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11 Ajmak, in the Kame trecena

Last night I had a dream. I was hovering above myself and I noticed that my spirit was not in my body. I seemed a bit disconnected and I could see my spirit hanging like a partly invisible cloud above me. I remembered the dream very well as I woke up. It got me thinking of one particular curandera – traditional Mayan healer – from San Pedro la Laguna, who specializes in reconnecting the spirit with the body. She is an older woman I once met during a cacao ceremony at Nana Marina´s house – who also is a Mayan spiritual guide. My dream got me thinking of the incredible wide range of different ancestral medicinal specialists that are classified. The Maya medical system comes from a deep understanding of the interconnectedness between the mind, body, emotions and spirit. You cannot treat one without the other.

Anyways.. yesterday, I received a powerful Mayan abdominal massage. This goes so deep into our core – literally and physically – and always triggers a deep emotional process for me. I could relate the dream of my spirit hanging out in a different place to the effects of this massage. When we go through physical and emotional pain, we may unconsciously dissociate from our body and as a result – our spirit travels elsewhere. The same happens with trauma. So when these memories are literally moved and deeply massaged in this case, the art is to stay with all of the intensity. I guess, my spirit decided otherwise.

Later that day, I took the boat to San Pedro la Laguna – the village at the other side of Lake Atitlan. As I walked into a random clothing shop, the local girl who was working there started talking to me. Asking me the regular question – where I am from, how long I have been here, and what I am doing here. I shared her about the work we are doing with The Midwife Project Guatemala – where we work with a group of local midwives from around Lake Atitlan to preserve ancestral Maya midwifery and bridge this with modernday midwifery in the Empowerment through Education program for local midwives. (For more details, see: www.midwifeproject.net)

Her eyes lit up. `Waw, es muy interesante´, she shared. I asked her if there are any healers or midwives in her family. Offcourse, this was the case, as the synchronicities keep guiding me to meet the right people. Her great-grandmother was a comadrona – a traditional midwife – and her mother is a curandera who works and heals with plants.

Offcourse, our conversation took off rapidly and I welcomed Mary and her mother to join the next day on our medicinal plant walk with the midwives in San Marcos la Laguna. I asked her if she also has a specific gift that she carries from birth. She told me that when she was born, the midwife told her mother that she also would become a midwife one day. Traditionally, the Maya midwives read the birth signs and share with the family if the baby is born with a specific gift so that the whole family can take care of it.

However, she hasn´t felt the calling yet to become a midwife specifically. She started talking about the dreams that she is frequently having. In those dreams, she is always at the cemeteries. Oftentimes, there is a celebration, but more recently she couldn´t leave the cemetery anymore which made her feel scared. I told her that maybe, this is a calling for her to work with the spirits who are passed on to the other world and feel trapped in between worlds. Feeling trapped in the cemeteries could indicate that there is ´work´ for her to do there. She agreed and told me that she also had that feeling.

However, she didn´t know how to deal with it and had nobody to talk to about it. In the Maya ancestral medicine, those who work on this level with the spirit world, are called ´Aj Kame´. The word ´Aj´ translates to the corn staff and represents leadership. The word ´Kame´ translates to death and relates to the spirit world. Offcourse, we are currently in the 13-day cycle of Kame in the Mayan calendar. The literal manifestations of the energies of the Mayan calendar never cease to amaze me.

Mary (which is her name) told me that she wants to open her path and is looking for someone who could help her with this. So far, she has not been able to talk to anyone about this. Unfortunately, this topic is very taboo amongst the majority of the Mayan villagers, due to the judgment that is imposed on the Mayan traditions coming from the religious beliefs. The colonizers didn´t just come to take the lands and the richness of the native people, they also came to brainwash them, did their best to destroy their spiritual practices and introduce completely foreign beliefs and religions. The effects of this are still part of everyday life and reality of the Mayan people. Even within the same families, there is often a lot of judgment and discrimination upon the Mayan spiritual practices – which are interwoven with the ancestral forms of Maya medicine.

Mary started sharing a story about her mother, who recently got very ill. She went to two different doctors who could not do anything for her. Eventually, she decided to call a local healer who is specialized in calling the spirit back into the body through prayers and ritual. Interesting – I thought, obviously – as I was just thinking of this topic today. Energetically calling my energies and spirit back as I was sitting in the Tuktuk (haha.. I know). They invited the curandera to their house, on the day that her father was working. He does not believe in the concept of being born with a gift neither beliefs in the working of the Maya medical specialists. Because of the religion, Mary said. They kept it secret to him, until after the woman had come to their house. Two days after she did her consulta, her mother was completely cured again.

