WINTER MESA DESPACHO

A Despacho To Open Our Mesa Building Journey

We prepare our hearts and call to the Grace of Spirit,
The wisdom of Pachamama and
The power of the Apus,
To guide us through the darkness of winter
As we build our mesa
To weave our hearts to the love and beauty
Of our Earth Mother, Pachamama.

May the white petals of the rose hold our prayers in purity.

We call to the Four Directions
So we may be in balance with all your elements,
So we may live in harmony
With the rhythms and cycles of Nature
Around us and within us.

We feed our prayers and intentions to you
With offerings to bring color and sweetness
To our hopes and dreams
As we walk this path of transformation.

We wrap our prayers as a gift to you Pachamama
With a forgotten prayer holder of the white rose
To hold our intentions through time and space
Until they manifest in this Earth dimension, the Kaypacha,
For the highest good of all.


We wrap our despacho in the sacred cloth
Informed by the blessing of a new snow
On the first morning of a new year.

We thank you, thank you, thank you
For receiving the prayers of our most tender and humble heart.
We bow in gratitude for the blessings you bestow upon us
And for clearing the path ahead so we may walk
In the beauty and the abundance that you so
Lovingly provide to us all.

Namaste
AHO
Amen

 

Read Full Post »

A MAP OF YOUR OWN WILD WILDERNESS

At the time of our birth we are each held by a great power in Nature. Where were you born? What mountain or ocean held you when came into the world?

The shamans teach us an honoring and acknowledgment of these great places of power is needed to connect more deeply to the source of power that has kept watch over you.

Make an offering to show respect and say thank you. This is how we restore ayni or what shamans call right relationship to the source of power. We offer our prayers. We offer gratitude.

We begin to taste the drop of nectar that is our power. Not in an arrogant way. Not in a superior way that we have come to define and understand power but in a humble way.

We come to taste the power of knowing how our thoughts, our words and our actions are creating the world we live in. We are powerful in ways we never imagined.

This is the new frontier. It is a map of your own wild wilderness.

Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM

excerpt from forthcoming “The Feminine Path to Enlightenment”

Read Full Post »

POWER CORRUPTED

We have let the necessities of life and the very basic need for survival shape the nature of power. There is a have and have not consciousness that has segregated humanity in nearly every culture in our world. Those that have the resources are the ones with power. Those without do not.

Money and power.

The two have become equal.

Artist Tommy Simpson

This is true to the extent that those that have the resources can wield their power through fear. If there is fear you will lose your job, fear you will lose your income, fear that there will be no food for the belly of your child, then you are held captive. Your power lies with an authority outside of yourself.

This appears true in the web of humanity but in your divinity, as a creative and omnipotent being, this is not truth.

Our relationship to power is so adulterated that we are blind to our misconceptions. There is nothing in this contaminated equation that those holding power in a corrupted way would like to change.

Of course there is resistance to a threat in power. There is a lack of collective will to make fundamental change. When did we become sheep? How have we, the most powerful species on our benevolent Earth, been corralled and led so far astray from the true nature of our own power? How did our truth become so corrupted?

Global poverty, human torture, tyrannical governments and war ravage our planet. Many people lack the most basic freedoms. The crisis of our human condition can overwhelm us. I am one little person. What difference can I make? What can I possibly do to right the relationship to power on our planet?

The way to cope has been to collapse under the oppressive weight of responsibility. Why should I bother? Hopelessness takes hold. There is nothing I can do that will change anything. Our powerlessness is perpetuated in an epidemic apathy at the root of global suffering.

We hold a position that says nothing I do will really matter or make a difference. How can I possibly help bring equality to the masses, end world hunger or stop the destruction of our planet?

This way of thinking is self-fulfilling. You are correct if that is what you believe but recognize that this way of thinking, this belief system is corrupted. It is not truth.

