Category: Uncategorized

The following was written March 10, 2013… a solid decade ago. So much has unfolded since then, and continues to unfold…

…

Maybe it’s easiest when things happen without warning. Surely the bug dispatched in an instant on the windshield had the better lot than the bug in a 5 year-old boy’s concentration camp, right?
I don’t know what happens when we die.
I let myself believe a wide variety of things- making room for reincarnation, heaven, transmigration of souls (whatever THAT means), rebirth, cosmic-surfing, chaotic distribution of Consciousness (which is as close to “we just decompose” as I get)…
I’ve somehow managed to be pretty rational about Death, and sometimes wonder if I have just brainwashed myself with a frilly picture of an otherwise bleak Reality.
If there weren’t some merit to the Buddhist, Christian or Other, spiritual perspectives on Death, then surely I wouldn’t feel so complacent about it, right?! That would just be cold, inhumane, and utterly unfeeling.
And that is definitely not Me! I will readily cry during a made-for-tv movie! I’ve cried during speeches, films, weddings, you name it…what gives with my unsettling acceptance of Death?!
Call me a self-medicator, addicted to the Opium of the Masses, but I take this apparent understanding as my proof of Death being not so quintessentially final as we might make it out to be.
And I accpet with great humor that I may be wrong. You might be wrong too! If we can be comfortable with the paradoxes and the Mysteries of This Existence, then I think that’s as close to a Universal definition of “Success” as we will ever find.
Among the most important lessons I have learned (and still need much practice with) from a great Teacher, Mentor, and Friend who just left us this afternoon, is this: don’t be too serious. Stay on track, but have fun! The Truth is, nobody gets out of This alive, so it is imperative that we do what we love, and make our Moments count. We don’t get them back.
Dr. Russell F. Smiley was a Teacher right through the “End” and his lessons will continue to affect great change in This world through the many people whose lives he touched. It was a tremendous honor for me to have known and worked with that kind of Greatness.
…
I think the Word is, Inspiration.

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It’s fascinating, and perhaps rather disheartening, to see how rapidly and skillfully Language Learning Models can render an advertisement for a Qigong workshop. Before saying anything more, I can assure you that the sentence you just read took far longer for me to type than for ChatGPT to dispense the entirety of the marketing language presented above. Not only that, the process of employing the Copy/Paste function in ChatGPT followed by the same function here in WordPress took longer too.

Not to be unduly downtrodden, but I find myself feeling a variety of concerns. No, I don’t believe this technology is going to destroy Humanity as a matter of course. I vaguely worry that we will do that to ourselves, with this new tool helping to expedite the process.

Let this post, should you bother to read this far, be a friendly reminder to look through the inherent-facade of digital phenomena. The generic template-driven language, and the very real, no matter how subtle, disingenuous quality that comes with it will become so pervasive that we will need to have the ability to exercise more discernment than we may be used to. This isn’t about the potentially existential or mortal imperatives that these technologies may challenge in time. It’s as mundane as the mere matter of being informed consumers.

Salutations Reader!
Here we are, on the cusp of the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere of Earth-
The longest day of the year, maximal Yang energy.
I hope you are finding much to seize from these peak days of light and heat, and also much release.
While I could and would pontificate for hours here, there are updates to be shared.

Tomorrow evening (6/21), on the Solstice-Proper, I will be sharing a brief Kirtan practice before a soundbath hosted by Marc Anderson at the Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel on the Macalester College campus in St Paul. The event begins at 7:30 and runs until approximately 10 pm. For more information, you can visit his website HERE

On Friday (6/23), the Soul Body Finesse community will be gathering to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the new studio space. This is a donation-based event to raise funds support scholarships for our sound-healing trainings. The evening will open at 6 pm with some free time to browse the crystal shop and sip cacao, followed by an hour dedicated to a brief movement practice and soundbath. The remainder of the evening will feature ecstatic dance in the studio, and socializing in the crystal shop. All crystals will be on sale at 25-50 percent off! Kindly RSVP HERE

Looking ahead, the Soul Body Finesse team is hosting our next Peace Together retreat at the Christine Center in Willard, Wisconsin July 7-9. This is a great opportunity to be in Peace-oriented community on consecrated land. You can visit either the Christine Center website, or Soul Body Finesse to learn more and reserve your spot.

For those who might be interested in sound-healing as a personal practice, or to augment healing modalities they might offer to others, Soul Body Finesse is offering two sound-healing trainings, July 28-30 and Aug 11-13. More information about these trainings is available HERE

Lastly, we are having our second annual Bhakti weekend at Samsara Ridge in Wolf Creek, Wisconsin Aug 4-6. Featuring delicious vegetarian meals and multiple kirtan sessions on 45 acres of land with a breathtaking view, this is a wonderful opportunity to delve into connection with community and self. Visit the SamsaraRidge website to learn more about this offering.

