Yesterday I had a chance to do a mini retreat as the weather
was unseasonably warm and I really had the urge to get out of town for the day. I drove the 85 miles into Utah to the
trailhead for the Procession Panel archeological site. This site features a fabulous rock art panel created
by the ancient Anasazi Indians during the Basketmaker III period that dated
from 500-750 AD. To get to this rock art
panel, one takes a trail that goes up in elevation almost 900 feet in 2.82
miles. The route is a steady upwards
hike on the east side of the Comb Ridge monocline, and is almost all on sandstone
slickrock. If you care to go all the way
to the top of the monocline after pausing at the rock art panel, you end up teetering
on the edge with nowhere else to go but straight down the west side. And I really mean straight down! I usually don’t put more than one photo in
each blog post, but I couldn’t resist a few extras here.
Since yesterday was a week day, and not a busy time of year,
I had hoped to have the place all to myself.
What a delight it was to be out in the middle of nowhere with not a person,
dog or car in sight! Not so good if I were
to slip and break my leg, but I wasn’t worried about that. My purpose was to hike to the petroglyph
panel and do some tuning in and meditation.
Just sitting and vegging out to get a break from my busy schedule.
Not much is known about what the rock art on the Procession
Panel is thought to be depicting. Some say that it is a migration story; others
say it symbolizes a gathering around a great kiva. It features a circle that is about a foot in
diameter with 3 streams made up of a total of 179 tiny people connecting to the
edge of the circle.
There are many
animals in the rock art, including elk, deer, desert bighorn sheep, a few birds
and even a mountain lion or two, all pecked into the sandstone.
A few of the tiny people are holding what look
like shepherds crooks, and a few others have birds on top of their heads. All of the animals on either side of the
circle are pointed in the direction of the circle, but the interesting thing is
that this circle is totally empty except for some random peckings. So what does it all mean?
Every important site is placed where it is because of the
energy that the land holds. This is true
for ancient sites all over the world.
The way I tune in is to actually put my hand on the rock and go into an
altered state, and gather impressions. In
addition, this rock wall faces southwest, and may have been an important gathering
place for sunset at the winter solstice.
This is what I received at the Procession Panel. “This is a
gathering place. Gather yourself to your
core. This core is strong, stable, safe,
knowing and protected.” I then asked why
the circle was empty, and I immediately had the feeling of falling down a very
deep pit and being absorbed by the energy of our Earth Mother. It was almost like having my hand and then my
body being sucked into the sandstone inside of the circle. Wow!! So
did this mean that all of the human figures, and the birds and animals were
meant to disappear or be absorbed into the center of the gathering place? Is
this a map of some big energetic transition for life on the planet? I have to say that it felt pretty good to have
the core of my being gathered up and then merged with the Heart of the Mother!
Is this really the message of the rock art panel? Perhaps not, but my energy and psyche
interpreted it that way. If one knows
how to work the energy of a sacred site, the personal messages can be very profound
in addition to gathering information about that particular site.
After hanging out with the rock art a bit longer, I
proceeded to hike up the sloping slickrock to the very tip of the
monocline. Well, not the very tip, as
that can be a bit creepy looking straight down the other side at the sudden
drop off. The 360° views up there were
fabulous, and I hated to leave when my time for introspection was complete. One last stop at the rock art panel on the
way back down, and then down the slope to my car and back home.
A nice day like that can be so rejuvenating, and we all owe
it to ourselves to take some self nurturing breaks every once in a while. Most of us are doing yeoman’s work during
this time of transition, whether we realize it or not. Remember that you can assist no one if you yourself
are depleted and have given too much away to others. Your core must be strong and your purpose unwavering. This is the foundation for your service.
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