I am a sucker for a talus slope. I love hiking in granite country, watching it glisten in the sun. Smelling the timelessness of the lichen baking on the rocks in the heat of summer.
Different landscapes also feel very different to me, and although rock is not the only factor I do notice the difference myself. I like your description of areas with igneous rocks as being mord connected to the core of the Earth. One particular spot that isn't widely known has felt particularly strong to me. Once I passed through the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma, a range of small granite peaks that rise out of the plains. I camped for one night and took a hike the next day, then moved on.
As soon as I got there, it felt like an unusual intensity of presence, even compared to other areas with granite. I had some of the most vivid dreams of my life that night, including perceiving smells in a dream. On my hike, I found a small patch of sugar maples, which was how I'd first heard of the Wichitas, as they have a disjunct population of sugar maples that are far to the southwest of other wild populations, a relic of the ice age.
Rock is definitely not the only factor. There are legacies of water, layers of ecosystems and human history, and also an aspect that "just is", a sort of personality of place that can't really be explained.
Thanks for the pronunciation of Gneiss, as a hobbyist I learned that one the hard way giving a passionate speech to the interior prospectors association on my rockhounding hobby and how it intersects with gold panning as an invited guest speaker. Little did I know an actual geologist was in attendance and he corrected me. Thankfully he was amazing about it and told me I had done well otherwise privately!
I feel simultaneously drawn to Eugene, New Mexico, and the UK.
I believe I must venture/ live in all of these places. Tho also sometimes also think “am I making all of this up??”
That’s why I choose to see the spiritual journey as “infinite doorways “
In this sense the question is no longer “is this the right decision?”
Instead becomes “am I walking through this doorway with conviction?”
Walking thru doorways, hopping through portals , it’s all the same. It’s just important we do it with conviction..That way the magic can unfold and flow bc we have shown the universe we fully trust by going all in . That’s how I see it
I appreciate that distinction. "Right" and "wrong" is the domain of the mind, and it is easy for intuitive guidance to get shifted into that language and perception within us. The mind wants certainty, and I have found within myself a tendency to round something up to "right" rather than living comfortably in the mystery and uncertainty until clarity arrives naturally.
Interestingly I felt drawn to the southern Appalachians in my high school years, but that mostly faded until recently, as Oregon became my home.
Perhaps some of us are polyamorous and some of us are serial monogamists when it comes to our relationship with place. I know some people who maintain a sense of home, friends, connections across multiple parts of the globe.
May you feel clarity and conviction as you walk through doorways!
Quartz can be igneous or metamorphic. Often in veins or crystals it is precipitated from geothermal waters rather than solidified from magma. This still has the "blood of the Earth" igneous feeling to me, but with more of the "infinitely variable living potential" aspect of metamorphic rock. So - maybe a combination of those two?
I'm out east until the 16th. When I thought I would be driving I was going to check in with you about visiting, but now it looks like I'll be leaving my car here, flying back, and then moving here with my stuff in late March/early April.
Oh congratulations Markael! You are making the move. How exciting for you. I look forward to hearing more about how that decision came about/the resonance you are finding there.
I find that I can only feel with clarity a few steps ahead, and I need to let go of my need to have a plan or a vision for how things will proceed beyond that. Perhaps the pattern is not yet woven.
In the moment, I have found that I have no energy/excitement for the drive back west, and that I am feeling a sense of home and belonging in this region that I want to continue exploring. Though I will feel a grief for leaving my beloved Marys Peak and special places in Oregon, I feel a clear sense of uprooting there and putting down roots here.
My mind would like there to be more certainty in terms of a job or business plan, or a person I am moving in with, etc., but I feel I am learning to trust my own flow and guidance.
I did land in a little community here, that just happened to have an opening for exactly the dates of my visit. I don't think it will become my home though, and now I am putting out my intention for that to fall into place.
Markael, this reads like the beginning (of course a continuation of what came before) of a grand new segment of the life spiral. I'm thrilled to hear of this! I am having more and more of the "seeing only a few steps ahead" moments/experiences. Trust is building. I am coming to terms with the sense of rightness in taking the step being enough. Your words "perhaps the pattern is not yet woven" feel deeply true...is it ever completely woven until it appears in the present moment?
This post felt especially sweet, I can feel your fondness and connection to home, to the foundations of home. I appreciate your ability to sense the differences in your environments, and so specifically, in rock. Amazing to consider, which I will be. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Hannah! It has been interesting to explore these subtle perceptions, which I realize have always felt very real to me but which I have not often tried to put into words. I'm also realizing that what has often felt like a disconnection or unfeelingness within myself is actually more of a "comfortable overwhelm", and the resolution is in returning to my inner grounding. I have created a 3/4 mile trail here that I can walk quietly in the morning, climbing to the ridgeline, and I'm realizing how much I have missed that in recent years.
I am a sucker for a talus slope. I love hiking in granite country, watching it glisten in the sun. Smelling the timelessness of the lichen baking on the rocks in the heat of summer.
