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