August 31
From:
KGP Studios
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Off to the Next Adventure
We played a game yesterday.
We asked each other:
"When you die,
how do you want to be memorialized?"
One person got a little confused and said:
"I don't really want to think about how I'm going to die." To which I responded: "No, no.
It's not about how you die, it's about how you want to be memorialized, how you want to be remembered. How do you want to be celebrated? How do you want people to remember what you stood for?"
One person said:
"I want someone to build me a big freakin' Greek mausoleum!" Another person said:
"I want you to have a party, and have just as much fun at my death as you had with me in my life."
I said: "I want you to take me into the mountains and stand amongst the Pines. Look for a hawk. When you see the hawk, take my ashes and throw them into the wind ... because I WILL BE THAT HAWK.
And let this be a sign to you that my Spirit is SOARING, and I am off to the next adventure."
From now on, when I'm getting to know someone new, I will ask them this question, because their answer will summarize their essence for me in a nutshell, in an instant.
Monday, April 25, 2016
What a Bunch of Malarkey!
This is a response to an article:
"Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar:
Chakras vs. Science."
First,
the cigar quote in the title of the article is from Freud who was a psychologist, not a scientist.
Furthermore, "Chakras vs. Science" is like saying "Sparkplugs vs. Science."
The two things are not comparable on the same level. One could say "Metaphysics vs. Science" or "Eastern Religion vs. Science," and then you would have a parallel.
This article asserts that ancient people didn't have the knowledge of the human body that modern medicine has.
It's funny how rational empiricists want us to believe that their way of thinking is more accurate, more RIGHT, in the grand scheme of things.
Contrary to what the article asserts, many of us who are interested in intuitive ways of thinking as well as rational thiught, know that science is only beginning to break ground in areas such as physics and are only beginning to discover truths that ancient indigenous cultures have known since the dawn of time.
The fact that these cultures use a different language; a more abstract, artistic, symbolic, metaphorical, and beautiful (if you will) language, born of more intuitive ways of knowing and being, does not render their language or information SUSPECT.
The writer of the article being critiqued in this essay is merely
revealing his own underdeveloped, or omplete lack of, imaginative/intuitive/abstract thinking skills.
And how did the Ancients know these things? Because they were the first scientists. The Ancients observed what was happening with their environment and the beings in it very closely because that was all they had. The Ancients weren't distracted by the gadgets and trinkets that Science and Technology think are the be-all and end-all of Modern Life. People who think like the writer of this article tend to not only discount and discredit the veracity of intuitive ways of thinking, they have historically brutalized, slaughtered, and annihilated the people and cultures who espouse those particular beliefs or ways of thinking.
Remember the Inquisition, the Salem Witch trials, and the systematic genocide of indigenous cultures perpetrated by the patriarchy: fat "white cats" who care only for money, power, prestige, control, and domination?
(Those Women weren't evil and those Indigenous People were not stupid savages; they were Wisdom-Keepers, the holders of knowledge that SERVED the PEOPLE
of their tribes, clans, and communities. However, by contrast: white, educated male Colonialists saw the power those women had, and the esteem they held in their communities for knowing the Earth and its herbs, flowers and treebarks, and their medicinal properties. And with greed-filled hearts these men saw an opportunity to pour PROFITS into their own purse-strings, not a way to SERVE the greater good.
And who is it that now holds this knowledge in modern society, and are getting rich from this knowledge? - the male dominated pharmaceutical industry. And who do they serve? Only themselves and their cronies. Industries and corporations are not people and they do not deserve the laws that are being enacted on their behalf while individual rights and freedoms are being taken away in this country on a daily basis right under our noses while we are distracted with materialism and consumerism and greed and fame and fortune).
Be very careful, indeed very leery, of articles where the writer tries to dissuade the reader from choosing whatever beliefs and lifestyles are right for the individual.
This article strikes me as a softer, more insidious, type of Witch Hunt. The writer of this article has clearly not developed the skills, insights, or self mastery to be able to "speak another language" or truly see what lies within and without, or to realize that reality is much more flexible and fluid than his limited ideas about it.
Science is only one language.
There are many others.
It doesn't take an expert to get an article published on the internet.
Question everything,
and everyone.
"Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar:
Chakras vs. Science."
First,
the cigar quote in the title of the article is from Freud who was a psychologist, not a scientist.
