Pre-Columbian Council Circle Discovered in Kansas

Archaeologists using new drone-sensing technology have found evidence of an enormous, horseshoe-shaped trench hidden beneath a Kansas ranch. The rounded earthwork, which may be part of the largest pre-Hispanic settlement north of Mexico, appears to be what's known as a council circle. To date, researchers have identified five such structures across 22 sites in the area. Ancestors of the modern Wichita and Affiliated Tribes lived in what is now southeastern Kansas between about 900 and 1650 A.D. They lived in grass-roofed pit houses; hunted bison; and farmed crops like squash, beans and corn.
 

Over time, erosion filled the newly discovered earthwork with topsoil, concealing it from view. But modern sensors can detect subtle differences in temperature and foliage between the filled trench and the earth around it. The researchers located the ditch through a combination of drone surveying and LiDAR, infrared and thermal imaging.
 

Relic hunters who looted the region in the 1800s gave council circles their name, but the earthworks' actual purpose remains unclear. Researchers have previously posited that the structures served as the site of ritual ceremonies, housed community elites or offered protection from invaders. Archaeologists now suggest that sites including the just-detailed trench were part of Etzanoa, a population center dubbed the "Great Settlement" by Spanish conquistadors.
 

Spanish colonizers first encountered Etzanoa in the 1590s, when an unauthorized group traveled north in search of Quivira, a mythical city of gold. Though the expedition ended violently, one survivor managed to return and inform the Spanish of what he'd seen. In 1601, conquistador Juan de Onate marched to the settlement, captured a resident and tortured him until he revealed the city's name.
 

Archaeologists first excavated the site of the newly discovered council circle more than 60 years ago. But by 1967, they felt that they had discovered all of the mounds and earthworks located along Walnut River. Thanks to new technology, contemporary researchers have proven these predecessors wrong. Led by Dartmouth anthropologist Jesse Casana, the study's authors used nighttime thermal imaging to measure how daytime heat dissipated from the soil. The ancient ditch, which measures roughly 165 feet in diameter and 6.5 feet thick, is filled with looser soil than the tightly packed prairie around it; as a result, it holds more moisture and radiates less heat at night.
 

Casana and his colleagues identified the ditch as a cooler, darker horseshoe shape in a warm landscape. They then followed up during the day with photography and infrared imaging. The team also reviewed previous aerial and satellite images, spotting the circular formation in photos taken in June 2015 and July 2017. Researchers plan to continue exploring the site with remote-sensing techniques, which will hopefully enable them to develop precise targets for future excavations.
 

This article first appeared in the September 2020 issue of Smithsonian Magazine

Health Benefits of Blue Spaces

A new study published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health has found that spending time close to lakes, rivers and the sea has a positive impact on mental health and promotes physical activity. There is mounting evidence that spending time in the natural environment can promote important physical and mental health benefits, help ward off illness and reduce health care costs. In recent years, stressed-out urban dwellers have been taking refuge in green spaces, which have proven positive impacts on mental and physical health, and are often cited in arguments for more inner-city parks and gardens. The benefits of "blue space" – the sea, coastline, rivers, lakes, streams, and waterfalls – are not as well publicized, yet the science has been consistent for a decade: proximity to water is good for body and mind.

Time spent near water – especially the sea – is associated with many positive measures of physical and mental wellbeing, from higher levels of vitamin D to better social relations. Many of the processes are exactly the same as with green space – with some added benefits. Researchers say there are three established ways by which the presence of water is positively related to health, wellbeing and happiness. First, there are the beneficial environmental characteristics of aquatic environments, such as cleaner air and more sunlight. Second, people who live by water tend to be more physically active – not just with water sports, but walking and cycling. Third – and this is where blue space seems to have an edge over other natural environments – water has a psychologically restorative effect. Spending time in and around aquatic environments has consistently been shown to lead to significantly higher benefits, in creating positive mood states and alleviating negative moods and stress, than green space does.

Researchers believe that water is mentally therapeutic because of its open vistas, reflected light and associated soundscapes. Moreover, blue and green spaces produce special energy fields that facilitate the healing process. Air ionization occurs in natural environments as a result of interactions of photons, electrons, or other atoms or ions with matter. Ionized air is known to affect hormone levels, brain function, and consciousness. Air ions are charged molecules of common gaseous elements in the air, which form when uncharged stable molecules lose or gain an electron due to some disruption. Negative air ions carry an extra electron, producing a negative electrical charge. In nature, the catalysts of negative ions include waterfalls, ocean breakers, evergreen forests, caves, and the summits of mountains. An abundance of negative air ions invigorates us, reduces fatigue, stimulates the immune system, and increases levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression.

As the mental health crisis grows, support for the idea of "blue" or "green" prescriptions for individuals is growing. However, the benefits of marine environments for our wellbeing are tied to the health of those environments. Conservation efforts need to factor in the "natural capital" of blue space in supporting our wellbeing. Researchers hope that we may be more inclined to protect blue space if the health benefits are proven. The natural environment and human health are inextricably linked.

Mongolia's Ten Sacred Mountains

Mongolia is unique in that it has ten sacred mountains protected by Presidential Decree. Paying homage to sacred mountains has been integral to shamanic practice in Mongolia, and the country has some of the oldest, official, continuously protected sites in the world, dating back to the 13th century. Mongolia's commitment to the veneration and protection of sacred natural sites is both a spiritual and practical custom that weaves together religious traditions, cultural practices and political legitimacy. The rituals and practices involved with revering these sacred places -- and the environmental stewardship that results -- intersects with longstanding political tradition and leadership of the state. No other country in the world can claim this history. Mongolia's political respect for and deference to the sacred landscape connects the sacred with the profane, equating spiritual well-being with the health of the people and the interests of the nation. In turn, these policies have become central to ecological conservation today. While other countries search for ways to incorporate environmentalism into their national conversation and impress upon their citizens the need for ecological awareness and conservation, Mongolia's approach to conservation as both a spiritual and practical matter is compelling. As Mongolian shaman Buyanbadrakh says, "The traditional ways of worshiping and protecting sacred places are the best way to care for nature." Read more.

