Sacred Desert

I've lived in the Sonora Desert all of my life. It was a play ground for my sisters, my brother, and me. With a few rocks, saguaro ribs, and a little imagination, we would entertain our selves all day. We hiked every inch of the desert for miles, rode horses, and in my brother's case, enjoyed catching rattle snakes in jars. The desert was all we knew, or so we thought.

For the next fifteen years, the desert was to be our school, and experience was our teacher. However, like most kids, I didn't appreciate this precious gift until I was much older.

In the desert, everything is a lesson that will challenge your abilities. It will test you, and force you to look deep with in yourself to find strength and endurance. You learn quickly to pay attention to where you are, and what is going on around you. It demands your respect to survive, as it's a dangerous place, and has no patience for ignorance.

It's a sacred place, and the energy is almost mystical. If you stay still and listen, you will begin to hear the spirit speak to you. This can come in many ways.

There is the obvious, if you take things for granted. The desert doesn't care about ego, and it will make a believer out of you. Animals, scorpions, and venomous snakes blend into the back round and you won't see them unless they want you to. Hopefully, they give you a warning by allowing you to see them.

There are violent lightening storms and flash floods that can be four feet deep, and they appear out of nowhere.

The temperatures in the desert are extreme. It's common to see high temperatures averaging 110 degrees during the day, and at sunset, they may drop 40 degrees. Every year, people that are not prepared are hospitalized from heat strokes.

The Hopi Indians say that man has forgotten the instructions on how to live in the desert. They believe that there is spirit in all things created and that we are all one. The land asks that you take only what you need. There are certain herbs that grow under trees that provide medicines for animals and people. These are communities in nature. Man has lost respect, and allowed greed to rule him. He cuts all the trees, there for, the herbs don't grow and there is no medicine. This is one example that is causing a serious imbalance in nature. The land reacts to this. Harmony must be restored if we are to survive.

Forty years have passed, and I still live in the desert. I now have an appreciation for this magical place. Life is extreme in the desert, and so is spirit and beauty.

The most magnificent burst of reds, oranges, yellows and purple fill the entire western sky at sunset. You experience the splendor of God's creation. The colorful formations of the clouds, will leave you memorized by their messages of healing energies.

The night sky is equally inspiring. The stars are so bright, and so many of them. They offer you a glimpse into their dimension and you experience a heightened awareness that will change your perception of how you see things. There is no other place like it.

To sit on a rock, on the side of a mountain, after a rain is awesome. Everything is so clean and crisp. The colors in the rocks and the wild flowers are vibrant. The sound of Cactus Wrens talking to each other, toads croaking, and most of all, the smell of the mesquite beans. It's sweet fragrance reminds me of home when I was growing up.

It is my sincere desire, that all people open their heart to the understanding that we are all one in spirit with Mother Earth. Her gifts to us are invaluable. As I said above, the land reacts to our intentions. Can you imagine how it would be if our intentions were to give back, out of love and respect ?