Written from my experience in the Achuar Territory in Ecuador.
Never have I experienced something so majestic and been embraced by such deep, motherly love.
My heart was activated more than I could have imagined possible. It felt as though it would burst from my chest. The closest experience I can equate it to is first love, when your heart feels so intensely that the “pain” moves from your throat all the way down into your stomach, occupying so much incredible space all at once.
Her roots created walls that stood 10 feet tall in places with her crown soaring so high above the canopy of other tress, it was impossible to see.
She was a brilliant, majestic woman with her roots creating womb-like spaces.
When I first touched her, my eyes welled with tears as my heart felt like it would leap from my chest.
When I held the question, “What are your teachings I am meant to share with the world?” I heard very clearly, “My daughter, all is well.”
The rest of my conversation with her was more of a knowing, but those words were clear.
She shared that she has been okay for close to 500 years and will continue to be okay. She has seen war and devastation, and peace and love, and still she stands. We are the ones at risk now.
She stands with roots like enormous butterfly wings, solid in her deep wisdom.
At one point, when I sat looking at her, I was overcome with a deep fear of forgetting. I frantically searched my bag for my phone, which I did not have, to try and capture what I saw. Then she shared, “Once you see - you will never forget.”
She was a power that I don’t know I can put into words. A presence to be honored, revered, respected. She was a manifestation of all things sacred.
She was Sacred.