The Planetary Grid

Earth, human, and solar processes are interwoven through a vibrational resonant network around the planet. The lines and intersection points of this energy grid match most of the Earth's seismic fracture zones and ocean ridges, as well as worldwide atmospheric highs and lows, paths of migratory birds, gravitational anomalies, and the sites of ancient temples and megalithic structures. Early man discovered these planetary currents called ley lines. In China, they were known as dragon currents. The Aborigines of Australia know them as a line of songs. In England, the Druids referred to the old straight track. Native Americans regarded the energy channels as the serpent power or the great dragons. According to Cherokee mythology, the dragons once followed the will of the great shamans who would invoke them to protect the people and the land.

Through a type of dowsing called geomancy, the ley lines were located and marked. Roads and pathways were often constructed along the lines, such as those leading out of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, or the series of tracks emanating from the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco, Peru. In China, dragon currents marked all sacred paths and centers throughout the country. Visible lines tie together every major religious site in England. Early Christian churches were located along the currents, their steeples serving to unite heavenly and earthly energies.

At the intersection points of the planet's energy web exist holy places, power spots, or acupuncture points. According to the Hopi, the world would fall apart without these nodes of concentrated vitality. These sacred places are like nerve centers that distribute vital energy throughout the surrounding natural systems. Primal peoples around the world discovered these power places and their significance long ago. They made pilgrimages to the power points, often linking them together with a network of wide and defined trails, such as those leading into the great ceremonial complex in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. They interacted geomantically with grid nodes by building such landscape temples as Palenque, Stonehenge, and the Great Pyramid. They performed sacred rituals and ceremonies at these sites to maintain the harmonious flow of the planetary energy currents.

Earth and humans exist in a reciprocal bioresonant relationship. Through the planet's resonant web, we affect our environment; our environment, in turn, affects us. By interacting with sacred places, we are capable of generating a world of peace and harmony. Seek out power places. Your power spots can be identified by your desire to go to them. Their significance to you is always revealed by your planned or accidental presence at them. Every square inch of the Earth Mother is sacred and a potential connecting place for someone. You can create a powerful vortex of energy in your own home by making an altar or shrine where you may sit each day and offer prayers and incense. Like the ancient temples, such a sanctuary space serves as a drawing point for the healing energy needed by the planet.

Buryat Shamanic Prayer Poles

Photo by Simon Matzinger

The Republic of Buryatia is home of the Buryats, a people of Northern Mongols. The republic is located in the south-central region of Siberia along the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water. For Buryat Shamanists and Buddhists, Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal is a sacred and holy place. Along Cape Burkhan on Olkhon Island there is a very important pilgrimage site -- Shamanka (shaman) Rock, one of the nine holy places of Asia. If you walk along Cape Burkhan, you will come across serges -- ritual poles swaddled in cloth and ribbons left by pilgrims. It is custom to tie a ribbon to a serge and make a prayer to promote peace, compassion, and wisdom. Pilgrims believe the prayers will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Different elements are associated with different colors -- a blue ribbon symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. According to Buddhist tradition, health and harmony are produced through the balance of the five elements.

Healing Story, Singing Drum

Singing Elk Drum

This is a story about healing. It is also a story about a singing drum. In October 2011, I felt spirit calling me. I felt compelled to travel to the sacred sites that beckoned me. I followed my deepest instincts. I traveled with my drum, medicine bundle, and helping spirits to shamanize the meridian system of her numinous web, which is the planetary counterpart to the acupuncture meridian system of the human body.

Early man discovered these planetary currents called ley lines. In China, they were known as dragon currents. The Aborigines of Australia know them as a line of songs. In England, the Druids referred to the old straight track. Native Americans regarded the energy channels as the serpent power or the great dragons. According to Cherokee mythology, the dragons once followed the will of the great shamans who would invoke them to protect the people and the land.

These energy ley lines contain a two-fold element, a male and female, positive and negative, expanding and reverting breath, resembling two magnetic currents -- the azure dragon and the white tiger. At the intersection points of the planet’s energy web exist holy places, power spots, or acupuncture points. Like acupuncture needles, humans are capable of maintaining the harmonious flow of the planetary energy meridians by making an earth connection at power places.

Many magical things happened during my two month pilgrimage. I soaked in the healing waters of Umpqua, Buckeye, Travertine, Whitmore, and Keough Hot Springs. I camped at Panther Meadows on Mount Shasta. I hiked among the oldest living things on the earth in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.

By happenstance, I encountered my dear friend and master drum maker Judith Thomson in Bishop, California. Judith and her husband, Lloyd studied about the healing power of sound with Jonathan Goldman. She studied the healing ways of the Native Americans who live in the states of Oregon and Washington. This included learning how they crafted drums and used their sounds for healing. Judith taught many people across the United States how to make drums and how to use drumming to heal.

Judith and I began facilitating workshops together in 1993. She was called by spirit to teach drum making and I was called to teach shamanic drumming. Unbeknownst to me, Judith had journeyed from her home in Packwood, Washington to facilitate a three-day drum making workshop in Big Pine, California. Upon her request, I helped Judith facilitate her final seminar before retirement and she helped me and twelve other participants birth the most beautiful singing drums I have ever heard.

