Hiking Meditation: Join us this Saturday in Woodstock!

This Saturday we will be car-pooling to Woodstock, NY.

Once there the plan is as follows:

Relax. Recharge. Realign. 

• To take in the beauty of the Hudson Valley during peak autumn foliage season.
• To tour the authentic Tibetan Buddhist Monastery called Karma Triyana Dharmachakra.
• To hike and explore Overlook Mountain as well as a fire tower and some old hotel ruins.
• To meditate with a mixture of rhythm play, group breath work, grounding, power chanting, earthing power, and Sivananda-esque Yoga Relaxation.
• To picnic and ground what energy we stir up within ourselves so remain balanced and stave off draining and depressive energy.

We will begin by meeting to do the Free guided tour which is available to the general public on Saturday (& Sundays) at 12:30 pm. Meet in the Gateway near the bookstore. (Tour starts at 1:00 pm.)

The shrine building was built by lamas, staff, volunteers, painted by a Tibetan artist-in-residence and decorated in the style and architecture of an authentic Tibetan monastery. It was completed in 1992.
The grounds are decorated with Tibetan prayer flags draped up the mountain, a “Dharma Path” with benches and prayer flags that lead to a parking lot and a large goldfish pond stocked by His Holiness the 16th Karmapa.

**Dharma students and visitors to the monastery may want to read the section on “Dharma etiquette,” which gives detailed and helpful information on shrine-room protocol; interviews, teachings, and empowerments; offerings; and proper attire.*** http://www.kagyu.org/ktd/monastery/dharma_etiquette.php

We will begin by doing the tour and then we can skip over the road to the Overlook Mountain Trailhead. By any measure, the Hudson Valley views from the cliffs on Mt. Overlook are incredible, and the fire tower and old hotel ruins on top are icing on an already awesome cake. I definitely plan on exploring the ruins & climbing the Fire Tower!

TRAIL DETAILS:
Just dress appropriately as it is sure to be chilly. Hiking boots aren’t a necessity. Bring water, and snacks! We can end with a group potluck picnic at the top.

Highlights: Fire tower, old husk of a hotel, jaw-dropping views, Buddhist temple
Distance: 5 miles, up-and-back
Approximate roundtrip time: 3 hours
Directions to the trailhead: From the village of Woodstock, head north on County Route 33 (Rock City Road). This turn is smack in the center of town, and it’s a right turn if you’re coming into Woodstock from the east on Rt 212. Stay straight on this road through the intersection with Glasco Turnpike (really, this is a turnpike? I think some folks in Jersey might disagree). You’re now on Meads Mountain Road, on which you’ll stay straight as it climbs and winds its way up the base of Mt. Overlook (cheerfully doing much of the work for you). When you see the huge Buddhist temple on your left (about 2.5 miles after the village of Woodstock), look for the trailhead parking area on your right.

Photos courtesy of the KTD Blog, and Limonada. 

Help Heal the Planet! Tomorrow’s Gong Bath!

Tomorrow, world-wide there is going to be a focus on Earth Healing and manifestation of protection for Mother Earth.

In the UK, pagans are campaigning against Fracking and doing a ceremony along with many other groups and individuals around the world. The intention is for protection, loving compassion and unity, synergy of our energies working in the world to manifest a sustainable future.

I have been asked by my friend Michele in the UK to share this with all of you, and everyone else who is not attending who may want to take a moment tomorrow to focus your intentions. Michele has asked us: “If you can also use your gong meditation on Saturday (& to ask the people with you) to send their intention for protection of our Mother Earth, their heartfelt healing energies, send them out on the waves of your gong sounds.

I think we all can do something tomorrow to help facilitate this and allow this great wave and vibration of healing to ripple across oceans, countries, and towns everywhere!

Tomorrow I will be meeting at the Troy Heartspace Yoga & Healing Arts Center at 4pm for a healing Gong Bath Mediation!

My intention will be for protection, love, compassion, unity and healing for my companions, friends, family, and all other beings on this planet.

“The sound of a master quality gong induces a state of spontaneous meditation and relaxation that facilitates the movement of chi or prana (positive life energy) throughout the body. This effect promotes vitality, healing, and awakens the consciousness for transformation.

The gong bath is a one hour immersion in sacred and healing sound wherein the gongmaster activates the full sonic potential of the gong and bathes the listener with sustained waves of primordial sound. The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. 

