This afternoon I ascended to a meadow on the slopes of my most beloved mountain, Mt Shasta, the guardian angel of the sanctuary of the sacred headwaters, source of the Sacramento and McCloud Rivers and beacon of light for Northern California, with the intention to write the story of the origin of the inaugural Evolutionary Journey, A Celebration of Sacred Convergence. 

 

Gazing upon the summit through the prism of a crystal clear sky, caressed by holy winds and warmed by the summer sun, I began to write about my pilgrimage to the Sacred Valley of Peru, in the summer of 2022, to begin a path of initiation with the Q’ero and Turpo indigenous lineages of the high Andes. After writing a few paragraphs, that was just beginning to tell the tale of a beautiful adventure to pray with the ancient glaciers and the snow star, Q'ollariti, I was called to stop.

 

I had thought that the origin of A Celebration of Sacred Convergence was this pilgrimage. Yet, it became clear that the origin was also my first journey to the Peruvian Amazon in 2016, a cry for help, an opening to indigenous wisdom to heal from a many year struggle with substance abuse while climbing the ladders of corporate America. And yet it was also my first retreat at Casa del Sol in 2019, the shamanic wellness center in the Ecuadorian Andes stewarded by my beloved friends and teachers, Santiago Ayala and Ximena Morales, where my passion for ancestral knowledge and the teachings of South America were reawoken and I began nourishing a seed in my heart to guide journeys of my own for other voyagers. 

 

In many ways, I could say the origin was a childhood spent exploring the majestic parks of the United States with my family, nourished by their love for wild lands and our more than human kin. And yet, it would also be true to say that the origin was my time spent living in a regenerated pollinator garden in the Bay Area last summer, surrounded by the dreams of the hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees, all celebrating the great dance of life, and whispering into my ears to create a journey of celebration, A Celebration of Sacred Convergence.

 

It was call to celebrate the convergence of beloved friends whom I have met on my journeys and who have enriched my life, the convergence of my first meeting with my husband in Spain, who had recently arrived as a refugee from Venezuela, and whose love would be the catalyst to heal from addiction once and for all. A call to celebrate the convergence of my life with the Andes mountains while journeying solo on sabbatical in 2017 to find myself, the deepening of a great love affair with South America. And what is all of our lives but a series of Sacred Convergences, gifts from a higher realm to help us find our soulmates, welcome the arrival of our children, embrace the true friends who see our essence and always have our back, and to discover where we have always meant to live - the lands we call home. 

 

And so, the truth is that at its essence, the origin of ACOSC is all of the ecosystems that I have ever communed with around the world and at its very heart, the origin is the love I feel for our Mother Earth. It is that love that serves as the fire to found and nurture a new social enterprise, Evolutionary Journeys, funding it with my life savings so that it can grow with the highest level of integrity to serve people and planet. It is that love that is behind every thread of the weaving that is A Celebration of Sacred Convergence. It is behind every decision, every action, every tear, and every smile. 

 

It breaks my heart to be living at a time when humans are causing the sixth great mass extinction on Earth. It violates every value in my being that we could have inherited a garden of Eden, that has evolved for billions of years to arrive at its current state of beauty and majesty, and to defile that garden because of our collective ignorance and unwillingness to evolve our consciousness, our values, and our leadership practices. 

 

I don’t want to live in a world that’s degraded any longer. It rips my heart out to see the massive injustices perpetrated around the world on a daily basis, to bare witness to the inequities at the heart of the climate crisis, which really is a crisis of human development and a legacy of colonial powers that are unwilling to accept responsibility and make things right.

 

Evolutionary Journeys, and A Celebration of Sacred Convergence, are the most heartfelt and beautiful offerings that I can give to this world at this time, encompassing all of my gifts and life experiences, to be a part of the solution. A solution that is focused on addressing the three intertwining crises of consciousness, values, and leadership. To work toward the dream of the Regeneration of Life on Earth in One Generation.

 

That is my life mission and I have made a commitment to do everything in my power to help this dream become a reality. And while it seems so impossible given the current state of affairs, I believe within the deepest part of my being that we have the potential within us to create the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

 

My sincere wish is that you will be inspired by the story of A Celebration of Sacred Convergence, and I hope to have the honor of joining forces with you - be that soon or down the road - in service to the dream of a regenerated world to call home - a world we will be proud to pass on to our children.

 

In closing, I’d like to dedicate the journey of A Celebration of Sacred Convergence to my beloved teacher from the high Andes of Peru, Julia Condori, the most humble and noble woman I have ever had the honor to call my friend. 

 

May your spirit always fly with the eagles in the valleys and lagunas of Apu Ausangate, the lands that you love and tend with all of your heart.

 

Brian Dunham

 

Mt Shasta

July 28, 2023