I see more how the trip has been an education, one into the worlds of geography, geology, climate, Native peoples, animals, nature and culture. Certain colors really do correlate to a region, a certain vibe really is prevalent to a city. New Mexico really took me by surprise. It is steeped in a culture that has embraced its Native Indian roots, and that feel is prevalent in the way people treat each other, as well as apparent in the local artwork. There is a sense of reverence that permeates the air. Perhaps this is the vibe I am picking up on. Fields of wild sage growing in busheled clumps, cover expanses of the parched land that backs up to mountain ranges. The play of colors, shadows, and shapes seemed to consistently light up the background of any vista we drove or walked along. It was indeed a painter’s paradise. It’s no wonder so many artists and hippies flocked to the area.
As anyone who works remotely knows, not having a completely strict schedule opens up the avenue of life for spontaneity and a more overall organic experience. More enJOYment as life was intended to be. We were finally unplugging and even dedicated “chill/ writing/ reading days” between the constant move of travel. We love the food, fun and vibrancy of new cities but we had fully let go of that noise and turned our sights to nature, where our hearts laid, to the mountains and desert before us. We embraced the dust and dryness as the new norm, and had to assimilate to afternoons of immense heat when on lower grounds.
For centuries many yogis and monks from the various Eastern traditions have practiced the devotional discipline of Sadhana, a spiritual practice including asanas (yoga poses), pranayama (breath-work), chanting, and/ or meditation, aimed at transcending the ego, and realizing and experiencing one’s true nature in order to support a life of more joy and authenticity. It is well known that the most optimum time for these types of practices are in the hours before dawn. There is something to be said about the immense stillness and power that is felt when most all of humanity is asleep and the “noise” of the bustle hasn’t yet begun. I remember hearing Wayne Dyer, the father of motivation, refer to the hours between 4-6 am, as the God hours, and how he completed many of his famous books during that vital time. As an artist writing, I’ve found magic in those hours. Coming right out of sleep, and straight into presence, I can more easily access the subconscious mind and TAP IN to that greater creative force. God hour. There is something so fantastic about taking in the precession of sunrise– and most every morning, this was how we were starting our day, with the brilliant coming of light and our meditation practice.
In conjunction to this devotional practice, I was slowing down and I was starting to tune-in to minute details all around me. Never had I been so aware of the intricacies of insects roaming the dirt or the flitting sight of birds bouncing on branches. Each morning, as I sat in the darkness of the God-hour to write my novel, I’d experience the transition from emptiness, as the first chirps of birds beckoning good morning, bleeped and tuned their singing voices, as the stars waned to oblivion, and the sky awakened in a spectrum of color. Which palate its artistry would choose that morning was a blessing that only the moment would reveal in a rainbow of dawn and light. Even rocks and shards had gradients of colors I hardly would have taken time to notice, and when spot-lit by the sun, rays reflected their quartz shimmers.
Gradually, we began tapping into the inner heartbeat of the land. This is when all things came alive. You tap into the artistry. You begin to notice the nuances, colors and textures in the mountain scape, hues at sunset, when the wind whispers, and the hum of bees. You get closer to the natural essence, and the quality of stillness permeating around you . . . awakening you to what’s been forgotten. You remember. Even though our senses are tuned so that our minds can make sense of the world and give it language and time, we can start to see outside ourselves in a fresh way, and come to experience that within us we are all ONE. In this cohesive connection we begin to vibrate awareness, and of course, LOVE.
Before this trip, I had no idea what BLM land was. Bureau of Land Management, is essentially government owned land where anyone can camp for free. This land has always proved inviting and almost always comes with epic scenery. Anyone can stay at a campground or an RV park, but seeing as “Le Van” was completely self-sufficient, we preferred to stay in the freedom and expanse of BLM land. It is often off-road terrain and getting to them isn’t usually an easy feat. You’ve got to be willing to traverse some bumpy roads and divots, and you won’t always pick up cell service – gasp! These secluded, unadulterated places offer the truer experience of nature in its purest forms.
And that is how we found our mountain oasis. It was more than 15 degrees cooler than our former desert spots, no other campers, and looked out onto an amazing valley. Just in the distance was a hazy, gleaming white expanse. We realized we were looking down onto the White Sands National Park– double score! Seated on one of the smooth boulders we watched the epic sunset that followed, while sipping our glasses of red wine.
The next afternoon we did the drive through White Sands National Park and had our minds blown. We were going through what was once an ancient lake bed that had over the millennia formed its leftover gypsum minerals into actual selenite crystals becoming a massive expanse of shimmering white sand dunes. They are the largest gypsum dunes in the world, and visible from outer space. The vibration was high and so were we.
Strange to me, was that next door to the park is White Sands Missile Testing Area, and a huge army base not far away. We would often hear fighter jets, and saw army and air force pilots while we were at the store provisioning. All of my alien and conspiracy theory people out there know that a majority of UFO sightings apparently take place around New Mexico. Many would agree, there was something indeed peculiar in the air.
Interesting too, was the correlation between Mars and the dunes. When the Mars Rovers landed, one found itself in a large playa- a dried up lake bed interdunalenvironment (great word) similar to that of Lake Lucero at White Sands. Dried up lake bed means water, which equals life, therefore studies of Great Sands helped scientist understand better how life could have existed on Mars. Because of the way the Sands form, gypsum often holds microscopic fossils, therefore the same could be found on Mars. Intriguing.
We travelled on north and reached the San Lorenzo Canyons of the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. A very long bumpy road led us inside to a mighty, domineering stretch of ancient, red, slot canyons. The scene was unreal and a beauty to behold. Giant buttes, layers of striated rocks, smoothed and shaped over millions of years of evolution. The great sculptor, Gaia, had created a masterpiece, and we were standing in the gallery gawking in her glory. We walked on, discovering more, feeling so small in comparison as we gazed up at the giant rocks above us. It felt as if we were in a hall of the ancestors, gods even. The Native American spirit permeated the ethereal air. This was sacred land, and we felt honored to behold it. The last visitor had left and we were alone in the canyon. The stars came out in full force, bats flew, and we ate mushrooms for dinner. In a trance, I played the jimbe loudly and wildly, its tribal sounds echoing through the canyon in the dark and still night.
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Christin Marie Writes 