The Best and The Most Beautiful Things in the World

Beauty being God’s handwriting, we were inspired  to open the Fall 17’ season at The Higher Haven with our Sacred Beauty Workshop. Saturday’s class was the third in the series conducted by Chef Chris Ferris, the culinary force behind our retreat center and the source of all things scrumptious here. A small, super group of lovely ladies came together to explore thoughts and feelings on what stirs a heightened response of the senses and of the mind on the highest possible level. Leading meditations and short exercises on beauty held within the context each of the five senses, Chris created a nurturing environment that allowed attendees to delve into sound, sight, smell, taste and touch, with practices that cast light on limiting personal and societal beliefs. With an eye toward then moving constraining ideas to the background while bringing more meaningful connections that consciously shift our awareness to the fore, we took part in an inipi purification Ceremony that’s often the impetus for profound transformation.

Practices utilized music and instruments (sound), cultural images and conversation (sight), essential oils and incense (smell), nourishing foods and mindful eating (taste) and body awareness with beauty rituals using natural products, handmade lotions and dry brushing (touch). Mindful exercises provided emotional adventure, discovery, and budding new ideas. Now-centered and feeling the uplift of the present mind, the group followed Chris’ lead exploring faculties of sensation and how each relates to forming our beliefs about beauty. Finally, the Ceremony brought the day to fulfillment, taking outwardly explored ideas deeply inward, as we psychologically cleansed ourselves of impurities and negative inner dialogue that block the movement toward a fresh new beginning.

Many thanks to Gisel, Hannah, Rosemary, and Sierra, who said that taking part in sharing the red willow shavings and fragrant root and herb mix in the Chanupa or Sacred Pipe was like “smoking a Christmas cookie”. Good one. And thanks to Chris for lending her talents to all we’re building here, as she ushered the women into that secret, sacred garden created by the open-hearted feminine divine

Renewing ourselves in Ceremony empowered us to reclaim our collective nobility, as we all felt the sovereign power of the World of the Spirit draw near. Afterward, I found a piece of crumpled green paper on the altar someone used for the setting of intentions. It said “Health, Sweetness of Life, Fun, Companionship, Safety, and Love.” Then it listed her family members, the people she wished that for and then “The Whole World.” That’s how we do it around here, embracing fully the Native American affirmation "To Walk in Beauty", harkening to the possibility of living in effortless, empowered harmony with all of life, the essence of true abundance. Through spiritual purification, creative self-expression and Ceremonial living, we invest ourselves with the power to be our best, bringing forth our greatest potential. If that sounds like something you’d like to explore further, consider our upcoming Fall One-Day Retreat Days on October 15th and Novermber 5th and 12th, or the next sacred beauty workshop scheduled for Sunday December 3rd.

Walking in Beauty: Closing Prayer from the Navajo Way Blessing Ceremony
In beauty I walk
With beauty before me I walk
With beauty behind me I walk
With beauty above me I walk
With beauty around me I walk
It has become beauty again
Hózhóogo naasháa dooShitsijí’ hózhóogo naasháa dooShikéédéé hózhóogo naasháa dooShideigi hózhóogo naasháa dooT’áá altso shinaagóó hózhóogo naasháa dooHózhó náhásdlíí’Hózhó náhásdlíí’Hózhó náhásdlíí’Hózhó náhásdlíí’

All That You Touch

All that you see. All that you taste. All you feel...  That said, or sung rather, to the final track on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon, what was your attuning to this week's Great American Eclipse? Were you one of millions of Americans from coast to coast gazing up in wonder Monday afternoon, aided with  a camera, telescope or cardboard-frame protective glasses as the moon blotted out the sun? Were you thoroughly sated, found it a bit "meh" (due to cloud cover or other occurrences) or did you skip it entirely?  Personally, I found the first solar eclipse to sweep the U.S. coast to coast in nearly a century to be a bright spot in the media after many dark, disturbing news days. The Detroit Free Press reported that parents were happy to see their kids actually  looking up from their phones for an extended period. "Everybody's friendly, everybody is family", said one Detroit resident about the sky spectacles' vibe. "I think it's an interesting diversion from all the other stories going on in the media." 

A solar eclipse is an astronomical event  that occurs when the Moon's shadow crosses the Earth's surface, briefly turning day into night for a sliver of the planet. Normally in no man's land, like out over the vast Pacific or at the Earth's poles, this was the first eclipse of the social media era to pass through such a heavily populated area, making it the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history. Nasa solar physicist Alex Young said the last time earthlings had a connection like this to the heavens was during man's first flight to the moon, on Apollo 8 in 1968.

Low, leaden cloud cover over Southwest Michigan all morning had me glad I didn't orchestrate any events around the happening. Tough stuff this Eclipse viewing business, especially under Michigan skies. Looking after my Mom for all of August also kept me from making any special travel plans, the path of tot darkness lying roughly six hours away in southern Illinois. Fortunately, an auspicious break in cloud cover right around Michigan's optimal viewing time of 2:27 p.m. allowed me for the snapping of a respectable photo or two. I used the pin-hole method to watch it on my pant leg, as an odd purple hue descended and my 88 year-old Mother and I took it all in. 

