 |
| eclipse over Mexico |
For a start, there is not just one Mayan Calendar, but a whole series of them relating to different aspects of life, for instance agriculture. But the one we are all familiar with deals with raising of consciousness. This is said to happen when our planet aligns with 'the heart of heaven'. The teachings are very similar to our own spiritualist philosophy and especially White Eagle's teachings. White Eagle mentions the Maya in his work. All indigenous people understand how important it is to live in harmony not just with the world around us, but with the universe as well.
At the heart of Mayan philosopy is the pyramid, which is the symbol of spiritual progress. As mediums and healers we know the importance of being properly grounded, (present in the moment), in our world. This has never been more important as it is now. It is the difference between staying cool, calm and centred in the eye of the storm, or being totally swept off your feet by a sudden influx of energy, like a tsunami for instance. But it's this energy that will take us to a new level of understanding, of who we are, and our purpose on the planet. We all have a purpose.
A pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred site; and this increases our spiritual awareness, by realigning our energies to life's natural ebb and flow. One of the things that really interests me as a medium is of course the continuity of life. This is part of Mayan tradition as well. Working with life's natural ebb and flow helps us understand death, not as an end point in time, but a transition to a higher level of awareness. When we finally leave this planet, we do indeed leave our bodies behind, but during our lifetimes we go through a whole series of smaller dyings as rites of passages.
According to the Mayans, 'we each have a little piece of the Sun (Divinity) within us'; the seed consciousness. It's unique, and so, as with spiritualists, we have the 'personal responsibility' to grown and develop this seed through the seasons of our lives. You are considered to be an Elder when you reach the age of 52. This is because you have lived through all the possible combinations in the Mayan Calendar. Sacred Ceremony helps us peel back the layers of understanding.
One such journey I took was at Spring Equinox, the beginning of the Mayan year, to a place called Becan. This is a small site, compared to say Chichen Itza, but it gave us much more privacy to do our work, taking us away from the tourist trail. We arrived in the jungle in the pitch black, slightly dishevelled after an very very early morning start. Huge shapes loomed large in front of us, whilst strange sounds screamed their message to us out of the void. As a muted light began to spread across the tree tops, we marched in single file behind Hunbatz Men, the Itza Mayan Elder, who was playing his tiny clay Mayan flute. A huge stone stood guard in the middle of the clearing, flanked on either side by ruins. The site hadn't been restored in the same way as say Uxmal or Chichen Itza had. At a sign from Hunbatz we began to chant 'k'in' the Mayan for Father Sun, and we all given something to rattle, which looked like an overgrown dried runner bean! But boy did it rattle!!! That year, there was a lot of cloud cover, and so we were encouraged to chant louder and louder until the sun eventually did come out to play directly over the central stone. What a magical moment. The whole place came alive welcoming in the Mayan New Year.
Working in ceremony in this way, is a very powerful experience, and one that can help us heal ourselves and through that help the planet. I have learned so much about the workings of the pyramid and the way it relates to my own work as a medium, and my journey continues to unfold. I can't wait to get back there in 2012.