Furthermore, "Chakras vs. Science" is like saying "Sparkplugs vs. Science."
The two things are not comparable on the same level. One could say "Metaphysics vs. Science" or "Eastern Religion vs. Science," and then you would have a parallel.
This article asserts that ancient people didn't have the knowledge of the human body that modern medicine has.
It's funny how rational empiricists want us to believe that their way of thinking is more accurate, more RIGHT, in the grand scheme of things.
Contrary to what the article asserts, many of us who are interested in intuitive ways of thinking as well as rational thiught, know that science is only beginning to break ground in areas such as physics and are only beginning to discover truths that ancient indigenous cultures have known since the dawn of time.
The fact that these cultures use a different language; a more abstract, artistic, symbolic, metaphorical, and beautiful (if you will) language, born of more intuitive ways of knowing and being, does not render their language or information SUSPECT.
The writer of the article being critiqued in this essay is merely
revealing his own underdeveloped, or omplete lack of, imaginative/intuitive/abstract thinking skills.
And how did the Ancients know these things? Because they were the first scientists. The Ancients observed what was happening with their environment and the beings in it very closely because that was all they had. The Ancients weren't distracted by the gadgets and trinkets that Science and Technology think are the be-all and end-all of Modern Life. People who think like the writer of this article tend to not only discount and discredit the veracity of intuitive ways of thinking, they have historically brutalized, slaughtered, and annihilated the people and cultures who espouse those particular beliefs or ways of thinking.
Remember the Inquisition, the Salem Witch trials, and the systematic genocide of indigenous cultures perpetrated by the patriarchy: fat "white cats" who care only for money, power, prestige, control, and domination?
(Those Women weren't evil and those Indigenous People were not stupid savages; they were Wisdom-Keepers, the holders of knowledge that SERVED the PEOPLE
of their tribes, clans, and communities. However, by contrast: white, educated male Colonialists saw the power those women had, and the esteem they held in their communities for knowing the Earth and its herbs, flowers and treebarks, and their medicinal properties. And with greed-filled hearts these men saw an opportunity to pour PROFITS into their own purse-strings, not a way to SERVE the greater good.
And who is it that now holds this knowledge in modern society, and are getting rich from this knowledge? - the male dominated pharmaceutical industry. And who do they serve? Only themselves and their cronies. Industries and corporations are not people and they do not deserve the laws that are being enacted on their behalf while individual rights and freedoms are being taken away in this country on a daily basis right under our noses while we are distracted with materialism and consumerism and greed and fame and fortune).
Be very careful, indeed very leery, of articles where the writer tries to dissuade the reader from choosing whatever beliefs and lifestyles are right for the individual.
This article strikes me as a softer, more insidious, type of Witch Hunt. The writer of this article has clearly not developed the skills, insights, or self mastery to be able to "speak another language" or truly see what lies within and without, or to realize that reality is much more flexible and fluid than his limited ideas about it.
Science is only one language.
There are many others.
It doesn't take an expert to get an article published on the internet.
Question everything,
and everyone.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Monday, January 18, 2016
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Isis: The Divine Feminine
ISIS: the Divine Feminine.
Re-edited 1/12/2016
A Spiritual Women's bookstore in America, named after a Goddess, ISIS, has been repeatedly targeted with violence recently.
We need to remember the past, in order to become aware, so that history will not keep repeating itself.
Onc upon a time, those in power, took a life-affirming symbol and co-opped it to represent their political agenda, and the original meaning of the symbol was forgotten (if it was ever known to begin with by the masses) with the passing of time. Most people in the world came to see the swastika as a symbol of evil, but nothing could be further from the truth. Hitler bastardized a life-affirming symbol and used it to represent his very misguided personal quest/ambitions.
This is what the current "powers that be" are doing now with the goddess name: Isis.
We need to stop the suppression of the Feminine that has gone on for the past two thousand years, by educating the masses to the fact that this name, Isis, which is synonymous with the Divine Feminine and all that is life-affirming, was chosen by those in power to become synonymous with evil in the minds of the masses.
It's part of the Modus Operandi of those in power to re-write history by taking the folk/indigenous/spiritual symbols of a culture and change their meaning; by taking a symbol of light and goodness and turning it into something bad, something to be feared. This way, over time, people stay away from, forget about, and lose the magic: the power and strength that the symbol represents. And when people cease to understand the inner path of connection to the source of that power, when people cease to KNOW that they themselves ARE the Source of that power - this is called giving away personal power and allowing ourselves to be led around by the nose like sheep, and when this happens on a mass level, people are easy to control and reality is created FOR The People, instead of BY The People. Masses of people are literally "buying" into this reality that is "being sold" to them.
