Living Maya Time – Reflections on Q’anil

There’s an old farming rhyme about planting seeds, “One for the mouse, one for the crow, one to root and one to grow.” Q’anil reminded me of this proverb over the past thirteen days. Not all seeds germinate and not all plants bear fruit. Ideally, we are able to recognize which ideas and opportunities will nourish our true potential and help us grow. Sometimes we need to get really uncomfortable in order to recognize that what we are cultivating is no longer serving us. That was certainly my experience this past trecena.

The building that I keep my professional office in was purchased last year. The new owners are lousy farmers. They’ve allowed us to wilt over the past few months. Our air conditioning stopped working two months ago and they still haven’t repaired it. Their response to our most recent service request was, “AC is not a right, it’s an option and it’s currently unavailable.” My lease states otherwise, but that’s not why I’ve been awake since three AM this morning. It’s the lack of humanity that these people have. It’s really triggered me. I’ve been literally and figuratively steaming for days.

As I thrashed about in my garden looking for viable crops, it suddenly occurred to me that I might need to plant my seeds somewhere else. I surveyed my options but found no fertile soil available. It was very disheartening. I had expected Q’anil to deliver the perfect new space. Far away from my heartless new landlords. Instead, I was made even more uncomfortable. Temperatures in my office have exceeded 84 degrees this week and it’s the last days of the filing season so I’ve had to be in my office whether I’ve wanted to or not.

With no relief in sight, I was forced to consider an entirely new business model. One my son has been encouraging me to explore since he came to work for me last year. This new model takes advantage of technology that I’m already paying for, stream lines my information gathering process and takes advantage of the share economy that I am such a fan of. Growing is hard work. Sometimes you have to get really dirty and really sweaty in order to produce something new that serves both you and your community. I’m actually feeling grateful for all my struggles now. If I hadn’t experienced them, my business might have become one of the seeds for the mouse.

Tomorrow, we begin a new gestation cycle. We welcome the collective force of Imox. The primordial waters of creation. Anything is possible. Amen to that.

To New Beginnings,

Cara xoxo

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Tz’i

While journeying through the No’j Trecena we have gained wisdom and discovered new solutions for the challenges that we face in this new calendar cycle. The Trecena of No’j was gentle with me this time. Last time around the calendar wheel, No’j was guiding me to a daily practice to navigate the storm of shock and grief that I found myself in after my twin sister took her own life. The rhythm of the Cholq’ij was my anchor. This time around I’m sailing in smoother waters and I’m seeking to deepen my knowledge of the calendar and expand my ritual practices. Hiring my son so I have the time to do this was the solution that No’j delivered to me last Trecena.

In this new cycle we also get a new guide. Today we meet that guide as the Trecena of Tz’i begins. The energy of Tz’i asks us to have faith and loyalty as we move forward on our new journey. I’ve owned my business for twenty years and this will be the first time I have an employee. I could definitely use some guidance and A LOT of faith. Lucky for me, my business partner has employed her son for nearly ten years. A perfect guide for me, and she’s also a dog lover. The animal totem for the Nawal Tz’i is the dog.

Tz’i offers us unconditional love as it guides us and it invites us to love each other unconditionally. It is also the Nawal of spiritual and emotional justice. It possesses the qualities of the five human senses and has an instinctual quality. I have come to associate it with the archetype of the Judge or the Policeman. Those that are just and fair and those that are corrupt. Having such keen senses, this energy can get distracted, especially by vices. During this Trecena you may receive guidance from many sources. Use your instincts to discern what will most serve you on your path.

As we enter day eight of the Tz’i Trecena, we also enter the five closing days of the Mayan solar year, Tz’apin Q’ij or Wayeb. The Maya solar calendar is known as the Macewal Q’ij. It has been called a civil or agricultural calendar and it is 365 days. The days of Wayeb are meant to be days of introspection. For the most traditional followers of the calendar system, these days are spent in isolation and many abstain from gathering in public or making ceremonies because the energy is thought to lack direction. The new solar year will welcome a new year lord or Mam. The year lords mark the intersection of the sacred calendar with the solar year. If you have the opportunity to take time to be on your own and receive your own inner guidance, February 13-17th would be excellent days for that.

Until next Trecena…

Cara

New Earth is Here! We Just Need to Tune Into It

Hello Family,

This Sunday I had the privilege of attending the Autumn Harvest Fundraiser for the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County. November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States and when I saw the flyer for this event, I knew it would be the perfect way to celebrate and honor the indigenous people that have lived here for thousands of years.

The event was held at one of Carmel Valley’s most beloved businesses, Hacienda Hay & Feed. Hacienda has been around since the 1940s, but like many small businesses, it closed during the pandemic. When the new owners heard that the land was for sale, with the condition that it be sold to locals, their vision of a community gathering spot emerged. Hacienda still sells hay and feed, but now it’s main focus is to provide a space for local organizations, artisans and musicians to connect.

Intrigued by this marriage of the old and the new, I arrived with an open heart and a curious mind, ready to explore NEW EARTH.

Eckhart Tolle describes NEW EARTH as, “a world where the egoic state of consciousness in its insanely dysfunctional manifestations, both individual and collective, has dissolved or at least subsided, and where humans no longer create unnecessary suffering for themselves, one another, as well as other life-forms on the planet.”

If we go exclusively by the information we are offered by mainstream media, then we might conclude that NEW EARTH does not exist and is not even possible. I disagree. NEW EARTH is here, we just have to tune into it.

Tuning in can be as simple as taking fifteen minutes to be in nature at the beginning of your day or as immersive as attending a community festival like I did this weekend. You will be amazed at what others are creating if you take the time look.

Witnessing the stories of the Esselen, hearing their music and sharing a traditional meal with them was profoundly moving. Learning that 1200 acres of their ancestral land had recently been returned to them, through the cooperation of multiple organizations, made my heart swell and soar in a way that I did not know was possible. I am now CERTAIN that we can create NEW EARTH, together and in community.

I invite you during this Thanksgiving season to be present, grateful and open to the possibility that humanity can heal, that we can learn to live together peacefully with each other and MOTHER EARTH.

IN LOVE and GRATITUDE,

Cara