“The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.”
― David Bohm
Dear friends and family, we are writing to you today to ask if you may be able to help our effort to grow support for Saq’ Be’ as we expand our programming in this, our twentieth year as an organization.
The above quote from a theoretical physicist speaks to the way that work with traditions helps us to change the eyes with which we see the world, to reawaken what is innate and to develop it so that we may grow to become different than who have been. We are all unwitting participants in a world of human design that extracts, degrades, and deviates from our deeper purpose. Many of us recognize the time has arrived for our individual and collective healing, a time to restore balance and wholeness.
Bohm brought to light an understanding of implicate order to quantum physics, the organization of potential before being made manifest into existence. As an example of how this is relevant to the work of Saq’ Be’, we become capable of understanding potential and alignment with natural patterns through ancient wisdom, looking to coherent knowledge systems, such as those reflected in the Cholq’ij calendar of the Maya. It is not enough to simply understand that potential, but we must work to bring it into being. We only understand and realize our own potential by aligning into deep harmony with the natural movement of creation and manifesting that alignment through our interaction and work with others in life. The Cholq’ij, other calendars, knowledge and wisdom that survives from those cultures that have co-evolved in this way offer an opportunity to return to our role of right relationship as humans on this planet, not only to restore a balanced state but to manifest endlessly more potential. Yet, if we fail to nourish and support the roots of living lineages and the keepers of these traditions, we unintentionally embody the extractive and degenerative patterns that have divorced us from our right relationship with a natural and universal order, and limit our evolutionary potential, individually and collectively.
As Saq’ Be’ enters our 20th year, we are reminded of the significance of the number 20 in the Maya tradition. This represents the balance and realization for humans, between the 10 cosmic and 10 telluric energies. It is manifested in our species as 10 fingers and 10 toes and is reflected in the 20 Ch’umil (day signs) that cycle through 13 times (correlating with our 13 major articulations) to form the Cholq’ij, known as the calendar of life. Elder Mariano Xutumil has spoken about our civilization falling into a rhythm of a different calendar, the calendar of death, which can be seen in the way that our societies degrade life in all its forms in an attempt to grasp an illusion of wealth, when true wealth lies before us all. By aligning with the rhythms of life, and working to enhance life, we experience the richness of fulfillment of purpose, of connection, and find comfort in knowing that we are firmly on the path of recognizing and realizing the endless potential of creation.
In 2020, we lost one of our key founding elders, Carlos Barrios. With heavy hearts, Saq’ Be’ committed to continue to move forward with our work of bringing forward the teachings of living lineages so that we may be a part of contributing to humanity, once again, coming into alignment and realizing our deeper purpose. We will continue to nourish the roots of these traditions, with new and ongoing programs that support the communities and keepers of traditions critical to maintaining the threads of connection, knowledge and wisdom in their homelands. While we continue to build out our programming, some of the current and upcoming highlights include:
Supporting Traditions
- Saq’ Be’ will work with our colleagues in Chichicastenango, Guatemala to establish a medicinal teaching garden. We previously worked with this community to construct a building, Casa de los Nawales, which serves as an art and teaching space. The community medicine garden will work with local, traditional herbalists to share and reawaken ancestral knowledge within the local K’iche’ community.
- We will be working with the Amazonian community in Sarayaku, Ecuador to support identified needs and to promote the use of local medicine as a means of health empowerment. This project is about providing support for the Sarayaku community’s capacity to maintain agency over providing for its own healing and medicine, largely from within, utilizing traditional and other natural healing practices. The strategy includes expanding the presence of Chinese medicine, which holds respect in the community, as a way to link to a renewed valuing of local medicine and healing knowledge. As the community increasingly values and depends upon (poorly offered) western medicine, this project is about strengthening pathways towards decolonizing medicine and uplifting innate medicines, traditions and practices. The program could work towards expanding the exchange with Chinese medicine, increasing the capacity to locally produce medicine supplies, the creation of healing space(s) and more.
- Continuing the work of filming elders, documenting the traditions, and conducting research on important knowledge so that it may remain accessible for communities into the future.
Sharing Traditions
- We will continue to publish the Daily Ch’umil on our website, which provides a consistent way for participants to connect with Maya wisdom.
We will continue to publish new articles/ videos that share traditional teachings with the world. - We are currently posting a series of online publications on raising energy in turbulent times, created and shared Maya wisdom keeper from Guatemala, Red Armadillo.
- Saq’ Be’ is supporting the printing of a day planner that integrates traditional Maya wisdom. This year’s version will be in honor of one of our founding members, Carlos Barrios, and next year we plan to focus on a collaboration with the medicinal garden projects.
- We will be developing a series of webinars, one offered by a board member on natural healing methods, a series introducing foundations in Maya knowledge/ cosmology, and another led by our colleagues in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. These will be offered by suggested donation.
Operating Infrastructure
- We will be working to upgrade our website and social media presence, as needed, to serve as a backbone for the programs mentioned above as well as future programming.