After the seminar, Judith returned to Packwood and I was asked to stay for a drum blessing and workshop the following weekend after the wet rawhide drums had dried. The drum awakening ceremony was held outside next to Birch Creek. We asked each of the seven powers/directions to bless our drums. We thanked the animal spirits for giving their skins for our drum heads. We thanked the trees for the wooden rims and asked that our drums' hoops be connected to the World Tree which enables all trees to sing our prayers while drumming. Our drums were consecrated and we journeyed to meet our power animals.

The Big Pine seminar was the last time I ever saw Judith alive. She crossed over into the spirit world five months later on March 25, 2012. Judith mentored many drum makers and drum keepers in many communities across the United States and Canada. Her extraordinary passion and tireless devotion to "the way of the drum" has been a wellspring of inspiration for me. Hers was an authentic life well lived and she will be deeply missed.

The singing elk drum that Judith helped me birth at the Big Pine seminar turned out to be the last drum that she ever made. It has a remarkable range of tones and overtones. It is a powerful healing drum, but it is also a "desert drum." I learned this upon my return to my home in Salem, Oregon. In the humid, rainy climate of Western Oregon, the melodic desert drum that Judith and I created together became flat and toneless. It would only sing on the warmest, driest days of the summer. Even then, its voice was sad and melancholy.

For three years I debated whether I should soak the drum to loosen the rawhide, take the drum apart, and tighten the lacing of the drum, or simply return the drum to the Owens Valley. To rebuild a drum is to embark on a path of no return. You must first take stock of the situation and make certain that you have no other options. It should only be done as a last resort, for its effect upon the voice of the drum is unknowable. It should answer a real need and spring from unselfish motives. As Judith put it, "Making a drum is like pulling your heart together and giving birth to a new part of yourself."

Since rebuilding the drum would have irrevocably changed its voice, I chose to return the singing drum to its natal home. Like the adult Salmon that finds its way from the sea to the stream of its birth, I returned Judith's drum to the arid desert of its birth. I departed from Salem on April 16, 2015, retracing the route of my 2011 pilgrimage to Bishop, California. Along the way, I soaked in thermal hot springs, drummed in the earth's oldest living forest, visited an ancient vision quest site, and participated in sweat lodge and pipe ceremonies. The high point of my journey was when I presented Judith's final drum to my friend Marla. She is now the caretaker of this sacred drum. The drum is happy and sings again; it is full of songs.

Judith Thomson at the Big Pine Drum Making Seminar

Song of the Drum

My drum has many voices.

My drum tells many stories.

This drum is full of mystery.

This drum is full of dreams.

Listen to the drumbeat.

Listen to the heartbeat.

Now you hear the hoof beat.

Now you hear the wing beat.

All are One.

  —Michael Drake

Butterfly Medicine

The butterfly is an archetypal symbol of transformation, transmutation, and magic in world mythology and religion. Virtually all cultures have marveled at the magical process that transforms an ungraceful caterpillar into a magnificent fluttering butterfly. According to Hindu mythology, Brahma became filled with deep calm while observing a caterpillar’s transformation and was convinced to achieve perfection through rebirth. In China the butterfly was a symbol of conjugal bliss and joy. In the Hopi tradition unmarried girls of the Butterfly Clan wore their hair in the shape of butterfly wings. In many traditions, this most exquisite yet fragile creature was a symbol of the soul. Many cultures around the world believe that butterflies are the spirits of the deceased communing again with the earth.

I love to commune with the fluttering butterflies I encounter in my earth walk. They are dancing spirits made of color and joy. Many butterfly encounters have been powerful spiritual experiences in my life, like the monarch butterfly that landed on my nose the day after a loved one passed on. When I encounter one of these remarkable beings, I stop and observe them carefully. I have learned to trust these endearing spirit guides. Butterflies have brought me messages from my ancestors and guided me to specific places of power in the web of life on many occasions.

Sacred Power Places

Earth, human, and solar processes are interwoven through a vibrational resonant network around the planet. At the intersection points of the planet’s energy web exist holy places, power spots, or acupuncture points. According to the Hopi, the world would fall apart without these nodes of concentrated vitality. These sacred places are like nerve centers that distribute vital energy throughout the surrounding natural systems. When a human being goes to a power place, the attention of the Earth Mother is drawn to that area, and energy begins to flow to that spot because our bodies, like hers, are electromagnetic. Like acupuncture needles, humans are capable of maintaining the harmonious flow of the planetary energy meridians by making an Earth connection at power places.

There are special energy fields at power places that facilitate healing and transformation. Natural ionization occurs at power sites and ionized air is known to affect hormone levels, brain function, and consciousness. Air ions are charged molecules of common gaseous elements in the air, which form when uncharged stable molecules lose or gain an electron due to some disruption. Negative air ions carry an extra electron, producing a negative electrical charge. In nature, the catalysts of negative ions include waterfalls, ocean breakers, evergreen forests, caves, the summits of mountains, and the presence of unusually strong electromagnetic fields at power spots. An abundance of negative air ions invigorates us, reduces fatigue, stimulates the immune system, and helps open the portals of the mind to alternate realities. The spirits that inhabit power points are ready and willing to communicate their energies to those who come in gratitude, openness, and humility. Butterfly Medicine protects sacred power places and facilitates transformation.

The Cycle of Transformation

Butterfly Medicine is all about transformations, the element of Air, and mental powers. Butterfly can bring clarity to your mental process, help you organize the project you are undertaking, and assist you in finding the next step in your career or life path. The power that Butterfly brings to us is akin to the air. It is the mind, and the ability to know the mind or to change it. It is the art of transformation. Butterflies teach us by example about self-transformation. Scientific research has shown that the butterfly is the only living being capable of completely changing its genetic structure. During the process of transformation, the caterpillar's DNA totally changes into that of a butterfly. Thus, it is the symbol of the never-ending cycle of transformation.

