Ever have one of those moments when you meet a beloved soul, one that you know from some other world, some other time.. eyes meet, hearts are instantly connected, you know you could sink into those arms and be as one heart, as lovers, as makers of magic? Here's a little poem about an experience I had a few nites ago with a new friend... Enjoy1
The Moment
Timeless Moment
The veil between the worlds melts
Wrapped in surrender
As two become one
Eternity stretches out it’s arms
Enfolds me in it’s full presence
I enter
Willingly seduced
Awareness
Expands beyond beyond
I am
Whispering wind
Shuddering Earth
Embodied fire
Tears of grace
Like the seas of eternity
Washing all time away
For one dance
One encapsulated jewel of time
Sipping curiosity
With a twist of bliss
Softness I am
Showing posts with label cheri lunn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheri lunn. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Volcan Baru
SUNSET:
My legs are still a bit stiff and my heart and mind still full of magic and love after a journey to Volcan Baru in Panama with a new friend from the Envision Festival weekend in Uvita, Costa Rica. The journey to Panama from Costa Rica took us thru the Osa Peninsula on a bit of side trip to hike around Drakes Bay for a few days before crosing the border into Panama. Having been to Drake's Bay 2 years ago, I was happy to bring friends there and share one of my favorite places in Costa Rica. Two years ago, this is where we did the Dolphin Drumming trip with Wild Dolphin Journey's (Marta MacBeth), so it was really a sweet treat for me to revisit the area and love it up again!
We did a mellow and magical day hike there with pristine beach after pristine beach and rocky craggy palm studded shores greeting us on every turn. We saw lots of white faced monkeys dangling about the treetops, mischeviously spying down on us as we gazed up at them: I couldn't help but think "monkey watching monkey!" From Drakes Bay we journeyed to Puerto Jimenez, crossed the Golfo Dulce to Golfito and bussed to the border, then straight on to David, Panama. From David, we headed to Boquete, which surprised me in how charming and quaint it was. The little central square was all lit up with Christmas lites, and there was this very gentle vibe there that was welcoming and endearing in a way I somehow hadn't expected. We found a hostel that rented camping gear, run by a Colorado smoosher, had a little rest and got up to hit the trail for the Volcano the next morning.
We were warned that it was an "intense" hike, even for Coloradan's, by a Colorado native, and indeed it was. I have done some pretty intense hikes, 14'ers, and the likes, and can say honestly that this hike was up there with one of the more challenging hikes I've done. Definitly not THE most challenging but it ranks probably in the top 10, ,mostly because of the length of the hike in one day being 15 km (and about 14 of it a fairly steep vertical incline), and the vert of the whole thing from start to finish being pretty steep.
The bus dropped us off 2 km before the entrance to the park and just that first 2 km was a pretty good indication that we were in for some serious uphill climbing. The road part was sweet though, and took us past native Panamanian homes with women and children in brightly colored traditional garb and men playing soccer in the fields. The hike itself was nothing so great, definitly pretty terrain, rolling hills, oaks and towards the top more thick forest, but not a lot of vistas and the only wildlife we saw were lots of little sweet song birds.
The last few kms to the campsite were more or less brutal and had me in a deep state of mind over matter, my mantra became: "I am not my body." The campsite was about another 1 km from the summit and when we got there, the mists were heavy and thick, it was cold and I was not feeling like I was going to peak the summit, my feet were blistering, and my knee was tweaking and I told my hiking partner to head without me. I didn't think he'd see much anyway with the heavy mists falling. Of course my curiosity and adventurous spirit kicked in when the sun peaked out of the mists again and I trekked behind him weary but strong willed!
We peaked the summit just about at sunset. The cloud formations and sinking mists were gloriously mesmerizing and so enchanting it was hard to really want to do anything but bask in the beauty of it and rest in the moment. We sat quietly in awe of the everchanging scene in front of us, weary and I was filled with deep gratitude and grace. Such a gorgeous shifting vista as the clouds lifted and dropped into the lush green valleys beneath us.
Apparently, many people hike up over nite, see the sunrise, then book it down. I just can't see the point in that to be honest, though I guess if people don't like to camp and want to see it, they've got to do it. After such a gruelling hike, to just turn right around and go down would feel to me like torture. Not that I wasn't tortured in my own way: I laid awake all nite freezing in a thin cotton sleeping bag at almost 12000 feet (it wasn't freezing but probably not much above it), tossing and turning on rock hard ground too overworked to fall asleep! But atleast not having to turn right around was some form of rest and comfort for my body. And sunrise the next day was well worth losing a night of sleep!
