January 6, 2013 by karen chrappa
It was such a blessing to spend the first day of the new year in the temezcal of my dear lodge sister Cuauhtli Cihuatl. For those who do not know, the temezcal is a ceremonial steam bath from the indigenous medicine of Mexico. It is said we return to the womb of the Mother when we enter the temezcal.
Entrance to Temezcal
“The Temazcal is a microcosm reproducing in itself the characteristics of the universe, the macrocosm. So we find in the Temazcal all elements of the different eras or cycles (known as suns) throughout which, according to Aztec mythology, the world has passed and continues to pass: earth, wind, fire and water and through whose constant movement and life is manifest.
The Temazcal is oriented according to the cosmic directions: the fire which heats its stones is placed towards the east where our Father, the sun, the god called Tonatiuh, arises; he is the light or masculine element which comes and fertilizes the womb of the mother earth (the chamber of the Temazcal itself), and so life is conceived. The doorway through which the bathers enter and leave is oriented toward the south, “the pathway of the dead”, which begins with birth and ends in death. Just as there are mother and father, sun and earth, hot and cold, so we are born and, in being born, we begin our path towards death.
When we enter the Temazcal, according to this ancient doctrine, we return once again to our mother’s womb, presided over by the great goddess, Tonantzin or Temazcaltoci, the great mother of both gods and humans. She is our beloved mother, concerned with the health of the children and she receives us into her womb – of which our own mother’s womb is but a microcosmic manifestation – to cure us of physical and spiritual ills. The entrance way is low and small, and through it we enter a small, dark, warm and humid space, in this way recreating the uterus, cutting off the outside world and giving us a chance to look inside and find ourselves again. Our re-emergence through this narrow opening represents our rebirth from the darkness and silence of the womb.” Dr. Horacio Rojas Alba
As we entered the first door or round of the temezcal (similar in some ways to the Native American sweatlodge) we set our intentions. What arose in that moment was to see clearly, stripped of delusion, fantasy or falsehood. This resonates with my dedicated quest for truth since how we “see” will shape what we constitute as truth. As with any spiritual practice the effects continue even though the ceremony itself may be over. So it came as no surprise to receive these words in the very early morning before fully waking, an answer to the intention arising in the temezcal.
You must see yourself through the eyes of your Creator. See yourself through the Source by which your life has sprung.
What if you could gaze upon yourself as your Creator sees you? How do you sense this would feel? What do you feel the truth is for you in this relationship between you and the one who has created you?
Above and below us everything we need we have been given. We are held to Pachamama by her unconditional love for us. Can you see yourself as Pachamama sees you? We are held through the power and unwavering presence of the IntiTiTi, the Sun, whose unconditional love sustains us from above. These are the eyes through which to see the truth of who you are.
You are a sacred manifestation of Heaven and Earth.
Seen through the divine eyes of truth.
AHO my friends! AHO!
Karen Chrappa
Author of A Structure for Spirit
www.karenchrappa.com
