Turning Lead Into Gold

As Jim Stone said today, "the truth does not hate, it just is". Truth be told, I took a break from media, news, internet, radio, all of it from before the (s)election a couple weeks back. On the other hand, maybe lies do hate; or maybe that's just intellectual semantics. The reality is that more than 99% of both what spews from the above sources, as well as what passes for normal human utterances, has zero spiritual content. That puts it pretty much in the 'lie' category. And from that it clearly follows that almost all of the terminally degraded 'beings' constituting our species are filled with hate (and fear) - of everything "other", including but not limited to: spirit, life-forms, co-operation, creativity, empathy, compassion, innocence, love... Clearly, it is all as intolerable to Bhoomi-devi as it is to my ears, and probably yours too. 

What I had been doing/not-doing was a period of retreat and satsang of spontaneous and grace-filled regeneration, a plunge into an ever-deepening unknown, filled with silence and wonder, un-enhanced by any medicinal aids, which brought forth both profound remembrance and primal tests of courage, among many other deeply affecting consequences. Now isn't the time for more details; there's an ongoing process of integration that makes every day, and hour, off-the-charts intense, and writing doesn't come easy. I sense also that I am not alone in this level of experience happening to some degree with others at this cosmic moment. Purely speculation, I don't know. It's not my business either.

There came a point in time (yeah, back here) when I checked back in. I question whether there are words in our language to precisely define the level of insanity reached by humans, or what is taking place in this planetary sphere. I certainly don't have the vocabulary. There's probably an epidemic of 'dumb-struck' in the Love Tribe. Elsewhere the cacophony of religious and political mind-fucking, chaos-invoking noise is deafening. I'm not able to get too near it, but glean the essence of current developments in short glances. 
First thing that came to my attention is the local [Los Lunas, NM] "Coyote Killing Contest", apparently unstoppable since it took place this last weekend, even with BLM and State lands supposedly "off limits". "Hunters" had brought their AK's to town to show those animal-lover protesters that 'nobody's gonna take away our guns and right-to-hunt'.
SAME DEMONIC SHIT AS "THEY HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES"....really, it's all the same to me. Do we need to create sub-categories of the Wetiko disease????
To view another perspective, the sane and reverent human one, view this local Coyote rehab release video.
And, as well this one, and this one too. 

War on Wolves [sub-category of War-On-Everything] is going well: 7 shot at Yellowstone this weekend, 5 WITH RADIO COLLARS. Hundreds have been murdered in last couple weeks in at least 5 states. Here's a fact: 99% of hunters in the Kali Yuga are pieces of shit. "US Wildlife Services", of course, is a quintessential example of the 5000-year-old epidemic of in-your-face lies. 
Just found this quote from John Steinbeck [The Log from the Sea of Cortez]:
"We have never understood why men mount the heads of animals and hang them up to look down on their conquerors. Possibly it feels good to these men to be superior to animals, but it does seem that if they were sure of it they would not have to prove it. Often a man who is afraid must constantly demonstrate his courage and, in the case of the hunter, must keep a tangible record of his courage. For ourselves, we have had mounted in a small hardwood plaque one perfect borrego [bighorn sheep] dropping. And where another man can say, "There was an animal, but because I am greater than he, he is dead and I am alive, and there is his head to prove it," we can say, "There was an animal, and for all we know there still is and here is proof of it. He was very healthy when we last heard of him." 

Speaking of being healthy (and the War On Health) there's this sub-category: The Great Mexican Maize Massacre. And even this is merely a miniscule example of the multitude of symptoms. 
Yet, we live on a planet with a substantial Sane/Love-Tribe population, scattered and isolated as it may be. We live for the beauty of the infinite forms of the bounty of this world, the creatures who allow us to engage our eyes directly, the sensuous and nourishing members of the plant lokas to whom we give gratitude, the enjoyment of our brothers' and sisters' creative expressions. And we profoundly and deeply appreciate, in wonderment, the interrelationship and interconnectedness of species/tribes/nations in this marvelous, unknowable lap of the Mother. Here's an example: The Year of the Bat 

For the record, here is a concise history of the War-On-Lovers-of-Life. And as a contrast, there is the new website - The Science of Animal Sentience.   
How do we walk through this, even, or especially, if it's only going to be a relatively short journey? This mantra has re-emerged: 'we have all the time in the world'. I believe we at least have time to make sure each and every one of our loved ones, our co-creators, our spirit collaborators - human and other - knows for certain that we appreciate, adore, love them, and are deeply grateful for the blessing of sharing this incarnation with them.

Since I spent a good amount of time recently (also) relishing various genres of exquisite music, may I post some for you?
Did you know that Mr. Tosh was assassinated on 9/11/87? Does that need a comment?