SUNRISE:
At dawn we could see both oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic, and a beautiful cover of clouds hovering above the earth. I offered prayers to the earth, cuddled in all the clothes I could find with cold wind blasting thru me, and strong warm arms of my friend reminding me of how much love there is in this world when we are ready to receive and give in return.
Such a delightful way to start a day with a birds eye view of the world and the love of all life pulsing thru me!
Glorious experience, if you ever get to Panama, I highly recommend doing the hike! Take your time and catch both a sunset and sunrise: it's really worth it and the views are so different depending on the cloud cover and time of day you catch it
My legs are still a bit stiff and my heart and mind still full of magic and love after a journey to Volcan Baru in Panama with a new friend from the Envision Festival weekend in Uvita, Costa Rica. The journey to Panama from Costa Rica took us thru the Osa Peninsula on a bit of side trip to hike around Drakes Bay for a few days before crosing the border into Panama. Having been to Drake's Bay 2 years ago, I was happy to bring friends there and share one of my favorite places in Costa Rica. Two years ago, this is where we did the Dolphin Drumming trip with Wild Dolphin Journey's (Marta MacBeth), so it was really a sweet treat for me to revisit the area and love it up again!
We did a mellow and magical day hike there with pristine beach after pristine beach and rocky craggy palm studded shores greeting us on every turn. We saw lots of white faced monkeys dangling about the treetops, mischeviously spying down on us as we gazed up at them: I couldn't help but think "monkey watching monkey!" From Drakes Bay we journeyed to Puerto Jimenez, crossed the Golfo Dulce to Golfito and bussed to the border, then straight on to David, Panama. From David, we headed to Boquete, which surprised me in how charming and quaint it was. The little central square was all lit up with Christmas lites, and there was this very gentle vibe there that was welcoming and endearing in a way I somehow hadn't expected. We found a hostel that rented camping gear, run by a Colorado smoosher, had a little rest and got up to hit the trail for the Volcano the next morning.
We were warned that it was an "intense" hike, even for Coloradan's, by a Colorado native, and indeed it was. I have done some pretty intense hikes, 14'ers, and the likes, and can say honestly that this hike was up there with one of the more challenging hikes I've done. Definitly not THE most challenging but it ranks probably in the top 10, ,mostly because of the length of the hike in one day being 15 km (and about 14 of it a fairly steep vertical incline), and the vert of the whole thing from start to finish being pretty steep.
The bus dropped us off 2 km before the entrance to the park and just that first 2 km was a pretty good indication that we were in for some serious uphill climbing. The road part was sweet though, and took us past native Panamanian homes with women and children in brightly colored traditional garb and men playing soccer in the fields. The hike itself was nothing so great, definitly pretty terrain, rolling hills, oaks and towards the top more thick forest, but not a lot of vistas and the only wildlife we saw were lots of little sweet song birds.
The last few kms to the campsite were more or less brutal and had me in a deep state of mind over matter, my mantra became: "I am not my body." The campsite was about another 1 km from the summit and when we got there, the mists were heavy and thick, it was cold and I was not feeling like I was going to peak the summit, my feet were blistering, and my knee was tweaking and I told my hiking partner to head without me. I didn't think he'd see much anyway with the heavy mists falling. Of course my curiosity and adventurous spirit kicked in when the sun peaked out of the mists again and I trekked behind him weary but strong willed!
We peaked the summit just about at sunset. The cloud formations and sinking mists were gloriously mesmerizing and so enchanting it was hard to really want to do anything but bask in the beauty of it and rest in the moment. We sat quietly in awe of the everchanging scene in front of us, weary and I was filled with deep gratitude and grace. Such a gorgeous shifting vista as the clouds lifted and dropped into the lush green valleys beneath us.
Apparently, many people hike up over nite, see the sunrise, then book it down. I just can't see the point in that to be honest, though I guess if people don't like to camp and want to see it, they've got to do it. After such a gruelling hike, to just turn right around and go down would feel to me like torture. Not that I wasn't tortured in my own way: I laid awake all nite freezing in a thin cotton sleeping bag at almost 12000 feet (it wasn't freezing but probably not much above it), tossing and turning on rock hard ground too overworked to fall asleep! But atleast not having to turn right around was some form of rest and comfort for my body. And sunrise the next day was well worth losing a night of sleep!
SUNRISE:
At dawn we could see both oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic, and a beautiful cover of clouds hovering above the earth. I offered prayers to the earth, cuddled in all the clothes I could find with cold wind blasting thru me, and strong warm arms of my friend reminding me of how much love there is in this world when we are ready to receive and give in return.
Such a delightful way to start a day with a birds eye view of the world and the love of all life pulsing thru me!
