Sean showed up at Brian’s for dinner like he did most Saturday night these days. He was surprised to see Joseph White Bear and Sleeping Fox were also there. He walked in and knew immediately that something was up. Sleeping Fox was the oldest of the tribe pushing almost one hundred now, but still sharp minded and in good health.

Joseph met Sean halfway across the room and immediately gave him a bear hug. “You are right, we are up to something. But it something to help you. We need to talk.”

Brian spoke up, “But dinner first. I have steaks ready to go on the grill, so dinner will be ready shortly. Go ahead and have a seat and catch up with each other. I know it has been a few weeks since Sean has been up to the reservation.” While Brian headed out back to put the steaks on the grill, Sean poured himself a beer and looked to make sure everyone else had something to drink before settling down at the table. “So what’s this all about?”

Sleeping Fox who didn’t speak that often or for long periods. It was just his way of being a quiet man. “After dinner, we will talk. No need to rush. We are on Indian time tonight.”

That made Sean laugh. He knew that meant they would get to that when they got to it and none sooner.

Joseph spoke up. “So how did things go down in New Mexico. I don’t remember which pueblo you were helping.”

Sean beamed like he always did when he talked about his work. “It was really interesting. And I learned a lot as well. Seems as though you might have had a little bit to do with that Joseph, since I was greeted by their medicine man as soon as I arrived. I spent so much time with him, that I almost didn’t get my work done. He is a very interesting man. Seems as though he had also studied with tribes in the Amazon for a number of years as well as leaning this own tribes medicine. I’ll tell you more about that later. But we did manage to get the new school build and it was up and running all on sustainable energy by the time I left. It was a huge boon for the pueblo. They are talking about doing something similar to what you did up on the reservation by eventually getting the entire reservation build with sustainable materials and using sustainable energy. And so much more than that.”

Sean was going to continue, but Brian appeared in the back door with a plate loaded with four steaks and baked potatoes. “Sean, you want to get the salad out of the fridge?”

There wasn’t a lot of talk during dinner other than the usual small talk. After dinner and everything was cleaned up, they moved out onto the back patio. There was a full moon out and the temperature was perfect for an quiet evening talk. Brian started a fire in the firepit and the four sat around enjoying the evening. Sean was anxiously awaiting to find out what this was all about. He didn’t think it was bad, but he knew these three well enough to know they were collaborating on something, and that something had to do with him.

Joseph finally started the conversation. “Sean, this is sort of an intervention. The three of us are worried about you. But you already know that.”

Sean was not surprised by any of this. These three men had helped Sean out of some pretty rough situations. Brian had rescued Sean when he had been abandoned by his alcoholic mother and her boyfriend. Sean had been trying to live off the land and was doing fairly well, but he had got to the point that he was hungry. Brian had taken him under his wing and gave him a job at Brian’s orchard. During his stay at Brian’s he had met Joseph White Bear and Sleeping Fox. It was through them that he started working with the Oskaloosa nation. They had received a huge settlement from a mining company that had been taking advantage of the the tribe for decades and had cheated them out of millions of dollars. In addition to that the tribe had managed to get a huge grant that was going to allow their small tribal nation to get themselves out of a poverty stricken reservation with old government housing.

They had a plan to completely rebuild the reservation using sustainable building materials and sustainable energy. Included in their grand plan were grey water systems and tribal community gardens. Sean had been given a job to work and while he was there, he found he was fascinated with all the new technology and how it could be put to use to better peoples lives. Though the years of working with the tribe he had become a consultant to similar projects with other tribal nations. It was also on the Oskaloosa reservation that he had met Jennifer Shining Star.

They had had a long romance, both being shy and Sean having to learn how to date and what was truly appropriate since he hadn’t had a parental figure in his life to speak of since he was fourteen. After dating for almost five years they got married and Sean moved out onto the reservation. Jennifer was the center of Sean’s life. He had never met or been so connected to anyone. They wanted to start a family before they both turned thirty. However, as much as they tried, Jennifer did not get pregnant. After five years of trying and discussing the possibility of adopting or a fertility clinic, Jennifer became pregnant. The two of them were so happy.

