In my last post I urged you to live your grandeur. Sounds good, but I know—and you know— that is easier said than done. So I’d like to explore that topic more in this post.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover.

– Mark Twain

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

The trouble is, most of us hear sentiments like this, feel their truth, resolve to take action, and then go right back to doing what we’ve always done and being who we have always been.

We live in such small worlds.

There’s no need to. There’s a whole universe of possibility for each of us, but we choose to tread circles through the same familiar terrain until we’ve made ruts instead of, like Huck Finn, kicking the gate of the self open and lighting out for the territory.

I had a coaching call the other day with a gentlemen who faced just such a dilemma. He’s quite an accomplished professional. He’s smart, and even wise. He is self-aware and articulate. One hour into our conversation, after yet another bout of intellectualizing what was going on in his life, he broke down in tears. We were quiet for a few long minutes, and then I told him what he already knew. “That was the most real moment we have had in our conversation.” He agreed.

The gate to his heart had unexpectedly burst open. The voice of his soul was declaring that no, despite all his seemingly astute analysis, the structure of this incredible life he had constructed for himself was not built from the bricks of his true nature.

I don’t know what choices he ultimately will make. He just wanted to talk, and has not committed to further coaching. But my prayer is that he will acknowledge that his heart and soul were literally crying out to him. As I told him, “This is a seminal moment in your life. Don’t mistake it. Don’t miss it. Don’t dismiss it.” He let me talk for quite a while, offering some insight, and then he thanked me and ended the call a bit abruptly. I have no way of knowing if that haste was about his closing the gate on what those tears revealed or about his eagerness to listen deeply. One thing I do know—his choice about what do will make all the difference to the rest of his life.

We all have such at-the-edge-of-the-cliff moments.  I know I have had plenty of them, and quite a few around Peru. I won’t go into them, except to say that one thing the Andean tradition has taught me is that “spirituality” both descends from the heavens and grows up from the dirt. We grow our Inka Seed using both sun and soil. It’s not that our heads are always wrong and our hearts are always right. It’s that we tend to listen—and live—too often in mono instead of stereo.

If there is one thing a paqo learns, it’s that there’s an overabundance of kawsay. We can take all we want. It’s troubling that most of us take so little of the life energy available to us.

There’s a story Juan told from one of his trips about kawsay. His group was ending an exhausting day at the Cave of the Moon. It’s a long hike down and a long hike back up. But the challenge was made worse because Juan had lost track of time and they had only one hour to get back to the bus. The hike up would take at least that long. One older woman in the group was especially worried. She didn’t think she could make it. Was she ever surprised when Juan told her she would be at the front of the line of hikers, setting the pace. She panicked further upon hearing that. Then Juan explained that she would have help. As she climbed she should pull kawsay up from the earth and into her poq’po. And everyone in the line behind her would be feeding kawsay to the person in front of them, all the way up the line to her. She would have a ton of kawsay helping her climb.

She took the lead, skeptical. But it worked. They made the climb with plenty of time to spare. Needless to say, the hike was a moment of truth for that woman. What she found inside of herself was beyond her expectations, and she found it with the help of the kawsay from the heavens above and from the dirt and stone beneath her feet. She also found the kawsay within herself and as a gift from the community.

The lesson, the inspiration, is that if we all drank freely from the kawsay pacha within, without, above and below, then exploring, dreaming, discovering, and living who we really are—as our grandest self—would be the norm, not the exception. When we feel the tears or fears—the eruption of our true self rising up from the shadow of the self—we would not ignore or dismiss that call, but catch the trade winds and set sail!

You are so much more than you may think you are. You are so much more than others may think you are. Your grandeur is beyond your most exaggerated imagining. The world needs you—and it needs the grandest you possible.

“These are the times. We are the people.” This is how Jean Huston puts it when referring to the conscious evolution of humanity.

As a transformational coach and a teacher and practitioner of the Andean mystical tradition, I second Jean’s statement, and I up the ante by asking you to own your grandeur.

Nearly thirty years ago I wrote a long poem, the ending of which I have taken to be my life’s motto (although in practice the feeling of the “need to know” has become  the more conscious “choose to live”)

I need to know my life sparks light

and that my fleeting dance across the dark

sends a shower of shooting stars

quivering like a kiss

along the universal spine.

I repeat this to myself during those inevitable times when I get small and stuff myself back in the box. It’s my mantra, my song, my call of the wild to break out again, kick up my heels, whirl like a banshee, and sing at the top of my rock-star lungs that I am here, in the world, and I not only matter but the world needs me! No one can bring what I can to the world. Just as no one can bring what you can to the world. We are each a necessary, vital, and irreplaceable part of the kawsay pacha. That is what the Andean mystical tradition teaches. That is why we are paqos, and I urge you to not forget it.

