And then it was time to return. Too soon! For days we cleaned and packed and restored the camp and grounds. We said goodbye to our special places, thanking all for our stay. The return was brutal… to speed so quickly down the dirt road at 15 mph, to see what is done to the land where humans live.. dug up , mutilated, rigid structures built for human dwelling. To see, feel the rushed pace, the hardness and blindness of people, the swallowing of Earth under concrete as we moved into Albuquerque was difficult. With this return came more vision: Why should we return to this crazy life? We have all left our lives behind in order to do this, … how can we now return and pick them up again after what we have been through? And why should we?

And then someone said “Let’s make a recording of the singing we’ve been doing, before it’s too late, before we lose this harmony we made in the wilderness.” That was the next dream.

Not long afterward we found ourselves in two recording studios in Boston, making the tapes that would eventually become Inner Voice.  We gathered together as we had around the fire in New Mexico, and let our voices blend as though the tall pines were still around us. We did it for ourselves, to remember.  But in the end, we realized we could share this music, that it could maybe bring enjoyment or encouragement to other people, and that we could donate the profits in gratitude.  Within a few years we were able to fund the construction and outfitting of a Navajo women’s weaving center.

And so Diana Earthmission continued.  Some went off to try further explorations of lands and music far and near, including a five woman voyage to the Caribbean. A new Women’s Ritual Healing Gathering was planned for the next fall. Others of us are still planning for new adventures in our future. Dreams of traveling through the USA and Europe feed us through the winter months as we organize craft sales to raise more money for our journeys. DEM is alive and wild!

Following here are words from some members from DEM who wished to share their feelings from the journey.