A Sacred Cave at the Center of the Universe Inspires Writer

It was a crisp November day when the allure of a local mountain could be contained no longer. Loading up the truck as the sun hinted at it’s arrival, my friend, Liz and I had no idea how this one day would change our lives forever.

Having both been trained in the traditional Cherokee way of Walking the Land, we searched for clues from what we discovered on our two-hour drive to our destination. We traveled only 5 miles from the ranch when the first sighting of a red tail hawk made us smile in anticipation. Soon, there was excited responses from both of us, there’s another hawk, and another.  Some were perched on telephone poles, some on saguaro cactus and some were standing by the road, like children on Memorial Day, lined up to watch the parade as it moved through town. Obviously our ‘float’ was getting a lot of attention and we giggled at the excitement that it generated in our hearts. We counted over 50 hawks on our way to the mountain.

The hawks spoke to us at a primal level about soaring to new levels and a strong energy intensity was magnified by their numbers and postures of applauding our arrival. We also felt that by them appearing in such numbers that we would be safe on this trip as they are strong guardians and eagerly looked forward to potential visionary aspects of this journey. Their presence was a welcome sign that we were where we were supposed to be.

Arriving at our destination in a parking area at the base of a mountain that the local indigenous people recognize as the Center of the Universe, we trembled in anticipation of what the day might bring.   As we prepared our backpacks, we looked up at the towering thumb butte and trembled unsure of which direction to go.   There was no trailhead, but we were both being pulled in the same direction.  We headed off and bushwhacked for a while before finding ourselves on a well-used animal trail which we were drawn to follow.  Slowly the trail started to climb upward through dried fall brush, grasses and shrubs.  I was searching for a place to do a ceremony to offer gifts, to introduce myself to the Mountain Guardian and to ask questions about our trip up this mountain that carried lots of cultural history and lore. Rounding a bend, we found the perfect spot where the trail meandered beneath two mesquite trees and large boulders on each side.

We stripped ourselves of our packs, took a drink, grabbed some blue cornmeal and began our ceremony.  Afterwards, we sat quietly in the shade and closed our eyes, welcoming the mountain guardian to us to help us understand our mission.  Although deep on a journey to connect with the Apu and the Guardian, a loud buzzing in my ear, followed by an insect, of some size, kept dancing around my face and landing on my arm.  I knew that this was a test.  With eyes closed, I continued speaking to the guardian while sending love and light to the insect that obviously wanted attention.  After my journey, I opened my eyes to find the strangest wasp in translucent red colors sitting on my backpack.  “Hello, there,” I said, “what is your name?” The response from the winged one came quickly, with him stating his name and what he could do for me.  I smiled, glad to have a navigator on the team. I studied him closely, noting that I had never seen a wasp like this ever before and that wasps shouldn’t even be out this time of year.  Clues like this are important in Walking the Land, as a clear indication that you may have crossed a veil into another dimension.  Ever since this day, my buzzing friend shows up on all of my journeys, even in the middle of winter, guiding me on my way and I always welcome and honor his companionship.  Liz had a lovely yellow butterfly that came to her that is now a new guide for her.  This butterfly often shows up in my life when Liz and I are far apart and need to connect.

Liz and I shared our journeys, then reloaded the packs and started up the trail.  The guardian had told me that we would be safe and that we were very welcome to be on the mountain, actually our arrival excited the mountain spirits.  Soon the trail began to narrow and we found ourselves in a small shaded canyon between enormous boulders. As the trail opened upon the other side, we stopped, for there in the center of the trail was a large, grey/purple rock half in and half out of the ground, it had a band of quartz crystal running up over the top of it, which looked just like a snake, slithering up the mountain. We honored snake rock with some more cornmeal and proceeded up the trail for a few steps and then stopped in our tracks.

Within those few steps, our reality had changed.  No longer were we in a world of late fall dried grasses and leafless foliage, but rather we had entered Oz.  A place where the flora was green and lush, bright red and yellow flowers dotted the landscape.  The sky was the deepest, brightest blue that you have ever seen and each of the sun’s rays beamed down with clarity.  OMG, what was happening.  We were awestruck, to say the least as we continued up the mountain gawking at each flower, at the large birds dancing overhead and the crispness and clarity of our new environment. At one part in the trail we saw the most amazing saguaro cactus.  It’s arms twisted this way and that and on it’s main trunk there was a rectangular carved out box… we call it the mailbox.

