An account of my journey at a spirit lake in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
This story happened when I was visiting Urubamba, the Sacred Valley of the Incas. I stayed in the house of my shaman friend, heavily drinking sacred plants, actively participating in ceremonies, and reading Dharma teachings. Somehow the combination of plants and ancient scriptures was very beneficial for me. The plants would open up my mind and help me purge it from irrelevant worries, chaos of thoughts and negative memories. The scriptures would align my thoughts back into crystal formations, helping me revive my longing for ascended realms.
My mind was being healed so quickly that I could hardly keep up emotionally with the progress. Every day was amazing and divine. The ceremonies were usually accompanied by drumming and singing native Quechua songs. Even though I didn’t understand every word in Quechua, these songs were filled with ancient memories of courage, divine alignment, and planetary connection. I welcomed these transmissions with an open heart, and shared the sadness of an old culture coming to an end.
Sacred Dharma texts were read out loud for better absorption. With clear pronunciation and pure intentions, sacred teachings were echoing through the house. Following in the Kagyu tradition, we learned about the lineage, read the touching story of Milarepa, and elaborate teachings of Gampopa. I’ve also taken great personal interest in the texts of Nagarjuna, and cried many tears reading the supplication of Samanthabhadra. We painted thangkas during the day, and did kung fu practices in the mornings and evenings. The food was tasty and nutritious, it was carefully selected and skillfully cooked to provide our bodies with sufficient nourishment to keep up the daily practice routines.
Weather allowing, we routinely went on nature outings. Sometimes it was a short hike for the sunset, other times our hikes were a lot better planned and more serious. One of our favorite spots was the ancient Inca lake up in the mountains. We did regular hikes up there and knew the place pretty well. The hike up wasn’t too long, but quite strenuous. With enough practice, one could make it a daily trip without staying overnight.
Once at an altitude, weather often got unpredictable. A heavy fog could roll in quickly, which made it very difficult to follow the path without getting lost. Being lost in those places was very dangerous, slippery slopes and steep drop-offs would mean certain death to an unwary traveler. Our guide always monitored conditions with great care and kept us away from danger.
One day it was a divine morning and we hiked up the steep slopes through the dark forest to get to the sacred lake. We knew the area well by now, and everyone was tired from the hike and went for a swim. I always felt there was something mysterious about the lake, like someone was watching me there. I was told that the spirits of the mountain still live up there, sometimes playing tricks on unsuspecting travelers.
That particular day couldn’t be any better. The sun was shining, the winds were calm, and the lake somehow felt very inviting and hospitable. We made ourselves comfortable and pitched our tents around the area. We were told not to set up camp too close to the water, as there were old stories of a giant snake spirit that lives there, often taking unweary hikers in their sleep. The guide told us of accounts of unexplained missing campers up here, we all listened carefully, but hardly believed that any of this was true. After all, these are just stories of mythical creatures I thought to myself.
The place around the lake did have a certain mystery about it. There was a peculiar rock next to the lake that resembled a huge leech with a female human head. She had a crown on her head and a one big tooth pointing down. A bit higher up there was a very big rock with a cave in it, surrounded by a man made rock wall which was clearly used by travelers for shelter. The forest nearby seemed enchanted as well, covered with heavy moss, tree trunks and branches were bent and crooked in many unexpected ways, conveying feelings of age, magic, isolation and mystery.
We had a fine evening, the food was good, we ate while sharing our life stories and experiences with each other. It was a clear dark night and everyone was in good spirits. A good sized joint with some premium local herbs was passed around the camp with much enthusiasm. The sky was littered with the stars of the Milky way, it was a memorable day followed by an even better night.
I woke up at dawn the next morning, there was barely light out. I couldn’t sleep and went for a walk. The weather was calm, foggy and mysterious, the waters of the lake were heavy and still like glass. I walked around the lake, taking a few photographs. Once again, somehow I felt as if I was being watched. I looked around, and didn’t see anyone, all of my fellow hikers were still sleeping. I came back to the campsite and set by the big rock that resembled a human face. Suddenly I started getting very drowsy, as if something came over me, my body felt heavy and tired, as if being magnetically pulled to the ground. I used my backpack as a pillow and layed down for just a moment, curling into a fetus posture to keep warm.
