An account of an initiation into
ancient Andean spiritual traditions
during which we learn to tap into
and work with the natural energies
of the earth and the universe.
Hatun Karpay Initiation in Peru
PAGE TWO
THE ANDEAN PERSPECTIVE OF
THE ENERGETIC UNIVERSE
In the Inkan and Andean traditions, the shaman/priests view energies as simply either heavy or light - and don't indulge in perceiving energies as "good vs bad," as we in the Western civilization have been taught to do. In the Andean cosmology, judgements are kept out of the energy exchanges, which can then take place in a much more natural fashion.
Humans, being rather more inventive than other species, also have added/created what's called hoocha - the heavy energies of fear, anger, etc. Juan says that animals don't generate hoocha, only humans do! So in addition to learning to absorb and exchange heavy and light energies, the 4th level priest learns to "eat" human hoocha as a service to other humans and to the earth and all of her other residents.
The following article on the Seven Principles of Andean Mysticism gives an excellent summary of this ancient tradition's perspectives:
Reprinted here with permission.
1) The world is made up of an infinite number of different kinds of living energies. Buildings, cities, rocks, trees, mountains, and humans are all made of living energy, possess a poq'po--bubble of living energy--and are all interdependent parts of this great energy universe.
2) This energy universe is governed by the law of Ayni (pronounced I-knee) meaning sacred reciprocity. If you receive you must give, and if you give, you will receive. This is the one rule or law of the Inka tradition.
3) In this energy universe there exists no negative or positive energy, only heavier energy--hoocha--and more refined energy--sami. All energy is useful if it is in right place.
4) The physical body is a microcosm of the earth. In the world of living energies there is no subject/object distinction. No difference between you and the mountain, once you connect energy bubbles.
5) Human beings are made in the image of the Pachamama. Therefore, just like Pachamama, we have a spiritual stomach--qosqo--to eat and digest living energies. This is our organ of interaction with the world of living energies, our organ of intention. Through gaining control of our qosqo we direct energies where they need to go, to harmonize not only ourselves but our environment.
6) Health, in Andean terms, means being in harmony within ourselves and within our environment. This means being in harmony with all the living beings and living energies around us, including nature and the invisible world. Illness reflects a disharmony within ourselves and our world.
7) Enlightenment is for everyone. It is a natural product of the complete unfoldment of the three human powers: the power of the heart--munay, the power of the body--llanqay, and the power of the mind--yachay.
To read another explanation of the Andean energetic perspective of the universe, click here.
The rituals for this 10-day Hatun Karpay initiation were passed on to Juan from his master, don Benito Qoriwaman. But unlike us, don Benito made Juan study for 10 years before receiving the Hatun Karpay initiation!
First Juan taught us how to "open" our "bubbles," his term for auras (Quechua = kausay poq'po), to receive the finer energies. This we did in the main cathedral of Cuzco, called simply La Catedral! (This is where Juan's master had started his Hatun Karpay initiation, too!)
We sat through a Mass conducted in German for a large group of German tourists, but the locals, some Japanese and other groups attended also. Behind the altar is a large cruxifix of a Black Christ--believe it or not, it's a power place! So we received masculine sami (refined energies) from that and then feminine sami from a painting of the Virgin Mary at the front entrance of the cathedral.
Then we turned a corner and one by one, touched a large stone "egg," the Khuya of Wiracocha, releasing our heavy energies into it. This stone reminded me somewhat of the lingam stones from India. It is considered very sacred, a love-gift from Wiracocha, one of the affectionate titles for the nameless mystical God-Creator of all that is.
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After this we boarded our small private bus, masterfully driven by Eddie. Juan took us to various power places in and around the Cuzco environs--and led us in something like 12-14 rituals those first 2 days. These rituals formed the core of the actual 4th level initiations.
Juan used his mesa, a cloth-covered bundle containing his power objects, to "open" the energy centers at the base of our spines, navels, hearts and the tops of our heads. (He added the throat centers a day or so later. These are the physical body's energy centers that the priests of the Andean tradition work with.)
At a place near the ruins of Q'enko, we did a ritual where Juan and his assistant, Juan Hector Murillo whom we called Juanito to differentiate between them, used their mesas to cleanse our auras. They had taken us to a large rock altar, the Illia Pata or Platform of Light, set at about head height in the cleavage between some huge boulders. One at a time, both Juans went to the altar rock and "charged" their mesas, then approached each of us and did the ritual cleansing.
I'd had my eyes closed for part of this, but after a few minutes opened them and watched Juan approach the altar. I noticed it had a thick layer of blue light above it! When Juan placed his mesa against the altar, from the center of the blue light sprang forth a red cone of energy, perhaps about a foot high! As soon as Juan left the altar, this cone disappeared. Juanito then approached the altar with his mesa and again the red cone of light appeared! Each time either of the Juans approached the altar, the red cone appeared! I saw no auras around any of the other boulders or rocks.
