So I was guided to my next stop
The town of Crestone
The town of Crestone
First sign I was meant to be here:
<3 Their Library has Linux <3
I was especially interested in this town because of all the Temples of different Spiritual Paths it has
There's like a Dozen of them here!
Here's the first one I found
Situated on the flat outskirts of town
Situated on the flat outskirts of town
I guess they have the Nation's only outdoor cremation burial site here
I was blessed to have walked on this ground
I was blessed to have walked on this ground
Looking out the back
I saw footprints in the Sand!
I knew how important it is to be absolutely respectful in a Holy Place
But I figured
If Another Man had walked there
I saw footprints in the Sand!
I knew how important it is to be absolutely respectful in a Holy Place
But I figured
If Another Man had walked there
Then So May I
So I followed the footprint!
Which led through this sort of arid-sand field to some walls...
Which led through this sort of arid-sand field to some walls...
Contained within was this magic and sacred place!
The center had a magic staff!!
The center had a magic staff!!
After Observing within
I found more footprints leading out the back...
I found more footprints leading out the back...
The footprints led to a compound with beautiful adobe walls!
I explored the area
But I could only go as far as any closed door
I knocked and yelled
But none answered
After appreciating the Beautiful grounds
I left on The Road I found by their front gate
I guess this isn't where I'm meant to be
So I went to check out the downtown!
Crestone is Just this tiny town at the foot of the Mountains
So there's just a few choice places here
The main place is the Elephant Cloud Market!
Which is also a Cafe!
A Natural health food store and a chill vibe cafe in one?
What More Do You Need!!
There's even a bulletin board in the back!
An active bulletin board
With cool stuff
What More Do You Need!!
With cool stuff
A Beautiful Park exists Just across the Street
I Love this town already
Deer are jus' chillin'
So is doggo
doggoooooooooooooo
There's also a bar
That has kombucha
That they brew themselves
That they brew themselves
Small Town Bar
Dogs ran in the Bar
And chased out—everyone Smiled
The Way Life should Be
Dogs ran in the Bar
And chased out—everyone Smiled
The Way Life should Be
Crestone also has this reeeeeeally cool thing
The Free Box!
It's a community space that anyone can go to to simply
A: Drop Something Off
or
B: Pick Something Up
(Or C: Clean and Organize)
So instead of massive amounts of Waste
People can pass on what they no longer Need to others in their community
Just think about how important a hammer is
Or a pairing knife
Or a pickaxe
Or any simple tool one may need
This is the kind of place every community Needs!
Whether it's in a Town City Neighborhood Underground Shelter Network Whatever!
It's fun to Just pop in and see what kinda random stuff is there
Always on the look-out for something that's "meant for me!"
V - Rudy - V ^ - Not Sure but there'd be a few - ^ V - Xavier -V
I felt God wanted Us to See this
Food Is Life too
And so is Art!
Said some prayers and did my training here
I followed My Path to here
And then I was led...
...To exactly where I was meant to be
Stayed here the first night I arrived
There are Good Spirits here
Eleven
Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.
Fifty-Nine
In caring for others and serving heaven,
There is nothing like using restraint.
Restraint begins with giving up one's own ideas.
This depends on Virtue gathered in the past.
If there is a good store of Virtue, then nothing is impossible.
If nothing is impossible, then there are no limits.
If a human knows no limits, then they are fit to be a ruler.
The mother principle of ruling holds good for a long time.
This is called having deep roots and a firm foundation,
The Tao of long life and eternal vision.
Twenty-Two
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Therefore wise humans embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome."
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
Thirty-Three
Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self needs strength.
He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.
He who stays where he is endures.
To die but not perish is to be eternally present.
Twenty-Seven
A good walker leaves no tracks;
A good speaker makes no slips;
A good reckoner needs no lock,
Yet no one can open it.
Good binding requires no knots,
Yet no one can loosen it.
Therefore the sage takes care of all men
And abandons no one.
He takes care of all things
And abandons nothing.
This is called "following the light."
What is a good man?
A teacher of a bad man.
What is a bad man?
A good man's charge.
If the teacher is not respected,
And the student not cared for,
Confusion will arise, however clever one is.
This is the crux of mystery.
Meet Baba!
He's basically half-doggo half-lion
I was invited to stay in The Gypsy Wagon!
Perfect little overhang for LionHeart in the back
Cozy and Warm inside
I don't really Need any more than this
I don't really Need any more than this
I found a tiny carrot on the ground here!
Lots of growing going on here
Food—Shelter—Love
In order to stay here ya gotta Work!
My first task was to remove all this prickly thistle
Take That ya thorny bastards!
Next was to clear this garden bed of weeds!
Here's a sad looking compost pile ):
Let's see if I can remember what I learned at the Eco Village in Ithaca
Let's see if I can remember what I learned at the Eco Village in Ithaca
Next bring in the browns!
There should be about a 25:75 ratio of greens to browns
Greens being food waste and pretty much anything green
Browns being dried out plant matter like leaves or hay or dead grass
There!
That's more or less how it aughta look
Well, Kurt in Ithaca's was way better but he's been doing it way longer...
Definitely a huge improvement!
As you add food in be sure to add 75% more browns
Just have some mulch nearby
You'll want to chop all scraps up so they'll break down easier and faster
Then use a pitchfork to fluff everything in
You Want nice airflow through the pile
So living creatures can thrive
It's the buggos and the bacteria that break it all down
But we want a healthy ecosystem
Not a swarm of knats
So if you don't have the time to chop and fluff
At least quickly cover the scraps in some ash
There's a whole World to Composting but here's where we're at with that!
That's more or less how it aughta look
Well, Kurt in Ithaca's was way better but he's been doing it way longer...
Definitely a huge improvement!
As you add food in be sure to add 75% more browns
Just have some mulch nearby
You'll want to chop all scraps up so they'll break down easier and faster
Then use a pitchfork to fluff everything in
You Want nice airflow through the pile
So living creatures can thrive
It's the buggos and the bacteria that break it all down
But we want a healthy ecosystem
Not a swarm of knats
So if you don't have the time to chop and fluff
At least quickly cover the scraps in some ash
There's a whole World to Composting but here's where we're at with that!
Being able to cook is a nice skill to share with folk
It is additionally helpful when being creative with food that'd otherwise go to waste!
I found some stale bread that had begun to mold along with a surplus of apples
So after removing the moldy bits...
I made a Candied Apple Bread Pudding!
It is additionally helpful when being creative with food that'd otherwise go to waste!
I found some stale bread that had begun to mold along with a surplus of apples
So after removing the moldy bits...
I made a Candied Apple Bread Pudding!
It's fun to experiment
The Sunsets here every single Evening are Absolutely Brilliant
Eighty
A small country has fewer people.
Though there are machines that can work ten to a hundred times faster than man,
they are not needed.
The people take death seriously and do not travel far.
Though they have boats and carriages, no one uses them.
Though they have armor and weapons, no one displays them.
Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing.
Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple,
their homes secure;
They are happy in their ways.
Though they live within sight of their neighbors,
And crowing cocks and barking dogs are heard across the way,
Yet they leave each other in peace while they grow old and die.
The Mountains Stand Mightily in the Distance
I Can Hear Their Call
Sad I've been working with the Earth for weeks and been in the mountains too Face
to
HOOOOORAAAAaaaaaAAAAAYYY
I AM CLEEEEEEEEEAAAAN!
I AM CLEEEEEEEEEAAAAN!
Yes
I have found another place to Love
I have found another place to Love
A place I feel I belong
Am meant to be here, ever
But I know I won't stay
Not too long
Because My Ride
It's not over yet
And Because
I've Heard Them...
...The Mountains in the Distance have been Calling Me
Answering The Call
On the one hand I Love knowing the names
On the other hand—the trees would be trees and the rocks would be rocks no matter what we called them
On the other hand—the trees would be trees and the rocks would be rocks no matter what we called them
There's a 2-mile Road that goes up to the lot from town
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
You step on the trail and it's like you just stepped into heaven
The Stairs to Heaven that is.
Adding my footprints to the sand
Unless I am mistaken that there is a Black Soldier Fly
Looks like he got himself a grasshopper
Nature Is Brutal
Nature Is Innocent
Nature Is
I Do Believe that Up There is Where I'm Going
treez for scale lol
tiny pine tree
I don't worry about filtering the water
This is like Fresh Mountain Spring Water
This is like...
The Best Water.
I Love Cool Bridges
Or Bridges in Cool Places
Or Cool Bridges in Cool Places
Moving in such Beauty
I often find myself contemplating deeper matters
And attempting to capture my thoughts in Words
At Least I Know I can be Stubborn and Wrong and Still Ready to Fight for Love
I Want to Show You That
That Stubborn Wrongness
That Fight
I Don't Want to Judge
But I Do Want to Discern
People that choose
Hate
Mother Mary told me "Because it's where she was at"
And I Wish I knew what that meant
And I Wish for Greater Things
For This World
For My Brothers and Sisters
And I Wish I knew what that meant
And I Wish for Greater Things
For This World
For My Brothers and Sisters
People Want and People Need
For these things some are Willing to Bleed
Others Will ask and some may receive
For What upon this World does Your Heart Wish to conceive?
Our Choices Define Our Life
Within every Action the Consequences Rife
We can take—a loaf, a dollar, a Wife
Though No Thing is without its Tithe
I Didn't Finish That Poem
The Dream:
Adventure with a Group of Friends/Family
Adventure with a Group of Friends/Family
Loved Ones
Willow Lake
This Water is So Clear!
I was hungry and tired miles ago
But I Wanted to rest and have lunch here
So I saved my food and pushed on
And sat here by the water while I ate :)
Just an example of how a little discipline can improve ones experience a lot
And how having enough Discipline to climb a Mountain...
Let's You Climb a Mountain
!!!!
a fren~!!
I Love that
"Hey I was Just Down There!"
Feeling
fren overlooks domain
At this point I wasn't sure which ridge I was about to climb
Ooo I found a way over this river!
The Lake sits in this bowl
Nestled in The Mountain
Towards the Top of the Gorge
We Have Reached Snow
Fresh from The Mountain Water
fren shows off good side
lookin' good fren
lookin' good fren
Gotta Push through Here
This valley on TOP of The Waterfall spans for a great distance!
But the trail suddenly shifts Right
Right and Up
Now is when it really starts to get difficult
Climbing The Mountain is a Battle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISqIFnYSTZ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqww2bvf51g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqww2bvf51g
I had met a hiker at the bottom named Nate who warned me of Snow and Steepness
Another Brother named Dan had turned around from the Danger and Difficulty
Another Brother named Dan had turned around from the Danger and Difficulty
It gets steeper and steeper as one approaches the summit
Point D
Could I really DO This?
