There is a simple but ancient formula for accessing this hidden power, a key well known by the builders - the law of sacred correspondence, the principle of "as above, so below." Basically, the power of these sites can be accessed at any time when the light that shines from below is equal to the light that shines from above. In our space/time, this means that to access this power our own personal light must reflect the higher light, our frequency must resonate with a higher harmonic, thus assuring that access to such power is never given to those who are spiritually unprepared. The ancient concept of the macrocosm as microcosm also tells us that the greater divine life (light) is reflected in the human body.
The Light that flows through your system is Universal energy. It is the Light of the Universe. You give that Light form. What you feel, what you think, how you behave, what you value and how you live your life reflect the way you are shaping the light that is flowing through you. They are thought forms, the feeling forms and the outer forms that you have given to Light. They reflect the configuration of your personality, your space-time being.
The Apus, the great mountain peaks, give you strength to endure your work; the heavens give you harmony. Make ayni to all people and they will honor you in return. It is a wonderful principle.
They say that the shaman lives in perfect ayni - the universe reciprocates his every action, mirrors his intent back to him, as he is a mirror to others. That is why the shaman lives in synchronicity with Nature. The shaman's world mirrors the shaman's will and intent and actions.
When we walk in perfect ayni, everything is sacred. We perceive, think, act, and speak from the heightened understanding of the sacred nature of all of existence. The world then mirrors back to us what we are - also sacred.
There was a curious but undeniable correlation between astronomical events and the unfolding of Incan history. The transformations that occurred in the Incan world seemed to correlate with how the solstice suns entered and left the Milky Way. This synchronicity began in the year 200 B.C. when the solstice sun first entered the Milky Way. According to Incan myths, it was at this time that the bridge to the land of the gods opened, and Wiraccocha entered this world. Then, after civilization developed, Tiahuanaco arose and experienced a golden age, which ended in about A.D. 650 with the advent of warfare with the Wari people. In the sky at that time, the June solstice sun no longer entered the Milky Way; the gateway to the gods was closed. Finally in 1544, with the death of Huayna Capac Inca, and with the Milky Way no longer at all visible at the June solstice, time ended. The Spanish arrived and devastated the empire. With a mere 175 men, Francisco Pizarro devastated an empire of over 6 million people.
During the conquest, the Spanish, directed by the Catholic Church, systematically destroyed nearly all vestiges of Incan spiritual life: every lineage waka, every intihuatana stone, all the ceremonial sites, and the quipus. Moreover, the conquistadors invaded sanctuaries of the Virgins of the Sun, whom they raped. The agricultural terraces and irrigation systems were seized but were not maintained. As a result, the people were no longer connected to the stars from which they originated; the solstices and equinoxes so vital to the people's vision could no longer be accurately observed; the people's ties with history were severed; and there were no longer any surpluses of food or water but instead droughts and famines. The conquistadors, driven by overwhelming greed and a blind arrogance based on an indoctrinated sense of moral superiority, had but two interests: subjugation and gold.
The story in Mesoamerica is much the same as that in Peru, although in both regions, even long after their golden ages, the civilizations overrun by the Spanish were in many ways far more advanced and progressive than the cities of Spain at that time. Since the Vatican had decreed that the Indigenous people of the Americas were not human and thus had no souls, anything was tolerated in the blind pursuit of the one and only god - gold. From Cuzco alone, the Spanish took billions of dollars worth of gold, often in the form of extraordinary pieces of artwork melted into ingots. Much of the wealth that came from the conquests ended up in the coffers of the Catholic Church, which, in turn, continued to support the conquistadors.
Ultimately, the goal of the conquistadors was to break the spirit of the people. They were enslaved and brutalized, stripped of everything that had meaning, and their religious practices were outlawed. However, despite this violence, the seed did not die, but instead went underground, within the unconscious, where in the realm of our deepest yearnings it awaited the return of the light.
Praying is a part of healing because it might be the first time any of us stop and say "I need healing," or "I need guidance," or help. And the reality is, no matter how much society wants to keep us all separate, independent, and responsible only for our own lives and livelihoods, we are vulnerable, interdependent beings. That does not make us weak. Interdependence makes us stronger if we are accountable and aware of our relationships. We need support and nurturing from others and the spirit world. Being resourceful, accountable, and responsible is a spiritual journey.
Don't harvest anything unless you first offer tobacco. Practise non-interference when someone is having a learning experience, don't take away the learning from them by telling them what to do and how. Know when to stand up for something, and when to let go and continue on peacefully. Be honourable to people, animals, and the earth regardless of what has been done to you. Take care of the water, because water is life.