"There is nothing equal to wearing clothes and eating food." Zenrin Kushu
The long interval between entries is due to my 4 day stay in Las Latas, way up in the Sierras, followed by a still ongoing bout of traveller's diarrhea which incapacitated me for several days. Read about the trip to Las Latas in my next entry, On the Road Again, but for now let me reflect on the joys of eating food and having your body do what it is supposed to with it!
Well, it took 10 weeks in Mexico before Montezuma took his revenge on me. I have travelled many places around the world and this is the first time I have been struck by the dreaded traveller's diarrhea. I am always pretty careful about drinking boiled or bottled water when I travel, but other than that I eat what the locals eat. After spending over 2 months, buying and eating local foods -- cheese tamales and atole de avena in the square in Matehuala, tamales de frejoles from Dona Bertha in Wadley, champurrado and gorditas or chocolate and pan dulce in Real, helado in Catorce -- and cooking and eating sopa de arroz, quesadillas, aguacate, tomate and other veggies, often eating whatever we could find on the road, and after 4 days eating the food that Masauke and his companion, Linda's, co-madres provided in the Wira community of Las Latas, it was after we had dinner at our first 'good' restaurant, a seafood restaurant in Zacatecas, that I was struck by the bug.
Ah, as Zenrin Kushu says, there is nothing equal to eating food! After a night of projectile vomiting, when I really couldn't tell what was coming out of which end, I spent the next 2 days of not eating food and kicking myself for only bringing preventative remedies and nothing for treatment. But of course, I never expect that I, Ms Healthy, would get sick ... that only happened to other people, not to me ... I always do the preventative stuff, the good old oil of oregano and olive leaf tablets, blue green algae and vitamin C and never expect to get sick.
I had a very brief bout with the vomits one day about 5 weeks into my trip, but Dona C, the healing centre's caretaker, had soon fixed me up with teas of estafiata and ohasein, two very bitter local herbs widely used for stomach problems, followed by a limpia with a raw egg, to remove the mal ojo, or evil eye, that Dona C suspected was the cause of my sudden illness. Dona C's reading of the huevo that time confirmed that indeed I had been zapped by the dreaded evil eye. Whether it was the herbal teas that cured the vomits or the limpia with the egg that removed the evil eye I will never know, but certainly by the next morning I was fine. This time it was not so simple.
I had learned how to do the limpia with the huevo to check for evil eyes, so, in between running to the bathroom and lying prone for lack of energy, I did the pasos on myself.. Voila, I thought as I broke the egg and dropped it in the bowl of water, expecting to see more evidence of mal ojo than there was last time, since by that time I had been sick for 3 days instead of only a few hours the time before, but, though I had learned to read the 'easy' cases, I still was a novice at the egg trick, so the complicated picture before me was too much for my sick, tired and unskilled brain to interpret. But, the Spirits are kind... only minutes after I sat down baffled by the egg in bowl, Dona C showed up to check in on me.
Masauke and Linda had gone off to Real and I was alone at the healing centre. Dona C stopped by just in time to pour over the bowl and inform me that indeed there was no mal ojo this time! Well, could it be something so ordinary as regular bacteria, maybe a little amoeba or two, how terribly mundane for me who never gets sick, to admit to being stricken by a common microbe and not something infinitely more interesting, something from the realm of the world of spirits. Well, this time it seemed that the mundane world had won out. The next morning when Dona C came by again, she chastised me for not remembering to drink the herbal tea and marched me off into the desert to identify the two herbs that we needed to make the tea.
We walked down a dry river bed, where there was a bit more moisture than most places, I was looking all around not seeing either of the herbs, as Dona C began to say, look down, look down. I am sure she had spotted the tiny herb long before and was tired of waiting for me to see it. Finally I saw the small sprig of estafiate she was referring to and later another small twig, enough to make the tea she assured me. The ohasein, I had completely forgotten how to identify, though I had spent an afternoon with Dona C and one of her daughters identifying local medicinal herbs about 6 weeks before. Dona C took pity on me and pointed out the second plant we needed for the tea. Heading back to the healing centre, she boiled up a batch, and though it did help in the short term, it did not completely cured the runs.
What to do, Masauke was waiting to make sure I was better so that he could drive back to San Antonio to drop off Linda who had spent a week with us, those adventures are to follow. If I didn't get better, I would be alone at the healing centre, with the runs and none of my usual natural remedies. But, the truth is I was still expecting that my preventative measures would work sooner than later and that I would be fine to head South to the Purhepeche pyramid for the Spring Equinox celebration and to visit with La Guardiana again, while Masauke and Linda headed North to Texas.
What to do, what to do, I consulted the spirits of the desert, asking them before I went to bed on Thursday night whether I should go to the pyramid or stay at the healing centre. Two of the guardians of the healing centre, both teachers of Masauke who have now pass over to the other side, appeared to me that night, but neither had an answer to my question. As I woke up I had three prophetic dreams, in the first I was riding on the back of a dolphin, the second I was watching a group of models that I was about to give a class to when their chief instructor told us all to 'walk this way', and as I was waking up someone whispered, the Ottawa School of Nursing. Well, what kind of mumbo jumbo, is that message, I thought. I was certainly no clearer about what the answer to my question was.
I was feeling much better for the first time in days and joined Linda and Masauke and spent a wonderful day with a collective of women who make natural granola bars in Las Margaritas and visited Dona Domitila, the local curandera and her family who live close by, more to follow in later episodes, I returned to the healing centre and so did the runs! So, what to do what to do. I posed my question to the spirits again that night, but this time, at Masauke's insistence I asked whether I should go north to Texas as well as the other options. After, packing all my bags to prepare for whatever answer would come, I spent an almost sleepless night with the return of the runs. I had not a single informative dream. Disappointed, in the morning I asked the spirits for guidance, we already told you the answer to your question was the reply I received. It was only during my morning meditation that I realized that they had indeed replied before I had asked the question. Walk this way, Ottawa School of Nursing = Go North, Young Woman! It was not an option that I had given them at the time I had asked the question, but the answer was clear.
So, with as little pouting as I could manage, and constantly repeating the phrase of the Great Master, "not my will, but thy will be done" I gave up my plans to head off to the pyramid and caught a ride with Masauke and Linda back to the land of health food stores and holistic remedies. And here I am, chowing down on Acidophilus, colloidal silver, bentonite clay and other wonderful natural remedies for diarrhea. I had forgotten how much of a health food junkie I was until I stepped into the Whole Foods Store and saw all the aisles and aisles of options. I did not miss the traffic, the big houses, new cars and SUVs, but boy, did I miss big health food stores! A synchronistic meeting in Whole Foods with Miranda and Mario, the only two other people of the Spirit that I know in San Antonio, reassured me that I had indeed listened to the directive of Spirit. So here I am waiting for Spirit to guide me on my next steps on my journey. ...
Lessons learned: 1) Eating is such a joy. You never really realize how much until you spend a few days not eating! 2) Always be prepared ... whether it is to follow the directive of Spirit, or to treat diarrhea. 3) The mundane world, the world of microbes and bacteria, deserves just as much respect as the world of brujas and spirits ...