Based on ancient wisdom, the gongs vibrate at the same frequency as the body allowing the body to heal itself. The sounds and vibrations of the gong create deep relaxation and state of meditation by altering brain waves from a Beta (waking state) to Theta & Delta (deep meditation). Science teaches that during these brain frequencies we access our deeper subconscious and superconscious and they are key states for healing.

During a gong bath, listeners typically experience a sense of connectedness and peace as the sacred sound of the gong clears blockages and restores the free flow of vital energy throughout the body. Listeners have also described out of body experiences, seeing beautiful colors behind their eyes, along with symbols, images, and past life impressions. With its ability to induce a spontaneous meditative state, the gong offers listeners access to parts of the mind that are usually closed, resulting in a sense of expanded awareness and higher consciousness.” –Earth Gong Bath

All a listener needs to do is relax and let the sound bathe the body and carry the mind.

Gong sound can be used to rebalance and tone the physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. It is an excellent therapy for stress related issues, depression, fatigue, anger and hostility, feelings of fear, separation and loneliness, along with many other conditions related to the lack of balance and harmony in the body.

And I might add, it is an excellent way to rebalance our planet as well. 

So, tomorrow, won’t you join us?

Take a moment tomorrow, even if it is a brief moment to connect to this beautiful green & blue planet that we depend on for our very survival as a species. Take extra care to do something to help heal the planet whether that is to send out your prayers/blessings/intentions, organize your own healing session, recycle, or any number of other ecological activities.

Together we can help not only heal the All Mother, but also ourselves in the process.

Namaste.

Photo courtesy of Sunrise Ranch

Local Harvest Festival!

Atrocities Happen, Not Just on 9/11

Twelve years ago a great atrocity befell not just America, but the world.

The western conception of materialism and capitalism was targeted for a terrorist action of untold pain and suffering the world over.

2996 people lost their lives, including 343 Firefighters, 23 Police Officers, and 2 Paramedics.

I wanted to write this today to pay tribute to those lives lost, but I want to go a step further.

9/11 has been Memorialized, much like Pearl Harbour.

But there are other atrocities that have happened since then, and continue to happen to this day. Atrocities against humanity happen. War crimes happen. Genocide happens. Rape happens. Bigotry and Hate Crimes happen. All of which happen on large global scales.

Countless beautiful lives are lost every single day. I pray for every soul lost. Every heart broken. Every tear shed. I pray that our representatives listen to their hearts. Not just our representatives in our local communities, but in the larger community of world politics. I pray that pain and suffering and acts of violence that cause these very atrocities begin to wane. That we can learn from our mistakes in the past, and heal.

I pray that each one of those contributors to these horrors, may see past their greed and hate and do the right thing. Because on the other end to all of the following death tolls lays a person who is responsible for them. Whose life was so violent and full of suffering that they were unable to act from a place of love. That the only way they could gain an ounce of voice was to silence the others by cold and ruthless means. I pray for their souls lost. Their hearts broken. Their tears that have also been shed.

I pray for the collective of humanity, that slowly, and with patience, the world will not have to resort to these atrocities to justify their ideologies. It is possible, but sadly only extreme world contribution will be able to affect this most needed seed to flower: love. Love needs a vessel, and it starts with each individual spirit.

I pray for our world leaders. If the world truly wanted to end violence, our world leaders would put more love into their United Nations and less into their pockets. Pain and suffering is able to be remedied. No one has to go hungry. No one has to be thirsty. No one has to breathe polluted air. No one’s heart has to be cold. No one has to be forced into a sex trade. No one has to be pushed to purchase nuclear arms. No one has to live with landmines in their back yards. No child has to fear or expect to be raped. No one has to live a war. No one has to lose a loved one to an arms dealer. No one has to use chemical warfare on their own people. No one.

But some of the world’s leaders that we have put into power choose to look the other way. But some also help. They try with all their might, and status, and power, and can go to bed at night knowing that they are making a difference. If only it was a world value to realize and believe that we are a whole, not just little bunches of land where there are some people with the haves, and others with the have nots. If only we all cared enough to stop. If only…

I pray for a world filled with peace. Filled with light. Filled with Love.

Namaste. The Human Heart in Me, bows to the Human Heart in You.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa
Thousands of women and children have been raped over the last decades as a weapon of war. According to BBC News and The Guardian, DRC Soldiers are given permission by their supervisors to use this most heinous of acts that results in permanent life-long trauma ranging from PTS, Anxiety, Night Terrors, Trust Issues, and even Incontinence and Infertility due to their injuries. The numbers just continue to rise.