Glorious experience, if you ever get to Panama, I highly recommend doing the hike! Take your time and catch both a sunset and sunrise: it's really worth it and the views are so different depending on the cloud cover and time of day you catch it
Friday, February 25, 2011
Reflection on a Year of Change
For some reason, February is always my real new year. It's always the time when things start to really feel fresh and alive again within me. January is more of a stewing time, ideas and intuitions are churning but usually January is a time of such maintenance level work that the newness doesn't really get birthed until February. I am finding myself again in Costa Rica this year reflecting now on what has proven to be one of the most challenging years of my adult life.
It was February when I made the choice to exit my relationship of 7.5 years, and now, a year later, I am finally feeling inspiration return, and in new ways that I am happy to allow space for and cultivate. It has been a year of deep introspection and a lot of turmoil and chaos. Some of the most intense pain I've ever experienced inwardly has softened me, not hardened me, and for that I am so grateful. I feel like I can speak and be in a place of wisdom and truth when I share with others what heartbreak and mental turmoil are like because I really allowed myself to sit in and with it all. I accepted it all and bore witness to the reality of what was, and it wasn't so easy!
Now, a year later, I feel more ready to move forward resting in the knowingness that I did not run away or hide from any of it. I moved with authenticity and respected my heart even when I knew doing so would open me to being hurt more. I learned the power of vulnerability and the grace that comes from grief and loss. I challenged myself to keep opening my heart and showing up in the truth of what I felt, not to run away, not to shut down, not to cut and sever, but to integrate the experiences of grief, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, deception, disappointment and all the myriads of emotions that came with it all from insecurity to depression. Now, I am at peace with it all, with what and who hurt me, and with myself for giving myself permission to be real with myself every step of the way, even when it wasn't pretty or "cool." I won't say I'm proud of every moment of it, but it is clear now that I learned from it all and that the lessons I learned are invaluable ones we all must learn if we are to grow up and mature into our higher, wiser selves. It couldn't have been any other way for me to really get what I needed to get!
Last year, thru recurrent dreams I was having of wild cats and domesticated wild cats while I was in Costa Rica, I birthed a vision of working with women to help other women reclaim their own power and primal essence. The dreams were so powerfully clear that my soul was calling for a break from domesticity, and a way back to the true untamable free essence that is my nature. In one dream, I birthed a litter of cats that were sort of alien felines, and went to pick one up and it clawed at me and attacked me. I had to kill it, then run and lock the door to escape the others as they all turned wild on me, the one who had birthed them. In another dream, the land I was working on allowed poachers to come and kill a big beautiful tiger for money to survive, a representation of selling my soul and passion for "security and money." In another a panther was on a leash like a dog, beaten and subdued, looking pathetically dis-empowered. It was dream after dream like this, screaming at me to look deeply at what I was trading for the illusion of security and comfort. I knew my life had to change and it was these dreams more than anything that pushed me towards change.
Out of this, awareness came to me that I had much work to do to reconnect myself to myself and to the Wild Feminine Essence that the Feline energy was so clearly representing for me in the dreamtime. Being who I am, I love to share the journey and learn with and from others, and so the vision that began to germinate was to bring forth opportunities for other women to take the journey with me and see what we find and how we can support and nurture each other thru this experience. Being in nature was (is) so powerful for me every day to reflect and watch and listen to what the ultimate "wild woman," Mother Nature, had to share with me. Reconnecting deeply to nature, her cycles and vibrations was one of the most healing elements of my journey, and remains so.
That desire, to share and support other women on their journey back to self, brought me into journaling my process in a blog (that I have yet to release), as I know that someday, some woman may read my story and find solace and support in their challenges. If my journey home can help one other being to find themselves home within, I have done a great service and can leave the planet knowing I made some kind of difference.
As I sit here now, with the waves crashing on the shore down below me, and the cicadas chirping it up, I am reflecting on all the pieces that have fallen into place perfectly to bring me here now to this place of feeling re-inspired and reconnected in a new way to my purpose and passions. It was just a few days ago that I completed, with two other awesome facilitators (Sofiah Thom and Una Paradox), and 10 participants, a 5 day long retreat entitled, "Awaken the Wild Woman Within." The retreat was wildly successful overall and in it's afterbliss, I am having some much needed down time to reflect on my year and my own passage back to self.
Truly it has been an epic year and when I look at the goodness of what all the pain has brought forth in maturity, wisdom and depth, it's hard to be anything but grateful for the journey.
My life is moving forward, and the love of my life is becoming once again my self. Tonite I sit here with a glass of wine celebrating the arrival of this moment, to be able to feel strong, OK, safe, powerfully vulnerable, competent and capable of overcoming my own demons and fears.
