by Alberto Villoldo PhD: We are living in exceptional times—the first time our humanity has been stopped in its tracks in 100 years.
Many indigenous prophecies speak of this as a period of great transformation. The Inka call it the Pachacuti—a chaotic time when a world out of kilter is restored to balance and serenity. They describe a culling of humanity, which is sadly happening today as many of us lose loved ones.
Yet every crisis brings with it a marvelous opportunity. Ours is to awaken our inner shaman, our true wisdom and power, so that we can become part of a new solution. We can help those who are in great need and use our practice and prayers to find new ways to develop sustainable business and medicine—as we deal with worldwide health and economic problems.
We can only accomplish this from a place of fearlessness—and today many of us are living in fear. So we start by resetting our fight, flight or freeze reflex:
Place your open palms over your heart chakra, then inhale deeply to a count of three, and exhale to a count of five. Repeat slowly. It is in the exhalation that we reset fight, flight or freeze to discover inner peace. Do this as often as you feel the need.
The Andean prophecies say that after the Pachacuti will be the beginning of the Millennium of Gold. The birth of a new humanity, and the awakening of compassion, caring, sustainability, and coexistence with all the creatures on the planet. It is the opportunity to become homo Luminous, and to grow a new body that ages, heals, and dies differently.
The shamans of old understood that time does not flow in one direction only. Time figure eights and pretzels back on itself, so that we can track along our personal timeline to heal the trauma that separated us from nature.
It first happened when we were cast out of Paradise.
As a result we suffer from collective soul loss from having been cast out of the Garden of Eden. Westerners are the only people in the world who were ever cast out of the garden. The aborigines, sub-Saharan Africans, native Americans—to name a few—were given the garden to be its stewards and caretakers.
Today we have an invitation to learn how to tend our gardens newly—to make a sacred commitment to Mother Earth as her stewards. And then, Mother Earth will recognize us as earth keepers and look after us. Our mother wants us to be well. But if we remain predators disconnected from her we will get sick, for humanity is a parasite that is killing its host. We are committing a kind of matricide unheard of in other species.
Remember that for the shaman there is no difference between being killed by a microbe and being killed by a jaguar. As shamans we know that we have to be in right relationship with microbes and with jaguars—otherwise they will both be looking at us as lunch.
As you awaken your inner shaman and take on the stewardship of all life, all life supports you in miraculous ways.
