In the Andes, as in many wisdom traditions, there is a saying that “As above, so below.” In the Andes, one of the ways this plays out is in the mirroring of the pachas outside the self with the pachas within the self.

The kawsay pacha is partitioned into three worlds or pachas (spheres of space-time): the hanaqpacha, the upper world that is a sphere of perfect ayni; the kay pacha, the human world where we both do and do not practice ayni; and the ukhupacha, an inner or lower world that is a place of regeneration for those who did not practice ayni well in life. Did you know that you have these three worlds within yourself as well?

Actually, you have the whole universe inside yourself. But specifically, within your poq’po—your energy bubble—you have a personal hanaqpacha, which is the space above your head but within your bubble; a kaypacha, which extends from the top of your physical head to the soles of your physical feet; and a ukhupacha, which is the space beneath your feet but within your bubble.

As my teacher Juan Nuñez del Prado so elegantly explains, you have within your bubble the world without and the world within. Don Benito’s work—the right-side, mystical, yachay-focused work—is concerned with the universe outside yourself, the God without. Don Melchor’s left-side, magical, and llank’ay-focused work is concerned with the universe within yourself , the God within. The chaupi work of don Andres Espinosa is about generating and being self-sufficient in munay, which is the human power of the kaypacha and integrates all three pachas into a whole.

Another name for the Andean God—Wiraqocha—is Hatun Taqe Wiraqocha, which means the Great Joiner God. God is present in all things and suffuses all level of the kawsay pacha and Pachamama (material world). In my last blog post, I spoke about your poq’po as being yours alone, that no one—not even God—can enter your bubble unless you invite He/She/It in. If you have done that, then it will be worth your while to consider being like God and being a Great Joiner. In this case, that means bringing coherence to the three pachas within yourself as a next step up the qanchispatañan—the Stairway of the Seven Steps of Consciousness. This involves doing the work of taqe—joining your personal pachas. Once you do, this joining can lead to an even greater energetic state—that of taqa, or expansion. Taqa is an opening to the greater reality of your Inka Seed, which encodes your mission here on Earth and in your human life, and links you to your divine origin.

I can’t, of course, go into the work of taqe and taqa here, but I can suggest an energetic exercise to help you realize the energetic reality of your three pachas and begin to integrate them. This work is done through a seqe, a cord of energy. The following exercise is adapted to this blog post as a way to get you started. It is a way to begin to perceive your inner pachas and bring coherence to them in relation to your entire poq’po and being.

One way, among many, to think of your personal hanaqpacha is as your higher self. You can perceive it as the pacha linked to the energy of your Inka Seed that is your purest energetic state, which is one of perfect ayni. It is your potentiality as an enlightened being. It is your spirit, your divinity.

Your personal kaypacha is your human self, your karpay (your capacity for personal power at the current time), your state of consciousness, and your level of integrity in living the capacities of your chunpis (qaway—mystical knowing; rimay—integrity of the power of speech; kanay—knowing who you really are; munay; khuyay—action and living with passionate engagement; atiy—brining impulse under your will, measuring your personal power, and right timing).

Your personal ukhupacha is your interior self, from your conscious effort to live with ayni to your unconscious shadow, which is where you hide from yourself by stuffing all the ways you do not own yourself.

The first part of the exercise is to spend time touching in with the energy of the three pachas of your bubble. Simply touch the pachas one at a time with an intention of discerning them, perceiving their state. Are they available to you? Are they hidden from you? Are you comfortable in each? Just sit with whatever you feel and perceive. This is a process of discovery. It is an invitation to get to know yourself and your poq’po better—touching in with non-judgmental curiosity. Don’t rush the process of getting to know yourself!

When you are ready, move to this second part of the exercise, which involves performing an energetic taqe—joining—of your three pachas by using a seqe, a cord of energy. It is a cord of love for the self.

• Bring your attention to your Inka Seed.
• Using your intention, extend a glowing cord of energy—of munay—from your Inka Seed up through the middle of your body and out the top of your head until it reaches the inside top of your bubble. Infuse your personal hanaqpacha with this munay.
• Bring your attention back to your Inka Seed. Using intention, extend a cord of energy—of munay—down through the middle of your body, out your body between your legs, and down into the bottom of you bubble. Flow munay through this seqe from your Inka Seed to infuse your personal ukhupacha with love.
• Bring your attention back to your Inka Seed. Perceive the cord extending up and the cord extending down from it. See those two cords merge inside your Inka Seed, making one single cord of munay that flows through your entire bubble from top to bottom. Now feel munay flowing from your Inka Seed up and down this cord through your personal kaypacha—from the top inside of your skull to the bottom soles of your feet. Feel the munay filling your physical body, your personal kaypacha.
• Soften your intention, sit in your bubble, which is now full of munay, and perceive the totality of the three pachas within as fully joined by a seqe of munay, seamlessly and holistically suffused with munay.
• Soften your focus and end the exercise.

You may or may not feel yourself moving from taqe (joined) to taqa (expanded) by the end of the exercise. Once you have joined your three personal pachas and brought this coherence to your energy body, you can take time each week to reinforce this joining, and over time you will eventually feel the flowering of the self—the expansion that is taqa. As I have written about in past blog posts, as paqos we seek to become like flowers in the garden of Wiraqocha, attracting the hummingbird to drink from our munay nectar. This is an exercise that can help you to become such a flower.