Stay Tuned. StayWell, and Travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
On The Road Again, Stalking Knowledge in the Sierras
"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and that you are out there." Yasutani Roshi
No sooner had we returned from the trip to Morelia and the pyramids, washed our clothes (with a bucket and old fashioned scrub board), taken a shower with hot water ( a recent addition to the healing centre), we were on the road again stalking knowledge in the Sierras. Travelling down the straight roads of the desert, through the endless fields of Yucca and cactus, we headed off to Zacatecas. In Zacatecas we were to meet Masauke´s companion, Linda, who lives in San Antonio. She was to accompany us to the ceremony celebrating the return of the pilgrims in Las Latas in the Sierras.
Zacatecas is a beautiful old, but very lively town, in the state of Zacatecas, about 3.5 hours drive from San Rafael across many miles of desert. Linda´s bus was delayed so we had time to visit the Museo Zacatecano, which had a permanent exhibit of the life of the Wira or Huichol people, who I had already met and who we were about to visit. On our way to the museo we passed a puppet show in a square which was an open space for cultural exhibits, stopped in on an International Women´s Day instillation "Say No to Violence Against Women", observed a political rally, passed by three marching bands, one of which was a Mariachi band accompanying a bride and groom and wedding party as they walked from the church to the nearby reception hall!! Zactecas is certainly a happening city. There is infinitely more excitement here than any of the small towns I had been hanging out in for the past few months!
When Linda arrived we headed off across the plains and around wide mountain roads towards the town of Huejuqilla al Alto. Huejuquilla is the closest town to the Sierras, a small town with a boulevard that I am told looks like Guadalajaras and the traditional old Spanish style square. It has all the typical street vendors, the pushcart selling all manner of fresh fruit with lemon, salt and chili, a delicacy for those who have never tried fruit prepared this way; down the street a stand with helote, or corn, prepared in much the same fashion with a coating of mayonnaise to wash it all down, only for those who are not feint of stomach, as the chili makes your eyes water and I am always mildly suspicious of the mayonnaise jar sitting out in the sun, but suspect that the chili will kill any potential microbes; other stands with children's toys imported from China, plastic household items and various home made sweets are the order of the day. Huejuquilla is home to a large number of Wira people who no longer live in the Sierras. Many of them are still in their traditional dress though many have also become Tewarizado [Tewari= non Wira] and dress in non-Wira fashion.
It was getting dark as we left Huejuquilla, not far out of town we turned off on the narrow road that would take us up hill and over dale to Nueva Colonia, a Wirrarica settlement, 1,300 km above sea level deep in the Sierras. It was dark so my view was mostly of the trees by the side of the narrow road which was currently being widened and reconstructed, hence the numerous detours down precarious dirt paths, or of the cliffs on the other side of the road. I could not get an idea of how high up we were or what the surroundings looked like until we were leaving 4 days later. I could tell by the vegetation that we were quite high up as the firs and evergreens reminded me more of the temperate forests in Canada than any tropical rain forest I had ever been in.
Two and a half hours later, after bumping our way up the sometimes very steep and narrow road and heading over mountain bridges barely wider than the van, passing only a few settlements along the way, we arrived at a complex of long adobe houses surrounded by stands of tall pines sheltering sleeping cattle, all barely visible in the starlight night. Three toots of a horn and several shouts of 'Yacko', the traditional Wira greeting, later, Jesus, Masauke and Linda's conpadre, appeared from one of the door, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Masauke inquired about the status of the ceremony, which we knew was already going on down the hill in the community of Las Latas. Jesus confirmed that the peyoteros or peligrinos, the pilgrims, would be dancing all night that night, Saturday, and that the ceremony would go on the following day, likely overnight the next night and end on Monday.
Tired as we were, and with only two small flashlights to illuminate what I would learn the next day was a very steep footpath down the side of the mountain to the community of Las Latas, we decided to spend the night in our usual accommodation, the van that transforms into a one and a half bedroom, no bath luxury suite. While quite workable for two, it was a very tight fit for 3, Linda sharing Masauke's usual just larger than single bed spot, while I was across the 'hall' in the just barely bigger than half bed unit. Lying with my head towards the window, the breeze from the pine forest wafting in and watching the beautiful display of night stars, I could only think how beautiful life is!
Lessons learned: 1) once again I have to reflect on how little we really need -- a few bowls of rice, clean underwear and a place to lay your head, not much to ask, 2) Life is good! 3) Life is good!
Stay tuned for part 2. Staywell and travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.
No sooner had we returned from the trip to Morelia and the pyramids, washed our clothes (with a bucket and old fashioned scrub board), taken a shower with hot water ( a recent addition to the healing centre), we were on the road again stalking knowledge in the Sierras. Travelling down the straight roads of the desert, through the endless fields of Yucca and cactus, we headed off to Zacatecas. In Zacatecas we were to meet Masauke´s companion, Linda, who lives in San Antonio. She was to accompany us to the ceremony celebrating the return of the pilgrims in Las Latas in the Sierras.
Zacatecas is a beautiful old, but very lively town, in the state of Zacatecas, about 3.5 hours drive from San Rafael across many miles of desert. Linda´s bus was delayed so we had time to visit the Museo Zacatecano, which had a permanent exhibit of the life of the Wira or Huichol people, who I had already met and who we were about to visit. On our way to the museo we passed a puppet show in a square which was an open space for cultural exhibits, stopped in on an International Women´s Day instillation "Say No to Violence Against Women", observed a political rally, passed by three marching bands, one of which was a Mariachi band accompanying a bride and groom and wedding party as they walked from the church to the nearby reception hall!! Zactecas is certainly a happening city. There is infinitely more excitement here than any of the small towns I had been hanging out in for the past few months!
When Linda arrived we headed off across the plains and around wide mountain roads towards the town of Huejuqilla al Alto. Huejuquilla is the closest town to the Sierras, a small town with a boulevard that I am told looks like Guadalajaras and the traditional old Spanish style square. It has all the typical street vendors, the pushcart selling all manner of fresh fruit with lemon, salt and chili, a delicacy for those who have never tried fruit prepared this way; down the street a stand with helote, or corn, prepared in much the same fashion with a coating of mayonnaise to wash it all down, only for those who are not feint of stomach, as the chili makes your eyes water and I am always mildly suspicious of the mayonnaise jar sitting out in the sun, but suspect that the chili will kill any potential microbes; other stands with children's toys imported from China, plastic household items and various home made sweets are the order of the day. Huejuquilla is home to a large number of Wira people who no longer live in the Sierras. Many of them are still in their traditional dress though many have also become Tewarizado [Tewari= non Wira] and dress in non-Wira fashion.
It was getting dark as we left Huejuquilla, not far out of town we turned off on the narrow road that would take us up hill and over dale to Nueva Colonia, a Wirrarica settlement, 1,300 km above sea level deep in the Sierras. It was dark so my view was mostly of the trees by the side of the narrow road which was currently being widened and reconstructed, hence the numerous detours down precarious dirt paths, or of the cliffs on the other side of the road. I could not get an idea of how high up we were or what the surroundings looked like until we were leaving 4 days later. I could tell by the vegetation that we were quite high up as the firs and evergreens reminded me more of the temperate forests in Canada than any tropical rain forest I had ever been in.
