September 26th morning....
(I am writing this message to you, within a few dozen feet of a heard of elk. The 12 pointed buck's bugle fills our little cabin with regal and a powerful voice. His herd is resting underneath the pines nibbling on golden summer grass. It is the first day I was allowed to write anything since this triple ascension cycle started.)

Just after the powerful solar eclipse and just prior to the equinox, it was evident I needed some quiet space. I was called to go into retreat and away from the masses as much as possible. I needed to be unplugged, gain some perspective, and get grounded.

(((Ok ... Here is the not so politically correct version. The straight truth... I just wanted to get away from all the crazy polarizing predictions... Like... The end of the world.... instant enlightenment and ascension... and most of all, to get away from empathing all the collective disappointment people will feel when neither scenario happens! So many people bought into the Harmonic Convergence, Y2K, 2012, etc.... All these times were very potent energies, and we DID shift and awaken further during each and every cosmic event. But us old pioneers out here, that have been working in the trenches since just after birth and certainly since the Harmonic Convergence, know better. I am talking about those who have been around the block way to many times who know better that anything that is worth reaching for usually isn't acquired instantly. Life is a process and so is waking up. I would be thrilled as anyone else that instant enlightenment would come to the masses. Sign me up! I would be jumping for joy. But we know better than to run from fear or chase rainbows. Fear mongering and even positive prophecy is a money maker for ones who have no consciousness. I am very concerned about those innocent ones who get their hopes up, then feel a huge disappointment, and then ultimately give up thinking all this ascension stuff is all a huge hoax. And I am sickened by those who spread the end of the world fear (even an organized religion that I will leave nameless here), and then feed off innocent trusting followers, and they can now retire in luxury from selling survival supplies. Ok... I have vented my angst about this ... Whew!)))

So back to my experience and what I learned while retreating away from just about everything. I was also called to go as high in altitude as I could. The message was to be at 8 - 10 thousand feet consistently, and 12 thousand feet in altitude for the actual Equinox. I was called to do this, because the astral plane and the collective consciousness becomes very thin and clear at higher altitudes. It can give an empath and sensitive ones, like myself, some much needed emotional and spiritual rest. I had been feeling drained from the challenges of this year, and I needed to be just me for a while. I needed a place that reminded me of my roots as an individual. The only place within a reasonable and drivable distance that would give me both my requirements was the Colorado Rockies, and an area I spent a lot of time in as a child.

We called around to find a cabin and found not one place. Everything was booked. We gave up. We were frustrated and burned out. The next morning I woke up and remembered one place we had not called the day before, and, to my surprise, there was space for us. It was remote, rustic and basic for sure, but also was at the altitude that I needed.

So Raphael and I, and our two pups, packed up. The new pup had never been out in the big world, and this was his first road trip. The other pup was healing from an acute illness, and I could not leave him behind. I was feeling more like burnt toast, and Raphael surely needed to stop work mode ... and just be. So we were off.

When we arrived it took days for us to find a new rhythm, and we wondered if we made a mistake and should have just stayed home. Then the hours before the Equinox came, and my body was vibrating so fast that I got flushed all over and ran an energy fever. My stomach was so nauseous that I couldn't eat. I was so glad we were far and remote while this energy washed over the Earth. My heart held space for all my family and soul mates who I know must be feeling this as well. We laid low as planned, and rested. A flock of wild turkeys out of our window entertained the pups.

On the first sunrise of this powerful Equinox, we followed the calling and drove up to 12 thousand feet in altitude. Our hearts were full of awe as we drove through ribbons of bright yellow aspen trees in contrast to the deep green pine forests. We walked on high tundra at the place that divides our continent from east to west. And I still didn't understand why I came all this way. We hung out for a while and took in the vast view of the ancient Rockies knowing that they have been here since the time of Lumeria, and also are home to an Ascended Master Retreat much like Mt, Shasta, The Tetons, etc.... This is why this land sang to me as a child. The energy is so familiar. So we rested above tree line wrapped in this grander and vastness. But I was still feeling nothing but a void.

On the drive down the mountain, the light was perfect. The aspen were glowing, and the colors were like they had just awakened.... And what did I do? .. I fell asleep! Only a few minutes later, I was jolted awake. The exhaustion was all but gone, and I could feel myself again. I knew I had just been cleared out and rebooted. Thank you mountains and Masters. I felt more rested, and I had the energy to feel grateful again. Not only did we find a remote cabin to stay in, but the aspen were in all their golden glory. It was also the Elk rutting season, and the mountains echoed with the regal bugles of magnificent Elk bulls gathering their herds. In the flowing days after the Equinox, I found that I could dive deeper and found a new and clearer level to process input with.

