my soul yearned for a walk in the rain
my mind pleaded this is not rational
but echoes rang throughout as each raindrop called my name
fresh damp air filled my lungs with possibilities
each tiny raindrop washed away my fears
a cleansing was in the mist…
It sounded exotic and interesting, and it was definitely outside my comfort zone. Which is exactly why I wanted to go. Joshua Tree National Park! A vast desert spread across Southern California where dirt and sand drapes across the landscape like a large woolen blanket. A place where the Mojave Desert meets the Colorado Desert. A land draped in every shade of brown with a complimentary sprinkling of green. An environment that looks as if it is just barely holding on. That is the illusion the desert wants you to believe. In reality, the desert and the life it supports…
A raven is my companion as I sit beside Jackson Lake eclipsed by the magnificent Teton Range. Ripples upon the lake are the only known movement, until the honk of two Canada Geese turns my gaze upwards to catch them flying overhead. Their ruckus causes the raven to take flight. For now, it is only me and my shadow taking in the silent reflections this magical place has to share with me. It is not often one gets the solitude of these silent reflections in Grand Teton National Park, especially in the middle of the summer. One needs to be…
What makes a weed a weed? I often ponder this question, especially when spring arrives and the many new shoots begin to sprout up everywhere. By definition a weed is….
Our soul, or subconscious, knows everything that can and will happen in our lives. It’s the conscious mind that is left in the dark and, ironically, the part of the mind we most seemingly depend upon and follow. The subconscious mind is an act of faith. A trusting. A knowing. That is why we get tripped up by it. And how does judgement play a role?
The wee morning hours are singular moments of life awakening—each in its own way and on its own terms. Subtleties that, within hours, will meld into a community of motion that turns into day.
Nature intuitive Ana Maria Vasquez leads you into the landscape of remembrance, the era of which ancient teachings have spoken in her first book NATURE: Divine Experiences with Trees, Plants, Stones and Landscapes, and the third book in the Common Sentience book series.
It is launch day for ANIMALS: Personal Tales of Encounters with Spirit Animals with Dr. Steven Farmer! I sit in wonder how my name appears on the cover of this book with a well-known author and shamanic practitioner, and so many other inspirational writers.
I sit before this vast wilderness soaking in the untamed beauty that surrounds me. Rising majestically from the ground before me is Open Door—Matriarch of the Valley. Her green rolling hills give way to granite cliffs that give way to a vertical incline speckled with trees that gives way to a shale face that touches the sky.
Clouds blanketed the sky with the hint of rain to come as this new day beckoned to me for a leisurely walk. As I ventured out into the morning air, a disturbance quickly caught my attention. Two robins, perched upon a split rail fence, shouting their warning call for everyone to hear.