Like Hell I'm turning around
What Do I Have to Lose?
Thanks again for the Bandana Lady Saba
I found it in your field while I was training
Helped protect the back of my neck from getting sunburned
And soaking it in water is nice and cooling Just like you said
At this point the trail seems like more of a suggestion
Some parts are clear
But no matter where you step it's Rocky
Little Piles of man-made rocks help guide you
Look at this Lightning Bolt Rock I found!!
Look!!!
I couldn't tell if I was on the trail still or not
But I knew I was going the Right Way
To Be Honest
I thought I'd of been there by now
I wasn't really tired
Having a Great Workout
But I was very worried about the Sun
But I had already decided
Like Hell
I'm turning around
I'm Climbing to Heaven
With My Feet and My Hands
North
West
East
South
But Wait!
What's That!?!?
What's That!?!?
I can see the Town of Crestone from here too
I Love that
"Hey I was Just Down There!"
Feeling
Justin LionHearted
I picked up the actual trail going back down
This is the last picture I took before the sun set to the point that it became too dark and cold to move safely or comfortably any more
It got darker and darker and colder and colder as I made my way down
I (foolishly) wasn't prepared for this
No sweater or flashlight
It became more and more difficult to see where to place my feet
The Cold detracted from my focus and my growing Fatigue and soreness didn't help either
Luckily I had found a stick which honestly saved my life
Navigating the Dark Rocks without it would have been impossible to do so without falling
I couldn't get lost though as I could hear the waterfall from anywhere
And that's right where the trail got easier
But I still had to get there
By the time I got to Point D it was Dark and I could barely see at all
I was basically a blind man in the woods
It was pretty Stressful and honestly a little scary
But Hey!
I Survived!
Actually I found an abandoned tent near the lake
By the time I made it back around the lake from the waterfall my ankles were in lots of pain from all the slipping and tripping and rolling of them I'd undergone and was pretty tired and cold
So yeah I Just passed out in it haha
(I later reported the abandoned tent to the Sheriff's Office)
(And later learned everyone was okay)
By the time I made it back around the lake from the waterfall my ankles were in lots of pain from all the slipping and tripping and rolling of them I'd undergone and was pretty tired and cold
So yeah I Just passed out in it haha
(I later reported the abandoned tent to the Sheriff's Office)
(And later learned everyone was okay)
Seen as how it was early and I had all day
I Wanted to hike some more but hesitated to climb another peak
Luckily there was an easier
But no less important
Destination
There isn't really a trail here
So I had to crawl under some bushes
And navigate some obstacles in the terrain
To get to the Other Side of The Lake
To See
The Bottom of The Waterfall
A Second Sun Rise
Yeah
This would not have been fun in the Dark
Wouldn't have even been able to get any of this fantabulous water
shy climber fren
watching from afar
watching from afar
fren closin' in
What are We for?
We Are All For Love
One Way or Another
I Want My Way
My Path to Love
to Be Above The Darkness
Greater than simple Hunger
Goodness
Last photo I took before the camera battery died
That's about 9 miles away and 2000-3000 feet lower
That's about 9 miles away and 2000-3000 feet lower
Hey I was Just Up There!
The Mountains look so cool Underneath Storms and in Clouds
New England gets some rough weather
But I never saw hailstones this big before!
The weather here is a bit more Stable than New England
But much more Fierce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMKqiCi7nLc
New England gets some rough weather
But I never saw hailstones this big before!
The weather here is a bit more Stable than New England
But much more Fierce
I call him Wolfo
Outta The Gypsy Wagon...
So Many Possibilities
Beautiful Dreams to Share
Dreams get Turned into Reality when You Ask For and Work Towards Them
Got some cucumbers in the ground
Take some turning veggies
Boil 'em down
Put 'em in some Mason Jars in the fridge and they'll last another few weeks at least!
Put the Soup in ziploc bags in the freezer and it'll last for months!I don't know how to can stuff yet but that'll make it last for years!
There's an Amazing Library here too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOg6i6clJ8c
Ordinary Magic is a Witch's Curse
it is a matter of great consequence to a rose
once unique in all the world
to be considered weak and foolish
because of her sharp-prickly thorns
which do not, after all, protect her
but only make her . . . untouchable
didn't you know how it made my anger flame and burn
to have my thorns so ridiculed ?
to be icily ignored — after I'd been so adored
simply because you wanted me to learn your eternal lesson
of the grace of tranquility ?
oh ! didn't you know, all those times you made me weep
that a proud Ram, turned into a sheep
by the Lion's more graceful agility of action and speech
cannot rest or sleep ? especially when exiled out of reach
. . and touch
didn't you guess that a Ram
bent unwillingly into the shape of a sheep — is dangerous ?
and that a sheep can eat a rose ?
every Little Prince knows . . that a sheep can eat a rose
and is that not a matter of great consequence
a matter of great concern ?
as great as the matter of a proud Lion
bent into the shape of a mouse
and no longer King — no longer Lord and Ruler
in his own house
yes, these were matters of great concern
warnings of deep karmic lessons we both had yet to learn
it seemed . . a miracle was needed
but what miracle could mend the broken link
in the chain that binds our souls . . this weak link
growing weaker every hour
. . before it breaks ?
perhaps . .
perhaps . .
perhaps, with the keys I possess
which unlock the secret wisdom of the planetary cycles
perhaps I might . . when the time is exactly right
make a miracle
a miracle of three-times-three
the miracle of a small druid, to visit you and me
not imaginary, but real . . a new Anne with an e
O ! Doood . . . I thought . . a small druid !
would that not surely be
a splendid, magical and healing mystery
for you and me ?
if one — just one of the lost three, could return, to help us learn
to teach us how we might mend this broken link
and help us re-discover our dazzling Christmas tree
with the Star of Truth at the very tip top
would that not be . . a joyous thing ?
and so, I gathered all the planetary wisdom I knew
to make a small druid miracle for you
and stirred the imaginary potion with shreds of secret hope
I brewed, not the rich nourishment of Knowing
that feeds a hungry heart — and makes any kind of dream come true
but a weaker witch's brew, of thin promise — my magic concocted
from the fearful and diluted faith, called hope
hope and Knowing . . how fine a link between the two !
and I could not tell; the difference between them
as I murmured incantations over my cursed witch's brew
which was only ☺ as I knew
ordinary magic
then the s/cheming, plotting me-of-me
beckoned to the faithful, trusting you-of-you
and smiled into your eyes
until you trembled with desire, and thundered in your lions
with the knowing-things of passion between us
. . until you stroked my hair with gentle
in the black velvet night
. . and tenderly whispered
"I Love you, little druid sprite
in spite of all the hurting things you do
"I Love you with all my heart
you are still my tamed, unique rose"
. . as you loped into the mystery bed beside me
kissed my nose . . and smelled my ear
but did not hear the Full Moon laughing overhead
rustling the clouds
so deafened were you by the crashing chords
or our deeper symphony
O ! you exploded Love within me at the very hour
the wiser planets ☺ not the unreliable rhythm of the calendar
had decreed for planting magic seed
and never heard the Full Moon's secret glee
because you trusted me
and when I knew for certain that the Morning Star
had carried back to Heaven her message of joy
streaming through the sky
I told you . . and I also told you why
oh, Dood, I tried to tell you why
but you gazed on me with hurt, suspicious eyes
like some wounded animal — and you sternly judged me
by the Saturn coldness in your heart
not because of the planned return of one of the three
you said . . oh, no !
but because I had not
permitted you to know
you glared at me in righteous anger, like some red-eyed Isaiah
and judged me icily
for daring to experience the awe and wonder of that magical mist
alone
just me . . without your knowledge
of the Morning Star
when you had so long waited, you said — when you had so long
believed and prayed that holy moment
would someday be dared — and shared — by both of us, together
your voice was cold
when you spoke . .
and your eyes were green ice
Oh ! your voice was so very, very cold
when you spoke
"that's quite a clever joke
you played on me . . . you lied to me
a sin, not of commission
but a sin of omission
you stole from me
you stole a star from me . . oh !
how could you lie to me ?
you . . . . lie to me ?
how could you steal from me ?
you ? steal from me ?
when we have always freely given
to each other
why should you
ever steal from me
when all I have is yours ?
why ? why ?
you should never, never
need to lie — or to steal — from me
you stole a star from me !"
. . and as we were leaving
the theater, for no reason at all
you asked me . . did you see Carousel ?
the part I liked best
the part I liked best
was when Bill . . stole a star from Heaven
to give to his daughter
after he died . .
"you lied ! you lied ! you lied to me !"
I wept, then . .
with a sorrow unknown to me before
in any Temple — for, at last I understood
yes, I understood what I had done to steal from you
to rob you of your chance to watch the Morning Star together
the moment you had waited so long to know — and to share with me
throughout so many ordinary times of "spring"
and I returned to you my ring
the one on which you'd had engraved
Love is Eternal
for I was not worthy to wear it anymore
only minutes later
you took me into your arms
near the back porch kitchen door
placed the ring back on my finger
and said slowly . . sadly
"I forgive you, I forgive you, darling
and I know why you thought you had to lie
it was not you, this time
who lost points
in the grading of our love — no, it was I
because I caused you to be so afraid
to share that miracle with me
I should not have been so cold
that you believed
even for one moment
that I did not also yearn
for the someday return of one of the three
to help us learn
I guess I only thought . .
well, I thought we ought to first be done
with doubt, mistrust — and quarreling
and the rust of old memories, better buried
before we . . and before she . .
but now I see
I should not have been so cold
that you believed I did not yearn
for a small star to return, and help us re-learn
all we both once knew — and yes
when we both know still . . . is true
it's not too late . . "
and you touched
my face
" . . it's not too late, sad druid
because I Love you — oh, I do, I do !
please don't cry
I understand now — and I know why
you excluded me from the Morning Star
moment
this time
it was I who was to blame — not you
come outside with me now
and see where I'm going to plant a lilac bush
in the front yard
and build a frog pond nearby . .
and all kinds of perfectly marvelous
things . . you'll see !
come ! run outside, now, with me
and let me show you
all the happy things I've planned
darling, believe me — I do understand
how many times must I explain
that I always understand
. . everything you do ?
this time, I lost points — not you"
oh ! that was not true !
it was not you, it was I who was to blame for the shame
of cooking up a witch's brew
and of having so little faith in you, my Comforter
it was I who was to blame . . but just the same
thank you for loving me
dear, gentle Doood
especially . . when I don't deserve it
Probably the most popular symbol of longevity and good health is the wonderful bamboo plant. If you have a garden it is a good idea to create a small bamboo grove in the east side. If you live in an apartment, look for a beautiful painting of the bamboo and place it in the east side of the living room.