When it comes to cosmic displays and their influence, I like to go to my Vedic Astrologer teachers and friends. Jeffrey Armstrong, a Vancouver, B.C.-based Vedic scholar, lead a special Sun Mantra morning, chanting the 108 names of the Sun as well as The Gayatri Mantra (Om Bhur Bhuvah Swah Tat-savitur Vareñyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayãt) and other powerful chants. "Yogis say that the benefit received from chanting mantras during a lunar eclipse is 100x", said Jeffrey "But during a solar eclipse it is 1,000 times!" With that in mind (and body), I tired offering my own salutations to the Sun (Om Hrim Surayaya Namaha). 

James Kelleher, an adept, California based Vedic Astrologer, had this to say about the significance of this important celestial occurrence: "The eclipse took place at 5 degrees of Leo in Magha nakshatra", and given its influence in the USA, also conjuncted Donald Trump's ascendant, meaning that it had a pronounced effect on Trump, personally, and on the US, in general, considering that, even to the mortification of many, he is the US President.  "In the chart of the USA, the eclipse will take place in the 9th house (international relations) in the point opposite to the USA Moon, producing boundary issues, a heating up of conflict, difficulties with some countries receiving economic support from others, and various important geopolitical events of the non-tranquil variety. 

Geopolitical drama not being anything new, four important, slow-moving planets - Rahu, Ketu, Jupiter and Saturn - are all changing signs in the next few months, meaning mammoth shifts are occurring for masses of people on earth. The news I truly loved, building on the collective good feeling of this week's heavenly sign, is that the next eclipse is set in the stars for April 8, 2024 at 3:15 p.m. - my 57th birthday almost down to the minute (born at 3:11 p.m., April 8, 1967). Traveling southwest to northeast, coming up from Mexico before arching through the upper Midwest, the sun will be 99% blocked in Detroit, just outside a path of totality running through major cities like Dallas and Austin, Indianapolis, Cleveland and just south of Toledo. Along with chants, mantras and singing Happy Birthday to me, the 2024 eclipse will also give us a chance to celebrate just a little longer, lasting an entire 3 1/2 minutes. 

Sacred Beauty Workshops

“Pure Magic”…”One of the coolest things I’ve ever done”…”A profoundly transformative and beautiful experience that resonates on and on…” The reviews from our first Sacred Beauty Workshop continue rolling in, marking a truly beautiful start to the Higher Haven’s Fall One-Day Retreat schedule.  Created with my good friend and great culinary light Chris Ferris, the class rolled out on a sun-dappled Sunday afternoon, bringing together a wonderfully diverse mix of like-souled women on a quest to collectively reconnect to the innate beauty within. Through teachings, talks, meditations and exercises, the group grappled with many of the beauty and femininity issues faced by modern women desiring to live more empowered lives of intuitive knowing. In the light of so many women looking for more authentic avenues for positive self-expression, the class proved timely.

After opening with a prayer and setting the day’s intentions for a non-ordinary sensory experience, we meditated a bit on the senses themselves, the six natural components upon which any human experience is built. In the West we tend to think of five senses but in many eastern theories of consciousness they talk about six, and its a very useful formulation when learning and teaching meditation. The six senses are – hearing, seeing, smelling and tasting – four that are easy to understand. The other two senses are the feeling body and the thinking mind, often arising simultaneously. According to many spiritual traditions, every experience we have will involve some combination of sound, sight, smells, tastes, feelings in the body and thoughts in the mind.

Now-centered and going deep, the group followed Chris’ lead exploring the faculties of sensation and how each relates to forming our beliefs about beauty. With a literal look at Sight, we explored how books, movies and even toys form our ideas of self worth from an early age. Taste – as in distinguishing flavor with the tongue as well as what is aesthetically excellent – was of course a grand slam home-run, given Chris’ well known and well-loved abilities, coupled with a focus on conscious eating. The menu consisted of Quinoa, lentil barley loaf, grilled and raw veggies, nuts, creamy hemp see with garlic and turmeric and of course Chocolate. Scent focused on essential oils, candles and other high-vibe olfactory instruments of ease and relaxation. Touch covered skin care through better choices around lotions and cosmetics as well as a dry brushing demo. Ericka Mason, an attendee but also skilled massage therapist, offered points on touch and technique.

At least those were the planned elements for the afternoon agenda . Being the sole, on-site representative of the Dude Nation, it was my chivalric duty to fade to the background, as the women present stepped into that secret, sacred garden created by the open-hearted feminine divine. Many thanks to Rebecca and Ashley and her friend Noella, Deirdre, Laurie, Ericka, Patty and Brinslee for taking part. And a special thanks to Chris for creating a great class as well as being instrumental in holding a Ceremonial, healing space for many. No doubt her great, great, great Grandfather, the distinguished Mohawk military and political leader Thayendanegea (translated: Two sticks tied together for strength) proudly passed on his blessing.  We’re putting our heads and hearts together at the next Sacred Beauty Workshop on Saturday, September 15th, beginning at 11 a.m, in hopes you’ll join us for another beautiful day.