Historically, The Church, Royalty, Empires, and Governments have demonized and annihilated anything or anyone that has the power to threaten the status-quo, that threatens to take control out of the hands of those who will stop at nothing to maintain control.
The Church did exactly this when attempting to convert Pagans to Christianity. The Church "Fathers," those who took control of the church long after Jesus had left the planet, co-opted the Pagan's Horned God and called it the Devil, so that in time, all the things that were good and natural, that were associated with the old religion's Horned God became evil, bad and wrong in the new religion.This is one of the more subtle, pernicious ways to take power away from the people.
Fortunately, we are entering an era in history when Women and feminine ways of knowing are making a resurgence. We must be doing something right if they fear the Feminine enough to, once again, systematically try to demonize what is good, beautiful, natural, and empowered. The attack on the bookstore and the demonizing of The Feminine is just a more subtle, insidious version of burning women at the stake.
Everyone please share the knowledge that Isis is not a terrorist group, but a symbol of
Divine Beauty and Truth.
And please note, carefully, what was actually attacked in this instance. The true terrorists did not attack a "terrorist cell," but a Women's spiritual bookstore. Women, and feminine ways of knowing, have been under attack for the past 2000 years. The old Regime, the corrupt old boys club, the old-school ways of being, doing, and thinking: those who are experiencing their last gasps of power before total annihilation, are the ones who are perpetrating these attacks because they know the status quo is breaking down and dying.
Just like an animal that is in the final throes of Death, terrified and raging because it is experiencing the hyper-real awareness of its own death,
these attacks are the desperate signs of Dying Power.
And where there is decay and death, there will be a Re-Birth.
Re-edited 1/12/2016
A Spiritual Women's bookstore in America, named after a Goddess, ISIS, has been repeatedly targeted with violence recently.
We need to remember the past, in order to become aware, so that history will not keep repeating itself.
Onc upon a time, those in power, took a life-affirming symbol and co-opped it to represent their political agenda, and the original meaning of the symbol was forgotten (if it was ever known to begin with by the masses) with the passing of time. Most people in the world came to see the swastika as a symbol of evil, but nothing could be further from the truth. Hitler bastardized a life-affirming symbol and used it to represent his very misguided personal quest/ambitions.
This is what the current "powers that be" are doing now with the goddess name: Isis.
We need to stop the suppression of the Feminine that has gone on for the past two thousand years, by educating the masses to the fact that this name, Isis, which is synonymous with the Divine Feminine and all that is life-affirming, was chosen by those in power to become synonymous with evil in the minds of the masses.
It's part of the Modus Operandi of those in power to re-write history by taking the folk/indigenous/spiritual symbols of a culture and change their meaning; by taking a symbol of light and goodness and turning it into something bad, something to be feared. This way, over time, people stay away from, forget about, and lose the magic: the power and strength that the symbol represents. And when people cease to understand the inner path of connection to the source of that power, when people cease to KNOW that they themselves ARE the Source of that power - this is called giving away personal power and allowing ourselves to be led around by the nose like sheep, and when this happens on a mass level, people are easy to control and reality is created FOR The People, instead of BY The People. Masses of people are literally "buying" into this reality that is "being sold" to them.
Historically, The Church, Royalty, Empires, and Governments have demonized and annihilated anything or anyone that has the power to threaten the status-quo, that threatens to take control out of the hands of those who will stop at nothing to maintain control.
The Church did exactly this when attempting to convert Pagans to Christianity. The Church "Fathers," those who took control of the church long after Jesus had left the planet, co-opted the Pagan's Horned God and called it the Devil, so that in time, all the things that were good and natural, that were associated with the old religion's Horned God became evil, bad and wrong in the new religion.This is one of the more subtle, pernicious ways to take power away from the people.
Fortunately, we are entering an era in history when Women and feminine ways of knowing are making a resurgence. We must be doing something right if they fear the Feminine enough to, once again, systematically try to demonize what is good, beautiful, natural, and empowered. The attack on the bookstore and the demonizing of The Feminine is just a more subtle, insidious version of burning women at the stake.
