Oh the mystery of the Amazon Rainforest!

Since I signed up for this trip, people have expressed their own fears about traveling to this region of the world...referring to this region as a third world country, a tribe of people that are "uncivilized", a region full of war and disease, a place where not a single modern amenity exists - not even roads.  It's been really funny the things people think when I tell them I'm going into the Amazon Rainforest.  My mother (I don't think she'll mind me saying this) was shocked and said "isn't that where people go and never return!"  Needless to say, she is very worried I'm not coming back.  My sister's small group is praying for me since this they believe this region is where people wake up one morning and find they are missing a kidney.  One woman I met who has actually lived in Quito said the bugs are larger and scarier in the Amazon than anywhere else in the world.  She warned me about all of the man-eating bugs and mammals.   

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to return and with all of my internal organs.  Frankly, knowing that we'll be guided by a local Achuar woman (Cocqui [pronounced Cookie]), I'm feeling quite safe from guerrilla warfare or organ harvesters.  I'm also feeling quite prepared with all of my magic mushroom potions (they are homeopathic pills - but I like calling them magic mushroompotions) that should prevent malaria and yellow fever in the rainforest.  I've even got magic mushroom potions to prevent me from getting sick from the food in Quito or Chicha (fermented beer that is a staple food among the Achuar).  However, there is one thing that I am feeling nervous about.  Since there are no roads in the rainforest, we will be traveling by canoe.  Apparently there are gigantic (30 feet) anacondas that live throughout this river system and eat people every now and then.  You better believe if our canoe tips over I'll be the first one scrambling back into it - who cares if my luggage floats away!  Even the spirits of the rainforest can't save me from a hungry anaconda!  

We Are All Connected

I just finished reading another book by John Perkins, "Spirit of the Shuar" that journeys deeper into the wisdom, shamanic healings, and teachings of the Shuar people.  There are so many places in this book that speak directly to my life and journey - even experiences and dreams from my childhood!  One of the primary themes in this book, as well as a new dream emerging in the United States, is the understanding that we are all connected by nature and with nature.  "We Shuar know that we are inseparable from nature, strands in the same spider's web.  We believe in the power of the ancestors - they're everything to us, comforting and protecting us."  

If we are to survive on this planet and leave a home for our children and their children, we must begin to change our dream that we are somehow separate from nature and separate from each other.  How you choose to live in the United States directly affects the Shuar way of life as well as many other people around the globe.  It's the same in nature.  The oxygen we breathe in New Mexico was likely produced by the rain forest in Brazil.  

As spoken by a Shuar Shaman:  "You believe that your civilization has developed for many thousands of years, that you can look back to ancient cultures in Asia and the Middle East and trace this development through Europe and into the United States.  You say you've made great progress - and this is true in many ways.  You also look at us, the Shuar and other indigenous people, and you say that we haven't developed, that we've been static and that our lives are primitive.  The idea of being primitive has begun to appeal to some of your people in recent years - but it simply isn't true that we're primitive.  

We don't live like the Shuar of a thousand years ago or even of my parents generation.  We've always developed.  Every generation of Shuar since the beginning have progressed.  We've developed too - but the difference is in the way it has happened.  Our way has always taken into account all other life forms and the lives of our children's children.  For us the word 'progress' does not apply if it threatens other species or could possibly harm future generations.  How could that be progress?"  

I grew up with some very useful values of a hard work ethic, honesty, giving back to the community.  But I also believe we must begin to incorporate other values into our daily lifestyle choices and that are the foundation for business.  Values that change our relationship to nature from one of conqueror to nurturer.  Values that break down hierarchalorganizations to models that have worked for thousands of years.  We must, because we know if we do not, we will continue to destroy the natural earth and we will all die with her.  We are not separate - so why do we live like we are?  

Letting go of Fear

As I prepare for this trip, I continue to realize that one of the intentions of this trip is to let go of the fear in our lives and replace it with love.  There are so many times when fear runs our lives - the fear of getting hurt, fear of losing a job, fear of not living up to our potential.  Even as children, we develop behaviors based on a fear rather than simply overcoming that fear and moving on with our lives.  Since signing up for this trip, I've been dealing with the fear of the unknown.  I had no idea what to expect going deep into the Amazon Rainforest or interacting with the Achuar, especially since we will be participating in traditional ceremonies.  It feels like walking into a nearby Pueblo and asking to live with a family and participate in a closed ceremony.  I began preparing the only way I knew how - reading books about the Shuar / Achuar written by Americans who had traveled to the Amazon and lived among these people.  With every page, my fear has dissolved and I finally feel I know enough about their customs to be respectful.   

