Kundalini and the Art of Being ... 19agitated and distressed from the tumultuous events of the past few
weeks. My mental, emotional, and spiritual energy was all over the
place; it was everything I could do to stay in the present moment. It
seemed like I had gotten completely off track from my focused inten-
tions of the spring: to find somewhere to stay put for a while, relax,
establish some lasting relationships, and attend to my mental well
being. I desperately needed somewhere stable to call home, though I
now found myself so far from anything resembling one.
After we’d all finished our coffee, blinked our crusty eyelids enough
times, and watched the sun come up to warm the crisp mountain air,
we piled back into the car. I rode with them a mile or so beyond the
city limits, where I got out and said “thanks” and “goodbye,” and
they headed off down the road. From there, I hiked up the steep
mountain overlooking the town and crowds of bluegrass fans begin-
ning to stir. I set up my tent in a quiet, secluded spot amidst the trees,
crawled into my sleeping bag, and slept soundly through most of the
day.
Being almost broke, I couldn’t afford to buy a ticket and get in to
see the show. But there was plenty happening in town, including a
small stage where a few bands occasionally played for free. I stayed
throughout the weekend festival, sleeping in my tent far from the
crowds, then hiking down into town to join in the festivities, have a
beer at the local pub, or read in the small metaphysical bookstore.
On Monday morning, as the rest of the festival-goers were leav-
ing, I hiked down the mountain and started hitching back to Arizona.
The Mayan ceremony was in a few days, and there was supposed
to be a small gathering in the days beforehand, somewhere in the
general vicinity of the Four Corners Monument.
The best way to get there from Colorado was to go through New
Mexico and the large Navajo Indian reservation that spanned that
entire area. I made it to Shiprock that evening, in the heart of the res-
ervation. After a quick dinner at a fast food restaurant, I was back on
the road, hoping to get a ride close to the Four Corners before night-
fall. Just as the sun was going down, and I was considering hiking out