In the Maya ancestral medicine, those who specialize in this work are called ´Ajwasnel´. Other times, these therapists would go to the place where the trauma happened and where the spirit left the body. Through specific rituals and prayers, they bring the spirit back into the body. This is how the healing of post-traumatic diseases can occur. Simply – yet profoundly, by calling ones´ spirit back. In many shamanic cultures around the world this is practiced in similar ways. Which tells us that there is a universal ancestral science to this.

What can we learn from this ancient healing art in the Western world?

That we are more than flesh and blood. That there is a unique individual lifeforce that runs through our body – which can be seen and explained as our spirit. This lifeforce is ideally directly interwoven with our physical body and auric field. However, traumatic experiences can create a shock to our system, causing this lifeforce to leak through the physical, emotional and etheric wound and travel elsewhere. Ancient traditions have a deep understanding on the emotional, spiritual and physical body and the interconnectedness of all things in life is not even a question. Therefore, through what seems like simple prayers to outsiders, they can create `miracles´. But what they actually do, is connecting with the spiritual energy and lifeforce of a person and bring healing to those aspects of themselves.

If worldwide the native understanding of life would be more mainstream, I believe there would be much less suffering, disconnection, depression and what not more.

So for me, during yesterdays´ Mayan abdominal massage, some tension that was holding stored emotions was released. Mostly right above my belly button. The woman who was giving the massage was taking part in my friends Mayan Abdominal Massage Course, that I took in 2017. Her name is Rosa and she comes from a strong lineage of Mayan healers. Ironically, the family of Mayan elders who were the ones I started learning about the Mayan Cosmovision with in 2017, when I came to Lake Atitlan to study the Mayan traditions. We realized that we sat around the same sacred fire and she had been preparing the cacao we have been drinkig in ceremony. We only just consciously met each other this day.

She was working a lot on my belly to bring ´´the heart of the stomach´´ down – which is the pulse of the aorta that should normally be felt in our belly button. Stress, trauma and strong emotions can cause the heart of the stomach to move upwards, downwards or to the side. Bringing this back to the center, often engages deep work in the most sensitive part of our body: our abdomen. This massage helps our lifeforce to be centered again and activates a deep healing process. It is not pleasant, but so incredibly effective. I always feel much more alive, centered and connected afterwards. Or at least.. once the emotional waves have past. After giving many massages, it feels so good to receive again. As my general maintenance and self-care practice.

Lets see if my waves have reached the shores tomorrow as I wake up to start another day. We will be going on a plantwalk with the midwives of the Midwife Project to identify healing plants and make a herbolaria plant collection of the medicinal properties. Lets see.. if Mary and her mother are showing up. That would make the circle complete again.

Life at the Lake. it deserves a book on itself. One story at a time.

To read more on The Midwife Project that I am engaged in, follow the link to our website: www.midwifeproject.net


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Facilitated by Michelle Fajkus and Lieke Moras at the luxurious Villa Sumaya at the shores of Lake Atitlán

21-28 May 2022 – book before the 30th of April and receive a 10% discount plus a free massage
3-10 Sept 2022

A bit over a month left, until we start birthing our long dreamt vision.

Deeply nourishing body, mind and spirit with daily yoga practices and meditation.

Introducing our participants into the magical world of the Mayan Cosmovision.

 Diving deeply into the wisdom of the Mayan calendar – which measures the subtle energies of each day, and help us tune in to a natural alignment within ourselves and the creation forces around us.

Sharing tools to enrich your everyday life with the ancient wisdom through simple ritual practices and guided meditations.

All of this, while being held in luxury at the waters of Lake Atitlan, a place of living mythology that brings many people Home to themselves

The Mayan people understand that as human beings, we are not separate from the Source of creation. The same energies that create life move through us. When we tap into this stream of lifeforce every day, we start to notice and experience the qualities that each day – each energy in the traditional Mayan Cholq´ij calendar – brings us. More and more, we will start to move into a natural flow, attracting synchronicities into our lives. In harmony with the subtle energies of nature.

We can bring the wisdom of the Mayan Calendar and the Nahuales into our day through simple rituals and ceremony practices. The Mayan people do so – amongst others – by connecting with the Sacred fire ceremonies, led by the Mayan daykeepers or spiritual guides. They do so to come into harmony with the elements that have created time and our experience on earth. When we start to engage with the energies of the Mayan calendar, we open up to this creative source that is within ourselves. We may experience a deeper connection with life and an acceleration of inner growth. We recognize that we are not separate from everything that exists around us. We are all One. Made up of the same elements. Everything is moving in similar patterns. The Mayan calendar gives a rhytmn to these patterns, measuring the energies of nature´s creation process. We can connect with this cyclical rhytmn to assist our own growth, to be in alignment with the natural cycles of nature, to activate our own creativity and inner processes we move through. It brings so much peace and magic into our lives. You may find that more and more synchronicities are entering your daily life. Let´s play!