World Hunger
According to the current World Hunger numbers, The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million people of the 7.1 billion people in the world, or one in eight, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2010-2012. Almost all the hungry people, 852 million, live in developing countries, representing 15 percent of the population of developing counties. There are 16 million people undernourished in developed countries. The reason behind this is not because there is not enough food. A few reasons include poverty, climate change, living out of balance with nature, and human actions causing such poverty and climate change. Planting unlocal foods in malnourished soils that cause nothing more than eroded fields turning into deserts.

Syria
The Syrian civil war, has taken between 83,260 and 110,375 lives depending on whose statistics you use.

Darfur, Sudan, Africa
In January 2010, The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters published an article in a special issue of The Lancet. The article, entitled Patterns of mortality rates in Darfur Conflict, estimated, with 95% confidence, that the excess number of deaths is between 178,258 and 461,520 (the mean being 298,271), with 80% of these due to diseases. 51 International peacekeepers have been killed in Darfur. The numbers just continue to rise.

Lakki Marwat, Pakistan
Also in January 2010, a suicide car bomber drove into a Volleyball pitch, killing more than 100 people.

Mumbai, India
In July 2006, the Mumbai train bombings, 209 were killed and over 700 injured.

Beslan, Ossetia, Northern Russia
In September 2004, The Beslan Massacre took 344 civilians’ lives including 186 children.

Madrid, Espana
In March 2004 in the Madrid train bombings. 191 were killed, 1460 were injured.

Bali, Indonesia
In October 2002 in the tourist district several bombings killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 27 Britons, 7 Americans and 6 Swedish citizens). A further 240 people were injured.

Moscow, Russia
Also in October 2002, in the Moscow theater hostage crisis; 170 were killed, 700 were injured.

Krakatoa Day

Beneath all of our feet is a beautiful spinning orb of molten magma. It is the core of our very existence. Sometimes, if we are lucky, we get a glimpse into this deathly yet life sustaining energy. The doorways of active fault lines create monuments for all brave enough to see. One such monument was Perbuatan volcano in Krakatoa

One-hundred and thirty years ago in 1883, the loudest known explosion in our recorded history in Krakatoa erupted. The volcanic mammoth called Perbuatan erupted and the following day collapsed in four gigantic explosions that could be heard 3,000 miles (4600 kilometers) to Rodriguez Island in the Indian Ocean.  The shockwaves registered on barometers around the world, and the tsunamis released by its collapse decimated the area’s land, sky, and water life. Perbuatan’s released energy is estimated to be 10,000 times greater than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima (100+ megatons of TNT). According to recent figures, 36,000-100,000 people were sadly killed as a result.

The resulting sound wave rumbled 4600 kilometers to Rodriguez Island in the Indian Ocean. A plume of debris—magma, rock, and ash—rocketed 5 kilometers into the sky, as 18 cubic kilometers of the island exploded upward. Ash fell to the ground 840 kilometers away in Singapore. A 40-meter wave scoured a path that destroyed the coral reefs and coastal towns in its path. A cloud of volcanic sulphur dioxide and dust dissipated 50 miles high into the stratosphere, creating green sunrises and red sunsets, and lowering global temperatures as much as 1/2 degree centigrade for five years following the blast.

“In London, the evening sky in November 1883 turned such an intense red that people thought there was a huge fire and called out fire engines. In Norway, blood red sunsets are thought to have inspired Edvard Munch’s surreal sky in The Scream, as he wrote at the time: ‘clouds like blood and tongues of fire hung above the blue-black fjord and the city.’ The dusty atmosphere also made the sun and moon turn blue or green, and in 1884 another phenomenon, the Bishop’s ring, appeared, as bluish-white, bronze and brown circles enveloped the sun.”

A massive underwater crater and a sickle-shaped, barren remnant of land were all that remained after the eruption; and the new landmass named Rakatoa was born.

However, what was uninhabitable by humans would soon to become a paradise for new life.

“In the months and years that followed the eruption, wildlife returned to the island by surprising methods. Spiders released silken threads into the wind and took to the air, floating over miles of open water before falling down on their new island home. Scientists suspect that the monitor lizard and the reticulated python swam to the island. Bats and birds—brave enough to venture out from the safe forest cover of Java and Sumatra—flew to the island. Rafts of floating debris such as logs or branches, provided transport for larger animals: mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.

