Imbolc

A blessed Imbolc to all! I visited my home range of mountains, the Rockies in CO, this week. I skiied atop their peaks, drove among the valleys, and soaked in hot springs deep within the heart of the mountain. 

What I can share from this experience is the abiding wisdom of the mountains: 

Seek your center. Tend the flame that lives deep within. Stay connected to the Earth. Trust yourself and your ability to maintain your equilibrium. Trust the mountain and let go. Go slowly, but with confidence. Abide.

May the returning light bless you with the strength and drive to fulfill your self-dedications for this turning of the Great Wheel. May we come through the winter whole and healthy, ready to plant the seeds of spring. 

May we tend the flame for all beings everywhere, that we may bring a new way of coexistence into being. May all beings be filled with compassion. May we be at peace. Naho. Blessed be. Namaste. OM shanti!

To Know...

The Pagan Experience - To Know – To Will – To Dare and To Be Silent - These Four together are known as The Four Powers of the Sphinx and the Witch’s Pyramid. But, they are not limited to a specific spiritual path and show up in varying forms and combinations within all spiritual truths. So, holding the intention of exploring more deeply what these concepts mean to you, this month our focus is: To Be Silent. Use this month’s writing to dig a little deeper into what this topic means to you, both at the levels of the mundane and the spiritual…….

The common view of the witches pyramid puts 'To Be Silent' in association with the element of Earth. In my tradition and personal viewpoint, Earth is about embodiment - 'To Know'.

One of the benefits of aging for me is clarity. As I get older, I am beginning to see my life more clearly - what it has really been about and what it all means. It's been quite a journey so far, with many twists and turns, ups and downs, periods of beauty and heartbreak.

I'm on the brink of entering my 40th year. Four decades of adventure on this Earthwalk, and things are indeed becoming clear to me. I began my life on a homestead in upstate NY. We raised a good bit of our own food, hunted for more, and bought the rest from local farmers or an organic co-op. As a family, we spent a lot of time outdoors, hiking, camping, foraging for wild edibles and medicinals, and working in our garden. 

As I grew up, outdoor adventures continued in NC and NY. I became a competent paddler, sailor, and navigator with map and compass. I hiked uncountable miles, and taught myself backpacking. I cut my teeth on mountains (and caught mountain fever), forests, rivers, and the ocean. This part of my life was all about school, growing up, and survival.

Then I moved west to CO, and the adventures continued. Now I had a chance to learn about high altitude and alpine terrain - a habitat which felt deeply familiar and right to me. I got into rock climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, and whitewater kayaking. A lot of my energy during this time was spent on various martial arts. I was training heavily in empty hand styles, as well as Renaissance fencing and archery. This part of my life was about study and becoming a functional human being.

Somewhere during my time in CO, I got lost. I was working at a corporate job, and it was a great one. I learned a lot and made a lot of friends. I attended college for a while during this time. But I longed to live in the mountains, and to do my true work in the world. For several years, I thought and thought, but I couldn't figure out how to get from where I was to where I wanted to go.

I hit a real crisis point, and I decided to make a bold move: to go on walkabout. I planned an expedition to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. I figured that this quiet time in nature would help me think things through, and I would figure out "what to do with my life".

That decision was the turning point in my life so far. While I only hiked half of the AT, the journey was far from over. I spent the next five years studying, building credentials in Yoga, spiritual leadership, and environmental education. I continued to have outdoor adventures, most notably flatwater paddling, which was fairly new to me. This part of my life, as it turns out, was about leadership and community building.

This year, as many of you know, I made another bold move: I retired from massage therapy and became a full-time travelling educator. It was terrifying to contemplate, but it turned out to be *exactly* what I needed on all levels of my being. It's been a tough year in many ways, but also an amazing and transformative one.

All of which I tell you so that I can share what I've learned, and what I know right now.