Because the bamboo is regarded as a very auspicious plant, its stem can also be used as a very effective feng shui tool. When pairs of bamboo stems are tied with red string and hung on beams and corners they successfully ward off killing energy that creates problems for residents. There are many different varieties of bamboo; those that have hollow stems are the most auspicious.
...
Yet another great favorite of mine, and one that probably reflects my Chinese roots, is the tortoise. This is a creature that brings only good fortune to any household that has it. The tortoise (or turtle) is another symbol of longevity and having it in the home, either as a real live pet or as a fake decorative item or painting simply does wonders for the luck of the home. In addition to bringing great good fortune, however, the tortoise is also a symbol of support and protection. It signifies the celestial support of the north.
It is because of this that my favorite tip for everyone is to have a small tortoise pond in the north corner of your house, and preferably your garden. It does not matter if the north corner is in the back or the front of the house, or on the left or right of the main door. Keep the tortoises in a small ceramic container half-filled with water, feed them with fish food and watch them grow.
...
I always remind my married women friends that feng shui is an ancient Chinese science and as such, much of feng shui guidelines and principles are geared towards making the family patriarch successful, rich, happy, and living to a ripe old age. One other thing feng shui does for any household is to ensure many healthy sons to carry on the family name. Feng shui also ensures no shortage of concubines for the family patriarch. As such many of the techniques for creating prosperity for the family also implicitly create many wives and sons.
Success for families in the traditional context was often measured not only in terms of the patriarch's wealth, position, or prominence but also by the number of secondary wives and concubines there were in his household. Like the emperor, men of position in Old China often had an entire harem of wives!
In the context of the modern environment, therefore, I want to offer special feng shui advice for my married women readers. In activating the luck of your home to attract wealth and prosperity you must also be aware of the hidden dangers. You must also make sure you are not energizing for your husband to have a roving eye, or worse leave the family roost altogether and get himself another wife. Feng shui, which is originally designed to attract wealth and prosperity in the home, can sometimes inadvertently cause infidelity in a marriage.
Firstly, do be careful about water features. These are wonderful for activating prosperity luck, especially when you use water features like waterfalls, aquariums, and small fish ponds. However, do be careful that in building these ornamental water features you place them correctly. For example, you must make certain that you do not place water features on the right-hand side of your main door. This will cause the man to develop Love interests outside the marriage. The right-hand side is taken to mean the right side of you as you stand at the door facing outwards.
Instead, the water feature must be on the left-hand side of the door. This guideline applies equally whether your water feature is inside or outside the door. Water features in the vicinity of your front door always bring more wealth if the locations happen to coincide with the east, the southeast, and the north part of your whole garden. But if in placing your water features in these three directions, it has to be placed on the right side of your main door, then you should really not have it at all since having prosperity is not much use if you lose your husband! This does not bring abundance, it only creates a lot of unhappiness.
Families with swimming pools should be especially mindful of the location of the pool. If it lies on the right-hand side of the main door (inside looking out) it is indeed highly likely that there will be problems caused by infidelity. Those of you reading this and having water features on the wrong side of the door should either close down the water feature or change the location of the door.
Secondly, be very careful about features you have in the bedroom. I have already warned you about hanging a painting or peonies in the bedroom or, indeed, a painting of any kind of flowers. Flowers in the bedroom signify the presence of plenty of women in your life — like the old days when one man had many wives and concubines. So do not agree to hang pictures of flowers, or have so-called artistic pictures of nude women in the bedroom. If your husband insists, hang these paintings in the study or another part of the home, but not in the bedroom.
The goal of Taoists is to cultivate the life energy to the highest level possible, bringing good health and deep fulfillment of the human aspiration for wholeness. The early sages observed the natural process of the raw chi of the universal elements—sun and earth, food and air—being transformed into ching, or sex energy, and in the male stored as sperm. The next step is far more subtle and difficult to observe. The sperm energy is mixed with the chi of the human vital organs and refined into shien, or spirit. In short, sex energy offers a link between our biological and metaphysical identities, between the animal and the divine. Sexual ability gives man the divine power to re-create himself, but it also binds him to his animal body and that of his lover.
The Taoists believe that you can use any substance or force that exists in the universe to feed the process of cultivating your spirit, and thereby free yourself on the limitations of your animal body. Everything has energy in it, and human consciousness can absorb that energy if it so desires. But some substances are easier for the human body to change into a useable form than others. For example, you can absorb the energy from eating a good hot meal more easily then you can from sitting on the beach under the sun. The solar energy is too raw and too powerful to be easily "digested" by the body. Sunlight will burn you severely if you try to absorb too much. But your body can easily assimilate a plate of food and function for a long time on the calories and nutrients digested.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUNGER AND SEXUAL DESIRE
What is the difference between food and sex as energies that our bodies crave to be fed? Many people confuse hunger for food and sex as being similar biological desires that are both necessary for survival. Clearly they are connected, as many people feeling sexual frustration turn to food for gratification. An imbalance in ching (sex) energy ranks as a major cause of obesity—when you are sexually frustrated, food is the easiest substitute.
The major difference between food (chi energy) and sex (ching essence) is that sex energy, because it has already been refined and produced inside the body, is much easier to "digest" or "absorb" than a raw substance like food. Food must be broken down and connected before it supplies any useful energy. Sexual essence is already in a state of readiness that is linked within milliseconds to our hormonal and nervous system. The image of sex or the mere thought of it can instantly enter our brain and alter our entire psychological state as well as our bodily feeling.
Thus sexual energy potentially has a far higher value than food as a kind of "nourishment" needed for human emotional maturation and spiritual growth. That is why sex was also considered a department of Chinese medicine and treated so matter-of-factly. A Taoist doctor might prescribe a two week round of love making in certain positions to heal your illness. Human Love, expressed through the function of sexuality, was seen as the most potent medicine you could take. It was a kind of "human herb" that could cure most ailments as it restored the flow of chi which governs our organ vitality and general immunological system.
People become obsessed by their relationships as the exchange of sexual energy that occurs is the most important source of sustenance in their lives after food. Relationships invariably get complicated because although your friends and lovers are visible and tangible beings, the sexual energy you are constantly exchanging and transforming into emotion and spirit with them is invisible. It can be known only through your feelings and intuition.
A relationship fails when the spirit of it is not properly cultivated, and you force yourself to "eat" negative, or poisonous, sexual energies without transforming them into positive or neutral energies. When the imbalance in energy becomes strong enough, divorce occurs unless the couple finds another way to correct it. Reading pornographic magazines or masturbation are other examples of negative cultivation of your ching, because they stimulate the "yang" essence in your sperm without balancing it with a real woman's "yin" sexual energy.
The major difference between ching, or sex essence, and food and sunlight energy is that your ching chi is physically manufactured and stored inside your body. This precious substance—sperm, with its extraordinary power to mate with a female egg and create another life—is manufactured and stored in your testicles for safekeeping. The point is that you are free to tap into your supply of sex energy at anytime by drawing the sperm power from the testicles.
If you run out of sperm your body automatically makes more. This allows you to be physically ready for your lover at all times. Even if you are alone, without a lover, and never intend to procreate, your body produces the sperm and transforms it into creative sexual energy. So you can always transform this stored sex energy into spirit, your pure awareness, and express it through creative personality at will. So in fact "ching" is internal energy that nourishes us night and day without ceasing. The process of refinement is partly automatic, and partly voluntary. We can either help or hinder the process of transforming our sex energy into creativity depending on how aware we are of our internal process. Yes, like breathing, we draw on this source of energy constantly without being aware of it.
Freud stumbled partially upon this truth many millennia after the Taoist masters had clearly mapped our the role of sex in shaping our destiny. Freud didn't realize that the mental neuroses he discovered could be healed by cultivating the sexual and other Chi energies within the body. When these energies are re-balanced through proper love-making and meditation, the mind is re-patterned and freed of old traumas and habits. Taoist cultivation of one's sexual energy is an extremely powerful tool for self therapy. So powerful, in fact, that it should be used only by those who have achieved a certain degree of integration in the body, mind, and spirit. Severely imbalanced individuals may release more energy than they can safely deal with, and should see a psychiatrist before attempting to learn the Taoist methods.
This unique human freedom of utilizing our sexual energy so flexibly does not come without its price. The price is that we spend an estimated 25% to 40% of our chi energy taken in through food, air, and sunlight just to manufacture this sperm energy and maintain sexual readiness. Why does the body spend so much of its valuable resources to produce billions of sperm cells and regulate them with an accompanying hormonal system? Simply to produce a few children over the course of a lifetime? Nature is not that extravagant. The enormous investment of our bodies in producing this sperm energy is to speed our overall evolution. The more successful man is in transforming his stored energy into higher creative and spiritual energy, the more rapid his evolution. This path of Taoist cultivation of chi energy is simply an attempt to most efficiently utilize the natural gifts every man is born with to evolve the maximum possible in a single lifetime.
Nevertheless he still did not leave, but rather stayed and waited until the giant came galloping along, leading the knights; by his neck he held a stake, large and square, sharpened at one end, with which he frequently prodded them. And they did not have on a single piece of clothing worth a straw, except for dirty and filthy shirts; their hands and feet were bound with ropes, and they sat on four limping pack-horses, all thin and weak and broken-down. They came riding along a wood, and a dwarf, like a swollen toad, had tied them tail-to-tail, and he rode beside all four of them. He never left off striking them with a four-knotted whip, and so thought that he was acting very nobly; he struck them so much that they were bleeding. Thus the giant and the dwarf together basely brought them along.
The giant stopped before the door, in the middle of a flat space, and called out to the lord that he challenged his sons to mortal combat, if he did not deliver his daughter to him, and that he would turn her over to his pack of scullions, as their prostitute, for he did not love nor value her so much as to deign to debase himself by taking her. She would have with her at all times a thousand scullions, lousy and naked like beggars and slovens, and all would make their contribution. The good man nearly went mad when he heard the giant say that he would put his daughter into prostitution, or else that his four sons would forthwith be killed, before his very eyes; he was as distressed as a person who would rather be dead than alive. He repeatedly called himself wretched and miserable, and wept bitterly and sighed.
