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After watching the final Sacred Plant documentary series that focuses on our military service men and women, I became very angry!  As individual humans we tolerate abuse and exploitation by the hand of others until we reach a breaking point, then we snap!  Bullying is a form of control we learn in our early childhood development that than transforms into something for more sinister and dangerous as we become adults. Corporate industrial institutions are essentially comprised of individual human beings creating stuff and/or services for you and me, the consumer.  Unfortunately, some industries or institutions have become monolithic economic, political or religious bullies.  Being a United States Army Retired Veteran, I’m all too aware of the debilitating effects traumatic experiences can have on a person and is called, PTSD or (Post traumatic Stress Disorder).  It’s not just happening to our Military Service members, it’s happening to us all.  We’re experiencing a catastrophic mental and physical health epidemic on a global scale, resulting in increased violence, mass shootings, depression, anxiety, suicide and the list goes on and on.  The standard treatment has been countless types of therapies, counseling and heavy doses of medications resulting in numerous devastating mental and physical side effects with very little in the form of healing and sustainable integration back into society.  What if there was another way of treating these illnesses?  What if there is a safer, more effective treatment that is being silenced by the powerful pharmaceutical industry out of fear of losing profits from their dangerous medications?  I’m not demonizing nor down-playing the miraculous results and cures we experience daily from clinically designed and engineered pharmaceuticals.  I only ask, does it not benefit “All” when free choice is an option?  Would you like to have the choice of a Natural healing path woven within the miraculous modern-day inventions we humans have conceived, researched and developed?  After watching countless testimonials from scientists, doctors, and everyday people that are witness too and/or experiencing miraculous results from the Sacred Plant, I became inspired to share my thoughts around this controversial subject.  And then for X-mas, Josie purchased us a book called, “How to Change Your Mind, What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence”, by Michael Pollan. And so, I placed my anger temporarily on the back burner allowing it to simmer, while I devoured this amazing scientific and insightful information.  After my retirement from the US Army in 2003, my mind was changed, or what I often refer to as (blown away), while sitting in Nature.  And now I was reading scientifically how this might possibly have happened to me, but without the use of mushrooms or any other Psychedelic substances.  Instead of a psychedelic trip, I’ve had and continue to have extreme serendipitous trips, mixed with some pretty strange physical and psychological phenomenon.  While this book may not answer all the questions as to the hell is happening to us, it does offer some scientific possibilities.  Within the pages of Michael’s book are passionate, extremely intelligent people, often atheists, in pursuit of answers and understandings of how our minds work and whom inadvertently connect with the source we collectively call Love, while fearlessly embracing the unknown.   Whether you’re currently on, or just contemplating joining our G.A.S. Adventure, I highly recommend this read!  It could possibly change your mind, or perhaps at the very least, crack it open and allow a little light to shine on this dark and mysterious thing we call, the brain. x>

