Designing Ecological Habitats - Gaia Education

224 Designing ecological Habitats
Decision
Within a month a large raven, a belly dancing class, an old friend with a
casita, a Japanese garden, and a desperate drug addict collaborated to guide
me toward the decision to downsize and move from busy downtown into the
quiet mountains East of Albuquerque.
The Move
Viewing the casita (little house), my new home, with feng shui eyes, I could
immediately see there were challenges with the positioning and chi flow;
there was a certain undefined energy about it and the other nearby home.
My position was that I could ‘fix’ just about anything but I certainly did not
expect what an interesting journey I was embarking upon.
The surrounding land however was alive with possibility including
healthy trees, winding paths, a personal healing vortex, water harvesting,
open fields, edible forest, abundant wild life, new greenhouse and 2,000 sq.ft.
of garden space – a dream come true.
Experience
Re-reading my personal journals from that time, I see that the challenges with
the site made themselves evident within the first month. There were difficulties
organizing into such a small space, confusion and misunderstanding
arose quickly between my friend and I, much loneliness and isolation
prevailed. My solace was walking the land with my feline friend and travel
companion of 11 years, Shakti; learning to sense and revel in this wild, new
environment through her animal nature.
Many times I thought to move away but whenever I did shining heart
rocks would appear on my walks. I viscerally felt these love messages from
Gaia telling me to stay put. This was not a time to leave, it was a time to go
within, open up, listen and learn.
Animal Guides
Often there are bluebird feathers in the healing vortex. I learned to go to it
when out of balance and immediately my energy would shift into a more
peaceful state. Problems would be solved and the cat, outside too long after
dusk, would be found and taken to the safety of home.
One afternoon, there were two large raven feathers on either side of the
laughing Buddha statue nestled at the base of a juniper. So deliberate was
the placement, I was sure my friend had put them there; but no, it was not
him: simply another sign from my raven friends playfully encouraging me to
stay with the unfolding.
Animals began to show no fear: raven circling me in the garden, humming
bird bathing in my hand-held sprinkler, snake and lizard within inches
of me… unmoving, rabbit dancing on the path, bird nesting in the garden,
bee and wasp without aggression. I began to feel they accepted me as one of
them – ‘natural, wild and free’. 3
Part of the unfolding has been learning to flow with the seasons and