| "Ann Marie is an unsung
heroine in so many ways, and she is walking in both worlds -
the world of indigenous people, and the modern world.
She has given many peoples of different lands a sense of
connection to the bigger turtle - Mother Earth. She is
an educator and a doer. Whenever I am in Indian Canyon I
feel a yearning for my deeper inner self to come forth.
Particularly at the waterfall, I can quietly and inwardly
release much of the of old stored up pain and sadness that
hide themselves in my daily activities. Ann Marie has
compassion for being human and she is determined to rekindle
and share with us the knowledge and wisdom once possessed by
the Native peoples who ate, drank, dreamed and walked on the
earth. She knows how and when to scream and dream and
her laughter is infectious. Indian Canyon is a living
classroom embodying principles of preserving the
environment, Mother Earth, and our true selves. The tapestry
of people, animals, plants, air, sky, water, woven together,
support one another. In Indian Canyon, as in other
locations still rich in trees and their original elements,
one can more easily experience this turtle, this mother
earth, as a friend, as a lover, as the source of all life
from which we are sprung and nourished in every way.
I am sure there are many places on
earth where this sense of the rekindling of the fire of our
inner selves can and does take place. For me there are
places in India, northern Pakistan, Bhutan, and Ladak, and
parts of Africa, where I have felt this ignition
spontaneously. The earth has been generous to me.
Similar feels arise when I am in certain locations in
Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. In the Galapagos Islands
there is really a magical fearless space where communicating
love among the animals, the people and the land happen
naturally and spontaneously. Such big big turtles there
walking through the forest to the beach!! Also in certain
places in Hawaii, such as inside Haleakala crater in Maui,
the spirits of the ancestors welcome us.
Indian Canyon has this possibility
for people locally because it has never been tarnished by
the usual commercial "commoditization of the sacred" -
selling off our natural resources for profit. (By the
way, this is only my present take on it and I acknowledge
that I constantly can let go of terms and preconceptions.)
Many ceremonies from different traditions have taken
place there and one can feel these frequencies, as I call
them, as blessings that we get to bathe in when we chose to
open to them. Also our good intentions get passed on
to others. It is building community. Origami at
its best!!! Birds, turtles, spirit poles, urls, tripods,
waterfalls, fires, webs, spiders, hearts opening an eye on
the earth blinking at the new village house!"
Bonnie Starnes
Director
Andean Himalayan Initiative
3020 Bridgeway #332
Sausalito, CA 94965
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