Then my Lord Ywain, the noble and gentle, began to say to him, "Sire, this giant who is boasting outside is very wicked and bold, but may God never permit him to have any power over your daughter! He greatly despises and debases her. It would be too great a misfortune if a creature so beautiful and born of such high lineage was abandoned to scullions. Bring me my arms and my horse! And have the drawbridge lowered, and let me cross it! One of us will have to be defeated, either I or he, I know not which. If I could humiliate the evil wretch who continues to mistreat us here, so that he would free your sons, and come before you to make amends for the shameful things he has said to you, then I should like to command you to God, and go on to my other business." Then they brought out his horse and gave him all his armor; they worked hard at arming him, and quickly and well they prepared him; they took as little time as they could in arming him.
When they had equipped him properly, there was nothing left but to lower the bridge and to let him go. They lowered it for him, and he went forth, but the lion in no way stayed behind. And those who did stay behind commended him to God, for they were very much afraid that the demon, the malevolent one, who had killed many a valiant man before their eyes, on the spot, would do the same to him. And they prayed God to protect him from death, and to bring him back alive and well, and let him kill the giant. Each prayed God fervently, according to what he desired.
And the giant came toward Ywain very fiercely, and threatened him, and said: "Whoever sent you here didn't love you much, by my eyes! Surely, he couldn't have done any better to take revenge against you, in any way. He has done a good job of taking revenge for whatever wrong you did him." "You've started a quarrel for nothing!" said Ywain, who feared him not at all; "now do your best, and I'll do mine, for useless words are tedious to me." Then without delay my Lord Ywain attacked him, for he was eager to be on his way; he went to strike him in the chest, which was protected by a bearskin. And the giant came running at him from the other side, with his stake. My Lord Ywain gave him such a blow in the chest that he pierced the skin; he dipped the iron point of his lance in the blood of the giant's body, as in a sauce; and the giant struck him with his club so hard that he made him fold over. My Lord Ywain drew his sword, with which he knew how to deal great blows. He found the giant without protection, for he so trusted in his strength that he did not deign to arm himself; and he who held his sword drawn made an attack upon him. With the cutting edge, not with the flat, he struck him so that he carved a slice from his cheek. And the giant, in turn, gave Ywain such a blow that he brought his head down all the way to the neck of his charger
At that blow the lion's hair stood on end, and he made ready to help his master, and he leaped in anger, and with great strength he seized hold, and split like bark the giant's hairy bearskin; underneath he took away a large piece of his haunch, slicing through the nerves and muscles. And the giant tore away from him, and bellowed and cried like a bull, for the lion had severely wounded him. He raised his club with both hands and tried to strike, but he missed, and the lion jumped back, and the blow was lost and fell harmlessly beside my Lord Ywain so that it touched neither one of them. And my Lord Ywain raised his arm and struck two blows. Before the giant had taken heed, Ywain, with the edge of his sword, had severed his shoulder from his torso. With the other blow, under the breast, he thrust the whole blade of his sword through the giant's liver. The giant fell; death was upon him, and if a giant oak fell I do not believe it would make a greater crash than did the giant as he fell. All those who were on the battlements were very glad to see that blow.
Then it could be seen who was the fastest, for all ran toward the spoils, just like dogs that have hunted the beast until they have caught it. So they all ran, men and women, without dissimulation, each trying to be the first to reach the place where the giant lay on his back. The lord himself ran there, as did the daughter, the mother, and all the people of the court. Now the four brothers were joyful, for they had suffered much harm. They were quite sure that they could not detain my Lord Ywain, no matter what might happen, so they begged him to come back to stay and take his pleasure as soon as he had finished his business where he was going.
And he replied that he dared not promise them anything, for he could in no way guess whether it would turn out well or ill for him; but to the lord he said this much, that he wanted his four sons and his daughter to take the dwarf, and go to my Lord Gawain, once they knew that he had returned, and they should recount how he had conducted himself, for he who does not want his good acts known does them for naught. And they replied: "This good act will never be kept secret, for that would not be right. We will gladly do whatever you wish—but we wish to ask you this, Sire: when we come before him, whom can we praise, if we do not know how to name you?" And he answered: "You can tell him this much, when you come before him, that I told you my name was the Knight of the Lion. And with this I must ask you to tell him on my behalf that he knows me well, and I him, and yet he does not know who I am. I ask you nothing more. Now I must leave here, and that is what most troubles me, that I may have stayed here too long; for before noon has come and gone, I shall have much to do elsewhere, if I can get there in time."
Then he left, to stay there no more. But first the lord begged him, as persuasively as he could, to take his four sons with him. There was not one of them who would not strive to serve him, if he so directed; but it did not please him that anyone should accompany him: he rode away alone and left them. And as soon as he was on his way, he headed back toward the chapel at full speed. The way was both fine and straight, and he had no trouble following it. But before he could come to the chapel, the maiden was taken from it, and the pyre made ready, where she was to be put. Those who wrongly charged her with what she never thought of doing had bound her and were leading her to the stake, dressed in nothing but her shift.
My Lord Ywain came to the fire wherein they wanted to throw her, and all this must have grieved him deeply; anyone who doubted it in the least would be neither courteous nor wise. It is true that it distressed him greatly, but he was confident that God and right would be on his side and would help him: he trusted very much in these companions, and he had no hatred for his lion, either. At full gallop he rode into the press, crying: "Release the maiden, evil people! It is not right that she should be put in any pyre or fire, for she has done nothing to deserve it." And the people moved apart on each side, and made way for him, and he was very eager to see with his eyes her whom his heart saw wherever she might be; he sought her with his eyes until he found her, and he put his heart to such a test that he had to curb and restrain it as one restrains with great difficulty, with a strong bridle, a pulling horse. And yet he looked upon her gladly, sighing, but his sighs were never so free that anyone could notice them; rather, he held them back with great anguish.
And he was overcome with pity, for he saw and heard the poor women who were bitterly grieving and saying: "Oh, God, how you have forgotten us, for now we shall be lost because we are losing such a fine friend, and such a source of counsel and aid, as she was for us at court! On her advice my lady clothed us in her miniver-trimmed dresses. Now things will be very different for us, for there will no longer be anyone to speak in our behalf. May God curse those who take her away from us! Evil be to those through whom we lose her, for we shall suffer greatly because of this. There will no longer be anyone to say or advise: 'This miniver cloak and this overgarment and this dress, dear Lady, give to this noble woman, for truly, if you send it to her, it will be well employed, for she has great need of it.' Never will a word be said of this, for no longer is anyone noble or courteous; rather, each one asks for himself, and not for any other unless there be some need to do so."
Thus they lamented, and my Lord Ywain was in there midst, and clearly heard their complaints, which were neither false nor feigned. And he saw Lunete on her kneed, undressed but for her shift; she had already been confessed, and had admitted her sins and asked God forgiveness for them. And he who had loved her well came toward her, and raised her up and said: "Maiden, where are those who blame and accuse you? If they do not refuse it, I shall immediately offer them battle." And she who had not yet seen him said to him: "Sire, in God's name, come to my great need! Those who bear false witness are all prepared against me, here; if you had delayed a little more I should soon have been ashes and cinders. You have come to defend me, and may God grant you the power to do so, just as surely as I am innocent of the blame of which I am accused."
The seneschal and his brothers heard these words: "Ha!" said they, "woman, miserly creature when telling the truth, and generous in lying! Anyone who takes on such a great burden because of what you say is very unwise; he is a very unfortunate knight who has come here to die for you, for he is alone and there are three of us. But I advise him to go back, before it turns out the worse for him." And he replied, very angry: "Whoever is afraid, let him flee! I am not so afraid of your three shields that I will go away vanquished without a blow. Then I should certainly act unchivalrously, if I, quite healthy, safe and sound, left you the field of battle! Never, while I am alive and well, will I flee because of such threats. But I advise you to have the maiden declared innocent, whom you have so wrongfully accused, for she says, and I believe her, and she has sworn to me, upon peril of her soul, that she never committed, nor spoke, not thought any treason against her lady. I fully believe all she has told me of this; and I shall defend her, if I can, for I find her right on my side. And the truth of the matter is that God is also on the side of right, and God and right are together; and when they come to my side, then I have better company than you do, and better help."
And the other answered very foolishly that he could put to use against him whatever he liked, provided that the lion not harm them. And Ywain said that he never brought his lion there for a champion, nor did he wish to involve any but himself in the fight, but if his lion attacks him, he should defend himself against him, for he can make no guarantee. The seneschal answered: "Whatever you say, if you don't control your lion and make him stay put, then you have no reason to stay here; but go away again, and you'll act wisely, for throughout this land people know how she betrayed her lady; it is right that the punishment for that be given in fire and flame." "May it not please the Holy Spirit," said he who well knew the truth; "may God not let me move from here until I have delivered her." Then he told the lion to withdraw, and to lie still; and he did as his master ordered.
The lion withdrew. Then the speaking and the quarreling ceased between them, and they took their distance; the three came charging toward him together, and he came toward them at a walk, for he did not want to let himself go nor to get worked up at the very first blows. He let them splinter their lances and kept his own intact; he offered them his shield as a target and broke the lance of each. Then he galloped off until he had put an acre of ground between himself and them; but he came quickly back to the business at hand, for he did not want to stay long. When he came back Ywain reached the seneschal before his two brothers: he broke his lance on his body, so that he carried him to the ground, despite his wishes; he gave him such a good blow that he lay stretched out for a long time so that he could do no more harm. Then the other two came at Ywain: with their naked swords they both gave him great blows, but they received greater ones from him, for a single one of his blows was exactly worth two of theirs. He defended himself so well against them that they could gain no advantage over him, until the seneschal got back up and attacked him with all his strength; then the others strove with him until they wore him down and overcame him. And the lion, who was watching this, waited no more to assist his master, for his help was needed, it seemed to him; and all the ladies together, who dearly loved the damsel, called very often upon the Lord God, and fervently prayed that he would at no price allow the death or defeat of the knight who had risked himself for her. The ladies helped him with their prayers, for they had no other weapons. And the lion helped him so that at the first attack he struck the seneschal, who was on foot, with such rage that he made the links of mail fly from his hauberk as if they had been straws, and pulled him down so strongly that he tore the flesh from his shoulder and his side. Whatever he reached he tore away so that his entrails appeared. The other two paid for this blow.
