The Andean Culture did not have a written language as known or understood by modern academics. Our way of understanding the world is largely symbolic. We developed structures that to this day still cannot be explained and this was developed with a very unique mathematical system that was recently discovered, the “Yupana”. Our written language was weaved into all of our textiles and within the architecture of all the temples as well as in the folkloric customs. Another factor that academics still have not caught on to is our understanding of time, which ironically, advanced physics just started to dabble with theories about.

Time for us flowed in two directions. From the past to the future, but also from the future to the past. The individual experiences times at the meeting point of both currents. When seen this way, you have the choice of allowing your past (and its traumas) to determine your future or you can allow your future to determine your past. Meaning all of those traumas and questionable decisions were needed for the amazing future in store for you. I’m still amazed at how optimistic and healing this tradition can be.

As a practical attitude, in Shamanism, regardless of how disorienting our current appearances may be, we place a strong emphasis on focusing in that “amazing” future. The “past” is considered part of a beautiful story and so the tone of that story is re-weaved to accommodate the future outcome. We do this by including forgiveness and gratefulness as we remember past events that may have been hard.