during a ceremony and it made 180 proof seem mild. I took very small sips that made me gasp for air and my eyes water. Everyone was quite entertained by my reaction and laughter filled the room.
     Needless to say, my one shot blew me away and I was sick for most of the party that ensued. They laughed, cried and sang with drunken delight until the sun came up.

December 16, 2009

     The trip to Qero was truly an adventure. The two hour taxi ride on a four wheel road was daunting. 7 adults, two children, four day packs, two back packs and two bundles crammed in a four door hatch back on the way home. The smells were interestingly nauseating. I was queasy most of the time while in Qero because of all the smells. The road was washed out 11 times with 3 of them literally crossing fast moving streams. There were too many blind curves to count. The taxi driver (an Elvis look alike) honked before proceeding and twice we met on coming traffic. We encountered horses, cattle, sheep and chickens as well as cyclists, children and a pig. I held my breath and tried not to bump into others as we swerved and dodged things.
     Then the 8-9 hour horseback ride/ hike over two 16,000′ passes. We got to ride going up and speed walked between 3 and 5 miles every downhill. My feet were blistered. The dismal relentless rain soaked me to the bone and was made worse by the sleet, pelting hail and snow.
I began the journey creating eloquent exposes to share with you, but was reduced to repeating one sentence, “hang on to the saddle and don’t pass out.”
     We were well received and did a despatcho ceremony and were asked to be Godmothers for the 1 year old granddaughter named Maria Luc. We did a cutting of the hair ceremony.
     Life in Qero is difficult and primitive. We had bought lots of food to share and people from the community came to receive. There was a lot of coca leaf being shared. Not sure if it was that, or eating the soup that was made from the cut up pieces of llama that hung from the ceiling that made my intestines groan. I have photos to share of authentic Qero cuisine.
     I did a little cooking to help out and will post photos of that too. You will see how smoky it was all the time. I am glad that I was blessed with the experience and grateful for a long hot shower and a laundry machine upon returning to civilization.

horses

horses

December 16, 2009  

    It was rewarding for me to fulfill my commitment and to live out my dream of praying in the Qero lands. I was happy to know that my donations allowed two loving grandparents to visit their year old granddaughter because she will have changed a lot before they can return again. I felt good about honoring my part in the Eagle and Condor prophecy. It helped me overlook the litter that trashed the beautiful landscape.
     Going to the Qero was very expensive. Juan Gabriel kept asking for donations. Sophia and I had to pay all of their expenses, purchase all kinds of food and supplies, buy double despatchos so they would have leftovers and give people money when they came to their house. Even being appointed a godmother was intended to provide more for the child.
     Sophia explained to him that both of us were servants in our countries and we did not have much money. He was convinced after seeing my things that I was withholding. The rain boots, jacket, sleeping bag and pad. He asked me how much the camera cost and I told him I didn’t know because it was a gift and the backpack was borrowed. Sophie told him that these were donations from my community so that I would have what I needed.
     During the ceremony he told me that I was worrying too much about my journey to Peru. It is ironic that I was fretting over whether I would have to borrow some of the money back in order to get home. Like a branch fallen in the river my concerns blocked the flow.
     When we got back to town we arranged a time to get together to make another donation for the ceremonies because both Sophie and I were tapped out.
     I tried to find an ATM that gave dollars that I could exchange because I don’t yet understand the sole. Finally I found one. I transpose numbers and goofed up on my pin. I tried again and it was going to charge me another fee so I punched the no button. I was anxious about being on time and finding the place by foot trying to remember the route the taxi had taken. Realizing it was worth the money I tried again. It would only give me half of what I needed. I found another machine and tried again. That red flagged my card and halted any transactions.
     I had told the man I was renting a room from that I would come with two months rent. I ended up gifting Juan everything I had and he demanded more. Sophie, who had already gifted him twice as much as me, gave him more.
     He never acknowledged the teachings I had offered, the ceremony which he had experienced before in the US or the reflexology/healing sessions that we gifted every member of his family and some twice.
     My dad was probably right, there is no place left on the planet untouched by the desperate hunger of greed. I went to bed with an empty stomach, but I felt satisfied. I had watched the Mother Theresa video right before I left and I remembered that my true teacher had said, “Give until it hurts.” I knew that today I had lived out her teaching.
     The night we watched it I had commented “What else did I need to know?” Those words echoed as I pondered why I had come so far away from home. What was I trying to prove to myself, God or Mother Earth? In that moment a little piece of my ego fell away and a part of the shaman death had been realized.
     The man who is renting me the room showed me compassion, patience and kindness. He is letting me stay here without payment until I get the ATM straightened out. ( I have the money I need, I just couldn’t get to it) When I came home tonight the front room was cluttered with furniture because his apartment had been rented to someone else. He did not look desperate or demanding. He is the true spiritual man.
     It made me sad for Juan Gabriel because I could see that he is a man caught between two worlds. A Paco who has become a businessman Desiring to get what he feels he deserves and what he wants to provide for the people back home who rely on him.
     I know that I am living the teachings of the Qero in an honorable way. I am grateful to him for showing me that.

