Picture: Nature’s Living Cathedral, Palm Canyon
Wordlessly a command came to all four in our wandering group, sit here and meditate. Rick, Judy, Carla and I all find repose in a copse of California Fan Palm Trees; a cool respite from a warm sun-baked day. I am spontaneously drawn within, the body and surroundings fade from consciousness as peace envelopes my receptive soul.
This place, Palm Canyon, had been a Native American habitat for many hundreds, perhaps thousands of years; an oasis in the midst of a harsh desert environment. There are places in nature that have pure powerful uplifting currents systemic to their nature. Other places have been the haunts of saints and realized beings that take on their vibration, and that feeling remains. Then there are places that are a combination of both, natural temples that are supported by holy men and women who find it conducive being in a salubrious environment, and making it even more so through their own uplifted states of minds.
An Agua Caliente Cahuilla (Kaw-we-ah) woman had talked about picking up a stone, and the thought that one of her ancestors could have picked up that same stone hundreds of years ago denoted to her an unbroken continuity of time and spirit. To have such a feeling for a place, connecting you with tribe, ancestors, and unity of spirit is a long step towards experiencing the unifying Spirit that ties individual consciousness to the Supreme Consciousness of Omnipresence and Omniscience.
The wind is now whispering to us as it blows through the Fan Palm leaves. We are caressed and held in the sacred feeling of this place. Mother Hamilton came right here in 1958 and also experienced its extraordinary nature. Thus, even as the Cahuilla woman felt her commonality with ancestors when picking up a rock, we experience it too in Mother’s spirit seeping into the peace and tranquility we feel; spanning the decades and making us feel her near. While God is known to be equally present everywhere in His creation, He seems to be more “equally present” in some places than others!
In contrast to this uplifting vibrancy there are definitely places that hold a negative, dark, even evil vibration as well. One day I took a walk in a park that had been a monastery. An outdoor temple was carved in a nook. As I approached the rustic altar, available to the public, I felt a dark, evil wall of energy. Definite thought impressions: this altar had been used earlier for black magic ceremonies, and its residue left an ugly aura behind; immature souls looking to bolster sagging egos.
And now, what a blessing it is to be here, in this sacred place, giving and receiving holy breath; a living cathedral. As we evolve as a race of mankind it is ennobling to think of raising this planet’s consciousness into the highest realms of Spirit; a heaven in and on earth. We begin with our homes, then places we go, both in nature and in the busy marts of man. However, for me, today, there is no better birthday present than to be here in this place of pilgrimage, with Mother and now with all of you in this home of deepest shanti-peace.