July 13, 2020

Sunday Ceremony


As I have previously mentioned, I joined a Sunday Meditation group here in Cedar City.  We lost our indoor space in March because of the Covid 19 issues, and were meeting outside until it got too hot.  I then suggested that we meet at my house, and we have been meeting here for several weeks now.  Since it has been very hot here, we decided to do yesterday’s meditation outdoors up in the mountains where it is much cooler. 

I suggested that we go up to the top of Brian Head Mountain, which is about 40 minutes away and is at 11,300’ in elevation.  There is a stone shelter at the top that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.  It made a perfect place to do ceremony
From my previous contact with the mountain, I knew that there is a very powerful vortex at the top, in addition to Brian Head being what Peruvian shamans would consider an Apu.  That is, a mountain that is embodied by a spirit.  Not all mountains are imbued with consciousness in this way. 

So off we went in 2 cars.  I brought all of the supplies for the ceremony, another person brought sage bundles for everyone, and a third brought sandwiches, chips and a cake.  It was a party in the making!  Since this is a somewhat popular destination because of the elevation and the 360° views, we knew that we wouldn’t have the place all to ourselves, but once we got there and occupied the shelter, no one bothered us. 

The ceremony was as follows.  I passed out white flowers to everyone as offerings to the mountain.  Then, after we all grounded and expanded our core essence, I called on the spirit of Brian Head Apu to be with us.  In Peruvian traditions, the local Apu is the guide and guardian for all who live in its vicinity, so I asked on behalf of everyone participating that we accept the spirit of this mountain as our guide and guardian, and that this mountain accept us in turn. 

At this point, as I rattled to keep all of us in an altered state of consciousness, the vortex at the top of the mountain began to show itself in the center of the group.  To me, it looked like a white tornado, and to another person there, it looked like a brilliant white flame coming up from the ground.  Our group energetic vessel then merged with this vortex, and I asked everyone there to let go of any heavy energy that they were carrying into the vortex as a cleansing exercise.  Interesting that all the while we were there, there were people coming and going, but no one bothered us. 

After the cleansing, I instructed everyone to leave the shelter and find a place where they could do their own personal communion and merging with the spirit of the Apu.  After they left their flowers as an offering and a thank you, they could pick up a stone to take home to use as an ongoing connection to their guardian mountain.  It was pretty windy up there, and I suspect that we were also being cleansed by the spirit of the wind, wayra. 

After everyone came back from their personal part of the ceremony, we had snacks.  This kind of activity can make you hungry for sure, and food can help get you get back into your body.   Because of the wind, it was a challenge to keep the food and everything else from blowing away. 
  
When I was living in Colorado, I was connected to the spirit of Hesperus Peak as my local Apu.  When one moves out of an area, the local Apu must be released before a new one is connected to.  I did that at the end of last September, leaving a thank you medicine bundle at the foot of the mountain. When I drove over to Cedar City a few weeks later, the first thing I did was to drive up to the top of  Brian Head Mountain the day before I started house hunting.  At that time, I left a medicine bundle at the top.  I have to say that those 2 weeks when I did not have the protection and guardianship of a mountain felt kind of empty to me. 

Today, I woke up really early to take a walk around the neighborhood before it got too hot outside.  Even as I write this, I am still feeling the heightened energy of the day before.  It does feel like I am still in an altered state of consciousness.  The spirit of the Apu is now residing firmly in my heart.  Everyone had a positive experience.  I don’t think that any of them had experienced any kind of ceremony like that, and I am looking forward to creating more sacred events. 

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