UNSTUCK: THE ROAD FROM ASHLAND TO NAPA VALLEY
Excerpt from "Dakota, Driven" (Mount Shasta Explained)
The bartender, wearing dark eyeliner and eye shadow, leaves a couple menus behind. Kurt peruses one while Dakota eyes a bacon cheeseburger that the only other person in this bar is devouring while feeding morsels to a pet Chihuahua at her feet.
Dakota’s animal spirit generally rules her appetite, though hamburger serves her palette better than rodent.
“What brings you both to Shasta on a day like this?” asks Eye Guy.
“Just passing through,” says Kurt, curtly. “Couldn’t get any further because of the snowstorm.”
“Too bad you can’t see the mountain.”
“What mountain?” asks Dakota.
“Mount Shasta, of course. The Magic Mountain.”
“Why do you call it that?” Dakota’s curiosity is genuinely piqued.
“Because the mountain has magical powers,” Eye Guy replies. “Some people call it heaven on earth. The Native Americans who lived in this area considered it a sacred site. People come from all over to see it, to feel its magical energy.”
“But why?”
“Mount Shasta is believed to be the Root Chakra.”
“A what?”
“The most important of seven high-energy sites around the world. Some folks who come here to see it never leave.”
“Really?”
Eye Guy nods in earnest. “Americans like us travel all the way to Nepal to visit the Himalayas and explore their mysticism. And when they get there, you know what the Nepalese tell them?”
“What?”
“They say: We want to go to Shasta!”
“Wow,” says Dakota. “But what makes it so magical?”
“The Lemurians,” Eye Guy whispers.
“Who?”
“You’ve heard of Atlantis, right?”
“Of course,” says Dakota. “An ancient civilization that sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.”
“Exactly. Lemuria is lesser known. The people of Atlantis were progress oriented, very technical.” Eye Guy chuckles. “So smart, in fact, that one of their crystals attracted a meteor—and that was the end of them. The Lemurians were the flower children, heart based, at one with nature.” He pauses and lowers his voice as if he were imparting some kind of secret wisdom. “And they still exist.”
“Really?”
Eye Guy nods vigorously.
“Where are they?”
“They live in Telos.”
“Where’s that?”
“Telos a city underneath Mount Shasta,” Eye Guy explains. “That’s partly why Shasta is so magical. The Lemurians mostly keep to themselves, where they live. But every once in a while you see one of them in town, like, if they need something.”
“What do they look like?”
“Tall and thin and pale,” says Eye Guy. “Kind expressions. They’re very spiritual beings and they don’t like to socialize with we lesser-evolved humans. Some say it’s because they exist in a higher state of love. If recognized and engaged they are sweet-natured, but they remain mostly silent and leave quickly.”
“Have you ever seen one?”
Eye Guy nods. “Near Mount Shasta. I waved. He, maybe she, I’m not sure, waved back and then disappeared. They use hidden passageways to get in and out of the mountain and down to Telos. People say it is an ornate city on many levels, constructed with real gold.”
Kurt looks up, mildly amused by Eye Guy’s chatter. “Isn’t Mount Shasta supposed to be an ancient volcano?”
“Yes, it is.” Eye Guy nods enthusiastically. “That’s why Lemuria disappeared as a known civilization about fourteen thousand years ago. Mount Shasta erupted. The Lemurians that survived scattered around elsewhere. Some of them eventually found their way back and built Telos.”
Kurt raises an eyebrow and takes another sip of liquid crystal.
“These days,” continues Eye Guy, “Shasta—the mountain and this city—attracts spiritual people. Some of them try to make contact with the Lemurians. I know one guy who camped around the mountain for three months. Others just want to bask in Shasta’s energy and be part of the magic. We have a Buddhist monastery nearby and some assorted shamans and New Age truth-seekers.”
Kurt studies his daughter, impressed by her acute enthusiasm for Eye Guy’s fantastical tales.
Eye Guy excuses himself to give the sole other customer a check.
“You believe in all that stuff, Dakota?” Kurt asks her.
She nods vigorously.
“Why?”
“It feels right to the animal spirit within me. I feel more attuned to nature than people.”
Have family in Yreka. Have heard a few stories about Mt. Shasta. However, since the are wants to secede from CA, the good citizens have a number of tales to tell! Plus, the Native Americans believe that it is a Sacred Mt. They have been here a lot longer than I have, so, perhaps they are on to something!!