The goal of our work is conscious evolution. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” That process of deep inner and outer change is engendered by our refining our energy body and growing our Inka Seed, which is our connection to the Mystery from which we came and to which one day we will return. Our most sacred ayni is to return to the Mystery more fully realized than when we came to this Earth. By growing grander selves, we contribute—each and every one of us—to the rise of the New Humanity and the dawning of a New Age.

If you are a paqo with any other goal, let it go! Resolve right this minute to settle deep and comfortably into the heart of the tradition, a heart that pumps the blood of you and me and him and her through the veins of the universal body.

The Andean energy work both empowers you and strips you to the bone. It helps you to discover who you really are. But to see your true self you first have to peel away the many disguises you have acquired throughout your life—the disguise of less than, not good enough,  not worthy, false modesty . . . And also the disguises of conceit, arrogance, judgment, exclusivity . . .

The other day someone reminded me of a story Juan Nuñez del Prado told at one of his trainings. I have heard this story many times, but had forgotten it. Hearing it again inspired this post. It goes something like this:

When he was a relatively new apprentice to don Benito Qoriwaman, Juan went to the marketplace in Cuzco and bought a poncho and some traditional Inka clothing. He showed up at don Benito’s in his new garb, looking like a proper Andean paqo. He sat outside the little adobe building that served as don Benito’s clinic, waiting for don Benito to call on him to assist in the healings. This was their normal procedure, and usually Juan was continually being called upon to assist. On this day, hours went by with no summons. Don Benito walked by Juan many times but didn’t so much as acknowledge his presence. Juan was extremely patient. But by afternoon, he was angry. Why was don Benito ignoring him? Finally, out of exasperation, Juan stopped don Benito the next time he walked by and said, “Master, I have been here all day, waiting for you to call me to assist. Why have you ignored me?” Don Benito looked surprised, like he barely recognized this man before him. All he said was, “I did not know I had an Indian apprentice.”

Juan got the message. Be yourself. Don’t try to look and act like someone you are not. Don’t put on a disguise, because the world needs the real you.

Fredy “Puma” Quispe Singona tells the story of a paqo who goes into a cave overnight during an initiation. Many spirits arrive, and they ask him, “Who are you?” He replies with his name. They ask again, “Who are you?” He thinks for a moment, then replies by giving his parents’ names and saying he is their son. Still the spirits are not satisfied and ask again, “Who are you?” He gets an inspiration and eagerly declares, “I am a paqo.” Again, his answer in unsatisfactory. Finally, the spirits tell him, “See, even you sometimes do not know who you really are. But we know.”

Spirit always already knows. Now it’s up to you to “know thyself.” It might not be easy. But when you do, I am confident you will find that you are a wondrous being through and through. Are you ready to show up in the world as who you really are?

Sometimes, metaphorically speaking, we feel like our hands are tied. Like we are moving through life without our full capacities. We know we are capable of more, but we just can’t seem to manifest our intentions fully.  The way to free ourselves from restrictions is to refine the state of our energy bubble, our poq’po.

According to the Andean mystical tradition, your only true possession is your poq’po. It alone is yours. No one can infiltrate your energy bubble without your permission, so you are solely responsible for its condition.

There are no excuses in the Andean tradition! And there’s no free lunch. . .

When heavy energy accumulates on the skin of your bubble—because of your own perceptions, beliefs, emotions, actions—you perform saminchakuy to cleanse it. This is an energy technique driven purely by personal intention. The Andeans may have been unique in that they developed a tradition of the sacred arts that relies purely on intention to influence the kawsay pacha. With your intention alone, you can “play” in the infinite field of living energy. Intention is at the heart of all Andean ceremony, from healing to making despachos to energetically connecting/communicating with other human beings or the spirits.  To do anything in this tradition, you need only your own energy. You don’t need a misha, a kint’u, a ritual, a magical song or incantation, a feather or crystal—only your focused intention.

Your poq’po, however, is not some blob of energy. It is a highly structured energy body. It has an inside, an outside, and a skin, just as your physical body does. The inside of your poq’po, like your body, also has a structure, but a purely energetic one. The chunpis are four main belts (throat, chest/heart, belly, base of spine/pubic area), with the two physical eyes and third eye making up a quasi fifth belt. The energy concentrated at each of these belts has its own potentiality, its own particular capacities that you can express in your life.

Although these belts are associated with colors and elements, these are not really important. What are more important are the potentials that can be expressed by intentionally developing and then using the energy of each chunpi. For example, the qolqe chunpi, at the throat, is silver and is associated with wind, and sometimes with the moon. But the energetic capacity of this belt is rimay, the ability to express who you really are, to speak with the authority of personal experience, to conceptualize holistically so that you simultaneously see the whole and the details of a situation, and more. Each belt also has an eye, a ñawi, that is an opening through which you “see” the world according to the capacities of the particular chunpi.