    

This is deliriously joyfull, and profound: 
 

This one has been a favorite (theme song?) for a couple years, cracking my friends up as it blasted from my car..."even my best friends, they don't know..."
 

Lastly, an invocation to Goddess Saraswati, traditional from the Dagar dhrupad lineage (my guru-bhai, Manik Munde, on pakhawaj): 

In a Shiv-Shakti Bhav

There's just too much happening too fast in my little corner of samsara, so I've been letting the outer illusion-matrix kind of dissolve out of my view while I savor the tsunami of grace flowing through some windows that have recently opened up. Windows, doors, and whole walls have blown open. I know it's Navaratri time, and the Devi is in her full power, but I'm also feeling in a Shiva bhava (how not?), so, in order to move along with this space beyond what was covered previously, I'm just posting some short vids that are coherent with the current vibe I'm feeling. I may never be able to go back (isn't that how it works anyway?). 
 

In Loss, the Beauty Remains

These full moons - do they seem to come around before you're expecting? Are you having too much fun? I welcome the fullness, since I can't get enough of the 'revealing'. Yes, madness comes with the territory, and it's maybe even the major necessary element of revelation, in this age anyway. Mad dogs and psychopathic self-important morons in the noon day sun, on the world stage and in a neighborhood near you. And on every channel 24/7 for the foreseeable future.  Cartoons for the terminally deluded streaming from the UN.

It's all mitigated on an astonishing level too, by the beauty and sanity of Gaia's natural animal body and the empathic, loving unity within today's surviving sober tribes. At 7000 ft. we're getting the brilliant golden splashes of aspens, etc everywhere. At farmers markets and harvest celebrations the mood is commitment to keep on keepin on in anticipation of an even more brutal winter. We refuse to succumb to the programmed, engineered despair designed to capture our whole awareness. 

In my world, we are also being tasked with the celebration and memorial for the life of our great bhakta singer and drummer bro who last week took an early leave (6 years younger than me). It has shocked our drumming world around the planet. He and I have been guru-bhais on two levels, at least (Ud. Zakir Hussain), and collaborated many times, mutually inspiring the other to the max. I drummed for his daughter in dance classes and performances in the 90s, and worked for his wife's company for a few years since 2001. Those kinds of leavings tend to have various magical consequences following, and they are still going on. Not easy, but undeniably real. I guess it's a tribal thing, based on love of beauty and surrender. 

There's been some strange energies coming at me at various points recently, and especially strange since these have occurred while I have been in deep practice. Once, playing for many people last week at a retreat on the mountain with Sufi and Hindu singers, a large woman came on stage and was reaching for one of my drums in the middle of a piece. I said firmly "No!", and she launched into a tirade about how I didn't have any "love", or how "unloving", or something or other...hmmm. A few days later, while in the midst of a deep session in the temple, after our brother's passing, we were rocking it with the posse and a great Indian woman drummer from our sister-temple in India. Another psycho-queen grabbed an unused drum and started totally fucking the vibe up at a loud volume. I politely asked her to please lay out, and she also went ballistic and chaos ensued in the room. Later I had dirt thrown at me and more angry words outside. This will be dealt with, since we're in a lead-up to a big annual feast as well as the memorial, and I have been designated 'dictator' of the music and instruments by the staff and board (heh - they're finally waking up!), and there are 'security' personnel. I'm just not sure why I'm attracting this kind of shit. It comes with the territory as a performer, and it's happened occasionally over the years, so it's not new, but...why now? Full moon? A new level of dementedness reached in the Kali yug? My own Saturn square aspect? 
Maybe it's just a further revealing of the appalling ignorance of 'merkins toward anything to do with traditions and respect. Fuck if I know.

I thought I might write today about more of the political and religious weirdness happening around this season, but I guess I'm just not in the mood. John Lash has some interesting things to say lately (if you can take his weirdnesses), which includes what he calls "the great bulwark of the archontic religious lie: master race theory". Geez, I just have no use for 'religion' as it is understood and practiced by most people. And I'm just so tired of being sick and tired of talking about it. Heh, there's even a movie coming out based on the book Caesar's Messiah (trailer on YouTube). That should stir the pot some. Bring it on!

I'm praying for the Montana wolves, on whom open-season may start in 3 days, if lawsuits fail. Take a look at THIS ARTICLE on a couple who lived in a tent for 6 YEARS with the wolf tribe. Extraordinary photos and story. 

