It was February 2000 and I was driving a trailer from Texas to California and stopped in Aguas Caliente, New Mexico for a writer's workshop. I was in an open and expansive state of awareness for the almost three day trip.

In the context of a workshop facilitated by Mayan Shaman, I placed small objects and a photo of myself on a sand bank that was previously a river bank. The task included writing poetry to the gods, mountains or rivers and then tying the poetry in a bundle in a tree. After leaving the things overnight, we would read any animal tracks that appear around our things as an oracle.

The first night there was nothing and I was not surprised. I was staying in my Airstream trailer and I set my objects close to it in a area of sand I had cleared with my arm in a circular pattern. In the center I placed an aura photo of myself. The photo is unique because in it I do not have a normal aura, I appear to have wings. The form of the wings is quite clear and the person who took the photo several years ago said that he had never seen such an image.

I placed around the photo four small sacred objects that had some meaning to me. The second night I wrote more prayers and did a private ritual from my tradition. That night it very cold if not below freezing--too cold for any tracks, but to my amazement about 18" and circling completely around my objects in a ring about 6" deep were a multitude of bird tracks all running in a clockwise direction. There were no tracks running in or out from the ring. In the East of the ring was another amazing print -- one deer print heading towards my things. There was no other deer track, just this single one. No deer tracks moving in or out, just one print.

My mind stopped as I absorbed this event that could only have occurred in another reality, yet here it was, a gift of beauty and wonder. The bird tracks meant for me a confirmation from the bird forms of the deities and the deer track representing Venus as the Morning star (Tlahuitzcalpantecuhtli) had a deer nagual form. Of course its bird is the Quetzal and Quetzalcoatl was resurrected as Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. I then realized that Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli had contacted me and my perception became fully aware of him--I had not previously contemplated him much.

The beauty of offering poems to the spirits and other gifts is extremely inspiring. The concept of them loving magnificence, style and elegance was something I had not understood before. In my own invocations I had been considerably less beauteously subtle in my approaches to them.

After the workshop I drove the rest of the way to Berkeley. I was sleeping in my trailer the first night in a fitful sleep and found myself addressing Tlahuizcalpantecuhtliin a style of poetic praise. I would partially wake many times and find myself continuing in this manner. Then suddenly my dream became very vivid and I found myself observing wild and unbelievably strange architecture. They were buildings designed in a style I have never seen or imagined. I was stunned at how real it and detailed it was and realized that I lucid dreaming. I was extremely excited about this as I examined this strange and magical place.

At some point I opened my eyes in my dream and this pulled me back into my normal dreaming state. However in that dream I still realized what had happened and I excitedly told people in my dream that I had just had this wondrous lucid dream. The next time I awoke I realized the presence of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtliand that he had given me the lucid dream as a gift in response to the praise and acknowledgement I had given him.

To accurately describe what happened then is very difficult. I can only say that I was totally and utterly devastated by beauty. The comprehension of what occurred through me into the magnificence of his splendor. I wept both in joyous appreciation of this most glorious state I was experiencing and in grief that I had not understood previously that this giving sincere praise from a view of innocence was such a key.

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