Walking the Land: Caves Part II

On another Saturday picnic to the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, we drove to a very mountainous area. The creek was wide and hip deep where my parents parked. My siblings and I tumbled out of the car, launching ourselves in different directions.

“Eileen, stick around. As soon as I’m done setting up the blanket and basket, I want to show you something before we have lunch,” my mother called.

My mother would often pull me aside while my younger sister and my baby brother went their separate ways. I loved when she would take my hand and walk with me somewhere. It was always magical. She was magical.

The June day was young, the mountain air crisp, the groves of pine trees surrounding us in a loving embrace. It was around ten in the morning when my mother led me off toward the slope of a nearby mountain called Mt. Bachelor. The brown pine needle carpet was dry, soft and springy beneath my tennis shoes, winding through the mighty trees.

“Where are we going, Mommy?”

“To a cave, but it’s a very special cave,” she replied, smiling down at me.

We walked to the edge of a rocky slope with black, grey and burgundy stones. Soon, we came to an area with a flat panel against the slope and sat beneath a group of pine trees facing it.

“You remember the other cave where you felt Mother Earth’s arms around you?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yes. I wish she could come to our house and hold me every night before I go to sleep.”

My mother smiled. “She is with you whether you know it or not.” She gestured to the flat looking place on the slope. It was very close, maybe a few car lengths straight ahead of us. “Would you like to visit her this time?”

My eyes widened, and I gasped. “Yes! Where is she?” I began to look around. “Where is her home, Mommy?”

“Right there,” and she pointed toward the flattened area right ahead of us. “Look at the top, center of that rock panel, and then find the crack that widens. Halfway down there’s a small, egg-shaped opening. Do you see it?”

“Yes,” I said, frowning. I couldn’t imagine Mother Earth with such a tiny house. That crack was probably as wide as my mother’s hand.

“Well, she lives inside the Earth. This crack in the wall is a way to go visit one of her many homes, like the one inside this mountain.”

“But, I’m too big to squeeze through that!” I said, disappointed.

“There’s a way to do it,” my mother assured me. She placed her arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “Now, close your eyes and ground yourself like I’ve taught you,” she instructed.

I closed my eyes and across my forehead, I pictured a movie screen. I imagined long, thin tree roots gently winding around my ankles three times, the tip of each root going down through the center of each of my feet and deep into the earthy soil beneath where I sat. My mother taught me earlier, when I was five years old, how to ground myself. She said it was a good thing to do when working with “energy magic.”

“In order to squeeze through that opening,” my mother told me quietly, “I want you to see yourself growing very, very small. So small, in fact, that you can walk through that hole in the wall very easily. Tell me when you have made yourself that small.”

“I’m ready,” I said, seeing myself become a miniature version of me.

“Good. At the count of three, you will find yourself standing at the opening to her home. One… Two… Three….”

I felt myself fly through the air like a bird and land gently on the doorstep of the crack. “I’m there!” I exclaimed, my eyes still closed.

“Very good. Now, knock on the side of the crack and listen for an answer…”

I knocked on the yellow, flat stone to the right of me.

“Helllllooooooo,” a woman’s voice called from within the opening.

I knew to “talk” with my mind using telepathy, as my mother called it. Helllooooo. I’m Eileen. My mom has sent me here. I’ve come to visit Mother Earth in her home. May I come in?

I heard low, pleasant laughter.

You are welcome any time, my dear child. Come in!

I felt a whoosh of air and suddenly, I was in the darkness, sailing like a bird in flight going down, down, down, and slowly twisting and turning. I wasn’t afraid, I was excited! What did Mother Earth look like?! Up ahead, I saw a dim light, and I floated toward it. It got brighter and brighter. It was so bright, in fact, that I put my hands over my eyes. In the next moment, my feet touched a stone floor. My hands flew away from my eyes. There was a soft glow all around me. I gasped, slowly turning around in this huge, round cave of black rock. The floor was made of smooth tiles of shining reddish-gold colored stones. Light came from round globes of quartz crystals, all sizes and shapes, suspended from the rocky ceiling far above me. The cave walls glittered with rocks of many colors, some blue, others yellow, orange, red, pink and purple! I felt as if I was inside a treasure chest only it wasn’t filled with gold coins, but rather, gemstones of all kinds.

“Welcome to my home, child.”

I turned on my heel and gasped. There, in front of me was a woman about the age of my mother. Her hair was in two long braids of gleaming black. She was beautiful! And smiling at me. She wore a blue dress that fell below her knees. It glittered and gleamed, the fabric containing hundreds of shining, faceted blue and white gemstones. On her feet were yellow flowers and green vines that appeared to be shoes. My eyes must have grown to the size of saucers when I saw she wore a wreath made of pine needles and small brown pinecones in her hair. But it was her round face, those green eyes of hers that sparkled with such life, and that wonderfully warm smile on her lips that made me want to run over to her, throw my arms around her waist and hug her!