But each chunpi also has an energetic cone within it. For all the chunpis, the large opening of the cone is at the front of the body, and the point, or root, of the cone is at the back, toward the spine. The exception is the lower belt, the yana chunpi, where the cone has the larger opening at the back and the point at the front of the body. There is a long, involved saminchakuy (and at some of the chunpis, saiwachakuy) practice in which you cleanse each chunpis through these cones, running energy through them, and then weaving the chunpis together with each other and with your spine, even projecting energy out of their ñawis to connect with the outside world. This is a deep cleansing practice, one that helps activate the capacities of the each chunpi while also “awakening” or activating the entire energetic structure of your poq’po. I like to think of it as fine-tuning your energetic anatomy.

Since we are not fully developed human beings, we all have work to do to empower ourselves and our poq’po. To help us we have eight helper energies or spirits. They represent that which is currently missing or underdeveloped in us. We work with these helpers at each of the chunpis to teach us what we need to grow and develop.

Within our poq’po, too, we have a seed, called the Inka Seed. It connects us to the Mystery, holding within it our full potential, like an oak-seed pod holds within it the potential for a mighty oak tree. The Inka Seed never has any hucha, but still we work with it intensely and intentionally as we fine-tune our energetic anatomy. We even move it out of our energetic body for a time and leave it, along with all eight of our helpers, in the earth while we work our poq’po in energetic ways to cleanse and prepare it for the recovery of our Inka seed. This is the work of the chaupi and lloq’e practices (middle and left sides of the tradition).

As you can see, working with your poq’po is a primary responsibility of a paqo. You are always seeking to refine your energy and increase your capacities (which together generate your personal power) so that you can live more fully engaged and with greater productivity and joy.

If you have been neglecting your poq’po, this is a reminder to refocus there—at the very least, to use your intention to cleanse your poq’po so that you can more effortlessly evolve into the fullness of your being. Your partners in this process are the kawsay pacha, the source of sami, and Pachamama, the cleanser of hucha. But they only respond to your intention. So always remember that your poq’po is your one true possession. Treasure it. Honor it. Work with intention to refine it.

As we celebrate Independence Day in the United States, let’s look at what we could call the Andean Mystical Independence Day—August 1—so you can get ready for it.

According to the ancient knowledge, August 1 is the day the Apus and Pachamama “awaken.” Of course, they are always “awake” and available to us, but on this day they lend an ear to us in an especially attentive way. I call this date Independence Day in this blog, but it also can be viewed as the mystical New Year’s Day. You’ll understand how it can be both in a moment. In addition, this is the day that paqos typically “feed” their mishas (mesas).

When I was interviewing the Q’ero for my book Masters of the Living Energy, don Julian Pauqar Flores gave me a gift of a khuya, a stone from his misha that I was to place in mine. He explained all the ways the khuya could be used, which I won’t go into here except to say that it has more uses than any other khuya I have. During his explanation, he mentioned the August 1 date, explaining this day of awakening along with a simple but powerful incantation that paqos can say to renew themselves. I pass this ceremony on to you, with my added instructions and explanations, so you can perform it yourself on August 1. I also explain
how to feed your misha and incorporate that practice into this ceremony.

The context of the ceremony is as follows. As the Apus and Pachamama awaken, we, too, can awaken or rebirth ourselves. We let go of the past and proclaim our intentions for the coming year. We claim our independence from who we were and declare who we are going forward. We cut the seqes, the energetic cords, to what no longer serves us and project forward toward our perfected selves.

Sit with your misha and honor how it has served you, as a representation of your personal power and a hucha-cleansing bundle. Then stand, holding your misha, to honor the spirits. You can honor the spirits through your intentions or your breath, blowing through your misha to connect with God the Father/Wiraqocha first, then Pachamama (the cosmic Mother) second. Then perhaps the teqse apus—the universal spirits—such as Tayta Inti (the sun), Mama Killa (the moon), Tayta Wayra (the wind), Mama Qocha (the lakes or seas), and so on. You can honor the six directions or the four directions—whatever feels right for you.

Sit again, and clear your mind and drop into your poq’po, especially the area around your heart and your Inka Seed. Cut the energetic cords to your past, releasing any hucha from your poq’po that you carry from your past, whether that is heavy energy from childhood or from ten minutes ago. Take as long as you need to do this.

When you are done cutting cords and releasing, it is time to refill yourself. Become clear about your intentions for the coming year, for who you want to be. Then stand and declare aloud to the spirits, “I am what I speak, not what I have spoken.” Speak aloud with clarity who this new you is: your expanded personal capacities and qualities, how you want to serve in the world, the kind of relationships you choose, and so on.

