Remember to Wave Your Warak’as

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Oakley Gordon
Dancers of Mollamarka

In this post we continue to pursue an understanding of how the complementarity of opposites informs the Andean people’s understanding of themselves, their relationships with each other, and their relationships with the Cosmos. In earlier posts we looked at the basic concepts underlying the complementarity of opposites (Yin/Yang of the Andes), how it informs the relationships between women and men (Wharmi-Qhari), and how the ritual encounter (‘tinkuy’) of differing energies can give rise to new life force (Tinkuy: Confirming the Rules of Life). In that latter post tinkuy was introduced … Continue reading →

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Tinku–Confirming the Rules of Life

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Oakley Gordon
Wide-eyed Child Looking from Mother's Shawl

(The title of this post was taken from a section of Inge Bolin’s book Rituals of Respect: The Secret of Survival in the High Peruvian Andes). My post Yin/Yang of the Andes laid out the basic principles of the ‘complementarity of opposites’, a concept that is fundamental to the Andean Cosmovision (as well as to Taoism). In the post Warmi-Qhari I examined how the complementarity of opposites informs the relationship between women and men in the Andes. In this post I would like to take a look at how the … Continue reading →

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What’s Up

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Oakley Gordon

Kenosis Spirit Keepers is the nonprofit organization of which I am vice president. Our mission is to honor and preserve the integrity of indigenous wisdom and sacred cultural practices. As part of this mission we offer the Spirit Keepers Series which provides opportunities to experience and learn from indigenous people who are emissaries of their ancient and living traditions and who serve as a living bridge connecting their culture with ours. On February 25-26, 2012, the Spirit Keeper Series will feature Flordemayo, a traditional Maya healer from Guatemala and member … Continue reading →

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Warmi-Qhari (Woman-Man)

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Oakley Gordon

The Andean Cosmovision embodies the complementarity of opposites in a way that informs the Andean people’s relationship with Nature and the Cosmos, with each other, and with the various facets of their own being. In this post I would like to explore how the Cosmovision presents the complementary aspects of male and female energy. In the post Yin/Yang of the Andes I gave an overview of the concept of the complementarity of opposites, including how opposites can only exist in relationship to each other, the importance of drawing and maintaining … Continue reading →

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Yin/Yang of the Andes

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Oakley Gordon
yingyang1

The dynamic concept of the complementarity of opposites (described below) plays a fundamental role in the Andean culture, informing not only their relationship with Nature and the Cosmos, but also their relationships with each other, and the relationship of energies within themselves. The complementarity of opposites has a role equal to that of ‘ayni’ (see the posts Ayni, Ayni Revisited) in the Andean Cosmovision, in fact, as we will see (in a future post), it must. When I decided to write about the complementarity of opposites I meant to offer … Continue reading →

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Back in the Saddle

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Oakley Gordon

Greetings, I am writing again after a bit of a hiatus, having turned my attention to other aspects of my life (Christmas and the beginning of a new semester) and taking a breather from the blog to give time for my batteries to recharge. The latter is an indication to me that ayni is out of balance in an endeavor (please see the posts Ayni and Ayni Revisited), for when ayni is in balance the wind is in everyone’s sails, and when it is not, if I want to continue … Continue reading →

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Request for Photos

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Oakley Gordon

“When this train pulls into town, everyone gets to ride“.  (William T. Riker) Don Americo Yabar has been suggesting to me for years that I write a book in which I share with my culture what I have learned in Peru. I started several times to write the book but it was too daunting a task. I have written some textbooks, but this was different, for it was not an expression solely of my intellect (for which I have had decades of practice and training) and I couldn’t figure out … Continue reading →

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Giving Flowers to the Cosmos

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Oakley Gordon

An important part of my journey on this path is to regularly give despachos (offerings) to the Pachamama (the great Being who is the planet Earth), to the Apus (the Beings who are the majestic mountain peaks), and to the creek who flows so beautifully past where I like to meditate. Despachos are offerings made to nourish our relationship with Nature and the Cosmos. In the Andean Cosmovision it is possible to form a relationship of respect and  love with Nature and the Cosmos, for the Andean people live in … Continue reading →

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Spiritual Travel: Heart of the Andes

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Oakley Gordon
Picture of Apu Asungate

Carla Woody is offering a special opportunity to travel to Peru in May 2012 to work with don Americo Yabar, his son Gayle Yabar, and elders of the Q’ero of Peru. This trip is co-sponsored by Kenosis Spirit Keepers, the non-profit organization of which Carla is the president and I am the vice president.  The mission of Kenosis Spirit Keepers is to honor and preserve the integrity of indigenous wisdom and sacred cultural practices by providing cross-cultural exchanges, education, and community-building opportunities.  As part of this mission of cross-cultural exchanges … Continue reading →

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Shedding Hucha

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Oakley Gordon

‘Hucha’ is heavy, discordant, chaotic energy. If you haven’t yet, I recommend that you read the earlier post dedicated to hucha. For me the prototypical example of hucha is how I feel when I come home from a bad day at the office. Unfortunately, not only does it sour my experience of reality, I can see the effect on my family when I arrive home full of hucha. There is a beautiful scene in one of the Commissario Brunetti books (by Donna Leon). Brunetti arrives home after a day when … Continue reading →

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Ayni Revisited

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Oakley Gordon
Oakley and the Club of Mothers

Ayni is, perhaps, the most fundamental principle of the Andean Cosmovision (please read the earlier post on ayni). It does not fall easily into Western thought, for it is essentially about relationship while we in the West tend to focus on outcomes. Ayni is about a balance between giving and receiving; between people, between people and Nature, and between people and the Cosmos (in a way that is hardly conceivable within the Western world-view of the basic inanimate nature of the Cosmos). Ayni is the organizing principle for the flow … Continue reading →

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Three Worlds Meditation

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Oakley Gordon

In the previous post I introduced the three worlds of the Andean Cosmovision; the uju pacha, the kay pacha, and the janaq pacha. I recommend you read that post before your read this one. In this post I would like to share a meditation that involves evoking a conscious connection with those worlds. Before doing this meditation I like to prepare my internal state, my energy, to create a good foundation for the meditation. I usually begin by doing the Touching Pachamama meditation, this just takes a few minutes. I … Continue reading →

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