Sean did as much of his consulting work as he could from their home on the reservation. But there were a lot of times he had to visit the sites to make real determinations on what needed to be done. It was getting close to the baby being due and Sean wanted to get his trips out of the way so he could be home when the baby came. He was working with a tribal nation in Washington state. It was two weeks away from the due date and all was going well. Sean was packing to head to home when he got a call from Joesph.

“Sean, you need to get back here as soon as you can. There is a problem with Jennifer and the baby.”

“What do you mean a problem?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“Joseph. Joseph! What is wrong.”

“I don’t know of any way to tell you this. Everything seemed to be fine. Then out of the blue, Jennifer started to hemorrhage and we did all we could. But you know there is not a full time doctor here on the reservation.” Joseph just barreled on to get it all out. “I’m afraid she didn’t make it.”

This time there was total silence on Sean’s end of the conversation. Then very quietly, “What about the baby?”

“I’m afraid she didn’t make it either. I’m so sorry, Sean. It’s not anyone’s fault. We did all we could. But you need to get back here as soon as possible.”

“Okay, my flight leaves first thing in the morning. I was just packing to come home.”

There was silence on both ends of the phone this time. Joseph broke the silence. “I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“Okay,” was all Sean could manage to answer and hung up. He sat hard on the edge of the bed in total shock. Everything had been going so well and his life had truly turned around and been more wonderful that he had ever expected. Then once again he life had been turned upside down.

Brian took over where Joseph started. “We all are worried about you. Life has been hard enough for you and we all want the best for you. And ever since Jennifer and the baby died you have seemed lost, at best.”

“Yeah, I am lost. That’s not a surprise.”

Sleeping Fox spoke up softly. “Sean, you have done so much for our tribe and it is time for the tribe to pay you back. To stay here is not good for you. There are too many bad memories that overshadow all the good that you have done. It is time for a new start.” Sleeping Fox turned to Joseph and nodded to him.

“Sean, what we are trying to say, is that you have so much to offer the world and with all you have done for us we can’t stand aside and watch you in such pain all the time. Jennifer and the baby will not be back. And the pain of them being gone will never leave you. But staying here with all the reminders is no longer good for you.” Joseph looked to Brian and nodded, denoting it was his turn to talk.

“I have known you a long time now, Sean. You have made it through some horrendous challenges in your life. It is time for a new start. Not to leave everything behind here, but to get a new perspective. It is time to come out of mourning. It has been almost three years now.” Brian knew he didn’t have to say three years from what. They all knew it was three years since Jennifer and the baby died. “I have made some inquiries as has Joseph. We want to send you on a little vacation of a sort. Not far from here, only a few hours. An easy drive to Gate Rock, just north of Ashton.”

Sean knew this group well enough to know to wait until they had their say. All three of them had helped him out in so many ways, and they always tried to steer him in the right way. And usually when he didn’t follow their advise was when he ended up in trouble.

“We have you a suite reserved at the Excelsior hotel and have set up a couple of meetings for you. One with a realtor that can help you find a place to stay, if you so choose. But more importantly, we want you to meet with someone with The Agwin Foundation. This is a foundation that I think you would really enjoy and could do you some good as well. Their whole focus is on the environment, sustainable energy, sustainable living and helping small businesses in these fields. They would be a great contact for you.”

Sean finally spoke up a little confused. “Why would I need that kind of a contact.”

Joseph decided to answer this. “Because you are more than ready to start your own sustainability consulting firm. You have learned from the experts and now you are one. You have plenty of work coming your way from other tribal nations, but it might be time for you to branch out a bit into the more public realm.”

