When we first approached camp, Jon pointed out to us a trail known as the Ye’ ibicheii trail.  We all looked at each other and my first thought was, “You have got to be kidding.”      Jon, as though he could read my mind began to share the teachings of his people.

“Some may look at the trail and think, there is no way I could ever attempt that trail.  It is similar to someone who looks at a very thick book.  You might think, that is just too much for me to read.  Someone else may think, there is so much knowledge in that book for me to learn”.  It is all the perspective in how we approach anything.

He had quietly shared with Guy and I, that even though we had one plan to go into the Canyon del Muerto, which was the male energy of the canyon, and Dog Rock, the place of spiritual learning, he thought we should take the Ye’ibicheii trail the next morning instead.  He was  concerned we may find our legs were weary and we would not be able to make this hike the next day.  I knew he was our guide on so many levels so I told him I would put this to a vote and allow each person to decide what they felt was best, and each person could decide if they wanted to make this journey.


We all agreed to do this hike the next morning, but again had no idea what lay before us.  The entire family of Jon and Lupita would make this hike together with us.  There would be helping hands for those who needed the support and we would encourage each other along the way.  For two of the women this was the ultimate test, but both felt they were able to make this challenge.  I stood on the earth mother and looked up.  Although I am not afraid of heights, I prayed for the strength to make it up this rock face to the top.  Once I started, I found I could not stop. I needed to keep going and as the young guide stepped back to help one of our family behind me,  I suddenly found myself in the lead.  At one point the guide looked up and shouted, “Go to your right!”  I rolled my eyes and thought, “again spirit, really?”…. there was no support at this point of the climb, nothing to hold on to, just putting one foot before the other.  I thought back to my initial challenge the year before on the cliff of the Maori Pa in New Zealand and the realization then if I could do that, I could certainly do this.  I took a deep breath, looked down at my Jack Wolf hiking boots, securely fastened to my feet, stared at the wolf paw on the side of the boot and asked to connect to the spirit of the wolf.  I stepped to the right, knowing I was walking in the footsteps of the ancestors and never looked back.

It was clear this was going to be a Shaman’s initation for all of us.  Dion and Daniel seemed to scurry up the rock face like little mountain goats. Oh to be ten I thought to myself!  When I reached the top, Dion ran to give me a hug.  What a healing hug it was.  Such a beautiful spirit lived within that boy.  He would hug each person and immediately your heart was full of light, when you looked into his eyes there was such wisdom looking into your soul.  Daniel held the presence of a  gentle warrior.  He would quietly watch each of us, always holding a strong presence for one so young. I had walked the path of beauty with this one in another time and another place.  I longed to remember.


I felt secure in my footing but knew I needed to pace myself.  One by one we would hold each other’s hand and one by one we each made it to the top.  Some released deep seeded emotion as they moved through lifetimes of fear.  I was just grateful I had made it to the top and could rest in the shade.  My heart was pounding and I was definitely feeling alive.

At the top we all rejoiced and celebrated the victory each of us had made.  It was true, when one of us succeeds in stepping beyond our fears, we all rejoice together.  We took a break and embraced the beauty all around us.  Again the crows came and their shadow was visible on the rock face. The crow and raven picks its students according to their accumulated wisdom. It flies into a persons life carrying the energy of magick and healing. If it decides to settle in and take up residence, it will stay as long as necessary to aid you in transmuting your karma then return you to the light. It will push, prod, and lead you into the discovery of your multidimensional self and reunite you with the secrets of the multidimensional universe.  For some reason I thought back to my first experience in Bali in 1998, when I had met a very special man who had said to me,  “In order for you to understand magick and the light you carry, you must first understand the shadow”.  Another message that we were in a time of having to fully embrace the shadow where our fears and pains of the past lay.  This had to be touched with the light in order for us to be the vessels of love and the guiding light for others we were all destined to be.  The ancestors had called us home to find ourselves once again.

At the top of the trail was the birthing place and Lupita began to share with us many stories of what had taken place in this very sacred place.  The story she shared that touched my heart the most was that when a child is born, it does not belong to us until that child is one year old.  We are merely the guardians of a child of the universe.  I thought about my 8-month-old grand daughter who was now in the hospital and that she was a child of the universe as we all were.


That night as we sat around the campfire we shared our experiences.  My husband had asked Lupita if together, their family and ours could do a prayer for our grand daughter, daughter and the father of this precious little girl to give them strength and healing.  Lupita prepared the sacred fire gifting each of us with the holy herbs that we would place in the fire that night making our prayer.  As I stood before the fire I finally broke down, I just could not hold back the tears any longer.  It was not just our grand daughter I was praying for I was praying for the universal child within all of us.  Our world had become diseased and was in great pain and need of healing.  Many were lost and afraid.  I was feeling the pain and loss of so many, those who had lost hope and were blinded.  This is why the canyon and Spider Woman had called.  Each of us prayed, I don’t think I had ever prayed as hard as I was praying tonight. Lupita, as the medicine woman and keeper of the sacred lore of the plant people brought us the gift of strength and healing.    After I released the tears I knew in my heart that our grand daughter would be healed, I also knew the broken part of the web would be healed but it would take all of us coming together and sharing our medicine with the plant beings, the stone beings, the animals allies, the sacred waters, the sky people and all beings to ensure this healing.

I went to sleep that night knowing tomorrow would be a powerful day but there was nothing that could have prepared me or anyone else for what we would experience the next morning.

Join me tomorrow as I share the story of the greatest gift offered to the world of human.  Life, death and rebirth of a new dream.

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