RITE OF PASSAGE

I was twelve when Father Walsh took me on my right of  passage in the High Sierras.  Each boy had to pack 55 lb. and it wasnât the high tech stuff you have now, it was army surplus.  Wooden pack frames and canvas pup tents.  We were going for 45 days in the High Sierra long before it was fashionable.  

 In those days in the early 60âs one usually only saw a few people on the John Muir trail; once a week, maybe.  We had plenty of oatmeal, semi-sweet chocolate, (bakers), and dried fruit.  The rest was provided by the land.  Fish, wild greens, berries, fruit, grass roots, and herbs.  Sometimes covering 15-20 miles in a day.   Many times I would forge ahead not wanting to follow the other 4 guys or Father Walsh.  At these ãcross countryä treks I would look on the map and set off in the general direction, making my own trail.   I would be totally surrounded by the stillness and magnificence of the forest.  A granite silence.  Following my intuition and a rough map I would leave the trail and at 10,000 ft. find my own way across count y to the night's destination.   

  once we settled in, we'd light the fire and the Father, now Monsignor would amaze us  with feats of mind reading, magic and telepathy.  It was all  mysterious and real.  Feeding my mind, cuiousity and purpose at a very early age.   

Being a good and devote priest of his faith the monsignor would find a flat rock most mornings and it would become the forest altar where we would perform the ritual of the Holy Mass.  On important field days we would do a high mass sung by the Priest and us altar boys in old Latin.   It had quite an effect on me and more than once I was transported back to the last supper when the Consecration, Elevation, and the blending of Intentional faith and substance was initiated.  This had a deep IMPACT on me in terms of the nature and essence of ritual, will, and real magic.  I wanted to convey and apply those powers and energies I perceived. 

One morning when he held up the cup of wine in the simple golden chalice with both hands above his head singing the words of empowerment and consecration,  a shaft of sunlight pierced through the dawn clouds and trees and illuminated the cup.  At that moment I had a realization of meaning behind the ritual.  Intentional magic, mana, and the making of a thought form.  I had not this terminology at the time but the understanding was there.   

Later in my metaphysical states I came across the terms to explain the experience.  I consider the two years that I did these treks with Monsignor my rite  
of passage into the understanding of the mysteries  
of life and religion.