I just had the honour of spending six days in the Colorado mountains at a place called the Shambhala Mountain Centre. It is a 600 acre parcel of land in the stewardship of a Buddhist community of staff, 50 volunteers – all under the directorship of Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche. Their Great Stupa of Dharmakaya is a beautiful, powerful shrine indeed.
An even greater honour for me, was the sharing again of the 9 Rites of the Inca Medicine Way, known as Munay-Ki, in the presence of the Q’ero – Don Francisco and Chino. They are direct descendents of the Laika, or Earthkeepers, who originally travelled from Siberia, across the Bering Straight and down through North America to settle in the Amazon and the Peruvian Andes. They are the “gifters” of the Munay-Ki, bringing light and healing to the rest of the world. As well, we were blessed with having Alberto Villoldo, his lovely wife Marcela Lobos, and Victoria Johnson, all spiritual warriors, healers and teachers of Munay-Ki. Alberto is the founder of the Healing the Light Body School and the Four Winds Society. To be in the company of so much Munay (love) was an honour I will never forget.
Words cannot describe the amazing transformation of many receiving the rites for the first time. As a participant receiving these 9 Rites again, from such wise and gracious souls with their presence as wide as the Colorado sky, as high as the mountains and as warm and grounded as Pachamama (mother earth), is a warm and fuzzy feeling that lives within my heart and soul.
There was a large group, 70 in all, and the energy, joy and Munay circling around us in the room was measurable. Every day the staff of Shambhala would say how wonderful it was to have us all “glowing” around their centre.
The first time I took these 9 Rites of Munay-Ki, they impacted on me so much that within a year I had changed my job and began to work with healing energy (Munay-Ki, Usui and Karuna Reiki and Cranialsacral Therapy) as an integral part of my life, knowing I was called to do this. Now having being given the Munay-Ki again, I can feel the changes within me already, and I know this will be an even larger part of my work, my passion.
The lessons of the Q’ero, the teachings and healings of Munay-Ki are beyond words. We are indeed dreaming our world into being and creating a world-wide community of luminous beings living from the heart. Munay Sonko!
Kate, September 2009