BEFORE HOKKAIDO OR KAMCHATKA, VASHON OR VALDEZ, BEFORE AMERICA, THERE WAS . . . BERINGIA. BERINGIA WAS A SHAMAN’S LAND, WHERE TRAVEL TO UNSEEN DOMAINS BECAME POSSIBLE THROUGH FLIGHTS OF ENHANCED PERCEPTION.
ON THE NORTHERN FRINGE OF TWO CONTINENTS LIES A LAND WHERE HUMANS FIRST DEFINED THEIR SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO NATURE. THE PEOPLE OF THE ARCTIC EVOLVED A SET OF RITUALS THAT OPENED THE DOOR TO DIRECT AND UNMEDIATED EXPERIENCE OF THE NATURAL WORLD. ARCHAIC TECHNIQUES OF ECSTASY (ATOE) PROVIDED THE PATH TO ACHIEVING TRANSCENDENCE, WHERE IT BECAME POSSIBLE TO WITNESS THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF EVERY OBJECT, EVERY STONE OR BLADE OF GRASS ON THE MOUNTAIN.
BERINGIA IS A PLACE WHERE NATURE COMES ALIVE AND GUIDES US TOWARD EXPERIENCES OF PASSAGE, REVEALING REALITIES SEPARATE FROM OUR DAILY LIVES, THROUGH BRIEF, ECSTATIC INTERVALS THAT BLOW PAST OUR PERCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES. IT’S WHY WE GO TO SNOWBOUND ALPS AND FRIGID OCEANS, WHY WE RUN TO THE HILLS IN PURSUIT OF LOST WORLDS AND SECRET SPOTS: TO DISCOVER THAT WHICH IS BEYOND OUR INDIVIDUAL LIVES, WHAT SHATTERS OUR SENSE OF SELF, WHAT MAKES US SUPERHUMAN. AND ALWAYS, TO RE-FIND THAT LOST MOUNTAIN HIGH.