I am in love with life, totally in bliss in this beautiful place overlooking the ocean and nestled into the jungle and my heart is bursting with the desire to share and serve in any ways I can!
Blessed nite! A celebration of the spirit!
It was February when I made the choice to exit my relationship of 7.5 years, and now, a year later, I am finally feeling inspiration return, and in new ways that I am happy to allow space for and cultivate. It has been a year of deep introspection and a lot of turmoil and chaos. Some of the most intense pain I've ever experienced inwardly has softened me, not hardened me, and for that I am so grateful. I feel like I can speak and be in a place of wisdom and truth when I share with others what heartbreak and mental turmoil are like because I really allowed myself to sit in and with it all. I accepted it all and bore witness to the reality of what was, and it wasn't so easy!
Now, a year later, I feel more ready to move forward resting in the knowingness that I did not run away or hide from any of it. I moved with authenticity and respected my heart even when I knew doing so would open me to being hurt more. I learned the power of vulnerability and the grace that comes from grief and loss. I challenged myself to keep opening my heart and showing up in the truth of what I felt, not to run away, not to shut down, not to cut and sever, but to integrate the experiences of grief, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, deception, disappointment and all the myriads of emotions that came with it all from insecurity to depression. Now, I am at peace with it all, with what and who hurt me, and with myself for giving myself permission to be real with myself every step of the way, even when it wasn't pretty or "cool." I won't say I'm proud of every moment of it, but it is clear now that I learned from it all and that the lessons I learned are invaluable ones we all must learn if we are to grow up and mature into our higher, wiser selves. It couldn't have been any other way for me to really get what I needed to get!
Last year, thru recurrent dreams I was having of wild cats and domesticated wild cats while I was in Costa Rica, I birthed a vision of working with women to help other women reclaim their own power and primal essence. The dreams were so powerfully clear that my soul was calling for a break from domesticity, and a way back to the true untamable free essence that is my nature. In one dream, I birthed a litter of cats that were sort of alien felines, and went to pick one up and it clawed at me and attacked me. I had to kill it, then run and lock the door to escape the others as they all turned wild on me, the one who had birthed them. In another dream, the land I was working on allowed poachers to come and kill a big beautiful tiger for money to survive, a representation of selling my soul and passion for "security and money." In another a panther was on a leash like a dog, beaten and subdued, looking pathetically dis-empowered. It was dream after dream like this, screaming at me to look deeply at what I was trading for the illusion of security and comfort. I knew my life had to change and it was these dreams more than anything that pushed me towards change.
Out of this, awareness came to me that I had much work to do to reconnect myself to myself and to the Wild Feminine Essence that the Feline energy was so clearly representing for me in the dreamtime. Being who I am, I love to share the journey and learn with and from others, and so the vision that began to germinate was to bring forth opportunities for other women to take the journey with me and see what we find and how we can support and nurture each other thru this experience. Being in nature was (is) so powerful for me every day to reflect and watch and listen to what the ultimate "wild woman," Mother Nature, had to share with me. Reconnecting deeply to nature, her cycles and vibrations was one of the most healing elements of my journey, and remains so.
That desire, to share and support other women on their journey back to self, brought me into journaling my process in a blog (that I have yet to release), as I know that someday, some woman may read my story and find solace and support in their challenges. If my journey home can help one other being to find themselves home within, I have done a great service and can leave the planet knowing I made some kind of difference.
As I sit here now, with the waves crashing on the shore down below me, and the cicadas chirping it up, I am reflecting on all the pieces that have fallen into place perfectly to bring me here now to this place of feeling re-inspired and reconnected in a new way to my purpose and passions. It was just a few days ago that I completed, with two other awesome facilitators (Sofiah Thom and Una Paradox), and 10 participants, a 5 day long retreat entitled, "Awaken the Wild Woman Within." The retreat was wildly successful overall and in it's afterbliss, I am having some much needed down time to reflect on my year and my own passage back to self.
Truly it has been an epic year and when I look at the goodness of what all the pain has brought forth in maturity, wisdom and depth, it's hard to be anything but grateful for the journey.
My life is moving forward, and the love of my life is becoming once again my self. Tonite I sit here with a glass of wine celebrating the arrival of this moment, to be able to feel strong, OK, safe, powerfully vulnerable, competent and capable of overcoming my own demons and fears.
I am in love with life, totally in bliss in this beautiful place overlooking the ocean and nestled into the jungle and my heart is bursting with the desire to share and serve in any ways I can!
Blessed nite! A celebration of the spirit!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Bliss of Being
Bliss of Being
When I play
I am alive again
The joy is instant
the passion's power tremendous
Flowing thru me like waves of grace
I am in bliss
The Bliss of Being
when hand strikes skin
rhythm begins
And I remember my true purpose
is for this...
