The Huicholi Way of Healing

POWER SPOTS

In the beginning, when the earth, our mother was being formed, there were many great spirits roaming about. As the earth took form, these spirits came to sleep in a variety of places. These are the "Power Spots" of the earth. These spirits dream and their dreams are a part of our existence. To go to a power spot can be of great aid to us in our spiritual journey to remember who we are.

I am repeating, as faithfully as I can, the truth as taught to me by Don Jose, a shaman of the Huicholi (whee-cho-laei) People who live in the mountains of Mexico. Don Jose left his body several years ago at an age estimated over 115 years. Don Jose's "death" was not a significant event in my relationship with him. From our first physical contact, we began communicating through thought. This was how we communicated even when we were physically together as he did not speak English, nor I Huicholi. We could speak to each other in Spanish, but that was limited because of my lazy years in school. Don Jose was not very interested in telling anyone anything. He worked as a guide, taking people to destinations so that they could find their way on their own as a mother might walk her child to school several times until the child knew how to safely venture on her own. He did this in many ways, the most important being through dreaming and ceremonies.

Don Jose did not teach. He encouraged memory. He described the spiritual path as a cleaning of the mirror. Clean so that we can see clearly who we are, what is going on. A spiritual enlightenment thus is a comfortable feeling of "Oh, I always knew that and just never paid attention". And so it was, for my husband and myself, when we realized we had as small children been aware of power spots. Intuitively, many of us have gone to power spots for rest and rejuvenation. The seashore is the greatest example of this. Tate Harumara (ta tay har u mara) is Grandmother Ocean and she is one of the most powerful forces on earth. Tate Harumara distributes her power on the beaches of the world. That is why so many are drawn to spend their vacations in beach cities.

The power spots are a source of Kapuri, life force, prana. With Kapuri we acquire power to live. With Kapuri, we are strong, whole, healthy. Without Kapuri, our powers wane. It is necessary to make contact with power spots often in order to maintain our Kapuri. It is as if we are batteries and the power spots are where we go to reload. The paradox is that upon going to a power spot, we are often overcome by a deep exhaustion. Sometimes, I have hardly been able to lay out a blanket before I drowse off. It is the desire of the spirit of the power spot to dream with us, to share with us. I suspect it is the power spot that decides and as I write this Don Jose laughs. He does not think it is the power spot or us that makes a decision, it is a culmin ation of all events. Well, DJ, aren't all things a culmination of events. Yes, he says and laughs. We must never let our egos prevail.

A friend asked me to take him to a power spot. I was visiting, but I knew a powerful spot on a mountain that overlooked his home. We drove up the mountain until we reached an area that I felt grabbed me. We got out of the car and walked about 15 yards before I saw a rock that looked like a puma. This was not the spirit being that we had come to visit, but a guardian spirit and one that I loved. I then looked about and was immediately drawn to three rocks. They were rather large as if they were one large rock covered with dirt and grass with three projections forming a cradle. I led my friend to the spot and immediately as we sat down , we fell asleep. His wife, Laura and young son had come along with a picnic. The little boy joined us in deep slumber. Laura, who thought I was leading her husband into some dubious, spiritual territory, was unaffected by the spot. She spent an hour walking about in boredom. Our sleep was the deep and wonderful sleep of an infant. I have slept like this many times feeling as if I am in someone's arms lulled peacefully by the rhythm of the heart beat and yet been lying on solid granite. When we awoke, my friend immediately, verbally regretted that my husband could not have been there. These were my strong feelings as well. It became clear, a visual idea, that we should fly down to my husband and bring him to the spot. I knew my husband was 700 miles away working in the date palms on our ranch in the desert. I could see which tree he was in. After spending enough time at power spots, it is not at all difficult to travel as we do in our dream state, by flying. In fact, to fly from one power spot to another is as simple as remembering that spot. The memory comes from the heart, not the mind. Since my connection with my husband is stronger in my heart than mind, I can always find him. My friend is a powerful man who has not explored the degree of his power. When he saw my husband and realized that he had really flown, he became frightened and the event stopped innocently, a fledgling at home in a downy nest.

Power spots can be likened to power tools. A chain saw is a great tool for the woodcutter and a deadly weapon to a fool. Finding and approaching a power spot should not be done lightly or without deep respect. Each power spot has a unique gift for us. Don Jose asks that I state clearly that not all power spots are what we call "good". Some lead us into the underworld where our souls can be lost for long periods requiring a shaman to rescue us. It is our hope that the love and devotion to power spots shall again be part of the world's spirituality in order to bring harmony and healing to this world. A shaman spends many years preparing for her work. Please be patient about visiting a power spot. During the ensuing months, Don Jose and I will describe the preparation necessary to visiting a power spot. This might be equated to preparing to visit a royal, one needs to know the proper etiquette, clothing, gifts and have an idea of what will happen. To begin preparation now, take some time each day to remember childhood images. Perhaps there was a tree that felt like a friend or a rock that felt like a throne. There is a massive worldly pursuit of remembering the negative incidents of our youth which is great if one wants to contact areas of weakness, but by remembering the subtle feelings of pleasure in nature from our childhood, we are able to contact our areas of strength.