This ideology has been laid down by false prophets that have held power by driving their own agendas to the fore at the expense of others. This thwarted system must then be manipulated to guard and protect the power that is measured in material goods. They too are in denial of what is the truth of power. The belief that accumulating wealth is the path to freedom and salvation is the lie that lays upon their soul.

excerpt from forthcoming The Feminine Path to Enlightenment

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

A KISS OF GRACE

Never in my life had I experienced the Earth under my feet as I did that day. Descending from 16,000 feet after ceremony in the Andes I began running. Not so much by choice but rather because I had no other choice. The life force of Pachamama, the Earth herself, rose on up coursing its way through my body. The power of a stallion surged through me unleashing my body into an insurpressable stride. In that moment I understood how the four leggesds run across the Earth effortless, wild and free.

They are not distracted by mindless chatter as they charge across her belly. They are not competitively striding to reach their destination. They are in deep communion in the most intimate of connections with the divine life force pulsing beneath them. They are fed by her, sustained by her. They open without restraint to her. Again and again and again. In a dance of glory across her belly.

By the time I reached bottom all I could do was bow to the ground in a cascade of tears. To taste but a drop of her divine nectar is spontaneously humbling. To receive a kiss of her sacred elixir touches grace. The power of Pachamama is undeniable and yet this power source below our feet is often absent from our awareness. Through centuries of conditioning we have come to believe we have dominion over Earth. We walk across her belly with a sense of ownership rather than servitude.

Perhaps the most blatant power play of this in our world rages between the corporate oil infrastructure and her resources. This hold on power is nearly unshakeable. Why on Earth would an oil company willingly give up this position of power? So much invested. So much at stake. So much has been gained. And so much to lose.

It may be easy to point fingers at the imbalance of power in the world around us but can we see the interplay of these forces within ourself? Where have we lost our power? Where do we give it away? What beleifs about power have created the infrastructure of our life? Where has our idea of power brought harm or suffering to another? When have we abused our power? When have we been abused? What do we gain through our power? And what have we got to lose?

The power play in the world around us takes center stage in our own heart. There are no easy answers to what is power but this much I know. Whatever we once thought is no longer true. Answers may not come easy but the questions are necessary to build new bridges to power within our own hearts. For a bridge to the power of our own heart creates bridges to true power in the world around us.

A balance of power is a dance on the Earth rather than dominion over her. A balance of power is a union of our heartbeat with that of the Earth. It is a balance of maintaining relationship with the world around us without losing the sovereignty of our own heart.

courtesy of Feathered Pipe

An empowered heart does not rely on the heart of another to meet its needs for love, security or approval but rather integrates the heart of another to uplift and empower. An empowered heart knows its force magnifies in union with other hearts in a force greater than alone. True power sources from a heart that is generous, a heart that cooperates, a heart that at its very essence longs to share.

It takes practice to fortify our heart in this way. To avoid falling prey to the old belief structures deeply embedded in our systems. It takes courage to build a new infrastructure from the true power of our heart. How do we drop our protective armor and expose our most tender heart when everything we have been conditioned to informs us to protect, defend, attack and justify in the face of threat?

This is the vision of Melissa McNair, co-director of the Feathered Pipe Foundation. This is the work of the open hearted warrior. There are ways to access this power. There are tools to keep our tender heart open. To dance in a new way with power that serves rather than suppresses. That uplifts rather than diminishes.

This is the conversation to empower your heart.

This is a call to your most tender heart.

This is the work I invite you to join.

This June at Feathered Pipe.

AHO my friends! AHO!

Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com

Read Full Post »

HOW TO PREPARE FOR PLANTING DESPACHO

Here are a few things to prepare for our New Moon Despacho as we gather as a virtual community to ceremonially plant the seeds of our dreams, intentions and visions. There are a number of ways to participate depending on your time and what calls to you.