Everyone please share the knowledge that Isis is not a terrorist group, but a symbol of
Divine Beauty and Truth.
And please note, carefully, what was actually attacked in this instance. The true terrorists did not attack a "terrorist cell," but a Women's spiritual bookstore. Women, and feminine ways of knowing, have been under attack for the past 2000 years. The old Regime, the corrupt old boys club, the old-school ways of being, doing, and thinking: those who are experiencing their last gasps of power before total annihilation, are the ones who are perpetrating these attacks because they know the status quo is breaking down and dying.
Just like an animal that is in the final throes of Death, terrified and raging because it is experiencing the hyper-real awareness of its own death,
these attacks are the desperate signs of Dying Power.
And where there is decay and death, there will be a Re-Birth.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
"Inner peace begins the moment you take a deep breath and choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions."
I just realized the truth of this on a deeper level today. Not just as an intellectual concept, but from a place of heartfelt connection, applying this to my most challenging relationships. I am beginning to see how the universe is using other people in my life as characters in a cosmic play in order to teach me certain life/soul lessons. I'm able to distance myself from the emotions and see the situation from a higher vantage point.
Hence, the symbolism or personification of the wise guru sitting on a mountaintop. Modern Christianity co-opted that Eastern spiritual symbol, and over time, it evolved into the masculine God with a white beard in the sky, which is a very simplistic, unsophisticated characterization or interpretation. The wise old guru on the mountaintop is really a pictorial image, a symbol, a visual metaphor, of each of our higher selves.
I just realized the truth of this on a deeper level today. Not just as an intellectual concept, but from a place of heartfelt connection, applying this to my most challenging relationships. I am beginning to see how the universe is using other people in my life as characters in a cosmic play in order to teach me certain life/soul lessons. I'm able to distance myself from the emotions and see the situation from a higher vantage point.
Hence, the symbolism or personification of the wise guru sitting on a mountaintop. Modern Christianity co-opted that Eastern spiritual symbol, and over time, it evolved into the masculine God with a white beard in the sky, which is a very simplistic, unsophisticated characterization or interpretation. The wise old guru on the mountaintop is really a pictorial image, a symbol, a visual metaphor, of each of our higher selves.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Down to the Wire: (The Stringband Tribute to the Music of John Mayer)
Getting into the groove with John Mayer, I tend to experience shades of Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar, sultry R&B phrasings, and his signature relaxed, even languid, vibe.
In buoyant contrast, the "Grassing-Up" of John Mayer via Adam Galblum's "Down to the Wire: (The Stringband Tribute to the Music of John Mayer)" is full of ecstatic energy; a rich Roots recording.
Galblum, a classically trained multi-instrumentalist with forays into Folk, Jazz, Bluegrass, and Americana, came up with the idea to reinterpret Mayer's repertoire after listening to a summer '13 Mayer bootleg, and subsequently having a series of dreams where his subconscious immediately began to work out arrangements for songs that inspired him.
His first solo album, Galblum played all the guitar, mandolin, and violin parts, then hired some seasoned touring musicians to round out the Stringband: Andy Hall of Infamous Stringdusters (dobro), Chris Pandolfi, founding member of Infamous Stringdusters (banjo), and Greg Garrison of Leftover Salmon and Punchbrothers (upright bass).
A few standout tunes:
1. Gravity: The mandolin solo is stellar, wistfully evocative of "Mandolin Wind" and "Maggie May" on Rod Stewart's roots-rock album: Every Picture Tells a Story. Galblum's soulful phrasing plays off Mayer's melody fluidly.
2. Who You Love: stands out immediately due to the "Touch of Grey"/Grateful Dead undertones, like subliminal whispers from the ghosts of Grisman and Garcia.
3. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room:
the Americana arrangement stayed true to Mayer's original vibe as Curtis Mayfield's soulful "People Get Ready" comes to mind.
4. Stitched Up: has layers of ornate bluegrass stylings, a fuller sound, and a departure from the vast space held within Mayer's rendition.
Buoyant, Imaginative, Masterful musicianship.
Well done, Adam!
This was fun.
Getting into the groove with John Mayer, I tend to experience shades of Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar, sultry R&B phrasings, and his signature relaxed, even languid, vibe.