We trekked upward for another thirty minutes before rounding another large boulder that led us to a sandy terrace on the side of the mountain. At the end of the ‘terrace’ was a nice mesquite tree where we planted ourselves in its shade and drank in the beauty of the mountain and the valleys below.  Turning, we studied the sheer wall of the mountain that was at the back of the terrace and discovered within the shadows, nooks and cracks that there were several images in the rock.  There was a bear paw, a hawk and a peccary which changed into a jaguar when you shifted your vantage point.  Just below the jaguar’s mouth, there was an opening – there was the entrance to the cave that we had heard so much about.

After much excitement about finding the cave, we returned to a state of humbleness and humility and made offerings at the opening and asked permission to enter, which was granted.  We saged one another and then both eyed the opening, curious as to the best way to get through it as it was only about twenty inches tall and at the widest part about ten inches across shaped like an elongated triangle.  I went through first and as my body filled the opening, all light was blocked so I had no idea where I would fall on the other side.  I shimmied, wiggled, twisted and finally dropped inside on the cave floor.  The soft, sensuous smell of smoke, sage, earth and sweetgrass filled my nostrils.  Immediately, I knew that I had been here before, not in this lifetime, but sometime long ago when the world was a simpler place.

Liz jammed our packs though the opening and then slithered in behind me.  Standing in the cave, allowing our eyes to adjust to the dim light we were both aghast of what lay before us.  The cave was about forty feet deep by twenty feet wide and the ceiling was a good twelve feet high.  Along both the east and west walls, walking sticks of all shapes, designs and sizes were lined up. There were gifts of pottery, baskets, statues, stones and feathers laying on the ground along the walls and hanging on protrusions and out of crevices were pictures, necklaces and gifts of all sorts that had been left here for this tribe’s creator who they believe lives in this cave.

I placed specific gifts in the four directions and then sat by the stone circle in the middle of the cave, lit some sage and watched as the smoke wafted upward through an opening in the ceiling.

Taking three deep breathes in through my nose and out through my eyes, I lay back on the cool ground and emptied my mind.  Moments later, magic poured in.  Both the creator and the Mountain Apu came up through the floor, passed through my body and hovered above me pouring love and light all over me.  I was told that it was time for me to step up, to quit playing in my safe realm and that I was to convey their message to the world.  “And just how would you like me to do this?” I asked. The response was quick and precise, “you will write a magical story for the youth of the world and for the adults who still connect with their inner child.  The story will entertain them, but it will also cause them to re-member what is truly important – taking care of their brother and sisters, all creatures and Mother Earth.” I became excited, then they said, “you will name this first book, Sage Stone – The Magic Between the Worlds, and we will help you write it.”  First book, I thought, how many books will there be? “There will be many,” they laughed, then thanked me for coming and then they were gone, but not before giving me the gift of a healing.

I lay on the floor of the cave for a long time until the sound of drumming and several women singing stirred me.  As I sat up, I looked across the cave at Liz who was also sitting up, she said she had heard the singing and saw them dancing around me.  I stood up and asked no one in particular if they would like me to drum for them, and whether I should drum inside or outside, I was asked to drum outside so that all of the creatures, far and wide, could enjoy it.  Liz lay back down on the floor as I wiggled my way out of the opening and back into the sunlight on the terrace.

I gathered the ancient Tibetan shaman’s drum from my pack and faced the great wall of the mountain and waited, for the drum knew what to do and when.  It wasn’t long before the drum began to speak, shouting its voice across the mountains and the valleys below, healing all who heard him sing.

After the drum was done, I sat under the Mesquite tree waiting for Liz to finish inside the cave.  As I stared unfocused at the cave opening I reflected upon the events of the day, thus far.  Clearly, I was shown the two mesquites on either side of the trail just before we did our first ceremony.  They too, were guardians of this land and they created the first veil that we walked through. I made a mental note to offer them a gift and thank them on our way back down.  Then, I was shown snake rock which was obviously another opening, actually there were two veils there, one before snake rock and one just after when our world turned into an illuminescent wonderland.  As I continued to look at the cave opening, I saw it. The mouth of the cave that we had struggled through, shifting to get our shoulders and then our hips through was actually a birth canal into Mother Earth and another realm in and of itself.   I giggled as I saw Liz’s face appear through the cave opening. I watched her twist and turn her body to accommodate her rebirth into this world and laughed out loud.

Walking the Land, is one of my most favorite things in the world to do.  There is magic all around us, if we just take the time to open our eyes and our hearts so that it can reveal itself to us.  I will continue to share what inspired different parts of Sage Stone – The Magic Between the Worlds with you as well as other wonderful and fun journeys that I have taken.

Please, never ask me to tell you where this mountain or cave is, for I will NEVER tell.  It is a sacred place for a people that I honor and respect and thus will keep their sacred secrets to myself.

Aho!

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