Love & Light and everything bright...

FROM HAIKU, MAUI

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Back in Sacred Valley: More Sessions with Mountain Spirits

Days of Contemplation, Integration...

URUBAMBA, Peru, June 8 - I did not take any photos on our last day in the mountains, a downhill hike from our campsite at 11,700 ft, to the Urubamba valley near Ollantay Tambo, elevation about 8,900 ft.  They seemed superfluous.  We've said all that needed to be said; done all that was required of us to receive the Rites of Passage.  Any new pictures or ideas had to be hatched in our hearts and souls.  So we walked in silence.  Then sat quietly on grassy knoll above Ollantay Tambo as the horses passed us, carrying our bags and leftover supplies.  Some of us grazed on trail mix.  Others were still digesting the enormity of the experiences we had taken with us from the mountains.

Receiving the Rites of Passage meant that the Apus (mountain spirits) had given us "a kernel of gold or corn to feed our vision," as Jose Luis said in a subsequent discussion.  It was now up to us to do with it as our own vision guides us.  So there was much to contemplate and integrate...

After lunch and a short bus ride, we were back at our hotel in the Sacred Valley.  Much hugging at kissing.  The staff were happy to see us.  We had just enough time to take our bags to our rooms.  Then we were off to Maras again, for another session with the mountain spirits...

Conversations with Spirits, Session #3 [User ID/password required]

with Don Armando Salvatori, an Altomesayok, holding the sacred space

If you have lost or forgotten yours, or would like to request one, CLICK HERE (also see links to last year's Conversations with Spirits at the bottom of this page).

* * *

Back in Maras for More...

URUBAMBA, Peru, June 9 - The following morning, we were back at it again.  Before our next session with the mountain spirits, however, we had a group discussion while sitting in a circle on the Maras lawn.  Jose Luis spoke first...

He urged us to exercise "fluidity" as a state of being while we integrate the benefits of our Altomesayok journey and the Rites of Passage over the next 90 days or so.

"Do not spend much time with the broken ones in your life," he said.  "Bring them into your mesa (so the spirits can help them), but stick yourself to higher levels of energy."

"Right now, you are a magnet of great polarity," he added.  "You want to 'mate' your energy with people who are of similarly high caliber."

Our despachos are to maintain our ayni (alignment) with the Apus. Our mesas are now charged that can tap into the forces of the universe so we can do the healing without words.

Then Jose Luis asked an interesting rhetorical question:  "What's the symbology of your soul?"  The soul is timeless.  It exists beyond time, he added.

I asked a question that has been on my mind for a long time.  "Is there a finite number of souls in the universe?" (like an inventory in a soul warehouse from where the Creator picks the ones that are to have another run at getting rid of their karma in the three-dimensional world of this planet).

"There is a finite collective number," Jose Luis replied. 

I am not sure I am buying that answer.

Jose Luis then "passed the rattle," meaning gave each of us a chance to speak about our experiences so far. 

When my turn came, I said, "this was the hardest hike I have ever done.  But also the most beautiful," I added.  "And I especially want to honor the women among us.  There was no difference between men and women on the trail.  We were all pals.  We all grunted and pulled our weight equally.  So when Judy (an organizer/participant) said yesterday (at the end of our trek), 'this is a ladies' bus,' I said, 'no, this is everybody's bus'."

Other people also spoke from their hearts, some tearfully, others more somberly.  It was a moving recapitulation of our mountain experiences.  We all agreed that none of us have ever participated in a team endeavor that was as cohesive and loving as our group was.

Around noon, we went into another session with the mountain spirits, our fourth on this trip.  Jose Luis finally let me ask the personal question I have been holding back for a week  now.  I had the good fortune that Apu Huaskaran, a very talkative and very helpful mountain spirit, with lots of good practical advice, was "holding court" at the time.   So here's what I asked and how he answered it...

Conversations with Spirits, Session #4  [User ID/password required]

with Don Armando Salvatori, an Altomesayok, holding the sacred space

If you have lost or forgotten yours, or would like to request one, CLICK HERE (also see links to last year's Conversations with Spirits at the bottom of this page).

* * *

After that, Jose Luis sent us off to the hills above Maras to spend several hours in solo contemplation.  Three little Inca kids came over to where I was sitting and started to stare at me.  Of course, I could not concentrate on my meditation with them around.  So I told them, "no habla Espagnol," but that did not appease them nor made them go away.  Then I gave them a bag of trail mix. That did it.  They thanked my profusely before running off into a nearby gulch (left shot above).

When we returned to the Maras campus, we went into another session with the mountain spirits, this time with a new Altomesayok.

Conversations with Spirits, Session #5  [User ID/password required]

with Don Juanito, an Altomesayok, holding the sacred space

If you have lost or forgotten yours, or would like to request one, CLICK HERE (also see links to last year's Conversations with Spirits at the bottom of this page).

* * *

Back in Maras for More Spirit Sessions Yet...

URUBAMBA, Peru, June 10 - Today was the day we were leaving the Sacred Valley and returning to Cusco later this afternoon.  So the Runayay hotel staff lined up at the door to wish us goodbye.  I thought I had given them all hugs and said personal goodbyes before getting on the bus, but one of the women who worked at the reception was causing a bit of a commotion.

"Mr. Bob, Mr. Bob..." she was calling, knocking on the driver's window. 

"Hey Bob, here's another one of your girlfriends calling you," joked Maria, a shaman from Florida.

