News From The Notch
Zuni Mountain Sanctuary
visitors for a wonderful new Beltane celebration, we are reminded that
all of you are the lifeblood of our sacred land here at ZMS. Faeries
on the land have been busy cleaning, clearing, cleansing, cooking and
caressing the energies, the altars, and the community spaces for all
who bless us with their love and their gifts. This past year has
brought wonderful new energies and mirrors for us to work with, and we
are indeed grateful for all of the work that maintaining this land and
these animals and holding this space requires. In lieu of an outdoor
Beltane Fire (New Mexico ban due to extremely dry conditions), being
the faeries we are, we intend to hold a sacred indoor burning of the
old lodge (she was crying out for closure - Birdy and Munk, along with
the support and blessing of the community and Red Wulf Dancing Bare -
have lovingly smudged, made offerings, prayed with and broken down the
lodge poles, and the twine, as well as replaced the elder stone people
to live near fire pit in a good way); a water ritual on Beltane to
encourage healthy waters flowing into our ponds and catchments is also
in the works.
Some of you may have been wondering about the past Winter/Spring
Newsletter. Hmmm....well, if you are friends with Zuni Mountain
Sanctuary on Facebook you have received it, and now - better late than
never! - all of you on this e-mail list can share in the News From The
Notch! The next edition of News should arrive in your Inbox around
Solstice.
*Special Note from Amber! - Motorcyclists be mindful of the 2nd
cattleguard! While our main artery to/from Hwy 53 is officially
"County Road 48" there is still a precarious crossing of that
cattleguard. Be mindful on those hogs! Slow it down because she dips
down in a most ungraceful manner, mmmmmmkay?
Blessed Beltane and Blessed Be.
Zuni Mountain Sanctuary
Winter 2010-11
This is My Story ~ Joel Tryheart
Calling architects, engineers and builder types. ZMS (aka Zuni to you
offlanders) has two major projects for the summer. Both require
knowledgeable participation which is beyond our homies. Juniper House
needs major structural repairs and there's a Bath House to design and
build. Mud plasterers are also welcome (will train).
Juniper's House west end is falling off. Really. Juniper is one of the
residences here. Currently housing four steward candidates. A
come-along and strap have been suggested to pull pull the building
back into place and secure it. We are open to suggestion. Roof and
greenhouse windows need shoring up also. The residence now is warmed
with new wood stoves thanks to Cassandra.
We have $18,000, plan & elevation drawings and an excavated Bath House
site. Now we get to figure out how to build it and do it. An
"earth-ship" of tires rammed full of our clayey soil has been
proposed. Straw bales might be easier. Now we aren't asking for a
competition but again are open to suggestion.
Tea Rooms also wants some mud daubers this summer, will train.
Yummy food, service & entertainment is provided. Kitchen Queens welcome.
The Kitchenettes (ZMS' offspring ) are growing and building also. Some
of the steward candidates have helped with homestead projects for our
loved ones there.
Our neighboring community food Co-op is in the process of purchasing
the former Swiss Bakery building west of Ramah. It's next to the
Farmer's Market. Local shopping, yea! We are looking into using the
professional kitchen for food production. Check out their website
elmorrovalleycoop.org
So far our winter is far less snowy than last. Though 30 below New
Year's Eve this year outdoes the low of -17 last winter. Who knows
what's next?
Aside from dedicated Bath House funds we are holding modest sums for
road improvement (gravel, cattle guards etc.) and a community dental
fund (at least a couple of steward candidates are lined up for this).
Now we have now set up a legal defense fund for people in the area. It
has been suggested that we create a separate stewards support fund for
those who have no income. If you'd like to contribute to any of these
make a check to Zuni Mountain Sanctuary and put the fund you want the
money to go to in the memo part. We also accept Pay Pal. Your donation
is tax deductible.
I AM still jazzed with the new steward candidates. Their process is
sweet. A new paradigm for ZMS. I've heard they are working their butts
off around the place. If found please return. Much work has been done
to plug drafts in the residences and studio.
Our annual Shaman's Gathering is scheduled for August 12-21. Before
then we will be gardening, hiking the mountain, pond swimming,
rattlesnake chasing and providing sanctuary far from the other world.