Different landscapes also feel very different to me, and although rock is not the only factor I do notice the difference myself. I like your description of areas with igneous rocks as being mord connected to the core of the Earth. One particular spot that isn't widely known has felt particularly strong to me. Once I passed through the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma, a range of small granite peaks that rise out of the plains. I camped for one night and took a hike the next day, then moved on.
As soon as I got there, it felt like an unusual intensity of presence, even compared to other areas with granite. I had some of the most vivid dreams of my life that night, including perceiving smells in a dream. On my hike, I found a small patch of sugar maples, which was how I'd first heard of the Wichitas, as they have a disjunct population of sugar maples that are far to the southwest of other wild populations, a relic of the ice age.
I hope to go back to the Wichitas again some day.
Rock is definitely not the only factor. There are legacies of water, layers of ecosystems and human history, and also an aspect that "just is", a sort of personality of place that can't really be explained.
Now I want to visit the Wichita Mountains!
Thanks for the pronunciation of Gneiss, as a hobbyist I learned that one the hard way giving a passionate speech to the interior prospectors association on my rockhounding hobby and how it intersects with gold panning as an invited guest speaker. Little did I know an actual geologist was in attendance and he corrected me. Thankfully he was amazing about it and told me I had done well otherwise privately!
Loving this, happy to hear you made the leap !
I feel simultaneously drawn to Eugene, New Mexico, and the UK.
I believe I must venture/ live in all of these places. Tho also sometimes also think “am I making all of this up??”
That’s why I choose to see the spiritual journey as “infinite doorways “
In this sense the question is no longer “is this the right decision?”
Instead becomes “am I walking through this doorway with conviction?”
Walking thru doorways, hopping through portals , it’s all the same. It’s just important we do it with conviction..That way the magic can unfold and flow bc we have shown the universe we fully trust by going all in . That’s how I see it
I appreciate that distinction. "Right" and "wrong" is the domain of the mind, and it is easy for intuitive guidance to get shifted into that language and perception within us. The mind wants certainty, and I have found within myself a tendency to round something up to "right" rather than living comfortably in the mystery and uncertainty until clarity arrives naturally.
Interestingly I felt drawn to the southern Appalachians in my high school years, but that mostly faded until recently, as Oregon became my home.
Perhaps some of us are polyamorous and some of us are serial monogamists when it comes to our relationship with place. I know some people who maintain a sense of home, friends, connections across multiple parts of the globe.
May you feel clarity and conviction as you walk through doorways!
Oh I really like this one. Conversation about rock tickles a recessed part of my mind, one that feels like the igneous you describe.
Mmm. Good question, about what kind of rock I feel home and resonant with. I will be contemplating this.
What emerges off the cuff is a vision of landscape scattered with snow quartz. What category would that fall into?
How long are you out east for? Indeterminate?
Happy Imbolc 🌞
Quartz can be igneous or metamorphic. Often in veins or crystals it is precipitated from geothermal waters rather than solidified from magma. This still has the "blood of the Earth" igneous feeling to me, but with more of the "infinitely variable living potential" aspect of metamorphic rock. So - maybe a combination of those two?
I'm out east until the 16th. When I thought I would be driving I was going to check in with you about visiting, but now it looks like I'll be leaving my car here, flying back, and then moving here with my stuff in late March/early April.
Happy belated Imbolc to you!
Oh congratulations Markael! You are making the move. How exciting for you. I look forward to hearing more about how that decision came about/the resonance you are finding there.
I find that I can only feel with clarity a few steps ahead, and I need to let go of my need to have a plan or a vision for how things will proceed beyond that. Perhaps the pattern is not yet woven.
In the moment, I have found that I have no energy/excitement for the drive back west, and that I am feeling a sense of home and belonging in this region that I want to continue exploring. Though I will feel a grief for leaving my beloved Marys Peak and special places in Oregon, I feel a clear sense of uprooting there and putting down roots here.
My mind would like there to be more certainty in terms of a job or business plan, or a person I am moving in with, etc., but I feel I am learning to trust my own flow and guidance.
I did land in a little community here, that just happened to have an opening for exactly the dates of my visit. I don't think it will become my home though, and now I am putting out my intention for that to fall into place.
Markael, this reads like the beginning (of course a continuation of what came before) of a grand new segment of the life spiral. I'm thrilled to hear of this! I am having more and more of the "seeing only a few steps ahead" moments/experiences. Trust is building. I am coming to terms with the sense of rightness in taking the step being enough. Your words "perhaps the pattern is not yet woven" feel deeply true...is it ever completely woven until it appears in the present moment?
This post felt especially sweet, I can feel your fondness and connection to home, to the foundations of home. I appreciate your ability to sense the differences in your environments, and so specifically, in rock. Amazing to consider, which I will be. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Hannah! It has been interesting to explore these subtle perceptions, which I realize have always felt very real to me but which I have not often tried to put into words. I'm also realizing that what has often felt like a disconnection or unfeelingness within myself is actually more of a "comfortable overwhelm", and the resolution is in returning to my inner grounding. I have created a 3/4 mile trail here that I can walk quietly in the morning, climbing to the ridgeline, and I'm realizing how much I have missed that in recent years.