The last ceremony of our journey, holds Sean within it's sacred circle. I send him love and pray he can receive what he needs. I sit in bed, the chill of the cold dark night rolls up my spine and I feel as if Im in slow motion. My eyes panning the room, somber music on my lap top, taking in my surroundings in gratefulness and sadness. This is one of my last nights in this magical place and my heart aches knowing I must leave it soon. Tears begin to swell in my eyes, and my chest sinks heavy with the weight of knowing I'm not ready to go. This home has been so good to us as it sheltered us in a space of freedom and peace. These walls bounced the laughter of my children off of them for months, keeping the joy within and the cold out. A familia surrounding us with one intention, to see us thrive, to co-create space where we all own our own medicine gifts and spread gratitude through the land of these great Andes mountains, the Apus, Pachamama, Inti, grandfather sky and all the great spiritual teachers of the world. A place where we all raise up our voices together singing medicine songs that invigorate the body and support a higher awareness, a conciseness for all that is and ever will be, and all its wild possibilities. For a place so magical, you cant hep but to create, to manifest and to be inspired. A place so beautiful you feel as if each morning you awake and yet still feel your in a dream. A place where the inner child like parts of us are so honored that my children feel totally supported in every way to express themselves in this world. A place so safe and loving that my children run free in joy, with no fear and I with no fear as they explore, expand and learn. Within a language they don't yet understand they continue to communicate through, laughter, smiles and love. How can anything but where we are support us in this way? Show us our light and yet love us in our dark. How can we possibly begin to readjust to the life we lived before? The hustle and bustle, the incessant noise of advertisement and a culture so riddled with illusion.
But most of all not getting sucked back into what society thinks we should or should not be doing, getting sucked into a rhythm that doesn't serve us? I suppose this is the test. This is where we decide whether the things we've learned will take root or if they'll wither in the storm. This music in its peaceful calming rhythm instantly gives my whole body the feeling of being in Lima on our first few days here. Its so incredible to be able to feel the sensations of those first few days so strong still within my body. The fear, the excitement the solitude when Sean left to the jungle. Who I was then is nearly completely different now. I can still feel her, recall her and understand her, the girl I was when we arrived. Yet now a new part has taken hold, lifting that girl to peaks higher then she could imagine and revealing the deepest depths within, leaving her unavoidably stronger, more secure and with a heart healing so rapidly that love explodes from every cell in gratitude for this journey. I'm not perfected, just strengthened. I still have many faults that haunt my true nature and win the battle of ego trips time and again. However, when I find the balance in moments I would never have been able to before, then that is when I can truly see how far I've come. This journey may soon be ending here in Peru but it only allows for a new chapter to begin. I serenader to this sadness. This is a short time that I can allow myself to morn the ending of this beautiful segment in my life. By doing so I'm honoring all that Ive learned, honoring myself and the process of allowing all that is. I'm truly saddened to leave this nest we've built here yet I'm so grateful to have this sadness so deep, showing me so concretely that we did the right thing in taking that first leap of faith in leaving all we knew behind and coming here at all, steping into the unknow and trustingt the universe would support us. Not only has she supported us but, taught us, healed us, and reached us in a multitude of ways. Whether it be through the elements, through nature, the cosmos, the animals, people, family and new friends, we've been divinely provided for every step of the way. Thank you all that is, has been and ever will be, impacting us on this adventure of life. Untel more bubbles to the surface begging to be expressed...I continue to serenader.
In the way of enhancing this spiritual journey, we've started practicing a little thing called meditation. In doing so we've begun to discover that the benefits of this practice are anything but little. A good friend named Prema had told me since I first arrived in Pisac that meditation would be hugely beneficial for us. She gifted us a beautiful blue stone called malachite to help inspire us in the way of meditation. After wearing the stone for a few weeks, Sean finally made the first move. I guess it worked and not only for him but rubbed off on me too! Below, a good description of what you may or may not already know about meditation.
