Yucatan: Ancient Academy of the Spirit
December 5 – 13, 2015
Operated in conjunction with Sacred Earth Journeys
Ancient texts describe temples as places where a person may be “transformed into a god, into a bright star.” If so, then the enigmatic temples of the Yucatan fulfil that promise, and more.
On this Mexican peninsula stand hundreds of temples and pyramids, each one an ancient academy dedicated to the spiritual elevation of those on the quest for personal transformation.
They embody a cult of knowledge maintained by the Maya and the Olmec who inherited it from an even older, Golden Age when gods walked among humans.
From Chichen Itza to Ek Balam, each site was designed to embody a specific spiritual teaching, each forming an essential component of a library etched in stone to which countless questers once made pilgrimage. There they learned and distilled the knowledge, experienced the subtle forces of the site, then continued their journey to other temples to seek new levels of understanding of the natural sciences which in turn raised their inner vibration.
This was the path pursued by countless people seeking the knowledge of the gods, and through this practice initiates came to achieve the ultimate aim: the total realization of the soul, the outcome of which was nothing less than immortality.
These ancient ideas are not an outdated set of beliefs. Like the temples that portray them, they are eternal, and more importantly, they are more relevant today than ever, as the modern seeker searches for tools to navigate this discombobulated modern culture. The Mesoamerican teachings once predicted this age but they also provided the antidote.
It is upon these timeless beliefs that we bring you this unique tour, a journey that integrates the spiritual and practical aspects of the temple teachings. It is about experiencing the subtle energy of place; the Mysteries teachings of the Maya; understanding the Seven Laws that transform an ordinary space into sacred space; the thinking that lay behind temple design; the cosmology of the ancient seers; and the experience of the spirit of place that develops that latent god residing within all of us.
You will be travelling with best-selling author and one of the world’s leading researchers of sacred sites, Freddy Silva, and Maya Master Teacher Miguel Angel Vergara. Your tour leaders will unlock the secrets of these extraordinary temples through talks, meditations, rituals and ceremonies. They will guide you as your learn about the enduring significance of the temple sites for our world today and for your own inner journey of transformation. You will travel through the Yucatan, from Ek Balam to Chichen Itza, Uxmal to Mayapan, Labnah to Oxkintok, with like-minded participants who are sure to become lifelong friends, experiencing the very best culture, history and cuisine this sacred region of Mexico has to offer.
Your Tour Leaders
Freddy Silva is one of the world’s leading researchers of sacred sites, ancient systems of knowledge and the interaction between temples and consciousness. He is best-selling author of The Lost Art of Resurrection, First Templar Nation, The Divine Blueprint, and Secrets in the Fields: The Science and Mysticism of Crop Circles. His books have been published in five languages.
He has also directed several documentaries, including Otherworld; Stairways To Heaven: The Practical Magic of Sacred Space; Templemaking; and In The Footsteps of Isis.
He has lectured worldwide for over a decade, with keynote appearances at the International Science and Consciousness Conference, the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine, and the Association for Research and Enlightenment, in addition to appearances on Discovery Channel, BBC, and radio shows such as Coast To Coast.
Miguel Angel Vergara studied for 17 years with Mayan elder, Don Vincente Martin, who was a wisdom keeper, professional teacher and artist. Miguel Angel is also a master in his own right, known as Master Nazul, and teaches seminars in Mexico and abroad on Mayan shamanism, astronomy, philosophy, calendar, glyphs & symbols, medicine, cosmovision, traditions and prayers, ceremonies and healing.
Miguel Angel shows us how to connect with the masters of light who are still at the sacred sites waiting to teach and guide us now, as in ancient times. He conducts tours to these Mayan sites so that people can experience first hand the powerful activating energies of those areas. His knowledge and experience makes the journey come alive as you begin to understand how the messages were imprinted, what the glyphs mean, what uses the buildings had, and how ceremonies were conducted.
Miguel Angel has been studying, teaching, and living the Maya wisdom for over 30 years. He teaches in a heart-centered style that connects rapidly and profoundly with his audience. Those who experience him realize they are in the presence of a master and are being given an extraordinary gift.
