Sacred Earth Journeys and Iluminado Tours present:
 

Maya Sacred Path to 2012
Return to the Sacred Path of the Sun

November 28 – December 7, 2008
Past Tour
 

Tour Description
About Your Tour Leaders

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Tour Leaders: Renowned spiritual teacher, healer and author, Richard Jelusich, Ph.D. has been teaching, giving lectures, workshops and private sessions for over 20 years. He is the author of Eye of the Lotus: Psychology of The Chakras, his work about how dominant chakras affect the way we perceive and react to our life’s experiences. Maya Master Teacher, Miguel Angel Vergara Calleros studied for 17 years with Mayan elder and wisdom keeper, Don Vincente Martin, and teaches seminars in Mexico and abroad on Mayan astronomy, philosophy, calendar, glyphs & symbols, medicine, cosmovision, traditions and prayers, ceremonies and healing. Read more about Richard and Miguel Angel on our About Your Tour Leaders page.

Arrive in colonial Mérida and transfer to your hotel in the historic town centre.  Most travellers will be arriving in the evening so we will save our introductions and briefing for the following morning.

(Overnight in Mérida at the Hotel Los Aluxes located a walking distance from the main square and paseo Montejo Avenue.  Rooms are equipped with air conditioning, color TV, Cablevision system and direct dialing access telephone.)

El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), celebrated on the first and second of November, is actually a month long honouring of the Spirit of the World and of the Ancestors.  At the end of the month, families gather for a closing ceremony to thank the Spirits for joining them and to release them back to their own world.  On the first day of our journey, we will perform our own Closing Ceremony of Hanal Pixán, the Mayan Celebration for the Day of the Dead, at the Maya Cosmic University.  This will include a full day of cooking traditional Mayan dishes, meditations, prayer and feasting!  We will all participate in the preparation of the meals, the altar, and the prayers which will be a great way to introduce each other to our new family and community.  This is a serious, but fun, total immersion into the Mayan world.  After a day of travel, this will give everyone some time to become grounded and to feel welcomed in the wonderful mystical world of the Maya.

(Overnight in Mérida at the Hotel Los Aluxes)

This morning we leave the state of Yucatán and travel to Campeche to the Mayan site of Edzná, “The House of the Sacred Mantras”.  This sacred site is one of the most important Mayan sites in Campeche, constructed with a sophisticated system of canals, moats, and reservoirs for collecting rain water.  Here, Miguel Angel will lead us in our Opening Maya Ceremony, “Blessings to the Sacred Seeds of Mother Earth”, for our journey to the Sacred Path of the Sun. In this ceremony we will give thanks to our Mother for all the gifts we have received in this life and extend our gratitude to cover the planet.  Later we stop for lunch and travel on to the Eco Village in Chicanná, which will be our home for the next four nights.

This evening we gather for our first lecture with Richard on “The Sun and the Maya”.  In this lecture Richard will discuss the relationship between the Maya and the sun, and the esoteric (hidden) teachings that the evolved Maya are showing us today through their cosmic awareness.  Will we be evolved enough to understand the teachings?  We are only now starting to understand the depth of the Mayan Cosmic Understanding.  Richard will also explain the Maya teachings and modern scientific findings and will show that both are fundamentally pursuing the same thing:  a cosmic awareness of our true selves in the universe.  You will be able to “see” and “hear” the sun in a whole new way.

(Overnight in Chicanná at the Hotel Chicanná Eco Village located on the Kalakmul route in Campeche. The Resort is right in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by tropical trees and a variety of local birds and animals. It is an ideal option to get in touch with Mother Nature and to admire the spectacular landscapes from the balcony of your room.)

After breakfast, we enjoy a visit to the pre-classic Mayan site of Chicanná, “The House of the Serpent Mouth”; a small site considered the best decorated building of the Rio Bec region.  Here we will visit the main palace with its impressive masks and its excellently preserved “monster-mouth” doorway, the entrance to the Mayan underworld. We will also perform the Ritual of the Sacred Wine, the Balche, to link us once again to the sacred energy of Mother Earth and to ask forgiveness for the mistakes that we have made that have damaged our sacred planet.

This evening we gather together for our second lecture with Richard “Why the Maya Studied the Heavens”.  In this lecture, Richard will discuss the Mayan astroarchaeology (our ancient roots before the Current Era, CE) and why the Maya were so obsessed (between 300 and 800 CE) with the time we are living in now (leading to 2012).  Richard will also discuss the concept of the “Yugas”, the cycles of time and rhythmic pulsations of our universe that cause mass awakening of consciousness, and what it means in these “end times” of the Mayan Calendar.  Our lecture will be followed by a Sharing Circle for us to describe our experiences thus far with our new friends and family.

