As the yellow corn pollen fell to the New Mexico earth, the words of the medicine man whispered clearly in my mind, "Bless the place that we chose, for it is the center of all that is to be." Prayerfully, I stood on that place and drank in the beauty and significance of this moment. The late afternoon sun wrapped the August rain columns with a golden cloak that swept cool mist over the high-desert mountains. This pristine valley, that stretched and rolled before me, would now be home to a new purpose.
The cool breeze filled my senses, bringing the scent of the coming rain. As I breathed in the fragrance, my heart stirred with gratitude in recognition of the honor that was being bestowed on this land. Oso Vista Ranch had been chosen to host the building of a traditional Navajo spiritual dwelling, called a Hogan.
The potency of this honor began to reveal itself when, earlier that day, a Navajo Hogan builder handed me a hammer and stake explaining that a Hogan is built from the center out. "When you find the center," he said, "mark that spot and then we will begin." My spirit swooned with the metaphorical perfection of this gentle command.
To find that center, I had stood in spiritual partnership with my dear friend Howard, Navajo medicine man from the Sleeping Rock clan, born for the Mexican clan. I waited patiently as he chose the spot that would not only be the physical center but also the spiritual center of this traditional Navajo Hogan.
This would be a female Hogan: eight-sided, log walls with a single door to the east, no windows and a domed ceiling with a smoke hole in the center. Structures such as these have been the center of Navajo family and spiritual life for hundreds of years.
A female Hogan's walls, being nine logs high, symbolize the nine months of pregnancy and its corner logs, notched together, represent a woman's hands, fingers intertwined over her expectant belly. Every aspect of its shape, construction, dedication, interior and the manner that one moves within it, has significance. It embodies the heart and soul of the Navajo people. The most powerful place in this Hogan is the center. It is in the center that all healing takes place.
The powerful richness that this experience has brought to my work as a purpose coach and consultant to Bob Proctor's programs has been profound. It has strengthened my understanding that the spiritual center to our lives, the place from which we must build and in which all healing takes place, is our life purpose.
The discovery and expression of our purpose is why we are here. Living it brings meaning and fulfillment like we have never before experienced. Every aspect of our lives and every project that we choose will breathe with new joy when we find that center.
As I watch Oso Vista Ranch emerge as a Navajo cultural and spiritual healing center for the Ramah Navajo community and the people of the world, I realize just how much of my purpose is expressed through this project. Culture, family, healing, personal growth, purposeful living and service are my passions. I value them above all other things.
Building a project based on these values has given my life immeasurable joy and meaning. It is an experience that has caused a Renaissance in my soul. I am, more than any other time in my life, completely fulfilled.
I've found that shifting my life to the foundation of purpose has filled every void and healed every wound. It has added a depth, richness and bliss to my life that can me achieved only by creating alignment between my life's work, my divine essence and my connection to the Source of all that is.
As our lives touch for this brief moment, I pass the hammer and stake to you and say earnestly, "Find your center and build from there."
Margaret Merrill
Margaret is a success coach and author.