In buoyant contrast, the "Grassing-Up" of John Mayer via Adam Galblum's "Down to the Wire: (The Stringband Tribute to the Music of John Mayer)" is full of ecstatic energy; a rich Roots recording.
Galblum, a classically trained multi-instrumentalist with forays into Folk, Jazz, Bluegrass, and Americana, came up with the idea to reinterpret Mayer's repertoire after listening to a summer '13 Mayer bootleg, and subsequently having a series of dreams where his subconscious immediately began to work out arrangements for songs that inspired him.
His first solo album, Galblum played all the guitar, mandolin, and violin parts, then hired some seasoned touring musicians to round out the Stringband: Andy Hall of Infamous Stringdusters (dobro), Chris Pandolfi, founding member of Infamous Stringdusters (banjo), and Greg Garrison of Leftover Salmon and Punchbrothers (upright bass).
A few standout tunes:
1. Gravity: The mandolin solo is stellar, wistfully evocative of "Mandolin Wind" and "Maggie May" on Rod Stewart's roots-rock album: Every Picture Tells a Story. Galblum's soulful phrasing plays off Mayer's melody fluidly.
2. Who You Love: stands out immediately due to the "Touch of Grey"/Grateful Dead undertones, like subliminal whispers from the ghosts of Grisman and Garcia.
3. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room:
the Americana arrangement stayed true to Mayer's original vibe as Curtis Mayfield's soulful "People Get Ready" comes to mind.
4. Stitched Up: has layers of ornate bluegrass stylings, a fuller sound, and a departure from the vast space held within Mayer's rendition.
Buoyant, Imaginative, Masterful musicianship.
Well done, Adam!
This was fun.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Dr. Wayne Dyer, In Memoriam
September 1, 2015
For me, Dr. Dyer was about as close to the 'second coming of Christ' as we are going to get. (Godspeed, Good heart).
The thing I like most about Dr. Dyer is that he and his brother were orphans who grew up in a series of foster homes ... and look what he BECAME.
How many times have I watched main- stream TV only to hear that the "perp" in the detective story was someone who had grown up in a foster home. Growing up an orphan, or having once lived in a foster home, does not automatically mean that a child will become a villain or a menace to society.
People who see the world only in black and white are likely to buy into this type of info if they hear it repeated often enough.
However, please consider this alternative point of view: The world might actually be a better place because of its orphans: Wayne Dyer, Steve Jobs, Andrew Jackson, Herbert Hoover, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Potter!, etc.
There's a reason that the archetype of the orphan with magical powers exists, as orphans very often have inner lives that are equally as important to them as anything in the external world. And this place, deep inside, where angels fear to tread, is the wellspring from which orphans Create.
Thanks for the inspiration, Dr. Dyer.
www.drwaynedyer.com
September 1, 2015
For me, Dr. Dyer was about as close to the 'second coming of Christ' as we are going to get. (Godspeed, Good heart).
The thing I like most about Dr. Dyer is that he and his brother were orphans who grew up in a series of foster homes ... and look what he BECAME.
How many times have I watched main- stream TV only to hear that the "perp" in the detective story was someone who had grown up in a foster home. Growing up an orphan, or having once lived in a foster home, does not automatically mean that a child will become a villain or a menace to society.
People who see the world only in black and white are likely to buy into this type of info if they hear it repeated often enough.
However, please consider this alternative point of view: The world might actually be a better place because of its orphans: Wayne Dyer, Steve Jobs, Andrew Jackson, Herbert Hoover, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Potter!, etc.
There's a reason that the archetype of the orphan with magical powers exists, as orphans very often have inner lives that are equally as important to them as anything in the external world. And this place, deep inside, where angels fear to tread, is the wellspring from which orphans Create.
Thanks for the inspiration, Dr. Dyer.
www.drwaynedyer.com
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
A critique of an original essay from adventure-journal.com
Essays Opinion:
"It's Time to End Cairn Building"
By Robin Martin, High Country News
Via American Hiking Society's FB page.
Kathryn Preston's response:
"Let's check our egos at the door?" and "a reminder of humanity?"
Last time I checked, I'm pretty sure that humanity is part of nature, too. The writer is suggesting that when he (one of those nasty human beings) is out in nature, there should be no trace of OTHER human beings. I think the real problem is that the author doesn't like people. And that's understandable. There's a lot not to like sometimes.