Here are some things you may need depending on your level of participation:

• 36 bay leaves, small native leaves or flower petals to make 12 qintus (Read more about qintus on How A Shaman Prays)
• Fine Sea Salt for Purification
• Seed of the Soul Journey
• Seeds
• Potted Soil, Garden or Earth for planting seeds
• Candle for Creating Sacred Space

Before coming to ceremony, you want to create time and space that feels sacred for you. This is a personal experience so whatever prayers or rituals you have will work. If you have not created sacred space or come to ceremony before, offer a prayer of thanks to the Earth. Reflect on all the blessings the Earth provides in your life. Lighting a candle is a simple way to enter into ceremony. We transition from our ordinary routine and shift to a space that feels sacred.

Another practice that helps prepare us for ceremony is purification. A simple purification ritual can be created by rubbing your dry hands together with fine sea salt holding the intention of clearing any negativity from your heart. Continue until you feel your hands are clean and clear. As our hands are energetic extensions of our heart, cleansing in this way helps clear our heart. Purification practices are believed to make the heart more pure, empowering the strength of our prayers and intentions. Smudging, floral waters and incense can also be part of a purification ritual.

Once you have created sacred space and performed a purification ritual, take a moment to reflect on your intentions for the upcoming year.

What are your dreams and visions?
What is the calling from the seed of your Soul?
What is the highest prayer you hold for our planet? For humanity?
What would the highest manifestation of your Soul feel like? 

Place your hands over your heart. Close your eyes as your gaze turns inward. Breathe into your heart as you hold your dreams, visions and seeds of your Soul. This is what you will offer in ceremony surrendering your intent to Spirit.

There are a number of ways to participate so notice what calls to you:

• If you have joined ceremony online, a qintu with your name will be offered to the despacho with the intention of holding the highest manifestation of your dreams and visions
• A picture of the despacho will be posted into which you can blow in your intentions, dreams, visions with your exhale, sending them into the image of the despacho with your breath and intent
• You may blow your intentions into 12 qintus which are then be buried or burned
• You may print a copy of the despacho to hold qintus and make a despacho of your own. Place your qintus in a meaningful arrangement and add offerings such as incense, sage, tobacco, herbs, flower petals, grains, sweets or dried fruits to energetically feed your prayers. Fold your despacho into a square and tie closed with ribbon, twine or string. Do not turn your despacho over or shake in order to keep your intentions undisturbed. Your despacho is then burned or buried.
• You can blow the intent of your dreams and visions into seeds which you will then plant in potted soil, a garden or somewhere on the Earth.

Once you have finished placing your intentions in whatever way called to you, listen to the guided meditation Letting Go of Expectations. This is a seated meditation that will help release your attachment to any outcome of how your intentions should manifest, surrendering your intent completely to Spirit.

The Despacho will be available and open for ceremony for 3 days starting on January 22nd, the day before the New Moon at 7:30 pm EST, until January 24th at 7:30 pm EST when it will be offered in a fire ceremony. You can participate on any one of these days. The Despacho will be anchored by the kuyas (stones) of my mesa which I received during rites and initiations with Shamans in the mountains of Peru.

Please share any comments or questions that arise as we create a collective intent to energize and empower each other as we step into ceremony.

AHO my friends! AHO!

Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com 

Read Full Post »

CEREMONIAL PLANTING

The intent for our upcoming ceremony is to plant the seeds of our dreams, visions, intentions and becomings. As we ride the lunar rhythms to darkness, take time to reflect on what intentions serve the calling of your Soul? What seeds of wisdom are ready to be brought forth into the world? Where are you ready to step into your power? What is the biggest dream you have for yourself? For the planet? For humanity?

Image from Deviantart

As we plant these seeds we trust in their potential to grow and blossom. The power of ceremony teaches us to let go of expecting our seeds to look a certain way once they bloom. In ceremony we align our Soul with Spirit, a creative intelligence of the Universe that guides through our intuition. Signs and symbols show us the way. In ceremony we deepen our trust in the mystery of creation.