Two and a half hours later, after bumping our way up the sometimes very steep and narrow road and heading over mountain bridges barely wider than the van, passing only a few settlements along the way, we arrived at a complex of long adobe houses surrounded by stands of tall pines sheltering sleeping cattle, all barely visible in the starlight night. Three toots of a horn and several shouts of 'Yacko', the traditional Wira greeting, later, Jesus, Masauke and Linda's conpadre, appeared from one of the door, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Masauke inquired about the status of the ceremony, which we knew was already going on down the hill in the community of Las Latas. Jesus confirmed that the peyoteros or peligrinos, the pilgrims, would be dancing all night that night, Saturday, and that the ceremony would go on the following day, likely overnight the next night and end on Monday.
Tired as we were, and with only two small flashlights to illuminate what I would learn the next day was a very steep footpath down the side of the mountain to the community of Las Latas, we decided to spend the night in our usual accommodation, the van that transforms into a one and a half bedroom, no bath luxury suite. While quite workable for two, it was a very tight fit for 3, Linda sharing Masauke's usual just larger than single bed spot, while I was across the 'hall' in the just barely bigger than half bed unit. Lying with my head towards the window, the breeze from the pine forest wafting in and watching the beautiful display of night stars, I could only think how beautiful life is!
Lessons learned: 1) once again I have to reflect on how little we really need -- a few bowls of rice, clean underwear and a place to lay your head, not much to ask, 2) Life is good! 3) Life is good!
Stay tuned for part 2. Staywell and travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.
Friday, March 9, 2007
La Guardiana, The Keeper of Ancient Knowledge
"The merchant said to the boy "Why ask more out of life?" "Because we have to respond to the omens," the boy said, almost without meaning to, then he regretted what he had said, because the merchant had never met the king. "It`s called the principle of favourability, beginner`s luck. Because life wants you to achieve your Personal Legand," the old king had said. but the merchant understood what the boy had said. The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho.
As I made my way down from the pyramid of the moon, I felt truly filled with power. I felt I had been in touch with the ancient knowledge of the spirits of the temple.. They had spoken to me while I was meditating and told me about who I was and why I was here. They told me who my ancestors were and why I was on this path .. Some of what they told me I understood and most of the knolçwledge I received I could not comprehend, no doubt it will be revealed to me later.
My ancestors have been calling for an eternity. The ancestors have spoken to me ever since I was a child, whispering in my ear, speaking in languages I could not understand. They have come to me in dreams, in symbols I had no way of interpreting. Thought they have been talking to me all my life, I am still not always sure what they are saying, or why they have chosen to talk to me, and not one of my brothers or cousins. Why was I the one with this gift, the privilege and the responsibility of being called by the ancestors, of being able to hear their voices, whether or not I can understand what they are saying. Why was it me who was chosen?
I had chosen another life for myself… a much more ordinary life. A life that my best friend now lives – I had chosen to be a doctor, get married, have a loving husband, a few kids, the house on the outskirts of a town, the car, a 9-5 job… all the ingredients for a ‘normal’ life…but somewhere along the way my ancestors began calling me – whispering instructions I did not even know I was listening to, telling me to take this turn here, miss that train there, cross this road at that time, study with that professor, apply for this job, go to that dojo, all seemingly innocent steps along the way, all little steps and one day I woke up and realized that I was no where near the ‘normal’ path… My ancestors callings had taken me into uncharted territory, taken me down a path that no one I knew had gone before … I can’t say when I received the calling – that I do not know -- but somewhere along the road to the normal, average life, I took a fork in the road and here I am following the path of the ancestors.
After introducing me to the spirits and walking me up the pyramid and beginning the ceremony, Masauke descended to say his own prayer and awaited me at the base of the pyramid. After I joined him, we walked to the edge of the compound, which was surrounded by forest. I knew that I was to call the deer, so i called 3 times in Huichol ... Masauki, Masauki, Masauki .. I was looking straight ahead expecting to see the deer, but there was nothing in the woods in front of me. I felt a tap on my shoulder, Masauke turned me around and there behind me was a large buck standing between the trees about 20 feet away. . The buck stood watching us. It did not move as we slowly approached him. We stopped about 10 feet away and could see that the buck was not alone... standing behind him was a doe.
We all watched each other for several minutes. Then as we approached the deer turned and disappeared into the forest. We walked towards where they had been, along the edge of the compound. I could hear them but could not see them. I was calling them but they did not appear. Just as I turned to Masauke to say that they had gone, the buck and doe ran right in front of me as though to tell me that they wre still there. They seemed to say ... speak to la Guardiana ..so we went off in search of her.
The gatekeeper at the pyramid confirmed where la guardiana lived. We bid farewell to the spirits of the pyramids and drove the 6 blocks to the house with the purple gate and the hanging hibiscuses. A young girl answered our knock at the gate . When we told her who we were she asked us to wait while she consulted La Guardiana. She came back a few minuted later asking us to follow her. We walked up the short stairs and through the courtyard to the large kitchen where la Guardiana was standing. As she approached I did a double take. She looked like my mother's older sister .. everything about her looked like a relatve of mine.
She invited us to sit down. La guardiana told us that she was 72 years old. She had been the spiritual guardian of the pyramid for over 30 years. Her role was to help people with meditations, relaxation and visualizations. She told us that she had been given a gift from God and the evidence fo the gift was in the palm of her hand. She showed us the 5 pointed star in the palm of her hand, If was the representation of the Great Star she told us. She had known about this gift since she had been 13 years old when an old woman from the town had seen the star in her palm and had foretold all that would happen to her. Her life had unfolded as the old woman had predicted.
She told us that the spirits of the pyramids come and talk to her, that they ask her for what they want. She had only finished grade 4 in school, but she had written a book because the spirits had come to her and told her what to write. For years she would go to sleep witha pen and paper by her bedbecause she knew that between 3 and 4 am she would be woken up by something that felt like a small animal crawling up her right shoulder. It would feel like a cricket crawling into her ear and once she was fully awake she would write down everything the spirits told her.
At that point she got up and went to the chest of drawers behind her and pulled out a copy of a book about the pyramid with her name on it. La Guardiana had only 1 copoy of the book left and would not let it leave her home. It was all she had left she said. More than half of what the spirits ahd told her had been stolen by the woman who had helped her to put the book together. She had apparently published a book in her own name withthe rest of the material. "The spirits will not look kindly on that" Masauke responded to la guardiana. "She is probably living a difficult life, if she is alive at all. "
La guardiana spoke to me for a while about traditional medicine and about specfic natural remedies she had been given by the spirits. She asked me to come back the next day to do a reading of my energy and answer any questions that I had. We travelled back to Patzcuaro and returned the next morning.. The reading was indeed very powerful and I received an invitation to return for the celebration of the Spring Equnox ceremony, so this saga will continue ...
Lessons Learned: 1) Living as we do in the so called 'modern' world we are no longer atuned to the whisperings of the Spirit, 2) It is beautiful to cross paths with someone wh is blessed with the 'don' or gift of being able to communicate with the spirits, 3) it is wise to listen to the whisperings of our ancestors however unfamiliar we may be with their voices and however distant the echoes of their voices sound.