Despite all its popularity, today very few of us truly know what meditation is. Some regard meditation is the mental concentration on something, others consider that we meditate when we imagine something that gives us peace or satisfaction. All these methods are being with one goal to slow down and, eventually, completely stop the incessant activity of our minds. These exercises are not really meditation – they are substitutes for meditation because it is normally very difficult to stop our minds all-together. In reality, meditation is a state of thoughtless awareness. It is not an act of doing – it is a state of awareness. We either in this state or we are not, regardless of what we are doing in life. Truly, a man can be in meditation while doing his day’s labors as another man can be very far from meditation while sitting in a lotus posture on the top of a mountain.
When we take a look at the various explanations of meditation, another thing we often see is that meditation is defined as taking a moment to sit quietly or to ponder. True meditation, however is much more than this. It is a state of profound, deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent, yet completely alert. This is just the beginning of an inner transformation that takes us to a higher level of awareness. This enables us to fulfill our true human potential. The problem, of course, is how to achieve this state.
Rest in Natural Great Peace.
Please listen to this beautiful teaching we often here in our weekly ceremonies. Its one of the most peaceful, poetic, calming things that has spoken to my heart.
As we began to explore resting our minds on a daily basis, Sean definitely leading the way in consistency, the word Kundalini, Kundalini, kundalini reoccurred popping up in our lives everywhere for days. Thanks to another beautiful friend Allyson, we finally, looked into it. One late night as the kids slept, Sean and I sat in a dark room and hit the play button on a guided meditation designed to introduce you to your all knowing inner self, your Kundalini energy.
I'm in no way an expert and I have no problem, actually I prefer to admit I'm completely amature in this world of Kundalini and yoga/meditation. However I'm highly drawn to it having a strong desire to learn more. Anyhow briefly from what I understand Kundalini is a serpent like energy, coiled at the bottom of your spine. With much preparation practice, and awareness you can awaken this energy through meditation and yoga allowing it to rise up through your seven chakras via the spine. A kunilini awakening or process of, enables you to embody higher levels of consciousness, a divine cosmic power channeling divine creativity in many relms physical or spiritual and truth you hold within. Here in this video is a 13 minute explanation of this power. In this description the goddess Shakti is thought to be the most divine power, creating the universe. This may be contrary to what some religious beliefs teach us, but in our eyes we think its all one in the same. Difrrent culters, religions and spiritual practices all refer to this divine power and everyone has their own language and names for this power of creation. In any case we feel this power, energy or person is universal to all religion and spirituality no matter what names you give it. Also, for us it's about honoring our truth within whatever form or names it embodies. Make no mistake, This meditaion practice is in no form of a religion to us, its mearly another vehicle or road amongst many to connect us with our highest potential. And who knows if we will always think this way, thoughts and beliefs are subject to change, things are always shifting, evolving and our minds expanding.
Meditation. Just sit and relax. Right? Wrong. Well at least for beginners.
Picture Sean or I, maybe two people you might consider A.d.d., in a small detected medicine room, trying desperately to silence the "relentless" mind chatter, in total stillness and unnecessary concentration to manage the next 20 minutes. Meditation isn't about concentration at all and yet its so difficult not to concentrate on not concentrating!
"My nose itches... Dont even think about scratching it...Wait, why am I thinking about this scratch?.. STOP thinking!... Shit. I just scratched my nose."-me
Vicious cycle repeats 10 more times with slight variations.
Needless to say learning to meditate has definitely been much harder then we anticipated but definitely gets a little easier each time. Something that keeps the spark alive is the calm, peaceful serenity we feel after each session. Literally in those brief moments, and not only brief but not even fully achieved yet, maybe we've achieved a glips of the potential serenity, anyhow in those moments of slipping away from reality and into the emptiness of space where all that "could be" is in harmony, leaves you feeling so refreshed, centered, and re-committed to living more peacefully.