To help prepare for our first New Moon Despacho of 2012 here are some suggestions for setting intent:

• Intention Practice for clarity
• Soul Seed Guided Journey
• Seeds for Holding Intention
• Pot and Soil for Planting Seeds

You can certainly hold more than one intent for this despacho. I personally like to set an intention for my year. This year I hold the intention of ease. From my Soul journey I plant a crystal of light. I plant seeds for growing my medicine to step more deeply on my path of service in the world and to be of greater service to this growing virtual community. I plant seeds of light for each and every Soul in this circle so they may blossom fully into their brilliance. I plant seeds for the healing of every heart so we may source from a well so deep in self love it can only spill over to a love for each other and our planet. I plant seeds for the care of our Earth Mother so we may learn to listen more deeply to her wisdom in order to take care of she who has provided all that we need. I plant seeds for the visions and dreams of my daughters as they step forth on to their path of becoming in the world.

These seeds of intention can then be blown into seeds which can be planted in a garden or potted soil. These ceremonial gestures of intent carry much merit. They display a humble dedication that deepens your connection to Spirit. This also serves as a reminder of tending your seeds in both literal and mythic realms.

So what are you ready to plant?

AHO my friends! AHO!

Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com 

Read Full Post »

PREPARATION FOR CEREMONY

Here are a few things to prepare for our New Moon Despacho as we gather as a virtual community to cut the cords that drain us of our life force energy. This will aid in preparing a fertile soil from which to birth our intentions in the coming year. There are a number of ways to participate depending on your time and what calls to you.

Here are some things you may need depending on your level of participation:

• 36 bay leaves, small native leaves or flower petals to make 12 qintus (Read more about qintus on How A Shaman Prays)
• Fine Sea Salt for Purification
• Tea Light Candle
• Toothpick
• Heart of Peace Meditation

Before coming to ceremony, you want to create time and space that feels sacred for you. This is a personal experience so whatever prayers or rituals you have will work. If you have not created sacred space or come to ceremony before, offer a prayer of thanks to the Earth. Reflect on all the blessings the Earth provides in your life.

If the only prayer we ever said was thank you, that would be enough.

Another practice that helps prepare us for ceremony is purification. A simple purification ritual can be created by rubbing your hands while they are dry with fine sea salt holding the intention of clearing any negativity from your heart. Continue until you feel your hands are clean and clear. As our hands are energetic extensions of our heart, cleansing in this way helps clear our heart. Purification practices are believed to make the heart more pure, empowering the strength of our prayers and intentions. Smudging, floral waters and incense can also be part of a purification ritual.

Once you have created sacred space and performed a purification ritual, take a moment to reflect on what cords are ready to be cut. Hold these places with a sense of love and gratitude for the lessons and wisdom they hold.  You can cut cords and attachments to relationships, habits, addictive substances, disease or illness. This is what you will offer in ceremony with the intention of releasing these cords and attachments from their roots.

There are a number of ways to participate so notice what calls to you:

• A qintu with your name will be offered to the despacho with the intention for a swift and gentle release of any cords you are releasing
• A picture of the despacho will be posted into which you can blow in your intentions for cord cutting directly into the image
• You may blow your intentions of what is ready to be released into 12 qintus
• You may print a copy of the despacho to hold your qintus and make one of your own. Arrange your qintus in an artful display and add offerings such as incense, sage, tobacco, herbs, flower petals, grains, sweets or dried fruits to energetically feed your prayers. Fold your despacho into a square and tie closed with ribbon, twine or string. Do not turn your despacho over or shake in order to keep your intentions undisturbed.
• If you have qintus or made a despacho they need to be burned, buried in the Earth or released to a moving body of water.

Once you have placed your intentions in the image of the despacho or qintus or a despacho of your own you will follow with a Fire Ritual. 