________________
TWO SPIRITS ~ Amber
As I follow a trail that is lost in the wilderness between my ears .
I hear the thunder of drums pulling me back to the source of my two
extremes lost in my creation of self .
Where two paths create one trail and that path leads me back to my
halves becoming whole .
As my ancestors guide me back towards my creation of self there
thunder touches me here and now.
______________________+++ _______________________
Living as a Beautiful Shaman ~ Victoria “Buttercup” Stagg Elliott
As my wife and I were leaving the Zuni Mountain Sanctuary near the end
of Queer Shaman X in August 2010, a man wearing a shirt, socks and
shoes--but no pants--told us what beautiful shamans we were. I left
puzzled by what he had said. No one had ever said anything like that
to me before, but it has slowly sunk in. I want to tell you now, not
so much about my experience of camping for a week at Zuni, but about
how the experience continues to color my life.
I arrived at Zuni fully expecting to take a life-changing action when
I returned home to Chicago, but I didn't. I felt this action was
necessary because I have long been obsessed with status. Judging of
other people and being judged by what I own, wear, my education, my
job, all the external trappings is a characteristic of mine. I felt
these things gave me value as a human being. I didn't take my
originally planned action because I realized at Zuni that I had value,
not only as a human being, but as a child of God, and that this was
not determined by external trappings. It was set by what was in my
heart.
Spending a week with people who didn't ask what I did for a living,
whether I rented or owned, where I had gone to school or the status of
my retirement investments reset my soul. No one even commented on what
I was wearing--or not. It was an amazing feeling to always be able to
show up as I am.
So, I guess to illustrate this point, I will have to say more of my
experiences at Zuni. My first night, I had problems sleeping. I have
chronic insomnia so this is not unusual. We had deliberately camped
near the Candy Land Lounge because I am actually more comfortable in
noisy situations than quiet ones. Being there also made it easier to
find our tent. I took my usual prescribed sleep drug but still
couldn't sleep. I went over to the Candy Land Lounge, but, in my
attempt to not wake up my wife who was snoring away, this meant
showing up to the party wearing glasses and a dental appliance that I
had forgotten to take out of my mouth. I was not well-dressed. My hair
was a mess, but I was welcomed and offered a hot dog. Then I met a man
in fur pants and horns on his head. It felt like a dream, in part
because of the sleep drug, but it also felt very comfortable. As the
week progressed, I was amazed I had so much to say that was not about
my career, my housing situation, my past or my future. I was able to
talk about now. Since returning from Zuni, I have been forgetting to
wear my watch, something unheard of before this trip.
And then there was that magical pond. I swam in it several times, and
have never felt closer to God. Swimming in that pond was also one of
the many times that, when I needed help with something, someone was
there and more than happy to take time to assist. It was wonderful to
know there would always be enough. I wouldn't swim in the pond by
myself, but no one I asked wanted to go swimming. Someone was,
however, willing to sit on the shore. Knowing I was safe, I swam
freely and experienced quiet in a way I never have before. My
volunteer lifeguard was reading. All I could hear was the dragonflies
buzzing, and I was still.
I have a photo of that pond on my phone. I look at it frequently. It
is my happy place. I have also realized that some of the people I met
at Zuni are not people I would have talked to if I had met them in
other situations before the trip. They are too young, too old, too
weird, too different or “not my kind of people.” That is my loss, and
I am so glad I know that now. I have definitely noticed that my
relationships seem to have a different tone to them. My interactions
even with people I don't know have changed ever so subtly. No one is
too young, too old, too weird, too different or “not my kind of
people” any more, and I ask myself everyday: If I truly believe that
every human being is an equal child of God, how would I behave? I also
ask: If I wasn't concerned about status, what would I do today? That
is the Zuni magic still working in my life. Thank you.
Munks Musings
Winter into Spring
When the number of people on the land is few we are afforded the
opportunity to see a smaller scale of the interconnectedness of
sanctuary life. All the facets of sanctuary and how they interrelate.