She lifted her hand. Come, she urged, and opened her arms to me.

I flung my arms around her and pressed my face against her waist. There was the scent of fresh, clean soil around her. Her arms went around me, exactly as I had felt her do in the other cave. I leaned into her, feeling her surround me with her love and warmth. My heart sang as she touched my hair, smoothing it back into place.

You know, she whispered, placing a kiss on my head, you can come here any time you want, Eileen. From now on, all you need to do is see the entrance to my home in your mind, and you will automatically be flown here. I’ll invite you in and  show you the rest of your family. Would you like that?

I eagerly nodded, released her and stepped away, drowning in the emerald green of her large, beautiful eyes. Yes, yes, I would love that!

“I have many children who visit me,” she said, inviting me to sit down in a wooden rocking chair. There was a small, round table with some cookies sitting on it in a saucer.

“How often can I see you?” I asked, sitting in the rocker, feeling the smooth, golden colored wood of the arms.

“You talk to your mother about that,” she counseled, sitting down in her own rocking chair which was much larger. It was made of a beautiful reddish wood, which reminded me of the huge redwoods of California that we had visited one time.

Come, get a cookie, she urged, gesturing to the saucer.

Eagerly, I got up and took one. My mother had taught us never to take more than one, in case there were others who might want one, too. I sat back down and took a nibble. It tasted of honey and ginger. This is so good!

I’m glad you like it, she said, smiling and rocking.

I looked around. Are these all gemstones?

Indeed, they are.

It’s as if there is light behind each one, I said, looking up at the ceiling in awe.

There is. I create energy from within where I live. The energy is like the stream where your father fishes.

Really?

But it’s not water, it is energy on the move, flowing in and around hills, mountains, buttes, canyons and everywhere else on my body.

I don’t see it, though.

You will shortly. I’m giving you this, and she reached into the large pocket of her blue dress and pulled out a pair of goggles. If you wear these, Eileen, you will see all the lines of energy that are around, where they are coming from, and where they are going. You will see vortexes that resemble a tornado. Each vortex moves the energy from rivers, stream, lakes and my oceans. This, in turn, helps keep my energy in balance so all my children can grow and thrive. She stood up and handed me the goggles. Here. Put them on.

I did so. All of a sudden, I could see transparent lines of energy in certain areas of the cave. One was curving around part of it, coming out of the wall, entering our space, and then moving back into the opposite side of the cave wall. There was also a wide energy beneath where we sat! It glowed of rainbow colors and was so beautiful that I gasped. I sat there, feeling the prickling warmth of the energy as it flowed beneath my shoes!

I feel it! I cried in amazement, looking at her.

Oh yes, there is a feeling to the energy, she agreed, rocking once more. The more you wear the goggles, the more you will feel the energy. Some of it is very weak and slow, other lines move faster and are stronger. Then, there are huge, powerful rivers of energy that humans call Ley lines. They are the swiftest, largest and most powerful of all.

It was a marvel to watch the three different energies flowing through the cave. I finally took the goggles off, holding onto them in my lap. Can I always use these?

She smiled. Always. They are yours to keep. All you have to do is close your eyes, ground yourself and the goggles will appear in your hand so that you may put them on. When you open your eyes, you will see the various energy lines. Pay attention to these. Watch how they work, what they do.

Do they help you?

I wouldn’t be here without them, she said, smiling more. It is time for you to go, my young friend. Close your eyes.

I did so immediately. I heard her count to three and suddenly, I was floating upward, moving swiftly. I popped out of the hole and I saw myself coming back into my body that sat in the pine tree grove. My feet hovered just above my head where I was sitting. I saw my mother nearby as I eased down, down, down, sliding back into my physical body. I felt my feet lock into my physical feet.

“Open your eyes, Eileen. You are back to the here and now.”

I obeyed my mother. I could smell the scent of pine on the air, the warm breeze, bits of sunlight dancing around my shoulders here and there. “Wow…..” I uttered, giving her an amazed look.

“Did you like meeting our Mother?” she asked.

“Oh yes…” I opened my hands, but I didn’t see the goggles.

“The goggles are in another dimension,” she said. “When you close your eyes, they will appear in your hands after you ground yourself.”

“How did you know that?”

“Mother Earth taught me, just as she will begin teaching you.”

I grinned. “That was so much fun! She’s such a nice woman, Mommy.”

“Yes, she loves all her children, whether they have four legs, two legs or no legs. We all rely on her to give us air, water and food.”

I leaned back against the pine tree, closing my eyes, remembering everything that happened. I would never forget it.