To use Butterfly Medicine, you must determine your position in the cycle of self-transformation or transmutation. Like Butterfly, you are always at a certain station in your life activities. You may be at the egg stage, which is the beginning of all things. This is the stage at which an idea is born, but has not yet become a reality. To bring an intended pattern into being, you must first undergo a self-transformation. Make a clean sweep of negative, limiting, or otherwise outmoded patterns, and then start anew. The larva stage is the point at which you decide to create the idea in the physical world. The cocoon stage involves going within; doing or developing your idea or project. You must listen to your inner voice. The final stage of transformation or transmutation is the leaving of the chrysalis and birth. The last step involves sharing the colors and joy of your creation with the world. 

The Rhythm of Transformation

This linear image is Hexagram 50 from the I Ching, the ancient Chinese oracle and "book of change." It is known as Transformation. This hexagram image symbolizes the transforming power of intent (wind) when aligned with the clarity and flow of intuitive mind (fire). It implies that you must rely on your intuition to guide you toward your intended objective. Following the intuitive sense connects you to the guiding forces of the cosmos. When you renew the flow of intuitive mind, synchronous activity appears within consciousness as the most natural thing to do. Whatever it is, it will carry you to what you need to do next in order to embody your idea in the material world. Just as a caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly from the cocoon, so this cycle of transformation will give wings to your vision.

More importantly, this hexagram image depicts a particular drum pattern that renders the essence of the hexagram into sound (see my book I Ching:The Tao of Drumming paid link). The pattern image or six-line configuration is the visual representation of an archetypal condition. The I Ching is a codebook of archetypal patterns, in which the hexagrams counsel appropriate action in the moment for a given set of circumstances. While the pattern image symbolizes a particular condition, the drum pattern pulsates a particular resonance, which stimulates, works with, and informs the body, mind, and spirit in the most optimal manner for effecting change or harmonizing with change. A solid yang line _____ symbolizes consolidated, unified energy moving upward or forward and represents one beat. A broken yin line __  __ symbolizes collective, cooperative energy pressing downward and represents two beats or one heartbeat. All I Ching hexagrams are read or played from bottom to top.

The rhythmic pattern of Hexagram 50, Transformation is depicted below. To play the rhythm of Transformation, you simply drum a heartbeat, followed by three single beats, followed by a heartbeat, ending with one final beat, and then pause before beginning the cycle again. Follow your inner sense of timing as to both the tempo and time span to drum. Trust your inner timing. It connects you to the resonances affecting you at this moment in time.

   

Line 6        _____              drum

Line 5        __  __        drum—drum

Line 4        _____              drum

Line 3        _____              drum

Line 2        _____              drum

Line 1        __  __        drum—drum 

While drumming, you should have a receptive attitude of calm, positive expectation. Such resonant receptivity allows whatever factors or forces are present to fully penetrate your senses. Any attempt to analyze or conceptualize the experience will only fragment the resonant field. The key is still the mind and focus your attention on the hexagram image. As the drumming progresses and your inner image of the hexagram becomes clearer, close your eyes and feel yourself being carried away by the rhythm, as if going on a journey into yourself. With time and patience, the rhythm archetype will begin to release a rush of intuitive ideas. Inspiration and insight regarding the unfolding pattern of your destiny may flow into your awareness. However, it is not essential that you become cognizant or consciously aware of any particular insight or guidance. Simply resonate in sync with the vibrational pattern of the hexagram. The qualities needed to transform a personal vision into a reality will interpenetrate every aspect of your being. These qualities will be engendered in you and resonate out to influence all aspects of your experience in the same manner.

After drumming the hexagram, repose in the sonic afterglow of physical and spiritual well being. When the final drumbeat fades into silence, an inaudible, yet perceptible pulsation persists for a brief period. This silent pulse is ever present within each of us, but our awareness is rarely in sync with it. Sense this silent pulse resonating within your body. You may experience the sensation of every particle in your body pulsing in sync with the rhythm you just played. This inner pulse entrains to the rhythmic pattern as soon as you begin to drum. This synchrony of inner pulse with the appropriate hexagram rhythm brings you into accord with the dynamics of change.

The Opportunity for Transformation

Butterfly Medicine reminds us that we need to allow ourselves to adapt to changes taking place either within us or surrounding us. We should make necessary changes when the opportunities present themselves. Change is inevitable, but Butterfly teaches us that it does not have to be traumatic. Butterfly teaches us that growth and change can be as gentle, sweet, and joyful as we wish. We should emulate the magical butterfly by moving out of the caterpillar stage, cocooning ourselves within the opportunity for transformation and waiting with seeds of patience for our final manifestation. 

Watch out! When you encounter Butterfly Medicine, be prepared to undergo some form of transformation or internal growth. 

Copyright © 2013 by Michael Drake

Drumming in Boynton Canyon

I love the sound of the drum echoing in the canyons. The Boynton Canyon cliff dwelling, near Sedona, Arizona, is one of the most memorable places I have ever drummed. After all, my journey into shamanic drumming began in Sedona in 1989. Known for its deep red color, Sedona has some of the most spectacular sandstone canyons and buttes found anywhere in the world. Boynton Canyon is one of the most scenic of the box canyons that make Arizona Red Rock Country so famous. The Boynton Canyon cliff dwelling is located 2 miles west of Sedona in the Secret Mountain Wilderness which is part of Coconino National Forest. You'll find the Boynton Canyon trailhead just outside the entrance to the Enchantment Resort. 

