Sanctuary

Sanctuary within my skin
The rhythm brings me in again
To pray at lotus feet upon which I stand
as movement lifts me into my own Promised Land

The temple I am
this form holds the formless
merging worlds above and below
My body teaches me
what I need to know

Silently hovering in ether's embrace
one arm drifts down
mesmerizing
I am entranced
I am danced
I am bedazzled by the glow I feel
Igniting spirit thru flesh
Nothing else is real

Sanctuary within my skin
Temple I am
Without and within

Return My Queen

Return to me
Your throne sits awaiting you
Atop my skillfully filled skull
overflowing with mindless chatter
Until the moment you arise in me

Then like rivers of glass
enchanting me your eyes meet mine
Remembrance is so divine
And all time stills as you pour into me like wine

Sweetened by life's tragedies
Tainted by none
Deepened by tears of grief
Shined brilliant by the sun

Magically appearing
In the midst of cold black night
My Queen, your majesty I behold
Your presence is my insight

Even the blackest lump of lead
Returned to fine spun gold...
Even the aging heart of death
sprouts the seeds of young in old

Passing from one form to another
Wise crone, tender mother
Sacred whore betrayed by lustful men
Let's love again and again come in

Return to me
Sister of Grace and of Mercy
Your sword is sharp and quick to fall
where truth goes astray..

Warrior Queen
My Heart is yours
Forever More
Return to me

Stray no more.

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

Dancing Coyote Canyon Family Gathering

Prayers emerging in this bright sunny mountain valley

From beneath blanketed lodge, voices of many, sometimes joining together in song

Sometimes one single prayer offered and held sacred by all inside and out

Fire raging in the warming day crackles and offers soothing sweetness to this valley

Aspen sing praises twirling like dainty ballerinas graceful in sight and sound

No time

No place

The dance of rememberance is moving thru us

Home is here

Still point awaits the song of creation breaking forth from it's sweet depths.

Home we are together..

Together we are one loving breathing dancing musing swirling surrendering into the NOW

------------

The First Dancing Coyote Canyon Family Gathering this weekend was a gem of an experience! Thanks to Ahva and Matthew and Pattie for all their hard work and organizing of this sweet treat at the end of summer! The Rhythm Sanctuary community came together Sat night for a Muse Ceremony and it was such a personal treat for me to share and experience this activated family of movers and shakers and poets and magical beings! The bliss was running high and the aspen littered valley sang with us by offering a little smattering of late night rain just at the perfect time when we were all inside, cozy and warm! Bodies groovin, voices singing and the popcorn poetry that came forth was truly Muse Inspired magic in the making!

Can't wait for the next one! And definitly, if you need a sweet spot for a retreat, check out http://www.dancingcoyotecanyon.com it's a fabulous place, and Matthew who owns the place is a rare gem of a being to work with... totally in service to goodness and easefulness. He resonates joy thru his true love and light in every moment! Dancing Coyote Canyon is only about 2.5 hours from Denver and a worthy and scenic drive!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your love and light!

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

Sacred Space Jam: Sister Muse Sweetness

Magical Mystical Muse works are by far the most powerful medicine I have found for the dis-ease of Modern living. Co-creative, playful, deeply moving, prayerful, transformative and invoking the spirit of oneness, Muse experiences allow us to be witnessed, to hold space, to share and to meet in a profound way. Most of our lives are spent in the mundane, talking about our daily challenges or joys, our lives, our jobs, our frustrations, and often there is a certain level of superficiality to the exchanges, "Hey, how are you?" "Good.." because there isn't time, or because there aren't words to express the depths of what may be really going on for us in this wildly spinning world where the changes that are happening are fast, furious and sometimes totally unruly and insensitive to our more childlike, deeper, curious essences. This world can be so sweet, and so cruel all in one day.

Muse Experiences where we can let go, unwind, sing, dance, cry, lay on the floor and belt out our pain or our joy, writh in ecstasy or in sorrow, drum, pray and just simply be our true essence in the presence of others are a reprieve from the mundane, and a medicine that is deeply needed in these times. Last night I visited the Sacred Space Jam at the Starhouse and was right at home in the sweet and delightful facilitation by founder Karen and Michael Travers. I felt last night that I was in the presence of the Master Musers. Profoundly moving, the bodies, voices and music wove their way in and out of high states of trance and intense booty shaking. Many offered at the end of the night that the highlight was when the moon came shining thru the windows of the perfecly placed Alchemical temple we know as the Starhouse in Boulder, CO. The crystal bowl, the hang, and a circle of voices praying their hearts out carried us into the silence that closes the practice. Certainly, I too felt that magic as the crystaline point of our hearts, souls and bodies merging in service to the Muses that service us!

These practices are opening us into our hearts. I am honored to meet another sister carrying the torch of creative free expression and look forward to sharing every month at the Sacred Space Jam in Boulder! Don't miss the next one, and look for the Muse Practice which will be returning to fill in the spaces in between the Sacred Space Jams.

