Ayni Despacho

    Ayni is a concept that has aspects of several different English words.
    These include balance, reciprocity, and alignment with divine will.  It
    is being in the moment and open to what comes.  It is acting from a
    place of informed but unconditional love.  It is a goal that is as
    dynamic as the person striving for it.

    A Despacho is a prayer bundle that we put together.  We put in things
    to represent what we have been given, our relationships with other
    aspects of  the world we live in, and our prayers for the best outcome
    in whatever situations we are currently dealing with.  Once it is
    assembled we either burn or bury it.  This either sends it up to Great
    Spirit or lets the earth slowly absorb it.

    The Ayni Despacho is a traditional ceremony of the Andean
    mountains.  It's purpose to bring Ayni to the participants can be
    applied to several different areas: work, family, health, spiritual
    commitment, any number of areas that can throw you off center in
    your day-to-day life.


    Fire Ceremony

    The ceremony pulls from Inca traditions and incorporates practices
    from North American Natives.  Each person brings a stick to the fire
    to let go of something, and/or to honor something.

    Preparing a stick


    Notes on ceremony

    You do not have to be on this path, or even work in an Earth-based
    religion to participate in these ceremonies.  I have at least one
    Christian who regularly attended my public ceremonies.  Many of the
    other people who come do not walk a traditional path of any sort.

    Specific Purposes: Despachoes can be geared for specific
    purposes, I did one for the war in Iraq, I've done them for a
    household, I've done them for a job, I've done them for the health of a
    loved one, I've done them to give thanks. The key factor is to keep the
    intention in mind as you work with the despacho and it is being built.

    Public Ceremony: I ask no one to be more public than they wish to
    be about what prayers they are putting into a Despacho or what they
    are putting into the fire..

    Praying for Others:  I ask that if you are praying for someone else
    that it be very not specific.   In general I encourage people to ask the
    person they are praying for before putting them in (or their caregivers
    if they are small children or someone whose facilities are not good). I
    usually do this as just a "do you mind if I pray for you?"
Ceremonial Work
Dreamingclaw Shamanic Consulting
Ceremonies
An Ayni Despacho is a traditional
Andean Ceremony.  

Fire ceremony is based on a
mixture of North American Native
ceremonies.
The Tradition
What I practice is based on the
teachings of the Quechua people
of the Andes Mountains, with
acknowledgement that what I
practice is also influenced by my
own culture and upbringing, as
well as what I have learned in
more traditional western
schooling.