ITINERARY
Day 1 Sat, Dec 5: Arrive Merida
Arrive in colonial Mérida and be met at the airport for transfer to your hotel in the historic town centre. Spend the remainder of the day at your leisure – enjoy a relaxing stroll around this historic town, now the capital of the Yucatán, and feel the energy and vibration of the ancient temples that were once here.
As most participants will be arriving in the evening we will save our introductions and briefing for Sunday morning.
(Overnight in Mérida at the Los Aluxes Hotel)
Day 2 Sun, Dec 6: Ek Balam & Cenote Saamal (B, L, D)
We start our morning with breakfast together and introductions from our wonderful tour leaders and other group members. We will then check out of our hotel and travel to the Maya ceremonial centre of Ek Balam.
According to the sacred book of the Maya, the Popol Vuh, four prophets (Balam Quitze, Balam Akab, Mahakutah, and Iqui Balam) and their wives descended to the Earth from the Pleiades Constellation to share the Maya prophecy.
The Pleiades is known throughout the ancient world as a source of wisdom, and since the purpose of wisdom is to raise the soul, Ek Balam can be considered a place of Ascension, hence its other name, “winged figure”. The site, then, is a place where one is given access to the Otherworld, and it is here that the Maya Masters developed their spiritual wings to travel to other dimensions, connecting with the future and bringing back through time and space the Prophecies for this time in which we now live.
After our deeply moving visit to Ek Balam, we make our way to the Hacienda Selva Maya and Cenote Saamal near Valladolid for lunch and a magical swim. The restaurant is located in beautiful natural surroundings, with ceiba trees welcoming guests and abundant native flora and wildlife all around. The natural cenote next to the restaurant is truly breathtaking and the perfect place to feel fully refreshed and ready for the transformative journey ahead.
To honour the first day of our journey we will enjoy dinner together this evening at the lovely Mayaland Hotel.
(Overnight in Chichen Itza at the Hotel Mayaland)
Day 3 Mon, Dec 7: Chichen Itza (B, D)
After breakfast today we will walk to the renowned Maya site of Chichen Itza. The names signifies “Dew of water that poses on the mouth of the Sacred Well”, and the spirit of the temples at Chichen Itza came from ancient Atlantis (called Tulan by the Maya) through the wisdom of the Master Teacher, Itzamna.
Here, Itzamna reconstructed, in the temples and pyramids, the “Maya Cosmic University” where Science, Art, Philosophy and Religion formed a single unit of thought, speech and action. This University was famous throughout Central America and attended by Priests, Astronomers, Mathematicians, Scribes, Artists, Doctors, Teachers, Wise Men and so on. Chichen Itza has more than 2,000 temples and pyramids, each one a library in stone, two magnificent cenotes and its focal point, the pyramid dedicated to KuKuulKaan.
As we visit this important site, Freddy and Miguel Angel will discuss the meaning of the temples and pyramids and their historic and cultural importance. We will then have some free time to explore at our own pace before meeting for dinner in the evening. This evening there is also the option of seeing a new sound and light show at the site.
(Overnight in Chichen Itza at the Hotel Mayaland)
Day 4 Tue, Dec 8: Balamkanche & Chichen Itza (B, L)
After our breakfast this morning we visit the sacred Caves of Balamka’anche’. The cave comprises staircases and offerings surrounding the great limestone column of Balamkanche, stretching from floor to ceiling and resembling the Maya World Tree, Wacah Chan. In Maya belief caves offer a portal to Xibalba, the underworld, where the spirits live with supernatural beings, and the roots of the great World Tree are found. It is essentially a ritual cave where people go to access the Otherworld, returning with knowledge that awakens the latent god within. In ancient times such initiates were called the risen from the dead.
We can then return for another visit to the remarkable site of Chichen Itza before enjoying a late lunch and travelling to Mérida.
(Overnight in Mérida at the Los Aluxes Hotel)
Day 5 Wed, Dec 9: Uxmal (B, L)
Today we visit the site of Uxmal, “The City of Kindness of Mother Moon” or “The Maya Feminine Cosmic University”, its name deriving from “Oxmal”, meaning “three times built”, referring to the main pyramid which incorporates two much older structures. Here at Uxmal women were taught the five gifts of the spirit: Love, Femininity, Maternity, Beauty and Charity.
