Places of Power
2/121/11. We journeyed to the desert, to the place where Rama often took us to deepen our meditation and reorganize our spiritual DNA by showing us impeccable acts of power. We were celebrating his birthday. Prior to the gathering of 35 students, we sent emails and held conference calls to prepare. How do you prepare for a desert trip? You clean up your space, mentally and physically. You realize that you go to the desert with humility, to learn, without expectation. You bring a spirit of gratitude and innocence, beginner’s mind. You smile a lot and focus on happiness with an exclamation point!
It was an experiment because, while Rama took groups of up to 300 people for hikes into the desert, often starting at 7 p.m. and ending at dawn, his advice to his students had been not to remain in the desert after sunset because the power was too strong. And since he left the physical teaching body in 1998, many of Rama’s students did bring their own students to the desert but always a few at a time. Usually no more than five or six.
So a larger gathering of a group of Rama students, including those who studied with him directly and others who studied with his students as their mentors, was novel.
We met in the small desert town of Borrego Springs and caravaned out to the appointed spot. We gathered several hundred feet inside of the road and counted off -- to make sure the same number walked in as walked out.
Two students had taken a four wheel drive Jeep into the desert to find a suitable first place to stop and meditate. The rest of us planned to walk.
We set out. Even though it was mid-February, it was hot and the sand was soft. The unpaved road narrowed and the redorange hills on either side grew taller. Soon our line of 35 people stretched out over hundreds of yards as each person walked at their own pace, struggling to keep going. It was a long mile and a half.
The spot that was selected had clumps of desert foliage. People chose shady places to sit in, and we began to meditate. The desert wind that Rama had brought to us so many times picked up. The wind danced around my head, brushing past my ears, gently. After 30 minutes, we ended the meditation and found a spot where we sat together as a group. My Jeep friends passed out cold candy bars, and we all ate our lunch/snacks.
During my meditation, I had opened my eyes several times to gaze at the mountain in front of where we had gathered. Each time, the rocky surface would light up with bright gold light that streaked across the rim and sides. This is what happened when we would come to the desert with Rama. The aura of the mountain would light up and flare into gold, white and deep blue light.
One of the teachers suggested that everyone should gaze at the mountains for five or six minutes, while trying to empty all thoughts from the mind. We all sat on our cushions and backpacks and tried the gazing exercise. Afterwards, one of the new students said, “Wow, that was incredible!” “The magic is still here,” said another.
For everyone there, the acts of power that Rama performed in the desert were still there. I saw that a harmonious group with right intent, as we had, would gain the same or more from a desert journey as if Rama were physically present.
We picked up our gear and started walking back towards the road. It was 4 p.m. and the sun was due to set by 5:32. A Rama student had gone with her students ahead of the group to select the next meditation spot. It was in front of a smaller hill of craggy, multi-colored desert rocks. The whole group sat together, facing the hill. By the time we all closed our eyes, it was almost 5.
I was the timekeeper, and several teachers were urging me to end the meditation in ample time to be out of the desert by sunset. I closed my eyes and suddenly, a feeling of incredible stillness and joy filled my being I felt joy and fullness, total silence. It was like being swept up on a magic wind. All my thoughts disappeared. It was impossible to know the time. I felt I was sailing in cloudless awareness, my sails filled with love and joy. At some point I peeked at my watch. “Happy Birthday, Rama,” I said softly aloud. I felt buoyant, no thoughts in the mind. Rama -- someone -- had come in and kicked all of us into sparkling bliss. I looked at other people’s eyes and saw the same sparkling happiness that I felt. We picked up our gear and started back on the soft sand road towards our cars.
As we walked, spread out again but with effortless momentum, the sun set, and the desert turned to shades of deep pink and purple. When we were several hundreds back from the road, we formed a circle of power. We did a meditation of gratitude, then people who had been to the desert with Rama shared their experiences.
Everett recalled that, as he stood in the center of the circle, Rama would gaze for a few moments at each person individually. Everett saw huge bands of gold light emanate from Rama towards each person, dissolving their being in light. Leah remembered Rama emanating concentric rings of rainbow-colored light from his hands as he stood in the center of power. Lynn spoke of Rama skating above the sand, from one side of the circle to another. I recalled seeing the whole center of the circle turn into fluid gold light, with a texture like waves on water.
I could feel how the new students on the trip, the ones who had not studied with Rama directly, were becoming empowered by the beauty of the meditations and the energy of the desert. We continued our tales of power until it was almost dark, then we returned to our cars to caravan back to Borrego Springs and enjoy a fabulous Rama ‘s birthday dinner!
I was elated. The second meditation was so powerful, so imbued with Rama’s presence. It was as if he had been through my soul with a golden power cleaner -- I was cleared out, and what was left was joy. And I was elated that it worked! Our preparation, our arriving in a clean state of attention and remaining there, the innocence and the fun -- 35 students at once enjoying Rama’s gift to us -- the empowerments that Rama provides to his students for being in a clean state of attention.
WOW. It was a revelation.
