Tag: #manygifts

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Tijax

The serpent brought me a lot of wisdom these past 13 days. Wisdom that is seeding knowing. Knowing feels different than believing. The difference is subtle, but profound, much like the energy of Kan. It’s innate and is best understood through experience. Ix Cacao was my chosen experience. I’ve completed 19 days of a 21-day cacao immersion. Traditional preparation and ritual formed our courtship. The Mayan energy of the day informed our meditations. Her magic invited me to feel my innate wisdom. So gentle, so sweet. My heart has been opened in the most delightful way through knowing this sacred plant. Pure bliss. Insights delivered easefully. A joyful practice that I was eager to engage with each morning. Echoing my rib adjustment and the attic excavation, Madame Cacao showed me that healing can feel good. More of that, please!

The trecena of Tijax invites us to put the wisdom we’ve acquired from Kan to use. Tijax purifies and excises whatever creates imbalance. It represents an obsidian blade and embodies the archetypes of both the surgeon and the holy warrior. Its power is best wielded with discernment. Through our presence and experience during the Kan trecena, we embody the wisdom necessary for discernment. Ideally, it tempers our blade.

With the arrival of Tijax, we are nearing the end of the cycle that began in January on 8 B’atz. Discharging and releasing any energies that are not serving us creates space for sustained healing and growth. Healing that liberates and nourishes. Writing is part of my release process. If I can access my vulnerability, my prose teaches me things about my experiences that my mind dismisses. Tuning into how I feel is key. Cacao and her teacher, @sacred_wellness_by_zuli, inspired a new level of feeling within me. It has changed me. I feel softened. A sense of innocence and hope have been restored.

I intend on harnessing the power of the obsidian blade to create permanent space for these new found feelings. Cutting distorted ideas about pain from my psyche. Editing old stories from my mental playlist. Purifying my heart of cynicism. I will be drinking cacao and I will be beginning a creative journey called Dream Weaving with my editor and soul sister, Lee Mayimele. It’s a journey into vibration, attunement and elevation according to her. I can’t wait to see what we create together in the coming cycle. Getting rid of anything that will impede the process with the tenacious energy of Tijax.

Trust yourself, you are so very wise.

Cara xoxo

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Kawoq

I am welcoming today’s energies with an optimism that I have not felt in a very long time. Kame’s alchemy has transformed my perspective. I am ready to birth a new reality. Kawoq is both the midwife and the rainstorm. She can be a gentle sprinkle or a violent storm. Either way, she is there to ensure that new life and new creations are born. In perfect harmony, the Kawoq trecena follows the trecena of Kame. Kame is death, transformation and the ancestors. Kame extinguishes that which no longer serves our path. Kawoq follows to cleanse and purify us. She guides us through the rebirth process. She is the wisdom of the grandmothers and the divine feminine.

My pinched nerve turned out to be a rib out of place. It was really uncomfortable. And yet, all I could think about was getting back up into the attic. The momentum had started. I had the support of the ancestors. Now was the time. My enthusiasm was undaunted and I was rewarded. After all the empty card board boxes had been removed and recycled, there was plenty of space to view what remained.

The Mineral people were welcomed outdoors with a smudging ceremony.

Feathers, rocks and shells were the souvenirs of a lifetime of family camping trips, spiritual vision quests and hiking with friends. The attic was filled with mineral people eager to be liberated. This is where we began excavating memories. We did not confront the past as I had imagined, we were welcomed by it. We made ourselves comfortable and spent some time there. It was delightful. I could only agree with my mother when she remarked, “We sure had a lot of fun, didn’t we?”

Kame has gifted me with the perspective that transformation does not have to be uncomfortable. It can come gently and easily. Just like the adjustment from my chiropractor. I’m nurturing this energy by beginning the Kawoq trecena with a two-day meditation retreat. Quieting my mind to listen for what wants to be born. The Maya believe that time is a thread that weaves reality. Being still offers the opportunity to create our reality with conscious intention. To mindfully weave our experience. Seeking the wisdom of women will be supported and particularly blessed over the next thirteen days. I’ll be staying with my friend Cathryn this weekend. She invited me to the retreat. She’s very wise and also lots of fun. I can’t wait to initiate these creation energies together with her.

