The energy went in two completely different directions on our trip to see the ruins at Ek Balam.
We were on our way, road-tripping through the small pueblos and wild jungles of the Yucatan, when we came across a tiny kitten sitting in the middle of the road in a Maya village called Leona Vicario.
His little face was so tiny that his ears and eyes seemed huge. He was still as could be, just sitting right in the middle of the road, in shock, I believe. So, of course we stopped.
Since we planned on swimming in the cenote near the ruins, we had snorkel equipment with us and my grandson, Ayden's, mask made a good water dish.
Kitty seemed very happy to hop in the car with us and go road-tripping. In fact, he spent the whole day touring the ruins with us....in a snuggle bed in my daughter's beach bag.
Ayden named him Elliot. Which seemed appropriate to me since one of our Maya guides not long ago was named Elly. Funny the simple and seemingly arbitrary connections we make.
Just yesterday I was saying I wanted a cat. Not a kitten to snuggle, but rather an imaginary cat that could step in and handle my thoughts when I felt I needed a thought vacation. Noe said he had a monkey. It was one of those monkey's that plays the cymbals. Every time Noe had too much on his mind, he just asked the monkey to step in and take over while he sang a song or gazed at the clouds. I loved the idea of a thought baby-sitter, a little imaginary creature to step in and take over when I am tired of thinking. So, I envisioned a cute little cat.
You know how they say, "be careful what you wish for..."
Things are constantly manifesting. They come into being mostly without our noticing them.
You are probably wondering what all this has to do with Ek Balam.
And how it seemed to be breathing....
Once upon a time I talked to a Maya woman who told me that Puerto Morelos is alive. She explained how the land beneath the village where I live by the sea has consciousness. She said that it controls who lives there and who leaves. She (Puerto Morelos...we should call the village "she," I think) she calls you to herself and you cannot escape. You go home dreaming of her, tossing and turning in your bed until, in desperation, you buy plane tickets and get your feet back on her quite shore. She also spits out those who would damage her ancient energy, creating reasons for them to pack their things and vacate her boundaries almost as quickly as they arrive.
Others I know have verified this....Puerto Morelos is alive....
But I don't think we were visionary enough to extend this revelation to other places on the Yucatan.
No worries, the Yucatan herself would teach me.
My dear friends Ron and Suzette visited Ek Balam and told me they found a room beneath the Jaguar temple that was breathing. Here is a photo of the Jaguar alter that sits halfway up the temple nestled in the jungle almost 3 hours from my beloved Puerto Morelos.
Notice the huge teeth and how the door to King Ukit Kan Lek Tokʼ s tomb resembles the mouth of a huge monster, perhaps a jaguar (Balam means jaguar in the Maya language). The carving is impressive, almost overwhelming in it's massive beauty.
But, sometimes it the things we almost miss that create the biggest impact and give us the best clues to what exists in the great beyond.
Scroll back up and look at the picture with the little rooms. They sit at the base of the temple, almost insignificant. And inside one of them is a small hole, a place where the stones are missing and you can see inside the interior wall.
And inside the wall there is a staircase. I have no idea where it leads as you can only see a small potion of it.
This is the room that breathes.
Suzette found it unexpectedly one hot day when she was nearly dying of heat exhaustion. She stood in the coolness of the shade and suddenly a chilled breeze exhaled from the hole in the wall. It lasted for only a few moments though and then the air became hot and dead. But as she turned to go, disappointed that the lovely coolness was gone, the chilled breeze exhaled again.
I followed Suzette's directions and found the breathing room, hidden beneath the monstrous Jaguar mouth. I stood there for moments that seemed to stretch into eternity. Just feeling the ancient edifice breathing... in and out...chill and heat....movement and dead stillness...it rhythmically exhaled again and again.
Was the temple really breathing? Had I found concrete evidence that the Yucatan is alive? Did the kitten manifest so quickly because the earth could hear me?
Of course, there is likely some "reasonable" explanation for why the temple is breathing. But, in all honesty, it would be easier to accept that there is simply some natural explanation and dismiss the rhythmic breathing if it wasn't so....rhythmic.
I am not in the business of definitively answering questions... I am simply in the business of asking.
For more on manifesting and the link to the Maya, you can check out the stories below. Also, the purple highlighted links in the story above have some interesting tidbits for your explorations.
In the meantime...
I am asking,
laura