For 20 years, Saq’ Be’ has been, and will continue to be, a volunteer led organization. In order to expand and advance this work, however, we are asking for our friends and supporters to please consider providing financial resources to the organization so that we may effectively operationalize and implement the programs identified above. The support and generosity of our community has carried us for two decades, and we believe we are now at a juncture of critical opportunity to support the roots of living lineages and the flow of knowledge and wisdom that can reorient humanity towards enhancing life on our planet.
Donations can be made online, or if you would like to explore other arrangements, you may email us: saqbe1@gmail.com.
Thank you!
It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Ajq’ij, elder, and driving force behind the formation of Saq’ Be’, Don Carlos Barrios.




Well, it is that one time of year where we come forward to ask our friends to 

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The weaving of culture and tradition into every aspect of life for the Maya people is incredibly evident. In fact, it is so common, that I am sure many people miss it as a fish misses the water they swim in. Threads of colonization, globalization, religious oppression and indoctrination have not burned the fabric of this culture, rather they have often somehow found their way to be woven in and make it stronger.
We welcomed elder Pichekiix (Mariano Xitumil) who was gracious enough to spend several days with us, sharing knowledge and wisdom. We added to our video library with several additional hours of footage, delving deeper into various topics including understanding more about some of the other calendars our there, including a calendar of music (with 20 tones), seeds and more on the calendar of death. He also spoke about diet, seeds more generally, and of the men of light and darkness.
We had the good fortune to spend time with Don Pedro Ixchop, whom you may recall, has contributed the prayers that are published in the Daily Ch’umil for each Trecena. Don Pedro is the head of the Association of Maya Ajq’ij. We were able to film a fascinating presentation of the initiation process for Maya Ajq’ij that was used before the current process of “walking 20 altars”. Don Pedro also discussed how the Maya tradition is founded on a mathematical understanding of the world, and without that mathematical basis, much of the tradition can not be deeply understood. We discussed his hopes for the Maya lineage moving into the world and ways for Saq’ Be’ to support its continued vitality here in the homeland. He also spoke about each of the Ch’umil’al, the associated numbers, and offered a prayer in Kich’e.
We then joined Carlos, Roberto and Denise on a journey up to Momostenango to celebrate the Maya New Year, 8 B’atz’. We had a fairly successful journey up the winding road from Attitlan to Momo, with just one child getting car sick :-0 We traveled to the altar of Paclom, considered to be the naval of the world. It is also the home of grandmother Ixmukane, where a thread was cast, and it was determined to be the center of the world. It is one of the oldest altars here, a key part of the origin story in the Pop Wuj. We knew there was a pilgramage walk the night before, with Paclom being the 4th altar in the 4 directions around Momostenango, where people were traveling by foot throughout the night and making offerings at each of the altars to arrive at Paclom in the dawn hours. We arrived at the altar towards the late afternoon, and purchased our materials for the ceremony just outside. It was quite a scene with more than a dozen fires going at once, the local Maya radio station blasting music full tilt, and at least a hundred people either participating in ceremonies or hanging out. There are some places where you can feel the ancientness, where the wisdom of elders has been imbued into the altars over millennia, and this was certainly one of those places.
We had an amazing fire, setting up on a corner of the lower altar, along side other friendly and welcoming ajq’ij’ab and families. It was interesting to note as well several young Maya folk come up to Carlos out of respect for his work in supporting the rescue of the tradition. Even through the strong presence of Catholicism and synchretism, Evangelism, alcoholism, etc., it is clear that there remains a vibrancy to the tradition here in the homelands!
We were again joined by Lina and her daughter, Yamanik, for a ceremony at an altar on the other side of the lake in Cerro de Oro. As you can see in the pictures, this was quite an impressive and ancient place, where we had an amazing ceremony that went into the night.
Well, here is my second update with assorted musings from our time spent here in the heart of the Maya lands. I’ve been reflecting upon the importance of the work we are doing with Saq’ Be’, and its particular relevancy in this moment in time. We’ve always worked to open pathways for individuals to develop themselves more fully in accordance with their life purpose by integrating living, ancient wisdom. We’ve also been long committed to supporting the vitality of these living lineages in their homelands where it is essential they continue to flourish. I think there has also been a desire to be a resource to transforming the collective, at community and global levels. This seems like the kind of moment where this is critical.
– Yesterday we went to spend time and make offerings to Maximon in Santiago Attitlan. It was an honor to spend time with the Tilenal and Cofradia, and to share in this sacred space. As we were making offerings and generally hanging out, I had a few further reflections: We may be facing a time where we have to stand for our communities, in the same way as
– 8 Tijax – Another ceremony – Horay! This time, we were joined by Carlos, Denise,
Greetings from Guatemala! Saq’ Be’ North has traveled to be with our Saq’ Be’ family here for a few months. We’ll be spending time with elders, Ajq’ij’ab and communities, where we plan to continue research deeper into the knowledge and wisdom of the Maya tradition, visit sacred places and work to support those that keep these traditions alive and vital. We plan to turn important parts of this experience into new and ongoing programming available to you, articles, videos and other means of sharing and clarifying aspects of this rich tradition.