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while or read one of my books, then my latest Dolphin story will not come as a shock to you.  Instead, my hope is that it confirms what you yourself have been witness.  That Nature is speaking to us all the time and if we are willing and capable of listening, then perhaps there is still time.  Time for us to make different choices in life, ones that can help ourselves heal.  If we are to heal the environment, we must first learn to heal ourselves!  How do we do that you may be asking.  Perhaps we’re being told but refuse to listen.  The reason we often fail to hear the truth is because of fear.  Fear of what we’ve been told by those we trust.  What if the information we’re being told by those we trust is wrong?  What if there is a solution, another way to treat the medical epidemics that are currently plaguing our very existence as a species?  Would you be open to having a G.A.S conversation about it?  My mission in life is to be the voice of Nature, and so on behalf of the plant nation, I ask that you open your mind and heart while watching The Sacred Plant series.  We are currently camped a stone’s toss from the ocean at Magnolia Beach in South Texas.  This morning at the exact moment I contemplated the question as to whether to share The Sacred Plant document series with you in my blog, I witnessed a large swirl in the water approximately thirty feet from our windshield.  “Look, a Dolphin”, I said to Josie.  We sat in the comfort of our Rosie and watched as this beautiful creature chased what I’m guesting was its breakfast.  Or was she just acknowledging and affirming the answer to my question?  According to the Medicine Cards, Dolphin represents “Manna”, meaning breath of life.  Within Native American beliefs, Manna is life force.  In my world, I use such signs as a conformation to the questions I contemplate.  Nature acknowledges and responds to my inquiries whether it be by showing up in the form of a Gray Fox in the City of Rocks, or a Beaver flopping his tail on the reflection of a full moon on the calm surface of Orchard Lake.  Whatever the case may be, she speaks, I listen, I take action (share my stories).  What are you going to do?  Who are you going to choose to be?  For the past several days we’ve been watching a promotional series on the internet called The Sacred Plant and have found it to be one of the most authentic and heart felt mixture of hopeful testimonials from the scientific community (Doctors and scientists) along with every day average citizens that experience firsthand the profound miraculous healing powers of this sacred plant for themselves and/or  their loved ones.  What I   want to be make very clear is that I’m 99.9 % convinced that medicinal claims behind this movement are real and miraculous.  Do I believe there is a conspiracy behind the opposition to this movement?  Call it what you want, but I believe when a person or persons are threatened with losing their cash cow, they’ll go to extreme measures to prevent change.  They will do everything within their power to hide the truth.  Just like my own self-awareness, once you open the door to inner truth and knowing, there is no closing it.  I support this movement 100% and encourage you to watch this series.  View it through an open, discerning mind.  Many of the people they introduce in this film are every day average people fearful of what they were once told by those they trust.   With that said, I trust my inner guidance as to what feels good, right, healthy and spiritually nutritive for my own personal growth, health, wealth and well-being.  I don’t take lightly the choice of whom and what I chose to share within my G.A.S. Station stories.  Could I be wrong in believing others in respect to the integrity, honesty and authenticity of those I meet and the stories we share?  Absolutely!  Am I afraid of others criticizing me for sharing these stories?  Absolutely!  I’m only human after all, I could be wrong,  x>

One of the things we adventurous travels like to share with each other is our favorite destinations.  Whether it be a restaurant, Hot springs, National, State or local Park or designated protected wilderness, one thing is consistent, the attraction we feel is the nourishment we receive deep within our souls from these wild places.  The natural beauty we encounter along the way is what drives our passions to seek out such hideaways.   Having said that, we whom share these special locations on social media, travel books or blogs risk being ridicule and in the case of a well kept secret location favored by the locals, have received death threats for exposing their paradise!  So far on our journey I’ve not crossed that imaginary line resulting in such extreme death threats. I however have been scolded by some for sharing certain places.  I get it!  I too have my own private places in nature I’ll never share with anyone except for the wild creatures that inhabit it.  Big Bend National Park is one such place that has been repeatedly recommended by many of our fellow travelers.  I’m happy to report that this place is definitely worth placing on your bucket list.  Within our short five days stay, we only scratched the surface of experiencing what this park has to offer.  The Park has over 800,000 acers to explore and is bordered with Mexico by the Rio Grande River.  Elevation near the river is 1,800 feet and climbs to nearly 8,000 feet in the Chrisos Mountains.   A wide array of ecosystems includes massive canyons, forested mountains and vast desert expanses.  We found the Hot Springs near the Lanford Ruins to be a great finish after a day of hiking.  Don’t forget to bring your swim suit, this is a free public hot spring with pretty good trail access and because of that can get very busy.  If you’re into dispersed camping or boondocking as it is often referred as, Big Bend has many reservable remote sites in the back country, but you need a 4×4 camper rig to access most of them.  Rosie our campervan unfortunately is not a four-wheel drive, but as luck would have it, we snagged the last remaining boondocking site with accessibility for a non 4×4 vehicle.  It was a ruff road to access our camp, but it was short, and Rosie handled it with ease.  Just before Josie and I headed out for a hike, parked near us in the visitor center parking lot was a 4×4 truck all decked out for a backcountry adventure with a large black container what looked to be a large car top carrier mounted on a sturdy rack straddling the bed of this gnarly looking off road truck.  On the back-passenger window was a sticker that read something like, “This is a tent” with an arrow pointing back toward the large black container.  Standing next to this off-road toy was a young couple also preparing for a hike.  I knew what the black container was, a roof mounted tent system I’ve admired on other vehicles during our travels.  I asked the young man if the sticker was placed there so he wouldn’t have to keep explaining to others what it is.  Quite the contrary.  The sticker is there to help educate people while driving down the road or sitting in a parking lot.  And in my case, inquire about it.  I commented to the young couple that I knew what it was and that’s when he told me that it’s his creation.  Nick Mazzanti is a product design engineer, owner and Chief Adventure Officer of Roam Adventure Co.  His wife Kat introduced herself and very enthusiastically informed me that she does the marketing and promotion for their company.  I didn’t ask, but I bet it was her idea to put “This is a Tent” sticker on the window, brilliant and creative!  Together they informed me that they started up their company because they wanted to assist others to more comfortably experience and explore Natures back country.  Although I was initially attracted to them because of their gnarly and quality looking setup ,I was inspired to share their story in my blog because of their enthusiasm, passion and courage to take the necessary steps to physically manifest their dream life.