 

The topic of fear also continues to come up in the spiritual beliefs of these people, the purpose of being a man or a woman, and the healing that we need as a society.  In reading about why the Shuar conduct warfare and how men become warriors, John Perkins says: "So you see why we fight. As I told you, to dominate our fears."  It is through the initiation of young men becoming warriors and killing their enemies that they faced their fear of death and could live the rest of lives without being afraid of dying.  The Shuar  methodology about a great warrior who killed an enormous anaconda and became the fiercest warrior who faced his fear of death is mirrored by our legend of Beowulf.  In fact, many of the Shuar legends about facing fear rather than being controlled by it can be found in legends told to children in the United States.  One of the largest differences is the Shuar actually provide their people with traditions that help them live up to their potential - men becoming warriors, women becoming good gardeners and mothers, and each gender has opportunities and understands the ways to access the ancient power within them.  

 

I'm continually struck by one major difference.  The Shuar have many legends that tell them how humans are no different than the plants and animals - that we are all connected.  Legends remind them of how they must keep their populations in check or the plants and animals and therefore, themselves, will suffer.  They learn how consumption leads to suffering by all.  They have tales that remind them to only kill the animals they need to eat and to ensure a plant is planted for each plant taken from the earth.  These legends have taught the Shuar to build their homes not to be permanent, but to last only a while.  They then leave their clearing and home and move to another location and let the earth re-take their previous clearing and their homes goes back to dirt.  Imagine how different the United States would look if our childhood stories embodied these values!  Rather, our dream in the U.S. is actually to consume as much as possible and build and own things that are permanent.  Our values include controlling nature - through construction, agriculture, manufacturing of goods - because we are separate from the natural world.  Our dreams include consuming more and owning more things that we can keep forever and pass down to our children.  We give little thought to how the ideal of owning more things impacts the natural world or the destruction involved in so many people owning so many things.  At the root of our value system is that we are above and separate from the natural world and have a right to control it - plants and animals have less rights than humans and we are somehow unaffected from their destruction.  What we are beginning to wake up to is the reality that if we continue living with this value system - we will not have a planet to pass down to our children.  Our dreams must change and our values must shift if we are to continue living on this Earth.  We have so much to learn from indigenous cultures on this note.  We also have much to share, but when it comes to our relationship with nature and the planet, we must begin to listen rather than talk.          

A Journey of Self-Discovery

The exhilaration I felt in the moment I signed up for this trip was immediately followed by a deep panic of "What in the world have I done."  I woke up the other night drenched in cold sweat and fixed in fear of the potential impact this trip could have on my life.  There will be mosquitoes that carry malaria and yellow fever.  I could easily get disease from the food.  What if my sinuses cause misery the whole time, as they have on most trips this year to humid places?  What if the plane goes down in the ocean or the Andes mountains?  These questions were still in my mind as I started reading John Perkins "The World is as You Dream It" that would slowly unravel all of my fear and replace it with great awe for the journey I am about to embark on.  The book describes an understanding about the power of our dreams that I have not quite learned to articulate as well as his journey to the same places and shamans I will be visiting.  What I'm learning is this trip will be a journey of self-discovery and one I've been dreaming about since I was child.  While I am coming to understand why I am going on this journey, I also recognize it is not necessary to travel to Ecuador to gain the same insights and knowledge about how the world really is how we dream it.  As Perkins states: "It is important to keep in mind, however, that you do not have to visit these shamans personally in order to empower yourself and make your own dreams come true.  The knowledge is within you; it was there at birth and stayed with you through much of your childhood.  If you fear you have lost it, turn that fear around.  This wisdom is in everyone, but many in our culture have forgotten it.  The world is indeed as we dream it."  In this way, anyone can go on this journey to discover how we are all connected with the world and how it is our dreams the energy we put behind those dreams that have created the present and how by simply changing the dream can change the future.       

