An Initiation
Shortly after I moved to Ashland, Oregon in 1979 I met a Lakota by the name of Wallace Black Elk. He was leading sweat lodges in the area. Wallace was an amazing man, shaman and human being. A World War II decorated combat veteran, he also had to fight to share his ways with people outside of Lakota culture. In other words, some native people resented that Wallace opened his ceremonies to everybody. Wallace basically said, “My ways are not Indian ways. If they were, all Indians would be doing them, but they’re not. I am an Earth Man. My ways are Earth Man ways.” Thanks to Wallace, I began to learn about his Earth Man ways by participating in his ceremonies.
Other mentors…
Around the time I met Wallace, I also met Jack Schwarz. Jack was considered to be one of the most gifted and influential teachers of mind-body controls and intuitive skills in the world. He was the subject of many studies conducted by major research centers around the globe. In the U.S. those included The Menninger Foundation’s Psychophysiology Laboratory and the Stanford Research Institute.
I worked and studied with Jack for several years in Ashland, and we collaborated on one of his later books, It’s Not What You Eat, But What Eats You. During that time, I was also a yoga instructor, a bartender/bouncer and co-owner of a kickboxing studio. Although I swear I did not get hit in the head that often, I made several major questionable decisions. So, in 1989, I left Oregon and moved to Montana. Bozeman has been home ever since. In time, I met Lakota spiritual leader Jim Miller, from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and was re-introduced to American Indian ceremony.
In 2014, I began to study under Peruvian shaman don Oscar Miro-Quesada. Through don Oscar I have experienced new realities through non-ordinary reality. The cosmos has never looked better.
Of course…
Like everyone, there have been challenges. In the span of a few months, the extremely profitable company of which I was general manager sold. I lost my job, my rocky marriage crumbled and the house went with it. During that same time, I broke my back on Valentine’s Day in 1999. Yet, that summer I ran the 19.9 mile Bozeman Ridge Run, classified as one of the most technical trail runs in the U.S.
It took a few years and a lot of work until I got into a positive place. But after the 2008 recession, the funds that kept me afloat as assistant director of the Montana Water Center dried up. I was out of work again at an age and a time that made finding something new difficult.
Elder Work
I decided to concentrate on writing and teaching in earnest. First I wrote the prize winning screenplay comedy and book, Julius V~Warrior Pope: Vengeance in Vegas. In a more serious vein, I followed that with How to Get Even With the Universe by Getting Right With the World. This book chronicles some of the experiences and lessons learned from my “elder teachers,” and put me on the path of the Elder Spirit.
As an adjunct professor at Montana State University, I teach students critical thinking and communication. The rigors of working with college students continue to change and challenge, but so do the rewards of giving and receiving. In other words, it’s apparent young people need elder mentors to help them transition into resilient adults capable of handing the uncertainties we all face.
That realization led me to create this site as an info and action portal.
