Picture: Middle hill turns black as cloud passes overhead
We have discovered the natural beauty of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The Badlands in the Black Hills were so named by the French trappers who were the early European explorers of the area and found the it without water, sun baked in the summer, and very cold in the winter.
Wandering through these hills we found nothing bad in them, but we do have the luxury of water, modern conveyance, and we are here in temperate September. Lessons abound in nature that relate to our spiritual journey, and with a listening mind we can come away much the richer.
The Black Hills received their name due to the fact that the white colored landscape turns black when the clouds pass overhead, making a stark contrast of white and black colored hills. This reminds us that Spirit, being the sun, and the white hills being the purity of creation can appear black when the clouds of ignorance, maya, pass between the pure sun and creation below. In truth creation has always been pure, only the clouds/maya make it appear dark and black. Remove the veil of maya and all of Spirit and creation are once again seen in their innate purity.
Another desert lesson comes from a beautiful flowering plant that is growing out of an impossible sunbaked clay ground. How can it be that such a glorious plant exist in such harsh conditions above and below? The take-away lesson: beauty can grow in the most terrible conditions. In fact, the reason this plant stands out is that its situation is so forbidding.
We stand atop pinnacle and all around are ravines and rugged landscape where wind and water have sculpted dramatic pointed peaks and sharp drop offs. The feeling here is purity itself. One of the lessons in going to Nature’s Cathedrals is that there is a difference between the visual beauty of a place and its spiritual ambiance.
Picture: Great feeling of purity in the Black Hills
There are places where I have seen a magnificent view, then in some little out of the way spot I suddenly feel God’s Presence. It reminds me of some of the great man-made Cathedrals; the main sanctuary may be beautiful and is the center of attention, but then I find a little chapel off to the side and I am lifted up in Spirit. The power of that Presence and that unanticipated location are intimately connected. Lesson: be always attentive to God’s Presence, you can never guess when or where it will take you up.
As always, as I merge into Spirit in these holy places I also feel my connection with all creation; with you my friends. There is something endemic about Spirit that naturally shares itself with all; whether that be residing in Spirit, through service, or by posting these words–God shares. And in that spirit, my heart goes out to you as we continue to seek out Nature’s Cathedrals.