Uxmal is a cosmic university where the Priestesses, Vestals, Astronomers, Artists, Scribes, Midwives and Healers received knowledge from the Master Teachers leading them to become: “Ix Kukuulkaan” or “Women of the Cosmic Knowledge”. These learned Priestesses transmitted this knowledge to many generations in this ceremonial centre dedicated to the Eternal Feminine, Mother of the Earth and Heart of the Earth, on whose roots depend the lives of all who live on the surface of this Holy Land.
The site has some of the most beautiful temples and pyramids in all Mesoamerica such as the Quadrangle of the Nuns, the Governor’s Palace, and the Pyramid of the Dwarf of Uxmal.
While at Uxmal Freddy and Miguel Angel will lead us in meditation and guide us on a tour of the site, illuminating its origins for us with wisdom teachings and stories. We will take our lunch at the onsite restaurant, with free time afterwards for shopping or visiting the site some more by ourselves before leaving for Mérida.
(Overnight in Mérida at the Los Aluxes Hotel)
Day 6 Thu, Dec 10: Mayapan (B, L)
After breakfast today we journey to Mayapan, a ceremonial centre which, according to history and oral tradition, was the centre that united the wisdom teachings of Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan, giving it the name of, “The City of the Solar Shield of the Maya”.
According to Maya oral tradition the great teacher KuKuulKaan spent his final years here teaching the Maya his knowledge of the cosmos, constellations, solar system, equinoxes and solstices.
KuKuulKaan built a pyramid dedicated to the Sun, to the Solar Logos, and every year on December 21 at sunset on the north staircase the sun projects a figure in light and shadow that appears as the descent of the Serpent to the Earth. KuKuulKaan symbolizes our own inner energy called Kundalini, and the Serpent of Light that appears on Dec 21 resembles a small sun in the Nothern Hemisphere, which will be reborn on the March 21, the Spring Equinox.
At this sacred site we will be lead in ceremony by Miguel Angel as well as given a guided tour to fully appreciate the significance of Mayapan. We will then have some free time to explore independently before leaving for a late lunch and making our way to our hotel.
(Overnight in Uxmal at the Uxmal Resort Maya)
Day 7 Fri, Dec 11: Labnah & Kabah (B, L)
Today after breakfast we set out to visit two sacred sites: Labnah and Kabah. The name Labnah means, “The Walls of Wisdom of the Mother” and it is an extraordinary ceremonial centre with temples and pyramids the colour red highlighted by a white road, called in Mayan a Zac Be. Here the Maya Masters sculptured the face of the Maya Rain God “Yum Chaak” and in the corner of the Grand Palace a sculpture of the Master Serpent of Light KuKuulKaan. Labnah also comprises great palaces and a magnificent observatory, which is like a Cosmic Tower built to admire and track the stars in the sky. The Labnah Arch is a Maya symbol of entrance and welcome from the 3rd dimension to the 4th. In their temples and pyramids still sits the magnificent spirit and profound wisdom left here by the Maya Masters of Light. Symbols and hieroglyphics, some of the meanings still not revealed, await us at this amazing city of the Wisdom of the Mother.
After lunch, we journey to the temple site of Kabah, meaning “Strong Hand”, and specifically one that helps us with our inner transformation – your Strong Hand is the expression of the inner spiritual force that is necessary in attaining your inner realization. Kabah is a site where the Maya built an extraordinary temple called the “Kodz-Pop” and dedicated it to the Maya Calendar “Haab” which has 365 days with each day being represented by a mask of the Rain God “Yum Chaak”. One wall of this temple is filled with these masks. Another example of the sacred symbolism of their temples is the Maya Arch that connected Kabah by a white road, a Zac Be, with the city of Uxmal.
(Overnight in Uxmal at the Uxmal Resort Maya)
Day 8 Sat, Dec 12: Oxkintok & Maya Ceremony (B, L)
Today we check out of our hotel and travel the short distance to the site of Oxkintok for our closing ceremony and tour of this special place.
