Rocky Mountain High, Colorado

I have spent the last couple of weeks at the foot of the “Indian Peeks” wilderness area at a Boys and Girls Club sight call “Gates Camp”, in Ward, Colorado. Each morning I woke to witness a spectacular sunrise shimmering across a high mountain lake as the sun slowly illuminated the dramatic glacial capped peaks. I felt blessed and grateful to be immersed in such beauty and to have the health to enjoy it.

Gates Camp is designed to bring inner-city youth to commune with nature. Various ages and groups come to re-establish a relationship with the earth mother. It is run by an energetic and vibrant man named Tyler who became a good friend and confidant.

I participated in two weeks of Past Skills classes with Billy McConnell out of Bozeman Montana. Billy was one of a team of teachers for me at Tracker School and welcomed me to volunteer in supporting the running of the same two classes. I felt pulled to learn more from Bill as he impressed me as a teacher who spoke from a place of heart and vision.

We worked on skills of making shelter, purifying water, making fire, and finding food. I enjoyed the re-exposure of the skills after having tried them out for myself with Paul over the last month. I learned of an important shelter material of the high mountain area I had missed, Pine Duff. A vital and life saving shelter construction material.

I feel much more competent at making fire, traps and reaffirmed regarding some of my skills that had worked well for me.

We also reviewed the right relationship of humans to the earth. One thing that Bill said that moved me is that “We are not a mistake”. It is really our lifestyles that is mistaken. Humans are meant to live as an integral and harmonious part of the earth ecology.

I met an 18 year old young woman named Amanda who has studied with Coyote Trails for the last three years as a youth. She demonstrates such a beautiful relationship to the earth and it comes so natural for her.

Kristie is a woman a few years younger than me who touched my heart as well. She lives in southern Colorado on a ranch with a heard of horses and a pack of dogs. We found that we have a lot in common and are on a very similar pathway to learn about ourselves our relationship with survival skills. I spent an evening with Kristie and her roommate in a awesome valley at the foot of the Sangre De Christo mountains. It was such a joy to share our hearts so openly and to know that we could be safe, accepted and even honored for our experiences.

I also made a friend named Marie who is developing a community to practice ceremonies and share education around healing our relationship with the earth. Marie and I hope to do some work together in the future including helping connect the idea that the way we eat determines how we treat the earth.

I felt honored to spend this two weeks with a group of people so committed to increasing their relationship with the earth that they would suspend their lives and invest their money in becoming closer to the earth.

After leaving the camp I visited an intentional community in southern Colorado. The community was very open and welcoming. I participated in a Sweat Lodge with them. A Sweat Lodge is Native American Ceremony practiced with the purpose of spiritual cleansing, praying, and communing with the earth mother. We spent 2.5 hours sweating, chanting and praying. I shared my affinity and concern for the water that has been ignited within me as I have traveled the world and come to know the status of the world’s watersheds. This was such a powerful prayer to share in a Sweat Lodge.

The community land was amazing with seven springs filled with watercress. The group consisted mostly of Natives of the South Western lands of the US. They shared their families’ and individual struggles to reclaim the native lifestyle. I felt moved and honored to be allowed to share in and witness the commitment to reclaiming their birthright.

I hope to spend more time in Colorado someday and contribute my energy and enthusiasm for living a conscious life in harmony with the earth.

The Next Step- Making Friends with Giardia

I no longer have a camera, no cell phone, no computer. I hope to spend more time out of the Matrix than in. I am using a library computer and will do so occasionally to keep in touch.

As a result, there will be no more pictures. I have found that not having a camera helps me enjoy the moment more and not worry about having to preserve it at the time I see it. I am journalling when I have quite time and that will be my record of this part of the journey of my life.

I have traveled with Paul across the US over the last five weeks. Every day with this amazing man includes various ceremonies. Each all organic, all raw meal is an event as is each sunrise and sunset. In the middle are some of the most profound conversations I have had.

We have slept on the ground, drank from the water, walked in our bare feet and eaten what grows wild in the areas where we have spent any significant amount of time. I love traveling this way and am feeling much more connected to my role as a human in the ecology of the earth.

