Jon Rasmussen talks about the Q'ero lineage

The Q'ero Lineage and a fascinating story!

Maybe I have it all wrong...

Maybe I have it all wrong...
Maybe it's not about prayers, mantras, rituals, scriptures or Gods and Goddesses....maybe that's not it at all....
Maybe it's really about all of just us acting in alignment with our own highest nature...
Maybe that's the way to the new "Golden Age"....
Maybe that's the fruition of the Aquarian Age we are all seeking...
Maybe that's the neverending vista, the wide-angle view, waiting for us over the next hill. A view that (finally) reveals the master plan for each of us as individuals and all of us as a collective... 
Then again maybe I'm right...
...and it is about prayers, mantras, rituals, scriptures and Gods and Goddesses...and that hill top is actually inside of me, with nothing to climb, attain, or gain at all....Just Being ...Maybe that's the neverending vista, the wide-angle view, waiting for us...we get there by changing our view from one looking out to a view looking in.

Understanding Spirituality at a Personal Level (is this a rant?)

Spirituality begins with belief, a spiritual individual choses to remain unconstrained by devotion to a particular religion. A religious person, on the other hand, chooses to be guided by established beliefs and established canon scripture, this gives the believer a sense of belonging to a group and unifies them with a group identity. The spiritual person choses to be open minded and does not judge the belief system of others, or, for that matter, their own! 

Some in the spiritual camp may avoid any particular way of looking at the deity all together. But, learning about these common belief systems may help us all to better understand one another.    

First, there are mono-theists: Belief in one deity, it could be either one God (God the Father), one Goddess, or a being without gender, like the native American “Great Spirit”. Many in the western world have been taught that the “One God” concept came from the Abrahamic traditions (Jewish/Islamic/Christian traditions), but it may predate them instead.  Mono-theism was part of ancient hinduism going back over 10,000 years. Hinduism teaches that there is one God with many faces (or aspects).

There are duo-theists, they believe in yin and yang, light and dark, male and female prime movers of the universe. Cerrunos and Ceridwen are an example. Isis and Osirus, Like the principal of potential and ground in electricity the two energies move against and through each other. In the wake of the interplay of the God and the Goddess creation happens and creative destruction occurs.

Poly-theists believe in many Gods and Goddesses, here there are usually a pantheon of divine beings who each have a specific job to do in order to maintain the balance of the world. 

Lastly, there are animists who believe that there are no individual gods, but that the divine is present in everything. The rocks and trees, animals, rivers, mountains, oceans, air, fire, earth and all parts of nature have divinity contained within them. Many animists also believe in a unifying force behind everything…which seems like the rudimentary belief in one God! 

Lastly, are those who do not believe in any God at all, they may believe in natural law, may believe that the divine is present in everything (like animists) but that there is no overarching being or energy that connects everyone and everything. A-theists or A-gnostics think that the Universe of governed by laws of physics and that man is governed by ethics and social contracts without the need for any Being overseeing the checks and balances.

Armed with a basic understanding of the terminology of spirituality we can develop a common vocabulary, which is necessary for creating and improving dialogue. When we learn to communicate with one another we have the opportunity to then work together towards bringing our collective unified dreams into manifestation.

Virtually all of these different belief systems (with the likely exception of A-theists and A-gnostics) also believe in an invisible world that lies beyond our own. Some think our world is only a reflection of that other world. We may find a way to enter into that other world, “where the light is clearer and the true form of everything lives”. We may enter that place in our dreaming, or we could retain the services of a shaman, one who moves freely between the seen and the unseen. 

A shaman can teach us how to journey to that other place for ourselves. Transported on the sound of drum or rattle we can enter into that other world, we can see that clearer light with our own inner eye. Entering into that other world we may begin to see this one in a different light. The shaman’s teaching then becomes one of empowerment  and grants us a new level of independence (even for A-theists, the power of the mind exists!). 

But beware those who would keep you in the dark and keep your answers close to their vest! You should only work with those who are not only willing to show you their cards, but who are also willing to teach you how to shuffle and deal your own hand and from your own deck!

Oh!  and one more thing….buy a drum! 

Anyi Gifts: Restoring Balance

The Q'ero continue to live in community high in the Andes. They have come down from the mountain tops to share their ancient wisdom with the world. But, they also came down from the mountains because their food supply was rapidly dwindling. The potato crops that had sustained them for hundreds of years were giving smaller and smaller harvests.