Health and Food Tips

You all are amazing!  Thanks for all of the wonderful tips on how to fully prepare for going into the rainforest and Ecuador.  This is really a part of international travel that I had not given too much attention, until now!  Apparently there are many people who have gotten parasites when traveling in Ecuador.  A friend recommended that I eat papaya every day as a preventative measure and even eat papaya seeds.  Not a problem since I'm guessing the papaya is wonderfully fresh there.  Other potential health issues for traveling to this area of the world are Yellow Fever and Malaria.  The Pachamama Alliance will be providing us with mosquito nets for our trip as a preventative measure.  To prevent Malaria, there is a series of pills you can take called malarone.  To prevent Yellow Fever, there is something called lemon / eucalyptus repel that you spray on your clothes and it lasts for 6 weeks.  In Santa Fe, we are lucky to have a Pharmaca and they are well versed on homeopathic remedies for international travel so I'm going to ask them what they recommend as well.  If anyone has some tips, feel free to share!   

Discovering the Public Library

We were provided a recommended reading list to prepare for the trip to the Amazon, but instead of looking for used books on the internet I decided I would go to the public library.  It was, I must admit, the first time I had been to the public library since moving to Santa Fe and we always buy our books online or at a bookstore.  In face, I can't really remember ever checking out a book from a library since I was a child - other than research journals in college.  I was not expecting the library to have any of the recommended books since they are not mainstream, especially since one was described as really hard to find.  To my surprise, our public library had ALL of the books I was looking for and they are FREE!  Call me crazy, but why are we all spending a bunch of money purchasing books when our public library gives them to us for free, which saves us money and saves the environment?  Whoever invested the public library is a genius.  What a great concept that anyone in America can access pretty much all the books they would ever want to read - with no regard to their race, income, religion, or gender.  For anyone watching the PBS specials about the National Parks, its a similar concept "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people".  I was so inspired by going to the library, I asked if they accepted book donations and they do!  I'm going to go through all of the those books I've purchased over the years that I've only read once and donate them to the library so lots of other people can read them.  If you're wondering what books I checked out - they are Amazon Beaming and The World is What You Dream It.  They should be great reads and I recommend them for anyone traveling to South America or the rainforest.  You'll get an update soon!   

It's Feeling More Real

Well, up until this point this whole trip has felt very surreal.  This morning I booked my flight to Quito, Ecuador and made hotel reservations at Cafe Cultura since I'll be flying in a few days early.  Now it is feeling very real!  I spent some time this morning watching a video of Quito on the Cafe Cultura website and it was a great introduction to the city.  Quito seems like a wonderful city and I'm really excited to have a day to explore some of its rich history.  There are huge plaza's where the Inca rulers lived.  The more I read about the history of Quito and Ecuador, I'm struck by how much can be aligned with the history of people here in New Mexico and 1500 - 1600 Spanish conquests.  We truly are all connected.  I'm glad to be going into the heart of the Amazon Rainforest where humans have had little impact on the ecosystem and I really wish I had more time to explore the beaches and islands off Ecuador that are basically untouched ecosystems and environments.  Thank god humans have not totally invaded every nook of the world - but really isn't it just a matter of time unless we are proactive about protecting nature?

I really wish I were fluent Spanish.  My husband and I may be at some point since we love traveling to Latin America.  In the meantime, I'll be studying Rosetta Stone until I leave.  For those of you interested in the local Achuar language, here are some wonderful words I'll be studying :

WIÑA JAI = Good morning,  Good afternoon,  Good evening - greetings
WEA JAI = Good bye
MAKETAI = Thank you
WETAI = Let´s go
NAKARSATA = Wait!
WINITIA = Come on
JA AI = Yes ATSA = No
WIYAIT JAI = my name is...
YAITIAM = what is your name?
YUMI = Water
YURUMAK = Food
NIJIAMANCH (also Chicha) = Manioc beer
KINTIA = Day
NANTU = Month
MUSACH = Year

Kathleen McIntire's email Announcing the Trip

I thought I would share the newsletter that Kathleen McIntire sent out to announce the trip.  Kathleen and her friend Robin will be facilitating the trip in November.  I'm really excited to meet them! Dear Kathleen, Welcome to Soaring In Light!