The name Oxkintok means “the place where three suns burn”, and its philosophical etymology leads us to believe that the name is associated with our Sun in the Solar System, the Sun of Alcyone in the Pleiades Constellation, and the Sun Sirius in the centre of our Galaxy. In this very special site you find three stone statues of Galactic Masters who came from the cosmos to deliver teachings on mathematics, philosophy and astronomy.
One of the highlights among the many temples and pyramids in Oxkintok is the labyrinth called in Mayan, “tza-zun-tzat”. According to oral traditions, the Maya Masters considered this place to be a portal open to the magic of other dimensions or other places, both within this planet and outside it.
There is also a Maya Arch at this site, situated astrologically with the setting of the Sun on the spring and autumn Equinoxes. Oxkintok is a Maya site where the energy of the pyramids transports you to the far corners of the universe, or to the stars, and the only requirement is that you open your heart and mind to the guidance of the Maya Masters of Light and the Sacred Knowledge!
Today we also enjoy our farewell lunch together at a beautiful local restaurant – a chance for us to reflect on the many incredible experiences this journey has offered us and an opportunity to consider ways of incorporating our new knowledge – of Maya culture and our inner selves – into life back home.
(Overnight in Mérida at the Los Aluxes Hotel)
Day 9 Sun, Dec 13: Depart Merida
Transfer to the airport in Mérida for your flight home, filled with new knowledge of the enduring cultural and spiritual significance of these Maya temple sites. As we say farewell to new found friends, we leave with the assurance that our own inner journey of transformation will continue, and the wisdom teachings of Freddy and Miguel Angel will resonate with us for years to come.
Tour Includes:
8 nights accommodation in 3 and 4 star hotels, based on double occupancy
Arrival and Departure Airport/Hotel Transfers
7 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches and 2 Dinners
Ground Transportation by Private Air-Conditioned Coach to all sites on the Itinerary
Admission to all sites as per itinerary
Bilingual guide services (English/Spanish)
Fees and gratuities for Tour Leaders
Baggage handling at the hotels (1 bag per person)
Hotel Taxes & Service Charges
Tips for Bellboys, Housekeeping & Restaurant Waiters
Added Features:
Travel with best-selling author Freddy Silva and Maya Master Teacher, Miguel Angel Vergara
Participate in rituals and ceremonies at the sacred sites
Talks and lively discussions with Freddy Silva & Miguel Angel Vergara to illuminate the significance of the sacred temples we visit
Guided meditation at Uxmal
Special Welcome and Farewell Meals
Tour Does Not Include:
Airfare to and from Merida, Mexico
Cancellation & Medical Insurance (ask us for a quote)
Meals and drinks not specified
Tips for driver and guide
Cost to obtain valid passport
Any items of a personal nature such as laundry, drinks and telephone calls. Any item that is not specifically detailed on our website or in the final retreat itinerary
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PRICE PER PERSON (Land Only)
Double Occupancy: $3,480 by check or money order or $3,665 by credit card
Single Supplement: $600 by check or money order or $632 by credit card
INITIAL DEPOSITS
$500 ($525 by credit card) Non-Refundable deposit to hold space
NOTE: The Single Room Supplement applies for those who would like to secure a private room throughout the tour.
ROOMMATES: We will be happy to try to find a suitable roommate for those who are traveling alone and would like to share a room. Per our Terms and Conditions, registration for the tour will be held open until 30 days before the departure date in order to try to match everyone with a roommate. If by that date we have not been able to match you with a suitable roommate, you will be responsible to pay for the single supplement. An early registration will facilitate this process.
Please read our Body Mind Spirit Journeys Terms and Conditions.
After you register online you will automatically be re-directed for payment by mail-in check or secure online credit or debit card payment.
Travel Insurance
Body Mind Spirit Journeys highly recommends the purchase of Trip Cancellation/Interruption Travel Insurance, and we therefore provide you with an easy way to contact BMSJ’s preferred insurance provider, Allianz Global Assistance. If you need additional information or have questions, please call Allianz directly at 800-284-8300, and refer to code “F025323.”
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