Inca Shamanism

Inca Shamanism - Awakening the Luminous Body

by Richard Bassil

(This article was originally posted on The Inca Medicine Wheel Shamanic Awakening, a website featuring Richard Bassil's articles and workshop announcements. Richard can be reached at bassil@shamantours.com )

Shamanic traditions predate recorded history and are rooted in the life cycles of the planet earth and the wheeling of the sun, moon, and stars through the sky. The Inca shamanic tradition is a 100,000 year old lineage of healers and spirit practitioners.

All indigenous cultures have their roots in natural cycles;the harvest, the seasonal planting of crops,the observation of weather,moon and stars. They ceremonially marked the rights of passage,the seasons of life,birth,puberty,marriage ,transition and death. There was a deeper inner life that was honored. They lived very close to the great archetypes; Earth, sky and the four cardinal points of the compass,or medicine wheel, which was represented by animal spirits. In the Inca tradition the Serpent, (Sachamama), represents the South,the jaguar,[Otorongo), represents the West, the hummingbird (kenti), and the dragon represents the North,and the East represented by the eagle in North America and the condor in South America.

The word "Inca" in Quechua, the non written language of the Q'ero Indians, is"child of the sun". This is a mythological context that has no banishment from the "Garden". This context represents a primordial, energetic, and essential connection to Pachamamat (Pacha =Earth or time) and to original creation. Not a creation that happened 20 billion years ago at the time of the Big Bang, but a creation that is eternally happening.

One of the operating principles in Inca Shamanism is that of Ayni (eye -nee), meaning reciprocity or divine exchange. This idea of Ayni is of a partnership, an exchange of energy,the universe reflects the condition of your love and your soul. This concept also enables you to become an active partner with creation and it requires that you have pure love,intent and impeccable integrity.

The shamanic path is not for everyone, because it can be extremely demanding. It requires a dismemberment,a dissolution of our current world view, an inner reconfiguration,and a burning away of the illusions of the culture. There are no quick fixes, no simple recipes for healing. We must embrace the lightning, wind and rain and walk, in full consciousness, through those awe full gates of death and transformation. We must first learn to heal ourselves before we can heal others.

Shamanistic cultures differ through out the world,however,they all have one thing in common and that is the concept of the energy body.Great attention is placed on awakening and developing this faculty."This energy body is subject to other laws than those of three dimensional geometry and causality"(Kolger Kalweit,Shamans,Healers,and Medicine Men p.137).This morphogenic quality of the shaman is to transform into birds,fish or other animals for flights to the upper or lower worlds.There they can receive messages,visions and instruction for their people or community.Through this energy body they are able to sense and precieve their clients energy,and know how to see blockages,or heavy energy,be able to extract it,and facilitate healing.

The luminous body is the template of the physical body and this is how we are vitally connected,energy always informs matter.The physical body is sourced from the Luminous Body,and in turn the luminous body is informed by nature;Earth,sun,moon,stars and the totem animals of the 4 directions(north,south,east and west).This is a direct link to knowledge and healing power,an energetic connection to receive messages directly. All nature has organization and information and the Shaman can receive directly from his/her luminous body the knowledge and guidance to travel to the domain of the soul.

We in the west,however,because of our genetic and socio-culture conditioning have lost touch with the forces of nature and the lineage that informs us.The task of the shaman is to clear the luminous body of those repetitive and destructive patterns.These patterns keep us locked into a world view that blocks the receptors in the luminous field and the ability to "step between the worlds" .This constitutes the path and the work of the Medicine Wheel which is a journey of, not only awakening the Luminous Body,but also a journey of cleansing the strands(the luminous fibers) of our energy field.It is here that we stop seeing the world through the filters of the conceptual mind and perceive the world afresh like children.

The Medicine Wheel is a universal component of indigenous world view,the marking and honoring of the four directions of the compass,spring,fall and the rising and setting sun,( East,West)the winter and summer(North,South).In the Inca tradition the Serpent is in the South,(sachamama),and represents the work of "shedding the past like the serpent sheds its skin".Also, "in the south we don't disown the past,but are no longer owned by it"(Villoldo "The Dance of the Four Winds"p.137).We free ourselves from the configurations of pain and trauma and transform them into our greatest source of healing. This can be a powerful and awesome act.

In western culture we tend to spend years in therapy dealing with the familial residue that our parents and the culture left on us.In medicine traditions,however,we mythically and energetically shed our skin,our past,and consequently are set free to the present moment.We are no longer consumed by the past but by who we are becoming.

Next is the work of the West...facing fear and facing death.The Jaguar is the animal associated with the west.To look into the eyes of death,the eyes that have seen the birth and death of galaxies. This is the path of integrity and impeccability.It is the path of the warrior who never has to go to battle,who has no anger,violence or enemies.In the work of the West we shed the violence of the culture and make death our closest ally.We look into the pool of remembering and engage our genetic and karmic past in order to set them free.We give voice to the spirits of the dead and learn to move gracefully,like the Jaguar,between the worlds.

The work of the North,by contrast,is very sweet. It represents the journey to acquire wisdom.This is the way of the Ancient Ones,those who have gone before and who have stepped outside of t~me.In the North we connect with the lineage that informs us. "It is stepping through the crack between the world and taking our place among the twice born,all those who have conquered death,done battle with the archetypes of consciousness and mastered the forces of nature to become persons of knowledge',.(Alberto Villoldo,Island of the Sun,p.25).

The work of the North is accessing the vast sea of knowledge,or the AKASHIC records,the collective memories of the human race and the total evolutionary memories of the planet.It is here that we merge individual consciousness with the larger body of the Biosphere.These are truly the Ancient Pathways,the ability to hear the "voices in the wind".This is a true test for us in Western culture.Can we find new ways of living to accommodate this awesome awareness,energy and responsibility? This would profoundly and irrevocably reshape the individual,society and consequently how we interact with each other our environment and Planet!

The work of the East is the path of the visionary, the seer.The animal associated with the East is the Eagle in North America and the Condor in South America respectively.This is coming full circle,the return,of bringing ones purpose and vision back to society,back to community,to be able to envision the possible.This is an act of creation...what kind of world do we want to pass on to future generations? The East in developing the ability to "see", not look, into the ensence into the soul of trees,plants,animals and events,past and future,of realization and awakening to the full potential of what is possible in Humankind. However,this is no easy task and takes years,decades of work.All shamanic development is an extension of inner purification.

The Inca Medicine Wheel,the functional,experiential component of Shamanism, in a profound way of becoming,of Individuating, together they are a recipe for Life.The path is simplicity itself but profoundly deep.It is about chopping wood and carrying water,about doing the WORK and growing corn.It has to manifest in your relationships with your family,your work,your life otherwise its only spiritual cliche' and has no power. This is a path and a journey of awakening to knowledge,power,and service.

Richard Bassil has been a professional musician for most of his adult life. Several years ago he became interested in the mysteries of Peru and the healing power of shamanic techniques, as well as, the Andean region and culture. This journey has been paralleled by his study of Classical Five Element acupuncture in which he was recently certified. Richard brings together the physical and ethereal through his acupuncture skills and his musical talent.