| God gives food to every bird, but does not throw | | | | sweet and gentle. His soft eyes, quietlysmiling, |
| it into thenest. -Montenegrin Proverb | | | | were so penetrating I kept losing myself in his |
| "Do you hear that?" I whispered to my friend | | | | calm,accepting gaze. |
| Tobias. | | | | A reverent silence engulfed the three of us for a |
| "No, what?" he answered under his breath. | | | | very longwhile. Finally the Indian elder smiled and |
| "Drumming. The sound of soft, distant drumming." | | | | stated, "You'd liketo know the purpose for which |
| "No, but I see a faint glow over there by the cliff. | | | | we used this ceremonial circle. Isthat not right?" |
| Like asmall fire. A vague, flickering light cast | | | | We had not expected a living tour guide and |
| against the rock face." | | | | eagerly bobbed ourheads up and down to indicate |
| My friend Tobias and I love to explore old Indian | | | | "yes"-a thousand times "yes!" Henodded, took a |
| ruins in | | | | long, quiet breath and began our lesson increating |
| Arizona's desert canyons and mesas. Our favorite | | | | abundance: |
| ones are thesecluded, out-of-the-way remains not | | | | "Many, many moons ago, when the antelope ran |
| normally visited by otherpeople. These remnants | | | | free, the buffalograzed across all the land, and my |
| of a bygone civilization are quiet,dreamy and | | | | brothers and sisters lived inharmony with each |
| somewhat desolate. Many of the aged, | | | | other and Mother Earth, we would meet in |
| abandonedfortresses and homes are over a | | | | thiscircle every fall for the most important |
| thousand years old. Thesetimeworn vestiges of | | | | ceremony of the wholeyear. This most sacred, |
| ancestral life are extremely serene-andmystical. | | | | vital ritual was attended by the chiefof the tribe, |
| When Tobias and I sit and meditate within their | | | | the medicine man, the tribe elders and all ofthose |
| erodedwalls, we often see a dim, blurry campfire, | | | | who had achieved the status of a brave-the |
| or hear subtle,muffled, elusive drumming, chanting | | | | hunters of thetribe. After many days of |
| or the sound of childrenplaying. Experiencing visual | | | | purification through chanting,drumming and praying |
| and auditory glimpses of thedistant past is | | | | in our sweat lodges, we sat around thiscircle in |
| enthralling to us and serves to heighten | | | | silence and waited until the Great Spirit honored |
| ourinterest in learning more about the ancient | | | | uswith a vision. |
| ones who lived inthe American Southwest so long | | | | "Then, one by one, each brave would see and |
| ago. | | | | feel the specificanimals they would kill and bring to |
| One day, while exploring a windy, arid, remote | | | | the village as food for thetribe in the coming year. |
| mesa in the highnorthern desert of Arizona, | | | | Each animal's spirit made an agreementwith the |
| Tobias and I happened upon an | | | | warrior who would be killing the animal. For a |
| Anazazi Indian ruin with several partial dwellings | | | | periodof time, their spirits would commune in the |
| stillstanding. The crumbling abodes were awash in | | | | beauty and harmonyof their shared intention. In |
| relics of antiquity. | | | | this time-honored way, the warriorwould connect |
| Delighted to find a site that obviously hadn't | | | | with each bison, antelope and deer that he |
| received manyvisitors over the years, we | | | | wouldbe providing for the tribe. When his vision |
| dropped to our hands and knees, andsifted | | | | was complete, thebrave announced to the rest of |
| through the dirt for artifacts to help us | | | | the group what he had seen andexperienced." |
| understand thelong-departed residents. Our | | | | At this point, the Indian took a full breath and said |
| efforts were rewarded witharrowheads, pottery | | | | in a verydeliberate manner: |
| shards and corncobs preserved by the | | | | "And on this day, the entire year's food supply |
| extremedryness. In the center of this native | | | | for the tribewas created." |
| village is a large ovalpit about sixty feet wide. | | | | He stared at us closely to see if we heard his last |
| Surrounded by a wall of verycarefully fitted slate | | | | statement. |
| stones, the pit sinks approximately fivefeet into | | | | Satisfied, he continued: |
| the ground. This submerged ring of stones is | | | | "Each warrior waited until he saw, greeted and |
| called akiva by Native Americans. | | | | came to a mutualunderstanding with the spirit of |
| The structure served as a ceremonial circle for | | | | each buffalo, antelope and deerbefore announcing |
| Indian rituals. | | | | to the circle, 'I will bring so many buffalo,antelope |
| Spellbound by the aura and electricity we sensed | | | | and deer to the tribe in the coming year.' And so |
| within theceremonial pit, Tobias and I speculated | | | | itwent until, one by one, each brave met the spirit |
| about its history. As wesat on the sun-warmed | | | | of each animalthat would come to him to be killed |
| stones in the kiva, we longed to know thespecific | | | | in the next year. One by one,each warrior |
| nature and focus of the ancient rituals conducted | | | | announced the food they would provide to the |
| bythe Anazazi Indians so long ago. | | | | tribein the coming year." |
| The absolute quiet and serenity of the kiva | | | | Again, the venerable, timeworn storyteller paused. |
| reminded me of apsychology experiment I read | | | | With greatpassion, he looked directly into our |
| about in college. The researchproject revealed a | | | | eyes-first mine, then |
| fascinating quality inherent in a vacuum. | | | | Tobias'. I have never felt such a piercing gaze. His |
| Relaxing in the ominous silence of the kiva, I | | | | lookpenetrated the depths of my soul. |
| related theexperiment to my fellow explorer. | | | | Dramatically, he drew air intohis lungs. Repeating |
