‘Transforming energy…that is paqo work‘. Americo Yabar

This meditation is somewhat advanced in that it would help if you have a basic understanding of certain aspects of the Andean Cosmovision and have played around with some of the other meditations. I recommend–if you haven’t already—that you first read the posts on intent and the Three Centers of Being and explore the three centers of being through the meditations described in the posts Exploring the Three Centers of Being and Tuning the Three Centers of Being.   This meditation for transforming energy is simple enough to comprehend intellectually, but what counts is to understand it experientially, and you well get a juicier experience if you are already familiar with your three centers of being.

Transforming the basic nature of energy is a part of the path of the Andean paq’o. Through the use of intent it is a surprisingly easy thing to do. We transformed energy, for example, in the simple meditation Saiwachakuy. If you haven’t done that meditation you might want to start with it and then come back to this one after you have played around with what it is like to transform energy.

This meditation is an excellent one to dive into when we have too much energy in one of our three centers of being. In our yachay this may take the form of not being able to stop thinking about something (obsessing about it) or having our thoughts race around out of control (this is particularly a problem when trying to get to sleep). In our munay this may take the form of our being all caught up in some whirlpool of emotion and not being able to climb out of it. In our llankay this may take the form of strong sexual arousal. The goal of this meditation is not to get rid of the energy but instead to take advantage of its presence and strength and play around with transforming it, in doing so we learn more about ourselves…and we become transformed as well..

I will describe how to do this meditation within the context of starting with strong energy in our yachay. It will be easy, however, to then see how to modify this if we are starting with strong energy in our llankay or munay instead.

You can do this either sitting down or standing up, just be sure that you are in a posture where you can easily take quick, deep breaths. I also recommend that you be sitting or standing comfortably upright, oriented in a vertical direction rather than a horizontal one (e.g. not laying down).

Ok, once you have yourself situated, begin by immersing yourself into the strong energy you have in your llachay. This should be easy as you are doing this meditation because you can’t get out of your head in the first place. Attend to how the energy in your head is expressing itself through your thought processes.

Then, with intent coupled with a sharp exhalation, toss that energy down into your munay. Experience how the energy is expressed when it is in your munay. Notice how the energy is different when it is in your munay compared to when it is in your head. Immerse yourself for a while in the experience of the energy in your munay. Then, with intent and a sharp inhalation, toss the energy from your munay back into your yachay. Keep it there long enough to experience again what the energy is like when it is in your yachay.

Next, with intent and a sharp exhalation toss the energy from your yachay all the way down into your llankay . Experience how the energy is expressed when it is in your llankay. Immerse yourself in that experience for a while. Then, with a sharp inhalation, toss the energy from your llankay back into your yachay, and notice again what it is like when it is in your yachay.

Finally, with intent couple with a sharp exhalation toss the energy from your yachay into your spiritual realm a little ways above your head. Notice how the energy feels when it is expressed in your spiritual realm. Immerse yourself in that experience. To conclude the meditation you can leave the energy there, or move it down into whatever center you want, or just keep tossing it around for a while to experientially explore your centers of Being.

Believe me, this is not a meditation you will get anything out of by simply reading about it.

Follow the same basic pattern if you are starting with an excess of emotional energy in your munay or an excess of sexual energy in your llankay. I hasten to add that there is nothing ‘bad’ about having a lot of intellectual or emotional or sexual energy. This process doesn’t get rid of the energy, the energy instead becomes a flying carpet for exploring the other ways we have of being in the world…with the volume turned up (to hopelessly mix my metaphors). Wherever you start, toss the energy to one of the other three centers, and then back, and then to the other center, and back, and finally up to the spiritual realm, and then leave the energy where you choose. When I am trying to get to sleep and my mind is racing I may end by giving the energy to the Pachamama when I am done, for leaving it anywhere may be too stimulating for falling asleep.

Some thoughts I’d like to share:

* I find this to be a very juicy way to explore the various aspects of my Being.

* It gives me a way to transform my experience without having to deny or fight or resist the excessive energy I may have in one of my centers of Being. In that way it is a loving response to myself.

* Transforming the energy by moving it into a different center of our Being is an act of volition on our part, another way we have of deciding how to dance with the great mystery of the Cosmos and the great mystery of who we are as Beings in this Cosmos. When the energy moves to another center it transforms us, that aspect of our Being blossoms a bit more. Are we transforming the energy or is it transforming us? To me that is the beauty of the Andean Cosmovision, we don’t control Nature, Nature doesn’t control us. We are instead in relationship with Nature, a relationship directed by ayni and munay, and full of salka. The spin-off of this relationship is that we find ourselves blossoming in beauty, and I believe that Nature does as well.

This meditation (more or less) is from don Americo Yabar.

As background for this meditation I strongly recommend that–if you haven’t already–you read the posts: Andean Cosmovision: The Basics, Intent, and The Three Energy Centers (Part 1).

This is one of the two meditations about which I’ve heard don Americo Yabar say that if we would only do this on a regular basis it would have a very beneficial affect on us (the other meditation was described in the post Bellybutton to the Pachamama). Most people (including myself) hear something like that and say ‘yes, great…..what else can you teach me?’ I wonder what it is about (some of) us that we want more and more rather than to develop and explore what we have? As I have mentioned in other posts I have found myself, after years of learning more and more, returning back to the simpler and earlier things I’ve learned in this approach as being the best way to work this path into my life. Anyway…

For this meditation you need to sit on the ground so that you can comfortably place your hands on the Earth (the Pachamama).

First, notice what your energy feels like before you start. How does it feel to be you right now?

Begin the meditation by placing one of your hands on the Pachamama and the other on your body over your llankay (the center of your physical being, located a few finger breadths below your navel). With intent (sincere pretending) form an energetic connection between your llankay and the Pachamama, and ask her to bring your llankay into harmony with her. Notice the effect of this connection, and continue until you feel that the energy of your llankay is in harmony with the Pachamama (usually a few minutes).

Then, take your hand from your llankay and place it on the Pachamama, and take the hand that was on the Pachamama and place it over your munay (your heart, the center of love). Again, with intent, connect the energy of the two and ask the Pachamama to bring your heart into harmony with her.

When you sense that this harmony has occurred take your hand from your munay and place it on the Pachamama and put the hand that was on the Pachamama on your yachay (the center of thought, the yachay itself is centered at the crown of your head). Continue until your yachay has come into harmony with the Pachamama.

Now follow the same process but this time coming into harmony with the refined energy of the Cosmos. Start by putting one hand over your llankay and raise the other hand toward the sky to connect with the energy of the Cosmos. With intent open a connection between the two and ask the Cosmos to bring your llankay into harmony with it. Repeat with your munay and your yachay, switching hands each time.

When you have finished notice your energy now. How your energy shifts from before the meditation to after the meditation is the true (and only) meaning and significance of the meditation.

I recommend that you do this on a regular basis for a while and see how it affects your experience of the world.  There is a nice follow-up to this meditation that I will be posting soon.

Source of this meditation: don Americo Yabar.