From its start, the Boynton Canyon Trail hugs towering red rock cliffs and offers a view of "Kachina Woman," a red-rock spire rising high in the desert sky. Here among the towering buttes, crimson cliffs, and natural desert gardens, the Verde Hohokam (aka Southern Sinagua) built cliff dwellings between A.D. 1125 and 1300. Look for ancient ruins tucked into shallow cliff-side caves. The largest ruin, Boynton Canyon cliff dwelling, is located about ½ mile north inside a cave-like alcove about half way up the right (East) face of the canyon. Keep looking to your right for a trail up to the ruins in the side of the cliff with a large overhang.

The Boynton Canyon cliff dwelling has a few rooms, constructed around a small spring that emanates inside the overhang that shelters the dwelling. It is not unusual to hear chanting, drumming, or the haunting sounds of a flute emanating from the ruins. If ceremonies are in progress, do not interrupt. Boynton Canyon is still sacred to the Yavapai Native Americans who consider Boynton as their place of origin.  

Drumming and chanting in this acoustic grotto and canyon produce an ethereal soundscape.  The combination of instrument and architecture can be used to create an elaborate sonic environment. This is a mystical place where the human voice is amplified and where musical sounds linger in the air as abiding echoes. Tones magnified and echoed by stone surfaces seemed to come from everywhere, yet nowhere. The harmonics create a great opening or gateway to the spirit world. Just as I use musical sound to create sacred space in my home each day, my musical improvisations in places like Boynton Canyon are rooted in an attempt to reach the divine -- to harmonize heaven and earth.

The Archaeoacoustics of the Maya Pyramid of Kukulkan

On my first pilgrimage to the Maya ceremonial center of Chichen Itza in March 1995, I discovered that an incredible acoustic phenomenon can be heard at the Pyramid of Kukulkan. If you clap your hands directly in front of the pyramid's main staircase, it echoes back an almost mechanical bird-like chirping sound. Handclaps from different positions along the base of the staircase likewise trigger the echo, but with different musical tones spanning half an octave. Tour guides and tourists like to clap their hands to hear a chirped echo in a range of different notes. 

Me atop Kukulkan Pyramid in 1995

In 1998 acoustician David Lubman recorded the hand-clap echoes at Kukulkan Pyramid and compared them with recordings of the nearly extinct Quetzal, the sacred bird associated with both the name of the pyramid and its plumed serpent deity Kukulkan/Quetzalcoatl. He found that recordings and sonograms of several echoes really do match the bird's cry. Even more amazing is that same clap also seems to echo back the sound of a rattlesnake off the stairway of the nearby Temple of the Warriors a split second after the bird sound. On either side of the stairway are two stone columns four feet wide, carved to represent feathered rattlesnakes. It takes a while to find the right spot to clap to get the effect of both sounds, but it's worth it to hear that at least once in a lifetime. 

Whether the pyramid was built to deliberately produce these evocative echoes, or it happened by chance, is still a matter of debate among scientists and archaeologists. Inspection and ray acoustic modeling provide a simple physical explanation for the chirped echo -- the "picket fence effect" due to periodic sound reflections from the treads of the staircase. The reason that a chirp like a bird is produced is because of geometry. The time between later reflections is longer than early reflections causing the frequency of the echo to rapidly drop by about an octave.

Me in the Ballcourt with friends-1995

The Great Ballcourt is another structure at Chichen Itza that displays unusual and unexplained acoustic anomalies. The stone walls act like an acoustic waveguide and words softly whispered at one end of the ball court (measuring 545 feet long by 225 feet wide) are clearly audible all the way at the other end and a single clap or shout sounded in the center of the ball court will produce nine distinct echoes. According to acoustician David Lubman, "the Great Ballcourt (GBC) can produce mind-bending sound effects supportive of ancient Maya mythology described in their best-known creation story, the Popol Vuh. GBC sound effects include hallucinatory disembodied voices, shouting crowds, the whooping of an invisible bird flying rapidly through the playing field, and, with middling success, growling jaguars and menacing rattlesnakes. These animals are also represented in GBC carvings and frescoes."

Lubman's findings at Chichen Itza suggest that its ancient builders were skilled theatrical sound designers who engineered sound for mind manipulation. Sound effects discovered so far seem uniquely appropriate for each monument and may be intentional designs. If the theory of intentional design has merit, we are led to two extraordinary conjectures. The Maya may be the only people known to have "coded" a sound into stone. The chirped echo at this 1300-year-old Maya pyramid in the Yucatan may be the world's oldest known sound recording!

Drumming in the Great Kiva of Chaco Canyon

I have made pilgrimages to sacred sites throughout North America, but the Great Kiva Casa Rinconada in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico is the most powerful place I have ever drummed. A Great Kiva is a large, circular, usually subterranean structure that was designed and used by Anasazi peoples for ceremonial and communal gatherings. The two masonry box-like vaults found on the floor of most Great Kivas are believed to have been covered with planks and served as foot drums. I first drummed here in 1991 when the NPS still allowed entry into the kiva. The sonic phenomena within a kiva transcend the usual range of auditory experience. The walls of the stone structure reflect, amplify, and transform the sounds of the drum, resulting in some extraordinary harmonics. Drum sounds become distorted and seem to expand and move around the chamber due to an acoustic phenomenon known as standing waves. As sound waves reverberate between the walls, they either cancel or combine, causing certain resonant frequencies to either completely disappear or intensify, change in pitch, and develop vibrato. Within a kiva, it is possible to compose an entirely new auditory universe from the architecture of sound itself. Click here for a guide to Anasazi sites of the Southwest.

The Nature Spirits of Breitenbush

For the past week, I have been camped near Breitenbush Hot Springs, about 75 miles east of Salem, Oregon. Since discovering the peaceful hot springs in 1980, I have made periodic pilgrimages to Breitenbush to soak and shamanize. I have visited sacred sites throughout North America, but Breitenbush is the most enchanting nirvana I have ever experienced. Indigenous people worldwide believe that where fire and water mix at a hot spring is a sacred place. Healing ceremonies and like-minded gatherings have been traditionally held at these power spots. 

