Author: Sacred Pathways

Stories form the Journey: Unsuspected Sacred Items, by Kinlen Wheeler

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The first time Wake and I saw Chumpi Stones was under interesting circumstances. In 2004, we were facilitating a group of shamans in training with the Four Winds on a hiking journey to a very isolated sacred site called Choquequirao in Peru. The trek was strenuous. At the time I thought, If this were any steeper, we’d need ropes. We trekked five thousand feet of elevation, switchbacking our way for eight hours of dusty trail, down to the Apurimac River on the first day. Then we climbed five thousand feet in elevation on more switchbacks until we landed with much exhaustion at one of the last Inca strongholds on the second day.

As was often the case, two shamans named don Francisco and don Chino were with us. On the second morning we saw Chino (photo below) unloading a big textile full of what looked like potatoes onto the ground of the sacred site. It was curious. Chino was moving the potatoes so carefully. Upon closer inspection we saw that Chino wasn’t working with potatoes. Instead he had brought up a bushel full of stones. The stones were smooth and cool. They had bumps and carvings on them of rings and archetypes. They were beautiful, but it seemed crazy. Wake asked Chino why he would carry such a large weight of stones on the difficult hike. Chino told us about Chumpi Stones. He said that shamans and families have carried and used Chumpi Stones for generations as sacred medicine stones. They are used in giving the Bands of Power, in different forms of divination, and as personal connection to the great Apus (mountains). Chino went on to explain that he had brought these stones to Choquequirao as part of their initiation journey. The Chumpi Stones would be charged with the energy of the site at Choquequirao. Then they would be taken to the Apus of Ausangate and Salkantay, as Chino traveled there over the next few weeks. Wake and I helped Chino set out the stones. Each set of seven Chumpis was placed in a little family on the ground – on Pachamama. We followed Chino as he opened Sacred Space and called in the energy of the Inca site of Choquequirao. We called in the energy of healing. We called in archetypes of serpent, jaguar, hummingbird, condor, and more. Then we sprayed the stones with Florida water.

At one point Chino looked up at the sky and started moving towards the top of the site. Wake and I left the Chumpi Stones on the ground and followed Chino. It was early afternoon. Not quite knowing what was happening, Wake and I called to our group to follow. When we got to the top of the ridge, we looked over into a steep valley below. And there moving like a shadow was a condor. It swooped up from below, riding the thermals, and rose above the ridge. It was the first of many condors we would see in the wild, on our adventures in Peru. It was so exciting our whole group cheered and shrieked as the huge bird flew overhead. In all our travels and multiple sightings, Wake and I never got over the excitement of seeing a wild condor. We never learned to stay quiet when we saw them. It felt like one of the biggest gifts we could receive, a personal affirmation that we were in the right place, doing the right work for us at, the right time.

Chino left the Chumpi Stone sets on the grounder and under the stars for the two nights we were on the sacred site, giving Pachamama (the Earth) and Inti Taita (Father Sky) time to infuse them with the energy and gifts of the site.

After our trip with Chino we saw Chumpi Stones everywhere we went in Peru. We saw them with other shamans, we saw them at Q’ero ceremonies, and we saw them in the markets of Cusco and Pisaq, Peru. We started bringing them back to the US with us for ourselves and our students. Ultimately we became connected with the craftsmen who carved the stones, who started creating smaller Chumpi Stone sets that worked well with a Mesa (Medicine Bundle). Now we are old friends with the Chumpis and as in love with our Chumpi Stones as we are with our Mesas. We hope you will find as much joy and connection with Chumpi Stones as we have. In Munay, Kinlen

Stories from the Journey: Walking Quietly on the Earth, by Kinlen Wheeler

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Wake and I walked a lot of miles in the sacred mountains of Peru with Don Francisco and his wife Dona Juanita. We typically went to Peru in May or June, their winter, when the weather was warm and dry. Don Francisco often played his flute while Dona Juanita sang along in Quechua, in her very high pitched, playful voice. Juanita would gather flowers from the bushes we passed and tuck them into her hat-band until she had a wonderful nest of blossoms. It wasn’t unusual to see and hear a hummingbird humming, or a few bees buzzing around her head.

Being with the Q’ero in this casual way, walking on the land of their ancestors, was quiet and intimate. I could feel their love and connection to the land, as well as their commitment to her, Pachamama, and to life. They created simple ceremonies, ways to say I love you to the earth, sweetly each day. Everywhere we went, and for every meal we had, I remember seeing Don Francisco take a small part of his food and drop it onto the earth, his water – a few drops to the earth. When we were sitting in a restaurant, where there was no ground close by, he would look around for a potted plant, or even the vase with a flower on our table to make his offering. Always remembering that Pachamama was taking care of him, being in communion with him.

While hiking, we’d come upon a waterway, Don Francisco would be the first to go off the path and down to the water’s edge. Wake close behind. Juanita would lay out a big cloth and we’d hang out with the men as they searched the shore and the stream. They never tired of finding medicine stones, Khuyas. Don Francisco would search for a pair of stones that felt good together to him, often a black and a white stone. Then he’d look at Wake and say Yanantin Masintin, referring to the Q’ero understanding of complimentary pairs. Each half of the pair in relationship to the other. Neither could exist alone. Like black and white, masculine and feminine, day and night. All existing – not in opposition to each other – but in a continuum of energy together, different and the same at the same time. Before leaving the waterway, Don Francisco would bow and thank Mamacocha, the great waters, for her gifts.

