Living in Shamanic Consciousness Part Eleven: The Healing Power of Peru

Published in Sibyl Magazine, November, 2018

I dreamed of traveling to Peru since a close friend was a foreign exchange student there, way back in high school.  She came back talking of the beautiful Andes Mountains and the furry alpacas that were such a big part of her experience.
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​As I began to explore shamanism, I met many people who had been to Peru.  They all spoke enthusiastically about their experiences there
 
In 2012, I signed up to be part of a 12-12-12 Celebration with my favorite traveling companions.  However, Spirit had other plans and I was unable to attend.  I followed their adventure energetically and through pictures they posted on social media.  It looked like a magical experience and I vowed to make the journey as soon as I could.
 
On October 4, 2018, my plane finally landed in Lima.  The next day, as I flew into Cusco getting my first glimpse of the Sacred Valley, my eyes filled with tears.  This place, these mountains, felt so comforting and familiar.  I was home.
 
 As we settled in, I was struck by the gentleness of the people.  There was a peacefulness that pervaded this land.  The shamans and guides we worked with seemed genuinely happy to share their knowledge with us.  Even in the markets, the sellers worked together to make change or find what we were looking for, even if they had to run to another booth.
 
All this love was nurturing and healing my exhausted body, mind and spirit before we even visited our first official sacred site.  After a year and a half of transition in nearly every area of my life, I was finally able to relax and soak in the love of Peru.
 
Our first outing was to Moray, the Belly of the Mother.  The concentric circular terraces of Moray go deep into the earth and were originally used for agriculture.  Each layer provides a different micro-climate that is perfect for growing a variety foods.  While it was cool and windy at the top where we stood, our guide shared that the lowest terrace was warm and tropical.
 
People are no longer allowed to access these terraces, so we moved to another part of the site to do our ritual.  We each found a place to sit on the earth and connect to Pachamama.  We then began to take some gentle, conscious breaths and were instructed to forgive our mother and ask her to forgive us.
 
As I asked for forgiveness from the Great Mother, I felt all the tension, fear, and indecision that my body and mind had been carrying for so long slowly begin to pour out of my tailbone and into the earth.  The release was incredible.  When I thought I’d let it all go, Pachamama came forth and like a powerful vacuum hose, sucked all the remaining energies that no longer served out of my first chakra and into the earth.  My old life was over.  I was now making room for my new life to begin.