During our excursion into the wilderness, Paul and I intentionally brought only one gallon of water. We decided that to be part of the ecology of the wilderness, humans need to develop an immune system that can deal with natural occurring life inside of the water.

On our way up over the Continental Divide, we dug a shallow seep under a rock that was emitting moisture across the trail. We drank using dry grass straws from the seep. Once we had crossed the divide, we drank freely of the streams as they were pure glacial runoff and rain water.

We spent three nights total in the wilderness and hiked out on the fourth day due to an incoming storm that was going to bring close to freezing temperatures and a lot of rain. We have yet to master the art of a natural shelter in the Rockies that would protect us from this weather. While there was the option of a cave, the best we found was a very tight fit and would have been a miserable place to spend more than an hour.

It rained from 3:00 pm and through the night that night. We were grateful to have made the decision that we did.

The next morning we awoke to a fresh sunny day. A large meadow with a small stand of pine trees about 100 yards away was our view. We shared a beautiful breakfast when suddenly, I had an intense, immediate call from nature to empty my bowels occured.

I made a hunched over dash for the pines. My stomach, upper and lower intestine felt as though something had reached inside and twisted them to empty all contents.

While I squatted at my emergency toilet sight and moaned freely in pain (a 9 on a 1-10 scale), a humming bird came and hovered in my face. As I focused on the humming bird and less on my pain and fear, my pain reduced. I staggered away from my spot and lay myself down in the grassy meadow. I called out to Paul who came running to comfort me. “They’re here” I told him.

We made a plan of action to help my body through the process of reacquainting itself with the small protozoa. We decided to go to the local co-op and ask what herbal or natural remedies they might suggest.

Once there, various people suggested that Giardia are the nastiest of critters to deal with and that I should immediately seek medical attention. I repeatedly made the point that I was interested only in natural remedies. Finally someone suggested that I try an alternative, grapefruit seed extract. Rather than by the processed and isolated version, we bought several grapefruits. We bought coconut water  for rehydration and ginger put in our water hoping it would support my immune system. We trusted that with support, my body would be able to make an agreeable relationship with these naturally occurring critters.

We then decided to take three days at my dad’s in order to allow my system to make friends with Giardia. By the end of the day, my pain was down to a 4 on a scale of 1-10. During those three days the pain never again went above a 5. I was able to keep food in me long enough to gain the necessary nutrients. I drank a lot of water. I talked to my visitors and welcomed them to find an agreeable relationship with my body. After a week, I had no more symptoms of Giardia.

In the end, I gained a lot of things. I had a natural lower intestine cleanse. My eating style was reaffirmed!!! My thoughts profoundly affect my experience of pain and how my immune system deals with an invasion. Nature is my friend and not something I have to be afraid of. Even the humming bird wanted to take care of me.

An amazing end note is that Paul drank the same water and never showed symptoms of an invasion of Giardia. He has been eating a raw an natural diet for a year and a half.

Moving Onward

The following is a newspaper article that was written by a friend of my for the Daily Item.

Mother Natures Daughter: Joanna Castro

By Paula Cochran

For the Daily Item 

Everything she owns fit in a backpack: three pants, five shirts, two jackets, two pairs of socks, two pairs of shoes, a hat and a week’s supply of underwear. When night falls she can be found sleeping upon the Earth under a hand made shelter.  

Yet Joanna Castro’s tale is not one of woe; she has not lost all she owns to any natural or manmade disaster. Limiting her material possessions and sleeping upon the Earth is a conscious choice, one that intimately connects her to the ecology of whatever location she is in.  

There was a time when Ms. Castro lived the American Dream; she had a master’s degree, a good job, a choice property and a dog. “Somehow it wasn’t enough,” she said “I found myself feeling like a parasite on the Earth. I would take, take, take and had nothing to give back.” Despite the influence of growing up in a “back to the land” household and her desire to live an eco-friendly life, she felt “surrounded by the influence of American culture,” a culture too often consumed with work, money, consumption and waste.  

