Once, when I went journeying again, I was walking on this small path through a mountain meadow. There were great forests surrounding it. The path angled a bit off to the right and I followed it into the woods, having some remembrance of this particular place. I had not gone far when a Sasquatch seemed to manifest out of the trees before me..."You can call me, Satch, ok?" he spoke into my head. "Come on.." And so I followed him, until we came to an area that looked like a dead end of vines and plants and stuff all over a boulder. Then he stepped through them, and indicated that I should, too. Well, ok, I can do this, too... I hope... whispering to myself. And, sure enough, we walked into this magnificent cave. I would guess this was the "foyer" part, as he led me into another "room". It was quaintly and sparsely decorated, holding a wooden table, two chairs, some cupboards and storage spaces. He gestured for me to sit down, and made some tea. We conversed for a long time, as if through an entire afternoon, though there was no way to tell. In fact, it felt like time and space -- any cognitive construct at all -- did not really exist here, but I couldn't tell you how I knew that. "Here is where you learn to be a shaman or wizard, not constrained to any dimension or construct, not even your own thoughts. Here is where you can learn to do what you call metaphysical work from a metaphysical place. Now, understand this: you don't need a tool to focus...you just need to relax here and go where you choose, journey as you choose, help or heal or learn as you choose. Whenever you ask, whenever you want to be here, my Home is welcome to you. You even have a bedroom of your own. And you are welcome to wander my Home, just be cautious of opening Doors...okay?" I sipped on my tea for a long time, pondering his words and the depth of them - the truth of them - so incredible to me, and yet... I knew they were real. I realized that the "kitchen" was full of light, as if the sun reached in somehow. It said "late afternoon" in my head, and I decided to leave...knowing I would return soon and often.
I went and visited with Satch one day, and found him deeply engrossed in an activity I will try and explain. It has taken me a few days to absorb and then finally - today - the pieces fell into place. What I saw was a small board (maybe 6"x6") with poles sticking up from it (about 36). Woven in and around them was like a piece of yarn -- which this thread was really like energy, like a ley-line or something similar, like a fiber from the Web. And it was all criss-cross and such through the poles, so it looked like a cat's-cradle of an amazingly deep and complex nature. What Satch was doing, in very deep concentration I might add, was using something similar to a crochet hook and very quietly and carefully moving threads to a different pole or height or something. As much as I wanted to know, his unspoken message to me was to let the knowledge filter through my mind and the answers would come. I knew it had some mystic relevance, but it could as easily have been "solitaire" of some kind. Today, as it wandered across my mind, I realized that in some way this was a healing technique, a balancing of the Earth, somehow. It was working like sympathetic magic, like reflexology, where - in working with another object that is energetically connected holistically with the prime or original - one might affect a change on the larger perspective. Just so, this "adjustable weaving board" was connected to the Earth,herself, and Satch was balancing what energy he could.
I woke up very early one morning, after having completed a particularly intense part of my Faery Shaman training. I had expected that this wakening meant a "journey" or "lesson", and so it was. I saw myself sitting atop this huge boulder, all in shining luminescent silver-blue. Two Elves were on the ground below, beckoning me to come down and accompany them. I jumped down from the rock, and was immediately explained to about wearing "camouflage". One of them said, "Can't go around sticking out like a sore thumb, you know." So I transformed my clothing into Scout colors: browns, dull greens, tan... including my hair: tying twigs, leaves and acorns into it. I quickly dropped into a state of excitement and child-like wonder, ready to run ahead to this new "journey", but was as quickly stopped. The Elves disappeared, as apparently this had been staged as a "working and learning" experience, by my Guide. Satch sat me down to discuss the responsibilities and awareness of a true Shaman: part of my new Life. I realized I still had a lot to learn, and this was but the beginning of another Path for me. I was given a wooden Bear carving for completing the four directions, and a silver ring - inscribed upon which was:
"It is not about you",
referring to the absence of ego in a true Shaman.