Brian broke back into the conversation. “We aren’t telling you have to do this. We are just asking you to take the time to check things out. And it is sort of selfish on our part, because this way you will still be close enough that we can still see you on a regular basis. You have become an integral part of our lives, whether you realize it or not. If nothing else, consider it a paid vacation. Something you have never had.”

Sean sat there, mulling it over. But he knew with these three involved, he didn’t really have a choice, but to take the vacation and meet the people they had suggested. And in fact, it sounded like a great idea the more he thought about it. He also knew these three had checked everything out and knew he had some open time on schedule to do this.

“Okay. I agree I need to take a break. I agree I need to do something different. So I am agreeing to go on this little vacation. But, if it doesn’t feel right, I won’t be taking it any further. But something tells me, there are some surprises waiting for me that you haven’t told me about. Am I right?”

“Not this time. We haven’t planned any surprises. Doesn’t mean there won’t be some, but they are not of our doing. This time.” Joseph, Brian and even Sleeping Fox grinned sheepishly, knowing full well they had tricked and sometimes pushed Sean into doing something he wouldn’t have normally done. Usually it turned out to be in Sean’s best interest. But not always.

Sleeping Fox, Joseph and Brian seemed more relaxed now that they had made their plan known. Sean also relaxed knowing what the three had been scheming. So conversation started to turn toward the town of Gate Rock and why they had chosen there instead of Ashton, which was the closest city to Gate Rock. Brian also had pulled some information and pictures of Gate Rock to give to Sean. As the evening wore on and it started getting late, Sleeping Fox and Joseph climbed into Joseph’s truck and headed back to the reservation.

Sean stayed and helped Brian clean up the glasses and few dishes that remained on the table. Sean put out the fire in the fire pit and followed Brian into the house. This night walking into the house brought back a host of memories. He looked at Brian and out of the blue asked. “Can I stay in my old room in the barn tonight?”

Brian was surprised by the request. “Of course you can. I’ll get you some clean sheets and a blanket. Might get a little chilly out there by morning. But why?”

“I don’t know, just seems like the right thing to do. This is where my life turned around for the good the first time. And it seems like this is where it is going to happen again. It’s no secret I have not been doing well since Jennifer and the baby died. But I needed to go through that intense mourning and I will mourn their deaths until the day I die. But it is time to move forward. I’m not moving on, or past or any of that. I just need to move forward. I have stagnated and this is not what Jennifer would have wanted.”

“Sounds fair enough. Let me gather up the bedding and I’ll meet you out there.” Brian turned and headed down the hallway and Sean headed out the back door to the barn. He had been in this barn he didn’t know how many times since he had moved out. But tonight it somehow felt different. It was a night of decision making and a night of reminiscing. He had always associated the barn with his transformation from lost soul to someone of worth and it was in large part due to Brian’s help. It was here that he and Brian had made a bedroom for Sean out of the office Brian had put into the barn. It wasn’t an old dilapidated barn, in was one of those newer metal barns and it had a bathroom complete with shower. It had a clean concrete floor and the bedroom had had the floor painted there were rugs on the floor to keep it from getting too cold. After Sean had moved out, Brian had kept it as a spare bedroom. It gave company a private suite of sorts and on occasion Brian had let some young man stay there that he was trying to help like he did Sean.

Sean walked into the room and just stood there. It had been almost ten years since he had moved out of the barn into his own home on an acre of land that Brian had given him. His own home was one he had built himself out of straw bales and like the work he did out on the reservation it was completely off the grid. But tonight he wanted, no needed to stay in the barn. Going back to where his life was turned around so drastically. As he stood there memories started to flood his mind. Good memories. He turned as he heard Brian enter the barn.

“It hasn’t changed much.”

“Didn’t see any need to change much,” was Brian’s reply. He handed the sheets, pillows and blankets to Sean. “Let’s get this bed made so you can get to sleep or whatever it is you need to do.”

