Tulum the City of Dawn

Tulum, or Zama as it was called by the Maya (meaning dawn) was the spiritual centre of the Maya civilisation and impressive temples still bear witness to the sacredness of the place. But the Mayas did not live here. Maybe the energy of the place was too strong for their day to day life. For one reason or another, Tulum sits on a vortex of energy, it’s a place of power, a place where energy is both very light but also very dark. A place that keeps you on your toes and pushes you to bring to light all that you try to hide.

It’s a place where you come to meet the deepest parts of you.

And I did. I opened my arms wide and received all the gifts Tulum had to give the way they came, when they chose to come, in a random and yet perfect sequence.

I listened to the drumbeat of a shaman during an ancient sweat lodge ceremony – Temazcal they call it – a place where babies are born and people are reborn. It was my birthday night and what a birthday this has been.

I drank cacao in sacred ceremony and the plant spirit showed me what self love really meant. I discovered the amazing life force that lives in my navel during a Sobada Maya ritual, a special Mayan massage where all your internal organs are realigned. I connected to gifted Maya healers and marvelled at the power of their ceremonies.

I got introduced to the magic of copal, the incense that keeps mosquitoes at bay but also cleanses your spiritual field. I discovered the power of obsidian, a volcanic rock not originally from there but which they highly valued and used for energy cleansing and protection. I swam in the warm sea and I explored the cold dark depth of the underground rivers. I danced on the beach I walked barefoot for hours, I watched the sun rise and set, then rise again and set again.

I learned about the mangrove trees, the ones that heal and the ones that poison. I visited a crocodile in its mangrove home and felt relived he wasn’t there as I swam away. I saw dolphins in the sea and a huge turtle what came to take a breath next to our boat. I met horses that made me cry because horses always do so when they have deep messages for me. I made peace with parts of me I thought were beyond reach. I met Kukulcan the ancient feathered serpent that I know as Quetzalcoatl and marvelled at his temple at Chichen Itza, one of the seven wonders of the modern world. I climbed sacred stairs to sacred temples and I felt it was my own soul I was climbing into.

I tasted the food and it nourished my body. I opened my heart and the winds blew it even more open. I lost myself in a maze of dream catchers until I realised that I have indeed caught my dreams. I listened to the waves as they talked to me and I whispered back: Thank you!

And the pelicans flew over my head one by one in a straight line, all nine of them…

And just before I left, Tulum, the city of dawn, had one last gift for me.

I woke of early on the day of the full moon to watch the sunrise. Only that the sky was overcast and heavy clouds hid the sun. I felt disappointed and my first impulse was to go back to bed. After all, the probability was very high that the sky would remain overcast for the next hour at least and then it would be too late to watch the sunset anyway.

But I decided to stay. I chose to focus on my knowing that, even if I could not see it, behind the clouds the sun was still rising. I watched the clouds in silence for a while and then they started to part. Light started appearing though the cracks. The sunrise was coming through.

As I focused on the light, it grew stronger and stronger. The clouds were still there but the cracks were getting wider and the light came through in shades of deep purple, pink and orange. Behind the clouds the sun was rising in all it’s splendour.

And so I understood once again that our expectations determine our reality. We can focus on the clouds or on the light, the choice is ours. And just as quantum physics has proven that the observer influences the result of the experiment, we influence the outcome of what is happening around us.

What we focus on, comes to be.

And this message was Tulum’s last gift for me:

Focus on the light that comes through the cracks. It will grow stronger. Focus on the good, on what works, on what’s possible. Focus on gratitude, on joy, on love. And as you do so, more of what you focus on will come.