As I was writing in my journal yesterday, I became inspired to share some more of my adventures. I’ve had some extraordinary adventures these past few years that have opened me to experiences of reality that are so unbelievably amazing. The adventure that first came into my awareness to share about was my visit with the Wolf Sanctuary in Lucerne Valley, CA. Among friends, I was invited to visit the Sanctuary on a very auspicious day, Easter Day. This was a day that was expected by the hosts to be pretty quiet, a day filled family and friends, having a meal together and visiting with the wolves. By surprise, this was not what was in store for the day.
Our ride out to the Wolf Sanctuary was beautiful. As we drove through the desert we saw the most amazing rocks and spring flowers blanketing the sides of the road. At first glance, the long and dusty road felt quite desolate, yet I could see and feel that the presence of the desert was truly alive. I drove out with new friends and got to know them pretty well in those two hours. It was truly an adventure! As we arrived to our destination, we headed down a rickety road; it was an interesting road, for it was a road that appeared to go on for miles. In fact, it was the only road that could be seen for miles and went on for miles.
As we pulled into the driveway, I was reminded of my Grateful Dead days, with campers in the front yard, cars, and dogs running around. We were happily greeted by the friends and family of the Wolf Sanctuary. They were hard at work, preparing a big Easter Feast. Naturally, we were all excited to meet the wolves and upon entering the house we shared our gifts of food and herbs to the hostess, who’s name is Little Wolf. Little Wolf is a native woman of the Apache tribe. Her grandfather was an Apache chief, and at a young age she opened to a unique relationship with the wolves. Her life story is quite an inspiration in that her life is dedicated to supporting the wolves and their well being. Little Wolf has taken in many wolves into her home over the years and her intention is to purchase some land for them to roam free within the space that she will be creating. This will provide an opportunity for the wolves to live more naturally within a supportive space for their growth and families to come.
As we entered the front door, we were greeted by smiles and kindness. It was a great honor to be invited into their home on Easter and to have the opportunity to spend time with the wolves. With the kitchen in a bit of chaos, in excitement of the preparation of this meal, they excitedly hurried our greetings and offered us to visit outside, where the wolves were. After we shared our gifts with “Little Wolf” and got to know each other a little bit, we were guided to a table, where we would sign our lives away! We were asked to sign a waiver, basically a waiver to say that we are responsilbe for our own well being. We also learned about the do’s and don’t’s of being in relationship with the wolves. Even though they are somewhat domesticated, they are still very wild! As there were others in line to visit with the wolves, we were told we would need to wait our turn. That we did.
As we were gettting to know the lay of the land, we were guided to the outside of one of the pins, quite a large one, where a few of the wolves were playing. They were incredible. We were taught that each wolf had a particular role within the pack and that some of the wolves have the ability to heal. They are considered the shaman wolves. On the drive out, my new friend, shared an experience with me about how one of the wolves came to her and lied by her side for hours, assisting in a healing that changed her life. She shared that there were many stories of how this happened, spontaneously, again and again. Little Wolf shared more about these experiences and upon entering the pin, she mentioned that we may experience a particular wolf inviting us to engage with him or her. We learned that the protocol was for the wolf to make contact and that if she comes to any of us, to allow him/her to sniff and feel us. It was very important to not approach the wolf without invitation. She went on to share that many times the wolves will signal to Little Wolf to bring someone to them; For Little Wolf is the alpha of the pack and they respect her as their own.
As it turned out, Easter became a day filled with many tourists. This was not expected, but was greatly appreciated by Little Wolf, for the people that arrived shared gifts, such as money and food for the wolves. It was truly amazing to witness the spontaneous and abundant nature of this day. With the waves of people coming by, a couple of the family members decided to set out their stones and sacred objects as an offering to the tourists to purchase. Because there was such a steady flow of people, we were asked to wait several hours for our time with the wolves, since we would be there for the whole day. This gave us an opportunity to really come into relationship with the land and to enjoy each other. It turned out to be a hot day, which was a bit of a challenge, but it was part of the experience. It truly is amazing to experience nature in the heat. Everything seems to come alive in the heat, while time slows down.