I laughed, then I got out and said goodbye with a hug to the receptionist as well.  It is interesting how good things seem to grow out of adversarial relationships.  Remember, this was the hotel at which we had not had the internet connection for almost 10 days.  At first, I had fussed and fumed for a day or so, before throwing in the towel and just going with the flow.  Ever since, we all had a marvelous time enjoying each other and the beautiful nature around us, rather than worrying about modern technology.

"A good lesson in it for all of us," I thought, as the bus drove away.

When we got to Maras later in the morning, we first sat on the lawn of the campus, our open air "classroom," and talked.  Jose Luis did most of it.  Since some of what he said was sort of personal to Don Juanito, the Altomesayok who was also with us ready to call the spirits for another session, I am treating that part of our dialogues as confidential as our conversations with the spirits.  So you can read about it in the following segment...

Conversations with Spirits, Session #6  [User ID/password required]

with Don Juanito, an Altomesayok, holding the sacred space

If you have lost or forgotten yours, or would like to request one, CLICK HERE (also see links to last year's Conversations with Spirits at the bottom of this page).

* * *

CHINCHERO, Peru, June 10, 2009, Noon - After Maras, we drove to Chinchero, a cute little  mountain village nestled around some enormous old Inca ruins and uacas at an elevation of over 12,000 ft.  We settled down around one of the uacas to eat lunch and talk some more.

This uaca is an altar to Sawasiray, a gorgeous mountain you can (barely) discern in the leftmost shot protruding through the clouds.  Sawasiray has two snow-covered split peaks at the top. 

"It is the Apu of the dreamers, visionaries," Jose Luis explained.  "It is anchored in the heavens."

The dry and dark Pitusiray, visible above in front of Sawasiray, is its complementary opposite.  It is connected to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth).

The conversation went on and on, but I had tuned out at one point.  This was our last day in the mountains. Tomorrow, I fly home.  "Yeah, I can't wait!" my heart shouted.  So while my body was still physically in the Andes, my heart and mind had already partially moved on.

I felt the same way when others stayed and prayed in the nearby Chinchero church (two right shots above - of a Black Madonna painting and a beautiful fresco ceiling).  I did light a candle and said a few prayers, but I can't honestly say that I my heart was really into them.  After all, we have been doing nothing but praying, meditating and hiking for 11 days now.  It's been wonderful, fulfilling, gratifying, uplifting... but now I felt I needed a change.

Later on the bus, I shared my feelings with another likeminded soul from our group who was seated next to me during our ride to Cusco.

"I am getting bored and am just going through the motions right now," I confessed.  "'Been there, done that' seems to be the way I feel.  We came to accomplish certain things.  We've done them now.  And now that chapter is over.  I am ready for the next one."

"And what's that?"

"Well, to get home, reconnect with Elizabeth and the land, and continue with my projects at the uaca/apucheto."

"To start with..." I added, thinking about all the "homework" the Apus have given us, especially me personally, with respect to waking up the volcano spirits and connecting them with those in the Andes.

My companion said she felt the same way.  She also had projects back home that awaited her return and attention. 

We also talked about the fact that this entire time, 12 days now, we have not had a single half-hour of personal time.  "I don't count meditations as private time," I said.  "That's part of our Altomesayok work."

She agreed.  We were both longing for the time we would drop our bags at our Cusco hotel and head into town.  I had a specific mission, too - to buy an Inca dress for Elizabeth. I had  talked to some of the women in our group who were fairly small about helping me do that by being my models to try on a dress.  But they all dematerialized by the time I was actually ready to do it.  And I only had about half an hour of free time before our next scheduled activity.

So I rushed to the store where I had seen these dresses before we headed out to the Holy Mountains.  I used one of the sales ladies as a model (two left shots).  Other staff and customers had fun watching our "fashion show" before I actually chose "the one."  Well, I apparently did well, as you can see from the two right shots, taken at the Rainbow Shower (name of our property), the night I arrived home from Peru. 

Elizabeth was very happy with her gifts.  She was surprised, though, at how heavy the dress is.  You can see the skirt standing up on its own in the rightmost picture. 

"That's because it's very cold in the Andes," I explained.  Look at how bundled up the girl looked who was acting as my model in Cusco.

* * *

That evening, we went by bus to Dona Alejandrina's house in Cusco where we had our seventh and final session with the mountain spirits.  My brain was fried and my body exhausted when we sat down on wooden benches in the little dark room to which the spirits come.  I thought I'd be just going through the motions. 

And then a miracle happened.  When Apu Huaskaran started talking, my tiredness drained away like nighttime chill under a morning sun.  It was by far the most valuable of all sessions we've had.  And it went on for a long time.  Apu Huaskaran stayed on until all our questions were exhausted.

At one point, Jose Luis was trying to bring our conversation to a close. 

"I am getting the impression that Jose Luis is in a hurry," Apu Huaskaran chided our leader.  "You should see his face now," he added.  "It is purple."

We all laughed.  The conversation went on.  You can read about it in the confidential section of the web site...

Conversations with Spirits, Session #7  [User ID/password required]

with Don Juanito, an Altomesayok, holding the sacred space

If you have lost or forgotten yours, or would like to request one, CLICK HERE (also see links to last year's Conversations with Spirits at the bottom of this page).

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

Here are the links to last year's (2008) dialogues with the Apus:

Day 6:  Visit to Chinchero (Maras, July 3, 2008); Conversations with Spirits #1  [user ID, password required]

Day 7:  Ollantay Tambo, Wakai Willke (Maras, July 4, 2008); Conversations with Spirits #2  [user ID, password required]

Day 8:   Basilica of Señor Huanca (Maras, July 5, 2008); Conversations with Spirits #3  [user ID, password required]

TO BE CONTINUED...

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