Wander and wonder by Dawne Belloise

from Crested Butte Magazine - Winter 2022/23

by CrestedButteMagazine

Happenings

CRESTED BUTTE’S EIGHT NEW WHEELS OF INTENTION SPIN GOOD COMMUNITY KARMA.

By Dawne Belloise

At a June dedication, former Red Ladies Angie Hornbrook and Sue Navy spin the new prayer wheel outside the Secret Stash.

Nolan Blunck

With a pleasant whirring, a blur of color twirls against the backdrop of mountains, people and a bustling downtown. No wonder passersby delight in spinning Crested Butte’s eight newly installed Wheels of Intention, modeled after sacred Tibetan prayer wheels.

Caroline McLean and Neil Windsor dreamed up the concept for the wheels. Each themed wheel was designed by a local artist, with a business sponsor, a nonprofit partner, and inspirational “intentions” contributed by community members. People wrote the intentions to express their collective desires to bring hope, peace, joy, wellbeing, love and respect to the nearby surroundings, to global mountain communities, and to all living things. The creators then placed the written intentions within each wheel so that when people turn the cylinder, the prayers, or mantras, are sent out into the universe, simulating chants with each rotation.

The installation was dedicated on the summer solstice this year. The wheels are located primarily at businesses on or near Elk Avenue (see side box). The website (cbwheelsofintention.org) offers a selfguided tour and map, with information on the stories and people behind each creation.

The eight themes weave together elements of nature, community, imagination and inspiration, diversity and heritage, water, joy and peaceful abiding.

The colorful art encasing the wheels ranges from mountain scenery, dogs and flowers to whimsical creatures and pastel rainbows. A traditional Tibetan “Tree of Life” spindle from locally sourced wood is incorporated into each wheel and painted and inscribed with a mantra by Lama Gyurme, a Tibetan sacred-art artist living in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Caroline McLean explained the Wheels of Intention are essentially a collective blessing for the community. “These mantras cultivate seeds of goodness and good fortune, and through this project, we honor our interconnections with other mountain cultures. Together, we celebrate our mountain majesties. They are the sentinels of our communities and to our way of life. When the prayer wheels embedded with the community-sourced intentions are spun, the intentions release good tidings into our mountains.”

According to the Tibetan tradition and texts, prayer wheels can be traced back to the Indian master Nagarjuna as well as other Indian Buddhist masters. The concept of the wheel itself was inspired by the Buddha’s teachings of “turning the wheel of Dharma.” Prayer wheels have been

Serving buyers and sellers valley wide

Colette Kraatz - 970-376-7304 ckraatz@cbliving.com Broker Associate

continuing to bring comfort & style to our cosmic corner of the universe

clothing | jewelry | lingerie | gifts

310 elk avenue crested butte 970 349 2107 www.milkywayboutique.com

mention this ad for 10% off one item

Missy Ochs

REALTOR®

We make real estate

easy for you.

970.209.3313 missyochscb1@gmail.com www.homesmart.com

used in Tibet and China since the fourth century and are driven by wind. Spinning them clockwise is thought to help one accumulate wisdom and good karma and eliminate negatives or bad karma. Buddhist practitioners believe this helps bring them to enlightenment, and the prayer wheels are a visual aid for developing the capacity for visualizations.

About 150 people attended the June dedication of the Wheels of Intention. “There were lots of emotions, and everyone was touched by the presentations, the amount of work and the community engagement,” McLean said. Celebrants toured the wheels in their various locations, with the artists speaking about their designs and inspirations. At the end of the blessing at each location, a young person from the crowd was chosen to spin the wheel.

Pemba Sherpa, a local transplant from Nepal, has been an active contributor to the concepts and creation of the prayer wheels. He’s hoping to take a group of people to Nepal to a prayer wheel factory, and the Wheels of Intention group is discussing with him the idea of taking on a Nepali “sister city.” McLean explained that the towns would foster an exchange program under the umbrella of an international exchange organization. “We’d be connecting mountain community people with other mountain community people.”

The Wheels of Intention group hopes to install additional prayer wheels in Crested Butte, but in locations very different from the initial downtown sites. With Elk Avenue becoming more bustling, especially in the summer, future installations might be set in quiet, more reflective places, perhaps with expansive views of the valley. McLean described the perfect placements for the next group of wheels: ”places of contemplation, peace and gratitude for the beauty, where people can appreciate the natural environment.”

Some locations being considered are “Hippie Hill” on the west end of town, the Peanut Lake area, and the public art site at the west end of Elk Avenue. The wheels could possibly have solar panels to be dimly lit at night, but the idea is to have a simple walk to a site accessible to everyone.

“We’d also like to see wheels on the bridges in town, because bridges are transitions,” McLean said. She noted that plans are very preliminary for the next phase of Wheels of Intention. The organizers welcome ideas on sites, concepts and funding.

For now, the eight Wheels of Intention will spin as the world continues to spin; and the good vibes released into the cosmos and our mountains will shower love and gratitude for all beings. b

TAKE A SPIN

You can twirl the Wheels of Intention at the Visitors Center, Mountain Tails, Townie Books, Mountain Earth, Secret Stash, Sherpa Café, Big Al’s Bicycle Heaven and creekside at 126 Elk Avenue. See the website, cbwheelsofintention.org, for maps, information and a video of the project.

Each wheel has a plaque with a QR code that you can scan with your phone. It takes you to the location map; artists, business sponsors and nonprofits associated with the installations; and the stories behind the wheels. If you prefer, you can pick up a brochure at the Visitors Center at Crested Butte’s four-way stop.