Excerpt from Chapter 1: The Lost Connection

Symptoms of a Lost Connection


“Outside of our skin
We can begin again
To Merge
To Touch
To Know Another as we can Know Self…
Reaching Out
Reaching In
I Begin Again….”
Cheri Shanti, 2002m

One of the truths of our time is this hunger, deep in people all over the planet for coming together into relationship with each other.”
-Mary Caroline Richards


It seems more and more when I share with my friends and family, there is this underlying feeling of being “overwhelmed” in life. Life is “crazy” or “too much,” or “I can’t keep up,” just seem to be normal every day phrases I hear everywhere I go. In the grocery store, on the phone with people I know, walking by someone on the streets, or in the café, I hear it everywhere. Life is moving fast, technology has us frying our brains with cell phones, computers, TV screens and constant bombardment from wireless frequencies in every café, home and public building, and the demands on our wallets are increasing faster by far than the wage increases. The media is filling us with images of death, destruction and global devastation and rarely reports anything positive that inspires us. Our world is at war, the future for our children is intense and scary, global warming is imminent and many of us seriously wonder if our government is indeed a democracy “By the people for the people.” The people are, for the most part, so overwhelmed by trying to survive that few notice or have the energy left to care, much less be active in trying to change things. Plenty of people feel and live in the reality of “Me against the world” in their minds and feel the effects of isolation and “individualism” to it’s extreme.

Depression, anxiety, and what I personally have begun to call “Overwhelm Syndrome” are increasingly common in all ages of people today and create an increased feeling of “aloneness” in those who suffer from it. The World Health Organization says that depression is among the leading causes of disability worldwide, an estimated 5.8% of men and 9.5% of women world-wide will experience a depressive episode in any given year, and an estimated 121 million people world-wide currently suffer from depression. It is estimated that between 10-25% of children suffer from one or more mental illness today. Approximately 18.8 million American adults have depression and more than 19 million American adults have an anxiety disorder according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. One of the most commonly shared experiences in those suffering from depression, anxiety and overwhelm is the feeling of being “lonely,” or isolated, or the feeling of not fitting in with the way the “world is.” Breathing Space of Scotland says, “This comes with living in a world where certain "ways of being" have come to be expected. You might feel isolated if you cannot celebrate or show part of your identity.” In addition, a lack of opportunities to "get involved or “participate” contributes greatly to a sense of worthlessness, aloneness and isolation.

"All the lonely people, where do they all come from?" I just had to quote a well-known Beatles song. I share this feeling of being perplexed at the sheer volume of people who are dealing with feelings of intense loneliness and depression in America. I personally know dozens of people, with seemingly normal and fulfilling lives, who are taking medication for depression. These are only people I know PERSONALLY. I can only imagine what the statistics are for this country as a whole.

Twenty years ago, I rarely heard of depression. Now it is an American pandemic. I believe this phenomenon is a product of our society and overall mindset. We are conditioned from childhood to be fiercely individualistic and self-centered in order to survive. We are taught that the basis of a meaningful life is personal achievement. In many other societies the welfare of the whole community is the focal point, and cooperation is the means to the end. In American society, the success of the individual is most important, and competition is the means to the end. Deep and meaningful relationships (love) with other people are second at best on the list of our priorities. They are often never wholeheartedly sought and or given the extraordinary amount of time and effort we expend towards personal achievement. If they are developed, many often fade from neglect.
Loneliness and feelings of isolation are widespread in our society for a reason: We ARE lonely and isolated, if not physcially then emotionally. Our hearts won't lie to us, they hurt for a reason. They are being deprived of the most meaningful thing in this life at the expense of the most meaningless.”
Neville Palmer

As Neville makes clear, we don’t need a psychologist or sociologist to tell us that the modern world’s way of life has taken a toll on the human experience. We can all find examples of it’s effects in our lives if we look around even a little, or maybe, if you’re like me, I only have to look in the mirror some days to see it. We have lost, for the most part, a sense of community and of “belonging” to something greater than ourselves in the rush for survival and independence.

The good news is that depression, anxiety, community deterioration, lack of social participation and all of the conditions of modern culture, are able to be transformed on all levels with attention and intention. In my experience, it is the human connection that heals beyond any pill, drug, or procedure. It is the human connection that we have lost and it is the human connection that must be re-connected to move us forward.

Sinking In: Nature's Truths Remembered

Firelight dancing beneath starry skies
Sweet orange disc rises above the swirling sea
Moonlight dancing now in me

Sinking into this way of being
So familiar
So effortless

So close to nature
The way God meant us to be
Eating the Fruit on the trees and fish from the sea
Serenaded by the rhythms of nature all around and within me

Sinking into this place
Inspiration returning
Re-learning myself
Sweetness in this life

We need so little, really, and have so much that distracts us from this truth.
Good food, a modest shelter, community, music, love, sun, clean air and safe haven to lay our heads..

All the rest it seems to me is some kind of candy..
Eye candy
Ear candy
Techno candy
Like sugar it rots us inside leaving us wanting more, unfulfilled and searching for the next fix..

Nature teaches us perfect grace, balance and harmony.
No false illusions, only truth.

Tonite, after firelight, moonlight and ocean breezes
A nice hot shower was like luxury, unnecessary, but so appreciated and such a magical experience
with tiki torches as my light and sweet silver moon peeking in on me above the bananna leaves and bamboo

Blessed are we who get to experience these ways
To remember that which is true and real
And to forget that that leads us astray

I give thanks

Sinking into sweetness.. again and again.

returning to remember
The simple ways of life feed me fully

Excerpt from the Upcoming Book: #1

Vibrations within
Cells dance beneath this skin
Myriads of orgasmic pulses create me
I am Life, moving in Harmony
I am Unity.
Spirals of perfect light
Cascading within my inner sight
I am Rhythm
I am the Cosmic Pulse in form.

