The wisdom of the heart outshines the knowledge of the mind. – Harold W. Becker
Not one of us would ever say that our hearts aren’t open. To say they’re closed would be akin to saying we had psychopathic tendencies. And yet, I’m not sure we really know what having an open heart full of compassion is. We may be able to cite people in history (Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa), who we believe did, but somehow that kind of compassion seems beyond us and unattainable. Their compassion has a wisdom, willfulness and otherworldly (some might say, spiritual) quality to it. And that is precisely what the world needs now from all of us.
A dear friend recently gave me a copy of Arkan Lushwala’s, The Time of the Black Jaguar, and to say I devoured and savored every word would be a huge understatement. It fed my heart and explains so beautifully why I feel called to share cacao ceremony. Arkan, who is a shamanic healer from Peru, shares in his own language what he regards as the most important power we all have: Munay or the will of the heart.
Now those two words, “will” and “heart” don’t quite seem to go together in our western culture. When he writes about the compassion of the heart, it is an active rather than a passive compassion, a “willpower that makes us enact our love with courage and deep desire to serve another.”
To do this, Arkan shares that we must first awaken our own Munay, our own will of the heart, so we can help ourselves. Then, after doing our Work, a stronger power, the power of Spirit, comes to our aid. It is through spiritual practices, through sacred ceremony, and through teachings of spiritual masters that the sacred fire in our heart is awakened. It is through this awakening that we realize that the Earth is truly our Mother.
“To be struck by the love of Mother Earth is like being struck by lightning.” – Arkan Lushwala
When the will of our heart is awakened, this is how the wisdom of the heart and Spirit comes to and through us.
This is how I felt about cacao when I first engaged with her; she embraced me with such love and compassion, it took my breath away. It was like being struck by lightning, and it lit a fire within me. There’s a reason I now call her Mama Cacao….
People who have activated the Munay in their heart are good medicine for everyone. – Arkan Lushwala
Information is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom. In this fast-paced, information technology-driven society we live in, we so easily forget that. And it consumes us and distracts us and fragments us. It’s time to activate our Munay, live, act from and speak the wisdom of the heart in collaboration with Spirit and the Jaguar and be whole. More on the Jaguar next time, dear readers….
Copyright ©2017 Soulscape Coaching LLC.
Postscript: I’d like to dedicate this Cacao Journal post to my dear friend, Munay, who changed her name to fully embody this spiritual quality of compassion after spending time in Peru; moved to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala with her dog, Sheba; met the love of her life, Oscar, there; and lives with this sacred fire in her heart everyday. Much love and cacao bliss to you, Munay!