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"First I will tell you about the Earth. She is
changing. It is time now that everything becomes different. The very
center of our Earth and ourselves is shifting. This brings new
knowledge and ways of being. You will feel our Earth and know her,
and she will know you. Your hearts will touch each other and mix.
Your minds will merge. And you can learn to see the universe she
knows and understand her shifting."
- Chea and Domano Hetaka, Peruvian shamans
(The Reluctant Shaman)
A Passing On
of Knowledge
Perceiving that the world was
becoming farther and farther out of balance, a profound knowledge of
awakening was brought to our culture in 1974 by elder shamans,
Domano and Chea Hetaka. They were Peruvian shamans of a medicine
storytelling tradition called Ka Ta See, or "living in balance
from the heart," who fulfilled a tribal prophecy by leaving their
jungle homeland in a remote region of the the Amazon River basin to
bring their ancient shamanic knowledge to the world. Among their
people they were referred to as "kala keh nah sehs" - seers,
healers, and teachers, builders of webs of connectedness and
balance. The Hetakas came from a particularly joyful and loving
community, who, in their kindness and total acceptance toward
all life, had no word for "judgment." To pass on their knowledge,
the Hetakas sought out and taught Kay Whitaker, who apprenticed with
them for thirteen years, after which she was asked to give the
teachings to others. In 1995 Ken Robinson began
studying with Kay, and during his apprenticeship, was
also given permission to teach.
Ka Ta See - A
Dance of Aliveness with the Four
Directions
Ka Ta See, as taught by the Hetakas, is based on a spiral
path of endless experience. It is a personal movement of enrichment
and empowerment around the circle of the four directions, through
which we meet the great energies of these vast archetypes, to
awaken in us the 'medicines' or gifts they represent and to which
they give birth. With the guiding powers of the four
directions, we dance our way along the spiral path so that we
can move to our center place of aliveness and attention, into the
heart space of who we are in our vastness.
South - Living in Our
Songs and Being in Love with Life
At the heart of the teachings of
Ka Ta See is the wondrously pleasureable feeling of our own
aliveness and passion for life. The Hetakas referred to this unique
feeling of who we are as our "Song" - our individual spiritual
vibration in the universe. Our Songs are ancient and vast, and
we can learn how to live in this natural state of being all of the
time. Through our Songs we connect heart to heart with
others. Living and relating in Song is the gift of
the south.
North -
Nourishing Our Selves with Life
Energy
From Mother
Earth surges rivers of life energy that we connect with
to open and expand the energy channels and pathways inside
of us. Life energy is what makes all things grow. It is what
nourishes our Songs, fuels our passion, and brings healing to our
ourselves and our world. With rivers of energy coursing
through us, we have more energy available for our use. This is the
medicine of the north.
East - Lifting the Veil
and Seeing into the Unseen
In our Songs is our
ability to shift our attention to see into the unseen extraordinary
dimensions of reality. Here in the dreamtime, the spirit world, we
are able to spirit travel to wondrous places to meet,
honor, and interact with powerful and benevolent beings who are
eager to share their essences and knowledge with us. Experiencing
the non-linear realms is a gift of the east.
West - Discovery of Inner
Stillness and Peace
In knowing our Songs, we can
turn our attention within to identify any unhelpful and often hidden
babbling patterns of thinking and feeling that fill our minds,
squelch our hearts, deplete our bodies, and hide our Songs. When we
release and free ourselves from these patterns or "masks," we
discover that the death of the old is a key to change and
transformation. We discover a great stillness inside
us, and we begin to listen differently. This is the medicine of
the west.
Thriving in Life
Itself
When we discover the
deep stillness within, feel our Songs, fuel ourselves with
life energy, and see into the unseen, we gather and hold the
gifts of the four directions all at once and embody them in all that
we do. We take our place in the center of our vastness where we
can connect with other beings and create the lives we
want. We can direct our attention in ways that are
pleasing and purposeful to us and thrive as unique beings,
embracing our time on the Earth. We become a people who
thrive in life itself. This is the gift of Ka Ta
See.
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