Crestone Energy

In Dec/Jan, I spent 2 weeks at a Tibetan buddhist retreat in Crestone, CO...

On the second night during a Pele fire practice with drumming to call the 'unseen world,' I experienced overwhelming presence of native american spirits: shaman, chiefs, matriarchs and even some young mothers... those who were interested in humanity's success, elevation, enlightenment... as many of them had achieved their own enlightenment, I felt. I felt grief at their lost knowledge and lost sacred intentions for the earth and humanity.
I also experienced daily grief (and grounding) in front of this shrine to indigenous north americans with the photo of chief Joseph. He is Nez Perce, born in northeast Oregon. His name is Hinmuttuu-yalatlat which means Thunder Rolling down the Mountain who fought for his people and lands in the Wallowa Valley... This valley first drew human settlers nearly 12,000 years ago and has been home to Ute, Navajo, Apache, Tiwa, Tewa, Comanche, Kiowa and Arapaho tribes. I guess the photo of Chief Joseph represents all as he is a famous humanitarian and defender of sacred ways and sacred lands where the bones of his family are buried.

Apparently, bones of many are on these lands, as some retreatants told me of a massacre that happened nearby causing dreams of dead babies and feelings of death for people who have stayed here.

I was told that many tribes came here because of the sacred energy here, and it was a sacred visiting place, not a settling place. The area was compared to Sedona and Santa Fe maybe all being "Energy Vortexes."

The Dharma Ocean retreat center where I stayed was neighbored by 5 or 6 other retreat/ashram type places in those foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountines. Back in the 70s or 80s, the Strong family purchased a lot of land and decided to sell it only to retreat nonprofit organizations.

I found these popular articles: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/travel/escapes/11crestone.html and http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-25/travel-tours/crestone-colorados-spiritual-crossroads-for-myriad-believers

This one is most helpful about the energy and feeling of Crestone: http://www.crestonecolorado.com/shambala.html

Excerpt:
According to sacred sites expert John Milton, there's also an ancient spiritual-scientific reason that the land is so sacred, so powerful in Crestone. Crestone sits at the convergence of ley lines, part of the Earth's electromagnetic energy system. Like in Sedona and Mt. Shasta, this creates vortexes of powerful energies available for healing and higher states of consciousness.

Milton first came to Crestone in 1979 and "fell in love with the place. I was drawn by the special feel, the extraordinary quality of the energy here," he said.

When he acquired land north of town, he discovered that the ancients had created structures to enhance the energetic experience available at Crestone. They are "meditation seats" made of stone, and there are thousands of them located throughout the area. There are also stone alignments. He believes they are Native American in origin, "unlike anything I've seen anywhere, and I've been around."

After this discovery, Milton decided to scrap his plans for developing an intentional community on the 200 to 300 acres he was actively acquiring. Instead, his organization - the Way of Nature Fellowship - created the Sacred Land Trust "for the protection and preservation of those who have been here before and what they have left us."

The fellowship has taken a different approach than some of the other spiritual organizations. Rather than building temples and shrines, Milton believes it's "the natural land that's inherently sacred." So he keeps the structures to a minimum.

"Nature is the temple," he said. "The Earth itself is sacred." Crestone past, present, future. Crestone is situated about halfway between Santa Fe and Denver, 13 miles east of the tiny town of Moffat.'

Crestone was originally home to Ute and Comanche Indians. According to Milton, members of nearly all indigenous tribes around the world, and especially those in North America, used to venture to Crestone for the healing and meditative qualities of the area. The southernmost point of the mountain range - Blanca Peak - is considered one of the four sacred mountains to the Navajo and Hopi. The entire range, extending from Blanca to an area north of Crestone, is considered to be the eastern gateway for these people.

"This was a zone of peace and harmony," Milton said. "Tribes had to drop their disagreements and warlike behavior when they entered the area and come in a spirit of peace."
Milton has met Native elders from as far away as the Yucatan to the south and the Cherokee and Iroquois Federation to the east whose ancestors frequented this sacred land for meditation, to commune with Great Mystery. All of that changed when the Europeans arrived in 1540 and began forcing out the Native Americans. They came to settle the land, to mine the mountains and to soak in the nearby mineral hot springs. The town was officially settled in 1880 with mining as its primary purpose.

Allison Rae is a metaphysical writer and spiritual counselor living in Crestone, Colorado. Her web site, www.TheStarCenter.org, features a variety of articles on star alignments, metaphysics, personal and planetary transformation, spiritual prophecy and more.