In her search for something more she embarked on a trip around the world to explore other ways of approaching life. Funded by her savings, the trip has taken her to Hawaii, England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Dominican and Guatemala. In each location she exchanged work on an organic farm, community or commune in exchange for room and board, immersing herself in the local cultural and ecological community. All of the locations offered experience and education in eco-friendly living and peaceful resolution. “Each destination has been a unique experience and I have gained something different from each of them.” Ms. Castro said.

In the end Ms. Castro found “that there is another reality from the work-a-day-plan-for-retirement-prove-your-worth reality that I have been socialized to believe. I know that happiness is really the meaning of life. I am not going to find it outside of myself, but only by embracing the fact that it already exists within me.”

The journey will continue here in the United States where Ms. Castro “envisions deepening my relationship with my environment and living more harmouniously with my ecology.” But this time Ms. Castro will not be traveling alone. In New Zealand Ms. Castro met Paul Blake who was attending a class in the community where Ms. Castro was staying. “We had a strong connection and are now committed to supporting each others evolution,” Ms. Castor said. The trip is a “sabattical into connecting with ecology, to find a truly natural landscape, and immerse ourselves in our natural surroundings,” Ms. Castro said.

From the road Ms. Castro writes, “Paul and I are heading into the wilderness. We plan to practice and become proficient at our wilderness living skills of shelter building, friction fire making, purifying water, and collecting wild food. Life is good, and I am feeling very passionate about establishing the most intimate relationship possible with the earth of the area. I walk barefoot to feel her pulse, drink the water to share in her blood, eat the food to gather her strength and sleep on the ground that we may know each other’s energy.”  

Kristen Markley, owner of Sweet Miriam’s Farm in Beavertown, and longtime friend of Ms. Castro said, “I find her simple lifestyle and adventures really positive and refreshing. I see her as stripping away at the superficialities of our society. She’s getting rid of all belongings she finds unnecessary and is able to fit all of her stuff into the trunk of her car. She is eating this very simple, pure raw food diet based on the foods grown and produced locally. I think that simplifying one’s life strips away at the unnecessary stress we tend to put ourselves through and helps you get closer to the core of your existence. I see Joanna as having an adventure in discovering the truth about life and herself. It’s really beautiful.”

Ms. Castro no longer feels like a parasite on the Earth. She has learned that following her heart and being aware of her relationship to the earth makes her happy, “and when we’re happy we spread happiness,” Ms. Castro said, “I have found that, for me, the only way to create sustainability with personal integrity is to reduce my impact on the earth through making my own food, using my purchase power to buy local and organic food and to buy products that are made with a conscious effort that when they are no longer being used they feed the earth rather than pollute it.”

Water in Dominica

One of the things that I have realized I feel very connected and attracted to during my journey is water. I have enjoyed swimming in every country and drinking the water (except Guatemala) and have felt a beautiful affinity.

Dominica has some wonderous and amazing fresh water areas due to it’s extremely mountainous terrain.

This is a waterfall that very few people knew about. It took an hour and a half steep down hill trecking and 2 hours uphill trecking from where I worked on the garden. I visited it several times during my stay and felt loved and cleansed. I also felt the effect of such climing on my legs.

This is a water fall that had no apparent tract to it but I had a private guide. The pool at the bottom made a precious swimming hole.

These hot pools were in the same area, led by my volunteer guide who loved taking the pictures. He was a handy person to have around!! 

Dominica was a rugged and wild land with pure water sources that called to my wild side. I do hope to make it back there, but I will need to find a way to do it that is consistent with my respect for mother earth and minimizing my impact.

I have been blessed with this journey and am ready to step into a new one with the added experience and knowing of the earth and a deepening of my relationship with her.

I will send a summary blog at the end of September. Until then I am traveling the US trying to find the most wild places possible. I have stripped down my belongings to one box and am ridding myself of anything that stands between me and a pure connection with the earth. This is the next step of my journey. May you have a joyous journey of your own that brings peace and happiness to share with all those around you.

Gardening in the Caribbean

After having spent 4 weeks in the tortured land of Guatemala, Dominica was a welcome change. Dominica is a small island between Antigua and Martinique in the East Caribbean Sea. It is a third world under it’s own governance. The government has hopes of converting all growing practices to being organic with in the next ten years. 