After a few hours of locating shady spots and drinking lots of water to keep hydrated, we were invited by Little Wolf to meet the wolves. We had, in those few hours met several wolves, from outside of the pins, but now it was our turn to be with them in their habitat. This particular pin we were being invited into was quite large and had about 4 wolves inside it. We were a fairly big sized group, for they added more to our group at the last minute; about 10 people. As Little Wolf led us into the pin, I could feel an energetic shift within my whole being. I was feeling some anxiety as I entered, and I knew that was natural given the wild nature of these wolves, and it being my first visit. It kind of felt like that first rush one feels jumping in the ocean and feeling the coldness and liberating feeling of being in the ocean. All of my sensations awakened, naturally and spontaneously.
Upon entering, Little Wolf guided a few of us over to one of the wolves that was lying on a platform. He was truly amazing and BIG and beautiful. We were invited to pet him. As we were connecting with the wolf, I was feeling the wolf with my hand and with my whole being, becoming aware of his presence. There were about four of us petting him at the same time. it was a really neat experience. A great way to bond with friends, too!
Moments later, Little Wolf approaches me. She grabs me by my shirt, not the most gracious of ways, however I could feel that it was an honor. She takes me by the arm, and says “Come here”. She then guided me to stand in a particular spot with the wolf. Seconds later, I hear some commotion in the corner of the pin. It’s Little Wolf; she fell down. It was completely unexpected, and as a couple of her friends rushed to her side, they escorted her out of the pin. OK, so Little Wolf is the alpha of the pack, and it is protocol to be with her or someone that has a relationship with the wolves. Here we are, without our alpha, or at least the unknown of who is the alpha, in this moment, and not to mention all this excitement about “Little Wolf” and her personal crisis. Can you say Wild! WOW! Everyone was actually quite calm, and at the same time not all that present with the situation.
I could hear people talking among themselves and not really being present with what was happening, and so spontaneously I walked over to the woman that was now in charge, one that knows and relates with the wolves, naturally. In that moment, I asked her if she would call a silence in the pin so that we could ground the energy and invite a shift in the energy. At first, the request of silence was met with resistance, but after a few minutes, everyone settled in and felt appreciative of the opportunity. In this moment, I could feel why Little Wolf brought me to the wolf, before she collapsed.
After a few moments of quiet meditation, something extraordinary happened. I could feel the gravity of the land, the wolves, and us all connecting as one great energetic web. It was incredible. I felt the earth move and roll and shake underneath my feet. I could feel and see how this was affecting Little Wolf. The energy was quite intense. In these moments, I knew that we were all called to be here together to stabilize the energy and support the openings that were awakening. I could feel the presence of all of nature, God and the whole Universe supporting this shift, as I saw in great detail, what it was that we were healing and opening. I saw inside of what Little Wolf was healing and I also felt what the wolves were opening to. The wolves were holding space for Little Wolf to heal and beyond that, to create their new life opportunity. We were all receiving a healing at this time. There was mutuality everywhere. Everything felt so timeless, in those moments. It felt as if we were in slow motion and that everything was focused on this one expansive moment. We held this space until the energy became calm and subtle. It felt like everyone could feel a shift, even those that were outside of the pin. As the energy relaxed and harmonious, we completed and shared a deep appreciation with one another. We could feel that this part of our visit was complete and with that we thanked the wolves, and exited the pin. It was extremely powerful to feel this extraordinary shift and how the land, animals and people felt changed.
After our experience, in the pin, with the wolves, we enjoyed the simple nature of being on the land. Now that we were even more present and open to the desert, the wolves, the people, we began to see other amazing creatures like the roadrunners and the presence of snake that were most likely around. We then shared in the Easter Celebration, which was filled with laughter and entertainment. It was really special and an honor to be a part of it all.
Following the feast, a woman and new friend, and companion of the wolves invited me to go back to visit with the wolves and offer them some treats from our meal together. Just her and I. I agreed with some hesitation, and as I followed her out, I started to feel quite anxious about the idea. Her partner even showed some apprehension to her inviting me in the pin without Little Wolf, since I just had met the wolves that day. We decided to proceed and entered the pin. I chose to stay close to the exit door. I felt safer that way. My friend went further in. I could feel the energy was a little off, so I stayed in one spot. A few moments later, the wolves came to me, and sniffed me. They sniffed my lower body. I felt extremely vulnerable. I could feel a wave of fear flowing through me energetically and physically. I could feel the wolves love and at the same time, I could feel that we weren’t so much invited. We both agreed it was time to go and made our way back to the door. We thanked the wolves for the visit and started to walk away. When we were a few steps away, two of the wolves came to the gate and started to howl. They looked directly at me; I was told that they were howling at me in honor of what had happened that day. “Thank you”, I replied to my new friends of the desert.