Complete the ceremony with Heart of Peace Meditation. This is a seated meditation that will take about 10 minutes.

The Despacho will be available and open for ceremony for 3 days starting on December 23rd, the day before the New Moon at 7:30 pm, until December 25th at 10 pm when it will be offered in a fire ceremony. You can participate on any one of these days. The Despacho will be anchored by the kuyas (stones) of my mesa, many of which I received during rites and initiations in the mountains of Peru.

Please share any comments or questions that arise as we create a collective intent to energize and empower each other as we step into ceremony.

AHO my friends! AHO!

Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com 

Read Full Post »

PREPARATION FOR CEREMONY

Here are a few things to prepare for our New Moon Despacho as we gather as a virtual community to offer our gratitude and feed what nourishes us.

Preparations for Ceremony:

• 12 bay leaves, small native leaves or flower petals to make 4 qintus (Read more about qintus on How A Shaman Prays)
• Sacred Space
• Quiet mind
• Sea Salt (fine, not coarse) for Purification
• Intention

Before coming to ceremony, you want to create time and space that feels sacred for you. This is a personal experience so whatever prayers or rituals you have will work. If you have not created sacred space or come to ceremony before, offer a prayer of thanks to the Earth. Reflect on all the blessings the Earth provides in your life.

If the only prayer we ever said was thank you, that would be enough.

Another practice that helps prepare us for ceremony is purification. A simple purification ritual can be created by rubbing your hands while they are dry with sea salt (use fine, not coarse) holding the intention of clearing any negativity from your heart. Continue until you feel your hands are clean and clear. As our hands are energetic extensions of our heart, cleansing in this way helps clear our heart. Purification practices are believed to make the heart more pure, empowering the strength of our prayers and intentions. Smudging, floral waters and incense can also be part of a purification ritual.

Once you have created sacred space and performed a purification ritual, take a moment to reflect on what you are grateful for. We will feed these places of gratitude in our life in this ceremony. Gratitude acts like a magnet attracting more of what we appreciate into our life. Perhaps you are not feeling particularly grateful at this time. Maybe your life does not feel like it is nourishing your heart and soul. Take a moment to become aware of what you would like to call into your life. What would feel nourishing to you? Perhaps you would like more time and space for yourself. Maybe simplicity. Balance. Eating healthier. Exercise. Nature. Soul community. Creative expression. Friendship. Family. Whatever it is that feeds your heart and soul, even if it is not presently in your life, call it in with ceremony.

There are a number of ways to participate.

• I will post a picture of the despacho and you can exhale your prayers and intentions of gratitude directly into the image of the despacho.
• You can blow your prayers into qintus that you make using 3 bay leaves  (or small native leaves or flower petals). Exhale what you are grateful for into all 4 qintus. Remember to include Mother Earth in your prayers.
• Last month some of you made a copy of the despacho to hold your qintus. That is certainly an option! Once you place your qintus in add an offering to energetically feed your prayers. Incense, sage, tobacco, herbs, flower petals, grains, sweets, dried fruits are some of the things you can use. Hold the intent of feeding your prayers as you add your offering. Fold it up into a square and tie closed with ribbon, twine or string.
• If you like you can also make a list of everything you are grateful for and use this to hold your qintus. Follow the same instructions as above for adding qintus.
• You can burn or bury your qintus, either wrapped in a picture of the despacho or your gratitude list or on their own.

The Despacho will be available and open for ceremony for 3 days starting on November 24th, the day before the New Moon (and Thanksgiving here in the states) until Saturday November 26th. You can participate on any one of these days. The Despacho will be secured in a place outside of my home to herd and hold your intentions, anchored by the kuyas (stones) of my mesa, many of which I received during rites and initiations in the mountains of Peru. The Despacho will then be burned in a fire ceremony.

Feel free to share comments or questions that arise as we step into ceremony like never before!

AHO my friends! AHO!

Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com 

Read Full Post »

THE MEDICINE OF BUTTERFLIES

A foretelling vision from a late afternoon practice:

As I lay with my stones on belly, heart and forehead, I set the intention to jump into the waters of my life. Immediately I am swept away in a fierce current, a power over which I have no control. The fury of this current clears everything in its path. I travel with rocks and boulders, tree limbs and boughs through these raging waters. A branch overhead is my savior. I grab hold and pull myself out. “Whoa, what was that?” Stillness beckons. Time to sit along the banks of these waters.

View of my car from the seat of the tow truck

In preparation for our New Moon Despacho Ceremony, I have been sitting with the intention of releasing the victim. The weekend before ceremony coincided with Family and Friends weekend at my daughter’s college. I began the 6 hour drive north. The trip came to a grinding halt 4 hours in when my car broke down on I-81. In the middle of very unfamiliar turf, I call AAA and am towed to the nearest mechanic. This was not my intent. With a one night hotel reservation I was expecting to be home the next day. I finish the drive with a rental car and my overnight stay stretches to three, adding expenses that now include a rental car, 3 more hotel rooms plus the bill from the mechanic.

The next morning, another breakdown is in the making. My boyfriend of five years says a final goodbye over the phone as he is in New Mexico and I am in New York. This long distance relationship is new for us and the plan was for me to relocate some time next year. Not only was my heart broken, but dreams and visions for my future were broken too.

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”
~Kahil Gibran~

When I finally hear back from the mechanic days later, the news is crushing. My car needs a new engine. Enough depressing calamities had mounted to make me feel more than a little sorry for myself. I was walking a tightrope, precariously close to falling over the edge. Below me lay a familiar abyss of poor me. Alone in a hotel room, I longed to be wrapped in a well worn cloak of misery. The  cries of the victim were desperately near. Do I fall prey?

“Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.” ~Rumi~

The sun rises on day three of my extended visit. I am surrounded by butterflies. Through the fury of this current, my heart transmutes with such soft vulnerability I can only hold it with the most tender loving kindness. I enter a void, no sense of ground beneath my feet. I return home from the weekend without my car, without my boyfriend, dreams for my future burned to ash. Yet in the midst of these raging waters, all I can come up with is a grateful heart. A weekend guised as a family visit becomes an initiation of empowerment. Not falling prey to the powerless victim, my heart stretches wider with the grace of gratitude.

I am filled with gratitude for guardian angels who guided me safely off the highway when my car lost all power. I am grateful for my godmother who each and every year sends a AAA membership in my name. I am grateful for the delight of my dear and divine lover, for the magic and poetry that our souls have shared. I am grateful to say goodbye with a heart whole in love. I am grateful for mystical poets whose verse sing to my sentient soul.

Stillness beckons. Time to sit along the banks of these waters. Faith and patience are my beacons to restoration. My heart is ready to rest in this void, washed clean in emptiness. A newness emerges, fresh as a butterfly breaking free of its cocoon. This tender heart longs to be fed with stillness and gratitude, nourished and sustained with the nectar of loving kindness. Soul metamorphosis, the medicine of butterflies.

AHO my friends! AHO!

Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com 

Read Full Post »

GET READY FOR CEREMONY!

We cannot stand in our power
and at the same time
believe we are a victim.

The New Moon is fast approaching so it is time to get ready for ceremony! Here are a few things you will need as we gather as a virtual community and align our intention of releasing the victim, places we have lost or given away our power and all self-limiting beliefs in order to fully manifest our dreams.

Preparations for Ceremony:

• 27 bay leaves, small native leaves or flower petals to make 8 qintus for Cuti (Kooti) Despacho plus 3 more to make 1 qintu for Ayni Despacho
• Sacred Space
• Quiet mind
• Sea Salt (fine, not coarse) for Purification
• Intention

The upcoming ceremony will have 2 Despachos; a Cuti (Kooti) Despacho to hold our intention of releasing the victim, places of powerlessness and all limited beliefs of not enough, and an Ayni Despacho to hold our gratitude.