Joyfully Yours,

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Kame

In my zeal to stand up tall and do what is right for the community, I’ve managed to pinch a nerve. It feels like there is a knife lodged alongside my left shoulder blade. The benevolent and hard-working energies of the Aj trecena had me sorting a life time of memories in my parents’ attic last week. Most of it had not been touched in nearly twenty-five years. Feeling strong and healthy, with a desire to better use the spaces that three generations are now occupying, I dove in eagerly. Perhaps I over did it? It felt so good to be moving all day, to spend time with my mother and to create at least the possibility that some of it can be let go of.

Kame is the energy of death, rebirth and transformation. The Maya view time as circular, not linear. Time is a cycle and death is part of that cycle. As the saying goes, “Out with the old and in with the new.” Kame is also the Nawal of the ancestors. An ideal day to honor your deceased loved ones or ask for their guidance.

While physically challenging, sorting all the stuff in the attic was the easy part. The hard part will be confronting the past. The unrealized plans and dreams. Your own unlined face and the faces of others that are no longer with you. Kame will bring the ideal energy to support this process if one chooses to engage with it.

My Nana and my Mother

Some prayers to the ancestors wouldn’t hurt either. I’ve already created a special spot on my alter for my Nana for this trecena. My Nana was a minimalist and an immaculate housekeeper. She was also a bookkeeper. My Mother’s Mother holds a very special place in my heart. I inherited a lot of her habits and skills and they serve me every day. She’s my perfect ally for the potential this trecena offers our homestead.

The roses we planted two seasons ago are finally flourishing. My Nana loved yellow roses. Every year on her birthday my grandfather would buy her a dozen yellow roses. The glory of summer flowers is a powerful reminder of how life is constantly renewing itself. Growth and renewal are the natural outcome of death and destruction. It’s the alchemy of life and it’s the energy of Kame. May you find comfort in the cycles of your life and in the wisdom of your lineage.

Eternally yours,

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Aj

Upon return from our Ajpu Heroes Journey, we are met with the benevolent authority of Aj. Our lessons and our visions must be integrated into daily life. Practices are made not just imagined. Art is created not merely visualized. Abundance must be sown as well as planted.

Aj is representative of the cane or staff of authority that is carried by the Elders. It reminds us to stand up tall for what we believe is right for us, our family and our community. Brave and reliable Aj fuels our stamina to bring our dreams into reality.

I’ve been living intimately with the energy of Aj for over 23 years now. The ultimate foundation to my vision of the divinity in all that is. Together my husband Richard and I have amassed vast spiritual wealth and created a thriving tribe. Heaven manifested on earth is the potential of the energy of Aj following the journey of Ajpu. It’s not always a smooth ride, but the adventure and the destination are definitely worth it.

Richard embodying his Nawal of Aj – Connecting the Heart of the Sky to the Heart of the Earth

These days, sleeping deeply and peacefully represent a manifested heaven on earth for me. When I finished my first book, Many Gifts – Seeing Beyond the Setbacks, I thought I had reached my happily ever after. I’ve now realized there is no happily ever after. Just cycles. Always more cycles.

I’ve come to find great comfort in the cycles of human existence. It’s become my anchor and it all started when I began studying the Mayan sacred calendar or, Cholq’ij. The Calendar found me when I decided to tell my story. It led me to my Editor, Lee Mayimele. It’s asking me to consider writing my next story. To heal through writing and collaboration. Aj will be my counsel as I look within for my answer.

Embrace the supportive and wise energies over the next thirteen days. Your dreams are possible, but you must take action and you must do so with integrity.

You can do it!

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Ajpu

I am welcoming my birth Nawal, or Nima Q’ij from 4500 feet this Trecena. The Sun feels hotter up here and Heaven feels especially close. Spending the week of the Summer Solstice at our favorite alpine lake has been a family tradition since 2006. Connecting with the magic of nature always feels more accessible at altitude. Mount Lassen offers a grounding force to the wild energy of long summer days on the lake. My birth Nawal Ajpu embodies this energy of the Solstice and I’m delighted to have the two arrive during the same week, right in the middle of my Mayan Cross this year.

