Dear Friends,
As some of you already know, Dreamer and I have a passion for travel and one of our favorite places on the planet is Peru. There is such rich cultural history there and many people still live very close to the earth. Driving through the country side, almost every hill or mountain you pass has patches of crops growing. The Q’ero peoples are the descendents of the Inca civilization that thrived from approximately 1438 – 1533 and they still live in the Andes.
As we gear up for the start of our Sacred Arts Circles, we wanted to share with you what we will be doing on the first day. There is a very special ceremony they perform called the Despacho that Dreamer and I have had the privilege to not only witness but also to learn how to perform.
The Despacho ceremony is a beautiful tradition of giving back to the Apus (mountains), the Earth, the stars, and the waters. By creating a bundle with many different offerings, we are showing our gratitude and appreciation for what we have been given in our lives.
We are cultivating reciprocity with the elements and the earth. We are also attuning to the love (munay) that exists between all things in existence. What we have found in doing a modified version of this ceremony with children from this culture is that it brings them into a place of excitement, contentment, and creativity. They love adding the different layers onto the bundle and they are excited to have the chance to make a gift for the earth. This experience can help us all focus on the overflowing happiness and abundance in life, resulting in a feeling of true peace. We have a couple more spaces in our Sacred Arts Class series. We hope you can join us for the Despacho and the many other powerful activities we will be sharing in the coming months. If you are interested in taking part in a Despacho ceremony feel free to contact us.
Hope you are soaking up the wonderful warmth that we are still experiencing outside!
Sincerely,
Amara