I passed out quickly, my mind entered into a deep trance sleep, as if shifting my awareness into another realm of existence, subconsciously perceiving the energies around me. A very large snake-like pattern slowly oozed out of the water and wrapped around my sleeping body. It was benign, I felt like a child being hugged and protected by a very wise and old grandmother, realizing that she was the spirit of the lake that the guide talked about earlier. I felt as if a portal opened up and she was pulling me under, within the space inside the lake. Being used to similar astral journeys before, my mind did not resist and I went along with the experience.
The spirit was conscious and telepathic, and I felt a very deep connection with her. Our energies merged, she was an old spirit from a long time ago. This was her home, I was in her dwelling in the underworld. She lived within the mountain, deep inside the lake, slowly watching time pass. There were caverns down there, deep ancient places, filled with mysterious objects and lifetimes of memories, littered with golden Incan artifacts peeking from the mud. The waters were dark and thick, as if being inside a giant dark crystal, they resonated with depth and wisdom.
She told me stories of her kind. Many years ago, this earth was inhabited by many mythical creatures, brought down by beings from the stars. Back in those days, the universal energies were different, connections were strong. Star beings explored this part of the galaxy, seeding life as they saw fit and appropriate, leaving behind thriving communities of magical beings. There was no suffering back then, everyone lived in harmony with each other, as if perfectly resonating their part in the cosmic orchestra.
Her kind was native to this planet, they had very long lifetimes, often spanning many thousands of years. She is one of the few who are still around, slowly accepting extinction of her species. She told me the story of the Rainbow Serpent, and how her ancestors were related to it, helping protect the ancient knowledge of the creation. She showed me a place where she herself protects one of these ancient artifacts left by the Rainbow Serpent, the cosmic egg, which was the task entrusted to her by the star beings. It was no bigger than a human sized head, as she placed it against my forehead. My mind merged with it, and I could see through the rocky shell of form right into the empty nature of it. There was a universe spinning inside this egg, an embryo of infinity, with magical pure worlds and infinite possibilities, full of life and love, untouched by the darkness of intellectual knowledge and self awareness. This was bigger than anything I have encountered before, tears rolling down my eyes as I slowly merged with this information, every fiber of my energy body transmuting and adapting to fully receive the transmission, as if the egg was being hatched within me, opening and merging the two worlds together, like two oceans sharing their divine waters, and becoming one conscious entity.
The merging happened in a realm where time did not apply, so there was no telling as to how long I spent there. I slowly started waking up, as if being pulled back out from a very deep well. I woke up disoriented and looked up at my friends. Their faces were concerned. Apparently they were trying to wake me up for a few minutes. The guide asked me if I was okay. I told him briefly about my experience with the spirit. He listened to my story silently and we’ve never mentioned it again.
We headed down the mountain later on that day. I let everyone pass me by, and decided to stay behind. My connection with the lake was pulling me back. I lost the track down and ended up on the other side of the mountain. Somehow I no longer felt like a newcomer to this place. A deep feeling of being loved and cared for slowly descended over me. I had no fear of getting lost or being tricked by the spirits. I was protected by the hostess herself, and I knew it. I felt like a child playing in the backyard of my parents' house, nothing could hurt me there, I felt safe.
I ended up going back there in a few months, this time all by myself. I no longer needed a guide, my connection was strong enough, and I wasn’t worried. I ended up staying up there for three nights, but I no longer had any visions with the snake. I did, however, have another realization, which was the tipping point of my inner search. I realized that here and now I am empowered to walk my own path without fear. I have the knowledge that I need to accumulate the wisdom of my own experiences. I was still a child, but with a very powerful realization in my tool chest. A tremendous excitement and joy dawned on me at that moment. I cried as the feeling of freedom overflowed my emotions, there was no one around and I let go of all of it. Tears streamed down my eyes until there was nothing left to cry about. I will forever remember this moment as my right of passage, when the child transformed into a man, right there and then.
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