The two men quietly made the bed each in their own thoughts about the past and how far they had each come since that day that Brian had rescued Sean from near starvation. Whereas Sean’s thoughts went to past memories, Brian’s went more toward more recent memories and how much Sean had suffered since Jennifer and the baby had died. Brian wanted to do what he could to help, but knew it was ultimately up to Sean. He was going to miss Sean being just down the road, but was comforted to know that Sean was still only a few hours away. They finished making the bed.

“Come on up to the house in the morning and have breakfast. I’ll leave you alone, but if you need anything, let me know.”

Sean laughed. “I think I know where most everything is, not to worry. And breakfast sounds great.”

Brian turned to leave. “And thanks,” said Sean softly. “Thanks for being my friend.”

Brian just nodded. He knew he didn’t have to say or do any more than that.

Sean heard the door shut behind Brian as he left the barn. Sean was hardly sleepy, still wound up from the conversation earlier. He sat on the edge of the bed and just let his mind wander. Not really meditating, but just letting his brain go where it needed to go.

He looked around the room and he felt safe and secure here. It was a haven of sorts, a place he could go that was filled with nothing but good memories. He noticed in the corner of the room an old tennis ball. He smiled. He had played with Jake his border collie with that ball. “Maybe when I get settled I need to find me another border collie. I miss Jake. And if I am going to settle down somewhere and not travel as much, it might work.” He rolled the ball around in his hand and smiled thinking about the antics Jake would pull and how smart he was. He let the ball drop from his hand and roll back to its corner.

He knew what he needed to do, but it required getting his mind quiet. Time to let the memories go for a while. He went out to his Jeep Wrangler and pulled a rolled bundle out of the glove box and took it back into his room. He still thought of this as his room even though he hadn’t lived there in years. He looked at the bundle. It was made of deer skin and was rolled and tied with a strip of leather thong. On the outside was some beadwork he had done himself. A simple circle divided into for triangular pie shaped pieces. One white, one black, one red and one yellow. They stood for the four directions. He untied the bundle and slowly unrolled it so it lay out flat. He lifted the flap and uncovered four pockets that each had a small deer skin bag cinched at the top with a piece of thong.

He slowly moved his hand over the unrolled bundle and this brought out his memories of working with Joseph White Bear. After Sean had started working out on the reservation, Joseph had taken Sean on as an apprentice to teach him the medicine ways of the tribe. This was unusual since Sean was not a member of the tribe. In fact it was about as European Caucasian as they came. His genealogy being mostly English and German. But Joseph saw something in Sean that made him feel it necessary to get the tribal elders permission to let Sean learn the ways. He could teach him most everything except the most sacred ceremonies of the tribe. There were times that Joseph and Sean had been at odds, but that was part of the learning process.

In some ways, Sean had surpassed Joseph having some natural talents that Joseph didn’t have. And that is the way these things happen. Sean had also traveled to quite a few other tribal nations and Joseph always managed to get him an introduction to that tribes medicine man and he learned from each of them. And as he had learned, he also taught without even realizing it. This is the way of an apprentice and teacher. Sometimes the teacher is the teacher and sometimes the student is the teacher. And Sean could bring into a teaching what he had learned from other tribes. So his apprenticeship was one of an amalgamation of many different native teachings, lore and wisdom.

Sean pulled out a small bag, even though all four bags in their pockets looked alike, Sean knew exactly what each bag contained. This one he opened up and inside were four small smudge sticks. Two were made of just white sage, one was white sage and cedar and the fourth was white sage, cedar and sweet grass. He pulled out the latter and held it up to his nose. The smell filled his nostrils taking him slightly away from his physical being. It smelled of the plains, the mountains, fresh streams of water, puffy white clouds on a summer day, the earthy smell of loam after a rain, the ocean and so many more things all rolled into one. It was the fragrances of this earthly world. He placed the smudge stick back into the pouch and pulled out one of the white sage sticks. In the pocket next to the pouch was a cigarette lighter.