Kej came in strong and fast for me last Trecena. The stag is not known for being a gentle teacher. A violent purge followed by the retrieval of some long forgotten adolescent memories. I’m still processing it all. It has indeed felt like a mini lifetime, or at least a life review. My intention to engage with my own Mayan energies was answered with wild enthusiasm by Kej. Not only is this energy strong with in my own Cross, but I discovered that my husband, business partner and closest friend were all born during the Trecena of Kej. I look forward to diving into our combined energies as I further my studies with this amazing system for living.

Sunrise stillness greeted me this morning as I prepared for ceremony. I had forgotten how magical this time of day is. An ideal spot nestled between two boulders of volcanic rock, overlooking the lake became my alter for the celebration. A distinctly masculine energy that invited quiet and reverent prayers was my constant companion. The cards echoed the vibe, advising patience and persistence. Each Nawal was called. Offerings were made to the fire. The spirits were fed and so was I. It was the perfect way to initiate the energies of Jun Ajpu.

My Sunrise Ceremony Welcomed a Fire Sprite

Ajpu is the hero’s journey and the path of ascension. It represents the divinity in all of creation. It is also Father Sun. The Trecena of Ajpu is the ideal time to connect with our spiritual path and higher purpose. The Summer Solstice is arriving Saturday in perfect alignment with this Trecenas energy. A magical day to honor Spirit and celebrate the light. I hope you are inspired to create more divinity in your life over the next thirteen days. Life is sacred and so you are you.

In radiant LOVE,

xoxo

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Kej

It feels and smells like Summer in Carmel Valley and I’m loving the slower pace. The Ix Trecena has been filled with garden patio lunches with friends, a day at the spa, lazy afternoons reading and a lot of ice cream. I have really been feeling the benevolent magic of Mother Earth and I’m relishing every minute of it. I’ve also been diving deeper into the mysteries of the calendar.

I was inspired by Diana Paez (@divineservant) to look at the cycle that contains my birth Nawal from the lens of my Tree of Life. The Tree of Life, or Mayan Cross, shows where our supporting energies influence our own inherent energy. Similar to an astrological birth chart, the energies, or Nawals, are calculated based upon your date of birth. There are eight Nawals that surround the birth Nawal in your tree. Each one influences different aspects of your life. I have always thought of my Tree of Life as a static forecast of the energies I would experience during my lifetime, but never as a complete cycle that I could engage with every 260 days. Like a mini lifetime every calendar cycle. A condensed experience of the influential energies of an entire lifetime in just 28 days. Another opportunity that the calendar offers for introspection. This is part of the beauty of this system. It encourages self-exploration rather than defining what you are.

After a few calculations, I discovered that my next mini lifetime cycle was beginning today on the eve of the Kej Trecena. The Kej Trecena will include three of the Nawals in my Tree of Life. A significant energetic influence that I had previously overlooked. Despite my daily encounters with the deer that graze our property. Kej means deer in the Kiche language. It’s the spiritual leader of the calendar and also the guardian of the four cardinal directions. While Ix is often thought of as the Nawal of Mother Earth, Kej is the Nawal of the wilderness. Kej carries great strength and the ability to inspire. It sees the potential in everything.

Kej days and all the days of the Kej Trecena are powerful days to be outdoors in nature. The forest may deliver powerful spiritual wisdom over the coming thirteen days. I am glad that the divine weather is promising to continue so that I can tap into the innate wisdom of the natural world. Summer and my birth Nawal will both be arriving with the next Trecena of Ajpu. I will be celebrating at the Lake this year. The energy is building and it feels celebratory. The darkness is fading. My light is returning.

In Love and Light,

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecenas of Imox and Ix

Today begins the Trecena of Ix. We have been journeying through the Trecena of Imox for the past thirteen days and I’m ready for the shift. Imox holds the energy of the collective consciousness and rules dreamtime. It can be a little intense, especially for empaths and sensitives.