Once these animals arrived to Rakata, they entered a growing, dynamic environment. The new arrivals created and filled novel habitats, continually changing and reshaping the face of Rakata. Some creatures flourished and then became extinct without explanation. Others remained extant when conditions were far from ideal. Populations of some species have reached an equilibrium while other populations continue to grow or decrease.

Krakatau and Rakata offer much hope for the resiliency of ecological systems. If you were to visit Rakata today, after a mere century of recolonization—a quick flash in geological time—you would see an island teaming with life. By studying the pattern of recolonization, regrowth, and population dynamics on Rakata, we can extrapolate and apply this understanding to help manage the isolated wildlands carved out by human development.”

This is why we need balance in the world. Coming to terms with this dynamic living on our Mother Earth is hard to digest at first. Understanding however does not condone the horrors that are caused as a result of an act of nature. These acts are out of our hands, save the hand of the HAARP Project. Mother Earth is a living breathing super-organism that is self sustaining, however her methods are not always safe, but they are always beautiful. If we can learn to appreciate the enormous power that our planet’s biosphere and natural world community has, we can learn something.These self-reinforcing cycles of volcanic activity help to shape our world. Literally. They shape the very land we walk on, the very air we breath, and the very waters we drink. We as smart humans should learn from our past and attempt to live more in alignment with nature, and create systems to promote our own self sustainability using our Earth-given intelligence.

REFERENCES

• Wilson, E.O. The Diversity of Life. Harvard University Press. 29 October 2002. Pages 16-23.
• Simkin T, Fiske R. 1983. Krakatau 1883: the volcanic eruption and its effects: Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, 464 p.
• Moore, P. (1999). Ecology: A shrike for mobility. Nature, 397(6714), 21-23. DOI: 10.1038/16148
• Edvard Munch’s The Scream comes to London
• The Island That Exploded: Examining the Wildlife of Rakata After Krakatau Erupted by Laura Klappenbach,
• Weatherwatch: Krakatoa – death, destruction and dust by Jeremy Plester from The Guardian,

 

Complete Health Circle Meetup Community

Today, I created the Complete Health Circle Meetup Community! If you live in the Albany, NY area you are in store for some amazing festivals, workshoppes, Medicine Circles, and more!

Are you interested in Ancient & Modern Medicine for the Mind, Body & Spirit? This is a group for anyone seeking a safe and loving community who are all committed to learn about the many different complementary alternative medicines that surround us. It is my hope that this group will create a sense of multicultural healing and wellness in the Albany area. This group will focus on upcoming provided workshoppes including: Ecotherapy Hiking Meditation Retreats, Guided Meditations, Holistic Health Counseling, Practical Tarot Therapy, and Traditional Usui Reiki. Times are available now!

Please, won’t you come join us?

 

What areas of your life need hard or steady work right now?

Sunrise 6.06 am EST. Sunset 7:50 pm EST. Moonrise 6.40 pm EST. Moonset 4.22 am EST. 

I can feel the days are slowly getting shorter.

Just 19 days ago, the moon was rising before the sun. They danced together during the day; now, it seems the moon and sun are dancing their own steps. Today we only have day light f or 13 hours and 44 minutes. At the beginning of the month, it was 14 hours and 28 minutes.

We are definitely losing the light, which I guess is why the leaves are already beginning to change.

The season of Lammas has fully descended.

It is a time for heavy work to prepare for the cold months to come. I’ve said it before, it’s the first of three harvests, so the work is just beginning.

We still have the Mabon and Samhain seasonal harvests still to come.

So from now until the first snow (about 3 months) there is much to do.

We need to make fallow the gardens, can and preserve the food for the winter, stock up on supplies, clothes and fire wood. Not to mention, make preparations for the thanksgiving and gifting parties of Equinox, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Yule. So, yes, the next three months are going to be crazy busy. There are festivals to prepare for, workshoppe layouts to prepare for, more school projects to prepare for. Not to mention we cannot allow ourselves to be swept up and away with all of this work. We also need to take time for ourselves, and also time for our families so we do not grow dis-harmonous. All the better to do these things together and work on each other’s goals and to-do lists together as a team if possible.

All of this calls for hard and steady work.

Good luck my dears as you make your festive preparations. Remember to breathe and work at a safe pace. You can do it! We all can!

The divine in me honours and bows to the divine in you. Namasté. 

