Starwood re-connection

Arriving late in the night, the first thing I heard was the drums resonating across the distance in the cool misty night. My heart warmed to hear the consistent pulse of others who feel the call that I do to this unique and magical experience of playing music all night for no other reason than sharing pure bliss and joy with others. The beat was familiar, and I found myself smiling instantly. It was the same groove I have heard on that land for years, what I had affectionately named"The Brushwood Funk": a very unique 4/4 foundation with a lot of pitter patter on top and one or two distinct djembes carving out the backbeat.

Two AM, and I could feel that the end of second shift was approaching. I felt perfectly synchronized to arrive just before third shift. There are very very distinct times in the night that those of us who have participated in this sub-culture of the drum for many years have come to know, and refer to as "shifts." First, second, third, and Blue shift, and typically (though certainly not always) the energy, musicality and vibe gets higher and more clear with the turning of each shift. There are other cultures (India especially) who connect the rhythms of the time of day to unique energetics as well, and in the all night drum and dance realm, it is so clearly evident you can almost set your watch to it. Predictable patterns, feelings, emotive qualities, etc. are a given for certain times of the night and anyone who spends much time at all playing music into the night, or the day for that matter, begins to get familiar with those "shifts."

Pulling up to the fire, I felt so many emotions rolling thru me, along with a deep stillness and presence of mind. I had not been to this land, this fire, for 7 years. A perfect cycle for me of growth, evolution and transformation was about to be completed in this week of drumming and all night rituals, and I could feel the edges of that reality. They were tangible, palpable and I felt so much grace pouring thru me as I arrived and moved into the magical realm I love so much. Many of my most intense musical and spiritual experiences with the drum had occurred right at this fire 7-12 years ago. I had cried, wept, sang my heart out, danced into bliss, bled, shed and been wed to my drum here at this place. Countless hours of prayer in my hands on skin, countless dancers falling at my feet, countless nights of all night magic and mysticism, countless wanderings into the deepest places of my own psyche and the psyche of others had occurred right here... and here I was, once again, 7 years later feeling so completely at home, so completely at peace, so completely transparent.

In the week back on this land, my heart was busted wide open once again, as it has been so many times before. The rememberances of the growth and the love that fire, drumming, dancing and bringing in the dawn with others were such a profound and beautiful experience to feel. Every time I do an all night circle, anywhere in the world, I feel so grateful for whatever pulse it is that moves thru those of us who cherish this work/play. I recognize how unique and strong we are, and I am so so grateful that I have been chosen for this sacred, wild and maybe slightly crazy path! There is just some super magical essence, some etheral otherworldy quality that emerges in the deepest part of night that, when we stay witness to it, keeps our bodies and spirits engaged, and goes beyond the illusion of tiredness as it transforms us and unifies us in a way that nothing else I've ever experienced can do.

In sharing with old friends there at Brushwood who I haven't seen or even spoken to in 7 or more years, the depth of our connection was profound and simply evident to me. I felt like these people knew me more, deeper and more completely than those whom I spend every day with in my "mundane" world. There is a comfort, a knowingness, an acceptance, a LOVE that just completely goes beyond familiarity or friendship into the realm of true spirit kin. Kin who hold no expectations or need for anything but true transparent sharing of space and time, prayer and beingness.

On Sunday morning, making my last few "O's" around the fire before departing, I took the time (and courage) to look every single person in the eye for three full slow walking rounds. Not just a glance, I held intention and created a true "making the connection" with each person. Maybe 50 or more people were still present well after dawn and each one of them granted me access to their hearts; each one of them was holding joy and a tenderness that I rarely see anywhere else or in any other space but this one. There was a vulnerability and a gratitude at being seen, accepted, and honored by me as I truly and fully was experiencing myself thru and in each of them and I knew that they too were experiencing their love thru the love in my eyes. From the tattooed, pierced and naked bodied super funky friekky folk, to the women moving thru the circle in wheelchairs who had limited use of their bodies but who's spirit's were alive and in joy to be together with others at dawn: all were in love.

