History of the 14 Sites
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Our land is at the bottom of a mountain and it slopes ever downward in a westerly direction. Walking it was quite a workout initially as their were no trails. Gravity persuaded us to walk downhill, but to get home we had to walk up again through tall grass, shrubs and wooded areas. The first thing I noticed about the horses was that they were very efficient mowers, and that they had made some very good trails traversing the land from north to south and back again, with short links between them making the pitch of the land very walkable. I didn't think there were any flat areas on our school property but the horses found one and made their camp there under the shelter of a huge Cedar tree. They found many other treasures as well, like a seasonal creek, a spring fed pond, unusual rock formations and an old cemetery, all of which had become invisible with a nearly impenetrable overgrowth of briars, vines, fallen trees and poison oak. The horses ate their way into these places making them visible again. To my great delight, they showed me just how beautiful our school grounds could be with a bit of cleaning up and good management. It was then the plan took shape for the meditation sites and walking trails.
Everyone in the group was busy with starting their new businesses so we hired Tim Riley, a professional arborist and fledgling landscaper to help me realize the vision for our land. Even as it began to take shape over the next four years, I was thinking of the land as grounds for the school. I even had a spot picked out to build the school on, but as my relationship with the land deepened through the years of walking, working, meditating and following horses around on it, the plan changed.
The Spirit of the land had awakened and I would converse her regularly. During the Spring of 2005 I had a series of conversations with her that changed everything. I sat in the area that I had planned to build the school on and told her about it. She had been very helpful over the years in making suggestions about how to develop trails or improve the pond or where to find special meditation sites or natural materials to build or decorate with. She also pointed out healing herbs and where to grow new varieties. We had established a reliable working relationship by the time I started telling her about the school I wanted to build.
When she asked what the school was for I told her it was to help people remember their Eternal Self, to be Soul Conscious, to live good lives, to find our evolutionary niche in the biosphere, evolve our singular potential and achieve the peak evolutionary aim for our species, as well as aiding the Planetary Logos with Her own evolutionary goals. In other words, to become Truly Human. I also told her the school's curriculum would be based upon the 7 Principles and 28 Rites of Group Evolution. She then asked me to visualize the school building in detail. This took me several days to do and when I was ready to present the whole beautiful architectural inspiration to her she surprised me by asking me to set it aside and open my mind to something she wanted to show me.
A vision of our finished pond filled my mind. (Something that didn't happen till a couple of years later.) As if in fast-forward I saw the pond change with the seasons and years, alive with new growth on the trees and ground and the mating songs of frogs and birds, fish emerging from hibernation, Herons standing at the edge, the lush growth of aquatic plants and flowers, replaced by hot sultry Summer days when the pond shrinks and the spring dries up, followed by Fall rains and Winter snows and freezes. When it was clear and alive in my inner vision she asked me to put up the vision of the School beside it, so that I could see them side by side. She then asked me "Which of these best reminds you of your Eternal Self?" Looking at these images side by side made it extremely clear to me that although my design for the school was pleasing it lacked the livingness and vitality of the pond. The pond was clearly my choice.
From that point on I knew that the land itself was the School and that there would be no central building. The Spirit of the OMS collaborated with me in finding, uncovering and cultivating a total of 14 major meditation sites, linked by walking trails, into which we encoded the curriculum of the 7 Principles and 28 Rites of Group Evolution. Thus, each meditation site is like a classroom for pondering the two Rites associated with it. (14x2= 28) They are multi-dimensional, multi-sensory, experiential, learning environments for each of the Rites.
It was also in the Spring of 2005 when the name for the School began to impress my consciousness. Aldebaran is the alpha star of the Bull (Taurus) Constellation, also known as the Eye of the Bull and the Eye of Revelation. It is referred to by astronomers and cosmologists as the Eastern Royal Star <http://www.souledout.org/cosmology/highlights/aldebaran.html>, one of the four Royal Stars considered the sentinels watching over other stars. It is also known as the Buddha's star, the Star of Illumination, and God's Eye. It was during the full moon of the Bull that I received a clear meditative impression that the School was somehow linked with this star and that our name for the School should include it.
Each year for three years the impression would come again at the full moon of the Bull, and each year with more strength and clarity. In 2008 we decided to name the School - The Aldebaran School of Conscious Evolution. Our grand opening for the School will be May 28,29 and 30 when the Sun is conjuct (or aligned with) Aldebaran. -Heidi Smith
In stellar myth, Aldebaran is Vision Holder for the starseed mission on Earth, defining what emissaries of light can best accomplish to serve humanity through evolutionary transition. In down to Earth terms, Aldebaran holds the vision for global leaders and world servers, inspiring the administrative planning of world affairs, specifically for physical logistics and a global infrastructure designed to support humanity through evolutionary unfoldment and global change. Prominent alignments with the Aldebaran / Antares axis can express into the political and global arena. The visions that many people attune to regarding alternative living centres, educational centres, emergency preparedness programmes, etc., are parts of the inspiration from this star's emanations. Aldebaran can indicate involvement with physical places and projects supportive of alternative modalities of living. It inspires business that supports family. Aldebaran inspires us to take the physical action required to manifest our visions.
- Nick Anthony Fiorenza, The Lunar Planner
http://www.lunarplanner.com/LunarMonths2003/lunarmonth.03.05.31.html
When we originally moved to Eureka Springs in 2002, it was with the intention to build a Mystery School and to base the curriculum around the 28 Rites for Group Evolution. We bought 22 beautiful acres that had everything we needed to house ourselves and a school. Our first several years were occupied with remodeling our two homes and getting businesses established. During this time we allowed a neighbor to keep a small herd of horses on the acreage we intended to build the School on. One of my great joys during that time was to go out and play with the horses, giving them treats, nuzzling, brushing and walking around with the herd just to see the land as they saw it.