Stay tuned. Many thanks and many blessings to all those who have allowed the Spirit Traveller to continue on her travels. Thanks also for the many many kilometers of travel provided by the Morning Blessing Way Healing Centre Annex in San Rafeal, SLP, Mexico!!.
StayWell and Travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.
As I made my way down from the pyramid of the moon, I felt truly filled with power. I felt I had been in touch with the ancient knowledge of the spirits of the temple.. They had spoken to me while I was meditating and told me about who I was and why I was here. They told me who my ancestors were and why I was on this path .. Some of what they told me I understood and most of the knolçwledge I received I could not comprehend, no doubt it will be revealed to me later.
My ancestors have been calling for an eternity. The ancestors have spoken to me ever since I was a child, whispering in my ear, speaking in languages I could not understand. They have come to me in dreams, in symbols I had no way of interpreting. Thought they have been talking to me all my life, I am still not always sure what they are saying, or why they have chosen to talk to me, and not one of my brothers or cousins. Why was I the one with this gift, the privilege and the responsibility of being called by the ancestors, of being able to hear their voices, whether or not I can understand what they are saying. Why was it me who was chosen?
I had chosen another life for myself… a much more ordinary life. A life that my best friend now lives – I had chosen to be a doctor, get married, have a loving husband, a few kids, the house on the outskirts of a town, the car, a 9-5 job… all the ingredients for a ‘normal’ life…but somewhere along the way my ancestors began calling me – whispering instructions I did not even know I was listening to, telling me to take this turn here, miss that train there, cross this road at that time, study with that professor, apply for this job, go to that dojo, all seemingly innocent steps along the way, all little steps and one day I woke up and realized that I was no where near the ‘normal’ path… My ancestors callings had taken me into uncharted territory, taken me down a path that no one I knew had gone before … I can’t say when I received the calling – that I do not know -- but somewhere along the road to the normal, average life, I took a fork in the road and here I am following the path of the ancestors.
After introducing me to the spirits and walking me up the pyramid and beginning the ceremony, Masauke descended to say his own prayer and awaited me at the base of the pyramid. After I joined him, we walked to the edge of the compound, which was surrounded by forest. I knew that I was to call the deer, so i called 3 times in Huichol ... Masauki, Masauki, Masauki .. I was looking straight ahead expecting to see the deer, but there was nothing in the woods in front of me. I felt a tap on my shoulder, Masauke turned me around and there behind me was a large buck standing between the trees about 20 feet away. . The buck stood watching us. It did not move as we slowly approached him. We stopped about 10 feet away and could see that the buck was not alone... standing behind him was a doe.
We all watched each other for several minutes. Then as we approached the deer turned and disappeared into the forest. We walked towards where they had been, along the edge of the compound. I could hear them but could not see them. I was calling them but they did not appear. Just as I turned to Masauke to say that they had gone, the buck and doe ran right in front of me as though to tell me that they wre still there. They seemed to say ... speak to la Guardiana ..so we went off in search of her.
The gatekeeper at the pyramid confirmed where la guardiana lived. We bid farewell to the spirits of the pyramids and drove the 6 blocks to the house with the purple gate and the hanging hibiscuses. A young girl answered our knock at the gate . When we told her who we were she asked us to wait while she consulted La Guardiana. She came back a few minuted later asking us to follow her. We walked up the short stairs and through the courtyard to the large kitchen where la Guardiana was standing. As she approached I did a double take. She looked like my mother's older sister .. everything about her looked like a relatve of mine.
She invited us to sit down. La guardiana told us that she was 72 years old. She had been the spiritual guardian of the pyramid for over 30 years. Her role was to help people with meditations, relaxation and visualizations. She told us that she had been given a gift from God and the evidence fo the gift was in the palm of her hand. She showed us the 5 pointed star in the palm of her hand, If was the representation of the Great Star she told us. She had known about this gift since she had been 13 years old when an old woman from the town had seen the star in her palm and had foretold all that would happen to her. Her life had unfolded as the old woman had predicted.
She told us that the spirits of the pyramids come and talk to her, that they ask her for what they want. She had only finished grade 4 in school, but she had written a book because the spirits had come to her and told her what to write. For years she would go to sleep witha pen and paper by her bedbecause she knew that between 3 and 4 am she would be woken up by something that felt like a small animal crawling up her right shoulder. It would feel like a cricket crawling into her ear and once she was fully awake she would write down everything the spirits told her.
At that point she got up and went to the chest of drawers behind her and pulled out a copy of a book about the pyramid with her name on it. La Guardiana had only 1 copoy of the book left and would not let it leave her home. It was all she had left she said. More than half of what the spirits ahd told her had been stolen by the woman who had helped her to put the book together. She had apparently published a book in her own name withthe rest of the material. "The spirits will not look kindly on that" Masauke responded to la guardiana. "She is probably living a difficult life, if she is alive at all. "
La guardiana spoke to me for a while about traditional medicine and about specfic natural remedies she had been given by the spirits. She asked me to come back the next day to do a reading of my energy and answer any questions that I had. We travelled back to Patzcuaro and returned the next morning.. The reading was indeed very powerful and I received an invitation to return for the celebration of the Spring Equnox ceremony, so this saga will continue ...
Lessons Learned: 1) Living as we do in the so called 'modern' world we are no longer atuned to the whisperings of the Spirit, 2) It is beautiful to cross paths with someone wh is blessed with the 'don' or gift of being able to communicate with the spirits, 3) it is wise to listen to the whisperings of our ancestors however unfamiliar we may be with their voices and however distant the echoes of their voices sound.
Stay tuned. Many thanks and many blessings to all those who have allowed the Spirit Traveller to continue on her travels. Thanks also for the many many kilometers of travel provided by the Morning Blessing Way Healing Centre Annex in San Rafeal, SLP, Mexico!!.
StayWell and Travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Stalking Knowledge: In Search of the Ancient Pyramids
"We shape clay into pots, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want." Lao Tzu
While in Morelia, Masauke was drawn to take me to a Purhepecha pyramid in the nearby vicinity. He had been there some 8 years before and had met with the spiritual guardian of the pyramid, an older woman who had a relationship with the spirits of the pyramid. She is the one takes care of the ancient knowledge that remains in the pyramid. She is the one who has the ability to speak to the spirits of the temple.
Masauke recounted the story of his first visit to the pyramid when the Guardiana had presented himself and the others who he was travelling with, to the spirits as, "I present you 3 Greats", with that Marauke recalls, his companions turned to him and said, Don`t you hear that music, there must be a ceremony in progress inside the pyramids- Masauke had neard nothing, but all of the others he was travelling with had heard the fanfare. They were told that what they had heard were the spirits welcoming them, as though they had been preparing for the Games.
Masauke had forgotten the name of the pyramid but remembered it by its location in the town, which he also could not remember the name of. So off we went in search of this pyramid and in the process discovered two others before we found the right one. At each of the pyramids Masauke presented me tot he spirits of the temples and left me to greet them in my own way, which was of course, a greeting of warriors, a combination of karate katas, tai chi and chi gung.