Medicine of Music

Bodies moving
Sensual delite
The Medicine of Music
Healing all this nite

Faces beaming blissful beingness
In the seduction of the groove

Rolling
Hips soft like river dance
Swirling
hands making air romance
pounding
feet praying for a chance
to live again
another breath
just to feed this medicine
to my soul

Music takes away all pain
Music makes the insane sane
Like honey dripping from the hive
the medicine of the muse alone
is keeping me alive to thrive

Only the passion of the pulse can turn the dark to light
Ignite the nite
magnify the lite
send my body swish swish
yum yum into sweet delite
unable to be explained
so deep beyond all space and time
body, spirit and mind
I venture in thru rhythm's eye
And there
I find

Myself awaiting the return of her beloved...

Awaken...

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!

Upcoming Event: June 26

4:30 pm - 6:30 PM - Evolution of the Drum Circle - $30
Applications and Teachings for Better Drum Circles & Community Music Making

8 PM- 11 PM **OPEN COMMUNITY ALCHEMUSE FIRE DRUM & DANCE CELEBRATION
OPEN TO ALL MUSICIANS.. bring sound equipment if you need it!***
7 PM POTLUCK, 8 PM Open Circle $10

This experiential workshop offers an in depth look at drum circle dynamics: past, present and future. Be sure to bring your instruments, a notepad and your wisdom to share with us!

In this workshop we will:
*Explore Ancient Methods of Drum and Dance Cultures around the world
*Examine Current Paradigms for Drum Circles
*Learn Tools to help Evolve and Transform your Community Drum Circles
*Learn the 10 Conscious Considerations for Better Recreatioinal Music Making
*Learn the 4 Building Blocks for Building better Drum Circles
*Have fun, meet new people who share your desire for better and more creative drumming experiences!

Poem from A Florida Drummer

AN AMERICAN DRUM CIRCLE


We all arrive gradually,
Slowly form a circle under the trees,
Talking in the breeze,
Not breaking our inertia.

Out across the circle,
Someone reaches for his hand drum,
Strikes idle notes that turn into a rhythm.
Ears prick up;
Sounds like he’s on to something;
One or two others pick up their drums.

Up strike the djun-djuns,
Bass drums of Africa;
Mellow, singing bass drums
Almost like marimbas.

They get a-goin’
Goin’ on a rhythm,
Rhythm like a river;
We’re all embarked on it.

Someone’s brought his congas,
Rich, full and round sound,
Building on the djun-djuns,
Rounding out the rhythm.

Djembes everywhere,
Stemmed cups of wood that serve a heady vintage—
The boom and the clang,
The boom and the clang;
Exultation under drummers’ hands.

Tones of an ashiko drum
Meshing with the djembes,
Strong, compelling bass
That stirs us into action.

A crowd gathers round now,
Drawn by the drum-song.
This is what they came for:
Waiting for the drummers
To carry them away.

A woman stands up,
Shakes back her hair,
Steps into the ring,
Begins to dance.

Another looks on;
Her mind is made up now;
She stands and she steps.

Two sisters dancing now,
Exchanging smiles of welcome;
Two sisters dancing—
Another one—
Three!

Someone strikes a tambourine,
Claves, bell or wood block;
Deft punctuation;
The song takes on an accent.

Someone’s drumming hot now,
Strikes up a solo,
A dazzling, crackling rattle;
The rhythm undergirds him,
Rich, sustaining rhythm;
He feeds from his brothers,
His brothers and his sisters;
We all feed from him;

All caught up in it,
Caught up to glory;
We’re rising—
We’re rising—
We rise and we soar!

The drummers start to dance now,
Dancing behind their drums,
Dancing in their harness.
Rooted in their places,
Takes a lot to get them moving,
But still, every now and then
There’s just no stopping it.

Accents come from everywhere,
Like nature roused to chorus—
Bells and tambourines ring,
Woodblocks and claves’ clink,
Rods and shakers rattle;
Someone plays a flute.

Other musicians come out with their instruments;
A blare of saxophones,
A peal of horns;
They want to take part in it.

The drums sink low now,
Thunder held in deference,
Restrained to accompany
Some delicate notes—

Soft boom of didgeri-doo,
Guitar’s gentle song,
Gliding of violin,
Set to muted thunder.

The drums rise up again,
Take up their ascendancy,
Rolling and booming out,
A wild exultation.

The solo rings out again,
A full crescendo crashing out,
Crashing and soaring out,
Rising up to climax.


At last the drums fall silent;
We bask in the afterglow,
Shake the tingle from our hands, quench our thirst, talk in the gentle breeze;
The circle drifts apart.

Then out across the circle,
Someone reaches for his hand drum,
Strikes idle notes that turn into a rhythm.
Ears prick up;
Sounds like he’s on to something.
One or two others pick up their drums.

We all start drifting back;
This new rhythm’s rising
To sweep us up once more.





© 2005 Daniel Gedamke. All rights reserved.