Unleashing the Divine Feminine at the Womb of the Mother  What better place to unleash the Divine Feminine than in the place where she is so fully alive and potent – the Amazon rainforest! I am co-leading a women's journey to the remote rainforest of Ecuador November 7-16. This is a journey of the heart to listen deeply to the Divine Feminine and to unleash what wants to come through. I invite women who share this desire to join us.  Through my journeys to Ecuador, I feel that this remote pristine rainforest is the womb of our planet. The womb is a safe and protected place. A journey to the rainforest is a return to the womb for healing, grounding, spiritual growth and direction.  Our world is starving for love, starving for the gifts of the Mother. On this journey, we will create sacred space for consciously setting an intention in alignment with the Divine Feminine for her power to be unleashed upon the world. Now is the time – time for powerful women to gather and dream a world of love that works for all life. The Achuar, the Indigenous people of the Ecuadorian rainforest we visit, are a dream culture. What more potent place to dream than in the rainforest with them.  This trip is an initiation more fully into our Divine Selves. As Divine beings we are Creatrices. What do you desire with all of your heart to create? What are the breakthroughs you are ready for? What is the biggest fear you are ready to let go of?  Who this trip is for? This journey is for those of you who are ready to fully move into a new paradigm, to get in touch with your deepest truth, your own unique call. It is for those who are ready for a breakthrough; ready to let what is no longer serving you be released.  Who this trip is not for? Anyone attached to staying in denial, status quo, keeping things as they are.  Questions to explore: Where in your life are you living from that place of TRUST in the Divine?  Where do you stop trusting and feel YOU have to make something happen?  I had that experience with this journey. Somewhere I stopped trusting everything I had seen and had been shown. I went back into that little “me” – the one who believes she has to do it all by herself; the one who forgets there are forces larger than herself who are directing things; the one who forgets to just surrender, open and align to the will of the Divine! The the Divine voice from deep within nudged me.  Ahhh, how sweet that place of remembering once again is.  What dream do you want to bring to plant in the rainforest? What is it that you are most ready to grow in your life right now?  As we move out of the old paradigm and to the shores of the new paradigm, what are YOU being called to be or do? How are you being called to show up?  The voice of the Divine Feminine within is your intuition. Mother Mary has said "Intuition is the voice of love, therefore it is truth."  Our invitation: Will you join us on our journey to awaken the Divine Feminine and reconnect more fully to the Divine Feminine voice of love and truth?  My dear friend Robin Milam and I are co-leading A Women’s Journey Embodying the Divine Feminine to the rainforests of Ecuador November 7-16, 2009. We travel in partnership with The Pachamama Alliance and at the invitation of the Achuar people. Our intention is to anchor ourselves in love and to reignite the Divine Feminine to bring about a transformation of consciousness on our planet.  Join us on a magical 10 day journey as we delight in the joy of traveling as a circle of women. If you hear this call please join us, Robin and I would love to talk with you personally. Please contact me at (530) 478-9577 or email Kathleen or Robin at (530) 272-4322 oremail Robin.  For more on Intuition visit How do you connect with your intuition? on Kathleen's website.

Well, most of the arrangements have been made for Quito!!  I'll be staying at Casa Foch for a few nights before the rest of the women arrive for our trip.  It looks like a wonderful hotel and the manager is really nice.  Lots of people rave about the food in Quito.  The more recipes I've found, the more the food seems similar to dishes found in New Mexico.  Like empanadas!  The Tesuque Village Market just north of Santa Fe has some of the best empanadas around.  There appears to be a ton of fruit juice bars in Quito - something like 300 fruits only found in Ecuador can be found there!  Yum!  I'm sure we all experience this, but I keep running into more people who have family living in Ecuador or have traveled there.  Lots of great stories.  The one hear the most is that people really don't bring enough types of clothes - especially when you're going from 15,000 feet in the Andes to sea level in the middle of the Rain forest.  I've never had this hard of time packing light!  

My Journey to the Rainforest in Ecuador

Welcome everyone!  I am not a blogger and actually have trouble just keeping up with my Facebook page.  The reason I'm starting this blog is to invite you to share with me on a new journey to the "Lungs of the World" or the "Womb of Mother Earth" - this place would be a remote village in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador to visit the Achuar people.  This journey, for me, is a commitment to lighting a fire in me about how inter-connected we are as people, our connection to the natural world, and how we can begin to learn from cultures that have not lost their ability to truly live in a sustainable community.   As individuals, we are faced with a reality that includes a climate crisis, economic crisis, health care crisis, and, I believe, social crisis which leaves many of us in despair.  Whether we are mainly affected by plummeting stock portfolio's, the loss of stable income for our family, or wondering where our next meal might come from - our daily lives have been shaken.  We must begin to find hope and inspiration within ourselves and start making small changes to build a better future - for ourselves, our children and families, our neighbors and community, and the world.  We must awaken the dream that we can make a difference even when the crisis' affecting us our so large. I'll be traveling to Ecuador for 10 days in November and hope, through this blog, to spread the experience to anyone else who wants to listen.   Enjoy, and I look forward to hearing from you too.