With these words you have released the past and declared to the universe that all of the intentions you have just clarified within yourself and spoken aloud are the new you. You are stating that from this moment forward, you are renewed, you are reformed, you are revitalized, you are realized in a new way.

You now need to “reintroduced yourself to yourself,” since you are a new you. Sit quietly with your misha and connect with your poq’po. Be alone with yourself and establish a relationship with the renewed you. Get to know yourself. Take all the time you need.

When you are done connecting with your newly defined self, open your misha and sit with your khuyas. As you grow and change, so does your misha, since it is a reflection of your personal power. As you sit with your misha, sense which khuyas want to be removed from it. Honor them, thank them, remove them and store them on an altar or return them to the earth. Perhaps there are other khuyas around your living space that are asking to be added to your misha. Greet them, honor them, introduce them to your misha and add them. Now is the time to reconfigure your misha according to your renewed state of being, according to who you are as you walk toward growing your Inka Seed and realizing your wholeness.

Once you have reconfigured your misha, “feed” it. Honor your misha and its khuyas, then sprinkle some wine or pisco or other sacred liquid over the khuyas, feeding them. Then close your misha and sit with it, absorbing its new, changed energy. This is your personal power as a new, improved you.

That ends the August 1 ceremony. I can’t promise that paqos do it exactly like that, but I can assure you that August 1 is the day to renew yourself and your misha, and that the incantation is from the lips of don Julian.

Note: Those who know how to do a kutichi despacho can incorporate that ceremony into this one, since it, too, is a powerful way to recapitulate your life and release cords to the past, to empty yourself and refill yourself.

In the Andean tradition, there are three aspects to being fully human: yachay, llank’ay and munay. Yachay is the mind, intellect, reasoning, logic. Llank’ay is the body, action, productive effort. Munay is love grounded in will.

While there are seldom hierarchies in the tradition, in this case there is one: yachay occupies the bottom of the triumvirate, llank’ay the mid position, and munay the top. Munay is valorized as the highest energetic expression of our humanness.

That said, these three expressions of our humanness also operate circularly, since one feeds the other and we need to master each aspect of the self to be whole human beings. It’s also true that we tend to be predisposed to excelling at one of these three, even while we seek to harmonize all three expressions of ourselves. For example, don Benito Qoriwaman was a tukuyyachaynioq, a master of yachay, and he was identified as a supreme paqo of the right-side paña work. Don Melchor Desa was a master of the llank’ay, a tukuyllank’aynioq. His expertise was the left-side work, the lloq’e. Q’ero don Andres Espinosa was master of munay, a tukuymunaynioq, and his mastery was in the chaupi work, the middle path. Don Benito also said that the Q’ero are “owners of the munay.”

It’s no surprise that munay—love—is the pinnacle of human expression. But what exactly is munay?

We know what munay is not.

It is not an emotion. It is not a feeling. It is not only love.

We also know something about what munay is.

It is the foundation of the Andean mystical tradition. It is often described as unconditional love, and the Andean paqos define it as love grounded in will.

We know its importance in our energy work. In the energetic body, munay is not found singularly in the heart (qori chunpi)  but is a fusion of the energy of our heart with our Inka Seed. When these two centers merge, something greater results, and that is munay.

Munay also is infused with the flow of energy from all the chunpis (energy belts) and with the kawsay from outside us, from the cosmos. Our Inka Seed can be thought of as the God/Cosmos Within; the kawsay pacha and world are the God/Cosmos Without. The union of “within” and “without” happens through munay. Only our munay integrates the two.

Because of this energetic back and forth, of the within and the without, it makes sense that munay must include will. Not as in willfulness or willpower, but as in directed intent—as in having the personal energetic power to carry out your intent.  Also, it is will as in direct personal experience.  You don’t develop any of your human qualities or capacities by reading about how others have acquired them or observing others using them. You must participate in life yourself, expressing your humanness.

So far, so good?

Well, I don’t know about you, but I have to admit that this hasn’t been good enough for me. I feel that I have been able to talk the talk, but I have never really walked the walk of munay. Yes, I’m loving. Yes, I am open to receiving the love of others, including and especially God’s love. But really, really, really “getting” munay? Nope.

So I have always been on the lookout for a more meaningful explanation or definition. And I finally found one—in the most unlikely of places!

I was reading François Fénelon, a 17th-century Roman Catholic theologian, when I came across the following words. They could have been written by an Andean paqo!

This explains munay!

“Pure love is in the will alone. It is not sentimental love, for imagination has no part in it. It loves, if we may so express it, without feeling, as faith believes without seeing.” It “abandons the demands of the self. . .”

 Nothing more need be said. Sit with those words, and I hope that you, like me, will drop into a deeper understanding of munay.