I did want to mention that I read something really wacked on a site (NIO) which I had previously included in my blog list. I wrote a note to Dr. Steve Best, the animal-lib author, lecturer and activist, and he told me he now considers NIO organization as completely insane, and has severed all ties. I agree with that assessment, and have removed my link. It is sad that all collectivities of humans, including those working for sentient-being liberation, somehow manage to mostly get infiltrated and taken over by the unhinged.

This is a little video project I put up yesterday. It is somewhat different from my usual, but have a look. As always, the sound quality is better with headphones or good speaker system. 
Das Avatar  



  

One Step At A Time

HAPPY GANESH CHATURTHI!!!!!

I am not looking for solutions to the crashed computer problem now. It is being handled. I will just have to push back projects for about a week more. At that time I hope to recover my data and continue online teaching and work soon after. In the meantime I'm typing on a loaner, can keep connected with friends, current on events and creative outputs of the many cyber-teachers and love tribe. Tending more to what's presented in front of me also.
I am deeply appreciative for the support, help, and advice of many readers and friends. This minor temporal, and temporary, inconvenience has already provided many lessons. There is more present-focused interaction with both humans and animals. An awareness of my own unhealthy self-programmed false 'need' to produce on an artificial schedule. There are other revelations to be shared at another time.

But I'll probably eventually resume ranting about the undeniably unacceptable, and the astonishingly beautiful examples of behaviors continuously presented by life in the Kali yuga. Hopefully the beauty will far outweigh the separating and isolating ugliness, as it actually tends to do in our private worlds. There is a lot of grace flowing to some of us even while we abhor the atrocities done to others. I don't know why that is, but I am bearing witness to it. I have no philosophical or spiritual 'box' to contain an answer or a cosmology to explain authoritatively what we are all experiencing with eyes wide open, but I revel in, and live for, the insights, compassion and sharing that gets activated and moved in this medium.

Love to all
-bholanath  

   ps - 19th September is Bom Shankar Bholenath Day (grin)

The Goddess and the Sixth Extinction

From his reading and research of the Gnostic/Telestai texts, John Lash (metahistory.org) puts forward the proposition that the goddess Sophia/Gaia attempted, as a divine experiment, to introduce or bring to manifestation the anthropos - archetype of man - nine times previous to this creation. Each of the nine cases resulted in self-destruction of the species, and possibly the planetary environment-matrix (including accompanying species) in which they were imbedded. 
Strangely [coincidence-theory!], this corresponds to the Hindu (Vaishnava) cosmology of 9 previous worlds threatened with (self/demonic)-destruction, and 'saved/preserved' by an entity called an 'avatar'. In both systems, our world is the 10th creation, and the Hindus await the coming Kalki avatar. The gnostic story is quite different, however.

Lash, of course, considers the Earth to be a living, conscious, sentient being - our Planetary Animal Mother, and is appalled at the predominant references in our contemporary languages to a 'dead rock floating in space'. My own direct experiences and studies tend to agree with that assessment. As far as both the Gnostic and Hindu stories go, I have to say, still, I don't know shit. But I'm open to these facets of our mysterious creation, being that humans know but a miniscule portion of the living world surrounding us, let alone the true history of this world. Vedic and aboriginal oral histories and natural sciences are about the best we got to go on, nevertheless.

I'm actually writing this because many will not check Lash's latest posts, or find them hard to follow (with all the digressions). They are HERE. And because he has posed a question, perhaps not for answering but for examination, which I find both interesting and possibly crucial. I will get back to that after a digression. 

An article published in the British Independent, titled Animal Extinction - The Greatest Threat to Mankind states the following: "We now understand that the majority of life on Earth has never been - and will never be - known to us. In a staggering forecast, [biologist Edward] Wilson predicts that our present course will lead to the extinction of half of all plant and animal species by 2100." 
"A poll by the American Museum of Natural History finds that seven in 10 biologists believe that mass extinction poses a colossal threat to human existence, a more serious environmental problem than even its contributor, global warming; and that the dangers of mass extinction are woefully underestimated by almost everyone outside science." 
Oh, hey, it's probably just another one of those commie pinko Illuminati disinfo psy-ops, like anthropogenic climate change, overpopulation, vegetarianism, imagined chemtrails, imagined rapes, psychopathy, false memories, and the like...go back to choosing your favorite political party/candidate (and don't forget to vote). 
"All these disappearing species are part of a fragile membrane of organisms wrapped around the Earth so thinly, writes Wilson, that it 'cannot be seen edgewise from a space shuttle, yet so internally complex that most species composing it remain undiscovered'. We owe everything to this membrane of life. Literally everything. The air we breathe. The food we eat. The materials of our homes, clothes, books, computers, medicines. Goods and services that we can't even imagine we'll someday need will come from species we have yet to identify....The living membrane we so recklessly destroy is existence itself."