Before coming to ceremony, you want to create time and space that feels sacred for you. This is a personal experience so whatever prayers or rituals you have will work. If you have not created sacred space or come to ceremony before, offer a prayer of thanks to the Earth. Reflect on all the blessings the Earth provides in your life.

If the only prayer we ever said was thank you, that would be enough.

Another practice that helps prepare us for ceremony is purification. A simple purification ritual can be created by rubbing your hands while they are dry with sea salt (use fine, not coarse) holding the intention of clearing any negativity from your heart. Continue until you feel your hands are clean and clear. As our hands are energetic extensions of our heart, cleansing in this way helps clear our heart. Purification practices are believed to make the heart more pure, empowering the strength of our prayers and intentions. Smudging, floral waters and incense can also be part of a purification ritual.

Once you have created sacred space and performed a purification ritual, take a moment to reflect on the victim, places within where you give up or give away your power. Notice self-limiting thoughts and beliefs. Where does this live in your body? This is what you will offer in ceremony. You are now ready to blow your intentions into your qintu. Take a moment to sit quietly and still your mind. Let your first qintu hold a prayer of thanks to Mother Earth, or Pachamama as she is called by the Shamans of Peru. Thank her for everything she provides for you in your life. Recognize that everything comes from her, and it is to her everything returns. Honor her with your first qintu.

You now have 7 more qintus (21 leaves or petals in groups of 3) for the Cuti (Kooti) Despacho. Hold the intention of clearing the energetic impressions and patterns of the victim from your system. Clear any places of powerlessness. Clear all limited beliefs of not enough. As you hold this intention you are blowing into your qintu. As you spend time with this process you may notice things start to come up in your body or mind. You may notice sensations or tensions arise. Blow that in. You may notice thoughts or emotions. Blow that in. You may have memories. Blow them in. Keep blowing into a qintu until it feels complete for you and then start with the next one until you have completed all 7. Once you are done, imagine blowing everything from all your qintus into the image of the Cuti (Kooti) Despacho online. As your intentions join with others in this ceremony, we empower each other through our shared intent in community.

This process will take some time so try and set 20 to 30 minutes for this in your day. This may be more time than you are accustomed to spending with intention or prayer but notice what it is like for you to be at an edge in prayer. Does the skeptic show up? Blow that in. Is there anger or resentment arising? Blow that in. Keep emptying into your qintu and trust the process. Don’t trust? Guess what…blow that in.

Once you have completed all of your qintus and blown your intentions into the Virtual Cuti (Kooti) Despacho, you will either burn your qintus or bury them in the Earth. As these qintus are holding our heavy and dense energetic patterns, you do not want to burn them in your home as in a fireplace. If you cannot release them until the next day, leave them outside of your home secured under a rock or somewhere you know you will find them the following day.

We are creating a vacuum in our field by releasing these heavy energetic paradigms. We need to fill this space with new information in order to re-inform our energetic bodies. For this we blow in our prayers of gratitude to the Ayni Despacho. Do this when you are done with the Cuti (Kooti) Despacho in the same way. This time you only have 1 qintu. Hold the intention of gratitude, as big and as wide as you can imagine, and then think bigger. Hold this intention and blow that into your last qintu and offer that into the Ayni Despacho with your exhale.

The Despachos will be available and open for ceremony for 3 days starting October 25th, the day before the New Moon, October 26th and October 27th. You can participate on any one of these days. The Cuti (Kooti) Despacho will be secured in a place outside of my home to herd and hold your intentions, anchored by the kuyas (stones) of my mesa, many of which I received during rites and initiations in the mountains of Peru. The Despachos will then be burned in a fire ceremony.

Please share comments or questions as we step into ceremony like never before!

AHO my friends! AHO!

Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com 

Read Full Post »