As far as a broader-view of interesting goings-on is concerned, it is noteworthy to me that at the time of the Sun’s entrance into (Tropical) Cancer at approximately 10:00 am Central Time, the Moon will be well established on its journey through the sign of Leo and be headed towards conjunctions with Venus and Mars. These latter two planets, decidedly Yin and Yang respectively, are likewise on course to make two conjunctions as the year unfolds thanks to Venus turning retrograde on July 22.

These transits are made more noteworthy in light of the fact that the recent New Moon in Gemini occurred in the 27th degree, quite tightly in a square aspect with Neptune (a planet sometimes considered a “higher octave” of Venus) in the 28th degree of Pisces which will be activated yet again when Venus makes its retrograde-station in the 29th degree of Leo.

To make all of this even more potent, consider that Neptune will station retrograde on June 30 and all of these planetary transits and alignments are happening with Pluto in its own retrograde period which began May 1. Pluto returned to Capricorn June 11 and remains there in the 30th and final degree of Capricorn while Venus and Neptune activate the late-degrees with their own retrograde stations.

As is ever the case, I am not here to assign Meaning for you. Take the statement of facts, and explore for yourself. Consider your own experience of Yin, of Yang. Take the time to understand where you boldly go your own way and where you are willing to just go-along. Give yourself room to wonder about your dreams, ideals, and bigger visions. There is an opportunity with these transits to reconcile our personal Inner and Outer if these are not currently aligned. Leo is the sign of the shining-individual. As withing, so without. No doubt, this is a time to honor the Self.

Kirtan comes from the root Kirt, which can be literally translated as recite, narrate, describe, mention, etc. However, in its more colloquial use, Kirtan refers to the practice of call-and-response chanting or singing.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Strictly speaking, this Practice is at its most effective when you don’t know much about the “meaning” of the words; when your Mind cannot DO anything with the content. Kirtan affords you a reprieve from the incessant internal-monologue of the Mind. If you notice words in your Mind which you understand, then you can rest assured that you have lost focus on the mantra and return to the chant. Kirtan is an opportunity to be free from sense-making, as you drop into a more purely-sensorial experience. In this capacity, it functions in a manner similar to many other well-known forms of meditation.

In a more traditional sense Kirtan is a chance for those who are not shy about embracing their inclination toward the Divine to directly offer praise and gratitude; to reach out for and feel connection with the Transcendent. Kirtan is a mainstay on the path of Bhakti-Yoga, the Yoga of Devotion. Various sects in India and throughout the world may focus that devotional energy on a specific aspect of the Divine, but as a Practice, Kirtan is not limited to any particular denomination or dogmas.

Ultimately, however, more than anything else, Kirtan is a dialogue with Love. Imagine the person (or Beings) you wish you could to talk to more than anyone or anything else in the entire Multiverse, across all dimensions of Space and Time, and treat Kirtan as an opportunity to speak to them; directly. Tell them, through the various Mantra presented, exactly what it is you wish to say. And, perhaps more importantly, allow yourself to Listen for the reply.

Back in August of 2019 I had the delight of sharing a conversation on a podcast. I drank way too much coffee beforehand, and I honestly don’t recall much of what we discussed, although I know we delved into language, the practice of kirtan, and religion in varying degrees. In lieu of any other posts recently, I thought I’d share this here. Enjoy, if you dare!

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Before you proclaim to have found your Center, be clear with yourself:

Have you found YOUR Center?

Have you found THE Center?

Have you merely found A Center?

You may discover an Orbital Center- a point, tangible or not, around which revolution occurs. Your whole body, or a specific body part, may be an actor in revolving around a point.

You may discover a Geometric Center- a point, tangible or not, which is equally distant from two other points (again, tangible or not). In this context, there must be defined boundaries: No Edges, No Center.

You may recognize a Mutual Center- a point, tangible or not, which is both the mid-point between two defined edges as well the point around which orbital activity occurs.

Finding and knowing your Center requires, understanding the full Nature, and variety, of Centers.

And/Or

Wuji/Taiji

Yin AND Yang: The WaveFunction-

Both are present; in SuperPosition.

Yin OR Yang: Measurement-

Because the Quality perceived is measured by the Observer! It is only Yin when measured FROM Yang; It is only Yang when measured FROM Yin; Yin and Yang mutually set measure.

You cannot fly, because you are measuring the Air from the perspective of Yang.

If you measured from Yin, you would feel your skin capturing the breezes; easefully harnessing the Wind.

Orient yourself to Relative-North and begin the sequence.

The altered steps are as follows:

• Play the Lute, with an angled Follow-Step.
• Cross-Step, to cover 90 degrees.
• Circle-Step, to cover 90 degrees.
• Parry and Punch, with realigned Follow-Step.

Any of the step can be altered to achieve different amounts of circling and destination. The sequence needn’t have prescribed Direction, it is simply a sequence.

Honoring the sequence while disregarding the “normal” directions of the forms allows for more exploration of Rhythm and Space without needing to memorize new sequences.