As we daily read the wildlife/biodiversity blogs, we see who the politicians and 'outdoorsmen' are making war on, with every bit of determination as the blood-for-oil freaks. 
"...the big, scary animals that frightened us in childhood, and still do, are the fierce guardians of biodiversity. Without wolves, wolverines, grizzlies, black bears, mountain lions and jaguars, wild populations shift toward the herbivores, who proceed to eat plants into extinction, taking birds, bees, reptiles, amphibians and rodents with them. A tenet of ecology states that the world is green because carnivores eat herbivores. Yet the big carnivores continue to die out because we fear and hunt them and because they need more room than we preserve and connect. Male wolverines, for instance, can possess home ranges of 600 sq miles. Translated, Greater London would have room for only one."
Re: this "6th Great Extinction" - "an analysis published in Nature showed that it takes 10 million years before biological diversity even begins to approach what existed before a die-off". 
Factoids: The World Conservation Union's Red List is a database measuring the global status of Earth's 1.5 million scientifically named species.  Of the 40,168 species that the 10,000 scientists in the World Conservation Union have assessed, one in four mammals, one in eight birds, one in three amphibians, one in three conifers and other gymnosperms are at risk of extinction. The peril faced by other classes of organisms is less thoroughly analysed, but fully 40 per cent of the examined species of planet earth are in danger, including perhaps 51 per cent of reptiles, 52 per cent of insects, and 73 per cent of flowering plants.

I know that's unquestionably too much information, especially before turning in for the night (or before breakfast). But I have lately been reflecting deeply on two things. One, the depth of obliviousness of the nature of our human-animalness, and, two, how inconceivably different/other is each species (and, equally, each individual of a species). Even with all the new 'scientific' papers emerging about animal sentience and emotionality, we (as a species) are light years away from having a clue about the reality of the inner lives of 'the others'. They are like inhabitants of different planets to us at this point in time, and we have no agreed-upon facility or technology to communicate. The point of this that we are f**king ANIMALS, for f**ks sake! So, it could not possibly be that this has always been the case in our past. I know this by long-term observing of various wild and domestic animals, and their interactions both within and without their species. And I also trust the word of indigenous historians and griots.

Back to the Lash question/examination. The story goes that Sophia, with the 10th attempt, (unintentionally?) transformed into the material body of Gaia herself, which was a different feature this time around. In any case, the intention was to mitigate, or prevent, the self-destructive tendency of evil/Wetiko-disease to grow to predominate over the peace-loving, empathetic, natural-balancing qualities of the embodied anthropos - the humans. The way this was envisioned to work was to be through the intimate, conscious interactions with the other species. So Lash is asking for reflection on the question/idea of WHY this didn't come about. What went 'wrong'? I guess, in other words, what happened to effect the disconnect from the rest of the animal nations, and when, where? This, I think, is the essence of what Lash is calling the ongoing, necessary "divine correction" that we are called upon to participate in. How can we access that crucial piece which surely is in our DNA?

There are other discussions in those "navigator briefings", including what's termed "moral anarchy" - 'anarchy' being defined as 'without-Archons' - that made me grin. But that and other interesting subjects can be explored if one is interested on the website.

Here's maybe something relevant, and ridiculously cute:
Belarus Soldier and Squirrel       

Ok, while I'm doing 'cute', check this photo taken by one of Visible's readers -

Not sure if I posted this before. I think not, though I have posted other vids of Abida Parveen. This one is worth seeing, both for the exquisite music, but especially for the footage of the audience. They are Pakistani humans of all ages showing up in the hundreds to hear this magnificent spiritual music/poetry. They are another group we are supposed to hate and fear. See what you think. 
I Saw My Beloved in All I Saw    
The link has the lyrics in English.       

A Little Help From the Devic Realm

Whew! Yo, feeling hot these days? I'm feeling like I'm back in India, where you can barely manage to stay in your body, feed yourself and pour buckets of water on yourself and the floor all day. I haven't been able to concentrate on projects during the days, but do try to keep appointments and commitments, and do some work into the late hours. Here in northern NM we've been getting some good monsoon action on a regular basis, every day or two, and even a slight hint of fall, but we're still in the high 90s every day. Crops are doing extremely well locally, unlike much of the country. Interesting that much of the drought is hitting areas of concentrated GMO mega-farms. I tend to think that we may be seeing effects of elementals working on various planes and places, even though we barely acknowledge their existence any more in conversations and writings, even in the 'alternative' and 'awakened' circles. [Cue Gore Vidal: "The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism."]