Over the past several years, I’ve offered Playshops that assisted participants in making their own Peace Chair (PC) using materials we gathered during a scavenger hunt.  While I found the process to be fun and the people making their own chair seemed to have enjoyed themselves, I wasn’t reaching my target audience very effectively.  And so, I’ll be sharing some video segments on YouTube of what to collect on your scavenger hunt and how to build your very own one-of-a-kind Peace Chair. After your PC Scavenger Hunt, I invite you and your friends to pack up your Peace Chair creations and join us in Geneva, Switzerland to participate in the first annual “2020 Vision of Peace”, A Peace Chair Circle celebration.  No specific date for this event has been established at the moment, I’m simply putting the intention out to the Universe.  Having said that, for all you that have helped keep my dream alive, Thank You!  For all you that choose to help in the future, I’m grateful. One of the best ways you can support this Free G.A.S. movement is by getting the word out, so I invite you to share this dream with anyone you think would be interested in joining our G.A.S. Adventure.  The second-best way of supporting us is by purchasing a copy of Natures G.A.S. Stations or one or all of my Discovering Peace Within Series; Inspiration Point, Buckthorn Peace Chair-apy and Filling Up Your G.A.S. Tank to help you better understand what G.A.S. is and how to share it with others.  Feel free to contact me at patrickmilan@yahoo.com to share your thoughts and ideas.  My plan is to continuously add G.A.S. stories within the pages of the G.A.S. Stations book, thereby making it a never-ending story if you will.  Thank you all in advance for your support.  My ultimate dream is to collaborate with someone to help re-design the Peace Chair using the latest technologies and innovations along with quality materials resulting in the world’s most versatile, comfortable, lightweight and popular chair ever produced in human history. Are you the one I’ve been waiting for?  Perhaps together we could create, “The coolest chair I’ve ever seen!”, as quoted by Red in the Rainbow Chair story. Maybe we could call it, “The Ely-Z Chair”. x>