(Overnight in Chicanná at the Hotel Chicanná Eco Village)

We depart early this morning and make our way to Kalakmul, “the Place with Two Pyramids”, located deep in the jungle on the 1,800,000 acre Kalakmul Biosphere Reserve.  This remarkable Mayan site is possibly the largest city-state in the Maya world.  It was the major seat of power of the Kaan or "Kingdom of the Snake", and supported a population of over 50,000.  Across its vast acreage, over 6700 structures have been found and mapped to date.  Fantastic panoramic views of the jungle can be admired from the top of the pyramids, making for some great photo opportunities.  Since the site is also a nature reserve, much care has been taken to remove as few trees and as little vegetation as possible in order to respect the integrity of the environment.  This allows us a wonderful opportunity to spot monkeys, toucans, parrots and other bird and animal species. Jaguars are known to still live in the area and although it is very rare to see them, we’ll do our best to spot one.  Here we will participate in the Ritual of Honey, in order to make contact with the beings of the site and to connect with the Lord Bee, Ah-Muzen-Kab.

(Overnight in Chicanná at the Hotel Chicanná Eco Village)

Today we visit the large ancient site of Kohunlich, “The Temple of the Father Sun”, in the state of Quintana Roo.  Most notable for its fantastic stone masks which stand 6’6 tall, this largely unexcavated site covers approximately 21 acres and is surrounded by dense sub-tropical rainforest.  Encompassed by huge Cohun trees and the screeching sounds of howler monkeys, the site takes on an almost eerie and mystical atmosphere, a perfect site for quiet contemplation and meditation.  Here we will participate in the Ritual Dedicated to Kinich – Ahau, “Lord with the Face of the Sun”, where we will activate the 7 chakras (Pauhs) of our bodies to align them in harmony.

This evening we gather for our third lecture with Richard, “Past Lives, Karma and Reincarnation”. In this lecture Richard will discuss the ever present questions which still linger in our minds. Where did the Maya go; at the end of the Maya civilization, they just “disappeared”?  Who are the Maya and where did they come from?  What is the link to Atlantis and Lemuria?  Richard will discuss Karma and Reincarnation, the cycles of birth/rebirth and the Maya’s understanding of the development of our consciousness through the sublimation of the ego, including why the Maya played their games in the “ballcourt”.

(Overnight in Chicanná at the Hotel Chicanná Eco Village)

This morning we visit the Mayan site of Becán, “The Initiatic Path of the Serpent”.  To enter this site surrounded by a large moat, the Maya built various entrances, seven of which are through tombs.  From its grand pyramids, excellent views of the area can be enjoyed.  Here we will participate in the ancient Ritual of Maya Mudra-Mantra, where we will make contact with the wisdom of Kukulkán, “The Cosmic Serpent”.

We then visit the site of Xpujil, “The Towers that Connect us with the Infinite”, a small but well preserved Mayan site.  Here we will link again in meditation with the Maya Teachers of the Cosmos to connect with their teachings.

In the afternoon we travel to Tucan Siho Playa, a beautiful beach retreat on the coasts of Campeche.  After we check into our rooms we have some time to relax and restore before gathering together for our Sharing Circle in the evening.

(Overnight at the Tucan Siho Playa Hotel, a beautiful building with modern amenities and a classic colonial style which dates from the 19th Century. It is built in what once was one of the most productive henequen haciendas in Campeche.  The hotel boasts comfortable facilities and a high level service.)

Today enjoy a full day at the beach at your leisure.  Soak up the glorious rays of our Father Sun and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this coastal retreat.  Take time for reflection and grounding and experience the wonderful loving and warm embrace of the universe.  In the evening we gather together for our private Candle-lit Ceremony on the beach to perform the Maya Ceremony with the Elements, earth, water, wind, fire and ether, as a way of healing and cleansing before our Mother Sea for the closing of our program.  Later on we will gather for our Sharing Circle to discuss all the teachings we have learned on our journey and to share the wonderful experiences we have encountered.

(Overnight at Tucan Siho Playa)

Spend the morning on the beach and then join us for our farewell lunch before returning to Mérida. The rest of the day and evening is free to enjoy this beautiful colonial town.  Visit the art galleries, stroll through the lanes for some shopping and to pick up some souvenirs, or sit back on a bench in the Plaza and enjoy the scenes and local banter of this warm and friendly community.  In the evening, the town comes alive with music, and dancing and local performers - a spectacular way to end a remarkable journey.

(Overnight in Mérida at the Hotel Los Aluxes)

                                                                
Note: The single supplement is ONLY for those who would like to secure a private room throughout the tour, at the indicated additional price. If you are not traveling with anyone you know and would like to share a room, we will be happy to work to find you a suitable roommate. Per our Terms and Conditions, registration for the tour will be held open until two weeks before the departure date in order to try to match everyone with a roommate. If by that date we have not been able to match you with a suitable roommate, you will be responsible to pay for the single supplement. An early registration will facilitate this process.