seven lakes

seven lakes

December 16, 2009 

    I did ceremony with a man named Jesus who was waiting for me to return from Qero. I had met him my first night in Cusco and he noticed my medicine pouch. He is very into Native American traditions and is connected to Wallace Black Elk through spirit.
     He took me by motorcycle to a very remote place away from the tourist sites. We were stopped by an old man on the road who told us we could pass.
     The place was called Seven Lakes. It was a waterfall with seven pools. First we set our intentions and offered Coca leaves in a small hole in a large boulder. Then we went to the other side and he showed me a place where the boulder had been carved out like a stairway. We did breath work and I connected with the ancient energy there.
     It was very powerful and I felt my heart expanding in my chest. I could feel the pressure of every beat. I had my arms outstretched and I envisioned holding the planet in my arms and cradling it like a precious baby. I had a sensation like the let down when nursing and felt stars flowing from my breasts like milk. They swirled above my head and connected me with the Universe. I felt as though I was levitating.
     We went to the deepest pool and he instructed me to bless the water. I placed my hands on the surface, prayed in gratitude for the water that sustains all life on this planet and sang the honoring song.
     He told me to bathe in the water fully submerging my head three times. Me, the happy nudist became shy and I asked him to look the other way. He went back to the area with the carved stone and began playing his flute. The water was cold and took my breath away, but I managed the three dunks, dressed and returned to the area where he was playing.
     He instructed me to take my time and lay on a warm rock in the sun. I was shaking from the cold at first, but the rock soon warmed me and I relaxed to the beautiful sound of his flute. I merged with the rock and felt as though I was sinking into it. The warmth of the rock absorbed me and I was lulled and cradled by it.
     Then we went to an area where I laid out my altar and we did a pipe ceremony. It felt very good to share it with him and his prayers were expressing appreciation. He knew a Sundance song and we prayed in Lakota and sang the Pilahmaya song together.
     We will meet again tomorrow at sunrise. No motorcycle ride and I will be hiking very steep inclines. We will smoke his pipe tomorrow and explore sacred sites that are off the beaten path. I feel most fortunate to share the love we both feel for Mother Earth.
In processing the experience with him he explained that his work is on a cosmic level. That was why I felt I had been swept into the Universe.
     It is so amazing here and I feel like a magnet attracting teachers. I met two more people today who Carrie had wanted me to meet. One knows the plant medicines and the other will take me to a school where single mothers get paid directly for teaching Spanish. Already I am using simple common phrases whenever I get the opportunity.

December 16, 2009
 
      I got lost this morning trying to meet with Jesus. I wandered around for hours. Finally sat down on a tree root in a beautiful little forest.  I had my phone in my hand and five men approached me. Great, now I am going to get robbed. I Thought, and I quickly hid my phone.
     They could see that I was crying. Each one as they approached spoke kindly to me and either kissed my cheek or my hand. One offered me a branch from his pouch and said it was for altitude sickness. He held it to my nose and made a gesture that it would revitalize me. He said tranquillo and they continued on their way.
     The double arched rainbow this morning was without a drop of rain in two days. It lifted me and stayed for an hour.
     I am exhausted and raw and I can feel the shift happening in me now. This is what I prayed for and there is sweet kindness in the allowing. The course in miracles states, “In my defenselessness lies my strength.” I have a better understanding now.
     Good news. The ATM worked, I have a roof over my head for two months for $260, my belly is full and I am going to take a nap.
     Thanks for your loving prayers and support. Suz