!ncredible !ndia

Behold The Asian Elephant Blessing at The Kundrakudi Temple near Cheiitinadu, southern India. In an awesome exchange of energy, for a small batch of bananas and a few Rupees, I experienced what I've dubbed The Laying on of Trunks, perhaps a symbolic method of invoking the Hindu Holy Spirit. From elephant benedictions to fire ceremonies along the Ganges, exploring ancient temples to taking part in ritual Poojas, from visiting the homes of saints and ashrams of yogis to swimming in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, the last minute trip turned into a life-changing odyssey. Much to say of my extraordinary experiences in !ncredible !ndia (!!), “The cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, grandmother of legend, and great grandmother of tradition,” per Twain.

Connecting excitedly with my meditation teacher Shinzen Young upon my return, Shinny explained: "There are two groups of people in this world - those who have lived in India, and those who have not." Three weeks of residency was all it took to get it, and a ten-year visa good through 2028 certifies that The Republic of India was personally not one and done. Having misssssssed the dancing cobras of Rameshwaram, I'll be back. And I know a guy. That said, a walk down a side-street in Varanasi would feel like a movement back into the middle ages. And a visit to Temples in Kumbakonam felt like stepping back into prehistoric times.

The trip was organized by learned Vedic astrologer James Kelleher and led by the venerable Rajiv Tomar of India's Mystical Journeys. More on those cats shortly, especially the latter Bengal Tiger as I like to call him. Having traveled little, truly getting started now, mid-life, the small slice of new landscapes I've experienced have helped me to develop new eyes. And as far as I can see, exotic lands have their rituals and traditions, their foods and ways of seasoning life, their understanding of their relationship with creation and The Creator. But at the heart of all nations - at the center of the center of the earth’s myriad of belief systems and many creeds - are its folks, its relatives, its sentient beings. And India’s appear world-class. From South Haven. Michigan USA by way of Mahabalipurnam, Kanyakumari, and Tiruvannamalai, India, more shortly my good people.

Sprung FORTH

Spring is here, Spring as in a move upward and forward, a sudden emergence, an Arising from a Source and of course the season of revival. Revival was in the house or perhaps just outside this week of the Northern Hemisphere's Equinox as we reawakened our Sunday One-Day Retreats. Girl Power manifested Big Time with a visit from a great group led by one of the Detroit yoga community’s leading lights Ms.Soojin Kim. Soojin’s classes “are created to take students on a journey inside the body and help connect mindful alignment, pranayama, and elevate the humanity within ourselves.”  

That’s the journey, the collective movement she helped us make  Sunday, co-piloted by dear friend and wellness guide Jaclyn Renee, who provided a supreme, scrumptious vegan lunch. Afterward, we stilled ourselves for a bit, then took part in Ceremony, where many tears were shed, prayers said and burdens lightened. For their courage thanks also to Kaylee, Jaclyn, Naomi, Sarah, Stephanie, and Shanon as well as their individual and collective will to heal the feminine divine. How lovely are they above (?) resembling members of the Aynu tribe, women of the indigenous people of Japan. Princesses. Queens. Goddesses. Warriors. 

Speaking of the Feminine Divine and Girl Power and Healing, I have some wonderful new experiences to share after having traveled a bit in the month of February. I left on Valentine’s Day, giving my heart this year to the good people of India and am pleased to report the entire country reciprocated. Alas, there’ll be the telling of a tale or two. I’m also happy to convey that my diabolical little plan – to run retreats for ten or eleven months a year then take a spiritual journey and return with renewed energy and new knowledge - seems to be working. More on the soulful deliberation of Atma Vichara, why the nation of India mistook me for the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, and other cobra tails and tales to come. 

Oklahoma's Gilcrease Museum

Thirty-six hours before my triumphant return to Michigan last week, I pulled out of Oklahoma City after a night’s rest, jumping on Interstate 44 cutting northeast to Tulsa. There amongst the Osage Hills stands one of the country’s most distinguished facilities for the preservation and study of American Art and History. The Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art – known as Glicrease Museum – houses an unmatched collection of Native art and materials, including the world’s most comprehensive collection of artifacts of the American West.

Surprisingly taken with the beauty of middle America, I shared my love letter to the Kansas plains, where killer winds, me and a dozen birds of prey floated across the landscape on mid-winter thermals. On the way back, Oklahoma - the state's name derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people" - offered miles and miles of wavin’ wheat that sure smelled sweet, and the same wind came right behind the rain, just like the musical says, or sings rather.  Eastern Oklahoma looked a lot like Michigan in April, with sun bleached, yellowed fields, craggy bare forests and blazing sunshine. 

Back in the 1800's, as European-Americans expanded westward, a series of migrations and forced removals by the United States government relocated numerous Native nations to “Indian Territory”, in present-day Oklahoma. The Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, known as the “Five Civilized Tribes” were removed from the Southeast to Oklahoma in the 1830’s, culminating in the famous Trail of Tears. Throughout the late 1800’s, tribes from the Great Plains and California were forcibly relocated to Oklahoma. Geronimo and a small band of Chiricahua Apache eluded American troops in what proved to be the last of the Indian wars, the Bedonkohe Chiricahua leader removed to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1894. Today, Oklahoma is home to 39 distinct Native American tribes.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, many of Oklahoma’s Native peoples asserted their sovereignty, writing constitutions and establishing tribal governments to provide social services for their people.  Native American artists in Oklahoma produced distinct work, celebrating their cultural heritage and responding to a range of influences from the diverse Native people of the region. Today, culture and language preservation continue to be a priority for Oklahoma’s Native nations.

The story of Native American Art is one of many traditions and cultures. It’s a story of change, continuity and endurance. The breadth of Native Art encompasses the sacred and the secular, the political and domestic, the Ceremonial and commercial. Throughout America, many Native peoples continue their ancient worldviews and lifeways, often expressed through music, dance, Ceremony and the visual arts. Despite centuries of epidemics, cultural, religious and political repression, and forced removal from homelands, Native traditions continue on. Exhibitions at the Gilcrease present some of the finest creative expressions and rich diversity offered by Native artists, ancient, historic and contemporary.