Greetings,
This rock is
COLOSSAL!
As we drove up to it, we were
in awe. 23,000 tons in a single rock will duly impress you.
I would hate to be this rock's Sisyphus.
Background info:
Giant Rock is
the world's largest free-standing boulder in the world. Located
next to Spy Mountain in Landers, California, just three miles
away by dirt roads from The Integratron, this stony behemoth is
seven stories high and covers 5800 square feet.
Click here
for one heck of a gorgeous photo of Giant Rock, my compliments to
the photographer. A Scavullo-like glamour shot, this idealized view is
as I'd like to see it in my mind's
eye. The "reality" shot, however, is sadly not so
pretty.
For those who are
wondering, "But isn't Ayers
Rock in Australia the biggest? That's another huge rock, but it is not free
standing. A sedimentary rock, Ayers is partially, if not
mostly, buried.
According to one source,
"geologists consider Giant Rock to be an "erratic" deposited during the last Ice
Age." It is estimated to be 65 and 135 million years old.
The
same source reports tht the indigenous Chemehuevi people believe that their ancestors witnessed the rock's
arrival. They say it drifted down from a clear blue sky as slowly and as lightly
as a soap bubble.
When the rock split in February, 2000,
its interior was discovered to be gleaming white granite.
Click here
for a photo and here
for the intriguing story of the rock's split.
As we drove closer, we
were more
and more dismayed by the second. We'd been warned that it was
horribly graffiti'd, but no one could have prepared us for the
extent of it -- for the desecration.
Respecting the privacy of the campers on the backside, we
pulled over to the split side of the rock, got out, and walked up
to it. The area around the rock was
trashed with beer cans, broken glass and litter.
What a mess!
The taggers have been
overly busy with their spray paint cans, and the Giant Rock's skin
is covered with what looks like the gaudiest and crudest of
amateur tattoos. The once pure white, gleaming surfaces of the split
rock's
interiors are emblazoned with a huge swastika, miscellaneous names, obscene words, and the
kind of graffiti seen on railroad boxcars.
Momentarily, I felt a
deep sense of embarrassment for the rock and for those who would
deface it. I hurt for both. How could they not see, not sense
the Giant Rock's sacredness as a masterpiece of God?
Rather than yielding
to despair, I recall:
"And we know that
all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose."
Here's what the native peoples have
to say about the desecration:
For thousands of years, it was prophesied that just before the end
of this age a giant rock that lives in Joshua Tree National Forest in
California would split in two. This rock, which is the largest free-standing boulder in the world, is so sacred that only the chief of
the tribe was allowed within one mile of it. And indeed the rock did
crack into two pieces which to our people represents the arms of the
Mother opening wide to receive her children.
But within a few days of this wondrous event, someone had painted vulgar words on it and had
burned large objects on the flat face of the rock. Just as with the
murder of the 4th white buffalo in South Dakota, there are those forces
so afraid of what the new world will bring they will do anything to
maintain this current system which is ruled by greed and fear. But
nothing will stop the Great Shift. The sad thing is that not all
will undergo the change.
The Ancestors are calling us back to our
traditional understanding. The ways have been preserved by the Indigenous people and are being brought back at this time.
It only takes a small percentage of
people to being forth this great and wonderful shift of consciousness and we are almost there. If you are being called
to a new understanding, don't be afraid. There are those who will help
you and show you the path. For like the lowly caterpillar who emerges
from the cocoon with beautiful wings and bright colors, so too, will we.
~ Source
As we were preparing
to have a tailgate lunch, the local bees let us know that they were forcing their
company on us, like it or not. We declined, packed up and
drove to the back of Spy Mountain to have lunch in the cab. The
view there was beautiful. Pristine.
Bees love me.
You've heard of a bee line? Well, in the past, three have made
that trek, straight
to me. I thought it prudent to stay inside, while DH climbed up Crystal
Hill. In the mountains, we live near a huge dome of quartz
crystal, located at a solitary, wind-swept, and peaceful site. It
is one of my most favorite places on Earth. We felt
like we were visiting its sister.
We headed back to Giant Rock.
As we drove around it, we saw a boy casually urinating -- out in the
open -- on one of the guard
rocks that sit alongside Giant Rock. Again, I was disbelieving.
The bees had gone home, and we got
out to visit and pay our respects. I searched for a place on
the rock that had not been spray-painted, put my hand on it,
caressed it, thanked God for it being there for us, passed
on my
love, and allowed it to return its love and wisdom, if it
wished.
Yes, I believe in the divinity in
Nature. Nature is God's work. And this was one big hunk of divinity, believe me.
Like people, it's not what's on the outside that counts, and I was
able to go beyond its tawdry, human-painted exterior.
In this case, ugliness is only skin
deep.
From what I have read
online since our visit, I have learned that New Agers have
embraced this rock and written extensively about it. There are
updates on the rock, as well as sacred legends, folklore, prophesy,
flights of fancy, speculations, and personal experiences.
These
online articles make for interesting reading, and each should ascertain for him/herself what substance and value
these articles hold for them:
Just in case you're
wondering: I am not a New Ager. I am
an Old Ager. My spirituality is directly handed down to me by
my grandmother, her parents and their parents, who survived the persecutions
of the
hidden Christians of Japan, and, perhaps, as I learned
a few years ago when I visited her homeland, their very
ancient ancestors. My spirituality is as
old as the genetic templates that have been passed down to me over
the ages.
I keep an open mind.
I won't glom all New Agers together. Always, there will be lemmings in any spiritual
movement, and yes,
I have been amused and bemused by the faddishness and superficiality.
And in any movement, there are those sincere seekers who study in
depth and walk the talk; I have met enough of them to stay open.
I believe in the
preservation of sacred places, anywhere.
Particularly in my homeland of Hawai`i, while there are New Agers
who are respectful and reverent, there are also those who, without permission,
trespass, trample, and take from the land
In particular, I
object to the superimposition of New Age practices on the
indigenous spiritual teachings. Some, with regrettably blind
missionary zeal, have twisted native teachings to fit their own
spiritual agendas, thereby tainting and adulterating the original
teachings and practices.
As you can see, I have
lots of baggage, lots and lots, and I'm working on effortless
openmindedness and forgiveness. ;)
Next time, I'm
bringing some work gloves and a bunch of trash bags. I will do my
part to pay it homage by helping to clean up its
environs.
I invite you to do the
same.
To
Be Continued
"Life is a Gift."
Sincerely,
Author Unknown
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present
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