It is an odd thing, but I can’t seem to recall the year that I went to Teotihuacán with don Miguel and his group for a week-long spiritual retreat in Mexico.  It was just about the same time that I started working with my good friend and teacher, Ramin.  I don’t suppose the date is important.  At that time I didn’t know much about the Toltec tradition or don Miguel Ruiz.  I had somehow found out about a week-long trip to the pyramids and decided to give it a try.  I probably heard about it on one of the evenings that I had gone to see and listen to don Miguel in Sacramento or Davis.  I thought the costs for the trip were exorbitant,t but since I could afford it I decided not to worry too much about the money and go for the adventure. 

I flew from Sacramento to Austin, then on to Mexico City.  I was supposed to meet with the group of people attending the spiritual journey to Teotihuacán, north of Mexico City at the airport in Mexico City and then be bused about 30 miles to the hotel near Teotihuacán.  I arrived at Mexico City expecting a greeter, a sign, or some other fairly obvious way to identify the group. I was new to the group and would not recognize anyone, with the possible exception of don Miguel.  I got off the plane, went into the terminal and found no sign of the group.  There were lots of people milling around waiting for people or waiting to board the next plane, but there were no signs announcing the group, “Toltecs,” Miguel, my name or anything else.  I walked around the airport looking for some hint of what I might do next.  I was getting a little worried since I had no idea where to catch up to them if I missed them at the airport. I hadn’t been told the name of the hotel where we were to stay, or giving any local contact information.  I started to wonder what I was going to do next.  I waited around for an hour and a half, hoping that someone would show up – but they never did. 

I finally noticed that there were some people scattered around the airport sitting on chairs or the floor talking to each other.  They appeared to be together and were also waiting for something or someone.  They appeared to be Americans, so I felt comfortable asking them if they happened to have any idea about the group I was looking for.  It turned out that they were the group, and they were waiting for me!  What a relief that was. 

There were about 100 people attending the trip. The unexpectedly large size of the group heightened my feeling that the prices were quite high.   Once I added up in my head the costs and the income from these folks.  Based on the apparent costs, the number of attendees and the price per attendee it seemed to be a big money maker for the leaders.  I became concerned that I had just signed up for a week of “rip off the tourist.”  However, as I talked to folks I learned that most had taken journeys with don Miguel in the past and seemed to be quite willing to pay the price. They expressed the opinion that the costs were well worth the benefits.  I decided that since I was there, and had already spent the money, I might as well stop worrying about that part, and see what might come of the trip. 

Our group filled up the Club Med that is located right next to the pyramid site, lined up with the Avenue of the Dead, situated in a location that might have actually been part of the southern end of the pyramid complex at one time.  Not having stayed at a Club Med before, I was surprised at the austerity of the place.  It was very pretty and had a lot of “local color” about its design, but was not as lavish as I would have expected of Club Meds.  We seemed to have filled the hotel to capacity as there were no other guests for the week.  The hotel aligned perfectly with my personal desires for accommodations in that it was comfortable and nice, but not gaudy or glitzy.  It turns out that this is one of three or four “archeological” Club Meds, and is not the normal family oriented club that I had heard about.  It was actually perfect; it had all that we needed and was quite comfortable for our group.

Since the group was so large, we broke up into smaller groups to visit the pyramid site.  I was assigned to a group of six or seven ladies.  The group was led by Heather Ash, who had been one of don Miguel’s apprentices and was now a Toltec leader/teacher.  It was evident that everyone in this small group, except me, knew each other very well.  I was happy with the selection since they all seemed to be great people and I looked forward to spending the week with them. 

The plan was to start at the southern end of the Avenue of the Dead, near the Feathered Serpent Pyramid (Temple of Quetzalcoatl) and then carefully work our way north along the mile and a half of the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramid of the Moon, finishing up several days later at the Pyramid of the Sun.

Each morning don Miguel talked to all of us in a large group for an hour or two, then we broke up into our smaller groups to experience the pyramid complex.  We were told some of the history of the place from don Miguel’s point of view, which turned out to be quite different from what I read on the plaques and the written materials presented for the tourists.  Then we were told what lessons and experiences were possible in this power place and were guided on a tour that was a only our group, rather than an archeological tour of the ruins.  We were using the place and its energy as tools, not as something to see.  In the afternoon we took a break or attended training sessions put on by various spiritual teachers.  In the evening Miguel talked to the group about the day and set our intent to continue working in our dreams.

