Back in the early 2000s, the then very young paqo Fredy “Puma” Quispe Singona came to stay with me in North Carolina. During his multi-week visit, he shared this “journeying” technique with me. I now pass it on to you. Traditionally, you need to have chunpi stones (formally called mullu khuyas) for this practice. However, since everything in our practice is intention, if you don’t have chunpi stones, you simply can find a stone that is shaped like a triangle or dome, or that has a single protrusion that is mountain-like. Work with the stone, connecting it to a mountain or apu that you feel a relationship with. Build that relationship and connection for a week or so before doing this journeying practice. When you feel ready, use the stone as outlined below for the journey.

1. Choose one of the chunpis, then choose a particular protrusion on that chunpi to represent an apu. The apu is your oracle, the sage who offers counsel and insight for you, and the activating energy of the universe and your connection to your wisdom self. (You don’t have to actually identify that apu by name. It can be a generic apu, one that in the course of the journey will reveal its identity to you. Even if it doesn’t, intend that this apu become an oracle for you.)

 

2. Hold the chunpi stone in your right hand and raise it toward hanaq pacha. Draw the energy of the hanaqpacha/upper world down into the stone.

 

3. Bring your left hand up to heart level and transfer the chunpi to your left hand, receiving the energy it contains to establish a connection between the Spirit World and yourself here in the kaypacha. Then infuse the stone and energy connection (seqe or cord of connecting energy) with your munay.

 

4. Silently invoke the apu, making the following the request, as apus need to be invited in by you and asked for counsel: Ask the apu through the power of munay to awaken in you all of your power and to counsel you on how to integrate your power to flower in the best way possible in this lifetime. Then follow the procedure below.

 

5. Hold the stone at your seventh eye (middle of your forehead) and ask the apu to introduce or identify itself. It may or may not provide a specific name. Just be open and receive.

 

6. Move the stone to your qolqe chunpi/throat and ask the apu to communicate with you, providing insights about your personal history and offering counsel about the way you can best express yourself in this life.

 

7. Move the stone to your qori chunpi/heart and ask the apu to reveal to you how you are not fully loving or honoring yourself, and ask for counsel about what shifts you have to make to heal any parts of yourself that cannot fully embrace munay.

 

8. Move the stone to the puka chunpi/qosqo and ask the apu to tell you how you are leaking or wasting your personal power and ask for counsel about how you can heal this aspect of yourself

 

9. Move the stone to the yana chunpi/root/base of spine and ask the apu to reveal how you can better connect to your mission in this lifetime and to counsel you about how to accumulate the personal power to take action to live that mission.

 

10. Move the stone to the uma/crown of your head and thank the apu for being your ally and counselor. Ask the apu for any further words of advice or insight.

 

11. Touch the stone to the earth to end the journey.

Note: I will be in Peru for most of August, so there will be no further posts on this blog site until after my return.