Here it is: 

• Magic works. What you call it doesn't matter: just use your will to shape your reality.
• The Universe WILL support you.
• You get a lot more support when you do what you really love.
• Most things will happen at the last minute, like that job offer you need, or the money to pay an emergency bill, etc.
• The best stuff lies hidden behind a wall of fear.
• Nature is the best medicine.
• One must walk the walk in addition to talking the talk.
• Be vulnerable and ask for help.
• People are what give life meaning.
• I am an introvert. Introverts can be very social, but need alone time to recharge.
• It's ok for your life to be messy.
• All of our seemingly unconnected skills, no matter how obsolete or odd, can come in handy.
• Always be grateful. Gratitude is the gateway to abundance.
• Everything good comes through networking, so cultivate your relationships carefully. 
• It's necessary to take the next step without knowing where your foot will land.

There have been many, many articles written about manifestation aka magic, and the power to transform one's life. This one is mine. Do it, it works. Things have a wiggly, unpredictable, and indirect way of manifesting at times, but they happen. Take the risk, be willing to be vulnerable, and you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams.

The process of magic starts with Air - we get inspired and dare to dream a different reality. Then we move to Fire, where we use our will to begin manifesting our desire. We take a break, so to speak, with Water, where we reflect and allow the whole working to "cook". With Earth, we walk the walk. In our physical space, we act as if our desire is already manifest. We tune our vibration to the vibration we seek to attract. We become that which we seek. Thus, the knowledge of what we seek begins to grow within us.

What I know is that information becomes knowledge. Knowledge with practice and reflection becomes embodied, and this becomes wisdom. That means that it infuses all levels of our being - body, mind, and spirit. This is the lesson of Earth for me, at this time in my life. The Earth will support my growth and learning. It will shelter me, love me, and inspire me. I can manifest my dreams on this Earth. All I have to do is practice, to walk the path, and to be that which I seek. This is what I know.

What I know, deeply and to the core of my being, is that this is the way for me. To envision new adventures, to manifest them through my will, to leap into the unknown. To face my fears and achieve more than I ever dreamed. To continue to learn, grow, and evolve. To trust that Goddess/God/Great Mystery, ancestors, animal totems, and spirit allies have my back. This is my way. This is what I know.

My life has come full circle. My love of nature has been a strong thread throughout my life, and now, it's how I make my living. I also get to use all of my varied, wacky, and in some cases, obsolete skills. I am blessed with a beautiful group of friends, some of whom are my chosen family. I work with many positive, inspiring, and talented human beings. I'm finding more and more of my tribe all the time. It's a beautiful, terrifying, magical, and crazy journey. It's messy at times. I do the best I can, and most importantly, I keep walking...one step at a time. May you do the same.

Hail Earth, our bountiful and loving home! Hail the inner knowing of true embodiment that is our strength! Namaste. Blessed be. Naho!

Jomeokee, the Great Guide

For several years, I have been wanting to take another vision quest. Each time I tried, something came up and things did not go as I planned. This time, things fell together naturally. I took the son of my spirit on a pilgrimage to Jomeokee last weekend.

Pilot Mountain is in the piedmont of North Carolina. It is the closest mountain to where I live, which some people believe means that it is my protector. The native Saura people called this mountain Jomeokee, which translates to the Great Guide or Pilot. They used this mountain as a landmark to navigate their trade routes. As European settlers entered the area, they did the same - a wagon route was built near its base. The mountain and the land around it were held privately for many years, but it eventually became a state park. As it happens, Pilot Mountain became a state park in the year of my birth, 1976.

"Between one billion and 600 million years ago, the supercontinent Rodinia – which came before Pangea – began to break up. With it, a basin began to widen and formed what was essentially the Atlantic Ocean’s grandfather. This was the Iapetus Ocean. Today, Pilot Mountain marks a point of uplift from the Iapetus Ocean. Essentially, it is Iapetus Ocean seafloor. The ocean existed in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic portions of earth’s history, roughly 600 million years ago, so the presence of today’s remaining marker is astonishing." Source

This place was a landmark, a guiding point in early navigation, but it was far more than that. The knob of the mountain is quartzite, which is a metamorphic rock composed essentially of quartz. This ancient megalith, by its very composition, is a giant conductor and amplifier of power. Jomeokee also sits on a convergence of several ley lines, which is called a ley point or vortex. POWER, thy name is Jomeokee!