I was visited by relatives over the weekend, and given a box of old letters and photographs and items, many 70 years old. Many revelations ensued on examining the contents, images and words never shown nor spoken before I left home and all family to pursue 'my destiny'. I was deeply moved by seeing my parents, young and in love, and their super cool rustic log-and-stone cabin in the high desert where I was conceived. I was weirded out seeing some of the assholes that made my childhood disturbing and incomprehensible. 
But, I really broke down upon seeing two photos of myself and my first dog. Brought home as a puppy when I was 4-5, she was my best friend for 10-11 years. When my dad passed away, I became so distraught, spaced out, overwhelmed by new responsibilities at age 14 that I completely neglected my loyal dog friend. She was eventually taken in by a neighbor, even more shit came down in my life, and she just disappeared from my awareness amidst the traumas and turmoil. I have felt, and carried, guilt over that for 50 years, and seeing her photo just broke the dam. At least I can put her up on my altar now, along with my other lovely familiars, and honor her spirit in the eternal present. 

I have written about some teachers and gurus, and I want to continue with that before I'm done here with this earthly plane. But, another aspect of this that I need to get off my chest is the reality of non-human teachers. This is the kind of shit that drives even animal-rights activists and animal-biology scholars crazy some of the time, though there is a growing minority that has no problem with it.

Vrindavan

One of my trips to India was a two-year study financed by a huge fellowship. I applied and was one of 5 recipients in the country for this prized award. I had a 9 year old feline buddy, very bonded, and there was no one close to care for him. His name was the Hindi word for 'messenger'. So I loaded him up and carried him on the plane, and the crew even let him sit on my lap (this was the 80s). That trip I lived very well, with all the amenities. He lived with me in Varanasi and the Himalayas, and became a well-known curiosity among the locals and a friend of all the musicians, masters and students. (He had been sleeping next to drums and veenas and singers since a kitten anyway.)

Varanasi

Then, back in the US, he traveled in the van for some time as we both adjusted to the culture-shock. At some point it became apparent that it was time for him to go, as certain events had taken a toll on his health. I did my best to keep him comfortable and safe, with medicines to ease his pain, and the day approached. Though very infirm, I carried him into my friend's house, and when we were alone he suddenly stood up and rose to his full height and put his head against my forehead and held it there. He spoke into my mind that he was grateful that I had taken him to India, that we had been together many times in many forms in many lifetimes, that he was a very advanced shamanic teacher, and that I was to take this understanding he was passing to me and manifest it into work with other animals and in passing on awareness of non-human sentience to other humans. 'Blown away' doesn't come close to describing my state afterwards. He passed during the night next to me in the van, and was buried under a tree in the forest in Washington state. 

In the early 90s I was 'kennel manager' for the town/county animal shelter for 3 years. We tried our best to hold animals way way beyond the proscribed time. One mama dog just stole our hearts, but wasn't getting adopted for months. So, what to do? I took her home. I hadn't had a dog since my childhood. She understood I had saved her life, and became fiercely loyal and protective. She was given the name of an Indian goddess. I was later to be living on the road a lot, in between roofs, and she traveled well and enjoyed the musician-companion life. After a few years, just before another extended trip from NM to Cali for gigging and work, she got ill, but seemed to recover. We hit the road, and bummed around Cali in the car, her sleeping nights in the car while I crashed at friends' places, and she kept all my instruments and stuff safe from thieves roaming the streets in San Fran for many weeks. As my couple months were coming to a close, and we would soon head back to the next assignment in NM, I noticed that her energy was starting to really wane. I took her to a vet, but they weren't thorough, and anyway I only had one more recording session to do and we could get back to my vet friend in NM soon. The session finally got done, and as I jumped in the car, I saw that something was seriously wrong. I headed right out onto the freeway, pedal to the metal, going east, praying. I drove through the night and got to Bakersfield at dawn, where I pulled into a vet clinic parking lot. I brought her in as the vet unlocked the door. Some tests were done, and I was told that her liver was destroyed, probably from anti-freeze. Then it hit me. My asshole neighbor's car had been leaking in front of my house back in NM and I kept telling him to fix it, but he kept blowing it off.

What this incredible dog had done for me was serve and protect me while we lived in the car for two months, while her liver was completely shot and she was suffering intensely, knowing that I needed her guardianship, and when she finally understood that her job was finished and I would be going home, she let herself be relieved from that duty and allow nature to take its course. I carried her back to the car and we began our last journey. I sang to her at the top of my voice for a hundred miles, and when we pulled off on a dirt road for a piss-stop, with compassion for my sorrow and torment, she left her body as I turned away for a moment. I always stop there on my way across the desert for a moment of remembrance, and her ravaged body was placed on a mountain-top in the Mojave. From her I was given perhaps my most profound teaching on seva, selfless service.
You could say that shit like this just comes from imagination and anthropomorphism. That is, until you get the fierce grace to witness and experience the reality and power of our animal allies in the proper state of receptivity. 