Hot springs are a link between the lower world and the middle earth plane and provide a means of tapping into those sacred feminine powers. A water deity, usually a goddess, resides in each spring. People make pilgrimages to thermal springs to connect with the goddess and to supplicate the benefits of her healing graces.

I prefer to soak and commune at the hot springs early in the day when the veil between the physical and spiritual realms is at its thinnest. I begin my morning with a sweat in the rustic outdoor steam sauna. The small wood house, which seats 9 to 12, is built over a hot springs creek.  Emerging from the lower world, the purifying steam rises through the slatted floor, cleansing body, mind and spirit. Rays of sunlight slant down through cracks in the roof and walls, illuminating the ethereal water vapors. The heat from the steam sinks into my skin and muscles. My body sighs deeply. I settle into a comfortable position and close my eyes.

I offer silent prayers to the deity and spirit keepers of the healing waters. I pray for my own healing and the healing of all who enter the sauna. I ask the healing waters to draw out any toxins, cleansing me completely. I express my love and gratitude to the water spirits, who then hold and perpetuate these patterns of intention. The water molecules of the sacred springs take the form of each pilgrim’s thoughts, words and emotions. The elements are living energies that change and move as we think and then take the form of our thoughts. Thought is the tool of the mind that shapes physical reality. From the water spirits, we learn to plant seeds of good cause. We learn that energy and life force follow thought.

Feeling cleansed and renewed, I slowly arise, thanking the spirits for their water blessings. I step out of the sauna and the cool morning air tingles on my warm, moist skin. My body and spirit are aglow as I towel off and dress. As I approach the path to the upper sacred hot springs, I encounter a deer grazing along the trail above me. I stop to savor the moment as the beautiful doe saunters up the trail and out of sight. Later, as I depart the hot springs, I sight three more deer, including a young buck.

Deer is the power animal that chose to reveal itself to me at Breitenbush. Deer symbolizes gentleness, alertness, speed, adaptability, keen scent and the healing power of love and generosity. Deer offers humans a much needed medicine. They remind us of what is innocent and truthful. Deer subsist from the heart, with a deep instinctual knowing that is always connected to the web of life. They live from the heart and are not entrapped by their reason. Humans, on the other hand, tend to live from the head, trying to figure everything out. But the energy that comes in from the source is directed through our hearts. We come into our own power when we learn to live from the heart. We can participate in the world’s rebirth by following our own deepest instincts, each contributing our sacred part by following that which holds for us the greatest sense of truth and meaning.

Later in the evening, the skies over Mt. Jefferson turn leaden with storm clouds and the sound of distant thunder rumbles through the South Breitenbush canyon. I make tobacco offerings to the Thunderbeings in the fire pit of my encampment and thunder booms diectly over my head. Rain begins to fall and I throw a tarp over the fire pit to keep the wood dry. I take shelter, pick up my drum and begin playing the Thunder Beat. I supplicate the Thunder Beings to bestow their enlightenment upon humanity as the lightning enlightens the earth. I continue drumming until the sound of thunder fades into the distance and the rains begin to subside.

After the rousing storm, a mist gently rises from the roaring falls, cascading just feet from my idyllic encampment. I uncover the fire pit, make offerings to the spirits and build a fire. I thank the spirits for the blessings received, and the blessings yet to come. I shake my rattle and invoke the elements: earth, water, fire, and air into my sacred space. 

The elements are the building blocks of nature and interact with humans in the creative process. It is the cohesion of the four elements that hold material reality in form. Collectively, they define the vibratory infrastructure that literally holds together our resonant field of reality. Inviting their presence, participation, and assistance not only aligns us with their power, but also is a way of giving energy that helps revitalize these primal forces. 

After warming my drum by the fire, I play the rhythms of the Four Elements. As I drum, I hold my intention for this fire ceremony. I then drum the Deer Beat to invoke its power for the benefit of the community. I become a hollow bone and imagine the spirit of Deer flowing through me, with all of its corresponding qualities and abilities. 

Deer medicine instills an understanding of what’s truly necessary for survival and what to sacrifice for the higher good. Deer teaches us to find the gentleness of spirit that heals all wounds. We must be gentle with ourselves, in spite of our errors, and gentle with others who react from a place of fear or anger.

My heart is wide open and blissful. I shake my rattle four times. I express my gratitude to the archetypal elements and helping spirits for their participation and assistance and send them off, releasing their energies to the seven directions. Oh, how I love shamanizing with the nature spirits in the Emerald Forest of South Breitenbush. 

The Azure Dragon and the White Tiger

by Michael Drake

The 2011 Winter Solstice will occur at 05:30 (or 5:30am) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on December 22, 2011, when winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere. Solstice means "Standing-Still-Sun." At Winter Solstice, the Sun journeys farthest south in its orbital path and for the next three days it rises and sets at virtually the same place on the horizon, appearing to stand still, and then it slowly returns north. 

Like the sun, my journey south has ended. I am returning north to rest in my Oregon home. Compelled by Mother Earth's birthing pangs, I left home to shamanize the meridian system of her numinous web. Earth, human, and solar processes are interwoven through a vibrational resonant network around the planet. These energy ley lines contain a two-fold element, a male and female, positive and negative, expanding and reverting breath, resembling two magnetic currents--the azure dragon and the white tiger. At the intersection points of the planet's energy web exist holy places, power spots, or acupuncture points. Like acupuncture needles, humans are capable of maintaining the harmonious flow of the planetary energy meridians by making an Earth connection at power places.

Many magical things happened during my two month pilgrimage. I soaked in the healing waters of Umpqua, Buckeye, Travertine, Whitmore, and Keough Hot Springs. I camped at Panther Meadows on Mount Shasta. I hiked among the oldest living things on the earth in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.  

