The Path of the Q'enti (Hummingbird)
What is the path of the hummingbird? It is the 4th pathway of Andean Shamanism. This Path comes after the way of the Kuntur (Condor), the way of the Amaru (Serpent), and the way of the Otorongo (Puma) Just like its 3 other siblings, Q'enti heals as well. And we find that grandfather Condor heals our minds through light and observation. The Amaru heals our Psyche with Sacred Plant Medicine, and the Puma heals the body with strength and with Mother Earth's vitality. Initiating through the Qhapaq Ñan (the Andean Shamanic path), we learn that the Q'inti has 1 simple task: To heal our hearts. We observe that the hummingbird goes straight to the heart. It heals emotional wounds such as sadness, nostalgia, blame, and a broken heart. Q'enti arrives lovingly to heal specifically our heart’s pain, but it also comes to hug and cure our hurt feelings, and calm our overwhelming emotions. The Spirit of the Q'enti is always smiling, joyous, always flying, always dancing, never overstays 1 specific spot, because it lives fully in the here and now, therefore it goes from flower to flower. It teaches us to live in the NOW moment (Kai Pacha). Q'inti also teaches us to avoid obsessiveness and to let go of the attachments to time and circumstances. It teaches us to be stress-less. The spirit of the Hummingbird teaches us a new way to observe life: It opens the door to the garden of Eden by teaching us inner love; by teaching us divine love which rests unblemished in our essence yet which lays asleep since we are consistently busy and preoccupied with the external world Q'enti is not outside of you but within you. It is your spiritual heart itself! Your right hemisphere, which through intuition is looking for a way to speak to you, looking for a way to hug and love you. It whispers: Awaken, I am here! I am you! You are me! Everything you need, everything you aspire and look for is already within you and has always been within you. Q'enti opens us up to a new perspective; a perspective so profound that it feels like being born again. I've personally experienced it fully in Ceremony and it has been guiding me ever since. Nurturing this path provides an understanding of how lifesaving Hummingbird Medicine is. It brings back joy and happiness.