Josie and I have been using a site called Boondockerswelcome.com for the past several months now and have found it to be a very positive experience.  We’ve stayed in the northwest forests of Washington near a babbling brook, to a suburb community in Sun City, Arizona next to a golf course.  Basically, for a nominal yearly fee, a patchwork of paradises is shared among fellow like-minded adventurous travelers’.  While few may offer electric and or water, all offer a little slice of their personalized heaven.  Many are artful reflections of the owners manifested dreams come true! Others are left simple and wildly natural.  First, decide if you can host (unnecessary for membership), then create a user profile, search the listings, contact the host, enjoy your stay, and finally, leave a reference.  That simple!  After leaving City of Rocks seeking warmer weather, we stayed at a Boondockers Welome site just ten minutes from one of our favorite places, meaning we’ve been there more than once.  The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was founded and inspired by William Carr in 1952 along with his friend Arthur Pack also a conservationist and Editor of Nature Magazine.  Together they created this magnificent museum that has become known worldwide for its innovative presentations and interpretation for the native plants and animals in their ecological exhibits.   The museum has a living animal collection containing of 4,892 specimens of 242 species, 56,445 specimens of 1,100 taxa; and a mineral and fossil collections of 16,853 specimens.  Topping off my G.A.S. Tank by a wide margin goes to the  Hummingbird House.  While considered by many to be the most fascinating birds on the plant, I include myself among the many.  The brilliant hues of color these graceful hovering creatures display coupled with their rhythmic nectar dance is pure love in action.  Within Native American teachings, Hummingbird represents Joy.  Are you enjoying the moment?  Yes?! Great.  No?!  Perhaps it’s time to sit and ponder some deeper questions?  Maybe you’ve been sitting for too long and its time for action?

Also in the Tucson area, we rode our bikes to the local Heirloom Farmers Market and I’m excited to share some new G.A.S. Stations with you.  Our first discovery was Kind Coffee and we’re greeted by a young man with a kind and peaceful energy radiating from him, Casey Routledge.  It was obvious to me Casey loves what he does, not only did he graciously offer us a delicious sample, he also enthusiastically shared a brief story behind Kind Coffee and their collaboration with a local non-profit called Ben’s Bells.  I encourage you to check out these two links and read their stories, very inspiring!  We then met Ariana Free and Cody Clubb representing T.O.N.E. Nutrition (Total Optimized Nutrition for Everyone).  We sampled some of their local Unheated, Unfiltered, Arizona Honey and chose the Desert Wildflower; yummy stuff. Thanks guys!  Thirdly, we met Carol Hawkins owner of Alpine Goat Girl offering health care products such as soaps, shampoos, and lip balms and she says with a smile, “Keep It Local, Keep It Healthy, Keep It Spectacular.”  I’m thrilled to report the soap Carol recommended for shaving is the finest I’ve experienced, very smooooth! Lots of enticing fragrances to choose from as well.  Finally, we couldn’t resist the delicious goat cheese products at Fiore de Capra, Italian for “Flower of the Goat”.  With so many tasty things to chose from, it was difficult to decide what to get.  Thank you, Mike and Lee, for sharing your “Flower of the Goat” passions with us.  We recommend you sample their goods yourself and tell us what your favorite is.  Until next time, be kind to yourself, it might just rub off on others.  If you see us out on the road and spot me sitting in a strange looking chair, don’t be shy, come say hello.  And if you’re really really lucky, I’ll Share-A-Chair with you.  Remember, Luck is just love in action.

After leaving Durango, Colorado, Josie and I headed for what has become not just one of our favorite State Campgrounds in New Mexico, but perhaps one of the most powerful centers of the Universe for me, City of Rocks.  We discovered this magical place of rocks a year ago as we began our G.A.S. Adventure.  Since our return to the Rocks this year, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading, writing or simply reflecting on our past adventures and imagining our future while sitting within the nooks and crannies of this city of stone.  One day while sitting among the pillars of ancient volcanic ash, a Gray Fox appeared directly in front of me about twelve feet away.  She was sporting a beautiful velvety gray coat, trimmed around her eyes and front legs by a subtle light red, almost orange. She stood as still as the stone surrounding us as we peered into each other’s eyes.  I have this habit of physically speaking to the wild creatures I encounter in Nature knowing they may not understand the words I speak, but they intuitively understand and feel the vibrational energy I project.  After a few precious moments, she turned and disappeared into the maze of stone.  A couple days later Josie and I visited the Hot Springs located near the City of Rocks called Faywood Hot Springs.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our visits to Faywood H.S. and its interesting history.  However, this particular story centers more around a young lady by the name of Kallie or Forest Fox as she prefers to be called by those close to her.  While meeting others on this journey, I occasionally feel a deep mysterious connection to some people and I knew in an instant that Kallie and I had some unfinished business to attend to.  To make this new relationship even more fun, I discovered another one of her many spirit totems, Coyote!  O boy, this could certainly be a very interesting journey with this devilish little Forest Fox!  As we shared our individual stories of our more recent experiences, they became intertwined with signs, numbers and facts creating this serendipitous journey we’ve both agreed we’ll continue onward together.  And so, after teaching Kallie to build her own personal portable portal #21, we performed the Chair Naming Ceremony and the Palindrome Chair was born.  Palindrome means a word, number, phrase or other sequences of characters which reads the same backward as forward, such as madam or racecar or the numbers 7447 or 1221.  I love surprises and so I look forward to sharing more about this developing story with the Forest Fox as it unfolds.  You’re going to love this one!  My G.A.S. Tank has once again runith over. Thank you, Universe!