Heard or unheard
I arrive at myself
Present
Empowered
Passionate
alive
Pulsing perfection
When I play
I am alive again
The joy is instant
the passion's power tremendous
Flowing thru me like waves of grace
I am in bliss
The Bliss of Being
when hand strikes skin
rhythm begins
And I remember my true purpose
is for this...
Heard or unheard
I arrive at myself
Present
Empowered
Passionate
alive
Pulsing perfection
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Creekside Muse
I never want to leave you
once I've sunk back into your embrace
Your tender stillness empties me
Time becomes like a lost happy child
wandering aimlessly
exploring the forests of possibilities
with curious eyes and an innocent heart
Known to no one
Here by creekside's constant cooing
my heart cracks open
I am soft
spilled into tranquil pools
where rocks like my heart
are softened to sand
washed away into the vastness that is your love
My body melts
My body vacant but for you
The willow's swishing soft hair-like tendrils
brush gently against my skin like a lover
The one you are for me
Stirring me to stay longer
I succomb willingly
opening to your breath again and again..
Nothing is as this
No place else is home
My beloved lives here
Naked, unadorned, freely dancing in the wind
Turning white fluffy clouds into magical imaginations of the mind
hovering above me as this earth spins
Turning leaves and water and air into symphonies of perfect grace
I never want to leave you
once I've sunk back into your embrace
Your tender stillness empties me
Time becomes like a lost happy child
wandering aimlessly
exploring the forests of possibilities
with curious eyes and an innocent heart
Known to no one
Here by creekside's constant cooing
my heart cracks open
I am soft
spilled into tranquil pools
where rocks like my heart
are softened to sand
washed away into the vastness that is your love
My body melts
My body vacant but for you
The willow's swishing soft hair-like tendrils
brush gently against my skin like a lover
The one you are for me
Stirring me to stay longer
I succomb willingly
opening to your breath again and again..
Nothing is as this
No place else is home
My beloved lives here
Naked, unadorned, freely dancing in the wind
Turning white fluffy clouds into magical imaginations of the mind
hovering above me as this earth spins
Turning leaves and water and air into symphonies of perfect grace
I never want to leave you
Monday, August 30, 2010
Moment of Stillness
Your breathe makes me quiver
like aspen leaves do
with the most subtle whisper of your essence
dripping thru the air
You delite me in ways indescribable
Sensually stirring me beyond the physical
Stilling me
I am captivated
Speechlessly in awe of your embrace
I can not move
yet all of me is flowing
I can not think
yet all of me lives in knowing
I can not breathe
yet your breath sustains me
I am yours and you are all that I am
Waves of fleecy swaying grasses hypnotize me
holding me captive
Enraptured by the way you kiss me
body, mind and soul
And in these moments with you
the rest is silenced
I am whole
Full beyond fullness
One beyond Oneness
With you Beloved
I am free
I am home
I AM
Cheri Shanti
Aug 26, 2010
like aspen leaves do
with the most subtle whisper of your essence
dripping thru the air
You delite me in ways indescribable
Sensually stirring me beyond the physical
Stilling me
I am captivated
Speechlessly in awe of your embrace
I can not move
yet all of me is flowing
I can not think
yet all of me lives in knowing
I can not breathe
yet your breath sustains me
I am yours and you are all that I am
Waves of fleecy swaying grasses hypnotize me
holding me captive
Enraptured by the way you kiss me
body, mind and soul
And in these moments with you
the rest is silenced
I am whole
Full beyond fullness
One beyond Oneness
With you Beloved
I am free
I am home
I AM
Cheri Shanti
Aug 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Upcoming Events & Updates
This week: Don't forget
Awakening the Wild Woman Within
AND
Evolution of the Drum Circle & Alchemuse Drum & Dance Celebration at Double Rainbow Ranch
Hope to see you there!
I leave for my NE Tour on Sunday, off to
Drum & Splash in PN
Starwood Festival in OH
Syrius Rising in NY
Summerland in NY
and more...
Keep in touch and The Muse Network is coming very soon, so stay posted and start sending me resources, links and events to post on the Muse Network for you until we are ready to launch it fully to the world!
Awakening the Wild Woman Within
AND
Evolution of the Drum Circle & Alchemuse Drum & Dance Celebration at Double Rainbow Ranch
Hope to see you there!
I leave for my NE Tour on Sunday, off to
Drum & Splash in PN
Starwood Festival in OH
Syrius Rising in NY
Summerland in NY
and more...