Magic...
Music...
Acceptance...
Peace...
Dancing...
Firelight...
Sunshine emerging...
Mists Lifting...
rain Falling...
Muddy bodies Rejoicing...
Smiles of such delightful souls...
Intangible Grace...
Spiritual/Emotional Transformation to the Gold Within...

These are the rewards for the strong wild breed that celebrates life in this way...
We share
We accept each other, and we offer our gratitude...

I LOVE this work and I am so grateful to have gotten to go home to that land for 5 days to pay my respects and shed some skin!

Thank you for all of you who were there with me... I am so in love with you always and forever more... I will never forget your eyes and the wisdom therein..

Chaos: the sweet surrender to the great unknown

Swirly void
Envelope me
Find me in my peaceful place
Stir me
Shake me to my core
Remind me
To find you once more

You
who so often is feared
Left out in the far away places
Afraid to be seen
An untouchable
Yet I welcome you now

Come
Teach me of your depths
Limitless potential
Boundless energy
Fullness of all that is nothing

Infinite potentiality
exists in your disguise
The great unknown
Mystery
Like the deep heart of night
But much less still

Find me
Remind me
Teach me
Unleash me
Let my edges be pushed to the places I have forgotten

I surrender to you
And out of you
I find the Grace
I know I AM
Emerging softly
thru my tears
Thru my resistance

And on the other side
I see once again
The light of God.


======================================================================================
Chaos is, as I talk about in Muse Power, the wellspring of creation, the void of new birth, and it is a wonderful and magical experience to emerge from it's swirly soup with clarity, and newness awaiting discovery!

It's all about the surrender.. those of you who have Mused with me in the Muse Jam's, you know this place, we go thru it in every Muse.. and every single time, the magic that comes through it is so beautiful.. for me, the Muse is my metaphor for life.. what happens there, I KNOW is what will happen in life.. if I follow the same course of surrender, allowing and letting go... The Muses are my guide and reminder in moments of chaos, or stillness, or perfection.. all of it.. they teach me everything I need for life skills... I know many of you know this too! :) That's why I wrote the book after all! :)

Please share your experiences of chaos and it's passionate place in your life! :) Love to hear from you!

Book Review on Muse Power

Check out this link: http://www.ivouch.com/cherishanti-com

From Futureman & Ty Burhoe on Muse Power

Here's some feedback on Cheri's new book: Muse Power: How Recreational Music Making Heals us from Depression and the Symptoms of Modern Culture

"Cheri has created a rich and inisghtful book on the far reaching impact of music on today's society as well as it's importance to us as individuals. She has woven together, not only very provocative research and important facts about sound and psychology, but also her own moving experiences in one of the human race's most valuable resources: music."
Ty Burhoe, Professional Tabla Player, Student of Zacchir Hussein

"I have taught drums with Cheri on several occassions and this book is great as I feel that I can continue learning from Cheri. Cheri has such great energy and brings such a unique blend of feminine insight, power and passion to the art of drumming. Muse Power reminds us of the healing power of music as a way of building community and relationships. I love drumming, community and relationships and so does Cheri! Thanks Cheri, I love what you are doing! Bravo on creating this great educational journey."
Royel, "Futureman" Wooten of the Grammy Award Winning Band, The Flecktones

"Cheri definitly channels the powers of the muses when she performs as a singer, or leads the circles of ecstatic percussion. This book is yet another manifestation of her incredible and beautiful energy: a welcome contribution to the growing testimony to the healing magic of music."
Cameron Powers, "Musical Missions of Peace"

Buy your copy today at http://www.cherishanti.com/products and bring Cheri to your community to share the power of rhythm, music and community building!

The Power of the WItness in Music Making

Moving in perfect stillness as my feet are hitting the floor in perfect rhythm, I look out into the audience and my heart is spilled open once again by the presence of these dancing, free spirits moving to the groove of the band I'm playing with, Onda from Boulder. It's always intoxicating to me, always completely consumes me to stand witness to the experiences of others in their movement knowing that they too are seeing me and what we are exchanging is of such a unique and profound quality in today's world of computer screens and techno blah blah.

