Up until fairly recently in this blog I have focused on meditations that we can do on our own (well…in the company of Pachamama and the Apus and stars and the trees and the stream tumbling down the mountain side…). Beginning with the Back-to-Back meditation I have begun to share more meditations that can be done with a group of people. The Heart-to-Heart and Back-to-Back meditations are examples of a practice in the Andes that is known as yanachakuy, the touching and sharing of energy between two Beings. Like the Back-to-Back meditation, the Heart-to-Heart meditation is best done with a group of at least four people, so that you can switch partners a few times to see how everyone’s energy is different.
It is a little complicated for me to continue to write this blog as I would like to assume that you have read the earlier posts, but I know that may not be the case. If you haven’t already, I recommend that you at least read the posts that cover the three centers of being, starting with the aptly named Three Centers of Being post, which ends with some links to subsequent posts on the topic. Everyone doing this meditation at least needs to have some idea of what the munay is.
Since the essence of this meditation is the connection and sharing of energy between two people I recommend that everyone do a little spring cleaning of their energy before they start. When I am leading the group I have us all begin by first doing the Touching Pachamama meditation followed by one of the meditations that help us get rid of our hucha (my favorite is the Releasing Hucha meditation). After getting rid of hucha I recommend moving on to the Cosmic Circle meditation as it enlivens the munay, and the Heart-to-Heart meditation is all about the munay. That is more than the usual amount of preparation for a salka meditation, but this beautiful meditation is worth it.
With the preparations complete, let’s move on to the Heart-to-Heart meditation itself. I will describe it as if you are leading some waikis (friends / fellow adventurers) through the process. I believe that it really helps me to guide other people into a meditation if I enter that energy as well. If there is an even number of people (including me) I can have a partner as I talk everyone through this. If not, then I find I can enter into this state anyway. I set my hands (as described below) and then it is as if I am doing this with the nature around me.
First, have everyone pair-up. I recommend when possible that the waikis don’t pair up with someone they know really well (e.g. a significant other) as they already know that person’s energy so well, and also because close relationships have a lot of other things going on that may muddle the waters.
Anyway, after people pair-up have them face each other, close enough to clasp hands. Now have them clasp hands with their partner, palm to palm. The goal is to be able to gently press the back of one of your waiki’s hands to your munay (heart area) while your waiki presses the back of your other hand to his or her munay. An easy way to set this up is for one waiki to put both hands forward, one palm up and one palm down, and then have the other waiki grasp those hands palm to palm. Or…just play around until you get it. Again, the goal is that you are pressing the back of your waiki’s hand to your heart while your waiki does the same with your other hand.
When everyone is arranged correctly with their waiki then suggest that they close their eyes (pause for a moment)…and then connect with the Pachamama through the souls of their feet (pause while they do this)…and then open up the energy center at the top of their head to connect with the energy of the cosmos (pause while they do this, then pause a little longer for them to enter more fully into both connections).
Now, invite them to gently open their eyes, and with soft eyes look into the eyes of their partner. Invite them to look with soft eyes until they get the sense that they are perceiving the essence (beyond the personality) of the other waiki. Then gently close their eyes again. I usually give them about 5 seconds for this before going on to the next step. It is my experience that I can get at least a hint of my partner’s essence in that amount of time and I get concerned that going much longer might raise defenses.
Now invite them (still with eyes closed) to use their intent (sincere pretending) to send their munay energy into the back of their waiki’s hand that is pressed against their munay, and to receive their waiki’s munay energy through the back of their hand that is pressed against their waiki’s munay. After they have had enough time to start to experience the flow of energy I like to add that they can just let the energy flow between the two of them however it wants to.
I like to give them a couple of minutes or so to fully experience this. Then, I thank them (to let them know it is the end of the round). This is a very personal and deep experience, and I usually hug my waiki when we are finished. Then have people pair up with someone new and repeat the meditation. Repeat again so that everyone has a chance to work with three or so partners before ending.
At the end of all this I like to form a circle with everyone and open the table (so to speak) for comments and experiences. People often comment on how everyone’s energy is different. Like the Back-to-Back meditation, this meditation accomplishes a lot. Detecting other people’s energy seems to be pretty easy in this meditation, and this opens the door for people to have a deeper experience with the salka path. Also, it just takes us right there to what this is all about, connecting through the munay with other Beings, interacting at another level beyond the confines of our Western, domesticated worldview. Or not…as always, the meaning of the meditation is the effect it has on you…not what I say it is. When I write these posts I vacillate between wanting to share what I get from these meditations and keeping quiet so that I don’t get in the way of how you might experience them.
This is one of the ways don Americo has had us do this meditation. It was in my notes this way and this is how I usually do it in my salka meditation classes. I consistently find it to be a beautiful experience. I have also been with him when he had us do different variations on this meditation, perhaps you have one that you like better. Feel free to share that by commenting on this post.
One last idea. When we do this out in Nature, when we are done working with each other, I like to then invite everyone to disperse and go spend several minutes carrying out the essence of this meditation with some aspect of Nature; with the river flowing by, or with the trees, or with Pachamama, or Mama Killa, or Mama Tuta. Something is learned in this meditation that transcends having to be in contact back-of-hand-to-munay, and this is a great time to explore that.
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