Keep in touch and The Muse Network is coming very soon, so stay posted and start sending me resources, links and events to post on the Muse Network for you until we are ready to launch it fully to the world!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Muse Power Feedback
"I have been reading your book each night, I am in awe, and you have created a new spark for me! It is funny how many of your philosophical insights into traditional rhythm and ceremony hold their place and are very important for cultural significance and the passing of history, lore, and tradition, etc., yet you also strongly emphasize the importance of creating music based on the unique energy of the group, the mesh of energy from a variety of individuals creating new music that is dynamic and based the combination of the individuals that are present. This is also what I believe. I know that often structure is important, but I have also heard and participated in some amazing circles that were grounded in no specific foundation; thus, Recreational Music Making, and allowing each individual to reveal their being, giving them the space to play, and honoring their effort, not judging their performance. The train must run away before it can find it's rhythm!"
Feedback from Mark Gibson, Western State College, Gunnison, CO
Monday, January 18, 2010
Muse Power Review in Conscious Dancer
"Craving something deeper?" asks Cheri Shanti. "Music heals us; music brings us together; music builds community; music is the universal language of all time, all space. This is your invitation!" In Cheri's eyes, each of us is capable of being a musician, and by doing so we can experience a greater sense of community, feeling of belonging,and the ability to overcome depression, anxiety and deep seated fears.
As shown throughout Shanti's own story and those shared in this book, the experiences of playing music, dancing, drumming and participatory music making can create mysterious openings and transformations in our lives. These opportunities allow us to explore our longing for human connection in ways that modern culture does not: Western society's usual space for tribal experience-the bar or nightclub-may capitalize on the vital human need to be together, but it capitalizes equally on disconnection, depression and anxiety. There is indeed a hunger for a deeper community sharing in a place more sacred than a bar.
Shanti offers insight into how to overcome our fears and "I can't do it" programming around the sacred and magical play of music-making so that we can bring it into our lives as a daily practice. No matter your experience level, "Muse Power" is likely to touch something in you and entice you to play, dance, sing and share.
Conscious Dancer, Volume 8, Fall Issue page 38
Monday, August 10, 2009
Gratitude for the Goodness of Life
Softest orange twilight tonite brings my open heart to grace once again.
I feel, so often, the blessings of this divine play of life and I find myself crying with gratitude and joy at the magic that this life has offered me. In truth, it offers itself to all of us, but many of us (me too sometimes I admit) stay so busy and occupied by the mundane that we can often forget, for days, months and sometimes, for some, for years or even a lifetime. A few moments sitting quietly with nature though and I am quickly brought back to my senses!
Reflecting in this quiet time on the many amazing moments of a lifetime. The good dear friends who make me smile, those who reflect such beauty and wisdom to me are so cherished; yet it seems impossible to express the depths of my love for them in any way. I Love you is just such a tiny piece of the equation.. I am you.. I see myself in you, I honor you.. still not even close to what I feel in my heart for those special lights who have walked some piece of my path with me. There truly are no words to express the profundity of love.
Tonite, sitting watching the last sensual embers of light fade into the dark of night I sent my love to them all, in all the corners of the earth that I have been blessed to touch my feet upon where I met their smiling (and sometimes not smiling) faces. Waves of peace and gratitude for the parents who, though they do not understand me, gave me my foundation to become the woman I am becoming. The woman I am learning more and more to love with great passion and tenderness. Not the egoic love of "I'm great," but the true acceptance of myself, with all my "faults," all my weird parts, my neurocies even. Love is acceptance and I am finding every day that I am learning more and more to accept all of myself with grace. A lifelong practice it seems to offer me. May we all bless our parents, even those who really didn't do as good of a job as we think they should have, for they gave us the greatest gift of life, and maturity is facing that acceptance that no one can ever be perfect for us but ourselves.
I watch nature and it gets easier and more simplistic to comprehend acceptance:
Does the earth try to change the plants that grow forth from it?
Do the plants complain to the weather that it's too hot or too wet?
Does the butterfly try to change the smell of the flower it suckles?
Does the hummingbird, whom I have been seeing every few minutes here, dislike the whirring of it's own wings?
Does the coyote question the strength of the herd it's stalking or simply await it's dinner if fate chooses to weaken one calf or not?
Does the river say to the sea, "I wish you'd get out of my way already, you're blocking my flow."