Now the two sides were even on the field. The seneschal could not escape death: he was wallowing and rolling around in the crimson wave of the blood that was gushing from his body. The lion attacked the others, for my Lord Ywain could not drive him back, neither with blows nor with threats, though he tried hard to do so; but the lion surely knew that his master did not detest his aid, but rather loved him the more for it; so he attacked them ferociously until they suffered frim his blows and injured and maimed him in turn. When my Lord Ywain saw his lion wounded, his heart was very angry within his chest, and he was not wrong; he strove mightily to wreak vengeance, he went at them so savagely and made it so hard for them that they gave up defending themselves against him and placed themselves at his mercy because of the aid given him by the lion, who was now sorely afflicted, because he was wounded in two places, and was quite rightly distraught. And for his part my Lord Ywain was not completely unscathed, but rather was wounded in many places; but he was far less upset by this than by the suffering of his lion.
Now had he rescued his damsel, just as he had wished, and the lady quite willingly pardoned her and renounced her anger. And they who had set up the pyre to burn her were burned in it instead, for it is a principle of justice that he who wrongly condemns another must die by that same death to which he had condemned the other. Now Lunete was joyous and gay when she was reconciled with her lady, and they were so joyful that no people ever displayed great joy, and all offered their service to their lord, just as they should have done, but without recognizing him; even the lady who had his heart, and did not know it, begged him to stay until he had recovered, and his lion as well. And he said: "Lady, it will not be today that I stay in this place, until my lady pardons me and renounces her anger and her wrath. Then my torments will all be over." "Surely," said she, "this grieves me, and I do not consider very courteous the lady who bears you ill will. She should not forbid access to her door to a knight of your value, unless he had committed too great a fault against her." "Lady," said he, "though it be painful to me, everything that suits her pleases me, but do not question me on this subject, for I would not for any thing reveal my wrong and my misdeed, except to those who know them well." "Then does someone know it, apart from you two?" "Yes, truly, my Lady." "And tell us your name, fair Lord, if you please, and then you will leave and all will be even between us." "Even, my Lady? It would not be so; I owe you more than I could repay; nevertheless, I must not conceal from you how I have people call me: never will you hear anyone speak of the Knight of the Lion who is not speaking of me: that is the name by which I wish to be called." "In God's name, fair Lord, how is it that we never saw you nor ever heard your name?" "Lady, in this way you may know that I am not very well known." Then the lady repeated: "Again, if it were not disagreeable to you, I would ask you to remain." "Certainly, Lady, I would not do so until I knew for certain that I had my lady's good will." "Then may God be with you, fair Lord, and may it please him to turn your sorrow and your grief to joy!" "Lady," said he, "may God hear you!" Then he said softly, between his teeth: "Lady, you bear the key, and you have the lock and the chest where my joy is, but you know it not."
Then it could be seen who was the fastest, for all ran toward the spoils, just like dogs that have hunted the beast until they have caught it. So they all ran, men and women, without dissimulation, each trying to be the first to reach the place where the giant lay on his back. The lord himself ran there, as did the daughter, the mother, and all the people of the court. Now the four brothers were joyful, for they had suffered much harm. They were quite sure that they could not detain my Lord Ywain, no matter what might happen, so they begged him to come back to stay and take his pleasure as soon as he had finished his business where he was going.
And he replied that he dared not promise them anything, for he could in no way guess whether it would turn out well or ill for him; but to the lord he said this much, that he wanted his four sons and his daughter to take the dwarf, and go to my Lord Gawain, once they knew that he had returned, and they should recount how he had conducted himself, for he who does not want his good acts known does them for naught. And they replied: "This good act will never be kept secret, for that would not be right. We will gladly do whatever you wish—but we wish to ask you this, Sire: when we come before him, whom can we praise, if we do not know how to name you?" And he answered: "You can tell him this much, when you come before him, that I told you my name was the Knight of the Lion. And with this I must ask you to tell him on my behalf that he knows me well, and I him, and yet he does not know who I am. I ask you nothing more. Now I must leave here, and that is what most troubles me, that I may have stayed here too long; for before noon has come and gone, I shall have much to do elsewhere, if I can get there in time."
Then he left, to stay there no more. But first the lord begged him, as persuasively as he could, to take his four sons with him. There was not one of them who would not strive to serve him, if he so directed; but it did not please him that anyone should accompany him: he rode away alone and left them. And as soon as he was on his way, he headed back toward the chapel at full speed. The way was both fine and straight, and he had no trouble following it. But before he could come to the chapel, the maiden was taken from it, and the pyre made ready, where she was to be put. Those who wrongly charged her with what she never thought of doing had bound her and were leading her to the stake, dressed in nothing but her shift.
My Lord Ywain came to the fire wherein they wanted to throw her, and all this must have grieved him deeply; anyone who doubted it in the least would be neither courteous nor wise. It is true that it distressed him greatly, but he was confident that God and right would be on his side and would help him: he trusted very much in these companions, and he had no hatred for his lion, either. At full gallop he rode into the press, crying: "Release the maiden, evil people! It is not right that she should be put in any pyre or fire, for she has done nothing to deserve it." And the people moved apart on each side, and made way for him, and he was very eager to see with his eyes her whom his heart saw wherever she might be; he sought her with his eyes until he found her, and he put his heart to such a test that he had to curb and restrain it as one restrains with great difficulty, with a strong bridle, a pulling horse. And yet he looked upon her gladly, sighing, but his sighs were never so free that anyone could notice them; rather, he held them back with great anguish.
And he was overcome with pity, for he saw and heard the poor women who were bitterly grieving and saying: "Oh, God, how you have forgotten us, for now we shall be lost because we are losing such a fine friend, and such a source of counsel and aid, as she was for us at court! On her advice my lady clothed us in her miniver-trimmed dresses. Now things will be very different for us, for there will no longer be anyone to speak in our behalf. May God curse those who take her away from us! Evil be to those through whom we lose her, for we shall suffer greatly because of this. There will no longer be anyone to say or advise: 'This miniver cloak and this overgarment and this dress, dear Lady, give to this noble woman, for truly, if you send it to her, it will be well employed, for she has great need of it.' Never will a word be said of this, for no longer is anyone noble or courteous; rather, each one asks for himself, and not for any other unless there be some need to do so."
Thus they lamented, and my Lord Ywain was in there midst, and clearly heard their complaints, which were neither false nor feigned. And he saw Lunete on her kneed, undressed but for her shift; she had already been confessed, and had admitted her sins and asked God forgiveness for them. And he who had loved her well came toward her, and raised her up and said: "Maiden, where are those who blame and accuse you? If they do not refuse it, I shall immediately offer them battle." And she who had not yet seen him said to him: "Sire, in God's name, come to my great need! Those who bear false witness are all prepared against me, here; if you had delayed a little more I should soon have been ashes and cinders. You have come to defend me, and may God grant you the power to do so, just as surely as I am innocent of the blame of which I am accused."
The seneschal and his brothers heard these words: "Ha!" said they, "woman, miserly creature when telling the truth, and generous in lying! Anyone who takes on such a great burden because of what you say is very unwise; he is a very unfortunate knight who has come here to die for you, for he is alone and there are three of us. But I advise him to go back, before it turns out the worse for him." And he replied, very angry: "Whoever is afraid, let him flee! I am not so afraid of your three shields that I will go away vanquished without a blow. Then I should certainly act unchivalrously, if I, quite healthy, safe and sound, left you the field of battle! Never, while I am alive and well, will I flee because of such threats. But I advise you to have the maiden declared innocent, whom you have so wrongfully accused, for she says, and I believe her, and she has sworn to me, upon peril of her soul, that she never committed, nor spoke, not thought any treason against her lady. I fully believe all she has told me of this; and I shall defend her, if I can, for I find her right on my side. And the truth of the matter is that God is also on the side of right, and God and right are together; and when they come to my side, then I have better company than you do, and better help."
And the other answered very foolishly that he could put to use against him whatever he liked, provided that the lion not harm them. And Ywain said that he never brought his lion there for a champion, nor did he wish to involve any but himself in the fight, but if his lion attacks him, he should defend himself against him, for he can make no guarantee. The seneschal answered: "Whatever you say, if you don't control your lion and make him stay put, then you have no reason to stay here; but go away again, and you'll act wisely, for throughout this land people know how she betrayed her lady; it is right that the punishment for that be given in fire and flame." "May it not please the Holy Spirit," said he who well knew the truth; "may God not let me move from here until I have delivered her." Then he told the lion to withdraw, and to lie still; and he did as his master ordered.
The lion withdrew. Then the speaking and the quarreling ceased between them, and they took their distance; the three came charging toward him together, and he came toward them at a walk, for he did not want to let himself go nor to get worked up at the very first blows. He let them splinter their lances and kept his own intact; he offered them his shield as a target and broke the lance of each. Then he galloped off until he had put an acre of ground between himself and them; but he came quickly back to the business at hand, for he did not want to stay long. When he came back Ywain reached the seneschal before his two brothers: he broke his lance on his body, so that he carried him to the ground, despite his wishes; he gave him such a good blow that he lay stretched out for a long time so that he could do no more harm. Then the other two came at Ywain: with their naked swords they both gave him great blows, but they received greater ones from him, for a single one of his blows was exactly worth two of theirs. He defended himself so well against them that they could gain no advantage over him, until the seneschal got back up and attacked him with all his strength; then the others strove with him until they wore him down and overcame him. And the lion, who was watching this, waited no more to assist his master, for his help was needed, it seemed to him; and all the ladies together, who dearly loved the damsel, called very often upon the Lord God, and fervently prayed that he would at no price allow the death or defeat of the knight who had risked himself for her. The ladies helped him with their prayers, for they had no other weapons. And the lion helped him so that at the first attack he struck the seneschal, who was on foot, with such rage that he made the links of mail fly from his hauberk as if they had been straws, and pulled him down so strongly that he tore the flesh from his shoulder and his side. Whatever he reached he tore away so that his entrails appeared. The other two paid for this blow.
Now the two sides were even on the field. The seneschal could not escape death: he was wallowing and rolling around in the crimson wave of the blood that was gushing from his body. The lion attacked the others, for my Lord Ywain could not drive him back, neither with blows nor with threats, though he tried hard to do so; but the lion surely knew that his master did not detest his aid, but rather loved him the more for it; so he attacked them ferociously until they suffered frim his blows and injured and maimed him in turn. When my Lord Ywain saw his lion wounded, his heart was very angry within his chest, and he was not wrong; he strove mightily to wreak vengeance, he went at them so savagely and made it so hard for them that they gave up defending themselves against him and placed themselves at his mercy because of the aid given him by the lion, who was now sorely afflicted, because he was wounded in two places, and was quite rightly distraught. And for his part my Lord Ywain was not completely unscathed, but rather was wounded in many places; but he was far less upset by this than by the suffering of his lion.