It’s been just over a year since Josie and I have been on our G.A.S. Adventure.  The first half of the year I wrote regularly of our travels, the awe-inspiring Nature we encountered, honored and enjoyed and the amazing people we’d met along the way.  Our second half was and continues to be a much different experience; deeper, more fulfilling, more connected, more aware of what’s important.  I’ve remained silent within my writing, as well as my communicating with anyone and everyone via telephone, text or e-mail, closing myself off expect to those I share the present moment with.  It allows me to be more present with you.  I am extremely grateful. 

We partook in four weddings across the United States throughout the summer and finished the change of seasons with a splash of Fall colors.  Interesting thing about the weddings we helped celebrate, they were all performed outdoors. The first of these four Love stories began at a remote, rustic wilderness lake lodge in Washington’s Northern Cascades.  This is one of the most incredibly beautiful places on earth. Everyone enjoyed their favorite activities, whether it be hiking, biking, swimming or just lounging in the shade of a tree with a cold one in hand.  Perhaps most importantly was the dancing and celebration shared by all and the union of two special Souls. Thank you, J & C! The second took place in the rolling hills of Montana on a beautiful private Horse Ranch.  The alter and seating area were surrounded by a small native trout stream in the shape of a horseshoe and covered in a carpet of carefully selected Sage grass and wild flowers.  The power of the land could be felt and is honored by the use of a sacred Native American Sweat Lodge located between the trout stream and an Artesian Well providing pure cold drinking water from the hillside just few short steps away.  One of the most beautiful and powerful ceremonies I’ve experienced in my life!   Thank you, L & M.   The third was near the Northwestern Coast of Washington at the home of one of the family members getting married.   The property has ponds surrounded by a majestic looking Cedar grove, a lighted horseshoe pit, Fire pits, acers of manicured lawns and fields dotted with flowerbeds and bordered on one side by a large lush vegetable garden and grape vineyard.  Beautiful celebration! Thank you, R & T, for allowing us to share your special moment with you.  The fourth and final wedding took place in a beautiful mountain chalet event center near Durango, Colorado.   While gifted with a sunny clear blue sky, the fresh snow-covered peaks of the San Juan Mountain Range dominated the visual senses.  As the ceremony commenced, a light Autumn breeze could be felt and heard as it whispered through a simmering gold Aspen forest.  I especially loved the pictures and stories thoughtfully wrote and placed on each of the dinner tables in the wedding reception hall. Each a unique testament to past adventures they’d shared with family and friends on their favorite wilderness escapes.  Thank you, B & J!

For a few brief weeks between the third and fourth weddings, we made our way east to Minnesota and visited family and friends.  We started in Minnesota’s North Woods and reunited with a young man that Josie and I have known since he was born and is now married and a father himself.  We’re thrilled to have finally visited their home and hung out with’em all for a while.  One of my absolute best times ever, was exploring with he and his kids a thick Cedar grove near his cabin in search of chair legs. That evening we roasted smores over the camp fire while sitting in our newly built Peace Chairs, reminiscing about the past days adventures, planning for tomorrows, all the while, enjoying the moment.  Thank you, T & C & Family, for a truly awesome time.

