Life and Death with Mayan Elders

This episode is a very interesting, unusual and deep experience, as we have a very special guests today, Tata and Marina from Mayan Elders. We have collected the most inspiring and sparkling insights from our conversation – such as facing death, facing fears, connecting to our inner child and living with love and peace. So, let’s get into it.   This episode is full of ancient wisdom and the ultimate trut. No matter who we are, how old we are, death is something we can’t escape – everyone will face it. And the beauty of this subject, the beauty of life is that you need both. Life is so special because death exists. We also talked about gratitude and why this is one of the most important aspects of our lives.    Our friend Lazo Freeman introduced us to Mayan Elders and they came with Tommy, one of their students and translator. Tommy was the conduit in this deep conversation, as we discussed a very uncomfortable topic – death. Our relationship with death is what we learn from our culture, so let’s dive into this mystery and learn some wisdom from other cultures and see the other perspective that we need to value more.   “Open your mind towards other nations and cultures – there is so much wisdom” – Alex Ikonn   Why death is the transformation of spirit? The Mayan ancestors knew that they had to die. But death for them wasn’t the end, the punishment. The day they died, the body and the spirit were being separated, the spirit was being reincarnated and found another body for another life. And life continued. Mayan Elders believe that the body is born here, it grows here and here it finishes its mission.   From Mayan’s cosmovision, death is one of the very important energies. That’s why they believe that death is nothing more than a physical change, transmutation of the spirit that, once separated from the body, keeps moving on and doesn’t die. For Mayans, the spirit isn’t gone, the spirit is transformed into your light, into your guide, into your starts and will take care of you.   “Today we need to eliminate this fear out of our heads, because not to have doubts means not to be worried, so we will be living in a happy life and will be happy with everything. When we are worried, it makes us sick, and sickness kills us. So, there would be a good life for all humanity if we could eliminate fear and live in peace, harmony and love” – Mayan Elders Why spirit and body have to walk together? In Mayan’s culture, death is the duality of life. Everything is double: there exists day and night, there is a woman and man, so there exists death and life. But physical death isn’t the actual death, because often we are alive, but are dead inside. That’s why Mayan Elders teach that spirit and body have to walk together.    We can be alive, but if we aren’t walking together with our soul, then there is a disconnection in duality of our spirit and body. Then there is fear and doubts, sickness and depression. That’s why death is a transformation – it’s the change, the separation. Why do we fear death? Religion taught us that after death, our soul goes to a place where it gets purified and cleaned, the paradise. For the Mayan Elders, the paradise is here, in this life, so we have to live in peace and harmony. Inside their cosmovision, gratitude is the answer to how to live this life to the fullest and be connected to our own spirit.   When we are grateful for what we have in our lives, when we are thankful for another breath of life in the morning, for everything that surrounds us, when we show and actually have this respect and gratitude, then we are connected to our spirit.   “When we don’t have all those fears that society or religion want to put over us, we understand that the paradise and hell are right here, on the Earth, and we create them by being connected to or disconnected from our spirit” – Mayan Elders Why there is a disconnection? Tommy shared a very interesting example – when we pray, we keep asking for something. And when we have it, we don’t even notice that and don’t show enough respect and appreciation. The reason there is a disconnection is because we have experienced a shocking experience, an accident, a deep suffer or fear.    We surround ourselves with pain, depression, fear, anxiety, sickness, and disconnect from our inner child, losing the perspective of love, harmony and gratitude. That’s why the Mayan Elders believe that, basically, the disconnection comes because of our own disconnection from gratitude. When we manage to do this reconnection, it all comes back.  Where the fear comes from? Fear is like a shadow for humanity, they believe. We have to search for the root of our fear and our vicious circle. Very often it comes from mother’s womb, when mother had a deep fear or a spiritual disconnection, then this fear comes to the child as well.   We can go to any kind of psychologist and treatments, but if we don’t have this connection, then the fear comes back. The Mayan ancestors have a ceremony of healing and negotiation with the spirit of fear, but the healing itself is in finding and identifying the root of the fear, they believe.   “Gratitude is our tool to solve all the problems” – Alex Ikonn What are the suggestions for people to reconnect with themselves? You make a meditation and try to answer why you have some physical or emotional disconnection. You have to start working with your inner child. When your spirit is searching for body, this is the moment when you feel loneliness and a lot of sensitivity, and you feel like you’re crying. It’s important to go deep with yourself, in your thoughts, and come to your inner child and ask him or her to come back.  “We want peace for humanity. The lesson we want to share with this world doesn’t come from books, it comes from our wisdom, knowledge, experience and spirituality” – Mayan Elders For Mayans, the brain is the nest of the spirit, and heart is the throne of the spirit, and the spirit is God and it moves them. The Mayan communities are walking around the world and delivering the message of peace, unity, equality and love. They don’t speak about God, they speak with him. And Dios – God from Spanish – means ‘Thank you’ in their language.    Right now Mayan Elders are planning to start a crowdfunding project to raise funds for creating a bridge between the Mayan world and the modern world. 22 different tribes will come together and will share their wisdom of life in one book and give it to humanity, to help people understand themselves better and bring all the knowledge that was damaged throughout the time. If you would like to support Mayan Elders, email Tommy directly: [email protected] Here is what else we have discussed:    How death can make us be aware and appreciate life The importance of reconnecting with this planet Earth and with ourselves  Life with love and peace Why we should reframe our fears The reason we are disconnected from our inner child Life in Mayan tribes   Find the books and movies we mentioned in this episode here: Movie Coco  Audiobook Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk MD