Indigenous Ways of Restoring the World: A Conversation with Arkan Lushwala

May 10, 2018 | By The Pachamama Alliance

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Indigenous Ways of Restoring the World

The global Pachamama Alliance community came together with Andean ceremonial leader Arkan Lushwala on an international conference call on May 9, 2018, to discuss indigenous ways of restoring the world. Around 230 people dialed in, representing countries that included Australia, South Sudan, and Iran.

Arkan is a rare indigenous bridge of the global north and south, carrying spiritual traditions from the Andes in his native Peru.

On the call, he spoke about his recent book, Deer and Thunder, and the indigenous conceptualization of “remembering,” or yuyay, and how we can remember the neglected wisdom of Earth in order to save her.

As Arkan explained, yuyay means many things: to listen; to be humble; to be open to receiving; to pray in a way that invites the sacred; to look inside; to source wisdom from the seeds, sun, and water; and ultimately, to remember the universal intelligence that resides in each one of us as Earth-people. In his words, “It is within us as it is within all life.”

In many ways, the indigenous concept of remembering exists in opposition to our modern tendencies to move quickly, to rely on technology, and to endeavor as individuals rather than in community. We are adept at creating “man-made intelligence” but “we are missing the deepest form of intelligence.” In yuyay, Arkan says, we hold the highest wisdom and the most important indigenous tool in solving the most dire problems of our time.

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Pachamama Alliance Global Calls are opportunities for participants in Awakening the Dreamer and the Game Changer Intensive, volunteer Facilitators and Moderators, Journey participants, donors, and anyone committed to bringing forth a thriving, just and sustainable world to connect around this common vision.

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