Are you ready to experience the shifts in your everyday life, work and creative process once we open ourselves to the guidance of the Nahuales of the Mayan calendar?

Connecting with your own energies according to one´s Mayan Cross is a big key in this. This helps us understand our core energies, our gifts and qualities at birth and explains how to maintain balance to overcome our main challenges in life. It brings insight into our life´s path and soul journey. Understanding our energies and how we relate with the energies of each day is a BIG key in connecting deeper with our core, our creativity, our Aliveness. Knowing how to come back into harmony with our inner nature and life around us.

We welcome you to experience this all yourself. Remembering what it means to truly come Home to ourselves. We are honored to welcome authentic Mayan Ajq´ijab (spiritual guides) who share their medicine with us in the form of a Mayan fire ceremony.

You will also receive your Mayan calendar reading twice – from Tata Thomas, who is Mayan spiritual guide, and from Lieke – who is a student of the Mayan cosmovision through everyday observation of energies of each day since 2017. She has been learning with Mayan wisdom keepers and bridging this wisdom with deep respect as part of her mission in life. Helping bring back the value, respect and wisdom of our elders, making it accessible to the Western world. Same as Michelle, who has been living here at Lake Atitlan since 2015. Learning everyday about the energies of the Mayan calendar.

As the Mayans understand, the mind, spirit and body need to always come together in order to be in balance. Michelle will be sharing nourishing yoga practices to integrate the sharings and daily meditations with the Nahuales into our bodies. Moving the bodies and creating space for our emotions to flow through us.

Do you feel a hearts call to join us? We would love to have you!
If you have any questions, please don´t hesitate to reach out via the form below.
For the full program, follow the link below:
https://villasumaya.com/programs/1894/yoga-mayan-cosmovision-retreat-may-michelle-and-lieke/

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The energies that make up a years cycle in the Mayan calendar are directly linked to specific parts in our body. We have 13 cardinal points and 20 fingers and toes altogether, which correspond with the 13 energetic tones and 20 Nahuales – also known as the daysigns. Creating a 260day year cycle.

Mural in San Juan la Laguna – the connection between the energies of the Mayan calendar with the human body

The Mayan Cholq’ij calendar gives us a direct translation of the energies that we embody and how we can relate best with life around us. Coming from the understanding that we are part of the natural world around us. Giving us a guidance to embody our divine essence as human beings.

In a Mayan reading, we look at your Mayan tree of life or so-called Mayan cross, based upon your day of birth.

“A Mayan reading is not a divination nor astrology. Its a decodification of your energies, of what you bring in your DNA.” – Tata Thomas, Mayan Ajq’ij (spiritual guide)

Our Mayan tree of life or Mayan cross shows us the blueprint of who we are. Bringing insights on how we can live in harmony with ourselves, with life around us, and how we can best direct and focus our lifeforce energy. This, to be living in balance, in harmony, and in connection with our true essence. Knowing whats important for ourselves to be living deeply satisfied with life, utilizing our energies in the best way possible. By simply being YOU.

More than ever I feel that this is the time the Mayan wisdom can serve humanity best. That’s why you see me actively bridging this more and more. Several native peoples and tribes have written this in their prophesies that these are the times of the great change and transformation. Feeling the responsibility to make the ancient wisdom available to the wider public, opening up with their ancestral rituals and practices as we move forwards in these turbulent times.

I am so grateful to be bridging and translating the Mayan readings for Mayan Ajq’ij Tata Thomas and make them available to you. You can book your reading via the link with him or with me, we both have our own insights and focus with the Mayan readings.

https://withlovebylieke.com/mayan-calendar-reading-with…/

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Before I tell you a little story about some of my (dream) journeys in Guatemala, I will give you a brief introduction to the energies of this specific day in the traditional Mayan Cholq’ij calendar. The calendar that measures the space-in-between. The 260-day cyclical calendar that is invented by women and follows the female cycles of life. One gestation period equals one full year. Honoring the natural cycles of life so we can live in harmony with them. Traditionally used by the Mayan midwifes to predict births and still widely used to give dates to ceremonial practices and important events. In fact, the Cholq’ij calendar forms the very base of the Mayan cosmovision.

