High in the wind-buffeted
mountains of Peru live a native people called the Q'ero. Rumored to
be descendants of the ancient Inca who, centuries ago, sought refuge
from the violence of the conquistadors, they've lived in relative
isolation until recently. Anthropologist Oscar Nunez
del Prado led an expedition to study them in 1955, and the Q'ero have
been in contact with the modern world ever since, generously sharing
their lives and the spiritual principles and practices that weave
through them.
One of those principles is
ayni (pronounced EYE-nee), a tiny word that goes straight to the heart
of how the Q'ero, like most indigenous cultures, are able to live in
harmony with one another and with their surroundings. In her book Masters of
the Living Energy, Joan Parisi Wilcox, a student of the Q'ero,
defines ayni as, “The impulse toward sacred interchange and the
spirit of reciprocity, which are fundamental operating principles in
the social and mystical systems of Peru.”
Ayni
arises out of an awareness of our interconnectedness at the most
basic level. As we know, every action we take reverberates, as we
affect and are affected by the actions of others and the particulars
of our environment. But the Q'ero move deeper
to assert a reciprocity at an energetic level.
They teach, according to Wilcox, that “we are fundamentally energy
beings...in a world of living energy.” They tell us that this
vital force is an “implicit, creative principle” that flows
through everything, a vitality in
lively motion, in constant exchange. All things, they say, relate in
a continuous and reciprocating flow of energy.
In
human interactions, we respond to one another. Some of our exchanges
are clearly life enhancing, while others may feel leaden or coarse.
The Q'ero teach that these various tones arise from the energetic
qualities within each exchange. They
offer specific techniques for releasing what's called “heavy
energy,” as well as for accessing that which is lighter and more
refined. Heavy energy, incidentally, is not considered bad, just not
conducive to optimal functioning.
And in
the spirit of ayni, the Q'ero share these energetic methods freely,
for the good of all. Using such techniques allows us, as Wilcox puts
it, to consciously contribute to a “spiritual transformation by
living in ayni ourselves and by mediating the heavy and light
energies of our own world.”
Ayni, a sacred
interchange. I'm always delighted when I find a new teaching, one
more finger pointing toward the moon, as the Buddha put it. Spiritual systems across
time have offered us ways to move into harmony, to step forward in
grace, and to regain our balance when we slip. There are truly a
plethora of ways.
Our task is to choose
those that best fit our disposition and personal beliefs, and to
employ them to bring ourselves and our actions into fuller accord
with that creative force that most call God. And then to do it again
and again. In joy.
Blessings, my fellow energy beings!
Leia Marie
Here's a link to Masters of the Living Energy. While the interviews with some of the Q'ero might be a stretch for those of us raised in a culture of scientific materialism, the exercises that introduce us to the ways of working with energy are much more accessible and thoroughly delightful.