This small island has been the subject of many of battle between the French and English. Plantations of cotton, coconut, and bananas were started on the island during the European rule. As a result much of the population are descendants of the slaves that were brought over to work the land.

The Europeans seemed to have given up hope of the land being profitable due to extreme weather hazards and a very steep and volcanically active terrain.

This was the view from my tent where I gardened. The land was very steep, windy, rainy and wild. The climate was warm and the flora beautiful.  My calves grew in size and strenght every day I worked on the garden due climbing the elevation changes in the garden plot.

I stayed with a woman named Judy who is from England. Her son and a friend from Scotland live on the land with her. They are working to build a earth bag home for Judy.

The idea of an Earth Bag home is that it is resistant to extreme climate occurrences such as hurricanes and tornadoes. It is also supposed to be able to handle earthquakes. Judy hopes to be prepared to deal with whatever challenges come her way.

Gardening in the tropics gave me the chance to rethink what I believed myself to know about gardening. Seed life, soil conditions, planting seasons, crop rotation, and permaculture all take on a different flavor in the tropics. I am grateful for the opportunity to know the challenges and the potential beauty of living with tropical land and hope to give it a try some day.

Sacred moments in Guatemala

One day I saw this man in his uniform. I have grown rather fond of the Scouts in the US as I see them as an attempt to help children reconnect with the forest and the earth in a loving, care taking way. I was excited to see that scouts existed in Guatemala and made a connection with him through our mutual love for nature.

We chated and set up a 5 hour day to share techniques. In the picture above we are practicing making rope out of yucca.

Here the scouts are learning to make friction fire using a dow drill.

We also tied knots together and we shared our committment to being part of the ecology of the earth.

During our time together, the leader suprised me with an induction ceremony. He asked me if I was willing to commit to service to others and care of the earth and to always be ready “Siempre Listos”. To these things I vow. I am now a member of the world organization of Scouts. What an exciting honor. I was truely moved.

Another amazing a special experience was working with the children at the Maya Specialist school. At this school the children learn Katchikel as well as Spanish and English. They learn how to use the Maya chart in order to make sums, subrtractions, divisions and multiplications. Children in the first grade had the ability to mark four digit numbers with a basic understanding of the meaning of such a number.

These children were taught using all the modalities of auditory, visual and sensory stimulation. They did not just talk about concepts, they participated in making them happen.

We participated in the web of life together and also harvest some of our own food. I knew that these children had a different understanding of their connection to the earth when one of the kids asked me if it hurt the plant when I harvested a sunflower head. I was honest and shared that I did not know but that it is possible that it does. As such we talked about the importance of our intention when we work with the  earth and harvest our food.

I had one of the greatest pleasures of my life when I planted trees with this group. Frist we planted six trees in the school yard. We talked about how much the trees would enjoy the children’s laughter and how much the children would enjoy the tree’s shade. 

Then I went with this school of children to plant pine trees on some land that had previously been planted with corn. Each time that the children and I planted a tree together, we would thank it for all the health and vitality it would bring to the ecology. We thanked it on behalf of the squirels, the birds, the soil and humans. We gave it our best wishes for a long and prosperous life.

I imagine that planting trees with children from a land that is currently struggling to maintain rainforest is one of the best opportunities a person can have. I am so grateful for this experience!! I don’t know if it balances out my jet fuel debt sort of speak, but I hope it makes a differnce for these children, their future ecology, their future choices, and those of their childen. Truely what seems to be needed to improve the earth’s well-being and that of all her residence is: a hightened awareness, a shift in counsciousness, and a change of heart. These children have a great chance of all those things happening for them.

Fun in Guatemala

As often as possible, I escaped from the daunting task of dealing with the level of pollution in Guatemala.

On one occasion, I took a group of 8 girls through the woods in the hills above the town to explore.

They showed me which mushrooms in the woods were edible.

We found some caves that people had escavated in order to use the pumice sand in construction. The layer of ash and volcanic stone of the region makes for rich soil and varied resources for creating natural shelters.

I made a trip to the town of Antigua with another volunteer. We did not plan the color theme or our clothing, it certainly worked out thematically.