By happenstance, I encountered my dear friend and master drum maker, Judith Thomson in Bishop, CA. Judith and I began facilitating workshops together in 1993. She was called by spirit to teach drum making and I was called to teach shamanic drumming. Unbeknownst to me, Judith had journeyed from her home in Packwood, WA to facilitate a drum making seminar in Big Pine, CA. I helped Judith teach her final class before retirement and she helped me and thirteen other participants birth the most beautiful singing drums I have ever heard. Thank you Judith!  

After the seminar, Judith returned to Packwood and I was asked to stay for a drum blessing and workshop the following weekend after the wet rawhide drums had dried. The drum circle was held outside next to Birch Creek. We asked each of the six powers/directions to bless our drums. We thanked the animal spirits for giving their hides for our drum heads. We thanked the trees for the wooden rims and asked that our drums' hoops be connected to the World Tree which enables all trees to sing our prayers while drumming. Our drums were consecrated and we journeyed to meet our power animals. 

The Azure Dragon

Over the next six weeks, I facilitated two more workshops, taught classes, and administered drum therapy treatments in a creek-side yurt at the base of Birch Mountain on the east side of the Sierra Nevada crest. It is here that I met a protective mountain dragon. The Sierra Nevada range embodies the spirit of a great green dragon. The azure mountain dragon has empowered my life immeasurably. Dragon carries me higher and deeper into myself than any energy I know.

The Chinese Year of the Dragon is in 2012. The last Year of the Dragon, which occurred in 2000, was fraught with fear. There was a lot of trepidation about the collapse of our technological world, the Y2K bug and other millennial prophecies that turned out to be more hype than bite. The Year of the Dragon is again just around the corner and fear is once more an issue. This time it's the Mayan Calendar and the alleged prophecy that the world will end. Is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, which comes around every 12 years, truly something to be feared?

According to Cherokee wisdom-keeper Dhyani Ywahoo, the energy of the Ukdena, the great dragons used to protect this land, but the dragons have now become tied into the mountains or moved into another dimension. She believes that the connection between these dragons and the mind of humans is significant in these changing times. Ywahoo explains, "Basically, the dragon is the unconscious of all nations, the untamed energies of anger and fear, waiting to be called into the light of clear thought. Until people awaken to their own minds, the dragon appears to be dangerous; when emotions are tamed, the dragon becomes a winged angelic being." (Voices of Our Ancestors: Cherokee Teachings from the Wisdom Fire, p. 16)  

The White Tiger 

Prior to my final workshop at Mammoth Lakes on December 7th, I planned a four day desert exploration. In one day I drove from Mt. Whitney (the sacred masculine), the tallest mountain in the continuous 48 states, into Death Valley (the sacred feminine), the lowest elevation in North America. Shortly after entering Death Valley National Park, I took an 8 mile detour north along the Saline Valley Road to visit a Joshua Tree forest at Lee Flat. The Saline Valley Road is very rough and progress was slow, but I eventually reached the magical forest. A cold wind buffeted me each time I left the confines of my truck to hike and photograph the forest. I would have camped here for the night if not for the high elevation and bitter cold wind (winds follow the tiger). I camped instead at Panamint Springs Resort, 22 miles inside the western border of Death Valley National Park. 

The following day, I explored Darwin Falls and the remote Panamint Valley, adjacent to Death Valley. I camped for the next few days at the far northeast end of the South Panamint Dry Lake, a small wetland, grassland, dune system and mesquite bosque. The warm sulphur springs of this desert oasis provide habitat for frogs, shore birds, marsh hawks, and wild burros. A short-eared owl visited my campsite each evening at dusk and a white tiger prowled my dreams each night. Few things are more serene than the deep stillness of the desert on a starry night. 

Oh, how I love vagabonding. Like drumming, nomadic wandering alters your consciousness. It is another means of habit annihilation, for reimprinting on alternate realties. When you leave home, meet new people, experience new stimuli, and process new information, you're soon intoxicated on a natural high. Vagabonding is nothing less than reality transformation, and its power is not to be underestimated. It is essentially meeting people, and every person that I met on my journey has enriched my life in some remarkable way. 

To view my photo travelogue, click here. 

Bagby Hot Springs Journey Tubs

by Michael Drake

One of my favorite sacred sites is Bagby Hot Springs located about 67 miles southeast of Portland, OR. I make periodic pilgrimages to Bagby to soak and journey in the hollowed-out cedar log bathtubs. The cedar log tubs symbolize and embody the "World Tree," which is the central axis linking the three inner planes of consciousness: the upper, middle, and lower worlds. Moreover, the thermal waters of Bagby are a link between the lower world and the middle earth plane. Like the classic Steppenwolf rock song, a shamanic journey here is nothing short of a "Magic Carpet Ride." Though I savor the divine natural sounds of Bagby, the profane human sounds can be distracting. I recommend that pilgrims bring shamanic journey music and a portable audio device with headphones to support your journey:

I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine

On a cloud of sound I drift in the night

Any place it goes is right

Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here

 

--"Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf

"Places of Peace and Power"

Martin Gray is an intrepid National Geographic photographer whose work I have been following since meeting him in 1993 at the Earth and Spirit Conference in Portland, Oregon. Over the course of 25 years, he traveled to 120 countries on a photographic Vision Quest to sacred sites all over the world. In his travels, he recognized that the sacred places he visited were repositories of many of the world's greatest artistic and cultural treasures. But because of their outdoor locations and resulting exposure to industrial pollution, these structures do not receive the protection given to paintings, sculptures, and other museum art. To draw attention to the precarious situation of the world's sacred sites, Martin published Sacred Earth: Places of Peace and Power, which bears beautiful testimony to his life's mission and to his deep connection to Spirit. Hundreds of full color plates capture the essence of these great pilgrimage shrines. Prior to taking each picture Martin offered up a prayer to the Spirit of the place asking them to, "fill my photographs with such feeling and power that people may one day look upon them and be magically transported to these places." It is more than evident that those prayers were answered. Martin says, "I personally consider these photographs to be telescopes through which you may peer across time and space into enchanted domains of sublime beauty." 

