by Alberto Villoldo: According to lore, the power of Ti can create beauty, or heal the sick, or fabricate galaxies…
This is the source of the power of the shamans. But it can also destroy if it is not used properly. The sacred dream is said to be made with the light of Ti, and all you need to do to be reminded of it, is to gaze at the sun at daybreak, or at a shimmering star at night, or into a bonfire.
It is a plan for the destiny of the cosmos and of every living being within it. It is a template for invisible cities of light and for peace and beauty throughout the cosmos. But this outcome is not written in stone; it is not guaranteed. It requires that each one of us hold our part of the dream of the possible future and endeavor to create it.
When Pachakuti, the ninth ruler of the Inka Empire, was a young man, he went on a vision quest into the mountains. On his way to the city of Cusco, he stopped at a magical well known as Susurpuqio. When he reached in to fill the pail with water to quench his thirst, he was blinded by a light and a voice revealed his destiny to him.
He would extend the Inka territory into the greatest kingdom the Americas would ever know. It would be known as the Empire of the Sun and usher in the dawn of a millennium of peace in the Andes. But he would face great challenges.
On his return to Cusco he discovered that the ancient enemies of the Inka, the Chanka people, were about to invade the city and his father and all the able-bodied people had abandoned the city of Cusco.
Pachakuti understood his destiny. But he had no idea how to fulfill it. The only people remaining in the city were the old and some urchin children. He assembled them into a ragtag army and the following day before sunrise attacked the unsuspecting Chanka, who were camped on the citadel of Sacsayhuamán above Cusco.
The legends say that the stones came alive magically and hurled themselves at the invaders, who were driven away to their lands on the other side of the Apurimac River. Not a single life was lost.
Pachakuti would become the model of the luminous warrior, who has access to spiritual resources that come to his aid when he is fulfilling the destiny scripted in his sacred dream.
As it did with Pachakuti, the Primordial Light reveals to us our sacred dream and our destiny. And like Pachakuti, we must face what seem to be insurmountable challenges.
But is there a deeper meaning to this myth? Sit for a moment and contemplate how this myth affects you on a deep level. Is this myth casting a spell affecting how you view the world? Is it time to release the spell of this myth to the fire and create a new mythology?