The town is artsy with a colonial feel and tourist friendly.

While I was in Comalapa there was a week long celebration for the saint of the town. This was an opportunity to have cultural dances

These are men dressed up with ugly masks. I was not able to get the local Guatemalans next to me to explain the significance of this other than silliness and fun.

This boy is demonstrating a dance from the Maya culture in the traditional dress of the men before the civil war started.

 

There was also the types of US fair attractions including a lot of junk food and amusement rides. A ride on a Guatemalan Farris Wheel is definitely a risky adventure.

The other volunteers at the project were also from the states. They found their own ways of trying to keep themselves anesthetized from the daily assault of the environment. My favorite was the singing.

Cat has a beautiful voice and can play a lot of fun tunes. She has a great laugh and an uplifting spirit.

Patrick and I worked together a lot of the time in going to the schools. He was a great person to support me in playing with the kids.

Ben was a great accompaniment for our music nights.

I had been warned many times that women should not travel alone. This was my escort on a couple of wooded outings. Though he appears quite drunk here, we was a sober friend who was able to discuss topics close to my heart.

Tela de la Vida

Joanna Macy (good name) writes about deep ecology and ecopsychology. I read her book “Council of All Beings”. After being in Guatemala for a couple of days, I felt moved to use an adaptation of the exercises in her book to interact with children in surrounding schools to highten awareness of their relationship and role in the natural world.

I called the dynamic-interactive workshop “Tela de la Vida” The workshop took about an hour and was applicable for people of all ages.

The idea of the workshop is to help children have a felt knowing of what it means to be a part of the ecology of the earth. Each person in the workshop chose an element of nature to represent and to speak from the perspective of that element of nature.

For example, I might be an earth worm. I would hold a sign that said “Earth Worm”. I would take an end of a ball of yarn and speak for the earth worm perspective. I would say “I am an earthworm. I live under the soil. I create tunnels and help digest micro nutirents so that the palnt roots can access them. When chemical fertilizers are applied to the soil, I die. The plants and soil are hurt by my death.”

The children were asked to take ten minutes to think about their creature and to imagine what it would be like to be that creature. What would they  need to survive? What would help them? What would hurt them?

After the child had time to think about this, an adult coach would support them in exploring their role.

One by one, each child would talk about their natural element. I would hand them an end of the ball of yarn and thank them for the vital role they play in keeping the earth in balance. As the yarn was passed from person to person standing in a circle, a web would be formed.

Once the web was formed, I had other adults play the role of a disrupting factor to the delicate balance of the web. I had an adult come in and unconsciously throw garbage around. Then we all talked about who would be effected by this uncounsious human action. One by one, if the element the child represented was effected, the child would let go of their peice of yarn and sit down. As we traced the full effect of harmful actions, every child would feel the impact of sitting down and the distruction of the web.

Throughout the workshop, we talked about the role of humans in nature as being the caregiver, garudian and custodian. At the end of the workshop we identified four things the children could do to help the web of life be stable.

These girls are doing their part by looking for any garbage that may have blown into the woods to be put in it’s proper place. 

Before I left Guatemala, I had the opportunity to train a young man named Cesar on how to conduct the workshop. Together, we made any adaptations that might make the workshop more culturally appropriate. Cesar is committed to ecology and to being a leader in helping Guatemala regain a more healthy relationship with the Earth. He was delighted to carry on with the workshop.

The Challenges of Guatemala

To sum up my experience in Guatemala, I have to say, it was a challenge.

The country is mountainous with multiple water sources and a pleasing climate. The people feel full of beautiful shades of depth, and flavors of character. During my time there I had the pleasure of working with children from the community and surrounding area of San Juan Comalapa.

Guatemala has some very powerful forces that have impacted her land and people. There was an internal attack on the native Maya people by the colonial oppressors of Spain from 1960-1996. The Mayan were strong and determined and escaped to the mountainous terrain to survive.

Though the official attack and explicit policies of subjugating and murduring native people was stopped by a “Peace Treaty” in 1996, the oppression of the Mayan people continues.

Related to this oppression is the toxic effect of the Western culture on the native people of Guatemala. The air, water, and soil of her land are all at toxic levels as a result of the infiltration of the “white world”.