Sean laid the smudge stick and the lighter out on the bed and stood up. He stripped himself naked and went and took a shower. He would have preferred to use the outdoor shower, but it was a little cool out tonight for that. He let the grime of the day wash off him as he lathered up and rinsed off. Then he turned the water temperature up a bit more so it was steaming and he let that hot water wash over him and sensing the residue of the day wash away as well. Consciously thinking about washing all the negativity away as well as the dirt. When he felt clean physically and mentally he turned off the water and toweled dry.

He started to put on clean clothes that he kept in the dresser in the bedroom, but didn’t see the need tonight. He stood in the bedroom near the end of the bed and lit the smudge stick he had laid out on the bed. He breathed in the aroma letting it make him light headed. The he washed the smoke from the smudge stick over his body. He started at his head pulling the smoke over the top of his head and down his back, then his chest, arms and back, the rest of his torso, moving onto his legs and finally the bottom of his feet. Then he smudged the room, letting the smoke creep into every corner of the room and saying prayers of thanks and protection as he did so. He set the smudge stick in a small pottery jar that he had had made at one of the pueblo’s he had worked at in New Mexico. It would hold the small smudge stick upright, but had an attached base that would catch the ash without it getting on the dresser top. He had had a few of these made and kept one here for times like this.

Once he felt like he and the room were cleansed from the smudging he lay down naked on the bed and focused his thoughts. It only took a few moments and he was where he wanted to be. This was one of those things he had a natural ability to do that he far surpassed Joseph on doing. He was getting ready to cross over into the spiritual world. After Jennifer had died he found that he could even cross over into the spiritual world physically, but he had been warned that was extremely dangerous, because if you went physically into that world, whatever happened to you would be the same as if it had happened to you in the physical world. So if you got injured or worse killed over there, it was the same as in the physical world. He had come back from some of those trips with bruises, scratches, burns and other maladies, but thankfully nothing serious. He only went into the spiritual world physically when he felt it was the only way, which was extremely rare. Tonight he was just going in spirit not in body. So he didn’t need to get dressed and he preferred to start in this world naked. Somehow, being dressed in the physical world felt like an encumbrance.

He took a deep breath and felt the shift. The first time he had done this, quite by accident he had found himself bent over retching and with incredible vertigo. Over time he had learned how to control that and now it was not much different than walking through a door. He looked down at himself and had on his usual attire for this world. Old jeans, boots, white t-shirt and a denim jacket. He had the bundle he had pulled from the Jeep tied to his belt. He was ready.

His first thoughts when first arriving in the spiritual world was how it was so much the same as the physical but so very different as well. Time could move differently here and getting from one place to another was much simpler. He waited and then softly called out. “Tahatan, please come.” He waited and as he waited he looked around. He was standing in a clearing surrounded by trees. He couldn’t tell much more than that, because of the trees. It was a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees. The sun was low on the horizon so the shadows were long. As he waited a she wolf came out of the woods. Sean smiled.

“Good to see you, my friend.” She came over and sat down next to Sean, leaning against him and the two of them just enjoying the feeling of the connection. She had been around for a long time. There was a time when she had jumped into the physical world and saved him from a group of not so savory men on the reservation that did not like the fact he was there working and had threatened and caused as much mischief to try and get Sean to leave. And that night, they had made some not very veiled threats of him disappearing an no one every finding his body. The she wolf had come out of no where and had them running for their lives. This was the night that Joseph decided to take Sean on as an apprentice. He had come to call her Bella as time had progressed and their ties had strengthened.