I am so grateful that Wake and I were able to spend so much time walking with these two gentle Q’ero, and for each experience with Don Francisco and Dona Juanita. I’m grateful for hearing the lively conversations between Francisco and Wake: Don Francisco speaking in Quechua and Spanish, using his hands and arms, and Wake speaking in English, tracking and intuiting the meaning from Francisco’s manner and mixture of languages. I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, walking quietly on the earth.

Stories From the Journey: Transforming Sacred Space, by Kinlen

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Stories From the Journey:
Transforming Sacred Space, by Kinlen

From the very beginning of my shamanic journey, I remember loving the act of opening Sacred Space, calling in the Directions. I loved feeling the energy of support and vitality all around me. I practiced with others in my classes as we worked together on each new bit of medicine we learned. We called to the winds of the South, the West, the North, the East, Pachamama (Mother Earth), and IntiTaita (Father Sky). We faced each direction in turn, held up our hands, sprayed our Florida water into the air and whistled to each. We made our invitation for the archetypal energies of Serpent, Jaguar, Hummingbird, and Eagle, to join us on our journey, to protect us, to help us grow in our skills and relationships.

Over the years, Wake and I became more fluid in how we called in sacred space. Instead of following the words from the paper we had first been given, we called in energies specific to the ceremony or work we were doing. I brought in prayers I had learned from fellow shaman that Wake and I had worked with as we taught classes around the world. I loved practicing the wonderful way the Q’ero shaman open sacred space. Instead of turning to face directions, the Q’ero started with their hands extended up, they called in the energy of Wyracocha (the source of the sacred spring), stars and galaxies, the sun and moon. Then opened their hands wide and invited in the energy of lightening, rainbows, and the great Apus (holy mountains). They stretched their hands out, fully open, as they called to the trees, animals, all creatures. And then, they reached down to lovingly touch the earth, and called in their most precious connection – Pachamama. They opened an all-inclusive, full circle of life-giving energies.

After years and years of opening sacred space and then closing it again, week after week, for meditation after meditation, class after class; I began to realize that I had built relationships with all of the energies I was calling in. The elements and archetypes, Earth and Sky lived within me. I realized that I was now walking in sacred space all the time, whether I opened it intentionally or not. I realized that all that practice, all those openings and closings, were helping me to absorb the awareness that the energies of creation and life, the very Love Plasma of the Universe were with me all the time, have always been so. It had taken all those repetitions for me to really grok that I am inextricable from the sacred space I sought.

I still love calling in sacred space. It centers me, settles my mind before starting a meditation, a session with a client, or a ceremony. It reminds me that everything I do in a day matters, that it is sacred because I am part of the sacred web of life and creation.

Stories From the Journey: Let There Be Joy and Laughter, by Kinlen

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My first journey to Peru was in 2004. I remember meeting the Q’ero at a small stone shrine in the Sacred Valley. A group of about eight Q’ero men and women came running up to us shouting “Wayqi, Wayqi”. They circled Wake and gave him flowers and tied beads round his neck and wrists.They had met Wake before and had christened him with the Quechua word “Wayqi” which means Spirit Brother — a very common name that Quechua speaking men call other men who they are close to like brothers. This time both men and women called out to Wake by this name. It was musical, and delightful to see him welcomed in this way. The vision and sound has stayed with me to this day because of how joyful the Q’ero were, and how sweetly they treated Wake.

Joy and playfulness was, and still is, a big part of the Q’ero way of life and their relationships. I remember being in ceremony with them many times. Sometimes people in our groups were very concerned about being respectful, and sat very quietly during ceremonies. The Q’ero shaman would sort of look around, “like what is wrong?” And then one might steal the elaborately decorated hat from another and tossed up in a tree, leaving the other Q’ero to jump up and down trying to get the hat back. Everyone in the group joined in laughing and trying to figure out how to get the hat down. The Q’ero said that they wanted the energy of joy, the energy from all of life to be part of the ceremony. Over the years we would see families of Q’ero and other Peruvians circled up for a ceremony on the ground and everything imaginable would be happening… babies crying, laughing, small kids running around, running in and out of the ceremony, along with dogs and chickens, old people would be there for help with infirmities, young couples wanting blessings, and more. All of life was not only welcomed, but needed in the ceremony.

One year on a campout at the base of Quoquequero, one of the Q’ero placed a very large rock in Wake’s pack at the beginning of the journey. The hike was very difficult, and we walked all day. At the end Don Francisco was watching to see when Wake would discover the rock. He laughed and laughed was Wake scoffed and tried to throw the rock at him.

On another trip we brought glow sticks up the mountain with us and tossed them around the dining tent at night. Everyone had a great time. The Q’ero had never seen them before. They loved the sticks and took them to their tents that night. All night long we could see the glow of their tents and hear them giggling.

Let Their Be Laughter and Joy!