The Unnamed Path

The above symbol (the blue lines) was given to me by the Ancestors of Men-who-love-men as a means of opening a portal to communicate with the dead. It is drawn energetically with your hand or the wand, over the skull. The circle is drawn first, and then the pairs of lines. I like to draw the two pairs of vertical lines first - they are drawn inward toward the center of the circle. Then I draw the two horizontal pairs of lines - they are drawn outward away from the circle. I then use my hands to dilate or open up the circle as a portal and reach through it with my capacity to love in order to summon the Ancestors to be present for the Tapping of the Bone ritual.

When visiting Palm Springs this weekend, my partner and I decided to take a day hike to an ancient sacred native site - Indian Canyons. Here, the geology of the desert is such that springs burst forth from the tilted rock mountains creating valleys bursting with life in an ordinarily rocky, dead location.

The canopy of palm trees overhead shaded the land and dropped the temperature by about 15° F. As we hiked deeper into the canyon, all traces of humanity disappeared, and the pristine land came forth. This area is virtually untouched by humanity - the only evidence is a worn footpath of dirt paralleling the small stream. Many of the trees were blackened from a fire that must have happened recently, and yet all of the trees were green and lush. I stopped for a moment and listened deep into the heart of the earth. My eyes vision went slightly out of focus as I “zoned out.” I reached out with my soul, using the capacity to love that we as Men-who-love-men inherenty have, and spoke with the spirits of nature.

“I come with an open heart, a desire to know your ways and a deep respect for your kind. I ask for your permission to proceed.” I said. The guardians of the land made their presence known and they beamed with happiness for the shaman that was about to enter their paradise. “This is the land of fire, rock and wind. We have shaped this land and it is our domain. Humans have been coming into our territory and unnaturally introducing foreign plants, invading water and shifting the balance of life here. We don’t need your help, as our kind have ever dwelt here and can handle the situation, but we ask that you bring the awareness of the invasion to others.” the guardians said in chorus. “I shall do as you ask. Can I give you some energy to assist in you in your work in recovering from the fire that happened here?” I asked. “No… fire is a normal part of our life, and we can handle it.” the nature spirits responded.

We continued on our trek snaking along the small stream. I could hear ancestral laughter and see figures out of the corners of my eyes. The people who originally lived here led happy lives. They were in harmony with the earth and the forces of nature. They depended on the stream and the palms for their livelihood. Children used to float palm frond boats in the stream. Women wove baskets out of the leaves. men carved the trunks into containers. It was true harmony.

As a shaman and deathwalker, I have learned to quiet my inner mind chatter and turn my spiritual ear toward the land and toward the ancestors. I’ve learned to listen to their voices from the past, share their stories and take away whatever wisdom they are willing to impart. This time around they merely wanted me to share their story with others, and remember that the important thing in life is the time we spend with others, the relationships we have, and remembering to always approach everything with the joyful innoncence of a child.

The work of a deathwalker is intense and involves spirit contact in order to retrieve lost lore and guidance.

Last night I made a visit to my favorite little cemetery. It’s the oldest cemetery in the city and it’s open all night long - no gates, no guards - just dead folk. I paid my 9¢ at the entry to the cemetery to honor the Dark Lady and went in. I had two objectives in mind: to connect with the spirits of the land, and to visit the ancestors of Men-Who-Love-Men.

First, I picked a nice grassy area in the middle of the cemetery and then did an exercise to merge with the land. This cemetery is special because it lies along a ley line (energy line). The ley lines, for the most part in Southern California, follow the lines of the major faults in the area. It is as if the cracks in the earth allow the energy of the underworld to seep up and radiate out across the land allowing fertility and creation to manifest there.

In order to merge with the land, I placed my feet firmly on the ground and called out to the spirits of the land. I asked them respectfully to show me their wisdom and to help me form a relationship with them. I then reached out with my heart and gut down into the earth below me and pulled the energy of the land up through my body. As I pulled it up into my body, I raised my hands on either side to help it move into me. By the time the energy was at about shoulder height, I actually felt not so much as if the land energy was moving into me, as I was sinking into the land. When I pulled the energy all the way to the top of my being and had my hands held high over my head, I reversed the process. I brought my hands down and as I did so, I pushed my energy down into the earth in a sacred marriage between myself and the land. In that merging, I made a relationship with the guardians of the cemetery and the spirits that move through the land in that spot. The cemetery suddenly felt VERY comfortable and welcoming.

I then began my process of entering the trance and traveling into the underworld. I started to turn the mill counter-clockwise to open a portal down into the underworld. I walked forward around the circle with my left hand extended toward the center of the circle and my gaze fixed upon the center of all things. As my pace quickened and my breathing intensified, I felt myself starting to tread down into the land. I went faster and faster until at one point I looked up and saw the middle world above me and then collapsed into the center of my portal and let the journey happen.

I went to the bonfire in the underworld and visited the Ancestors of Men-Who-Love-Men and they were very happy to see me. I asked them what they thought of the podcasts that I had been doing and they liked them. They told me I’ve given enough spiritual foundation that now the time has come for me to speak about the issues we as gay men face in society and how these spritiual practices can help heal them or overcome them. My podcasts are going to reflect that change a bit more - to show how this is truly a gay men’s spiritual path. When I was ready to return to the middle world I turned to leave but I felt a presence next to my physical body. I heard breathing. I asked who he was and what he wanted. He was the one gay spirit buried in that cemetery who wanted to go up to the Upper World. He was done roaming there. He literally said, “Can I go with you?” and I said yes.

I asked my guides to assist me with the process and they hooked him onto my back. I then stood up in my trance and began turning the mill in the opposite direction - clockwise - in order to work my way to the upperworld. I moved faster and faster, around and around until I looked up and saw pure brilliance then I stopped. As the spirit disembarked from my back, I began to spin and get dizzy and stumble about and finally ended up on all fours shuddering as he detached from my energy field. He was glad to go - and my spirit guide took him to his destination.

It took me a moment before I came back to physical reality. Mission accomplished. The work of the deathwalker was done.