Majestic Medicine of the Mountains: "The mountains are in you."

The Earth, Nature and her sentient beings are our most precious anchor, compass, reality check, refuge, connection and inspiration.

I have always been in awe of the mountains. Those majestic temples of the Earth hold such a magnificent and pure expression of strength, wisdom, courage and mystery. This is where I experience most clarity, connection, strength, renewal and  inspiration.

Here are the amazing sentient beings of Marcahuasi, a volcanic plateau in the Peruvian Andes, some 40 miles east of Lima, situated at 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above the sea level. Marcahuasi is known for its enormous granite rock formations that have taken mysterious shapes of humans and animals.

I was there on August 15, 2007, on on my way from Lima to the jungle. As my friends and I were sipping tea by the fire after a day of exploring the magic, the Earth started moving and shaking under our feet. I felt sheer awe and fascination as everything around came so acutely alive in just one second. There was no fear inside, only amazement and wonder.

Some time later we packed up the camp and walked down the mountain. When we finally reached the village of San Pedro de Casta we learned that an 8.0 earthquake just hit Ica and Paracas, 130 miles south of us on the Pacific coast. Sadly, it took lives of 512 people and brought a lot of destruction and hardship. Despite the magnitude of the earthquake the mountains held it together, strong and solid. They offered us a safe refuge full of their sparkling crystal-clear energy, and many precious gifts for our onwards journey.

As the great John Muir (aka "John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks”) said more than a hundred years ago, “You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you.”