Solar question posed by Caitlin Matthews, Celtic Devotional. 

2013 Grafton Peace Walk

 

This was my second year doing the Grafton Peace Walk.

As always the walk held much significance, and even though we were a little behind we were able to make a difference in the local biosphere.

Along the way were were touched by dragonfly (literally), salamander, bat, deer, and opossum medicine.

We were able to aid a few salamanders migrate across the road to the main wetlands.

Once at the temple and pagoda, we were able to catch the night’s programme with Hattie Nestel from the Citizens Awareness Network.

Once Hattie was finished we were all led my lantern light to walk around the pagoda offering our own personal prayers to the land, sea, and sky.

We were able to stay for the Interfaith Prayers for Peace, which is always beautiful. It was a wonderful experience where Jew, Christian, Muslim, and Native American Prayers were heard together in earnest strength and friendship.

Following the prayers we were fortunate to hear Bruce Gagnon from Global Net: Keep Space For Peace.

Due to the cold and time, we decided to go, but I feel honoured to have experienced as much as I did. It was even more meaningful to share the experience with my ailing mother. Next year, I am hoping to gather a larger group to go feel the amazing presence that is created there at the pagoda.

Namaste.

The rest of the programme was as follows:

·         Hiroshima Taiko, Mountain River Taiko

·         Robert & Susan – Gillian’s Island, Songs of Peace

Get out there! The Perseids Peak Tonight

Prepost from NASA:

Photo by Jimmy Westlake

2013 Perseids Forecast
This year the Perseids will peak during the night and early morning hours of 11 and 12 of August. A crescent moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for optimal viewing from late night until dawn.

Fast Facts

• Comet of Origin: 109P/Swift-Tuttle
• Radiant: Constellation Perseus
• Active: 17 July — 24 Aug. 2013
• Peak Activity: 11-12 Aug. 2013
• Peak Activity Meteor Count: Up to 60 meteors per hour
• Meteor Velocity: 59 km (37 miles) per second

About the Meteor Shower
The Perseids, which peak during mid-August, are considered to be the best meteor shower of the year. With very fast and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long “wakes” of light and color behind them as they streak through the Earth’s atmosphere. The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers (50-100 meteors seen per hour) and occurs with warm summer nighttime weather, allowing sky watchers to easily view the shower.

Perseids are also known for their fireballs. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. Fireballs are also brighter, with magnitudes brighter than -3.

Viewing Tips
The Perseids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the pre-dawn hours, though at times it is possible to view meteors from this shower as early as 10:00 p.m.. Find an area well away from city or street lights. Come prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair. Lie flat on your back with your feet facing northeast and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible After about 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors. Be patient — the show will last until dawn, so you have plenty of time to catch a glimpse.

The CometWhere Do Meteors Come From?
Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. When comets come around the sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. Every year the Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to enter our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.

The pieces of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the Perseids originate from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle takes 133 years to orbit the sun once. It was Giovanni Schiaparelli who realized in 1865 that this comet was the source of the Perseids. Comet Swift-Tuttle last visited the inner solar system in 1992.

Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle is a large comet — its nucleus is 26 km (16 miles) across. (That is more than twice the size of the object hypothesized to have led the demise of the dinosaurs.)

The Radiant
Their radiant — the point in the sky from which the Perseids appear to come from — is the constellation Perseus. The constellation of Perseus is also where we get the name for the shower: Perseids. Note: The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night. The constellation is not the source of the meteors.

Determine Meteor Shower Activity for Where You Live
http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html

New Grand Opening Tomorrow!

Thirty-seven years ago a small Albany food buying club of 20 people started something amazing.

They started out small taking turns collecting food stuffs from local farms and artisans. From there they just snow-balled.

After outgrowing their first store front, they moved in 1995 to a larger yet modest venue. Now, having outgrown again, and with a lot of effort and support from the community, the Honest Weight has built it’s own environmentally sustainable grocery store.

Congratulations to all my friends over at the Honest Weight! When I first moved here 5 years ago, it was love at first smell. Co-ops for me just smell delicious. The food and products just speak for themselves…pungent spices, fresh produce, and a deli with a home-cooked taste screams REAL FOOD!

Tomorrow’s grand opening will be thee place to be! With face painting, hula hooping, live music, raffles, giveaways, and lots o’ vendors it will be a true Lughnasadh season festival!

See you there Albanians? I hope so.

Namaste.