Now had he rescued his damsel, just as he had wished, and the lady quite willingly pardoned her and renounced her anger. And they who had set up the pyre to burn her were burned in it instead, for it is a principle of justice that he who wrongly condemns another must die by that same death to which he had condemned the other. Now Lunete was joyous and gay when she was reconciled with her lady, and they were so joyful that no people ever displayed great joy, and all offered their service to their lord, just as they should have done, but without recognizing him; even the lady who had his heart, and did not know it, begged him to stay until he had recovered, and his lion as well. And he said: "Lady, it will not be today that I stay in this place, until my lady pardons me and renounces her anger and her wrath. Then my torments will all be over." "Surely," said she, "this grieves me, and I do not consider very courteous the lady who bears you ill will. She should not forbid access to her door to a knight of your value, unless he had committed too great a fault against her." "Lady," said he, "though it be painful to me, everything that suits her pleases me, but do not question me on this subject, for I would not for any thing reveal my wrong and my misdeed, except to those who know them well." "Then does someone know it, apart from you two?" "Yes, truly, my Lady." "And tell us your name, fair Lord, if you please, and then you will leave and all will be even between us." "Even, my Lady? It would not be so; I owe you more than I could repay; nevertheless, I must not conceal from you how I have people call me: never will you hear anyone speak of the Knight of the Lion who is not speaking of me: that is the name by which I wish to be called." "In God's name, fair Lord, how is it that we never saw you nor ever heard your name?" "Lady, in this way you may know that I am not very well known." Then the lady repeated: "Again, if it were not disagreeable to you, I would ask you to remain." "Certainly, Lady, I would not do so until I knew for certain that I had my lady's good will." "Then may God be with you, fair Lord, and may it please him to turn your sorrow and your grief to joy!" "Lady," said he, "may God hear you!" Then he said softly, between his teeth: "Lady, you bear the key, and you have the lock and the chest where my joy is, but you know it not."
This is Just somebody's theory
Maybe you can have two twin flames!
Like a Triplet Flame!
Or maybe by making certain choices in our lives as change we grow into or out of people
Do our Souls change as We Do?
I suppose we can talk about The Connection—What We Felt—And how we See and Understand Why We were each brought into each others' lives
What We were meant to and so did teach each other
And the Emotions and Thoughts we had is what We Were and Are Together
And I suppose we could Speak of Our Depth
What Our Story Is and Means and how it is a part of Who We Are
And how that part increases when we decide to be together
And how when I've felt these Feelings for Someone
That Means Something To Me
Forever.
There are many Good Vibrations Here at The DreamWeaver Sanctuary
Heard there was a show at the Cafe
I Danced to one song
But then promptly left...
Got Places To Be
Mountains to Climb
That one's the target this time
Mt. Crestone
This Time I'd Ride to the TrailHead
To Climb this Peak
One Must Hike Up from CottonWood Creek
There are several temples along The Road up to the Trail
These are why I came to Crestone originally
I was interested in The Temples
I'll have to return to check these places out!
No time to today
It is The Mountain I feel is calling Me
It is a Privilege and an Honor for me to be here
I am so grateful
To Everyone
All The Energy that went into Me being Here
Plants collecting Light from the Sun
All the People that Stewarded the Land to Grow the Food
And Harvested and Carried that Food
And Held and Protected and Saved that Food
All the Work and the Care
Thank You
This Road up to the Trail is called Dream Way
I found this sacred space just near the trail
LionHeart will be safe here
The trail follows along CottonWood Creek
So most every step has the sound of flowing water echoing around you
So Water's not an Issue
I Burned some Design onto that stick I found that saved my life
Challenger Magic Staff!
You're All With Me
WE—As a Collective
Consciousness of Infinite Light and Possibilities
Need to Learn to
Express our Deepest Darkest Depths in Healthy Positive Loving Ways
I Believe God is Everything
I Do Not Believe that God Drops Bombs on Children (for example)
The Aspect of Us and/or God that wants to/would is at odds/in conflict with Aspects that would not or Fight Against That
Yin/Yang
The struggle of Light vs. Darkness within each of our selves
Regardless of Polarity
We Know
LOVE
MUST
BE
FREE
Two Pines
Seems like Lightning struck this Tree
Natural Bridge There
Around this point I got frustrated with the Trail and Just jumped off it
Pretty Much Straight Up!
Mt. Crestone
This Time I'd Ride to the TrailHead
To Climb this Peak
One Must Hike Up from CottonWood Creek
There are several temples along The Road up to the Trail
These are why I came to Crestone originally
I was interested in The Temples
No time to today
I am so grateful
To Everyone
All The Energy that went into Me being Here
Plants collecting Light from the Sun
All the People that Stewarded the Land to Grow the Food
And Harvested and Carried that Food
And Held and Protected and Saved that Food
All the Work and the Care
Thank You
I found this sacred space just near the trail
LionHeart will be safe here
The trail follows along CottonWood Creek
So most every step has the sound of flowing water echoing around you
I Burned some Design onto that stick I found that saved my life
Challenger Magic Staff!
WE—As a Collective
Consciousness of Infinite Light and Possibilities
Need to Learn to
Express our Deepest Darkest Depths in Healthy Positive Loving Ways
I Do Not Believe that God Drops Bombs on Children (for example)
The Aspect of Us and/or God that wants to/would is at odds/in conflict with Aspects that would not or Fight Against That
The struggle of Light vs. Darkness within each of our selves
Regardless of Polarity
We Know
LOVE
MUST
BE
FREE
But having too much fun to doubt it
I
was
Just
Down
There
That's where I was trying to get!
Then that means this isn't Mt. Crestone
Feeling that continuing on would be Prideful of Me
(I Heard that comes Just before you Fall)
I settled for a sub-peak that I managed to climb up to
Is that..?
It couldn't be...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvGu5nBwBSQ
Hey
Still Climbed a Mountain!
This is probably about 13,000 feet or so
Crestone and The Sanctuary down around 8,000
So that's like a mile Up Today
2WG — PlanesWalker — 4
+2: Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the Battlefield. Then shuffle your library. Then create a colorless Photo artifact token.
+1: Create a colorless Photo artifact token onto the Battlefield. Then Justin LionHearted, TrailBlazer deals damage to target creature equal to the number of Photo artifact tokens on the Battlefield.
-11: Until end of turn, all Photo artifact tokens on the Battlefield gain the following ability: "Sacrifice: Choose one —
• Return target creature card from a graveyard to the Battlefield under your control
• Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn where X is equal to the number of basic lands you control
• Draw X cards where X is equal to the number of loyalty counters on Justin LionHearted, TrailBlazer
• Deal X damage to target creature or player where X is equal to the number of Photo artifact tokens in play
• Target player sacrifices a creature."
Time to Descend
It's less exhausting on your muscles
But more Stressful on your Joints
One often has to jump down a bit
The repetitive hard landings definitely beat your body up
One must constantly control ones momentum
It requires a lot more awareness of Gravity and what your body is going to do
The more control over your body you have
The more you can do
But as We literally Race to catch up to the Light Still Spilling into the valley
That Race feels particularly pressing
EnLightened—EnShadowed
I ran outta Water Climbing the Steep Grassy Slope
Still a ways to go
It's all coming from CottonWood Lake
But I don't have Time to go there right now
But rocks are a lot more bangy
Don't We All have things we Want to Protect?
Don't We All Want Goodness in our Lives?
Don't We All Want Strength and Beauty
Not Just in our Lives
But in our Selves?
This time I brought my flashlight
And Impossible
Though part of that is because I Am Ready!
The Moon actually did help
There were some stretches of trail lacking any obscuring trees and relatively smooth ground
I turned my flashlight off and hiked just by MoonLight a bit
Splendid!
It was all downhill from here back to the Sanctuary
So I was pretty much home free
Singing My Songs as I Rode
I volunteered here with some of my Time
Their Free Community events helped my Body recover!
Hmm?
What is this sprouting from my soil??
A few days passed
I was mostly thinking about what to do next
Where to go
But I couldn't stop thinking of where I'd Just been
The Call of The Mountains Remained
I Just wasn't satisfied with not reaching the peak
So I had to Climb Again
And because of that Beautiful Morning
I knew which Mountain to Climb
So I woke early to see the sunrise and get myself going
Every second counted
As The Mountain at Night is a lot less friendly than The Mountain during the day
I checked Google maps as I ate a healthy breakfast I prepared the previous night
I figured the name of the Peak I wanted to climb—Pico Asilado
But could not find any trail of how to best climb the mountain
This Peak is Just across the valley a bit South of the last Peak I (nearly) climbed—Crestone Needle
I recalled a blocked part of the trail near where the gorge splits off
So I figured that must be The Way, packed my bag, and set out
To My Delight Wolfo Joined me, running alongside LionHeart as I rode up The Road
I couldn't have him in The Mountains with me though, so after a mile or so I sent him home
I rode the five miles up the dirt roads to the same trailhead I had set out upon Just days prior and parked LionHeart in that same sacred place
But to my surprise a Man with a rather heavy pack was there!
His name was Chris and he'd been living in a cave he'd found up there for weeks now
We spoke a while and he educated me on some different local geology
He offered me some Kratom—which I thought would go perfect in my Tulsi-Chamomile-Lion's Mane Tea Elixir I'd brewed—So I gave him an apple and the Cocoa Bread I had baked (from scratch) and we shared some stories for a while before the movement of the sun concerned me enough that I bid him adieu
This was the same trail as before—Cottonwood Creek Trail
I hiked the three or so miles and the two-thousand feet or so elevation climb more quickly this time as I'd Just hiked here a few days ago
But as I passed below the peak I was meaning to climb
I figured the split of the gorge must be sooner than I Was thinking and decided to
Once Again
Jut off trail and Just start going Up
The first area I found myself in was rather dense with many felled trees
Hiking was difficult
I zig-zagged a bit
Confused as to where I was
But eventually found a dry creek and surmised that Up is the direction I Needed to go regardless of what incline I was actually on
I eventually climbed above the tree line and determined that I had indeed missed the other gorge I should have turned off the main trail towards and was now ascending
Once Again
The Wrong Peak
I didn't really have any other option at this point though than to move forward i.e. Up
So I Just kept climbing
I was having a great time until...
