Adam's Belize Journal- Fall 2005

 Thursday- December 1, 2005 - Kayaking

We went kayaking on the river today. What a wonderful experience it was. I realized shortly after we started that I did not introduce myself to the river and ask her permission to be there. So I reached out over the side of the kayak and set my hand flat on the surface of the water. I called out to her, sending my intention out into the water to connect to the spirit of this river- the response was "you are received". Her presence was strong and vibrant, yet gentle. The feeling of being welcomed was powerful- stronger than the sensations that I am used to from the local land spirits in New Jersey.

I knew from that point on that we would be protected by her but I still carried human anxiety with me. The river currents were strong and I kept trying to force my control over the current by paddling more intensely. Eventually the edge and anxiety of being in control wore off and I was able to be at ease and trust the river again. She, the river spirit, also had the advice to "trust your partner" when Al was steering through rapids. It was a large lesson in trust- as this trip has been so far. Trusting that the weather is the right weather, trusting in protection while in the rain forest and on the rivers, trusting that the experiences are what is needed, etc. This lesson in trust and the protection of the river spirit was particularly needed when we saw crocodiles on two occasions in the river- not very comforting when your floating in an inflatable kayak in murky water.

I've also noticed that the spirits of this land are much easier to perceive. While kayaking down the river I looked off to the side and on the river bank I saw this tremendous glowing turquoise lizard. I looked away and glanced back expecting for it to be gone (as such visions usually are), but it was still there. It was quite still, just observing as we floated by. It wasn't physically there, but the spirit was so clear to my visual senses that it may as well have been. I also recall looking at the forest along the river and the trees transformed themselves, they became a large house-like structure. The silhouettes of their branches and leaves forming the walls and windows of a very large structure- the image remained for several moments and then faded away.

Our kayaking guide for the day, Henry, was terrific. He pointed out many of the medicinal plants used by their local shamans (called Bushmen). We were shown mimosa plants that moved when you touched them, the cotton tree (which is also at the lodge we are staying at), and the allspice plant that has medicinal qualities and was used as incense by the Maya. Henri also explained to us why the cotton tree (also called the Ceiba Tree) was seen as sacred by the Maya. When the tree is in bloom it has large puffs of cotton in it's limbs- this cotton was seen as clouds and it was believed that you could travel the branches of the tree into an upper spirit world. The roots, that traveled deep into the ground were believed to be the stalactites of the sacred caves and so you could travel down the roots of the tree into the underworld. This type of belief is common to many indigenous shamanic beliefs around the world.