It is the same with the elementals, the kachinas, the devas. They still want to return to the state of being our allies, our servants, our teachers. We knew them once, and they await our call and invitation, our invocation. Some have been doing that for some time now, and maybe a trust has been regained. I don't think we were ever the ones who made war on the devas, but their, and the Mother's, pain and trauma has been enormous, so we need to really get clear and be clear on this matter. Our fierce and uncompromising support and love is both the key and our only hope. This is also the process that will deal with the wetiko problem. Not to minimize it, by any means, the wetiko problem is not just a human-predation phenomenon, and maybe it never was. The whole web of life has long been under attack. It just was not readily apparent in the local focus of the tribal and pastoral societies, but it should be obvious now what we're up against. It's a war, a multi-dimensional one, whether we view it in spiritual terms, temporal terms, or don't want to see it at all. One example is the situation of the Sea Shepherd Society now being involved in the African rhino protection - with former special-forces warriors armed with night-vision goggles, drones with infrared video tracking as well as automatic rifles - hunting down endangered-species poachers. That's a big step up from petitions and protest signs, and probably just the tip of the iceberg of what's coming.

As a footnote, you may or may not know that, as the Japan dolphin-killing season is set to begin on Sept. 1st, there is a group of islands 100 kms south of Tokyo whose inhabitants have declared full citizenship to the dolphins in their waters surrounding them - Japanese Island of Toshima. They are spreading the word to the rest of the country. It's time.          

One Awesome Day, 2012

9th August, 2012  Link

Have you ever read a horoscope that said "someone out of your past will show up"? I didn't read that, but I had a double whammy today. Sure, it's a personal thing, but it is so bizarre it seems worth sharing.

I have a long-lost first cousin (40 years+?) who was quite close in my childhood, greatly admired, a few years older. Being an only child, I looked up to him as a big brother, who once even loaned me his Jaguar for a week during high school. I dragged him to see the Jazz Crusaders, the original Staple Singers, flamenco and other groups in the 60s. Then we drifted off into separate worlds, as usually happens. He was of the only side of my 'family' that didn't disown me in those days. Still, we lost touch, both of us traveling internationally and around the US, living life in different universes.

He caught up with me last year via another cousin, and sent an email. Finally, this summer he and his girlfriend are working as rangers and guides at an Anasazi site in the southwest, and he took a few days off to come see me. He had been writing me that he had a box of 'stuff' from my mother who passed in '82, and he had kept it for me for 30 years! So I've just started reading my own letters from India in the 60s, and a whole bunch of other fascinating material, including photos.

Me at age 6

But, what's bizarre is that he came with his lady-friend whom he had mentioned had spent some time in India in the 60s too. My cousin knows practically nothing of my travels and studies, just a few anecdotes over the years. So we meet in the plaza in town, he introduces her, we talk for a bit, and I asked her where she went in India. She says "Ayodhya". I say, "oh really? I went there once for a couple weeks". She says "oh really, why?". I answer that "I went to visit a drum master/swami who was teaching some American students". Her jaw dropped to the floor and she replied "Swami Pagaldas was my teacher/guru for 6 years!!" She said my name, I said her name, and we both looked at each other dumbstruck.

Passport 1968

She was the ONLY female non-Indian who seriously studied my instrument - pakhawaj/mridang - ever. I had stayed in her house in Ayodhya, learned from her teacher for a couple weeks, had tried to search her out for 40 years, and gave up hope of ever finding out what became of her. And she's my long-lost cousin's girlfriend!  We're talkin 7 billion to one odds here...ok, 3.5 billion. We had practiced together, ate together, drank 'bhang' made by Swamiji and sat all night in the Shiva temple on Shivaratri (my first). All her guru-bhais (from Pagaldas) died prematurely in the mid-80s except for one (who I re-found 3 years ago - by running into his sister, whom I'd never met, in the woods on Maui!!!).

Pagaldas (L) & ZM Dagar (R)

Mridangacharya Swami Pagaldas ('servant of the craziness'') was the greatest living repository of the ancient Sanskrit drum poetry tradition. He may have been the greatest who ever lived, as far as we know. The drum poetry consists of thousands of invocations, descriptions, celebrations, etc. of all the deities and mythologies of India in the form of both spoken and played rhythmic compositions. These have been handed down for centuries, nay millenia. I only possess a few, and they are only given to the very advanced students, and are the most difficult to execute correctly. One Hanuman composition actually took me 5 years to master, so you get the idea.