This Equinox was very deep and powerful, and the world has changed dramatically, even if we don't see it just yet in the outer world. Now I understand why I had to be here at the Continental Divide ... We have just crossed a cosmic universal divide. I am sending blessings to my dear friends holding the other side of this continental divide in Mt. Shasta (I sure wanted to be there with you). This was a divine healing of duality of our cosmos, planet, and humanity. I am grateful that this transformation is coming to us in bearable phases... This Equinox was phase two. The first phase was the solar eclipse on September 13 (it was crazy powerful), and third phase, being the total lunar eclipse, is on the 28th.

September 26 now at 11am MST....
About this time, I felt I needed to stop writing. I started getting anxious, and my heart started beating fast. I wondered what changed as I was in a deep and perfectly peaceful space. Even one of our dogs started pacing about. Then I noticed the Elk cows, laying a few feet away from us, started stirring around after hours of hanging out with us. Soon they were all up, and they moved on. The big father bull bugled loudly and was up and moving as well. The energy quickly changed. I wondered if there was a connection between what I was feeling and the herd moving on. Was I and have I been feeling pulses of Earth energy all along? And do the elk feel these shifts too, and know when it is time to move on? What if we don't move when the energy shifts? Is the Earth telling us when and where to go, and we are not listening? And what effect does that have on us humans? Is this why we can feel stuck, tired, frustrated and even ill? And was this why earlier cultures tended to be nomadic? And now..... Is this why the nomadic culture is becoming a growing movement again? (Tiny house movement. The sustainability movement, etc...)

The energy has picked up... The full moon eclipse is coming on the 27th. We are preparing for phase three (by the time I finished this last bit, the energy had already calmed down. I looked out the cabin window, and a new younger bull just arrived. :) Confirmation! Hmmm.)

On the night of the 26th, the bull Elk bugled all night to the point that we hardly slept. We were bathed in their multi-octave sound that carried out for miles. We were puzzled but thrilled to experience this massive and abundant bugle concert.

The next day, at bit weary from lack of sleep, we prepared for the full moon. We watched the dance of arriving clouds from a mild storm front tease us with our desire to view the lunar eclipse. By night fall, the sky had cleared out completely. We traveled up a mountain side to view the eclipse. Once it was 100% eclipsed, we felt a deep peace come over the Earth. We watched the sky and the Milky Way for some time. The stars were amazing.

Then we decided to go back to the meadow area where our familiar elk herd hung out in the evenings. It was really dark, so it was hard to see. And for the first time in a week, we didn't see our herd. We were about to leave when I saw an outline of a huge antler rack in the darkness. So we stopped to have a look, and we were shocked. There was a huge herd with three bull elks in the meadow. They were not grazing, rutting, or even bugling. They were all laying down together in this meadow in perfect harmony. It was totally silent! Not one bugle. The silence was stunning. Rivaling bull elks were seated near each other, and.... facing the eclipsed moon together! Not one of the herd stirred, but all laid in the grass in total silence. We walked within a few dozen yards from the herd and joined them. We just sat. I felt like I was one of the herd. We were the only humans there. Our two pups, in our arms, were also being very still, even with the elk being so close to us. We watched the moon for some time, and I felt a reverence that I have never felt before. It was like nature itself was bowing down during this cosmic event. No words can describe the peace and gratefulness that we felt sitting there surrounded by noble elk. We could smell their sweet horse like scent mixed with aromatic pine wafting by in the breeze. We were simply present with this stillness, us, the elk, and the eclipsed moon. We knew that this was certainly yet another crest in our long journey, and that we would never be the same.

And if you took the time to get to the end of my rambling here, you will understand the point of our ascension process, and the paths we have undertaken. Ascension and our awakening is a step by step process and will not show up as a big apocalypse or a mass awakening; it will be a little of both. Once in a while, one might get a huge download and awakening, but these are rare events. If we become addicted to these rare energy rushes, we might miss out noticing all the other wonderful little clues in life. Our process is always going to be give and take, letting go and receiving. Step by step we climb, as my teacher Pearl Dorris (St Germaine teachings) always said. We understand that it is important to take the time to notice all the little shifts, bumps and downloads around us, as they are all clues to who and where we are, and what we are to do next. It is important to listen to how energy and nature speaks to us. And the only thing that is also very important, that was missing from my little soul retreat.... was a big mob of like-minded pals to share in the experience.

In honor to my elk herd family. Thank you for shifting my heart and soul just by being.

The teachings of Pearl Dorris can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/Step-We-Climb-By-Series/dp/0961977019/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_cw?&linkCode=waf&tag=alunajcom-20

Other Ascension books I recommend are found here, under heading What is on Aluna's Bookshelf:
http://www.alunajoy.com/books.html