"In the Light of Reverence"

The award winning documentary, "In the Light of Reverence" explores three places considered sacred by American Indians: Devils Tower in Wyoming, the Colorado Plateau in the Southwest and Mount Shasta in California. The native peoples who traditionally care for these areas still struggle to co-exist with mainstream society. The film contrasts perspectives of Hopi, Wintu and Lakota elders on the spiritual meaning of place with views of non-Indians who have very different ideas about land, culture and what is sacred. The continuing degradation of sacred sites stems not only from colonial attitudes about the lands where native people live and worship, but also from prejudice and disrespect for native religions. Indian religious freedom is an environmental issue, and the destruction of sacred sites is the ultimate environmental racism. Watch the trailer or rent the DVD from Netflix.

Breitenbush Hot Springs

Breitenbush Steam Sauna

For the past week, I have been camped near Breitenbush Hot Springs, adjacent to Mt. Jefferson, the great sacred mountain and second highest peak in Oregon. Since discovering the tranquil hot springs in 1980, I have made periodic pilgrimages to Breitenbush to "take the waters." I have visited sacred sites throughout North America, but Breitenbush is the most enchanting nirvana I have ever experienced.

Indigenous people worldwide believe that where fire and water mix at a hot spring is a sacred place. Healing ceremonies and like-minded gatherings have been traditionally held at these power spots. Hot springs are a link between the lower world and the middle earth plane and provide a means of tapping into those sacred feminine powers. A water deity, usually a goddess, resides in each spring. People make pilgrimages to thermal springs to connect with the goddess and to supplicate the benefits of her healing graces. The sacred ambience of the place, its geothermal energy and the pilgrim's relationship to it, is sufficient to fulfill the pilgrim’s aspirations.

I retreat to a remote streamside camp whenever visiting Breitenbush. A roaring white creek cascades steeply in a series of falls just feet from my idyllic encampment. It provides a unique soundscape in which to immerse myself for days at a time. The thunder of cascading water releases abundant negative ions, which open the portals of the mind to alternate realities. The water spirits resound day and night. I hear different qualities, depending on where I stand or sit. Sometimes it is a soothing wind like murmur and then a deep, reverberating boom. I can feel the waterfalls drumming my body like a great water drum. I float in a light trance much of the time.

I am truly inspired by the sacred ambience of this place. I hike, write or make music throughout the day as the mood hits me. I regale the spirits with song, flute, drum and rattle. I ask the water spirits to carry my musical offerings downstream to mother ocean, blessing all along the way.

I prefer to soak and commune at the hot springs early in the day when the veil between the physical and spiritual realms is at its thinnest. The rituals are simple and the prayers silent, out of respect for any pilgrims who may be taking the waters with me.

I begin my morning with a sweat in the rustic outdoor sauna. Rays of sunlight slant down through cracks in the roof and walls, illuminating the ethereal water vapors. The purifying steam cleanses my body, mind and spirit. As I suffer through the first of four rounds, one for each of the cardinal directions, the English lyrics to Jim Pepper's classic Comanche peyote song, "Witchi Tai To" begin to go through my head:

Water Spirit feelin' springin' round my head

Makes me feel glad that I'm not dead



The words lift my spirit and bolster me through each round of my thermal bath. Between rounds, I step out of the steamy sauna and cool off in a nearby claw foot tub full of icy cold water. After four cycles of fire and ice, I lounge outside the sauna, savoring the soothing whisper of nearby Breitenbush River. Feeling cleansed and renewed, I dry off and don my swim trunks and river sandals. I venture up the trail to the upper sacred hot springs.

As I enter the hot springs, I bend over and dip my hands into the pool and gently splash the healing waters across my shoulders three times, ritually cleansing myself. I offer silent prayers to the deity and spirit keepers of the healing waters. I pray for my own healing and the healing of all who enter the sacred pools. The heat from the mineral water sinks into my skin and muscles. My body sighs deeply. I gradually settle into a comfortable position and close my eyes. I hear water spirits singing in my head. It starts as a high pitch ringing, like a Tibetan bowl singing in my ear. I focus on the resonating tone and my ordinary world falls away.  

In my reverie, I enter the watery depths of the dreamtime. My awareness follows the circuitous path of the springs deep into the earth back to their source. Like a sauna for the soul, the lower world’s intense heat and steam draw out any toxins, cleansing me completely. The inferno dissolves the existing order and fashions a new arrangement from the pieces. I am reborn in the fiery womb of the sacred mother. After a seemingly timeless sojourn, my awareness floats upward through her crust, bubbles into the pool, and then enters my dreaming body.

Satiated, I slowly arise, thanking the spirits for their water blessings. I step out of the thermal springs and the cool morning air tingles on my warm, moist skin. My body and spirit are aglow as I towel off and dress. I follow the path back to the lodge to share an organic meal with other rejuvenated pilgrims.

After enjoying the hospitality and vegetarian cuisine of Breitenbush Lodge, I return to my streamside camp where water ouzels flit about in the spray and dance along the mossy half-submerged boulders. These joyous song birds, who spend their lives feeding on the bottom of fast-moving rocky streams, are often my only companions in such remote aquatic places. I lie down for an afternoon siesta and a water ouzel alights in my dream; or is it the other way around? Am I the water ouzel dreaming of being a man?