This is just to say...

burn baby, burn.

"Sorry I took your money and burned it but it looked so beautiful when it crackled and burned, it looked like the world falling apart, and you don't get to see the world falling apart everyday". 

-- written by a 6th grader (This is just to say spoof, This American Life)

We Are All

Hunab Ku at Boom Festival 2008, Portugal

Mainstage opening w/ Star Sound Orchestra, Boom 2008

After all the chaos

We are all...

awaking,

rubbing the sleep from our tired eyes.

Our vision is clouded

with memories and images

of our collective dream.

We are all...

lost and found in the same moment

because we've forgotten 

the wisdom our heart's posses.

Reach out your hand,

put your feet on the Earth.

We are all...

beginners.

Open your heart

and remember the way!

Bosque del Apache

Sandhill cranes at sunset, Full moon, New Mexico, Dec 2008

Moon rise over patient sky

the creatures of the Earth

pause.

A serene moment

gracefully acknowledging our

cyclical existence.

Deep shadows over purple waters,

ripples across time,

we have only this...

the joyous and triumphant song of life.

Quiet blessings amidst chaos.

Holy Are the Simple Moments of Bliss...

Goa Stage, Universo Parallelo, Brasil

Hare Krishna chant circle, invaded by dia de los muertos characters, blissful insanity!!

Mainstage, Universo Parallelo 2009

New Years morning 2009, Pratigi Beach, Brasil

Chillaxin @ Universo Parallelo

Between worlds,
wrapped in the arms of a parallel universe,
perfecting the art of strolling.
Soft sea breeze,
bats and moths glimmering in the nite sky,
traversing the planet,
finding the perfect gift for you.
midnite chants
ecstatic calling
blissful dancing
transcending
laughing
flying
falling
landing -
there you are,
staring up at the magnificent moon,
her light illuminating your own,
fingers tingling,
body trembling,
found at last in this strange universe.
Blessed to be Here.
Blessed to be You.

Grounded

When i'm in the city i am running from one thing to the next, granted they are usually good things i'm running to and from, but its exhausting none the less and i find myself with little energy and time to simply be. As soon as i am out of the city for a few days, i feel my pace slow, and along with it the thoughts ceaselessly racing around my head slow, and i am left with a steady stream of thoughts, ideas, and feelings that i actually have time to process and digest. My body quickly forgets the madness of the city and synchs up with the natural rhythms of the earth. I admire the moon's luminosity every nite before bed. I sleep deeply and dream in vivid colors. Waking with the warm and soft light of morning sun, my day starts not in a panic, but with gentle motions, waking up in due time as the day ripens. Eating breakfast in the garden, sipping tea and getting lost in the beauty of the nature surrounding me, i reflect on the events of the past year.
Even before setting out on an epic year long journey, there was a loud craving from within for the comforts of family, home and health. My soul struggling to keep up as i carried my bags from place to place, as my physical self was propelled through the sky in giant gravity defying machines. In places for mere moments, little time to absorb their depth and complex beauty. Traveling through time and space, open eye visions of beauty and destruction. Whirlwinds of people and influences, sense alive and overloaded with new smells and tastes. My heart stretching in painfully pleasurable new directions, expanding with labored breath. And all the while i perceived myself drifting farther and farther away from my vision of home, family and health.
Breathing in the fresh mountain air, digesting a fulfilling communal meal cooked with love and just the right amount of spice, i realize more than ever that these things i've craved so deeply were with me all along. I think the the varies families i've shared meals with over the last year, the relationships that have blossomed through the challenges we faced together. I think of countless conversations over dinner tables, each revealing intimate wisdom. I think of the recipes, the folk remedies and advice that I've shared and received with so many friends from around the world as we helped each other take care of our own precious bodies, through sickness and health. And home, the age old expression decrees, truly is where the heart is.
I let go of my physical attachment to home even as i begin to manifest the newest chapter in my life. I'm learning the ever elusive art of patience as I start the process of leaving San Francisco, my "home" for the last 5 years. It's been so good to me, and i have to remember that when i close my eyes the city still stands. I can come back to it at any time, the thrill of city life is always available to me. I'm working on rebuilding connections with my birth family. Exploring an adult relationship with my mother, and happy at the thought of being closer to her and being able to spend more time with her. Going to visit my father very soon, after a long time of not seeing him. Hoping to reconnect with him and get things flowing more smoothly in our communication and interaction. And preparing the ground to plant a garden in the spring, a profound and long standing metaphor within my consciousness of beginning a new phase of my life.
blessings of family, home, health and love to everyone on this gorgeous day.

Twist of Faith

Joshua & I, July 2007, Portugal

Once upon a time,
we met in a magical realm
nestled in between the fabric of worlds,
we looked into the eyes of truth,
inspired and activated mirrors,
with hands gently exploring
a depth that had long since seen light.
Casting off our clothes, our skin, our doubts
we leapt into an undulating universo parallelo
tracing the thread of our connection,
fragile as a spider's web,
through illusory echoes of time and space,
memories of a dreamy you and a dreamy me,
intertwined in ecstatic embrace.
We drew vivid pictures, alive and screaming
with the elaborate alphabet of our love,
licking our own wounds
with the healing saliva of promise,
of faith, hope, and fairy tale.
we believed in love,
and in our hearts
we sacrificed everything
to taste that truth once more.
and now,
the fears, the doubts we chose to ignore
fill the awkward space between us,
out of the depths of our hearts,
into a shallow, murky space
of frustration and disappointment,
hoards of moscas hovering above
the death of our dream.
By no fault of our own,
this love is not enough for us,
our dream has not the strength to carry
the weight of our now heavy hearts,
nor the burden of our past.
Bound by circumstance,
without a thread to follow,
how we will escape this cruel twist of faith?