So, some kind of crazy grace and serendipity has brought me together with a guru-bahin (sister) who I had no idea was even alive. Makes me wonder if this is part of the timewave or something that happens to people very late in life or, hell, just beats the shit outta me...?? Another thing is that, reading my own letters, I see that I was saying exactly the same things 40 years ago that I write about now. Same words, same shit, different decade; war on the environment, war on culture. And I'm still talkin' "crazy talk". It could be depressing, but with this over-the-top synchronicity it feels like something else is blowing in the wind, something unknown, undefinable, unimaginable. Maybe something wondrous? 

Simply Living

A short post today, primarily to feature a couple of videos that pretty much sum up the essence of what I have attempted to convey on this blog, on a personal level and a shared universal  vision of human harmonization with the sacredness of life in its many forms of infinite beauty. 
I remember John Lash recently speaking of receiving, from Gaia, a possible future epitaph for humanity - "Perished by the failure to observe beauty". I hope these small offerings leave you touched by the beauty you hear and see. And may we all give ourselves time to observe the many awe-inspiring encounters of sundara appearing daily in the rest of our time here. Om Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Probably 15 years ago I had the pleasure of hearing and meeting the Scottish brother Dick Gaughan at a small venue in Albuquerque. We shared some tobacco during the break and spoke of sacred musics of the world, and it was a simple roots-grounded one-heart appreciation of our shared love of the real music. He's now also in his 60s, and this is a newer song penned by him....lyrics follow. 
   

The days and the hours swiftly turn into seasons
The weeks and the months quickly turn into years
The present is coloured by memories of childhood
Of heartache and happiness laughter and tears

I've flown and I've driven long miles by the million
Through desert and forest and high mountain range
Through pastures of plenty and dark city byways
A life on the move in boat, car and train

Thirty five years of singing and playing
Thirty five years of life on the road
Laughing at tyrants and spitting at despots
I've danced in the footsteps of men like Tom Joad

They've called me an outlaw they've called me a dreamer
They said I would change as I aged and grew old
That the memory would fade of the things I had lived
through
That the flash fire of youth would slowly turn cold

But I raise up my glass and drink deep of its flame
To those who have gone who were links in the chain
And I give my soul's promise I give my heart's pledge
To outlaws and dreamers and life at the edge

So here's to the vision that binds us together
That tears down the walls that would keep us apart
And here's to the future where dreams will be honoured
And the fierce flame of freedom that burns in our
hearts

The fire is still burning the future's still calling
To follow the dream till the end of my days
Wishing's for fools but dreams are for outlaws
Laughter's for lovers and tears for the brave

I raise up my glass and drink deep of its flame
To those who have gone who were links in the chain
And I give my soul's promise I give my heart's pledge
To outlaws and dreamers and life at the edge

And this following video, the reason for this posting, I found referenced on John Lash's website. It hardly requires any comment, but I would simply add that elsewhere Kevin Richardson states unequivocally that it all happens through total attention on intuition, a lesson learned through experience. 

 

Looking forward to throwing down some Orissa tribal rhythms in a solo performance with fire puja next Friday night at the 3-day Tribal Vision Festival  - "ceremony/music/dance/art/sustainability", featuring Paul Stamets and cast of thousands.

It's really very simple

  

The Surreal Work of the Kali Yuga - UPDATE

Kailash Om

UPDATE:....On a previous post regarding the SURREAL Animal Rights/Web Investigations into the Canada Cannibal, and the "stellar" police misprision non-investigation. I refer you to this exclusive exposé link at DANGEROUS MINDS.   
I would have to say that the earthly temporal manifestations of the divine leela have gone pretty far over into the surreal category at this point, and certainly exceeding my own weirdest entheogenic future-visions of my early out-of-time explorations. Back then, there seemed to be an undetermined open-endedness, a wealth of possibilities, directions, resolutions. In these times, isolation is intensified, in every outing in these environs, by the distinct repeated impression that what is surreal to me is simply accepted(?) as normal for pretty much everyone around, both 'asleep' and 'awake'. But, in two months I have had a face-to-face true reality check-in with another human only once since my close friend left on his journey, and that was in conjunction with a student music lesson. (If the teaching goes good, a sacred window can be opened where the rasa of Adbhutam - wonderment/awe - blows in and transmissions happen spontaneously in the form of gestures and glances, and you drop into a place where the topic is all-inclusive…) But that isolation trend has been consistent for some years now, not exactly new. I used to be fairly adept at steering conversations away from bullshit, but, for one, I'm tired, and second, most in my age-group are seemingly shell-shocked or have a white-knuckled death-grip on illusion-maintenance.  Maybe it's because I've been surrounded by lazy humans for too long, who haven't been at the work they should have been? That's part of it, but also can't deny my own laziness. Maybe I 'should' have gotten out more? It's hard to be 'elder-ly', goddamnit! You do what you can to keep the melancholy at bay. 