The first pyramid we found was in the archeological zone of Ihuatzio, the place of the Coyote god, which was also the garrison that housed all the Purhepecha warriors. One of the caretakers gave us a description of what had taken place at the pyramid and showed us the raised roads that surrounded the place de las armas. He pointed out all the ruins that had yet to be excavated because the nearby fields were still owned by private landowners. It was there that I did the greeting to the 4 directions, Sheva Shao Lohan, and a special warrior meditation. This was not the pyramid with the Guardiana, so after Masauke described the one we were looking for to the caretaker, he tokd to try s certain route which would take us to anothe nearby pyramid.
The second pyramid we found was the pyramid of Tzintzuntzan, which was once the administrative capital of the Purhepeche world. Prior to the arrival of the Spànish the complex housed 40,00 people and administered the entire Purhepeche kindom. It is now located in a small village of less than 1000.
The following day, bright and early we were again stalking the ancient pyramids. This time we were sure that we had found the righ one after several people suggested that the pyramid at Tingambato fit the description. It was only about an hour away from where we were. Ever hopeful we set off and after driving up a mountain, along narrow curvy mountain roads, through a pine forest and avocado plantations looking out over beautiful lakes, we finally arrived at Tingambato. We had indeed found the lost pyramid.
The Guardiana was no longer at the pyramid, but Masauke again presented me at the gateway of the pyramid complex. He presentd me to the spirits saying"A la que se han llamada, se presenta" "She who you have summonsed is here" While he was presenting me we were greeted with drums. When he had finished I turned to him and asked if he had heard the drums. He had also heard them. Needless to say there were no drummers in the pyramid comples, the music came from the world of the spirits. I repeated my greeting to the four directions and did a powerful meditation on the top of the pyramid of the Moon. Then we set off to find the Guardiana...
Lessons Learned: 1) I`m still working on the lessons learned at this one!!
To be continued ... Stay Tuned. StayWell and Travel with Spìrit, Spirit Traveller.
While in Morelia, Masauke was drawn to take me to a Purhepecha pyramid in the nearby vicinity. He had been there some 8 years before and had met with the spiritual guardian of the pyramid, an older woman who had a relationship with the spirits of the pyramid. She is the one takes care of the ancient knowledge that remains in the pyramid. She is the one who has the ability to speak to the spirits of the temple.
Masauke recounted the story of his first visit to the pyramid when the Guardiana had presented himself and the others who he was travelling with, to the spirits as, "I present you 3 Greats", with that Marauke recalls, his companions turned to him and said, Don`t you hear that music, there must be a ceremony in progress inside the pyramids- Masauke had neard nothing, but all of the others he was travelling with had heard the fanfare. They were told that what they had heard were the spirits welcoming them, as though they had been preparing for the Games.
Masauke had forgotten the name of the pyramid but remembered it by its location in the town, which he also could not remember the name of. So off we went in search of this pyramid and in the process discovered two others before we found the right one. At each of the pyramids Masauke presented me tot he spirits of the temples and left me to greet them in my own way, which was of course, a greeting of warriors, a combination of karate katas, tai chi and chi gung.
The first pyramid we found was in the archeological zone of Ihuatzio, the place of the Coyote god, which was also the garrison that housed all the Purhepecha warriors. One of the caretakers gave us a description of what had taken place at the pyramid and showed us the raised roads that surrounded the place de las armas. He pointed out all the ruins that had yet to be excavated because the nearby fields were still owned by private landowners. It was there that I did the greeting to the 4 directions, Sheva Shao Lohan, and a special warrior meditation. This was not the pyramid with the Guardiana, so after Masauke described the one we were looking for to the caretaker, he tokd to try s certain route which would take us to anothe nearby pyramid.
The second pyramid we found was the pyramid of Tzintzuntzan, which was once the administrative capital of the Purhepeche world. Prior to the arrival of the Spànish the complex housed 40,00 people and administered the entire Purhepeche kindom. It is now located in a small village of less than 1000.
The following day, bright and early we were again stalking the ancient pyramids. This time we were sure that we had found the righ one after several people suggested that the pyramid at Tingambato fit the description. It was only about an hour away from where we were. Ever hopeful we set off and after driving up a mountain, along narrow curvy mountain roads, through a pine forest and avocado plantations looking out over beautiful lakes, we finally arrived at Tingambato. We had indeed found the lost pyramid.
The Guardiana was no longer at the pyramid, but Masauke again presented me at the gateway of the pyramid complex. He presentd me to the spirits saying"A la que se han llamada, se presenta" "She who you have summonsed is here" While he was presenting me we were greeted with drums. When he had finished I turned to him and asked if he had heard the drums. He had also heard them. Needless to say there were no drummers in the pyramid comples, the music came from the world of the spirits. I repeated my greeting to the four directions and did a powerful meditation on the top of the pyramid of the Moon. Then we set off to find the Guardiana...
Lessons Learned: 1) I`m still working on the lessons learned at this one!!
To be continued ... Stay Tuned. StayWell and Travel with Spìrit, Spirit Traveller.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Meeting Fellow Travellers Along The Road
"If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him" Ancient Zen Saying.
Masauke needed to go to Morelia come here to close some old circles, to leave behind some old paterns and habits that was still with him for the time he had lives here many years ago. Morelia is in the state of Michiocan, which at one point was the name for all of Mexico. The time in Morelia was a time of many lessons. It was the first place that I found a real kung fu dojo. I also met with the local indigenous women, the Purhepeche women, in the nearby city of Patzcuero. I will recount this in a later entry.
Morelia is a very old city with narrow streets and old stone buildings. There is a large old cathedral in the middle of the square. It is surrounded by palacial mansions, most of which have been converted into hotels or cafes. The governor mansion is also in the square. It is from this mansion the the grito del la independencia, the shout of independence, goes out once a year, following the tradition at the beginning of the revolution. The governor mansion is right in front of the Cathedral. I guess the thinking was that the closer that you live to the house of God, the more blessed you are viewed to be.
The people of Morelia are very Spanish looking, more juera or very light skinned, than in many of the other smaller towns I have visited. Sitting in the plaza in the evening I could have been sitting in Anytown in Europs or Anylargetown in Canada or the US. It is a university town, so at night there is a lot of activity. Unlike other towns, where many of the people selling in the streets have darker skin and most often are indigenous people, in the streets of Morelia there are more apparently 'upwardly mobile' students performing tricks or selling wares than there are people people selling their wares because there have no other means of earning a living.
This juxtaposition of the light skin students selling their talents and the darker skinned indigenous people selling their art and their talents, made me reflect on the power of discrimination, and on what the Western world has come to value. The art that the indigenous people were selling took much time and years of experience to do well, yet their work is not values, less so now that machines can do in minutes what they take hours to do and years to learn. The students are selling their talents to buy an education which will guarentee them a stable and secure place in society. Yet the native people have centuries of knowledge that is being lost and devalued leaving many of them with few alternative than to sell their art for a few dollars or to leave their traditions behind and join the so called civilized world. How much knowledge are we as a global society losing as the people change their ways of life to adapt to the so called modern world!