We are also able to see the nature of each others strengths and
potentials come into the fore. It is during this social ebb that we
are best able to modify systems and anticipate changes for the
upcoming seasons.
The turn over in key players last fall brought both gifts and
challenges but we have been doing our best to communicate and
cooperate with one another. The changes in the community after the
departure of two long-standing stewards have compelled us by
circumstance to grow in our understanding of the things that they were
gifted in knowing and contributing. These former stewards as well as
many others who have lived here over the years have left behind vast
riches of ideas, tools and accomplishments that those who continue on
keeping in motion and more fully actualized. Wearing overlapping hats
of responsibility has proving to be more effective than role
specialization (and in sharing the understanding without thinking
everyone needs to be proficient in everything) has been helping the
community in our quest for a greater interconnected sustainability.
These efforts also take a great burden off of those whose tendency is
to become overwhelmed with all the changes and build greater trust and
respect for one another.
Looking forward to the springtime ahead and praying that spirit sends
more cooperative and compassionate souls to assist us in our
endeavors. The vision of integrated world-walkers sharing in the
volunteerism that keep the community loving and creative. The
sanctuary will always be a place for the wounded to find their repose
but the community stays strong by the on-going efforts and support of
visionaries, educators and healers who share a common vision.
ZMS still needs financial contributors from the outer worlds. With all
the ebb and flow of persons on the land at any given time,
sustainability often compels persons on the land to go above and
beyond which can sometimes cause social-spiritual imbalance. Strange
as it may seem forty bux spent in the outside world can be gone in a
flash, but the same forty bucks at sanctuary translates into some very
practical things (propane, internet, pet care, cleaning supplies,
tools ect) that keep operations running smoothly. If you feel called
to share your abundance with ZMS feel free to specify the area of
sanctuary to which you would like your donation applied.
the Zephyr said:
ZMS is happy to announce that Moon (formerly of Dallas, Texas) long
time visitor and supporter of the sanctuary, former resident and board
member at ZMS has taken up residence along the Ancient Way where he
pursues his computer business. Welcome to the hood Moon.
Ross is at NMSU in Las Cruces learning computer program.
Maqui & Eden plan two encore performances of Sordid Lives to play at
the El Morro Theatre in Gallup this May. Y'all cum.
Thorn, Gentle & Zane each have land and look forward to homesteading
in Candy Kitchen this spring. More Kitchenettes-ya hoo!
We were happy to welcome Pippi from Albuquerque and Grant who stopped
in on his way to the West Coast.
Thanks and Gratitude
Our deepest gratitude to all who have stayed active and helped support
the sanctuary. Your contributions, time, visits, care packages,
correspondence, and continued support allow us to continue 'holding
space' for those in need of sanctuary. We have dedicated a sunrise and
sunset to you. Blessed be.
Supporting Donor - $35+ ($3 a month)
Sustaining Donor - $150+ ($12.50 a month)
Benefactor or Sponsor - $1800 ($150 a month)
All Donations are Tax Deductible - 501(c)3 Non-profit Organization
Please make all checks payable to:
Zuni Mountain Sanctuary P. O. Box 636; Ramah, New Mexico 87321
zms.org zun...@wildblue.net (505) 783-4002
UPS/FedEx Address: ZMS, 96 Zuni Mtn. Sanctuary Rd., Pinehill, NM 87357
Who We Are
Zuni Mountain Sanctuary is a consensus-run, inclusive, intentional,
and earth-friendly Radical Faerie Sanctuary dedicated to the
sustenance and well-being of faeries and like-minded folk. It is our
Mission to be dedicated to the healing process. Through healing
programs and an intentional living experience focused on nurture, ZMS
offers to create a safe, accepting & respectful environment that
fosters deepening growth within its members, visitors, and the greater
community.
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Zuni Mountain Sanctuary exists through the infinite generosity, hard
work, and moral support from Stewards and other supporting members.
Our goal is to be self-sufficient, but not insular. This Email allows
us to maintain contact with you, the wider community of members and
supporters. Please help support your sanctuary's efforts by making a
contribution this year, financial or otherwise. We are a 501(c) (3)
nonprofit, tax exempt organization under religious auspices chartered
in the state of New Mexico.