Artwork by Susan Seddon

In the sacred count of the Mayan cholq’ij calendar we welcome today the energies of 12 I’x. I’x is the Nahual of the jaguar, the high magic and the divine female spirit that is found in all of nature. Including within ourselves as a part of it. This day helps us to come into communion with the beautiful manifestations of nature all around us. A day to honor and give thanks to the Temples in nature. To create them, as you go. Give thanks to the elements. Invite them into your day. Letting the spirit of I’x show you the magic of life in the simple things. The energies of this day awaken our senses to a high level. It has the capacity to connects us with the energetic ley lines of mother earth on which the ancient temples are built across all different cultures and timelines. Take this opportunity to soak it in, let these frequencies fill you and send your love and gratitude back. Our engagement with the energies of the day is what awakens the magic and the gifts of these Nahuales, which serve as guides during the day. Welcome, I’x, welcome, spirit of the Jaguar.

I feel a very special connection with this Nahual. As I sat down this morning to invite the spirit of I’x into my day, I was brought back about 4,5 years ago, to the beloved Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. I vividly remembered a dream I had during this time. Knowing – as I was dreaming – that it was an important one. A dream to register, a dream with a hidden message in it. There was a tiny black jaguar peeking across the door into my bedroom as I was sleeping in my dream. It was rather shy and as I woke up, sought flight again out of the room. Some days later, I went to Santiago Atitlán with my friend Outi to visit Dolores Ratzan Pablo, a Mayan woman who once was married with Martin Prechtel – writer of the book “Secrets of the talking jaguar” and initiated by Mayan shamans as an Ajq’ij – a Mayan spiritual guide. She herself works as a tourguide and carries the gift of a medicine woman. She masters the art of dream interpretation.

In Guatemala, the Mayan shamans and spiritual guides get called to their work in a very specific way. They will have specific dreams from the age of 7 years old and will find special objects in nature that become part of their medicine. They believe that one does not just become a healer, midwife or shaman, but one is born with this gift. When that gift is not put into practice, the energy that person carries cannot express itself or find a way out. Thus.. expressing itself through an illness. The only way to cure this illness, is to seek for guidance of a local healer who will tell them that they have to start working with their gifts. Dolores herself suffered from epilepsy for years. Until she started having dreams of electricity cables that were on fire. All of the burning was the energy of the medicine that she has but none of it was using. As a result, having epilepsy. She went to see an elder shaman who told her the following:

“This lady has a gift. But it is hard because it is not getting the attention.“

However, there are many religions (Evangelism, Catholocism, Christianity) in Guatemala that “can steal her medicine”, as Dolores said. Their healing arts are being confused with witchcraft and some are risking their lives because of it. And still – last year in 2020 a Mayan herbalist was burned alive by his villagers as he was accused of performing witchcraft. Who are we to judge her for not wanting to put her gift into action in the first place.. At some point, the people in her village’s church were asking her to perform Mayan ceremonies. At the moment, she works with people who have problems with epilepsy.

So let’s go back to the dream. We were having lunch with Outi, Luis the local Mayan bonehealer and Dolores in Santiago Atitlan, after we had a special visit at Maximón’s place (who is a very important Mayan deity for the local people – but that is another story). As we were having a conversation about dream interpretation, I told Dolores the dream I had about the little jaguar visiting me in my sleep. I remember the way she responded. She did not just interprete the dream for me, but she “read” what it meant for ME. She told me that it was time for me to develop my feminine energies. By that time, I had no idea what that meant nor how I could do that or what that would look like. And still, I believe that is different for everyone. There is no prototype for “the feminine energies”. So I took the message and let it go again. Though I never forgot the words she said.

Looking back now to how my life continued to enfold since then, this was exactly what happened. I never “tried” or forced to develop my feminine energies, as I never heard of this concept anyways. It just happened. Now I can connect with “my feminine energies” through my intuitive knowing and deeper sensing. A spiralling pathway inwards. I went through my own initiation journey into womb work after I conceived a little seed in my womb that stayed there for only about two weeks. I prayed it away and it left me with my blood. Only until recently, I realized that this was the very moment where I started to do my own womb work with the obsidian yoni egg, who became my teacher and initiator into the feminine mysteries and deeper realms of wisdom that opened itself through my womb. I experienced this period like a shamanic journey with the obsidian yoni egg as the medicine that guided me through it. I learned that the feminine is not just blissful and ecstatic. It moves in spirals and travels through dark muddy depths, from where it retrieves its pearls and True wisdom. To be integrated through the bodies wisdom. It was challenging, for sure. But it was deeply magical, more than anything else. The medicine of the Nahual I’x showed itself to me. It got activated through the obsidian yoni egg, who took me on a journey through the female realms of existence. With the black jaguar as the great guardiana of those underworlds. She kept showing herself through the dream worlds. Sometimes she was small. Other times she was caged in. But how I liked to see her mostly, and how she shows up more recently, is big and bold and wild and free. Courageously walking through the pitch dark nights, appreciating the stars above her. Wild and free to be. How she is in her true nature.

Maltiox I’x ~ Thankyou I’x
for the High magic that you can take us into