Day Two

This morning I woke to join several women, who would be traveling with me to the jungle, for breakfast.  We had all arrived the day before and our private breakfast table nestled in a closed restaurant across the street was buzzing with our joy and excitement of finally meeting each other.  The table was adorned with locally grown coffee and a colorful array of freshly squeezed juices and hand woven linens.  A very sacred way to start your day!  My excitement in meeting everyone was equally met with a pounding headache and queasiness, probably from the altitude adjustment of climbing Pinchincha.  These women already felt like my family as they poured me Coco tea and offered herbal remedies to ease the aching.  They became my Pachamama mothers within minutes!  Sitting at the table listening to everyone’s stories, spiritual quests that landed them in Quito sitting next to each other, and deep listening to their inner wisdom – I was attune to how each woman in the room held their power with care and compassion in a way that allowed their spirits to glow.  I sensed, even this morning, that these women would soon become my Council of Sisterhood, Sha-mazing mothers, and Divine Feminine Alliance. 

It wasn’t long after breakfast that we all gathered down the street at the infamous Magic Bean for lunch and to join the rest of our gathering of women.  We would encompass a Council of 17 Women in total, including two powerful leaders, Kathleen and Robin, and our Ecuadorian guide, Cuqui.  Fully surrounded by so many feminine leaders was a bit intimidating and beckoned the question of if I was really worthy to belong to this recently convened council of women.  They each held their power with such grace, had fully developed their intuition and were following their Divine paths, and spoke eloquently of their beliefs and awareness of their spiritual connection to the world.  I felt like such a newbie!  I just knew if I opened my mouth, they would realize I was much less “enlightened” than them and, yet, I knew I too had a deep connection to the Universe and Dreams.

Much of the day I blended into the background, listening to and observing the unique wisdom and medicine each woman had to offer.  We strolled through downtown Quito, with streets full of ornately decorated Catholic Cathedrals built on top of ancient Inca ruins.  Quito boasts of its historically significant architecture, comprised of towering stone walls that tell the stories of repeated conquering and of being conquered.  I was overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and heartbreak by the stark fact that for centuries our ideals of progress, dominance, and higher civilization had resulted in this concrete city, at the sacrifice of Mother Earth and people of conquered cultures. 

How long would it be before Quito’s current inhabitants are conquered again, the architecture once again rebuilt to reflect the new religious beliefs of the dominant culture?  How long before the United States will fall as the world leader?  When my nieces are grandmothers, will the Chinese have taken over the United States and established Chinese as the universal language?  If the U.S. economy fades and jobs are not to be found, will we know how to grow our own food and sustain ourselves?  Will we have maintained our cultural talents to be able to sell pottery, weavings, jewelry, and food to sustain our families? 

Tired and confused, I fell asleep at our hotel until we were gathered to listen to the instructions for leaving for the jungle early the next morning.  I could feel this trip was going to be big and change the course of my whole life.  Whew!  First, sleep.