Love is total acceptance and total being of itself, and truly, nature embodies love in all it's forms.. wild, raging, hungry, passionate, animalistic, reflective, on and on.. there is for me no greater sanctuary, no more complete temple than the planet we live on. When we learn this, all that we must endure become gifts for our greatest unfolding. When we learn this, we are always in prayerful embodiment recognizing the divinity in all we see from the pauper to the prince, the parasite to the pretty flashy feathered peacock. We realize "church" isn't a building, the temple is within us, around us, underneath our feet; prayer is alive always in our senses and our touch. As above, so below. We are that which we seek outside of ourselves and when we get still, we know this to be true. No one else can make us complete, not a lover, not a job, not a house, not a man or woman alive can complete us, they can only compliment us and teach us and share with us our own self.
Nature is the greatest teacher I have ever known or will ever know I'm sure.
I was feeling tonite into my own life. My life has been, as truly I believe all lives are, an amazing experience. I have been blessed beyond what I often feel I am worthy of with good solid people, wise and loving reflections, and funky whacky trippy opportunities and people who remind me to live life as fully as I can; and though I may not ever have many of the "normal" comforts of "security" that many people value above all else, a "job," "house," "marriage," etc. I realize that what I have been gifted is pure grace to experience life in ways that many people may never know. I find myself regularly in complete humble astonishment at the beauty around me and within me when I allow it to unfold.
Music, poetry, sensual passion that is unbridled and wild, magic, mystical awakening to greater truths than money or the "American dream" have been part of my life since I was a small child. I have always known the Divine and been in awe and that to me is one of the biggest gifts I could have been given or chosen. I often try to deny those gifts, thinking that's not "enough" and I have to be "successful" in the ways society expects. Then, on nites like tonite, I get real and realize the illusion vs the reality of life: stillness, unparalleled natural beauty, mountain tops, a life where friends are making me smile and laugh on Facebook from all the different parts of my life, from highshool, my drum circle years, my professional musician colleagues who sings songs that make me fall in love with them to their bones hearing their passion that resonates with mine, Costa Rica connections, and I feel deeper than ever how much love I have been allowed to experience and how loved I am by so many whom I love and adore with all my heart.
What could I find more enrapturing right now than a night like tonite, alone in thousands of acres of desert and mountains, with no sound but crickets, no breath buy my own, no distraction whatsoever from my own depths, a shot of good tequilla and a sacrement of stillness?
I live in gratitude
I walk in gratitude
I breathe in gratitude
and in that gratitude there is such deep celebration in my heart for this life.
Thank you to all of you whom have graced my life with so much sweetness, humor and reflection of greatness. Though the words can never touch the true depths of my love for you, I LOVE YOU!
If I left the planet tonite, I would leave content and grateful for this walk on Planet Earth, for getting to know nature in the way that I do, for the coyote's song, for the crickets and cicadas, the howler monkey's, the sweetest yummiest jams and grooves by firelight, on stage, in living rooms, at my campfire last week in Crested Butte, with big lights or no lights, for the poetry that has floated effortlessly thru me from the Divine spirit of the Muse, for my family, for my sweet nephew who is now a man, for my dear sweet mother who I pray finds peace, and my father who I believe is maturing into his own grace, for my beloved partner Jessee of 7 years, for Matt who gifts me this sanctuary in Crestone every year, for Wolf and my drum brothers and sisters, for so much amazing life...
When I do go, have a big all night fire ceremony for me and play, dance, sing, and celebrate the joy that I know to be truth in this life that you have shared with me.
Cry but not for me.. I have lived a full life already and if this were my last night, I would go
In peace
I feel, so often, the blessings of this divine play of life and I find myself crying with gratitude and joy at the magic that this life has offered me. In truth, it offers itself to all of us, but many of us (me too sometimes I admit) stay so busy and occupied by the mundane that we can often forget, for days, months and sometimes, for some, for years or even a lifetime. A few moments sitting quietly with nature though and I am quickly brought back to my senses!
Reflecting in this quiet time on the many amazing moments of a lifetime. The good dear friends who make me smile, those who reflect such beauty and wisdom to me are so cherished; yet it seems impossible to express the depths of my love for them in any way. I Love you is just such a tiny piece of the equation.. I am you.. I see myself in you, I honor you.. still not even close to what I feel in my heart for those special lights who have walked some piece of my path with me. There truly are no words to express the profundity of love.
Tonite, sitting watching the last sensual embers of light fade into the dark of night I sent my love to them all, in all the corners of the earth that I have been blessed to touch my feet upon where I met their smiling (and sometimes not smiling) faces. Waves of peace and gratitude for the parents who, though they do not understand me, gave me my foundation to become the woman I am becoming. The woman I am learning more and more to love with great passion and tenderness. Not the egoic love of "I'm great," but the true acceptance of myself, with all my "faults," all my weird parts, my neurocies even. Love is acceptance and I am finding every day that I am learning more and more to accept all of myself with grace. A lifelong practice it seems to offer me. May we all bless our parents, even those who really didn't do as good of a job as we think they should have, for they gave us the greatest gift of life, and maturity is facing that acceptance that no one can ever be perfect for us but ourselves.