Apparently, if you have your shit together in certain areas, you don't actually have to 'do' anything…more like stopping 'doing' is the general idea. Then you get made aware of things like grace, synchronicities, appearances of 'open windows', revelations of one's true desires, and such. I've never been apprised of any technique to call that in, but have met some individuals with a unique magnetic field that seems to attract a lot of that. (They all did the work.) Some fairly interesting hits have been recently coming in my direction, though I'm very reticent to grasp hold of the idea of a 'trend'. I do need to cross some big threshold into a different reality here, and that feeling of being damn near out of patience is non-stop. Hell, that's why my bro hit the road and crossed the border, gettin' the fuck outta Dodge.

Synchronicity, for me, isn't always wonder-full and awe-inspiring, and sometimes it's downright sorrowful and tragic -  the Karunyam rasa. Karunyam also invokes compassion too, of course, but it doesn't spare the grief.
But I've had both of those two types of so-called 'emotional empowerments' manifest in synchronous ways recently. Just noticing and observing.
 
I was looking at videos to rent and picked out a story of a Mississippi bluesman, and a minute later an old friend, a local master blues-guitarist who I'd not seen in a couple years, was standing next to me. He handed me a film called "Throw Down Your Heart", saying "this is the shit for you, my man". He couldn't have been more right on. Made in 2008, it follows banjo master Bela Fleck on his journey to bring the banjo back to Africa, it's place of origin. Specifically, Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia, and Mali.
I could only find Hulu versions with annoying commercials searching for "watch online for free" sites, so I encourage readers to rent and watch, including the 'extra' out-take extended tracks. It's a hell of an inspiring film, and great to watch Fleck gradually drop into the African vibe as he throws himself into the unknown through his many musical encounters. It's heavy, too, considering the dual ways to interpret the idea of "throwing down your heart"….but that's to be discovered in watching. This film precisely depicts what music is really about in the latter days of the Kali Yuga. That was the awe-rasa synchronicity. Here are 3 clips up on YouTube from the film:
And with the extraordinary Oumou Sangare - (been listening to her cassettes for 25 years):
 

Another synchronistic film-related event (karuna rasa):
I rented newly released "The Hunter", starring Willem Dafoe (met him last year), not knowing much about the plot. Back home, opened an email entitled "A Glimpse of What We've Lost: 10 Extinct Animals in Photos". The first photo displayed was of the Thylacine (Tasmanian 'tiger'). Well, holy shit, that is the very animal on which the film is centered. 

 
The film is pretty well done, filmed in Tasmania, billed as an intense 'thriller', little violence though nor any animal abuse involved. But be forewarned: it is a very tragic and disturbing film with the lead character hired by an evil POS biotech corporation to 'get' the last surviving individual of the species for DNA marketing purposes. Wetiko qualities are readily displayed. In the end, Dafoe's character chooses a shocking, desperate, redeeming(?) action.

I have been despairing that my best (consistent) student had moved away, but yesterday acquired a new student via Skype. O...K...grace. This is a new experiment for me, but seemingly worth trying. Others have been increasingly contacting me over last couple years to do this, so, while this tech is still around I figure I may as well take advantage. It's free, too, so…may as well spread what the wetikos hate.

Still trying to ward off the melancholy on a daily basis.
I take some comfort from being made aware that, due to the work of Jill Robinson and her dedicated local allies, over 1000 Chinese doctors (DOMs) at 8th Shanghai International Forum of Infection Control have pledged to not use/prescribe Moon Bear bile products. (Rhinos next!!) She has been rescuing bears in Asia since 1994 (close to 400 now), and has the website AnimalsAsia as well as many YouTubes, including lovely tours of sanctuaries established throughout Asia. She is a true major world-class front-line heroine who deserves all support and resources possible. Up there with Capt. Paul Watson - who, btw, is now on the run in hiding from the Japanese whaling and shark-finning mafias. Wetikos are getting pissed.
A very heart-rending vid here of the rescued and now sanctuaried bear, Oliver, who survived 30 FUCKING YEARS caged.
 

This shit is impossible to get one's mind around. We're in a fucked up matrix of which there are no words to even get close to defining. The wetikos are frothing at the mouth for more and more of the same. Its what they do, and feed on. That's why I try to repeatedly banish despair as it arises - just to deprive them of a few snacks. Not from me, you extermination-deserving lifeless archontic pieces of fecal matter!
"Have a nice day!"