He felt Bella pull away and saw her ear twitch. Then Sean heard the rustle in the forest and out walked Tahatan. Tahatan was an old Native American man. Ancient was more like it. His face showed the wrinkles of a long life in the sun. He was dressed in traditional dress, but not of a tribe that Sean knew. He had asked Tahatan about that once and the response had been, “I am of many tribes over many life times.” A typical response from Tahatan. Sean had become aware of Tahatan during the vision quest Joseph had him do as part of his apprenticeship. Tahatan was his spirit guide and the one who had taught him most of what he knew about the spiritual world. Which in the grand scheme of things was still just the rudimentary elements of it. So whenever Sean came here, he always called to Tahatan. But that didn’t mean Tahatan would always come.

“Thank you for coming Tahatan. I am grateful for your help as always.” One of the things Sean had learned is to always show gratitude and to not only show it, but to feel it with his whole being.

Tahatan just nodded. “You didn’t need to come here for advice. You already know the answer to your question. When will you learn to follow your intuition. Your heart will lead you where you need to be, to do what you need to do, to be who you need to be.”

Sean dropped his head slightly. “I know. But I think tonight is more about dealing with some of the past. It is time to move on. I know that as well as I know my own name. But there are some things I want to let go, and am unsure how to do that. And there are some things I want to keep. It is the separation of those two things that I wish to do. And this seemed like the place to do it.”

“That might be true, or it might not. Somethings need to be dealt with in the physical world.”

Sean raised his head and looked Tahatan directly in his old wise dark brown eyes. Eyes that showed love, respect and mischief. He saw the corners of Tahatan’s eyes raise just a bit. Sean had learned this meant he needed to pay attention and Tahatan as usual would not give a straight answer to any of his questions. Not tonight. It was something he had to work out for himself. Sean tried a tactic that had sometimes worked in the past.

“Is there a place that would be best for me to do the work I need to do here?”

Tahatan thought for a moment. “Look for a place where the moon is full, yet can’t be seen. A place that will take those things from you that you wish to release and take them to the great lady. Look within yourself and you will know the place.”

“Thank you. I honor you and am thankful for your teachings.”

Tahatan looked at Sean for a moment and did something that was very rare. “I think you must make this move. There is something that you will need to do after you get there and somehow there is much danger. Be careful, my friend. I wish I could tell you more, but that is all I hear on the wind. But you must make the move and do not hesitate.” With that Tahatan turned and disappeared back into the woods, leaving Sean stunned. He had never know Tahatan to be that forward with anything. Tahatan was his spirit guide, not an entity that would give you answers, but guide Sean to find his own answers.

Sean looked at Bella. “Do you know of a place like he talked about? He always seems to answer in riddles.” Sean became very thoughtful for a moment, then added, “Except that last part. Part riddle and part straight answer. I have to make that move.” Resolved to what needed to be done he reached down and petted Bella and scratched her behind the ears. “Come on, Bella. Let’s go find that place.”

Sean knew he didn’t have to walk around searching for this mysterious place physically. He had to find it mentally. So he focused on a place where the moon was full, yet couldn’t be seen. He just put that thought out and let his mind wander and soon an image came to mind. A cave. I’m looking for a cave. A forest wouldn’t work, because you could still see the moon through the branches, but a cave would allow you to see the light of the moon in the entrance, but it wouldn’t fill the cave and you wouldn’t be able to see the moon. Now he had to find a cave that also fit the second half of the riddle. Who was the great lady? It couldn’t be the moon and so that left two other obvious possibilities. At least they were obvious to Sean. It had to either be mother earth or the ocean. Both of those could take away those things you needed to get rid of by either taking them deep into the earth or to the bottom of the ocean. Mother Earth took it usually through the help of trees, also known as the standing tall people, but there wouldn’t be a tree in a cave. It couldn’t sustain itself without the help of the sun. So it had to be the Mother Ocean and things are carried to the ocean by streams and rivers. So he needed to find a cave with a stream or river running through it.