It is my inspiration. It is the food that feeds my ever growing heart of compassion and connection to others. It is the fabric of my existence somehow, this experience of the witness being witnessed, simutaneously holding others as I too am being seen in my truest essence. There is so much grace and power in what happens when we are grooving together, when eyes meet, and there is acknowledgement of one for the other. Be it in our pain, our glory, our passion, our sensuality, our frustration... somehow music makes us transparent, it brings us back fully into the shared experience of our humanness.

Drumming together, singing together, dancing together are all forms of music making. We are in the groove, our bodies and hearts and minds become synchronized on a whole different level when we are in that state. We can get past the mundane and for those moments we can see each other without judgement, without any dilution of the personality, without words. For me, this is total freedom, and I feel that those who know me best, know me thru the Muses. They've heard me play the passion of my soul, they've seen me cry in the middle of a song or fall on my knees on the ground and pray thru the grace of tears as the hardness of the world melts me, they've seen the truth of me which shines far brighter in the Muse. And, likewise, when I see someone in their groove, suddenly I get a true glimpse of the depth of their hearts, I feel and see their pain, their struggles, and their victories. It is as if the lens of music allows for a total removal of the filters our overactive minds try to work in too much of the time! We are free, we are whole, we are completely ourselves.

I am, as always, blessed to participate! What a joyous and amazing life journey it is to be a musical being who has chosen to participate.

Brazilian Music Study Trip: 2009

I am very excited to be sharing an wonderful opportunity to study drumming and music in Brazil this summer! If you are interested in this trip, please email me directly for more info: cheri_shanti@yahoo.com and I will get you in touch with the organizer to make arrangements! This is going to be a fabulous trip! I'm looking for 5-10 people to go with me the first two weeks of August, but you can go anytime this summer that works for you!

Read on and enjoy, and please pass it on! Thanks so much! Yahoo, Muse Tours is on it's way!


STUDY ABROAD iN BAHIA, BRAZIL - PROGRAM INFO

This is an independent program, run personally by Joao Junqueira, CU-Boulder Brazilian Ensemble Director and Musics of the World Instructor- Metro State Denver,
with a contracted local assistant. Because this trip is independent, a great feature of this program is its flexibility. It can serve diverse goals, and diverse budgets. It will be custom made to fit all participants needs and wants,as much as practically possible. Participants will participate in the trip design as well.

TRIP LEADER
Thetrip will be led by Joao Junqueira, a Brazilian native based in
Boulder, CO with strong ties to Salvador, Brazil. Joao was born
in Porto Alegre, and has lived 21 years in the US, with yearly
trips to Brazil. He is fluent in Portuguese and English, has worked as an
interpreter for several years, and has extensive experience in
intercultural communication and exchange. He is currently an
Ethnomusicology PhD Candidate at CU-Boulder, and is in the
process of doing fieldwork/dissertation on Brazilian folk music and
disadvantaged children's music education at a non-profit organization.

You can pick dates beginning on 7/1 and ending on 8/10. June dates can be
arranged on a personal basis.


ABOUT THE STUDY TRIP

Why a "study" trip?

Because you can actually study music, dance,capoeira, or any other subject you may be interested. Joao will set up lessons/classes with expert teachers located in Salvador, Bahia. You will have the opportunity to learn from local Bahian masters
and have a total immersion experience. Participants can propose a study plan, i.e., a number of lessons, and subjects. Because this program is independent,
participants are not "locked in" any class schedule, other than the one co-designed and contracted with Joao prior to the trip.

Study trip participants may spend at least ONE to FIVE weeks in Bahia hosted by Joao Junqueira and his assistant in a Salvador-based location.

Contact Cheri for more info and specifics if you are interested! Thanks

Reconnecting to the Roots

Sweet soft sensuality breathes here in the deep south of Florida. The air is heavy but so refreshingly crisp with the promise of tranquility. Night jasmine blooming blasts my senses back into perfect harmonious bliss and I am nourished deep into the depths of my being.

Hours and hours floating upon the gentle undulating sea bring my body into rhythm again in a little yellow boat with fish splashing everywhere. When the air is thick and moist, my body moves slower, feels fuller and loves to appreciate it's self.

