Is that “sense of belonging in life” necessary for your development as a human being and for your spiritual work, or does individuality offer more freedom to reach that sense of fulfillment?
There are two aspects. One is the education with which we are shaped—this is inherently communal. Our formation within the family, our studies, our work—everything revolves around society. The difficulty is that its values are essentially materialistic. There is little concern for the common good; we have lost that value, and spiritual evolution is given little importance. Success is more often measured in economic, physical, and academic terms. On the other hand, there are individualistic people who renounce the communal aspect. Although they interact with others, they do not feel part of any social or ethnic group—and often not even part of their own family. In such cases, a sense of selfishness tends to dominate, leading to isolation, and rarely is this directed toward genuine inner or spiritual development.
The truth is that for our growth, we need both aspects. Human beings have an individual phase, and our destiny is our own responsibility. No one else can live our life—they can support our path, teach us—but in the end, it is each of us who governs our own destiny. Each of us holds the responsibility for our life’s purpose—we cannot place it on anyone else, absolutely no one. Along the way, we encounter exactly what we need in order to evolve: obstacles, trials, challenges, everything that delays us in this unfolding; but also the positive aspects, the people and situations that support our evolution. There is also our communal phase. Our environment, our destiny, and our evolution are deeply connected to our family, our community, our country, our ethnic roots, and ultimately to all of humanity. Therefore, we have to take responsibility for the things we must do, but also have clarity in order not to let ourselves be dragged by situations that are not ours to bear.
Being an individual is a responsibility of your being, it is entirely yours. Being part of a community means becoming a light that guides others.
~Elder Carlos Barrios
¿Es necesario ese “sentido de pertenencia en la vida” para tu desarrollo como ser humano y para tu trabajo espiritual, o el ser individual te da más libertad para alcanzar esa plenitud?
Hay dos aspectos, uno es el la educación con que nos formamos, esta es inminentemente comunitaria. Nuestra formación en el seno de la familia; el estudio, el trabajo, todo gira en torno a la sociedad. La dificultad es que sus valores son esencialmente materialistas, poco preocupa el bien común, perdimos ese valor y se da poca importancia a la evolución espiritual, el éxito está más enfocado a lo económico, físico y académico. Por otra parte hay personas individualistas, que renuncian a lo comunitario, aunque interactúan con los demás humanos, no se sienten parte de ningún grupo social, étnico y muchas veces ni familiar. En este domina el sentido de egoísmo que tiende al aislamiento y pocas veces este va orientado al valor para el desarrollo interno, espiritual.
La realidad es que para nuestro desarrollo necesitamos de ambos. Los seres humanos tenemos una fase individual y nuestro destino es únicamente nuestra responsabilidad, pues nadie puede vivir nuestra vida, si mucho apoyar el camino, enseñarnos, pero al final es uno quien rige su destino, uno tiene la responsabilidad de su propósito en la vida, no se la puede endilgar a nadie, absolutamente a nadie, y en el camino encontramos justo lo que necesitamos para evolucionar: obstáculos, pruebas, retos, todo lo que nos retrasa en este devenir, pero también los aspectos positivos, las personas y situaciones que ayudan a nuestra evolución. También está nuestra fase comunitaria, nuestro entorno, destino y evolución estan ligados a la familia, a la comunidad, a nuestro país, etnia y en general a la humanidad. De esto tenemos que tomar responsabilidad, de lo que nos corresponde hacer, pero también tener claridad para no dejarnos arrastrar por situaciones que no nos corresponden.
El ser un individuo es la responsabilidad de tu ser, es únicamente tuya. El ser parte de la comunidad es para ser una luz que guía a los demás.
~Tat Carlos Barrios
There are many things in life that limit you, that keep you stuck—people who divert you from your goals. There are also situations or individuals who make you dependent on them and don’t allow you to grow or live with the resources you need, whether economic or in terms of opportunities. We have bad habits and are often unable to make decisions that would allow us to change our destiny. This can happen to us to a greater or lesser extent, and many people don’t even allow themselves to see that something is affecting them. Today’s energy allows us to recognize everything that limits us, even those situations or feelings we do not give the importance they deserve. We tend to minimize them, yet they are present, and they still affect us. What is important is to determine them with clarity and begin to set priorities. It is about being impeccable when facing each of the things that affect us, especially with each person to whom we have granted such power. Today we can take a deep look at how we act and see what we want to change—everything is possible; it simply deserves our attention. The strategy lies in our attitude. Remember that we are the architects of our reality. Change comes from within us, from truly wanting it to happen.
No’j is the true and profound knowledge of things, the kind that enables us to interact with reality. However, it is knowing ourselves that truly allows us to experience the fullness of life.
For the ancestral Maya culture, the Spiritual Guide—once known as the benefactor—was seen as more than a teacher. They were considered the pillar of traditional groups, the person entrusted with the mission of teaching the science and wisdom of their clan, preserving ancient knowledge, and continuing the research. Wisdom, after all, is always an interactive process, enriched by every new experience in the realm of impeccable knowledge. This, Don Pascual told us, is how continuity is maintained, and its foundation is curiosity, which is represented by Ajmaq. This curiosity serves the purpose of seeking beyond the conventional, beyond what is established. It is a quest that begins with questions about the unknown and offers us answers from a magical world, where the terms by which we define reality are constantly shifting. Ajmaq encourages us to create space for curiosity in all things, as every experience brings learning and growth. Curiosity allows us the intention to search into the mystery, into what limits us, and to develop our hidden powers; it brings us closer to fulfillment as human beings.
A trecena of great power begins on this day, this trecena is symbolized by the bird, who is the Nawal (spirit animal) that contains the magic to transmute the energy, that activates the inner powers, and that is our protector in the face of difficulties, the bird brings us luck and opportunities in the moments in which we face adversity.
Magic is not something we search for; we find it when we stop forcing things.
Each path, no matter how difficult or unexpected it may seem, holds something we need within it.
True connection with life does not come from trying to change what is outside; it begins when we understand what is happening within us.
Let our deepest wisdom guide us, connecting us with a spiritual force that transcends the mind.
Our light can also be a sacred offering, with the power to illuminate paths.