Dreaming of Balance: Between the Light and the Heavy
Greetings!
"The world is swinging like a pendulum
between lightness and density." -Judith
Kahealani Lynne
"It's very easy to do this [get rid of the
heaviness]. What is difficult is to think so!"
--Americo Yabar
Some days, when I sit really still, I cry for
the world. I see the glaciers melting, the
people suffering drought and war, the polar
bears unable to swim to shore. I listen to
trees weeping for forests felled, stones
heavy with memories of destruction. On these
days, grief becomes a weight. I fall into
numbness, pretending to block out the shadows
of the world. Yet, on other days the weight
lifts and my heart sings like a bird in flight.
Dreams of Balance
What I always intend to create, by shifting
my awareness, is balance: in myself, in the
world. I dream of flowing with the sorrows of
the world like water; I dream of transmuting
my grief like fire and filling our world with
joyful radiance.
And, yes: I dream of shining like the waxing
moon, making light and shadow manifest. I
dream of reaching across the darkness as a
great shining star, weaving my energies with
the energies of all beings. I dream of being
solid as stone, brilliant as crystal.
At this time of equinoctial balance between
day and night, I call on all the nature
spirits to help me. Yet, despite these dreams
of balance, life intervenes. My teenager gets
a speeding ticket, my friend's house is
foreclosed, everyone in my family acts
chaotic and anxious. Instead of being a
radiant star, I am filled with my own
reactive, heavy energies. And some of almost
every day is like this, for all of us.
What to Do?
In our western social framework we focus on
the psychological roots of emotions. We are
trained to delve into past experience,
attitudes, stories, and thoughts: to
deconstruct the words they said, the words I
said, what it all means. And, of course, I do
this, as it can be helpful in unraveling the
complexity of responses we have.
I also practice an easier way of dealing with
many of my minute-by-minute responses to
life. In the Andes its called "mihuy," the
art of eating heavy energy (see links). I
learned this practice over 15 years ago, when
I began working with Americo Yabar, and I
have been doing it ever since: for myself, at
work, in my family, walking down the street.
It's easy, it's quick, and it helps me
shift consciousness back to the beauty and
joy in life! I can't always cleanse a
whole room (or even my whole self) of heavy
energy, but shifting my attention changes me
enough to step aside, hold love in my heart,
and bring some lightness in.
Everything Is Just Energy
In the traditional Andean/Inca world,
everything is seen as a form of living
energy. Perceptions are modeled on nature,
and Quechua (the language of the Andes) has
few words for defining emotions and
psychological constructs. Instead, emotional
responses are perceived as heavy, dense
energy ("hucha") or refined, light energy
("sami"). In this, the mountain people's ways
of being and perceiving are closer to those
described by Quantum physics-where what we
perceive as "matter" is really electrons
moving energetically in relationship--than
are ours; the fluidity of intent that Americo
speaks of is an essential part of the cosmology.
It's very easy to "play the game"of eating
heavy energy with intent. Try it for yourself:
Notice where there is some heavy, dense
energy in your body (you don't need to label
it, just find it). Visualize sending the
heaviness from this place into a big mouth
that opens into the earth. Feed the heaviness
to the mouth. See your body emptying and the
mouth receiving, over & over. Think of the
heaviness as compost: the earth devours
everything, whether coffee grounds, leaves,
or energies, without judgment. Let the earth
take it all. Then fill yourself up with some
light, refined energy. For example, you might
stand in the sunlight and repeat "I am filled
with sunlight, I am radiant." Or you might
twirl, laughing, to fill with chi and shift
your breath and energetic awareness.
Whenever you "remove" some heavy energy, it
is essential to fill yourself with energy
that is "lighter" or more "refined"--you
certainly don't want to fill up with more
gunk! And, truly, what is difficult is to
think, to believe, that such a simple
practice can do so much! Your intent to let
go of the heavy, and your practice of letting
go and filling up, are the two essentials for
eating hucha, and for any shifting
consciousness you'll ever do.
May you find balance and open your heart to the light within,