I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop that was in perfect alignment with the energies of Imox. Rest and Digest was offered by a childhood friend of my daughters and was an invitation to slow down. Just what I need in late Spring. We were invited to keep a dream journal and record our dreams each morning. On the night of the full moon, our leader planted a collective dream seed and we imbibed a devotional dose of blue lotus tea together.

The blue lotus was more subtle than I expected, but it was effective. Sorting through the images and impressions of my dreams is challenging for me. I tend to view the world from a very linear perspective. This serves me well in my waking life, but not so much in the spirit realms. Blue lotus flower gifted me with three dreams in response to our dream seed, “What does true nourishment look and feel like in body, mind and spirit?”

Blue lotus showed me an image of myself sitting in meditation listening to a recording of my own voice. In the next scene, my husband scooped me up and carried me across the room effortlessly. I felt held. My daughter joined me in my final vision. She was offering me a tube of the body butter that I buy from a local herbalist and which definitely makes me feel nourished.

Ix will be our guide for the next Trecena. Ix is often described as the Nawal of Mother Earth and embodies the energy of the divine feminine. Ix gives us the opportunity to connect with the spirit of the Earth. It rules alters and sacred sites. Ix invites us to communicate directly with our mother by making prayers and offerings of gratitude to her at her natural shrines. Ix is also associated with magic. Through our prayers and our offerings of gratitude we are able to connect to the magic of the planet and creativity.

It’s been too long since I spent time with my outdoor alter. My husband expanded the alter for me earlier this Spring and my traditional Mayan candles have finally arrived. It’s time for a fire ceremony and an offering. The ancestors are restless. They are ready to celebrate and I am their hostess. It’s going to be MAGICAL! Ceremony always feeds my soul and grounds me. I highly recommend it. I do like a fire, but you can do what ever is meaningful to you. Treat it like a party.

Happy Celebrating,

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Q’anil

The Trecena of Q’anil began on April 25th and finishes today. Another Trecena I am studying in retrospect. The Nawal Q’anil represents the ripening of the seed. It is associated with planting, natural cycles, creation and the harvest. It is the Nawal of farmers. For me, it has been an opportunity to reflect and to plant new seeds for the next cycle. The day 1 Q’anil hosted both my niece’s and my new sister’s birthdays this year. Numbers are the language the Universe uses the most to communicate with me. Numbers always have my attention.

The Q’anil Trecena also hosted the one-year anniversary of my sisters passing. It’s strange what we will remember after a traumatic event. I remember that it was the day of the Kentucky Derby. We happened to turn on the television just as the race was finishing. The same thing happened this year. A small reminder of how much had changed during the last solar cycle. I still forget that my sister isn’t here anymore. I will have something that I want to share with her, something she would enjoy or find amusing, and then I remember. I don’t cry every day anymore, but her absence is still noted. There was an ease between us. She saw me in a way no one else did. We were twins.

The closing of one cycle always welcomes a new one. Crafting a plan of study so that my son can become my business partner, not just an employee, are the seeds I have been planting. Intentionally expanding my business to accommodate his blossoming skills has also been part of my sowing.

This year also brought me a new, bonus sister. My step mother reconnected with her foster daughter a number of years ago and last year they formalized their relationship when Linda adopted Maat. Maat organized the tropical vacation during the Trecena of Aq’ab’al and it was love at first meet for me. An only child, Maat welcomed me enthusiastically, as though we had known each other for a lifetime. My wealth, my harvest and my abundance have always been my family. The energy of Q’anil illuminated that for me over these past thirteen days.

Tomorrow will welcome the Nawal of Imox. For some, this represents the beginning of a new calendar cycle. Imox is the Nawal of the oceans and the collective consciousness. It can be seen as the moment before creation. An opportunity for the seeds that we have planted in the last cycle to germinate. A time to visualize a new dream.

Happy Dreaming,

Cara

xoxo

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Tz’ikin

Something I have come to understand about this calendar, the Chol Q’ij, is that the wisdom of it is equally powerful when looking backwards as looking forwards. It’s a wheel. There is no ending or beginning. Just another cycle.