There is no emmission control for vehicles in Guatemala. Since the natives have been subjected to the “progress” of the “western civilization” bussess, delivery vehicles and cars frequent the highways leaving clouds of CO2 in their wake. Additionally, every sun rise and sun set the air is filled with the wood smoke of thousands of fires to heat, cooks, and reheat tortillas and beans. Each night I went to bed with a soar throat. Fortunately, I could heal during the night but would have to go through the same process each morning.

Less than 50 years ago, the native people would trade all of their food goods at market wrapped in plantain (our a related type) of leaf. Now the markets are flooded with plastic bags. Because the product is not of the culture, there is a lack of awareness of it’s toxic effects. Water ways are litterally choaked with pastic bags from corn chips, grocery bags and soda bottles.

Chemical companies such as Mansanto and DuPont are active in Guatemala. They sell fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to the farmers. I found chemicals being used and sold that have been banned by the US due to their known leathal effects.

Guatemalan farmers, desperate to make a living from the land, apply these chemicals to their corn and other crops to force increased production. Again, due to the mismatch of the clutures, the farmers are not aware of the damage making this choice has on their family and land. As a result the land and her food are quite toxic.

The soil has been over worked, stripped of natural micro nutirents and vital microbial life forms and erroded. Food quality is quite poor.

In addition, when the rainy season comes and there is a daily downpoor, these chemicals are washed from the soil into the water. Many people drink straight for the various water sources, not having the option of purchasing bottled water. The bottled water, much like that in the US has been treated with other chemicals and stripped of it’s inherent vitality.

I feel profoundly saddened by the conditions of the land and people of Guatemala. I cry for the water, the soil, the air. Though such an attmosphere is not at all condusive to holisitc health, I was fortunate to find joy and beauty in such a harsh environment by working with the children.

 The history and current condition of many central and south american countries are very simular to that of Guatemala. Do me a favor and when you send out blessings, please include, “Bless all of the Americas”. While you are at it, how about “Bless us all, every one.” 

Findhorn Foundation

The Findhorn Foundation “The Findhorn Foundation is the educational and organisational cornerstone of the Findhorn Community, and its work is based on the values of planetary service, co-creation with nature and attunement to the divinity within all beings. We believe that humanity is engaged in an evolutionary expansion of consciousness, and seek to develop new ways of living infused with spiritual values. We have no formal creed or doctrine. We recognise and honour all the world’s major religions as the many paths to knowing our own inner divinity.” (from the web site www.findhorn.org)

Findhorn foundation offers skill building sessions to communities and villages to help them develop in a harmonious way. They are responsible for much of the training around non-violent communication, experiential games and GEN (global eco-village network). The Findhorn Community claims that they have been able to reduce their ecological footprint to half that of the rest of the UK. Four windmills generate the electricity for the Park.

 I visited Findhorn via the Experience Week. There were 15 of us that stayed at the Cluny Hill College campus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our week we learned how to use non-violent communication skills with one another. We used experiential games that helped us to connect with one another on a profound level. By the time we left there. we knew each other on a genuine and intimate level.

We had the opportunity to visit the original site of the Findhorn Community called “The Park”. The founders started there in 19– while it was a caravan or camper park. After making a loving connection with nature and growing amazing vegetables, the community grew until it had to expand it’s boundaries to accommodate over 500 people.

Above is the communal dining area at the Park.

On the right is some of the original caravans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Below is my favorite space which I lovingly called the Hobbit house. Officially, it is known as the Nature Sanctuary.

Our focalizers were talented and sensitive people who were very keen to provide a living example of non-violent communication.

Yern and Catherine took us on a couple of field trips to show us more of the beauty of the land.

Scotsman at Findhorn River.

 This castle is called New Hope and is a new and developing community near Forres Scotland. It is at the forming stages and is using Findhorn Community as it’s blue print. The gardens out back are beautiful and unique.

The only draw back of my visit to Scotland is that it was too short due to the cost. I would be happy to spend more time there and learn more from the community when I can find a way to do it. But it won’t be in the winter, they only get 5 hours of sunlight then!!!