A few years ago, I met a Native man who is an environmental educator. He told me about taking people up on Pilot Mountain to see the spirit lights and tell the old stories. I didn't remember that until just now, but it is reassuring. Though the Saura people are gone, some Native peoples remember the significance and power of Jomeokee. Legend has it that the Native peoples believed that the mountain and 30 miles around it were holy ground.

We arrived on a Saturday morning, and it was already quite hot. Neither of us were in the mood to talk to officials, so we just drove into the park and followed the signs for the campground. We circled around several times before deciding on a campsite and settling the bill. This was to be a theme for the weekend - spiraling around to the eventual destination. We set up camp and resolved to rest through the heat of the day.

Rain moved in during the afternoon, bringing blessed coolness with it. We had a fun time "trying to stay dry", but we didn't' try very hard. It was delightful. Eventually, we realized that there wasn't much daylight left. There wasn't enough time to walk to the pinnacle from our campsite, though the trail was conveniently in our back yard. Instead, we drove up to the parking lot.

We climbed up to the Little Pinnacle, then took the trail over to the Big Pinnacle, which then circles around the base of the outcropping. We passed a few families, then found plenty of quiet. We must have walked halfway around the knob when I announced that I needed to merge with the mountain. I found a good place and settled in for some meditation. My son was off like a mountain goat, climbing up a crack and away somewhere on the pinnacle itself.

I spoke my thanks to the mountain for allowing me to visit, and offered salt, cornmeal and tobacco. I closed my eyes to better focus on the energy of the place, which was intense yet gentle. I asked the questions I had for the mountain. I drew in its healing power to renew my spirit.

Many natural places in NC feel gentle to me - I think due to their age. The mountains here are old, old old. They are rounded and low, mostly covered with trees. There is a mysterious feeling also, which has driven many of my explorations. Out west, I needed to climb the next peak, see the next vista. I was filled with awe, and often, the mountains there would push me to my limits and beyond. Here in NC, it's more about finding the next hidden treasure, like a grotto or waterfall pool. It's a sense of exploring inward, or perhaps backward in time.

At length, I sensed a presence and opened my eyes to see a large doe no more than 20 yards away. We watched each other for a timeless time, and she moved off out of my sight. A short while later, she or another doe appeared on the left side of my field of vision. I love to visit with the gentle spirits of deer. They are so watchful, so wary, so gentle and graceful, yet they can be fierce when necessary.

For a time, we could not find the trail back to the Little Pinnacle. We resolved to walk around the knob as many times as needed, until the mountain let us go. This was perfectly acceptable to me; it seemed a fitting offering, similar to using prayer beads or offering Yoga practice to the Divine.

Eventually, we made it back. I wandered over to a minor overlook and looked out over the patchwork of homes and farm fields that surround the mountain. There was a great deal of haze, no doubt due to the high humidity, which prevented me from seeing Virginia to the north, or the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west.

I spotted a hawk, and as we watched, it flew closer to us, riding the updrafts along the base of the peak. Filled with joy, I reached out my hand and made a grabbing motion toward the hawk. It's a little idiosyncrasy of mine - I do this when I want something, the way a small child would. At that moment, the hawk flew directly overhead, and froze in midair.

The hawk held its position overhead for what seemed like an eternity. Just hovering. My son and I looked at each other. The hawk hovered.

At last, the hawk moved a bit to the south. We followed and continued to watch. The hawk chose a spot facing west and hovered again. The hawk finally flew into the west and dropped out of sight.

It has taken me a full week to figure out how and what to write about my visit to the Great Guide. It was a powerful experience, and I am so grateful. Not just to the mountain, but to my son. He is so incredibly talented and powerful. I am so proud of the man he is becoming, the person that he is. The mountain sheltered and renewed us, but I may have learned as much from him as I did from the mountain. It is well. I got what I needed.

Blessed be!