Forgive me for my directness, but the suggestion that a few stacks of rocks are harming the environment seems petty and small at worst, and ludicrous at best. Mother Nature herself whips up cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes, and any other number of highly destructive forces. There has to be a certain amount of destruction, or death and decay, in order for something new to grow. However, if you want to go on the offensive towards humans that are causing mass destruction, go ahead and point your fingers at Big Oil, Logging, and the Pharmaceutical industries, just to name a few. I highly encourage this. Put your money where your mouth is and go after the "greed heads."
These are just a few of the folks causing damage to the planet at extreme levels. But there is no doubt in my mind that if this planet wants to shake-off us nasty parasitic humans, she WILL, and often DOES. Nature has already created a virus to attack our reproductive systems and kill us off. She knows exactly how to "balance the scales" ... which I'm willing to bet is all these Cairn folks are doing is engaging in an external meditative practice, a symbolic act to achieve balance. Their behavior in the external world is a reflection of their attempts to temper themselves on the inside. The author might try to follow their lead and consciously focus on learning to temper him or herself rather than try to control others by writing what sounds like the whiny, pedantic tirade of a two year old.
Link to original article:
http://adventure-journal.com/2015/07/opinion-its-time-to-end-cairn-building/
Essays Opinion:
"It's Time to End Cairn Building"
By Robin Martin, High Country News
Via American Hiking Society's FB page.
Kathryn Preston's response:
"Let's check our egos at the door?" and "a reminder of humanity?"
Last time I checked, I'm pretty sure that humanity is part of nature, too. The writer is suggesting that when he (one of those nasty human beings) is out in nature, there should be no trace of OTHER human beings. I think the real problem is that the author doesn't like people. And that's understandable. There's a lot not to like sometimes.
Forgive me for my directness, but the suggestion that a few stacks of rocks are harming the environment seems petty and small at worst, and ludicrous at best. Mother Nature herself whips up cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes, and any other number of highly destructive forces. There has to be a certain amount of destruction, or death and decay, in order for something new to grow. However, if you want to go on the offensive towards humans that are causing mass destruction, go ahead and point your fingers at Big Oil, Logging, and the Pharmaceutical industries, just to name a few. I highly encourage this. Put your money where your mouth is and go after the "greed heads."
These are just a few of the folks causing damage to the planet at extreme levels. But there is no doubt in my mind that if this planet wants to shake-off us nasty parasitic humans, she WILL, and often DOES. Nature has already created a virus to attack our reproductive systems and kill us off. She knows exactly how to "balance the scales" ... which I'm willing to bet is all these Cairn folks are doing is engaging in an external meditative practice, a symbolic act to achieve balance. Their behavior in the external world is a reflection of their attempts to temper themselves on the inside. The author might try to follow their lead and consciously focus on learning to temper him or herself rather than try to control others by writing what sounds like the whiny, pedantic tirade of a two year old.
Link to original article:
http://adventure-journal.com/2015/07/opinion-its-time-to-end-cairn-building/
Adirondack: Life and Wildlife in the Wild, Wild East by Edward Kanze.
Published by SUNY Press 2014.
"It may explain why people who grow up in the mountains or at the seashore tend to spend their lives in mountains or beside the sea,
even if the home environment of maturity lies an ocean away from the geography of youth.
'Home is where the heart is,' goes an old proverb. We seek what we love."
The most valuable insight I acquired from this book, is that for Edward Kanze, there is a distinction between two primary Naturalist camps: the John Muir and the John Burroughs camps.
John Muir, according to Kanze, loved Nature but believed Nature should be preserved seperately from Man, that Man was distinct from Nature.
The Adirondack Park, where Kanze and his family now reside, is unique as far as National Parks go, and according to Kanze, is managed more in line with Burroughs' thinking. In Burrough's mind, he was more of a literary naturalist rather than a scientific naturalist, and he felt it was his duty to record his own unique perceptions of Nature.
The Adirondack Park is 6 million acres, covering more territory than Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks combined. It's the only National Park with private in-holdings.
(On a personal note, the whole time I was growing up in the Adirondacks, I was never made aware of the uniqueness of living within a National Park, nor was I aware of the national, historical, or environmental significance of our humble neck-of-the woods.)
I'd like to leave you with a quote from the book that may resonate with some readers:
"William Chapman White, a journalist who wrote the 1954 classic: Adirondack Country, spoke with renowned Saranac Lake guide Les Hathaway (1862-1952) on this score. 'The trouble with people today,' Hathaway told White, 'is they're so busy coverin' ground they aint got time to notice what's on the ground they're coverin.'