Sorry Joe and Patricia ):
It was a Great Camera
I was on a vertical rock face when it fell
All I could do was watch as it bounced down The Side of The Mountain
Smashing against the rocks
All my great shots of the day ),:
tiny voice: "that'd be me if I fell"
I carefully climbed back down and retrieved my now destroyed camera
Seeing The Sun on its way downward and me on the wrong peak
Was all pretty demoralizing so I decided upon a tactical retreat
Descend—but Explore and find the right path so I'll know where to Turn and Hike upon my return
I watched the sun set over the mountain as I returned to the main path
Paying careful attention to my route and even creating some signs
Back on the main trail I blazed down as quickly as I could
And reached LionHeart at the Sacred Space Just in Time
To ride 'round the mountain and see a second sun set over the valley
Thanks to the DreamWeaver Sanctuary...
...And turning my failed ascent into a successful scouting mission...
We are far from done!
What is this sprouting from my soil??
A few days passed
I was mostly thinking about what to do next
Where to go
But I couldn't stop thinking of where I'd Just been
The Call of The Mountains Remained
So I had to Climb Again
And because of that Beautiful Morning
I knew which Mountain to Climb
So I woke early to see the sunrise and get myself going
Every second counted
As The Mountain at Night is a lot less friendly than The Mountain during the day
I checked Google maps as I ate a healthy breakfast I prepared the previous night
I figured the name of the Peak I wanted to climb—Pico Asilado
But could not find any trail of how to best climb the mountain
This Peak is Just across the valley a bit South of the last Peak I (nearly) climbed—Crestone Needle
I recalled a blocked part of the trail near where the gorge splits off
So I figured that must be The Way, packed my bag, and set out
To My Delight Wolfo Joined me, running alongside LionHeart as I rode up The Road
I couldn't have him in The Mountains with me though, so after a mile or so I sent him home
I rode the five miles up the dirt roads to the same trailhead I had set out upon Just days prior and parked LionHeart in that same sacred place
But to my surprise a Man with a rather heavy pack was there!
His name was Chris and he'd been living in a cave he'd found up there for weeks now
We spoke a while and he educated me on some different local geology
He offered me some Kratom—which I thought would go perfect in my Tulsi-Chamomile-Lion's Mane Tea Elixir I'd brewed—So I gave him an apple and the Cocoa Bread I had baked (from scratch) and we shared some stories for a while before the movement of the sun concerned me enough that I bid him adieu
This was the same trail as before—Cottonwood Creek Trail
I hiked the three or so miles and the two-thousand feet or so elevation climb more quickly this time as I'd Just hiked here a few days ago
But as I passed below the peak I was meaning to climb
I figured the split of the gorge must be sooner than I Was thinking and decided to
Once Again
Jut off trail and Just start going Up
The first area I found myself in was rather dense with many felled trees
Hiking was difficult
I zig-zagged a bit
Confused as to where I was
But eventually found a dry creek and surmised that Up is the direction I Needed to go regardless of what incline I was actually on
I eventually climbed above the tree line and determined that I had indeed missed the other gorge I should have turned off the main trail towards and was now ascending
Once Again
The Wrong Peak
I didn't really have any other option at this point though than to move forward i.e. Up
So I Just kept climbing
I was having a great time until...
It was a Great Camera
I was on a vertical rock face when it fell
All I could do was watch as it bounced down The Side of The Mountain
Smashing against the rocks
All my great shots of the day ),:
tiny voice: "that'd be me if I fell"
I carefully climbed back down and retrieved my now destroyed camera
Seeing The Sun on its way downward and me on the wrong peak
Was all pretty demoralizing so I decided upon a tactical retreat
Descend—but Explore and find the right path so I'll know where to Turn and Hike upon my return
I watched the sun set over the mountain as I returned to the main path
Paying careful attention to my route and even creating some signs
Back on the main trail I blazed down as quickly as I could
And reached LionHeart at the Sacred Space Just in Time
To ride 'round the mountain and see a second sun set over the valley
Thanks to the DreamWeaver Sanctuary...
...And turning my failed ascent into a successful scouting mission...
We are far from done!
So it turns out I was confused
My target peak is the otherwise unnamed peak—Peak 12847
And I was mistakenly climbing Peak 12795
I think
Honestly it's pretty confusing up there and I can't find a good map
But I don't care about the name or the numbers
I Just Want to get to the top of The Mountain that I've been watching the Sun Rise over
There's The Goal
I left LionHeart in the same holy place
It was the same 3 mile hike as before
To the place I made my own cairn and arrow sign to signify this side trail
Just a few paces up
A Double Cairn
Arrow leading off to the right
Third Cairn
Arrow pointing...
...Down this cliff to The Creek
But First
Set up Base Camp
There should be a tarp protecting these from potential rain
Food should have been in airtight containers at least
And maybe a sign or something
So yeah pretty Noob Base Camp lol
I had my Hyper Oats for Lunch
And was ready to climb
I ate very little the day before so I was good and hungry now
Left the bags there on Faith
I knew The Mountains would Help too
I was there Appreciating them
Feeling their Red Mana flow through my veins
One can actually cross the creek in lots of different places
But the Best Spot is definitely Here.
The Water Here is Magical.
Once you cross the Bridge there's a steep yet soft wall of wet moss
Climb that carefully...
Don't tear out the moss!
Go straight up and look to the Left
There's some Rocks that are also wet and with moss
Carefully climb here
There are some felled trees to help but it's hard not to squish any moss here
After you get up that move Left-Upward
Right through this Thick Brush
I'll break away dead tree branches but I won't hurt any living ones
You'll get to this small steep creek
Hop over it and climb up its left side
You'll then come to a Huge Rock
You have to climb through the hole on its left side there
Then you come out in this lush flower field
Avoid stepping on the flowers
and be careful of uneven footing
as the Creek is flowing here just underneath
and there are Rocks hiding beneath the flowers
The Green tapers away as Rocks become everywhere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t8XwhMa5F4
Think You can Beat this Level?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5CRoCqSUR4
It is Not an Easy Climb to the Top
But We Don't Climb Mountains for Ease
Now Do We?
If you ever Need a Break
Just Stop
Turn Around
And Look
And when you're Ready
Look Up
And Climb
If this doesn't look fun to You
Then I Say You're Missin' Out!
That's my Official Eternal Position!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMwwPOnCqQ4
I'm Just My Self
With My Self
At Times
And When I Need to
Or Really Really Want to
I Think of You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYlujZ07YPQ
This part is Hard
But it wasn't as Hard as the first Sonic the Hedgehog
Now THAT was HARD
So far it would seem that climbing along the Ridge is usually a passable choice
Safe? No.
But usually passable
Well Tip #1 is don't fall off any Cliffs or into any Death Pits
Obviously
Tip #2 is only take a break when it's the perfect place and moment
Like Here?
No
This is Beautiful
This is Perfect for what it is
But This is almost there
Never Stop Until You're There
North
West
East
South
That...
That...
That there!
Is that what I think it is!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvGu5nBwBSQ
I Climbed My Mountain!
These are special rocks
I got each one back at Willow Lake
By The WaterFall
This Stick Saved My Life
I had whittled and smoothed and burned the top and middle of the Staff so it would be shapely there to hold firmly in one's hand and also not give splinters.
I burned a thick line from the bottom to the top, signifying the trail, from the bottom to the top of the mountain.
Towards the top of the Staff the line disappears, leaving just many chaotic burn marks
Just as with the trail, disappearing towards the top leaving the hiker in a mess of Rocks to navigate.
Challenger Magic Staff
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+0 and gains Mountainwalk.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if Challenger Staff is equipped to a creature, you may put a charge counter on Challenger Staff.
Remove a charge counter from Challenger Staff: Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and gains First Strike until end of turn.
Remove three charge counters from Challenger Staff: Challenger Staff deals X damage to target creature, where X is equal to the equipped creature's power.
Remove five charge counters from Challenger Staff: Target land becomes a Mountain until end of turn. Then look at the top X cards of that lands controller's library and put them back in any order, where X is equal to the equipped creature's power.
I Love This Staff
I Hereby Declare
That This Peak Shall Henceforth
Be Referred to and Known by All to be Called
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV9lgmjz3Lo
Tap: Add (1) to your Mana Pool
Tap: Put a Shooting Star Artifact Token onto your side of the Battlefield
Tap, Exile X Shooting Star Artifact Tokens: Draw X Cards and Gain X Life
I also carried these special DreamWoven Trinkets to the top to charge them with Energy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wInYNro_Eo
Justin LionHearted, StarCaller
RW3 — PlanesWalker — 7
+2: Create a suspended spell token removed from the game with one time counter on it. Remove a time counter during your upkeep. When the last is removed, you may tap up to two target permanents and create two colorless Shooting Star artifact tokens.
-1: Create a suspended spell token removed from the game with two time counters on it. Remove a time counter during your upkeep. When the last is removed, Justin LionHearted, StarCaller deals 11 damage to target creature and create a colorless Shooting Star artifact token. This damage can not be prevented.
0: Create a colorless Shooting Star artifact token onto your side of the Battlefield, then you may exile any Shooting Star artifact tokens from your side of the Battlefield that have entered the Battlefield this turn. For each Shooting Star artifact token exiled, you may search your library for a card and put it into your hand.
-11: Justin LionHearted, StarCaller deals 11 damage to each creature in play. This damage can not be prevented. Then, for each creature damaged this way, create a Shooting Star artifact token. Then, if you have 22 or more Shooting Star artifact tokens, you win the game. Otherwise, Justin LionHearted, StarCaller deals 11 damage to each player. Then create a Shooting Star artifact token for each player damaged this way and you may activate a second ability this turn of Justin LionHearted, StarCaller.
Now I Just have to get down before the sun sets!
And without Falling
This path looks a bit easier to descend
Hey look a Lake!
Let's call it...
Check out these Cool Star Rocks I Found
Two more on the way down
I hope I didn't take too many
This is My Story of Freedom
I Hope it Blooms into My Story of Love
at The Right Time
I'll often ask When that is
If Ever?
I Have to be Okay with that
After All
So what am I supposed to do?
We Avoid War with Our Brother
By Earning The Love of our Sister
Strive and Appreciate
Learn and Pray
Sometimes I'm Sad, Mad, Lonely
But Carrying those things
For a GOOD REASON
Makes Me Strong!
Strength I Need
To BE ME
AND DO ALL THIS
But I don't know how I could have done it Alone
Not if My Heart Looks and Feels like this
I veered too far Right going back down my trail and found myself in this Dead Pine Tree area
Not where I Want to be
Especially at Night
The Beauty of The World
Even with Darkness Looming
Always Inspires Me Forward
There's so much Chaos and Hate and Violence in The World
If I ever Lose My Mind to a place where I question My Values
Then I'd be Truly Lost
I Don't Want to think of You negatively At All
EVER
Why couldn't You have helped with that!?