Added to this threat to their food supply there are unscrupulous politicians who are attempting a land grab in the high Andes to take away the mountaintops they protect as sacred,  this land grab would leave the Q'ero homeless.

In this holiday season, if you feel a connection to the Q'ero and their teachings, here is a good charity we can contribute to who are working to help insure the indians of the Andes keep their land, and their dignity.

Oh, and there are woven blankets, mestanas and hats, all hand made by traditional craftspeople for sale as well! 

The Heart Walk Foundation

Inkan Weaving Video

The Day Keepers Ceremony

We now start with nourishing the second set of rites, the first of which is the Day Keepers Rite. If you have been following along here you know that I gave the first four rites all at once and they can be nourished all at once. It was revealed to me that the second set of rites will be better served by observing the nourishing ceremonies one at a time. Do this Day Keepers Rite daily for a week and observe how you feel. If you feel you have received all you need then you may n=move on to the next nourishing ceremony. Trust your own intuition about this, only you know what is best for you.

The Day Keepers were the ancients who tended the fires of sacred altars long ago. Protecting the light with their daily grace and service to the tradition and their tribe. The Day Keepers Rite connects us to those great ancients. The lineage of Shamans who kept the daily practice of devotion to nature and the Universal energy so it could, one day, be revealed to the rest of the world. We owe to them an incalculable debt and it is with deep humility and sanctity that we ourselves join with their honorable lineage. 

The seeds of this rite were embedded in your energy field when you received the second set of the Munay Ki Rites. Those seeds will germinate and grow when you use your conscious intention during the fire ceremony to activate your connection to the lineage of Day Keepers, the masters of the past who were themselves tenders of the ancient altars. 

We begin the ceremony by first directing the energy of the fire into your hands by reaching into the fire and pulling the fire’s energy towards your body. Once your hands feel activated bring them back towards the body and to the heart center to begin the ceremony. 

Return your hands to the fire and pull the energy of the fire to your second chakra, or the lower abdomen saying, “I feed the seeds of the of the work of a Day Keeper”. 

Return your hands to the fire and then to your heart, saying, “I feed the seeds of the heart of a Day Keeper”. 

Return your hands to the fire and then to the third eye saying,”I feed the seeds of the wisdom and vision of a Day Keeper.” 

Return your hands to the fire and then to the crown chakra, feeding the seeds of the Day Keeper lineage by saying, “I feed the seeds of the lineage of the Day Keepers.

Extend your hands again towards the fire and bring the energy to the heart center to seal the energy within and end the ceremony saying, “I am connected to the lineage of the Day Keepers, the past Masters who tended the sacred altars of the past. I am now able to call upon the energies of the ancient altars to help heal and bring balance to myself and the Earth. I am healing my inner feminine, stepping beyond fear and practicing peace. I have recovered that part of myself that forever walks in beauty.” 

You may now blow out the candle or step away from the fire. 

Nourishing the Munay Ki Rites; Fertilizing the Seeds with Diet and Supplements

Remember that the Munay Ki Rites plant energetic seeds that are your responsibility to nurture while they grow and shape your Light Energy Field. 

What I found after receiving was that I had little to go on how best to cultivate the energetic seeds. We were instructed on how to do a simple fire ceremony (candle ceremony) and that this was the method to feed your seeds while the energetic transformation occurs. 

While I did practice the candle ceremony I had a nagging suspicion there were additional practices that I wasn’t told about which would nourish the energetic field and catalyze the changes in energetic patterns that I realized were the natural progression of the Munay ki. 

So, I did what any intelligent person would do. I returned to the source, Alberto Villoldo. It was Dr Villoldo that originally brought the rites to the rest of the world from the mountaintops of Peru where the tradition of the Q’ero shaman had been hidden for centuries. 

He did give additional practices to support the transformation of the ordinary person into a mystic. Some of the practices were meditative, some ritualized and some are dietary. He explained that he has noticed the students in his shamanic school, The Four Winds Society, had shown difficulty Seeing energy. They found one possible reason for this was the typical Western diet. Heavy on meat and grain, the average diet built up residues of plaques in the brain, particularly the pineal gland, and created imbalances in the bacteria of the gut. 

