Putting Words into Action

I would like to share a few experiential practices which were taught to me during my work with shamans. By learning the language of our body, we learn to transform internal feeling states as well as develop a rapport and communication with those energies which surround us. Shamans hold that the body is a microcosm of the world without. If Spirit is everywhere, there is no need to look outside of our own bodies to find Him (or Her). For the soul, a full sense of embodiment is a "spiritual experience." We perform energetic practices so that when God comes, we are ready. This often entails becoming acquainted with the energies associated with different glandular systems--the adrenals, the reproductive glands, the pancreas, the thymus, the thyroid, the pituitary and the pineal--of the body. These represent the physical counterparts of the chakras described throughout the yogic and Vedantic literature. In the Andes, chakras are termed ojos de luz, "eyes of light."

The nature and intent of the energetic practices often differ depending whether it is day or nighttime. Here are a sampling of energetic practices you can try at home. In sharing these, I make no claim of authorship. I am simply passing along what I have learned from two of my teachers, don Theo Paredes and don Oscar Miro-Quesada.

A NIGHTTIME EXERCISE

The evening is associated with the energies of the Cosmic Father and of the stars. This exercise will require you to connect the energies of your palms, your solar plexus (in your "belly" at, or just above, the level of your navel), the crown of your head, and a star or cluster of stars toward which you feel a particular affinity.
Sitting cross-legged, first focus upon your breath. Inhale slowly to a count of four. Retain your breath with lungs full to a count of four. Exhale completely and slowly to a count of four. Repeat this pattern of slow rhythmic breaths as you begin to rub the palms of your hands together vigorously. When they begin to feel warm, slowly separate them. As you do so, retain a constant, conscious focus of the energy between your palms as you continue to separate them until the backs of your hands are resting comfortably on your knees. Slowly angle your palms at a 45 degree angle so that a "triangle of energy" is formed between your solar plexus (This energy center is referred to as the Qosqo by Andean peoples, the Manipura Chakra by yoga practitioners, and Dantien in Qigong.) and each palm. Feel this energy as it circulates between your palms and qosqo.
When the even flow of these energies is well established, slightly angle your palms towards the crown of your head. Imagine the energy flowing within your body as a pyramid; your crown is the apex of the pyramid and the base is formed by your palms and qosqo. While continuing to breathe slowly and rhythmically, your mind continues its conscious focus upon the energetic pyramid. When your crown is sufficiently activated, visualize it opening to "drink" the subtle energies emanating from your star or star cluster and let it circulate through the sacred geometry held in your body.
Later in the evening, try to retain the image of your star or star cluster as you fall asleep, merging with its energy as you do so.

A DAYTIME EXERCISE

Trees, like all plants, are able to "eat light," feeding directly from the source of energy. Trees enjoy the light of the sun during the day and the light of the stars by night while absorbing most needed nutrients through their root system. Therefore, shamans work with trees as a means by which to merge with the feminine energies of the Mother Earth and the masculine energies of the Heavens.
In the spirit of innocence and humility, choose a tree and ask its permission to work with it, to merge with it, and to experience what is good for you. Stand or sit facing the trunk, placing your arms around it, hugging it. Feel your legs as if they were roots growing inside Mother Earth. Release all of your anxieties and heavy energies through the soles of your feet and the base of your spine while you draw Pachamama's energetic nutrients into you. Simultaneously, feel as if you are growing into the sky, dancing in harmony with the winds. Activate your crown chakra and "feed" from the light of the sun. Imagine yourself as one with the tree as you feel the energies of both Mother Earth and the Cosmic Father disseminate into every cell of your body.

Focusing Upon Your Breath

Within yogic schools of thought, great emphasis is placed upon the importance of breath control, called pranayama. Andean teachers also stress that feelings, mental states and breathing patterns are intimately connected. The average person breathes approximately 16-18 times per minute. Slowing one's respiration rate is an effective means to increase spiritual receptivity. According to Oscar Miro-Quesada, maintaining a rate of 10 breaths per minute for five minutes or more promotes greater focus and clarity of mind by reducing internal chatter and disharmony. Breath is elongated by increasing the time of inhalation, retention (with lungs full), and exhalation. It is best if each of these three components of breath is roughly equal in duration. Maintaining three breaths per minute for five minutes or longer activates creative inspiration and psi sensitivity. The opportunity for spiritual illumination and mystical transcendence is enhanced by sustaining one long and steady breath per minute for five minutes or more.
Attaining proficiency in such breathing patterns takes time and practice. Process is far more important than outcome, and mental attitude is what makes the difference between pursuing breathwork as an act of willpower, or as an act of spirit. While breathing, consciously move your abdomen up and down in a wave-like motion. Try employing visualization as a means to enhance and deepen your experience. During inhalation, imagine that you are "eating light" through your qosqo; when exhaling, see yourself as releasing heavy energies and all that does not serve your highest good.

A Return to the Beginning...

Part I of this article began with reference to my first journey to Peru. Obviously I didn't die, though at times it felt as if I would, and at other times I prayed I would. My illness, though severe, was (thankfully) brief in duration. It served to make me look at myself . . . at my attitudes and motivation for making the pilgrimage. The purpose of the journey wasn't to climb the mountain, it was to engage the spirit of the mountain. The purpose wasn't to go there, it was to be there. (Sometimes I think our species is misnamed: proportionately little of our time is spent as a human being. Too often we are merely a human doing.) The only way I was going to slow down and simply "be" was if my body forced me. As a result, I began to get my first inkling of the importance of embodiment as an essential ingredient in my spiritual path. When I went as myself, I felt small and weak. When I emptied myself of myself, there was room for the spirit of a mountain to occupy the void. I learned that when we collaborate with nature, we are never alone. Spirit is as no further away than our next breath.

Art Roffey holds dual doctorates in Counseling Psychology / Divinity and together with his wife, Gail, is the Founding Director of Innervision, P.C. Besides providing counseling services for over twenty years, Dr. Roffey has held diverse academic appointments that include Assistant Professorships at the United States Air Force Academy and Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine.

Innervision is dedicated to promoting awareness of shamanic traditions through the sponsorship of residential weekend training programs (at Camp Ronora Nature Preserve and Retreat Center, 100 miles northeast of Chicago) with South American shamans. These programs include extended apprenticeships which meet periodically over the course of one or several years as well as intensive experiential weekend workshops. Additionally, Innervision sponsors several expeditions a year to South America through which small groups of sincere people are offered the opportunity to train and heal with shamans of high degree and integrity in places of power. These journeys are not tourist vacations, but intensive programs of shamanic study. If you are interested in being placed on their mailing list or to enroll in workshops or expeditions, call Innervision, P.C. at 248/865-9416.