Amen, brother.
Published by SUNY Press 2014.
"It may explain why people who grow up in the mountains or at the seashore tend to spend their lives in mountains or beside the sea,
even if the home environment of maturity lies an ocean away from the geography of youth.
'Home is where the heart is,' goes an old proverb. We seek what we love."
The most valuable insight I acquired from this book, is that for Edward Kanze, there is a distinction between two primary Naturalist camps: the John Muir and the John Burroughs camps.
John Muir, according to Kanze, loved Nature but believed Nature should be preserved seperately from Man, that Man was distinct from Nature.
The Adirondack Park, where Kanze and his family now reside, is unique as far as National Parks go, and according to Kanze, is managed more in line with Burroughs' thinking. In Burrough's mind, he was more of a literary naturalist rather than a scientific naturalist, and he felt it was his duty to record his own unique perceptions of Nature.
The Adirondack Park is 6 million acres, covering more territory than Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks combined. It's the only National Park with private in-holdings.
(On a personal note, the whole time I was growing up in the Adirondacks, I was never made aware of the uniqueness of living within a National Park, nor was I aware of the national, historical, or environmental significance of our humble neck-of-the woods.)
I'd like to leave you with a quote from the book that may resonate with some readers:
"William Chapman White, a journalist who wrote the 1954 classic: Adirondack Country, spoke with renowned Saranac Lake guide Les Hathaway (1862-1952) on this score. 'The trouble with people today,' Hathaway told White, 'is they're so busy coverin' ground they aint got time to notice what's on the ground they're coverin.'
Amen, brother.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
I spent Samhain in an old graveyard (and was perfectly happy).
The sun was bright and warm at 8:30a on Samhain and I could see it was going to be a beautiful day. So, when I happened upon this old graveyard on one of my adventure-walkabouts, I was quite pleased. What better place to truly get in touch with Spirit?
I love really old graveyards, the ones that are set high on a hill overlooking a town, where the gravestones reflect the lives of people who lived in the 17 and 1800s. To me, they are not creepy places at all, they do not scare me -- if anything, they make me feel quite serene and more than a little mystical. I love the fact that the Old cemeteries are not manicured, and there are these amazing old oaks, cedars, pines, and maples acting as wise old sentinels, protectors of the spirits of our loved ones who have passed on, through the veil, to the next adventure.
At the moment, I've clearly stumbled into the old Irish/Scottish section of the graveyard, aptly clustered under the protection of a grand old druid oak, so I sit down among "my people" and commune with my dearly departed Father.
I love that the leaves and sticks and gnarled old roots are raw and real, and there must be a hundred types of birdsong serenading me.The cardinal is obviously checking me out, as is the blue jay, and I feel that they are singing directly to me. And I do consider them my brethren, thinking of all the times I tented alone in the woods with the sounds of geese, loons, and ducks soothing me with their chatter, letting me know that I was not alone in the world, not by a long-shot.
The ground is patchy and scratchy, and nothing is in perfectly straight lines, its all random and wild and allowed to be free and natural. As I walk up the hill, there are several hawks gliding. I wish I could fly and glide and soar like them ... like my father in the air force in WW II. I haven't seen my father since I was eleven. He agreed to give me up for adoption and died just after I was adopted. He was the one person my heart was fully "home" in ... and I feel him here in this place, in a very deep space. I miss him beyond my ability to convey, with the grief of a small child ... but it's because of this loss that I've had to learn to "let go" and move forward no matter how great the loss or how deep the pain. I've wandered all over this country in search of a connection that (I hope with all my heart) will be as deep and as true. I love these wild old graveyards at the edge of the woods ... they make me feel like Huck Finn on a great adventure: the smell and crackle of dead, dry leaves; the scent of balsam, long grasses, and wood-burning stoves bring me to the center of my being, to my heart of hearts, to the place where I am one with everything and everyone, living simultaneously in this world and in others.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Earth, Wind, and Fire
While I DO think Pharrell does absolutely GENIUS work with harmonies,
(I’m just sayin’) I DO NOT LIKE music where the vocalists refer to
women as "bitches" or "ho's," specifically Robin Thicke and
his "Blurred Lines."
