A Vision Beckons

THE MANDALA CENTER was born from a vision. In a lifetime of spiritual seeking, undiagnosed mental illness, and a thousand good deeds improving the lives of others, Tish Hewitt, then in her sixties, was still asking these questions of God:

Why am I here?

What is it that you want me to do?

As is often the case, she got a hint of the answer in the depths of her brokenness.

The Journey

In December of 1986, while being treated for depression in a hospital in Minneapolis, Tish had a persistent vision of two mountains. She was sure she was awake, not dreaming. The vision kept repeating. After about the third time, she blurted out, "What is this? What do you want? Where is this place?" A voice answered, "In New Mexico."

About a year later, Tish was driving from Illinois to California with her son, Sandy. To be driving was unusual, for she was much more likely to fly such a distance. Suddenly, just west of Des Moines, she hit the brakes. "There it is!!" she saw her two mountains: the huge Sierra Grande to the left, and ahead on the right, the cone-shaped Capulin volcano. It did not seem at all unusual to find a "For Sale" sign flapping on the fence of the large ranch sprawling at the base of Sierra Grande.

By early 1988, Tish started piecing together a larger ranch from three parcels and running cattle. The place beckoned, and she spent more and more time there. She completed a large ranch house at the base of Sierra Grande, suitable for family and friends, but soon she began to feel the need for a place to get away when she needed it.

Tish began designing a new building with round walls, a thirty foot tower, and a smaller tower with a spiral staircase. "Why am I building a house with round walls? They're so expensive." she asked her daughter, Anna Hewitt Wolfe.

"Because you are building your mandala, a place of healing and wholeness," Anna answered. Anna was just then taking a course on spirituality at Georgetown University, focusing on Carl Jung and Teresa of Avila. Learn more about mandalas ››

The house which was to have been Casa Sierra, became instead Casa Mandala.

Building and Gathering

In 1992, when Casa Mandala was half finished Tish hosted an extraordinary gathering. Elders from the Lakota, Hopi, Apache, and other Native American nations came to celebrate the summer solstice. After that prayerful event, there was a blessing of the half-finished house. A perfect altar was found (it had been masquerading as a work bench), and there were flowers, candles, and fair linen cloths among the scaffolding.

Fr. John Wilbur was the celebrant for the house blessing and Holy Eucharist, using readings from Lakota holy man Black Elk, referring to The Circles of Life. About that time, Tish was heard to say that she didn't feel that she would ever live there, but it was left unsaid whether she thought she would die before then (not that she was ill), or because it was too spiritual a place, and would have other uses.

The Center Envisioned

Tish died very suddenly. A few months before her death, she and Fr. John had a conversation in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, about using Casa Mandala as a retreat center. But after Tish's death, the house stood unfinished.

Then Anna herself began to feel the strong calling that God had a use for the house. Without a definite plan at the time, Anna bought the ranch from her mother's estate and, not knowing what else to do, resumed work to finish the house.

From time to time, Anna and Fr. John talked about using Casa Mandala as a retreat center, but that was left for further direction from God. In early 1996, however, an interesting series of events coincided with readings from the Lectionary; the daily schedule of scripture readings used in many mainline churches. So in an effort to say yes to God, they formed their plan.

The decision was made in the spring of 1996 to move forward on the retreat center plan. The Mandala Center was incorporated in June of that year, as a peaceful place for small groups to come for refreshing the mind, renewing the spirit, and healing the body.