Heavy on meat and grain, the average diet tends to build up residues of plaques in the brain; creates imbalances in the bacteria of the gut; and blocks the natural function of the pineal and pituitary glands. The added benefit of clear mystical perception is a by product of a balanced, healthy mind/body. While I won’t go into great detail here about the various causes of these systemic imbalances, I do want to talk about some remedies that we can use to clear and nourish the endocrine system and be healthier. 

Typically, before you can be healthy, a period of cleansing is needed. Your cleansing can be supported by both meditative  and dietary methods. Regular alcohol consumption has a very negative effect on digestive flora. We begin the journey by abstaining from alcohol and antibiotics. I won’t go into too much detail, but you should be aware that continual use of either alcohol or antibiotics will negate any benefit  from the probiotics. 

Increase your consumption of green leafy vegetables to your diet. Most recommended are: Kale, spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard and algae, particularly chlorella and spirulina (for me algae is my vitamin, I take several grams a day and I highly recommend Sunfood brand). In addition you may want to expand your palate by learning to work with some foods you may not be familiar with. Along with eating more greens, try adding couscous, barley, spelt, various seaweeds (wakame, nori, kelp),  chia seeds, flax seed, cacao nibs (raw) to your diet. Many of these are superfoods and immensely healing for the body and, most particularly, the brain. (I realize that few of these are part of the typical western diet. We need to be comfortable moving away from the typical. We no longer want typical results, right?) .

Another way to add seaweed (and additional minerals) into your diet is by substituting seaweed for table salt. There are several products on the market (Maine Seacoast Vegetables is a common one), or you could use a different salt, like Himalayan Pink Salt, which has lower sodium than typical table salt, and provides additional mineral supplementation to your diet as well.  

Next, start taking fish oil, the recommended brand is Nordic Naturals (capsules can be purchased at Vitamin Shoppes, either in store or online). Take 3 to 6 grams of fish oil a day, preferably with dinner, or before sleep. If you eat some fats along with taking the fish oil capsules it reduces the likelihood of suffering with fish burps, or acid reflux from the fish oil.  Try this for a few days and give yourself time to adapt to the fish oil before going to the next step. (My personal observation was that the Nordic Naturals brand gave me less problems with reflux and ‘fish burps’, having experienced this before with other fish oil products I was pleasantly surprised!)

What, for me, was the biggest step was taking probiotics.  Before starting probiotics you may want to use a cycle of S Bulardii to clear out any yeasts or unwanted bacteria. The dose method itself os of great importance. Any brand of live culture capsules are fine. You can grow your own culture to use. 

To grow a S Bollards culture: Take about 2 cups of fruit, cut it up and boil it for 20 minutes to remove any micro-organisms. Then allow to cool to room temperature. Ideally do this in a warm room. After the fruit cools, place it in a bowl, open a capsule of Bulardii and sprinkle it over the fruit, cover with a cheese cloth allowing some air to circulate, and leave on the counter overnight to multiply. (If you want a few capsules I have some left over in my refrigerator). 

The Boulardii will multiply in the fruit compote. The next day take a few tablespoons of the mixture and eat lightly, take another few tablespoons before going to bed. Continue for 2 more days. The Boulardii removes unwanted bacteria from the colon, be aware that the effect may be quite strong. You may feel flu-like symptoms from this, evidence that the process of cleansing is working. Once you have removed what you don’t want, we then re-populate the gut with what we do want. Probiotics. 

The recommended brand of ProBiotics is Ascended Health. I   followed a regimen of Active Detox Probiotic for 2 weeks with a maintenance of ProAlive for a month after that. These probiotics are expensive. They are handmade, not mass produced, and each order is created as it comes in. These aren’t made in a factory, they are made in a lab which explains why they take a little longer and cost more. 

From the time you begin taking fish oil to the day you take your last  Detox Probiotic will be about 3 weeks. in that time you will have rebuilt your intestinal flora and created a habit of taking fish oil. Note the changes to how you feel in your body, how you feel in meditation and journey work. Increase (or decrease) in your intuitive abilities. 

Everyone reacts differently to this regimen. I have heard that the reaction to the probiotics can be strong, I didn’t notice this. The changes were subtle and continued (and continue) after I completed the cleansing and nourishing cycle.  These are system changes you are making to your body. These bodily changes may affect your experience in and of the world. Know that these changes are a good thing. See with new eyes. Feel with a new heart. There is no end to the potential you are. Believe that, it is the fundamental truth of being human.