During the trip to Morelia, Masauke met with several people from the spiritual group that he was a part of while he lived here. One of the people we met was Miguel, a Spaniard living in Mexico who continues to study the medicine way with Masauke's brother who stil maintains a spiritual group in the city. Miguel was 15 days away from leaving the stable job he had for many years and heading off to Spain for 5 months before going to Canada with his wife and family, with no job and no prospects, only a few contacts. Miguel was about to do what I had done 2 months earlier.
Sitting at breakfast he told me that his safe stable job provided him with 2 houses but no joy.. He could support his wife and children but he was slowly dying inside. As he spoke to me and as I recounted my journey that had brought me here Masauke reminded me that he was indeed a mirror for me, that he was reading one of the letters that I had been given by the Great Spirit at the last ceremony he had performed for me.
Miguel and I met each other at exactly the ideal moment, when my faith was being tested and when he was doubting his decision. Miguel later told Masauke that what I had told him was exactly what he needed to hear at that time. It was truly a beautiful meeting of spirits on a similar path.
Lessons learned: 1) Kill the Buddha means that we need to learn to be a light unto ourselves, to learn to be our own light, our own Buddha's, our own authority, 2) The Buddha is neither outside or inside ourselves, we must kill all illusions of finding the buddha, we already are the Buddha, 3) Take the middle road -- learning to achieve freedom takes practice, practice in balancing freedom from with freedom to.
On that note, stay tuned. Stay well and Travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.
Masauke needed to go to Morelia come here to close some old circles, to leave behind some old paterns and habits that was still with him for the time he had lives here many years ago. Morelia is in the state of Michiocan, which at one point was the name for all of Mexico. The time in Morelia was a time of many lessons. It was the first place that I found a real kung fu dojo. I also met with the local indigenous women, the Purhepeche women, in the nearby city of Patzcuero. I will recount this in a later entry.
Morelia is a very old city with narrow streets and old stone buildings. There is a large old cathedral in the middle of the square. It is surrounded by palacial mansions, most of which have been converted into hotels or cafes. The governor mansion is also in the square. It is from this mansion the the grito del la independencia, the shout of independence, goes out once a year, following the tradition at the beginning of the revolution. The governor mansion is right in front of the Cathedral. I guess the thinking was that the closer that you live to the house of God, the more blessed you are viewed to be.
The people of Morelia are very Spanish looking, more juera or very light skinned, than in many of the other smaller towns I have visited. Sitting in the plaza in the evening I could have been sitting in Anytown in Europs or Anylargetown in Canada or the US. It is a university town, so at night there is a lot of activity. Unlike other towns, where many of the people selling in the streets have darker skin and most often are indigenous people, in the streets of Morelia there are more apparently 'upwardly mobile' students performing tricks or selling wares than there are people people selling their wares because there have no other means of earning a living.
This juxtaposition of the light skin students selling their talents and the darker skinned indigenous people selling their art and their talents, made me reflect on the power of discrimination, and on what the Western world has come to value. The art that the indigenous people were selling took much time and years of experience to do well, yet their work is not values, less so now that machines can do in minutes what they take hours to do and years to learn. The students are selling their talents to buy an education which will guarentee them a stable and secure place in society. Yet the native people have centuries of knowledge that is being lost and devalued leaving many of them with few alternative than to sell their art for a few dollars or to leave their traditions behind and join the so called civilized world. How much knowledge are we as a global society losing as the people change their ways of life to adapt to the so called modern world!
During the trip to Morelia, Masauke met with several people from the spiritual group that he was a part of while he lived here. One of the people we met was Miguel, a Spaniard living in Mexico who continues to study the medicine way with Masauke's brother who stil maintains a spiritual group in the city. Miguel was 15 days away from leaving the stable job he had for many years and heading off to Spain for 5 months before going to Canada with his wife and family, with no job and no prospects, only a few contacts. Miguel was about to do what I had done 2 months earlier.
Sitting at breakfast he told me that his safe stable job provided him with 2 houses but no joy.. He could support his wife and children but he was slowly dying inside. As he spoke to me and as I recounted my journey that had brought me here Masauke reminded me that he was indeed a mirror for me, that he was reading one of the letters that I had been given by the Great Spirit at the last ceremony he had performed for me.
Miguel and I met each other at exactly the ideal moment, when my faith was being tested and when he was doubting his decision. Miguel later told Masauke that what I had told him was exactly what he needed to hear at that time. It was truly a beautiful meeting of spirits on a similar path.
Lessons learned: 1) Kill the Buddha means that we need to learn to be a light unto ourselves, to learn to be our own light, our own Buddha's, our own authority, 2) The Buddha is neither outside or inside ourselves, we must kill all illusions of finding the buddha, we already are the Buddha, 3) Take the middle road -- learning to achieve freedom takes practice, practice in balancing freedom from with freedom to.
On that note, stay tuned. Stay well and Travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.
Oh Tears of Joy!
"Physician, heal thyself" Luke 4:23
To be a healer, one must learn to heal one's self. I have been on the path of learning to heal myself for the past 25 years. It has been a long and windy road. I have placed myself in many situations tht have been physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically and spiritually challenging, each tiem a little more, so that I would push at my boundaries, unblock old blockages, unlearn lessons that not meant for me and undo old habits that no longer served me.
I have been healing myself for the past 25 years and still the work has not been completed. Instead I find this healing work much like removing the layers of an onion, or walking a labyrinth. Each time I remove another layer there is still another deeper layer yet to be explored and transformed. Learning to be who I really am, to follow th path that was chosen for me, or rather that I chose for myself when I incarnated as the person that i am, in this conjuncture of time-space, under the specific alignment of stars that I chose and to the parents tht I selected, learning those lessons have been particularly hard for me. Maybe no more than others I have been challenged to learn the lessons of trust, to learn the lessons of forgiveness and to learn the ultimate lesson, the lesson of love.
These lessons have all be difficult lessons for me to learn ... 1) trusting in that power, the nameless that has no name, that is beyond myself and yet at the same time trusting in myself, 2) forgiving myself for whatever mistakes, errors or misjudgements I believe I have made and at the same time forgiving all others for what I believe thay may have done to me and 3) loving myself unconditionally and learning to love all others, even those that I don't like. Thses have been difficult lessons that I have struggled toincorportate into my life for the past 25 years .. I am still learning tham .. as Socrates and Lao Tzu both said.. To know and not to do, is not to know.
Last week my faith in the Spirit was tested. I had left my jobs in Toronto and taken this sabbatical to learn new healing techniques and to renew my Spirit, to leap into the abyss and trust that I am always taken care of. It is a lesson that most aboriginal peoples who live off the land and trust in the Creator to provide their daily meals, and the Zen monks who travel with their bowl in their hands, and those who are homeless and live off the charity of others, know all too well. It is a lesson we mostly chose to forgot in the West, having structured our lives so that we have a steady and secure source of income.
I too had made sure that I had done all the calculations before I left and made sure that there would be sufficient funds for my sabattical. What I would do when I returned, well, only Spirit would show me that when I was ready to see that fork in the road. Trusting in Spirit, and following the path of many who had gone before me, I jumped into the abyss. All was well for the first two months, but I still had not been paid for some work that I had done before I left. I trust in Spirit enough to know that the money will arrive when I need it to arrive. As the end of the second month approached and the money did not appear, I began to lose faith.
