Early on, years before my teens, to escape the terror of high contrast child abuse at the hands of a troubled and angry step-father, I sought refuge and invisibility by hiding out in my sandbox. I remember wiggling down deep into the warm sand surrounded by the thick, wooden frame, feeling the comforting heat radiating up into my back, arms, and legs. I would close my eyes and could still see the red color of the sun through my eyelids. I knew that if I got down flat and deep enough into the sand I would be out of sight from the back porch of the house...

At other times I would run away and hide up in the trees, sheltered and cradled from discovery by the branches and leaves, high up with the birds, wishing I could join them in flight...

To this day I still find refuge in the out-of-doors, a peace and a live stillness with nature. Perhaps the Ancestors were watching and guiding me the whole time, leading me to discover the cycle of perpetual re-birth that it has to offer those who listen to its calling. I am fortunate to have lived and worked in places surrounded by the forces of nature, and I give thanks to the invisible, yet ever present guidance that I have come to know and trust. Hence this website and my path in Shamanism; the journey continues...

Thank you,

​Mark Fortenberry