~One Minute Meditation`
However difficult it is for us, one little person showing us up in big ways is non other than our oldest daughter Zara. So this whole meditation thing, if its so great, why not start teaching my kids now? Maybe it will be a useful tool for them as they go through life!? It's a win, win, in that it provides some much needed daily connection and alone time with just me and Zara, as well as ever since we've started this daily ritual together, I've watched her overcome fears and replace her fears with empowerment. Take the match for example. Pretty mean little peace of wood when it lays its scorn on your innocent three year old flesh. However even after being kissed by the flame, Zara's intrigue for fire continued. So with the approach of teaching respect for the fire, I began having Zara open the sacred meditation space by herself each day. Fearfully she holds the matches and plucks away at the lighting board, as soon as she successfully overcomes her fear and lights the candle her entire energy shifts to complete satisfaction and empowerment! I could not be more proud of her. Then ever so sweetly she offers a beautiful prayer full of love and sincerity, only the way a child can. After she melts my heart with her ever changing prayers she lights the stick of Palo Santo (the Peruvian sage stick) and cleanses our energy. The best part is when Zara plops her little bum down on the mat, poles her legs into position, and takes a big deep breath. Ready to start our guided "one minute bubble meditation" on youtube. Every day I can count on her to remind me to do our meditation!
Part two: Introduction to Kundalini YOGA!
I'm so pleased and excited to post this wonderful "Guest Post" written by a beautiful, inspirational women name Tamber Weston. Tamber is a super mom living a natural lifestyle in ways I can only dream of achieving someday! Here's a little excerpt from a conversation we had when we realized we had so much in common after reconnecting years and years after high school. Tamber:"Yes, I know it's crazy, but I am an all-natural, non-toxic, certified tree-hugger these days! As in, home-birthing, doctor-avoiding, raw-milk drinking, kefir growing, vegetable juicing, anti-vaccinating, anti-circumcising, clothing diapering/ECing (Natural Infant Hygiene practicing), kind of a tree- hugger. LOL who knew right?" I just loved Tamber from the moment I read that! Her humor, kindness and complete tolerance, love, and acceptance of the differences in peoples path's is astounding and heart warming. A true christian walking her path as an extraordinary example of what embodying and exercising your beliefs looks like. I'm so grateful to know and learn from her.
In regards to getting my but in gear and rock hard shape, I've yet to have the chance to embrace yoga and Kundalini yoga in particular. However the numerous nudges I get to attend a local class taught in a beautiful loft built right into the Andes mountains, has me longing to go. Hopefully this to can become a life long practice as it is for Tamber. Without further adue, feast your blogger eyes on this inspiring peace:
“‘We are all spiritual
beings having a human experience.’ So let’s make this experience an enjoyable
one.” –Maya Fiennes quoting Yogi Bhajan
When Rachelle wrote about awakening her inner KUNDALINI a
while back, I made the mistake of telling her that I have been trying out
Kundalini yoga for the last couple of years. Now, here I am writing this guest
post. Actually I’m excited to share, because I feel like it has had a very
positive influence in my life.
I first came across Kundalini yoga half-way through the
pregnancy of my third child. When my months of nausea and fatigue finally let
up, I decided I wanted to devote some of my energy to exercise. I checked out a
lot of DVD’s on amazon.com and countless reviews later, settled on Prenatal
Kundalini Yoga and Meditation for Mothers to Be with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa. I was
impressed that many of the reviewers mentioned that the DVD actually helped
them during childbirth and as I was planning to have my first natural, unmedicated
birth (at home no less) I felt like I could use an exercise routine that would
promote my success.