We spent the biggest part of each day within the confines of the pyramid complex.  It was an interesting experience to be focused on meditation, power, awakening, and personal understanding in the middle of a place that was bustling with tourists and venders selling local goods and trinkets.  We focused on our work, and let the hustle and bustle flow around us.  I felt that those tourists that noticed us at all must have thought we were pretty wacky since we were on such a totally different pace and were spending our time in places that didn’t seem to have much visual draw (but did have a strong energetic attraction).  Mainly it was clear that we were two distinct groups of people, flowing past each other but not interacting very much.  It opened my eyes to the possibility of experiencing a place in peace and solitude, even though it is thronged with tourists.  I have since noticed this division at temples where the holy men go about their business, seemingly without hindrance from the many tourists around them.

After about three days of moving north along the Avenue of the Dead, we came to the Pyramid of the Moon – and climbed the steep stairs to the top.  At the top of the pyramid is a wide square or “plaza” that is slightly raised toward the center.  This day appeared to be school field trip day since there were many school kids in uniforms, many tourists with still and video cameras, and others on the pyramid.  I don’t know how many people were up there, but I would guess there were at least a couple of hundred.

Heather decided that we should sit in a circle and chant “Om” for awhile.  We started to sit in a circle, but were stopped by a big, rather intimating looking, guard.  He noticed what we were about to do and wagging his finger at us, indicated that we were not to do that.  We were surprised and disappointed that we weren’t going to be allowed to chant on top of the pyramid.  However, he then motioned us to follow him, which we did.  He pointed down, and there was a marker – he had brought us to the very center of the pyramid.  He then indicated, with the hint of a twinkle in his eye, that THAT was the right place to do what we wanted.  He didn’t seem to have a problem with our project, he just wanted to make sure we did it in the right place!

We sat and formed a circle that was perhaps eight feet across, closed our eyes, and started chanting.  It was one of those magical times when chanting Om starts my entire being to vibrate and feel like it is expanding and connecting to the universe.  I had experienced this sort of feeling when chanting this simple word before, so I wasn’t surprised with the feeling.  However, when I slowly opened my eyes while continuing to chant I was taken totally by surprise.  I found myself facing not just the circle of friends, but a huge column of energy shooting up out of the center of the pyramid!  It filled the space between us.  It was the size and shape of the trunk of a redwood tree.  It appeared to be flowing upward, reminding me of a huge jet of water shooting out of a fire hose or something like that.   The surface of the column shimmered and danced as it moved, forming a distinct boundary that looked like I could reach out and touch it.  However, this didn’t seem like the prudent thing to do since it was obviously so powerful and beautiful. It was not something I dared, or wanted, to interfere with.  I didn’t think to look up to see how far it went, but it went straight up out of my field of vision into the clear blue sky.  We continued to chant for ten or fifteen minutes longer, and that huge jet of energy kept rushing from deep within the pyramid, into the sky.  I felt that we had tapped into the energy that was the reason for the pyramid in the first place.  It finally dissipated, and we stopped chanting.  I had been absolutely, totally caught up in the power of the chanting and the power of the column of energy.  My body was alive and my soul was soaring.

Once we stopped, I looked around.  The first thing I saw was our big guard friend.  He had a huge grin on his face, smiling at us.  He gave us a big “thumbs up” sign to let us know that he knew that we had tapped into the energy of the pyramid.  Then I looked around to the rest of the people on top of the pyramid; they were all silent and transfixed in their spots.  They were all focusing on where we were, were all silent and everyone looked as dazed as I felt.  I believe that they not only experienced what I had seen, but were caught and moved by the energy just as I had been.  They all looked peaceful, content, and transported to “another place.”  This included all of the school kids who had stopped their running and yelling to stand and behold the miracle with us. 

I have never mentioned my experience to Heather or any of the other ladies in my group, so I don’t know if I was alone with my perceptions, or if we shared them that day.  I thought about asking them, but was afraid that talking about it would somehow dissipate the magic, turning it from something really special to just an imagined figment of my imagination.  I didn’t want to move it from a “felt” experience to a “thought.”  It really doesn’t matter too much if we shared the same thing or not, because I am positive that all of us on top of the pyramid that day shared a huge experience.  We might have experienced it differently, but I am sure that we all felt it.