Spiritual Evolution

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Greetings this is a blog that I wrote partially while I was in the hills of Cordoba and later back at home in Buenos Aires. Off we go.
Green sultry hills curve in and out of each other like a sultry dance. The delicate pale green ridges of them are like the shape of a woman from the top of her hip rising and then falling smoothly into her thigh. They are born from the vast live giving force of mother earth. Red rocks just up to the east, sedimentary stone with small round stones forever impregnated in the vast red brown rocks. The small stones which were once separate are now are forever part of something bigger, only the destructive force of a hammer and chisel or dynamite can separate them from the greater whole. From the mountaintop a multitude of longitudinal stone fences cut across the land, a relic from the past, reminding me of the people who lived here before. The 360-degree view is only limited by the periphery of the eye. This land bares few scars of modern society; I can only count five buildings in the acres that surround me. My eyes rarely see this type of beauty, a sense of an unbridled urge for exploration comes over me, for both the physical world and the spiritual realm, takes over me. The mountain is an outcropping of rock that sits perfectly in the powder blue sky dotted only by a few puffy milky cumulous clouds. It was the spiritual alter to the heavens for the natives and the feeling radiates from it, almost humming, vibrating with energy that was lost 500 years ago.
I am mounted on horseback, leaning forward and gripping the saddle firmly with my legs, reigns in my left hand, as the horse ascends a steep slope leading to the mountaintop. I come to the point where I must dismount my valiant steed and climb the rest with my hands and feet. As a start the climb, I glance upward to see two condors circling the mountain. Their wings stretch far into the sky, their feathers fanning out at the wing tips. Legend states that these enormous birds are the spirit of the native people who once revered this land as holy ground, their spirit forever living on the wings of a condor. Two more great birds join and them seem to dance in the sky, diving then spinning in tight circles in order to gain altitude, rarely flapping their huge wings; such an effortless way to travel. I stare in wonder and bliss at these black messengers for a few moments and then turn my attention to the top of the mountain.
I start the ascent; the path is teeming with loss rocks that slip away from the sole of my shoe as soon as a move to take my next step. The sensation of slipping is not only prevalent on a physical level, my spirit is slipping, slipping into a deep ancient mystical realm which I have felt no equal too. My calves scream out to me half way through. I will not stop, a strong force is pulling me upward, defying my body’s attempt to slow me down. As a reach the top I transcend the thinking mind, leaving it at the foot of the rock outcropping. A sense of utter awareness comes over me, no thoughts just an enhanced perception of my senses. The smell of the peppermint and anis in the air, the vibration of the collar of my jacket pulsating again my neck, and the sight of the sultry green hills rolling off into the distant. My spirit seemed to soar above me like the great black condors. Swirling and dancing in the wind whispering to me that “life is not a serious as you make it.” This is a moment that I will remember forever it was the next step on my spiritual evolution that I have been seeking here. I am not the constant thinking voice that runs through my mind, I am the awareness of that voice. Something greater, something beyond thought, not limited by words, capable of receiving the vast amount of ethereal feelings in this world. A great joy descended upon me, a gripping smile that revealed the dimple of the right side of my face. Such lightness, I felt that I could be simply lifted off the ground and carried away. This mountaintop showed me something about life that I forget far too often, that I am a transient being, the people that once used this place as their holy of holies have faded away into the sands of time. It reminds me of Gladiator(the movie) when Proximo says “We are all but shadows and dust, shadows and dust.” All we have are these precious few moments here, the here and the now.
A week later when I am writing this I still feel the transformation within my self, the power of that mountain; an incredible lightness in my being and trust that the events of my life will work out in the grand higher order. This is simply put faith. The Greeks had a proper way of looking at the past and future. Instead of the future being ahead of us, the past is ahead because it is all we can see firmly and truthfully. The future comes from back, we never know what will become of us. I say, shut your eyes to the past, take a deep breath and feel the present. This present moment is where all of life takes place. I have become a friend of the present moment and as such have become friend of life. There is so much to experience in each and every moment that seems to be looked over by the thinking mind. Locked out by our conditioned thought pattern in order to live the way we are “supposed” too. This was a trip that changed my life, and I will never forget it.
Through this trip my best friend in Argentina and I have obtained a book or story. We have started to work on this recently and I will keep you all updated on the progress of that. I hope that all is well at home. I certainly miss Colorado at times. But I will be some soon enough, not now, but soon enough. Looking forward to my parents coming down in less than a week. Also looking forward to seeing the lovely faces of all the people at home that I love.
Thanks so much for reading,
Love,
Patrick

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Photos

Juan
Our fearless leader

Comments

[Jill]

Magical!
Your prose are hypnotic! See You Soon!

[ted lamontagne]

The present
Focusing on the present is one of the things i have been working on as of late. as you know a kid we had gone to high school with passed away from meningitis recently. Yet Another moment in my life where i had to realize that life isn't fair, far too short, and far too fragile. much too short to fret the trivial things. Its not worth being angry at someone for forgetting to call you, not worth creating the drama over what you think someone has said behind your back. Instead, understand that things come up, people are entitled to their opinions, and usually that they are formed from truthful events. In turn, i have been focusing on treating my fellow human beings as such. Like humans. By having faith. Being that each person has their own story, their own past present and supposed future, which most likely differs from mine. I feel that we're all in this together. successful species work together to ensure their survival, which is another characteristic im going to try to beef up. And making the most of the time we all have here together. i love reading your blogs Pat, i learn so much, not only about your travels but most of the time, you talk about the same things i am thinking about and your 5000 miles away. funny coincidence. keep up the good work. See you soon. Ted