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From there we went to several other places. In one, the two Juans gave us each 3 coca leaves and assigned us each a particular apu or mountain spirit to connect with energetically and ask for its energies and assistance. When I connected with 'my' apu, I actually felt the 'cup' of my qosqo extend way far away from my body as it reached out to the apu. After each of us had done this, Juan and our group watched while Juanito put our groups of coca leaves, k'intus, on a square piece of paper, and arranged them around a shell (feminine energies) and a cross (masculine energies). Our energies were in the coca leaves, whose energies Juan said the apus liked. Then Juan wrapped up the k'intus, cross and shell into a despacho, an offering packet to the apus.
In other rituals, we'd expand our auras to connect with various natural energies of each area and then pull them back into their normal configurations. When I pulled my aura back, it felt like my body was standing in the center of an energetic torus, a football-shape with a hollow center. The energies came back into me down this center and out and up the outer edges of my aura. Several times I actually felt the energies of these 12 apus looking down upon us, these powerful mountain spirits who surround the Sacred Valley in which Cuzco lies and with whom the Andean priest/shamans have been working for centuries.
Finally we took our despacho back to the Illia Pata altar and Juanito constructed a fire on a lower rock. As he did this, I looked at the rock altar over which I'd seen the blue light and red cone--but this time I saw what looked like vertical strands of light golden energies rising like sinuously waving weeds from the rock! Juanito burned the despacho as an offering to the apus we'd worked with that day. As the fire burned the despacho, the strands of energy on top of the altar rose higher, like leaping weeds. These energies continued to issue from the Illia Pata, even when Juan climbed upon it and received each of us up there.
In this ceremony or ritual, called the Ayni Karpay, we learned how to do a reciprocal exchange of energies which is a very important aspect of Andean cosmology. Juan told us to fix in our minds and 'bubbles' the greatest experience of our lives. When we had this experience firmly and energetically in our 'bubbles,' one at a time, we climbed up on the Illia Pata.) We placed our hands atop Juan's head and attempted to transmit to him as much of these energy-experiences as possible. Then Juan placed his own hands on our heads and transmitted his energetic experience to us.
I'd had a hard time deciding on one experience, so when I got up to Juan, a whole bunch of them came pouring out of me - and I hoped, into him! I felt energies from him, but had no visual impressions.
On that same day, Juan had told us at one point to go hug a tree! We were in a small grove of eucalyptus trees (lots of eucalyptus have been planted all over the Altiplano and other areas of Peru--the eucalypts can survive almost any conditions) and each of us picked one of these very tall trees, hugged it, then exchanged energies with the tree and asked its assistance to contact our genetic ancestors (not our past-life selves) and see what they had to say to us.
I saw a bunch of men's faces come one right after another. I then asked where were the women. So then I got a woman's face beside each man's face. These were ancestors that I'd never known. When I asked what message they had for me, they all wanted to know why I was ashamed of them! They were upset with me! This really hit me in the gut!
My background is German (Hessian) and all the British Isles--all war-like peoples who were 'into' conquering, controlling, squabbling, etc. For some time I'd been feeling ashamed of how my ancestors roamed the world, making life miserable for the peoples they subdued.
So suddenly I realized that here I'd been judging them and finding them lacking in a set of values I've adopted that were contrary to the values they had when incarnated. And I realized also that I can never ever expect to rise to the level of being able to love humans unconditionally as long as I hold back from loving my own ancestors! I must learn to drop all judgements--
Well, WOW! What a big load of hoocha that was! So I forgave myself and then asked my ancestors for forgiveness, which they granted immediately. Then they said that they approved of what I was doing, that I seem to be finding a different way from the things they'd tried that they now realize weren't the things they'd choose to do, were they incarnated now! They asked me to keep on being aware of and dropping my value judgements and exploring ways to cooperate instead of control and assimilate, the way they'd done in the past.
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Later on the bus back to our hotel, I told Juan that I'd seen the aura of the Illia Pata and how it had changed. He lit up with pleasure that I'd seen evidence of how rocks (and other natural objects) interact with humans and their intentions. I was directly perceiving a small part of the energetic universe--the kausay pacha.
During our travels around the Cuzco area these first two days, we heard a very noisy flock of birds approaching. Although we couldn't see them yet, Juan smiled. And when the flock came into sight, he told us that he was very pleased to see that the lowland parrots had returned to the Cuzco area. He said they used to show up every spring and stay until fall when they'd retreat further down toward the jungle. But for the past seven or eight years, they hadn't shown up! We saw and heard several other flocks, but they were all traveling high up against the bright sky, making it impossible for our eyes to get even a hint of any color or size.
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Index ~
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2 ~
3 ~
4 ~
5 ~
6 ~
Rainbow Rock
7 ~
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12 ~
Travel Tips
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15 ~
Links 2 ~
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17 ~
18
19 - Musings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Florence W. Deems
© February, 1999;
revised May, 2002; November, 2002;
May, 2003; March, 2004; February, 2008;
September, 2008; July, 2010; July, 2012
March, 2014
August, 2016, all rights reserved
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