The Trecena of Tz’ikin began thirteen days ago on April 12th. I had intended to write on the 12th, but work beckoned and I felt energized to keep my nose down all the way through to the 15th. It was a tax season finish like none that I had experienced since opening my practice twenty years ago. Every client that brought their paperwork in before the 15th got their returns prepared on time! A new vision emerged. The seeds of a partnership were planted.

Tz’ikin, the bird or eagle, is the visionary of the calendar. It is also associated with prosperity and rules business and money. An ideal trecena to complete my busy season and then take time to REST and REFLECT. Rest began with a profoundly sublime and restorative day at the Spa in Pebble Beach. A Walk in the Forest is what I offered myself and it was absolutely delightful. Reflection followed with a session with my friend and an Elder of the Esselen tribe, Cari Herthel. The theme of RENEWAL emerged and was explored. Celebrations followed for family birthdays and Easter Sunday. Lots of time spent outdoors, followed by two days of deep cleaning my home. I am now ready to emerge back into the world.

Sometimes the energy of a Trecena is best experienced first and contemplated afterwards. Tz’ikin views the vision from above, offering us all possibilities. My son is the first employee that I have ever had. He is teaching me as much as I am teaching him. So much so that I can already see a partnership in another few years. A new possibility for my retirement. He enjoys the work and is really good at it. Imagine that.

Tomorrow brings us the theme of planting. Ideas delivered from the Sky Messenger Tz’ikin, can be sowed during the Trecena of Q’anil. It will be an opportunity to ripen your projects. My slower season brings a different type of work and more time to teach my future partner the business side of my business. I am delighted that I will have the generous and favorable energy of 1 Q’anil supporting me tomorrow when I return to the office. Both 1 and Q’anil are associated with the seed. The new beginning for the next harvest.

Happy Planting,

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Ajmaq

In a divine wink from the Universe, I am a little late in getting this blog published. I am feeling my humanness. I had a particularly frustrating day yesterday. I had no capacity to write. This Trecena celebrates and offers us the opportunity to reflect upon what it means to be human. It invites us to find forgiveness for ourselves and for others when we embody those less than desirable qualities that all humans possess. The Trecena of Aq’ab’al brought the new concept of JOY in for me. I discovered my inner girl while sliding down waterfalls, zip lining, dancing and just FROLICKING. Returning home to confront my business was sobering, but not unmanageable. Not until yesterday. Yesterday found me impatient, exhausted and frustrated. What happened to my joyful girl? SHE WAS HAVING A TEMPER TANTRUM!

Today as I contemplated the theme of the next thirteen days, I had to giggle. To be human is not to be perfect or to feel good all of the time. The Mayan word Maq represents the veil that obscures our perception of Ajaw (God). This veil is what makes us human. According to the Mayan creation story described in the Popul Vuh, when the Gods fashioned the first humans, they created them without the ability to see the consequences of their actions. In doing so, humans must make mistakes to learn and expand their consciousness. Through reconciliation and forgiveness, we can achieve enlightenment. When we recognize that each of us is on our own journey, we can have compassion for the actions of others. We learn to respect the process of life as a human being on planet earth.

Since I lost my twin sister, I have struggled to forgive myself for not reaching out more and checking in on her during her last days. I knew she was struggling with her mental health. I had struggled with my own mental health the previous year. I had learned that I had to find the answers within to find my joy again. I expected her to do the same. Her suicide was a complete shock to me. She was taking steps to make changes and then SHE WAS JUST GONE. In the space of three months, she completely lost her center and felt unable to go on. I will always wonder if there was any action or words from me that would have kept her here with us. But, on this timeline she is gone and it serves no one for me to withhold forgiveness from myself. To be honest, her despair overwhelmed me. I was protecting my one inner peace which was quite fragile and I was serving the clients in my business. My tank was empty.

I will be taking as much time as I can for introspection in the coming days. Our birthday is later this month and it will be my first year celebrating without her. I want to arrive at the day in a place of wholeness that honors myself as a human, as a twin and now as a woman who is still a twin, but is now walking alone.

May you find forgiveness and compassion for yourself and others this Trecena.

Cara