Maya

Maya

The Maya did not have cemeteries as we know them, at least to date none have been found.  It is one of many mysteries that surround this great civilization that flourished in Central America for approximately 400 years .  What archeologist have found is that in the courtyards of the living or family units were the remains of humans and curiously in each family unit were collections of human skulls.  Human Skulls are also a recurring carving in the many stone sculptures.   Mario and I learned this as we eavesdropped on a guided tour in Copan Honduras.  The guide went on to explain that is thought that the Maya instead of putting death at a distance as we do kept their ancestors close by by burying them in the living space and keeping their skulls  like one would family portraits.  Of course it is all speculation but an interesting idea.  Then the guide added his own little tidbit by saying that unless you embrace death you never really live.   I personally was impacted by that statement and I looked around at the somewhat elderly group of tourists he was addressing to see their response.   When there was none the guide of course moved on and they dutifully followed.   Somewhere in the long evolution of our complex nervous system  we developed egoic personality.  At its very simplest was of course the fight or flight mode the basic of self preservation.  Thru eons it became what it is today.   This egoic personality is very uncomfortable with the finality of death.   To deal with it the ego has manifested a plethora of concepts, fables and religions so it can live in denial.  Everything from eternal soul to heaven and reincarnation.  Having someone or something other than ourselves orchestrating the operation removes us from responsibility.   In this most basic of fears, the fear of terminal end of the egoic personality we can find our greatest impediment to love.  When we spend our lives placating some diety,  preparing for the hereafter, or the next phase we are not truly experiencing this one and only wonderful life  as this personality.  This preoccupation of the Egoic personality masks us from seeing what we really are, another recycle of physical matter and another small contributer of SOM to the vast ocean of consciousness. It impedes us from fully feeling,  fully being,  fully living.  What a shame.  

rl