Florida is richer than ever it seems. I feel like I can see the efforts that have been made here to conserve, preserve and bring vitality back. There are dolphin swimming in the river again, fish jumping everywhere again, healthy and strong to feed the graceful giants. The water is blue green and magically inviting and I feel a sense of hope for my native home here, the world that birthed my appreciation for everything natural.

Reconnecting to my roots: remembering my love was born in this place of the ocean, rivers and wild howling winds. My soul is here, my heart is here, and my roots are here. This is the place that taught me the rhythms of life and the ocean sings forever in my soul because of this place.

Sweet moments of musings, songs sung on the dock to the moonlight and fireflies, a little girl's memories of the magic of seeing the dolphins swimming beneath the boat and feeling the ocean pulsing beneath her feet, falling asleep every night with the sound of the waves singing in her bones. How blessed I was to grow up in this place, so close to Yemaya, the sea. How blessed I am to return and feel so connected, so whole, so grateful and so serene in this place.

with only grace..

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!

Dolphin Love

Had the most amazing opportunity while in Costa Rica, thanks to my good friend, Cameron Powers who made a connection happen, to play drums for dolphins! WOW.. so fun, so sweet and so beautiful to feel their hearts connecting to us. Thanks to Marta & Craig for making it possible for us to experience such joy and bliss on the sweet Pacific seas.

As a young girl growing up in Florida, I have had many dolphin experiences. My dad and I were always in the boat and there were always dolphins close by it seemed, a few times they even came down into the canal in our back yard which was super cool. I have memories of their love filling my heart that go back to those days, and the heart space they inspire has never changed or diminished. Last year I got to see them near Kauai and the Big Island, this year Costa Rica. It's fun to know they love to groove too!

Enjoy the video and pass it on!

Costa Rica Update

Such sweet times here in the warmth of the tropics. It's been an amazing time to dream the dream, live the dream and work with sweat dripping down my body constantly.

Costa Rica feels funny too, like a place that has pants it hasn't really been able to totally squeeze into!

Music is the place my heart always thinks it needs more of, even here with all the amazing sounds of nature and the wild things, my heart is craving the sweet soft places, the lover in the Muse! I've had a few good doses, luckily enough to keep me soft and yummy but always wanting more it seems of those really precious sacred moments in the Muse.

Forest Dance was here, old friends from many years past in the fire tribe community. Twas a treat indeed to hold space and play all night beneath a big phat tropical moon with monkeys howling and funky Whattar players busting early morning grooves by the fire that was a bit too large for the size of the circle! The beautiful Ceiba tree hovering ominously over our heads was a blessing to behold and the biggest relief on the land was the swimming hole just on top of Nauyaca Falls (the picture is Nauyaca).

I've been here, in Costa Rica, Dominical, for 6 weeks working with a very dear friend of mine on creating a Community Retreat project in Uvita, CR just outside Dominical. It's been an amazing time of writing the dream into being and feeling this super surreal knowingness that I am living in the dream I've been carrying for so many years. I feel so grateful for the opportunity to get to collaborate with a friend on something that we both have been dreaming for years! It's tremendously exciting, and I feel like kissing the ground almost every minute... wow..

The synchronicities have been wild and whacky of course too! Lots of re-connecting with old friends from all over my life, Florida, North Carolina, Fire Tribe all over this country and others have been showing up left and right. It seems there is some merging here of all the differeng amazing pieces of my life! That's telling me something, as a big part of my dream/vision has been that all my favorite people from my whole life would come to be together in one magical, natural place like heaven!

The book, "Muse Power: How community Music Heals us from the Symptoms of Modern Culture" is in it's final final stages, no really, I mean it! I'm having Sirian Philips redo the cover and once that's done, it's off to print, so it will be available from my website as well as Amazon.com and other sources before spring I think!

Always good for me to leave the country and reflect on how amazing a place we live in in the US. Even with it's crap and it's problems which are many.. we are so blessed to have the reality we do.. bless the mess and let's dance the dream alive every day!