At first I found Gurmukh a bit odd and the chanting and
singing she instructed, an unusual addition to physical exercise, but as the
novelty of it wore off and I became more familiar with it, I found myself
enjoying it and feeling more relaxed and connected to the child growing inside
of me. Gurmukh’s words and stories inspired me. The mantra “Sat Nam” meaning
“truth is my name” especially resonated with me, giving me the reassurance that
I was capable of giving birth the way my body was created to do so. I
ultimately had an extraordinarily peaceful, intuitive and conscious labor and
delivery and not surprisingly found myself reflecting on Gurmukh’s words and
using certain mantras, exercises and powerful yoga breaths during my
contractions. In many ways I felt like I was also born again when my son was
born.
Months later, after making a full postnatal recovery, I once
again found myself on amazon.com looking for yoga DVD’s to get my body back in
shape. This time I was led to Maya Fiennes’ “A Journey through the Chakras”.
Maya is a Macedonian-born, classically trained pianist turn British yoga
instructor (go figure). But it’s her original self-composed music that sets her
practice apart from all the rest. The DVDs are so serene and peaceful and the
music so rich and full that I felt like I was being transported to India. But
more importantly than all that, it’s the kind of yoga that makes the real difference.
“There are many types
of yoga, and they all have the same goal – to establish union between you, as
an individual, and the universe. That’s what yoga means: union. Kundalini yoga
has its own way of getting you there to that union. It’s the mother of all
yoga. . . . It’s a technology designed to wake up your Kundalini energy which
we all have, we’re all born with it, it’s our essence, our life force.” – Maya
Fiennes
Kundalini Yoga combines movement, breath, chants, mantra,
and sound vibration to awaken the spirit, energize the body and relax the mind,
so that we can feel one hundred percent of our possibilities as humans.
Maya’s practice is based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan who
is responsible for taking Kundalini yoga from India and introducing it in the
West in the 1960s. Maya’s explanations are very clear and very scientific and I
love how she explains exactly what is happening in my body during each exercise.
She explains the purpose of mantra or sound vibration as a quantum technology designed
to neutralize your mind. It stimulates 84 reflex points in your mouth to hit certain
glands in the body in order to achieve specific results . . . like I said, it’s
very scientific which I enjoy, but moreover I love the spiritual aspect of it
all.
We are each on a spiritual journey in this life, whether we
realize it or not. For many it is a passive experience and for others, an
active one. The difference is our awareness and focus. Rachelle and Sean are
perfect examples of people who have made a conscious decision to make their
spiritual journey an active one. Of course, most of us will not travel to a
foreign country as an active part of our personal journeys, nor do we need to,
we simply need to find ways to focus our attention and energy to have a meaningful
and intentional spiritual journey. Many people do this through religious
observation, nature walks, scripture study, and prayer – I am one of those
people, but in addition I have also found that Kundalini Yoga, has helped me to
focus my energy and intentions on making my human experience a more meaningful
and enjoyable one.
In Kundalini Yoga the focus is on helping the spiritual
being within, find balance with the body and, of course, to establish union
with the universe. When the body and mind are healthy the spirit is better able
to govern them. And although I can’t say I have achieved pure nirvana, I do think
Kundalini yoga has had a powerful influence for good in my life, helping me to
handle day-to-day stresses much better and helping me to open my heart to
loving those around me and realizing that “all is as it should be”. If all that
weren’t enough, I now have the rock solid abs of a spiritual warrior.
~You can msg me for info to connect more with Tamber and learn about living a natural, healthy lifestyle in multiple ways or check out her family blog at: http://tamberslife.blogspot.com/ ~
Here we are with just a few weeks left of this amazing adventure in Peru and yet I'm so far behind in documenting it! For time sake I will again caption as many pictures as I can and leave the rest up to imagination. In future post I have so much to talk about. The amazing ceremonies that have literally changed my inner world and shown me a path I can never deny, the meditation we have begun to embrace and see its benefits in our lives, a fun and inspiring guest post on Kundalini yoga, and much more soon to find it's way onto the blog.
This cute Peruvian boy so confidant and hard working is no older then 12. Here he passes us on the bridge with his two large bulls obeying his every command.