As I write this, we have once again left the safety and comfort of Durango and ventured out into the wild places that fill our hearts with serendipitous joy, mystery and adventure.  Before I leave you, I’d like to tell you about a young man by the name of Kyle, or Red, as he told me he prefers to be called and his Rainbow Chair.  Eric and Lauren, as many of you know, compete in what is known as Ultra Running Events.  Which means they run really really long distances.  And I’m quite proud to say, they both did exceptionally well in this particular event.  Although I’ve given up running long ago, Josie and I are thrilled to be their personal support team during these events.  And where everywhere we go, when inspired, I love to build, cache, giveaway or barter the chairs.  However, most of the time I just like to sit in nature and commune with her.  What’s made this journey of sharing the Peace Chair so aggravating, interesting, and joyful over the years is how people respond to them.  It’s almost as if the chairs are invisible or taboo.   Approximately 97% of the time people don’t say anything to me about them.  The remaining 3% of people are curious enough and courageous to ask me about them.  Red, however falls in that rare, less than .1 % of people that don’t just see it and ask about it, they WANT IT!  While Josie and I were sitting near the aid station where Red was a volunteer assisting his fellow runners, he himself being an Ultra runner, alongside a place called the Rainbow Trail, he approached us and said. “That’s the coolest chair I’ve ever seen!  Where did you get it?!  Words like that are music to my ears and so I gave him a brief background history of the chair and offered him a seat.  Like most everyone that sits in the chair, he had a smile on his face and commented on how comfortable it was.  However, unlike most people, Red wanted to know how much it cost and would like very much to take ownership of one right NOW.  When I told him I no longer sell them, the look on his face was beyond disappoint.  You’d a thought he just lost his best friend.  He thanked us for sharing and walked back to the aid station.  I knew in that instant what was going to happen next.  I went for a hike along the Rainbow Trail near the aid station in search of dead pine trees and found the perfect Legs.  That evening at the finish line in the cover of darkness, I gifted Red his Rainbow Chair.  The look on his face was more gratifying than any money could buy.  Of course, he offered to pay for it, but like I told him, I no longer sell them and told him why I gifted it to him.  Not only does he possess the rare quality I mentioned above, but he understands and epitomizes the power of being of service.   You get out of life what you give.  Thanks Red, for G.A.S.ing me up!!!  x>

Maiden Voyage of The Beaver Boat on the Animas River

Insight ~ The capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing.

Hello fellow Life Travelers.  It seems like an eternity since I last shared with you anything about our G.A.S Station Journeys.  I’ve recently harbored feelings of guilt for not writing my blogs.  Our thoughts, sometimes referred to as, “the voices in our head”, biochemically assist in creating the feelings we experience.   Guilt is a mask the ego uses to disguise the real feelings and insights that reveal themselves when life doesn’t unfold the way we think it should.  And so, it is not out of guilt but rather gratitude that I share my journey through words with you.  Inspiration is my fuel for the soul and the stories I share is the G.A.S. I offer you.  I have come to believe it is not the stories I share so much as how I show up in the world when I encounter others and especially when no one is around to witness my actions that influence my experience.   If how I show up in the world doesn’t align with what I write, then I’m just another blogger guy full of shit behind his mask.  So, my invitation to you is set your mask aside for a moment and see what reveals itself.  If what comes to you as a serendipitous and joyous surprise, then you’re on the right path.  Every day I meet interesting people doing amazing things.  If I indulged myself with guilt, I could become depressed for not sharing all their stories, products and or services they offer in my blog.  Instead I choose to be content with creating my dreams, one thought, one word, and one Chair at a time without attachments and expectations of how I think it should unfold.  If I spend my time crafting words intending to change the way you think because I care, that’s one thing.  If I write because I want to get rich, persuade or change your beliefs, gain influence and power, then that’s another thing.  Neither is good or bad, it is just the awareness in which one chooses to wear or discard the mask that attracts or repels.  Yesterday Josie and I enjoyed time on, in or near the water in Durango, Colorado for the 35^th Annual Animas River Days Festival.  Before making my maiden voyage down the Animas River on the Beaver Boat, we visited Santa Rita Park where the main events took place.  Several vendors were set up along the river and the one that inspired me most was the La Plata Open Space Conservancy (LPOSC).  They assist land owners on how to set up a conservation easement (CE) and educate the public about how CE’s benefit the community by creating public corridors through private land enhancing our quality of life.  Perhaps the most important aspect is that it helps to conserve critical watersheds and protects wildlife habitat while keeping family farms and ranches intact for generations to come.  The day began with kayak competitions, raft slalom, freestyle kayaking and much more.  It ended with a few adventurous and enthusiastic people dressed in costume riding in or on various floating creations through the whitewater course.  Our favorite was a life sized blow-up camel ridden by a brave couple.  They tumbled over the first set of staircase rapids landing on the rocks but appeared unharmed.  They remounted the inflated beast and proceeded, I imagine to all the spectators surprise to pass through the main rapid as if it were a slide made of silk cloth while remaining seated upon the camel’s back.

