Raising of the Healing Winds Tee Pee

Originally uploaded by dharmacat

Today we had an exciting day! We live near Mt. Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts and today they were celebrating the re-opening of the Summit Lodge (Bascom Lodge). As part of the celebration the public was invited to come and help raise a ceremonial Tee Pee. So, after eating breakfast and doing the typical Saturday recycling trips, we packed a lunch and headed for the hills!

We reached the summit at about 10:30. The event was scheduled from between 11-1pm. We went into Bascom Lodge to take a peak the renovations. It's a beautiful lodge which is worth staying at for any hiker/camper. The views from it are breathtaking.

There were very few people around but there were three people milling about on the porch of the Lodge where we went to take in the view. It turns out that one of the three, Susan Jameson, was the wife of the man who would be bringing the Tee Pee. We introduced ourselves and the rest is history. We spent the next 2 hours, helping documentary film maker (and Susan's husband) Fidel Moreno to raise the Tee Pee. Fidel is a wonderful man filled with spirit, humor and integrity. He treated Aidan with the utmost respect and gave him many simple tasks to perform. Along the way he taught about the many symbols found within the Tee Pee architecture-mainly about the convergence of the Mother and Father.

After the Tee Pee was raised, those that were watching were invited inside where Fidel explained more about the Tee Pee, his ancestry, and the significance of the Tee Pee in Native American cultures. By the way, Fidel and Susan are owners of Healing Winds, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the message of peace.

Afterward we ate our lunch overlooking the world from 3491 ft!

See the rest of the set RAISING OF THE HEALING WINDS TEE PEE here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/massarts/sets/72157624066744490/