09/05/2023
Ayni
In the Andes and valleys of the Quechua tradition, the health and well-being of a person or an entire community is intimately linked to their feelings, thoughts, and actions in relation to others and to the Earth.
When a person is kind in his heart, in his mind, and in his work, that person is in Ayni with the world, and life recognizes him by bestowing upon him vigor and prosperity. Ayni means reciprocity: just as one gives, one receives. But beware, as there is a very powerful subtlety in the conditions of this reciprocity. A heart that thinks about what it is going to receive in return when it gives, is not pure. The thought and action are not in Ayni.
It is through selfless and unconditional help and devotion that one accumulates health and spiritual solvency. In our materialistic and individualistic culture, we operate in opposition to Ayni. It is always about βmeβ and what I am going to receive.
At the other end of the scale, Ayni is not about becoming a martyr who gives freely from his own blood and for that reason feels holier. When you are in Ayni, you simply offer to help when you know help is needed and you trust that when you are in need, life will pay you back. The image of a flowing river helps us to understand this.
Like a river, we allow our help to flow forward without expecting to be nurtured by those we have helped. We trust that help will come from the direction it needs to flow from, just when we need it. This is how one cultivates unconditional surrender and trust in life.
The Quechua community practice Ayni by making offerings to the Pachamama or Mother Earth, to Inti or to the Father Sun, and to other forces of nature that give us life. They give thanks for the body and for everything that sustains it; everything that allows our soul to enjoy this Earthly experience.
Today, I invite you to begin to practice Ayni; to begin to practice kindness without fear or suspicion and to allow abundance to flow. As we heal, a feeling of prosperity is born from the depths of our selfishness and sooner, rather than later, the Universe offers reciprocity in the form of unconditional love.