It was then that Spirit once again intervened. Out of the blue, a longtime friend Bev emailed to offer to periodically deposit $20 in my account, as she knew that I was not working and had gone off on this sojourn. I received the email as a true sign from Spirit as it came at a time when I was doing serious battle with the Adversary, some call him/her Satan or the Devil, but this is the spirit that tests our faith in the Great Will, that appears as the darkenss before the dawn, that challenges us to lose faith just before we find that which we have been searching for. I had been doing battle with the Adversary when the email arrived.
I was still not out of the woods and sent an email to all my contacts offering to sell some of the artworks that I had purchased in an effort to support the local people in the different places I had travelled to. I had collected some beautiful yarn art from the Wirriraca people as well as some natural fibre items, all purchased on fair trade principles. I sent out the email in the morning and tears of joy were runing down my face when I checked my eamil the following morning when my father, my brother and a few of my friends all answered my request. A Jewish friend, who did not have space in her apartment for any artwork, offered to give me the gift of chai, or life, a gift of $18. All these replies were the voice of Spirit echoing through the mouths and hands of those I know. It indeed renewed my trust in the Spirit, and in the path that I have been called to travel.
For all those who have generously supported my travels or purchased artwork, I willi ndeed lay down a prayer for you in the desert. May you be blessed multifold and ay the Great Spirit be there for you when you are in need. I will continue along the road of healing myself. This indeed had been a powerful lesson in trust, in forgiving myself and in love ... As Masauke, my teacher often says, if the road to becoming a healer was an easy road then it would be crowded.
Stay Tuned. Staywell and Travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller
To be a healer, one must learn to heal one's self. I have been on the path of learning to heal myself for the past 25 years. It has been a long and windy road. I have placed myself in many situations tht have been physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically and spiritually challenging, each tiem a little more, so that I would push at my boundaries, unblock old blockages, unlearn lessons that not meant for me and undo old habits that no longer served me.
I have been healing myself for the past 25 years and still the work has not been completed. Instead I find this healing work much like removing the layers of an onion, or walking a labyrinth. Each time I remove another layer there is still another deeper layer yet to be explored and transformed. Learning to be who I really am, to follow th path that was chosen for me, or rather that I chose for myself when I incarnated as the person that i am, in this conjuncture of time-space, under the specific alignment of stars that I chose and to the parents tht I selected, learning those lessons have been particularly hard for me. Maybe no more than others I have been challenged to learn the lessons of trust, to learn the lessons of forgiveness and to learn the ultimate lesson, the lesson of love.
These lessons have all be difficult lessons for me to learn ... 1) trusting in that power, the nameless that has no name, that is beyond myself and yet at the same time trusting in myself, 2) forgiving myself for whatever mistakes, errors or misjudgements I believe I have made and at the same time forgiving all others for what I believe thay may have done to me and 3) loving myself unconditionally and learning to love all others, even those that I don't like. Thses have been difficult lessons that I have struggled toincorportate into my life for the past 25 years .. I am still learning tham .. as Socrates and Lao Tzu both said.. To know and not to do, is not to know.
Last week my faith in the Spirit was tested. I had left my jobs in Toronto and taken this sabbatical to learn new healing techniques and to renew my Spirit, to leap into the abyss and trust that I am always taken care of. It is a lesson that most aboriginal peoples who live off the land and trust in the Creator to provide their daily meals, and the Zen monks who travel with their bowl in their hands, and those who are homeless and live off the charity of others, know all too well. It is a lesson we mostly chose to forgot in the West, having structured our lives so that we have a steady and secure source of income.
I too had made sure that I had done all the calculations before I left and made sure that there would be sufficient funds for my sabattical. What I would do when I returned, well, only Spirit would show me that when I was ready to see that fork in the road. Trusting in Spirit, and following the path of many who had gone before me, I jumped into the abyss. All was well for the first two months, but I still had not been paid for some work that I had done before I left. I trust in Spirit enough to know that the money will arrive when I need it to arrive. As the end of the second month approached and the money did not appear, I began to lose faith.
It was then that Spirit once again intervened. Out of the blue, a longtime friend Bev emailed to offer to periodically deposit $20 in my account, as she knew that I was not working and had gone off on this sojourn. I received the email as a true sign from Spirit as it came at a time when I was doing serious battle with the Adversary, some call him/her Satan or the Devil, but this is the spirit that tests our faith in the Great Will, that appears as the darkenss before the dawn, that challenges us to lose faith just before we find that which we have been searching for. I had been doing battle with the Adversary when the email arrived.
I was still not out of the woods and sent an email to all my contacts offering to sell some of the artworks that I had purchased in an effort to support the local people in the different places I had travelled to. I had collected some beautiful yarn art from the Wirriraca people as well as some natural fibre items, all purchased on fair trade principles. I sent out the email in the morning and tears of joy were runing down my face when I checked my eamil the following morning when my father, my brother and a few of my friends all answered my request. A Jewish friend, who did not have space in her apartment for any artwork, offered to give me the gift of chai, or life, a gift of $18. All these replies were the voice of Spirit echoing through the mouths and hands of those I know. It indeed renewed my trust in the Spirit, and in the path that I have been called to travel.
For all those who have generously supported my travels or purchased artwork, I willi ndeed lay down a prayer for you in the desert. May you be blessed multifold and ay the Great Spirit be there for you when you are in need. I will continue along the road of healing myself. This indeed had been a powerful lesson in trust, in forgiving myself and in love ... As Masauke, my teacher often says, if the road to becoming a healer was an easy road then it would be crowded.
Stay Tuned. Staywell and Travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Martial Arts in Mexico
"Before I studied Zen, mountains were mountains and water was water, when I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I realized that mountains were not mountains and water was not water. Now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. I see mountains once again as mountains and water, once again as water" Chuan Teng Lu, The Way of Zen
When I am in Toronto, I spend a lot of time training in martial arts -- in fact, I train about 6 days a week. If I am not teaching tai chi, I am studying chi gung, if I am not teaching kobudo, I am studying jodo, if I am not studying karate, I am teaching it. I am not a particularly gifted martial artist. I do not have the natural talent of a Sheldon S, one of the young blackbelts who graded at the same time that I did, who can jump straight up in the air for at least 3 feet, and do a spinning flying side kick from that position, with what appears to be no effort at all. In fact, most of the guys who graded for their karate shodan at the same time that I did, started a long time after me..
I am not particularly gifted at martial arts, but martial arts for me has been a gift from the Spirit. It has been something that when I started training I almost left, sayiong that I would never be able to do it. I was first introcduced to martial arts at age 28, when I took one of those continuing education classes in shotokan karate. When I lived in Brazil I trained at two different dojos. At that time I was mostly interested in the exercise aspect of martial arts.
When I returned to Canada, Gloria, a good friend of mine, had recently enrolled in tae kwon do, so I signed up for a year and got as far as my first non white belt-- a yellow belt. It was when I was 39 years old that the martial arts bug really bit me. I was finishing up my PhD and was really stressed. I found a dojo where classical martial arts were taught -- many different arts in the same place. I started with tai chi, moved on to iaido, of Japanese sword, then added jodo to my repertopireand the rest is history... the bug had bitten so hard that I could not stop. Kobudo, or ancient weapons, was my next venture, and finally karate.
