“You may not feel outstandingly robust, but if you are an average-sized adult you will contain within your modest frame no less than 7 X 10^18 joules of potential energy—enough to explode with the force of thirty very large hydrogen bombs, assuming you knew how to liberate it and really wished to make a point.”
―Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything

How’s that quotation for a statement of your energy potential! You have the force of 30 hydrogen bombs within! Bryson is talking about the energy contained within your physical body. When you add in your poq’po, your potential energy is unlimited.  In the Andean mystical tradition, you learn how to both liberate and harness your “personal power,” but Bryson’s question remains: What “point” do you wish to make through your energy exchanges?

In other words, Why are you a paqo?

Have you ever asked yourself this question, never mind definitively answered it?  I mean, what’s the point of choosing to practice this tradition if you have not ever wondered, “Why this and not that?”

Without at least meditating upon this question, you are likely following a whim, because there can be no commitment to that which you don’t consciously choose. Practicing as a paqo presupposes not only having a commitment but also following through on it.

It’s perfectly okay if you are exploring the mystical terrain. A little Andean romp today, a foray into Buddhism tomorrow, a detour into Celtic magic next week. Roaming the inner landscape without a map or destination can be fun, and occasionally it’s even useful. It’s perfectly desirable to satisfy your spiritual and metaphysical curiosity. But making a commitment is making a point. You expect a result. And you undertake that practice to benefit from that result.

So what’s the point of your Andean practice?

If you don’t have one, you might want to spend some time deciding upon one. Or two or three. . . .

If I had to declare one overall goal of the tradition, I would say it is:

• Perceiving, experiencing, and become a master of your energy body so that you can direct your intentions to drive energy consciously and with predictable outcomes.

Encapsulated in this thematic statement are all the subgoals of the tradition:

• Learning ayni (reciprocity), which is the organizing force of the universe.
• Consciously evolving to become a more fully realized (enlightened) human being.
• Fostering well-being in your own life and in the lives of others. Living with greater joy, health, creativity, awareness and whatever else you deem necessary to your well-being.

If we reduce each of these statements down to a single word, it would be ayni. Ayni is the “golden rule” of the universe and, thus, of human life. Don Benito Qoriwaman said that we don’t have to wonder what Christ will say to us when he returns in the Second Coming. We know what he will say because the metaphysical God has always given humankind the same message no matter what guise he takes when he makes a physical appearance in our world. That message is ayninaquichis, or “Practice ayni.” Making ayni is not only a results-driven materialistic undertaking, but a spiritual pursuit and an energetic practice.

Ayni is an energy exchange. Energy is driven by intention. So we come full circle back to the question of what “point” you want to make in your practice—of the Andean tradition or any other mystical or spiritual tradition. I can’t answer that question for you, but I do urge you to spend some time thinking about it. Here are some questions to help you drill down to your underlying desires:

• Why did you choose the Andean tradition over other traditions?
• How committed are you to the practices of this path?
• What results do you expect from your practice? Your intentions drive energy, so examine if your intentions are coming to fruition.
• Are you experiencing those results? If not, why not?
• What in yourself and your life is still “heavy?”
• If there is hucha (heaviness) in yourself or your life, where is it coming from? What are you doing about it?
• What in yourself or your life is “light”?
• If there is sami (lightness) in your life, where is it coming from? What are you doing to maintain or increase it? Where else do you want to bring that light?
• What about the tradition or its practices don’t you understand? Where can you find answers to your questions? Do you trust the answers?
• What are the most compatible (masintin) relationships and energy flows in your life?
• What are the most incompatible (yanantin) relationships and energy flows in your life?
• Is there hucha around the yanantin relationships and energy flows? If so, what can you do to get that stuck energy going again? Do you know the practices that can help?
• How are you consciously evolving? If you track the evolution of the self, what are the most significant changes you have experienced? What within you or your life is not evolving? Do you know what to do to re-energetize your inner evolutionary process?
• Do you have an ayllu (community) to share your practice with? If not, how can you create one?

These are only a few of the many questions you can ask yourself about the “point” of your practice. At the launch of this new year, I invite you to do some internal housekeeping about your Andean practice and your life in general. The benefits can be enormous not only for you, but, since we are all connected energetically, for your family, community and the world as well.