On Retreat

I thought to start this post by referencing a quote on Retreat from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, something about being as swift as the wind, or quiet like the forest, conquering like fire as you build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across. But the retreat I’m referencing here is not one of withdrawal, but rather one of refuge, asylum and sanctuary. I make this annual retreat, this flight from the monotony of daily life, at least once a year, usually as one twelve month period subsides and another arises. And I always make it with my trusted teacher and master of meditation Shinzen Young.

This January, the retreat was held as it often is at The Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Ranchos Palos Verde, southern California. Although red and green Christmas decorations still adorn the halls and walkways so soon after the first of the year, it’s a different tradition that calls us here. The prayer is a prayer of quiet, the infused contemplation of the soul uniting with God that is the journey of going from the surface of consciousness to the source. The retreat’s marketing materials state “come to our sacred grounds for a time of serenity, prayer and spiritual renewal,” which is an accurate overview of what occurs.

All the normal retreat happenings were present: the dull clang of the 5 a.m. wake up bell, the full plates of hearty fare that make meals a refuge from the psycho-spiritual work, the shuffle of silent, shoeless retreaters making their way into the silent zendo or meditation hall. The entire retreat is held in “Noble Silence” which means the only chatter you’ll hear during the week is the discourse emanating from your own head.

Of course there were Shinzen’s brilliant nightly dharma talks, hour plus discourses on Truth held in the zendo. We learned where yoga and sitting practice  touch and complement one another, both together fueling the earth-shaking, paradigm-shifting dissolution into cessation that is the goal of classical yoga. Another talk focused on the Four Noble Truths or more accurately, “The four truths realized by the nobles”, according to Shinzen, and how having complete sensory experiences of phenomena leads us to freedom. And there’s always Shinny’s unparalleled, entertaining vocabulary, a litany of esoteric words and phrases unmatched by anyone  I know. This year, the back page of my notebook reads  – perspicacity, untoward, inveterate, little palliatives and palpable visage, to name just a few.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Art of Peace and how retreat can actually forward your life, check out Shinzen’s teachings at www.shinzen.org and www.meditationtraining.org. Or jump-start your practice at a One Day Retreat with us this Fall. We look forward to seeing and sitting with you. 

My Psychic War With David Sedaris

I’m arguing with David Sedaris over ownership of a small bottle of ketchup and things are starting to go the way of rotten, airborne tomatoes. “I wouldn’t have given it to you unless it was your birthday,” he tells me, punctuating his statement with a heaping gulp of what looks and smells like seafood pasta, thankfully rendered temporarily unable to form his next biting sentence.

It’s Saturday night and I’m at the small table they have set up for him in the lobby of the Congress Theater after his reading in downtown Chicago, whilst the author unabashedly wolfs down another forkful of late night dinner. Very late, in fact, now as Saturday night morphs into Sunday morning. The reason is the long, snaking line of fans behind me, all clutching copies of Sedaris’ books like Naked and Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim, all who want more than his illegible signature on the title page of their books. What they want with the funny, famous writer is their moment. The moment that is currently mine to take.

We come to terms over the tiny, hotel refrigerator bottle of Heinz 57 that he gave to me at an Arizona bookstore ten years prior, back during his Me Talk Pretty One Day tour. HE says it must have been a special celebratory occasion, to be gifted with such a fine curios as said ketchup. I say that I simply raised my hand, albeit with Arnold Horshack enthusiasm.

Regardless, I’ve kept the small bottle for years, a silly treasured heirloom, and so am pleased to add to my David Sedaris Oddities Collection one of the Chinese postcards that are part of his current giveaway. Slipping the antiquated photo of a Pekingese dog skull into my signed copy of his latest book Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, I notice he’s scrawled “To Paul: So we Meet Again… Warlock”

This throws me, a hiccup in time, as all falls away and I’m left wondering at Sedaris’ intuitive powers at a new level, given that I AM a real Warlock. For a moment I fear that a psychic X-Men style clash is about to ensue, one that would surely destroy the theater as well as a large percentage of his innocent fans, lined up like cord wood. But the moment passes, when the side-splitting craccck! of one of Sedaris’ shellfish brings me suddenly back. Rather than engage him in a psychic wrestling match that will leave us both drained for days, I decide to let Sedaris down a little easier, asking him instead about writing, and in particular his practice of hand copying beautiful passages from literature. “Just to feel the rhythm of stringing together that particular set of words?” I ask. “It can help your writing,” he says. “As can writing everyday. And on weekends… and not taking Holidays off. I know it all sounds like a lot of work, but that’s it. Oh, and read everything you can get your hands on.”

I thank him, leaving him with something I think is semi-ominous sounding and emphatic, like, “Surely our paths will cross once more,” something two secret Warlocks might exchange with a wink and a nod. On the way out, I think about finding an opening on a spiritual blog for a dirty little birdy like David Sedaris, quickly deciding that an observer of the human condition with his powers deserves a spot. I consider the courage it takes to laugh at the darkness, and decide there’s no one darker and funnier and maybe more courageous than David Sedaris. Then I contemplate the writer’s ability to take the complex, the conflicted and the insane and make people feel good about them. Finally, the spiritual teacher comes to mind who once told me that “When the going gets tough… the tough laugh.” When I reach home, I notice a bright pink ridge of light edging the black eastern horizon.

Sweetgrass Moon Pow Wow

The third annual Sweet Grass Moon Pow Wow went off earlier this month in Hopkins on the Jijak Cultural Campus, hosted and organized by the Gun Lake Tribe, also known as the Match-E-Ba-Nash-She-Wish of Pottawatomi Indians. Gathering Native Americans together from all over the Midwest to celebrate tribal culture, the event showcased Pottawatomi dance, art, songs and cuisine. Dancers adorned in their peoples' regalia lead processions honoring US veterans and those serving in the armed forces. 

Generations of families were present. Tribal Council Member Phyllis Davis and her granddaughter Gracie were among the many traditionally clothed attendees. Regalia is a special outfit worn during special dance Ceremonies. Davis noted that they are not costumes; they are a visual representation of tribal heritage. Regalia is made and acquired from various sources, market places, custom orders from professional artisans, or the homemade, do-it-yourself variety.  Beadwork and stitching can be time-consuming efforts, inspiring many families to pass down elaborate and symbolic pieces from one generation to the next. Some colors, concepts and patterns trace back generations, passed from family to family. 

Davis encourages younger tribal members to uphold traditions and spoke of sponsorship. "Sponsors help guide a person throughout their life with songs, dances, making good decisions on styles and how to incorporate traditional colors aligned with ceremonial tradition." Time-honored patterns range from the long-established to the more modern, some even incorporating Star Wars or Disney Princess themes. "It's fun seeing how creative the young kids are," she said.