Recently this amazing gem showed up in town. Never mistake Peruvians for the ability to make "Mexican" food. Burritos, tacos, etc...it simply doesn't exist in Peru. When these awesome guys showed up in this hole in the wall, straight from Mexico...well we almost died. This grub was mighty fine, and not just because we havent had mexican food in so long but it could easily hold it's own in the states.
I like to call this one "My little Peruvian Hill Billies."
We absolutely LOVE all the old doors and eccentric clay walls everywhere you turn!
Wen you see a pole with plastic wrapped around the end, sticking out of a door, you know that means "we have alcohol here."
Don't mind the spelling errors on the flyer but I just cant wait to host this awesome event!
Herbs, Herbs Herbs! Never been so inspired to understand sacred plants, herbs and the healing power within them all!
Many mornings, if not most you can catch our little five-some making the teck into town to buy eggs and bread.
On my way to another Sacred Women's Ceremony! A place along side a beautiful river, in nature, where women on their moons and all of us bringing our own medicine gifts, shower each other in love and powerful healing femininity. Medicine, singing, sharing, embracing, healing, empowering. loving, crying, connecting, blessing and releasing as we honor nature, Pachamama, and each other.
Morning coffee and tea in our house with a beautiful view of the Andes Mountains, the longest mountain range in the world.
She's 10 months now but this little cutie named Rowen started walking at the end of her ninth month! Just had to keep up with her older siblings!
Always a festivity happening in Pisac!
Trinity! Another wonderful person, healer, determined light seeker, friend, warrior we've had the privilege to get to know here.
Zara thinks it's way awesome to trade full outfits with Pax. I think its pretty dang cute.
The night we walked on FIRE! Well not actually burning fire but 700-1000 degree HOT coals straight out of the fire! After singing, dancing, chanting, awakening a part of our Kundilini, and honoring our intentions, we bravely and pretty gracefully walked over the coals only to love it so much we did it a few more times! It was one of the funner things I've ever done and definitely empowering. By the way the "Fire Walk" is the thing I referred to a couple post ago when I said "I cant believe what I've signed myself up for". Now I'm so glad I did.
Little Peruvian girls in the streets pretending to wear their babies on their backs like mamas! Zara likes to play that game too.
A fun day exploring Cuzco with my awesome little sister Sarah!
Allyson. Oh I miss her so. A good, good friend, or sole sister I found here in Peru.
Prema! Loved her since the first day we met at Deago's retreat! She loves us and cares for us truly like family! So grateful to have her graceful presence in our lives.
Just a good day for some pudding painting!
Thats right we all fit into a moto together!
Seen some pretty dang scary looking spiders around the house! This one on the rock by Pax is already dead and Pax is completely fascinated.
Finally cut those cute dread locks out of Rowens hair.
Zara Boo In complete imaginary play.
Rowens a champ with her Baby- led- weaning program! Never mashed a food in her life. She just eats it whole and big like we do...without choking. Google baby-led-weaning if your interested. I started writing a whole thing on it but have yet to finish.
We found this beautiful bank by the river on an evening walk. The kids call it "the sand box" ever since.
Still love all the free roaming beautiful cows.
I WILL have my own wild Eucalyptus trees someday like these tall beautiful ones behind Pax! They smell amazing and sweet with so many health benefits.
A day at the Spa...Kind of. A good friend Trinity gifted me an hour massage with him and our friends in Cuzco. The beds were plank wood with holes cut out for your face to go in and some foam padding on top. Even though the place was pretty bare bones, third world country style, this 20 sole, not dollar, massage was pretty darn legit! Other then getting coughed/sprayed on reputedly by my gal...the massage was relaxing and I'm glad I got to enjoy the day with great people.
More and more since being here I'v embraced my inner goddess and all the love she has to share! I feel overwhelmed with love for my sisters of the world and brothers as well.