This ain't the way...
Coming upon a sudden cliff at Night is a bit startling
(Though I did end up scaling down the rocks here)
I guess it's Just something I had to figure out my Self.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qyWyj1Zph0
At Last!
The Creek!
I knew if I Just followed the faint trickling that I could hear
I'd eventually get there
This'll lead to the Larger Creek—CottonWood Creek
Then I'll Just have to find my way across and the main trail will be right there
I moved the arrow in the morning
So I wouldn't confuse any other Hikers
Base Camp
Safe and Sound
I cleared a spot under some Pine Trees of twigs and Rocks and laid my Sleeping Bag down
Had a nice recovery dinner
Vegetables and Rice and Beans in a yummy Tomato sauce
I reflected on this climb
And All it Meant to ME
And fell asleep
Planning for tomorrow...
I woke up early and ran up the mountain to a higher camp site
Racin' the Sun hahaaa
Was a Tie
Which basically means I won (;
For y'see—I was not done
Pico Aislado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5YOhcAof8I
The trail wasn't very well maintained
But Fighting through the Branches
Navigating different Creek Beds
Surveying the Land and deciding Direction
Well that was all Damn Fun
I'm Not Faking
I'm Fighting
Taken from Milwaukee Pass
I'm going that way
Milwaukee Peak
North
West
East
South
Not
Done.
My camera was just about outta batteries
Couldn't take too many shots
There were some rough spots here
I was saving my charge for the top
I only got this one shot from The Peak of Pico Asilado before my video cut off on me
I Was Saying
"I Actually Decided this months ago
When I was in Texas
And have been Running Away from or otherwise Avoiding Sisters ever since
But Wanted to Wait until I was in a Place like this
To show my Resolve.
I, Justin Heriot
Do Hereby Proclaim and Swear
A Vow of Abstinence
From Any and All Sexual Activity
Until at Least The End of This Year
And God Tells Me It Is Right
And She's UpVotin' it"
After resting on the top a bit
Saying some prayers
Airing my feet
Eating some bread
The Sky Snowed a bit
Beautiful
But Time to Go
Tried the Camera again
Battery Bounced Just Enough to take this one shot
Hey!
See that?
See that there!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvGu5nBwBSQ
The Climb was a Massive Struggle
The Descent Especially
There were some Death Falls
What Moments
Suspended by the Grips of My Hands and a Small Part of each Foot
Knowing that if I messed up
One little Slip or Fall
One Loose Rock
Without a Doubt
I'd plummet to my Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilzm8K-AfGs
I didn't think past that
I would Not Slip
I would Not Fall
I Will Make it
I Will Climb
Focus
My target peak is the otherwise unnamed peak—Peak 12847
And I was mistakenly climbing Peak 12795
I think
Honestly it's pretty confusing up there and I can't find a good map
But I don't care about the name or the numbers
I Just Want to get to the top of The Mountain that I've been watching the Sun Rise over
There's The Goal
To the place I made my own cairn and arrow sign to signify this side trail
Just a few paces up
A Double Cairn
Arrow leading off to the right
Arrow pointing...
...Down this cliff to The Creek
Set up Base Camp
There should be a tarp protecting these from potential rain
Food should have been in airtight containers at least
And maybe a sign or something
So yeah pretty Noob Base Camp lol
I had my Hyper Oats for Lunch
And was ready to climb
I ate very little the day before so I was good and hungry now
Left the bags there on Faith
I knew The Mountains would Help too
Feeling their Red Mana flow through my veins
Not even really understanding but aware of the profound effect this place will have on my Soul
Climb that carefully...
Don't tear out the moss!
There's some Rocks that are also wet and with moss
Carefully climb here
There are some felled trees to help but it's hard not to squish any moss here
Right through this Thick Brush
I'll break away dead tree branches but I won't hurt any living ones
You'll get to this small steep creek
Hop over it and climb up its left side
You have to climb through the hole on its left side there
Avoid stepping on the flowers
and be careful of uneven footing
as the Creek is flowing here just underneath
and there are Rocks hiding beneath the flowers
The Green tapers away as Rocks become everywhere
Think You can Beat this Level?
It is Not an Easy Climb to the Top
But We Don't Climb Mountains for Ease
Now Do We?
Just Stop
Turn Around
And Look
Look Up
And Climb
Then I Say You're Missin' Out!
That's my Official Eternal Position!
I'm Just My Self
With My Self
At Times
Or Really Really Want to
I Think of You
But it wasn't as Hard as the first Sonic the Hedgehog
Now THAT was HARD
So far it would seem that climbing along the Ridge is usually a passable choice
Safe? No.
But usually passable
Obviously
No
This is Beautiful
This is Perfect for what it is
But This is almost there
Never Stop Until You're There
North
West
That...
That there!
Is that what I think it is!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvGu5nBwBSQ
I got each one back at Willow Lake
By The WaterFall
This Stick Saved My Life
I had whittled and smoothed and burned the top and middle of the Staff so it would be shapely there to hold firmly in one's hand and also not give splinters.
I burned a thick line from the bottom to the top, signifying the trail, from the bottom to the top of the mountain.
Towards the top of the Staff the line disappears, leaving just many chaotic burn marks
Just as with the trail, disappearing towards the top leaving the hiker in a mess of Rocks to navigate.
Challenger Magic Staff
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+0 and gains Mountainwalk.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if Challenger Staff is equipped to a creature, you may put a charge counter on Challenger Staff.
Remove a charge counter from Challenger Staff: Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and gains First Strike until end of turn.
Remove three charge counters from Challenger Staff: Challenger Staff deals X damage to target creature, where X is equal to the equipped creature's power.
Remove five charge counters from Challenger Staff: Target land becomes a Mountain until end of turn. Then look at the top X cards of that lands controller's library and put them back in any order, where X is equal to the equipped creature's power.
I Hereby Declare
That This Peak Shall Henceforth
Be Referred to and Known by All to be Called
☆ §†Ã¤╔ ☆ ₧εÅK ツ
Legendary LandTap: Add (1) to your Mana Pool
Tap: Put a Shooting Star Artifact Token onto your side of the Battlefield
Tap, Exile X Shooting Star Artifact Tokens: Draw X Cards and Gain X Life
Justin LionHearted, StarCaller
RW3 — PlanesWalker — 7
+2: Create a suspended spell token removed from the game with one time counter on it. Remove a time counter during your upkeep. When the last is removed, you may tap up to two target permanents and create two colorless Shooting Star artifact tokens.
-1: Create a suspended spell token removed from the game with two time counters on it. Remove a time counter during your upkeep. When the last is removed, Justin LionHearted, StarCaller deals 11 damage to target creature and create a colorless Shooting Star artifact token. This damage can not be prevented.
0: Create a colorless Shooting Star artifact token onto your side of the Battlefield, then you may exile any Shooting Star artifact tokens from your side of the Battlefield that have entered the Battlefield this turn. For each Shooting Star artifact token exiled, you may search your library for a card and put it into your hand.
-11: Justin LionHearted, StarCaller deals 11 damage to each creature in play. This damage can not be prevented. Then, for each creature damaged this way, create a Shooting Star artifact token. Then, if you have 22 or more Shooting Star artifact tokens, you win the game. Otherwise, Justin LionHearted, StarCaller deals 11 damage to each player. Then create a Shooting Star artifact token for each player damaged this way and you may activate a second ability this turn of Justin LionHearted, StarCaller.
Now I Just have to get down before the sun sets!
And without Falling
Less Rocks More Grass
Grass is your Friend
Let's call it...
☆ §†Ã¤╔ ☆
ΓÃk€
I hope I didn't take too many
I Hope it Blooms into My Story of Love
If Ever?
I Have to be Okay with that
After All
So what am I supposed to do?
We Avoid War with Our Brother
By Earning The Love of our Sister
Learn and Pray
But Carrying those things
For a GOOD REASON
Makes Me Strong!
Strength I Need
To BE ME
AND DO ALL THIS
Not where I Want to be
Especially at Night
Even with Darkness Looming
Always Inspires Me Forward
If I ever Lose My Mind to a place where I question My Values
Then I'd be Truly Lost
EVER
Why couldn't You have helped with that!?
Coming upon a sudden cliff at Night is a bit startling
(Though I did end up scaling down the rocks here)
I guess it's Just something I had to figure out my Self.
The Creek!
I knew if I Just followed the faint trickling that I could hear
I'd eventually get there
This'll lead to the Larger Creek—CottonWood Creek
Then I'll Just have to find my way across and the main trail will be right there
So I wouldn't confuse any other Hikers
Safe and Sound
I cleared a spot under some Pine Trees of twigs and Rocks and laid my Sleeping Bag down
Had a nice recovery dinner
Vegetables and Rice and Beans in a yummy Tomato sauce
I reflected on this climb
And All it Meant to ME
And fell asleep
Planning for tomorrow...
Racin' the Sun hahaaa
Was a Tie
Which basically means I won (;
But Fighting through the Branches
Navigating different Creek Beds
Surveying the Land and deciding Direction
Well that was all Damn Fun
I'm Fighting
North
Couldn't take too many shots
There were some rough spots here
I was saving my charge for the top
I only got this one shot from The Peak of Pico Asilado before my video cut off on me
I Was Saying
When I was in Texas
And have been Running Away from or otherwise Avoiding Sisters ever since
But Wanted to Wait until I was in a Place like this
To show my Resolve.
I, Justin Heriot
Do Hereby Proclaim and Swear
A Vow of Abstinence
From Any and All Sexual Activity
Until at Least The End of This Year
And God Tells Me It Is Right
And She's UpVotin' it"
Saying some prayers
Airing my feet
Eating some bread
The Sky Snowed a bit
Beautiful
But Time to Go
Tried the Camera again
Battery Bounced Just Enough to take this one shot
Hey!
See that?
See that there!?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvGu5nBwBSQ
The Descent Especially
There were some Death Falls
What Moments
Suspended by the Grips of My Hands and a Small Part of each Foot
Knowing that if I messed up
One little Slip or Fall
One Loose Rock
Without a Doubt
I'd plummet to my Death
And the flies buzzing around my face
Would eat my corpse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilzm8K-AfGs
I didn't think past that
I would Not Slip
I would Not Fall
I Will Make it
I Will Climb
Focus
Focus
FOCUS!!!