I feel the Dum Dum of my heart beating, sending fluid, red, vibrant and nutrient rich thru the tunnels of veins and arteries that give color and life to the cells as they dance and tumble thru my blood.

I hear the sounds of my own body just being and I am amazed at the quiet symphony that I am on the inside.
I am even more amazed that not only can all of this be going on inside, all the time, thru each breath, but I can also experience and even create a whole other rhythmical reality on the other side of my skin. I can experience layers upon layers upon layers of vibratory awareness from the inside, out.

Going deeper still, I can go into the spaces between those beats of my heart and connect there with a silence so deep and far reaching it returns again to the One source of Creation, the Void, the Nothingness from which all is birthed thru a tremor in the cosmos. There, at the Source, I can receive inspiration for creativity. There, in the stillness before the spark of creativity, the inside world and the outside world merge, and breathe together, sharing the awareness of each other’s gifts and possibilities in divine rapturous union. There, in the stillness, in the quiet sanctuary of my own being lies all the potential of the universe waiting to be birthed thru my own unique expression.

Vibrations within
Cells dance beneath this skin
Myriads of orgasmic pulses create me
I am Life, moving in Harmony.

Muse Reflections

Once again I am humbled by the omnipotence of grace and sweetness in my life... such constant reminders, when I allow myself to SEE and FEEL the TRUTH of what is....

This past Muse: Prayers for Peace... brought tears of grace and gratitude... deeply moved and deeply touched... I remain in the afterglow of grace....

Soft burning fire light
Dancing candles
Deep haunting voices of every human expression
Joy, Grief, Passion, Searching, Yearning, Knowing, Ancient Songs
My own hands on Skin pulsing rhythms I never knew I knew
My own voice met by the voices of others
Passion making the Spine Tingle
Moments of Silence & Hearing the Breath of Each other...
More Voices Emanating from the Ethers
A Man swaying back and forth, hands lifted,
His voice that of an ancient angel lifted into the room
A woman echoing my own song, playing joyfully with the shared spirit...
Acknowledging Reflection For both of us
Two Young Girls Sitting by the Altar... one with a feather, one with sage.. staring intently into the candles..
Carrying the Prayers of Peace for all of us
Learning this Sacred Way to Share with their own Generation....
A Generation who will need them to Carry the Torch

Deep Respect Emanating from every pair of eyes:
We are timeless and beyond words in our hearts...
Two Lovers in the corner, fingers touching, embracing softly for a moment...
They are wrapped in the Arms of Sonic Bliss created by 15 Beings United in Expressive Alchemy
Tears of Gratitude hitting the floor beneath me while my body is Bowed in Deep Honoring at the Altar of Our Intentions
Ancient Crystals & Stones Absorbing Our energy: charged by our hearts..

Profound Presence of the Grace Of NOW always present
Humbled to Offer SOMETHING beyond my SELF
Humbled to Participate and Witness...
Looking around the Circle at the Joyful Openings of Each being present

Somehow we know each other better
We are More than we were Alone...
We are Unified in Intent and in ACCEPTANCE and Willingness to HONOR each other fully thru Musical Expression
Thru Witnessing
Thru Being

The Truth of our Selves

I thank you... mystical musers... I thank you from the depths of my heart and soul for allowing your SELF to shine and for gracing me with the opportunity to serve and hold the space for you to reveal and shine your self.....

Hawaii Rhythms of Truth

Rhythms of truth
Sing thru the sea
Sing thru the wind
Sing thru me


Life itself
Is simple

It asks
For nothing

It gives
All of itself

Here in Heaven
I Am Remembering life

As a way of being
Like the whales
Like the palms
Like the birds

Effortless
Simply being

These are the Rhythms of Truth

Slow
Soft
Sweet
Always present

Essence is Truth
All else is Illusion

Slowing Down

Sweet sounds of night here on the magical island of Kauai: palms blowing in the soft breeze, ocean roaring and crickets and chickens singing sweet lullabies to me all night.

Slowing down is such the beautiful part of life. I've been here only 2 days, but feel like I've been here weeks. A day seems so long when it's not full of running about in the mind and body. This way of life that has been created, chasing the dollar, working to pay rent and bills, driving around incessantly from here to there, it has stolen so much from our lives, created such a neurotic frenzy in our minds of constant business. Slowing down gives the space to reflect, to open to the spirits of the land, and the deeper truths that we can be so blind to in our busy bodied embodiements.

I am so grateful for this time, and so cherishing the opportunity to just be. To garden, to put my hands in the soil, to feel the ancestral spirits of this land making contact with me in moments of stillness, to stare at the sea with no need of "going" anywhere or "doing" anything, to be UNAVAILABLE by cell phone.. WOW.. now that's a nice feeling, I must say! I am very much enjoying that!

Such a joy to experience the slowing down inside where time seems to be stretched, where time is NATURAL time, and not about the next appointment or the next "to do" item on the always increasing list. Such a joy to just feel soft and slow in each moment, no need to push, promote or do.

I am so grateful for this time..

Slowing down is such a remembrance of REAL life, REAL time, where the days are just days and the nights are sweet, deep nurturings serenaded by nature and spirit world.

All I Know is In the Groove

All I really know is when the groove is on
I AM

It’s another shade of being

Edges melt
Clarity increases
Senses enhanced

I AM Love

I see my lovers in everyone
I am touched by grace

In the groove
Live is living itself in me
My essence pulses deep and true
I am found there again
Innocent and pure

All I really know
Is when the groove is on
I AM