Follow the Energy

Ever since I can remember I have been fascinated by our inherently human ability to create different realities – for ourselves and for others. I believe this is what makes us human and differentiates us from other animals – our unique ability to transcend our instinctive reactions thereby allowing us to alter our path and the corresponding experiences of our lives. This fantastical gift (some call it free will) allows us to be imaginative creators as opposed to reactive victims. We can actually chart this creation course by “following the energy”. And our “Ride the Rez” is a classic example.

About two years ago I had a thought, “Let’s conduct a fundraising mountain bike ride in the mysterious Copper Canyon – home of the reclusive Tarahumara Indians!” One simple thought – a small burst of energy went off in my brain that would alter my life and the lives (the realities) of countless people for untold generations to come. Accordingly, I began working on the logistics mapping the ride and securing all the various modes of transportation (airlines, train, busses & vans), lodging, tours, food, guides, entertainment, bike shuttles, aid-stations, medical support, a once in a lifetime “Dia de Los Muertos” party in an abandoned church at the bottom of the canyon replete with a Curandera (Witch Doctor) from Michoacán and all the other countless particulars. Following several scouting trips into the canyon we had even created a promotional “Copper Canyon Classic” brochure thanks to Neill Fox and a promotional DVD thanks to Kristi and Bill. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. However, it can be attracted and multiplied. The energy of that one small original thought was now expanding geometrically into a monumental event.

It was February of last year – 2009 – that I came to the demoralizing realization that a mega-mountain bike ride fundraising event in the Copper Canyon of Chihuahua, Mexico just wasn’t a good idea. At that time the violence in Chihuahua was escalating almost daily. In fact, with over 7,000 murders in the prior 12 months, Chihuahua was a veritable war zone. While I had no problem traveling there by myself under the radar screen, to publicize the arrival of 70 rich gringos into this remote and drug infested area was asking for trouble. Though I, and others, had invested months of work into the event, I knew I had to call it off. If one of our volunteers got hurt or - God forbid - killed, I would never be able to live with myself.

This was a major setback because it is these large events that raise the funding necessary for Rancho Feliz to build all of the buildings, sponsor all of the scholarships and support all of its various and much needed charitable projects and programs. (Since its inception in 1987, Rancho Feliz volunteers have raised over $10 million in donations – most of it coming from our long line of Extreme Sport/Extreme Karma fundraising events.)

In addition, our economy was in a veritable free fall. We hadn’t experienced a depression like this since the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression. There seemingly couldn’t be a worse time to conduct a charitable fundraising event - or so I was told. Many people advised me to postpone the event until the economy got back on its feet.

However, they didn’t understand. We had several projects underway and the financial obligations on my shoulders were daunting. It’s one thing to miss a mortgage payment. It’s an entirely different thing to end a child’s education or to not provide a home to a struggling young family because of your bad economy. We had to have the funding. Failure was not an option.

It was at this time that I made a conscious decision to change this “impossible” fundraising reality. I wasn’t sure how or where, but by God it was an abundant world and we were going to prove it. (I think it is important to note that I could never have made this decision had I not known the nature and spirit of our Rancho Feliz “Guardian Warrior” volunteers. This is a unique group of high-energy, self-motivated, mavericks. Together we had faced seemingly insurmountable odds in the past with both our fundraising events and our work in Mexico. And we have always prevailed. These volunteers had never let me down in the past and without their unfailing support and courage I would never have had the platform of faith on which to proceed.)

It was in March of last year that Highly Falkner, Dennis Ford and I were driving across the Navajo Indian Reservation of northern Arizona on our return from a Telluride ski trip. Gazing out the window, and speaking to no one in particular, I lamented, “Where in the hell are we going to have this mountain bike ride.” It was at this time that Highly muttered three of the most prophetic words I have ever heard him slur, “How about here?” Another singular thought that had the force, the energy, to reinvent the “Copper Canyon Classic” and set our entire “Ride the Rez” experience in motion.

You know the rest of the event story because you were there. The web of energy grew and spread with each new participant acting as another generator. Soon the web of energy took on a life of its own. I will never forget the Monument Valley day riding into the wind and sand – each hard bargained pedal stroke an extreme effort. It was like an epiphany. I saw my comrades exerting the same strenuous effort for a higher purpose, knowing that each of them had also invested his or her energy into raising the large donations required to participate. What had started as my original thought, strengthened and redirected by Highly’s flash of insight, had manifested into 70 “Guardian Warriors” taking a week of their time and, working in concert, creating an experience that was a highpoint in each of our lives. Talk about creating our own reality!

From what I have heard I believe it is fair to say that each participant was touched in such a way that his or her consciousness will be forever changed on some level by the “Ride the Rez” experience. This manifestation in each of our lives will directly effect our interaction with our family, friends and everyone with whom we come in contact.

But it doesn’t stop here. Let’s keep following the energy. The $775,000 we raised (money is stored energy) is now being unleashed to positively alter the lives of hundreds of deserving recipients who, in turn, will positively effect the lives of their own family and friends. Case in point: Sally Falkner and I recently traveled to Copper Canyon where we introduced Arlene Samen’s “One Heart International” Pregnancy & Village Outreach Program to the Tarahumara Indians. Establishing this program never would have happened without Rancho Feliz’s involvement and our delivery of a $25,000 check from the “Ride the Rez” donations.

Shortly after we left a young Tarahumara woman (soon to be a mother) was brought to the remote and recently established clinic. She had massive internal bleeding. Balancing tenuously on the edge of life or death, with the care and direction of the new One Heart International nurse, her life and the life of her unborn child were saved.

Talk about creating a different reality! Had the energy of that original “Ride the Rez” thought not been put it motion, the reality for this young mother and her baby would be very different. They would never know the joy of another sunrise in their magnificent canyon.

Add this to all the children who will now receive quality private education, the computer learning centers and all the other projects and programs funded by “Ride the Rez” donations, coupled with the shift in consciousness the Mexican recipients will undergo towards the “Gringos” to the north and the Navajo recipients will undergo towards the “Belaganas” (pale faces) to the south, and its easy to see that the web of geometric progression generated by that one original thought is virtually incalculable. (It’s not by accident the Tibetan web-design “Knot of Eternity” was chosen as Rancho Feliz’s logo.)

At Rancho Feliz we understand the power of our collective energy and how to draw and harness it to create our own realities and the realities of those around us. It’s this interconnected web of energy that empowers each us to be the creators of our own experiences on this journey called life.