I was one of the oldest students in the dojo when I started. I certainly did not feel fit or that I had the ability to make the moves, or remember the katas that the black belts were doing. For the first few months I struggled to do what others were doing so effortlessly. My struggling, as my Sensei used to tell me, was not so much because it was physically difficult, though it was, byt mostly because it looked easy, and my ego mind told me that I was very smart and that I "should" be able to pick up something that looked so easy very quickly. I was used to learning quickly, so why was this so difficult.
I had forgotten, or maybe I had not yet learned, that learning with the body and learning with the mind required similar but different techniques. I was always over thinking and interfering with my own learning process. I was seeking the truth behind each of the martial arts instead of expereincing them as they were. Well, almost eight years later, taking it one step at a time, learning how to let go of my own interferance, I have achieved shodan (first degree black belt) and above, in five different arts/disciplines.
Now, here I am again, starting at white belt, learning a new modus operandi -- travelling with Spirit, trusting that I will be taken care of by the Great Spirit, the Creator, the Divine Mother, Jesus Christ, the Buddha, the Universe, the Goddess, whatever name I or others have given to the energy that moves that Universe. Again, I am challenged to put into practice, but ina different way, all of the zen philosophy and martial arts training I have been doing for the past 7 years.
Who would have thought that at 46 years old I would be called to leave the "normal" life behind and venture off in search of my personal destiny. That is the progative of youth. I always thought that I had missed my opportunity to seek my fortune, to fulfill my personal destiny, because I had gotten sidetracked doing what I knew how to do best -- to study. I had spent most of my adult life in University studying one thing or another, maybe that is why studying martial arts on some level was easy for me.... studying was what I knw best. Now I have been called to apply the lessons of martial arts to the artistry of life -- my Sensei always says that a martial artist is an artist of life! Like the Zen monks who have gone before me I am now on my walk about ....
I have been called to trust that the Spirit is leading me where I need to be, that I am learning the lessons that are needed for the moment where I am and that I will be taken care of. A couple days ago my faith was truly tested and I would like to thank for the most sacred place in my heart those of my readers, family and friends who responded and who have supported me in my travels. You have renewed my faith in Spirit and in the hand of the Divine acting through fellow humans. They say that when you travel, you put your self in the hands of strangers. They also say that strangers are really not strangers, only freinds you have yet to meet.
Lessons learned: 1) first and foremost, trust Spirit, 2) second and utmost, trust Spirit implicitly, 3) third and finally, trust Spirit always.
ps- if any of my fellow kareta ka from Hasu Dojo are reading this, I found the first real dojo since I have been in Mexico yesterday in Morelia. The Sensei is a Mexican who lives in China for many years. He teaches Kung Fu and Tai Chi... Martial Arts are Alive and Well and Living in Mexico too!
When I am in Toronto, I spend a lot of time training in martial arts -- in fact, I train about 6 days a week. If I am not teaching tai chi, I am studying chi gung, if I am not teaching kobudo, I am studying jodo, if I am not studying karate, I am teaching it. I am not a particularly gifted martial artist. I do not have the natural talent of a Sheldon S, one of the young blackbelts who graded at the same time that I did, who can jump straight up in the air for at least 3 feet, and do a spinning flying side kick from that position, with what appears to be no effort at all. In fact, most of the guys who graded for their karate shodan at the same time that I did, started a long time after me..
I am not particularly gifted at martial arts, but martial arts for me has been a gift from the Spirit. It has been something that when I started training I almost left, sayiong that I would never be able to do it. I was first introcduced to martial arts at age 28, when I took one of those continuing education classes in shotokan karate. When I lived in Brazil I trained at two different dojos. At that time I was mostly interested in the exercise aspect of martial arts.
When I returned to Canada, Gloria, a good friend of mine, had recently enrolled in tae kwon do, so I signed up for a year and got as far as my first non white belt-- a yellow belt. It was when I was 39 years old that the martial arts bug really bit me. I was finishing up my PhD and was really stressed. I found a dojo where classical martial arts were taught -- many different arts in the same place. I started with tai chi, moved on to iaido, of Japanese sword, then added jodo to my repertopireand the rest is history... the bug had bitten so hard that I could not stop. Kobudo, or ancient weapons, was my next venture, and finally karate.
I was one of the oldest students in the dojo when I started. I certainly did not feel fit or that I had the ability to make the moves, or remember the katas that the black belts were doing. For the first few months I struggled to do what others were doing so effortlessly. My struggling, as my Sensei used to tell me, was not so much because it was physically difficult, though it was, byt mostly because it looked easy, and my ego mind told me that I was very smart and that I "should" be able to pick up something that looked so easy very quickly. I was used to learning quickly, so why was this so difficult.
I had forgotten, or maybe I had not yet learned, that learning with the body and learning with the mind required similar but different techniques. I was always over thinking and interfering with my own learning process. I was seeking the truth behind each of the martial arts instead of expereincing them as they were. Well, almost eight years later, taking it one step at a time, learning how to let go of my own interferance, I have achieved shodan (first degree black belt) and above, in five different arts/disciplines.
Now, here I am again, starting at white belt, learning a new modus operandi -- travelling with Spirit, trusting that I will be taken care of by the Great Spirit, the Creator, the Divine Mother, Jesus Christ, the Buddha, the Universe, the Goddess, whatever name I or others have given to the energy that moves that Universe. Again, I am challenged to put into practice, but ina different way, all of the zen philosophy and martial arts training I have been doing for the past 7 years.
Who would have thought that at 46 years old I would be called to leave the "normal" life behind and venture off in search of my personal destiny. That is the progative of youth. I always thought that I had missed my opportunity to seek my fortune, to fulfill my personal destiny, because I had gotten sidetracked doing what I knew how to do best -- to study. I had spent most of my adult life in University studying one thing or another, maybe that is why studying martial arts on some level was easy for me.... studying was what I knw best. Now I have been called to apply the lessons of martial arts to the artistry of life -- my Sensei always says that a martial artist is an artist of life! Like the Zen monks who have gone before me I am now on my walk about ....
I have been called to trust that the Spirit is leading me where I need to be, that I am learning the lessons that are needed for the moment where I am and that I will be taken care of. A couple days ago my faith was truly tested and I would like to thank for the most sacred place in my heart those of my readers, family and friends who responded and who have supported me in my travels. You have renewed my faith in Spirit and in the hand of the Divine acting through fellow humans. They say that when you travel, you put your self in the hands of strangers. They also say that strangers are really not strangers, only freinds you have yet to meet.
Lessons learned: 1) first and foremost, trust Spirit, 2) second and utmost, trust Spirit implicitly, 3) third and finally, trust Spirit always.
ps- if any of my fellow kareta ka from Hasu Dojo are reading this, I found the first real dojo since I have been in Mexico yesterday in Morelia. The Sensei is a Mexican who lives in China for many years. He teaches Kung Fu and Tai Chi... Martial Arts are Alive and Well and Living in Mexico too!
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