Sean put these two ideas together and put his hand on the back of Bella’s neck. He knew she would lead him where he needed to go now that he had an vague image of it. He closed his eyes and felt the movement of the world around him. When he felt the world stop moving he opened his eyes and he was still standing next to Bella, but instead of being in the clearing they were standing in front of a large waterfall that came out of the mouth of a cave. He patted Bella. “Thank you, Bella. I am grateful for your help. I think I need to take this from here.” Bella nuzzled his hand and trotted off into the nearby woods.

Sean looked at the cave which was about thirty feet above the pool in front of him. He knew he had to find a way to the cave opening and he saw to the right of the waterfall what looked like a possible way. Part of reaching the cave was having to find his way physically there, even though this was the spiritual world, part of his task was to do some physical work as well. He had learned this on some other trips here. It was all part of how the spiritual world worked. Sometimes there were physical trials that had to be accomplished to reach your goal. He headed over to the rock wall and started looking for foot and hand holds. He was making good progress and was about half way up the rock wall when he heard a familiar sound and he drew his hand back quickly. It was the sound of a rattlesnake rattling a warning.

Sean thought for a bit, being careful not to move too quickly and keeping his had from the ledge where the snake was curled and ready to strike. Sean searched his memory for the meanings of snakes. Often times, especially in the spiritual world these things would happen and it was necessary to read the signs. “Snakes. Snakes. Why do I need to know about snake medicine right now?” Sean was talking out loud to himself at this point. “Snakes are earth medicine, they spend their lives as close to Mother Earth as possible. They shed their skins. A sign of rebirth or resurrection.” He pulled himself up to where he could see onto the ledge without actually grabbing onto the ledge and there was a diamondback rattlesnake curled, but not raised to strike. The rattling had become a softer rattle. Sean looked it directly in the eye. “I am like you. I have come to shed my skin and to leave those things behind I no longer need. It is time for me to reinvent myself. It is time for a rebirth. I thank you for the lesson, dear friend.” Sean reached into a small pouch that was easily accessible on his belt and brought out a pinch of tobacco. He gently placed it on the edge of the ledge in front of the snake, which did not move. “I thank you for the gift of your teaching. I come in love and honor.” Sean waited.

The snake seemed to size him up to see if he truly came in love an honor and then slowly uncoiled and left the ledge open for Sean to continue. Sean made it to the mouth of the cave without further incident. Once inside he removed the wrapped bundle that matched the one lying on his bed in the barn and unrolled it on the cave floor near the stream that ran through the cave. It was dark outside now, but the full moon illuminated the cave enough for his to see what he was doing. Once again he stripped naked and lit another smudge stick. This time he chose the one of sage, cedar and sweet grass. When he was done smudging, he stood in the middle of the stream which only came up to the middle of his calves. The water was cool, but not cold. He made prayers to the seven directions, east, south, west, north, above, below and within.

When he was done with his prayers of gratitude he stood in the water. Then he bent down and cupped the water into his hands and let the water gently pour over him. As he did this he said to all that would listen, and in the spiritual world, it seemed as though everyone and everything was constantly listening. “I give to Mother Ocean those things I no longer need. I release those negative feelings toward myself and others. Take away all that needs to be taken. Let me shed my skin like my brother the snake so that I might have rebirth.” As he said these things he continued cupping water from the stream and pouring it over himself. When he was done he just stood looking out the mouth of the cave and listening to the sound of the water and it rushed out of the mouth to pour into the pool below. He stood there occasionally cupping more water and pouring it over himself. When he felt like it was complete, he stepped out of the stream. Opened up another pouch and sprinkled cornmeal into the water, then tobacco from the other pouch.

Satisfied he had done what was needed he dressed himself and lay down in the cave and slept. When he awoke, he was back in the bed in the barn and starving from all the work he had done that night. He quickly got dressed and as soon as he headed out of the barn toward the house he could smell the coffee and bacon. He knew what he had to do and he was ready to tell Brian he wasn’t going to wait to go to Gate Rock. But he was going to clear up a few loose ends and would be heading to Gate Rock by the end of the week.