I watch nature and it gets easier and more simplistic to comprehend acceptance:
Does the earth try to change the plants that grow forth from it?
Do the plants complain to the weather that it's too hot or too wet?
Does the butterfly try to change the smell of the flower it suckles?
Does the hummingbird, whom I have been seeing every few minutes here, dislike the whirring of it's own wings?
Does the coyote question the strength of the herd it's stalking or simply await it's dinner if fate chooses to weaken one calf or not?
Does the river say to the sea, "I wish you'd get out of my way already, you're blocking my flow."
Love is total acceptance and total being of itself, and truly, nature embodies love in all it's forms.. wild, raging, hungry, passionate, animalistic, reflective, on and on.. there is for me no greater sanctuary, no more complete temple than the planet we live on. When we learn this, all that we must endure become gifts for our greatest unfolding. When we learn this, we are always in prayerful embodiment recognizing the divinity in all we see from the pauper to the prince, the parasite to the pretty flashy feathered peacock. We realize "church" isn't a building, the temple is within us, around us, underneath our feet; prayer is alive always in our senses and our touch. As above, so below. We are that which we seek outside of ourselves and when we get still, we know this to be true. No one else can make us complete, not a lover, not a job, not a house, not a man or woman alive can complete us, they can only compliment us and teach us and share with us our own self.
Nature is the greatest teacher I have ever known or will ever know I'm sure.
I was feeling tonite into my own life. My life has been, as truly I believe all lives are, an amazing experience. I have been blessed beyond what I often feel I am worthy of with good solid people, wise and loving reflections, and funky whacky trippy opportunities and people who remind me to live life as fully as I can; and though I may not ever have many of the "normal" comforts of "security" that many people value above all else, a "job," "house," "marriage," etc. I realize that what I have been gifted is pure grace to experience life in ways that many people may never know. I find myself regularly in complete humble astonishment at the beauty around me and within me when I allow it to unfold.
Music, poetry, sensual passion that is unbridled and wild, magic, mystical awakening to greater truths than money or the "American dream" have been part of my life since I was a small child. I have always known the Divine and been in awe and that to me is one of the biggest gifts I could have been given or chosen. I often try to deny those gifts, thinking that's not "enough" and I have to be "successful" in the ways society expects. Then, on nites like tonite, I get real and realize the illusion vs the reality of life: stillness, unparalleled natural beauty, mountain tops, a life where friends are making me smile and laugh on Facebook from all the different parts of my life, from highshool, my drum circle years, my professional musician colleagues who sings songs that make me fall in love with them to their bones hearing their passion that resonates with mine, Costa Rica connections, and I feel deeper than ever how much love I have been allowed to experience and how loved I am by so many whom I love and adore with all my heart.
What could I find more enrapturing right now than a night like tonite, alone in thousands of acres of desert and mountains, with no sound but crickets, no breath buy my own, no distraction whatsoever from my own depths, a shot of good tequilla and a sacrement of stillness?
I live in gratitude
I walk in gratitude
I breathe in gratitude
and in that gratitude there is such deep celebration in my heart for this life.
Thank you to all of you whom have graced my life with so much sweetness, humor and reflection of greatness. Though the words can never touch the true depths of my love for you, I LOVE YOU!
If I left the planet tonite, I would leave content and grateful for this walk on Planet Earth, for getting to know nature in the way that I do, for the coyote's song, for the crickets and cicadas, the howler monkey's, the sweetest yummiest jams and grooves by firelight, on stage, in living rooms, at my campfire last week in Crested Butte, with big lights or no lights, for the poetry that has floated effortlessly thru me from the Divine spirit of the Muse, for my family, for my sweet nephew who is now a man, for my dear sweet mother who I pray finds peace, and my father who I believe is maturing into his own grace, for my beloved partner Jessee of 7 years, for Matt who gifts me this sanctuary in Crestone every year, for Wolf and my drum brothers and sisters, for so much amazing life...
When I do go, have a big all night fire ceremony for me and play, dance, sing, and celebrate the joy that I know to be truth in this life that you have shared with me.
Cry but not for me.. I have lived a full life already and if this were my last night, I would go
In peace
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Interview with Cheri Shanti on the Benefits of Musing and More
From March 2008 Interview with Jeremy Brieske
Click on the title of the post to hear the interview.
This is a little late in getting posted, but should provide good info for those of you wanting to know and understand more about the benefits of Music Making and the Muse works I offer for retreats and communities.
Gives a little insight on me too!
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