| Scientists set up a near vacuum in a completely | | | | his message, he declared: |
| empty room. | | | | "And on this day, the entire year's food supply |
| Installed in this vacuum-sealed room were a | | | | for the tribewas created." |
| speaker and alistening device. From outside the | | | | Once again, he waited until he sensed that the |
| room, one of the researchersspoke distinctly one | | | | import of hiswords was fully absorbed before |
| secret word, known only to him, through | | | | resuming: |
| thespeaker into the room. The chamber was then | | | | "After all the braves had proclaimed the food |
| locked and sealedfor five years. At the end of | | | | they would bringfor the coming year, the chief, |
| the five years, the scientistsreturned. From | | | | medicine man and elders wouldbless the |
| outside the room, they turned on the | | | | ceremony. All would leave the kiva knowing that |
| highlysophisticated sound sensing equipment to | | | | onthis day, the entire year's food supply for the |
| listen to whatever theycould hear from inside the | | | | tribe wascreated." |
| room. The device picked up the secretword | | | | Again, he waited, watching to see if we were fully |
| spoken into the vacuum five years earlier! The | | | | digesting hislast sentence before speaking again. |
| soundvibration of the word was still alive and | | | | He continued in a veryemphatic tone: |
| detectable within thatenvironment after five | | | | "In the winter when the warriors could not go out |
| years. | | | | huntingbecause there was a blizzard with snow |
| The kiva was almost as still and empty as I | | | | drifts twenty feet high,the chief, medicine man, |
| imagined a vacuum tobe. It was the kind of quiet | | | | elders and braves would meet again inthe kiva |
| that absorbs every sound. Even theintermittent | | | | and wait in silent, expectant meditation. Soon, |
| whistling of the wind was consumed by the | | | | fromthe wind-swept prairie and the snow-covered |
| all-prevailing silence. | | | | plateaus would comea bison, a deer or an |
| Sitting in this timeless place, we allowed the | | | | antelope. On its own, the animal wouldfind its way |
| tranquility toenvelop us. I sensed the space | | | | into the tribal encampment and then into the |
| around us had been this serenefor the last | | | | kivacircle. The creature would stand in the center |
| thousand years. That's when the notion came to | | | | of the circleuntil it recognized the brave with |
| me. | | | | whom it had made a spiritagreement. Then the |
| Was it possible that whatever happened in the | | | | animal would walk over to the warrior, standright |
| kiva a millenniumago still exists on some subtle, | | | | in front of him, and calmly allow itself to be killed |
| vibrational level, just likethe sound of the spoken | | | | in avery quick and painless way. The creature |
| word in the scientists' vacuum? And,like the word, | | | | gave itself up to thebrave, as previously agreed in |
| is that vibration accessible and perceivable now? | | | | the kiva, so that the peoplewould have food |
| What an exciting concept! I turned to Tobias to | | | | during the harsh, winter months. For, on |
| share myproposal, "Maybe we could contact | | | | thatspecial day the previous fall, the entire year's |
| whatever occurred in this kivalong ago. Perhaps | | | | food supply forthe tribe had been created." |
| even hear part of a ceremony." | | | | It wasn't until the Indian told us about the animals |
| Tobias caught my enthusiasm. Blond, blue-eyed | | | | coming intothe circle in the winter and recognizing |
| and innocent, | | | | the warriors with whomthey had an agreement |
| Tobias had the adventurous curiosity of his Norse | | | | that Tobias and I finally realized whatthe Indian |
| forebears. Hewas as anxious as I to see if such a | | | | was telling us. And at the exact moment we got |
| feat was possible. We wereflush with excitement. | | | | thepoint of the story, the old man disappeared in |
| We were on a mission to connect with thekindred | | | | front of our eyes. |
| souls who had preceded us on the planet! | | | | Not believing our vision, we scanned the kiva |
| We decided to sit quietly inside the circle and open | | | | quickly, thinkinghe must have been a very fast |
| ourselvesto sensing any vibrations remaining from | | | | escape artist. It was thirty feetto the edge of the |
| previous activities inthe kiva. The most we | | | | circle and neither of us saw him leave. Hevanished |
| expected was something along the lines ofwhat | | | | the second we understood his message! |
| we'd experienced before-a faint vision, a vague | | | | Driving back to Phoenix later that day, Tobias and |
| mumbling,or, if extremely fortunate, a hazy, | | | | I discussedour shared encounter at great length. |
| dreamlike apparition. | | | | We agreed the Indian wastelling us something far |
| After about half an hour, neither of us had picked | | | | more important than how the Hopi usedto create |
| up any soundor sighting. Then suddenly, to our | | | | food for a year. He was opening a gateway for |
| right sat a Native American | | | | us tounderstand how creation itself works. |
| Indian-in the flesh! I tentatively reached over | | | | The message Tobias and I received in the kiva |
| lightly touchinghim to make sure he was real. I | | | | was simple, yetprofound: the power to create lies |
| was taken aback by my discovery. | | | | in the Present, not in thefuture. Creation happens |
| "Yes," I nodded to Tobias, "the man is a solid, | | | | now when declared with power, heart andstrong |
| physical humanbeing. He's not a phantom!" | | | | intention. Then, that which is created in the |
| The stoic Indian sat cross-legged on the bare | | | | Presentunfolds in future time and space according |
| ground. A hundredcanyon-like lines etched his | | | | to our mutualagreements with the rest of the |
| noble, bronze face. He lookedancient, and very | | | | living beings of Mother Earth. |