I have been studying the Inka Medicine Wheel for the past year with a dedicated and inspiring tribe. Several months ago we had the honor of hosting a Pampamesayok Shaman from the high Andes of Peru. Q’ero elder, don Juan Gabriel Apaza Lunasco came to Tucson to do ceremony and teachings with our aspiring tribe of Shamans. I was lucky enough to get to share in a short conversation with him through his translator about some of the key differences between our cultures. Don Juan Gabriel speaks a blend of Spanish, Portuguese and Quechua. His traveling companion Caroline, translated for him and for us in turn.
Don Juan Gabriel asked me specifically why I thought Americans were filled with so much self-doubt and mistrust of self and of others. He said the presence of these feelings were not only tangible, but in certain places inhibitive and even oppressive. He wanted to know why these feelings are so prevalent here. I thought for a moment about where does our self-doubt originate and my mind scrolled quickly through my life at every age and the lives of those I know and love. I realized that many of us may not have actively chosen this, but developed it as a defense mechanism.
I replied that from the moment we arrive here we are tested and questioned and required to prove ourselves. Tested as to whether we deserve to be in the right class or on the right team.Constantly asked to prove our credentials, our prerequisites, our heritage, our background, our training, our sources for any shred of information we may possess. We have to acquire the right licenses and permits for nearly everything we do. In the “Land of the Free” nothing is actually free; no one lives anywhere in the U.S. unless they or someone on their behalf has paid for their space, and their food and all the resources they need on a daily basis.
I shared just that much, but my mind continued racing to all number of other ramifications from prolonged exposure to this cultural tendency while Caroline translated my response. I thought about how so few people just sit down together to converse and simply share ideas and observations, instead our meetings, engagements and social interactions all have to have a predescribed purpose or useful function. Or, how when anyone does want to share their vision, they are expected to provide data and accurate predictions for applications and an annotated list of socially acceptable research documents, instead of just purely inspired gifts of the imagination.
Caroline had finished speaking and don Juan Gabriel was replying, looking and talking directly to me and holding my hand. I knew I would need everything translated to me by Caroline, but I really felt that I was already receiving the physical energy of his words and the information in them. I felt a calmness that seemed to have always been calm and I felt a great openness and hopefulness in my heart. I would learn later that much of the Quechua language had this exact sort of--for lack of a better term--musical quality to it… the sound of the words resonated vibrationally with the spirit or meaning of the words. He stopped speaking and Caroline translated, but he continued to look at me and hold my hand while I heard the English version.
He had said that in his home for every generation as far back as anyone could remember, each group of elders had cleared and cleaned all of their own hucha (heavy energies or, by our standards, maybe negative karma) and given it as a gift to the Earth to be composted and returned to balance. Then they had created a reverent space to receive the next generation. They had dreamed and imagined and therefore created a sacred and honored space of hopefulness and expectation to accept the gifts and wisdom and new medicine of the incoming generation with open hearts. With gratitude and with great love, they gather these gifts and integrate them into the community.
We all three smiled at each other, breathed deeply with a sigh that clearly said, “I see” and then laughed for a moment. Don Juan Gabriel thanked me and I thanked him, but it was only a seed he had given me to meditate on for a while. Where here we seem to be saying to each other and our young people, “Prove right now why you think you have any right to be here!!”; the Q’ero are saying, “Here you are, finally, we have waited for all of time just for you to arrive. Thank you for coming, we are deeply honored that you are here!” The vast difference is almost too great to fathom. The impact of how you might respond to the world and how you would feel about yourself and others had you known that kind of acceptance is astounding to even consider. Maybe we could try to just a little. Remind our families that simply their existence is the greatest gift we have ever received. Arrive at a meeting with a friend with no other agenda than pure gratitude for some time to interact with them. Love our children for exactly who they are in this moment, not as what we may think we want them to become. Walk into any situation with an open heart and an open mind waiting to see what gift it will bring. Breathe in deeply and feel yourself belonging, here, in this sacred place of honor.