Often Josie discovers inspirational people, places and things on the internet and shares them with me.  There is some much good happening in the world, but unless you are intentionally looking for it, you’re likely to get only a small glimpse of it while your unconscious self is bombarded with and effected by the terrible things that are happening around you or in the media.  So, I invite you to take control of your life and make a more conscious choice of what you think, say and do in this magnificent world.  Click on the following links, You are Bright and the Earth is Hiring because with the help of Paul Hawkens’ words, you will become inspired to, be the change your wish to experience in the world.  And to help keep your G.A.S. Tank filled, check out Gratefulness.org

The Pueblo Bonito Great House

Throughout history certain places on earth have been designated as Sacred. For the Chaco Culture, Chaco Canyon was and continues to be the center of their Universe or the Center of the Center.  Ruins of the great houses, Pueblo Bonito, Una Vida and Penasco Blanco where built around the mid-800s and construction continued throughout countless generations.   A visit to the Chaco Culture National Historical Park will allow you to visit many of the ruins that remain and continue to be excavated today to help us understand, acknowledge and preserve our heritage.  While the great houses in Chaco Canyon held significant meaning and purpose, many Native Peoples believe the Pueblo Bonito great house was built in the “Heart of the Chacoan World” and was the primary center for trade, ceremony and great gatherings.  The beautiful visitors center at Chaco Canyon along with the professional park rangers did an excellent job with answering questions and making it possible for us to access the information displays describing the historical facts of this sacred site.  In the final weeks of a one year testing phase are the high-tech display cases being readied to comply with the strict climate-controlled guidelines required to receive and house future museum pieces from around the world.  Josie and I hiked the 5.1-mile Pueblo Alto Trail loop tracing the footsteps of the Chacoan people.  The route traverses the cliffs edge in many places providing a birds-eye view of the ruins seen far below.  We met a hiker along our journey that told us that he’s been here a total of six times and has never experienced such harsh windy conditions.  For me it just confirmed that the great spirits of Chaco Canyon were rejoicing in our presence for being there and honoring them.  For as we stood facing a sacred stone circle near the cliff edge directly above Pueblo Bonito, a Raven slowly floated into view above the ridge at eye level, wings fluttering, suspended, defying time and space, looking deep within our souls, acknowledging, knowing, celebrating.

“To encounter the sacred is to be alive at the deepest center of human existence. Sacred places are the truest definitions of the earth; they stand for the earth immediately and forever; they are its flags and shields. If you would know the earth for what it really is, learn it through its sacred places. … you touch the pulse of the living planet; you feel its breath upon you. You become one with a spirit that pervades geologic time and space.”  ~N. Scott Momaday