Bill Cosby created a character named “Russell” in his Fat Albert
series (yes, back in the 70’s),
and when I listen to Mr. Thicke singing in “Blurred Lines,”
I find myself wanting to quote Russell: “N.C. – NO CLASS!”
One of the reasons I chose to write reviews in Aspen for Indie,
Acoustic, Roots, Folk, and Bluegrass, and Funk musicians was because their messages were about
LOVE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, FAMILY, COMMUNITY, etc.
You want to hear men sing about LOVE?
Listen to Earth, Wind and Fire, “Elements
of Love: The Ballads!” Nothing makes
my spirit soar sublime (and my bootie want to boogie!) like this album - full
of MAJESTY: soul, funk, jazz, rock, and
those HARMONIES – WOW!
(And not once does Phil Bailey, with his rapturous falsetto,
EVER refer to women as bitches.
Old School, Baby. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.)
Or, for those who dig “the epitome of chill,” listen to Jack Johnson
as he sings about his lady love in “Better Together:”
“There’s no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard
No song I could sing, but I can try for your heart …”
No song I could sing, but I can try for your heart …”
And there’s my point: he’s trying for her heart.
Call me an Old School Sister, a hopeless Romantic and all that,
but I’d rather hang out with someone that was “trying for my heart.”
Special Thanks to Ashley Neuman for the inspiration!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Life on the Lake: Part 2
(the author, tenting)
It's kind of a metaphor for my life - this wishing to be a bird. I'm always observing birds, fascinated by what makes them tick, what compels them live life the way they do, attempting to understand them from the inside out, but maintaining the subtle distance of the observer. I can experience them with my heart, but I will never really be one of the flock. Sometimes I feel this way about being human, too.
Listen to Woodpecker by Stephen Chapman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQNFWqc-T9Q
Life on the Lake: Part 1
October 2012:
It's 1 a.m. and I lie alone in my tent in the woods by the lake. I've never tented alone before. In the past there was always someone camping with me or nearby. I thought I might be too scared to tent alone, deep in the woods, but I find I'm not. I have moments of 'heightened alertness,' listening to night sounds, but for the most part, I hear a constant chorus of loons, swans, ducks, and geese. My "fowl" friends are always there in the background making noise, like brothers and sisters chattering away in another room as I drift off to sleep. If they are quiet, I know it's about 2 am. Their chatter is quite comforting. I have the sense that: I'm not really alone, life is all around me. The realization is akin to a pregnant woman knowing without a doubt that she is not alone - not by a long-shot.
I will miss their sound when I am forced to move inside for the winter. I wish I could learn their language and communicate with them. But as hard as I try to imitate their sounds, I can only really observe. I will always be an "honorary" member of the tribe, a distant cousin -- but still kin.
Birds: natural, FREE, able to just BE.
No politics, no ambitions, no agenda, no pretensions, just free spirits.
How I wish I were one of them - (maybe a Hawk or an Eagle or a great horned Owl.)
Mountains by Stephen Chatman:
(music actually starts around 1:59)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53Rm3HnrEYQ
The Voice of the Rain by Stephen Chatman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNrngdvXroI
It's 1 a.m. and I lie alone in my tent in the woods by the lake. I've never tented alone before. In the past there was always someone camping with me or nearby. I thought I might be too scared to tent alone, deep in the woods, but I find I'm not. I have moments of 'heightened alertness,' listening to night sounds, but for the most part, I hear a constant chorus of loons, swans, ducks, and geese. My "fowl" friends are always there in the background making noise, like brothers and sisters chattering away in another room as I drift off to sleep. If they are quiet, I know it's about 2 am. Their chatter is quite comforting. I have the sense that: I'm not really alone, life is all around me. The realization is akin to a pregnant woman knowing without a doubt that she is not alone - not by a long-shot.
I will miss their sound when I am forced to move inside for the winter. I wish I could learn their language and communicate with them. But as hard as I try to imitate their sounds, I can only really observe. I will always be an "honorary" member of the tribe, a distant cousin -- but still kin.
Birds: natural, FREE, able to just BE.
No politics, no ambitions, no agenda, no pretensions, just free spirits.
How I wish I were one of them - (maybe a Hawk or an Eagle or a great horned Owl.)
(music actually starts around 1:59)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53Rm3HnrEYQ
The Voice of the Rain by Stephen Chatman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNrngdvXroI
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