I was invited to an all-night Native American ceremony held in a teepee on the night of a full moon.  The site selected for the ceremony was in the mountains of Northern California, not too far from the snowcapped Mount Shasta.  There were about 25 people in attendance, sitting on the ground in a circle facing the fire in the center of the teepee.  These ceremonies are an opportunity to spend the night singing, praying, and talking about emotional or physical ailments that could use some medicine and healing.

During the middle of the night during the ceremony, nature called so I went outside to relieve myself and to stretch my aching legs after sitting for several hours on the dirt facing the hot and bright fire in the center of the teepee.  When I got outside I found it to be a marvelous and beautiful scene.  The ceremony was being held in a large green meadow, surrounded by a dense pine forest.  The night was crystal clear, with a gorgeous full moon lighting up the surroundings.  The teepee glowed a mellow orange color, showing the outlines of people’s shadows as they continued the songs as I enjoyed the view and peaceful mood.

After a while I noticed a girl coming toward me across the meadow.  I had noticed her earlier in the teepee, but hadn’t seen her leave.  She must have taken a break about the same time that I did.  She was coming toward me in a way that made it obvious that she was going to give me a hug.  I am normally a great fan of hugs, but in this case I was hesitant because I had judged her to be a hippy, nature girl who would likely have body smells that I wouldn’t find pleasing.  She was very nice looking, but dressed in the clothes of the Northern California hippy earth mothers.  I enjoy talking to these hippy people, but sometimes their odor can get pretty overpowering.

In this case I decided that I had no choice, so I just resigned myself to the experience.  When we embraced in a big hug I first noticed that I was correct, she smelled “natural” without the normal chemical perfume smells that I had grown used to in town.  However, it wasn’t a bad smell – just different.  As I stood there contemplating the aroma, I noticed that I could detect the smells of her kitchen.  She smelled like freshly ground whole wheat, herbs and natural things from the forest.  It was very intoxicating in an interesting way, it made me think that she smelled like people are supposed to smell. It caught my attention and forced me to feel our humanity.

My imagination turned to what it must have been to live with native people who didn’t have any access to the soaps, deodorants, and perfumes so prevalent in our society.  I found that I really liked the experience.  I started to feel like I was connected to this lady in an oddly energetic way, we seemed to form a single entity.  That feeling of unity seemed to spread out from us into the field, then into the forest and nearby river.  Finally, it felt like I was physically connected to the entire world and all of humanity.  It was a really peaceful, powerful, and all-encompassing experience of the oneness of myself, that lady and all of nature.  There were no boundaries or divisions – just peace and an overwhelming feeling of love.  Not love for the girl, or lust, or anything like that. Rather, it was a pure and simple physical feeling inside of me of love – not of being in love, but being love. 

I have no idea how long we stood like that in the meadow; probably not very long.  I also have no idea if she experienced anything like I did, it didn’t seem appropriate or necessary to ask her.   There was a little break in the music that was an indication that we could enter and rejoin the group.   We both went back to our original positions among the others.

The rest of the night continued to be a joy for me.  The feeling of bliss and love stayed strong through that night, and through the next week.  For the first time, I spent the rest of the night with absolutely no pain or discomfort.  I was perfectly content to just sit and listen to the songs and prayers, adding mine when appropriate.  When the sky started to lighten, indicating the approach of dawn, I felt a little disappointment that it soon would be over and I would soon be back to “normal” – rather than sitting in the incredible state of blissful connectedness with the universe.

A few hours later, during the traditional noon feast, I found time to chat with that girl and tell her how her hug had turned the night around for me, and thank her for doing so.  I also mentioned that I was disappointed that the experience was bound to dissipate in due time and probably won’t happen again.  She smiled nicely, and said that the feeling might go away, until she comes to find me again someday.   I wonder in what future lifetime that might happen.