archive for

# being spotted 02'06'25 01:04

And so it happened that Caroline spotted me in Bern saturday - that's what happens when I decide to use a photo as banner for this blog.
We were in Bern after the opening of the students' exhibition in the Amsterdam Centre for Photography - great fun, as always, and an exhibition well worth seeing as well. Yeah! See if you can spot my two frames, I didn't sign 'em. Anyway, have a look if you're in Amsterdam and into photos: Bethanienstraat 9, that's near the Nieuwmarkt (where you'll find the excellent Bern cafe, for the best cheesefondue in town). Free entrance, open 1300-1800 on wednesday 26 til saturday 29 of june, then after the summer for one more week, 14th til 17th of august, from 13.00 til 18.00.

Anyway, now of course I'm wondering who Caroline was. She better not be the woman of the couple that shared the table with our group, she could've said something then. Nah, that wouldn't be her, since I've never read her mentioning a kid anywhere and this couple had a very cute one (and tired, too).
't Was an interesting evening - we'd had the opening, then with the remaining 'hardcore' members of the group, we set out for a dinner. Now the course took place on saturday mornings, so it wasn't the natural thing to hang out in the pub afterwards. Hell, what do you do on a saturday afternoon? Doing the weekend shopping. So we hadn't had much photography-unrelated talk yet. We made up for that this evening, and we even had a long talk on the meaning of life, and meditation as a tool for that. The good cafe talks: a passionate, open exchange. Over cheese fondue and wine. Rounding it off with icecream at Tofani's. Life can be good.

Life could be even better if I hadn't woken up this morning with weird, goose pimple-like red spots all over the tops of my fingers, which by the coming of lunchtime, had spread to my underarms. Either I've caught something rather nasty (try googling these symptons. Very comforting) or I've got a new allergy to add to my sensitivities when all seemed to go so well.
And tomorrow afternoon I'm flying to Spain for a week, to visit my sister. Great timing. And I wanted to spend the morning on getting a haircut - think I'd better go for a visit to my GP instead. Bummer.

# A Poem of Longing 02'06'18 23:36 link

The Common Wound
Sent to me by Susan. Enjoy.

An Interfaith Prayer Poem

The Common Wound: 1

We have come so far,

yet we have so far to go,

before we will see the road

that brought us here,

with true eyes and open hearts.

We cannot be whole until everything is owned.

We can keep the book of our journey,

on a dusty shelf, in a back room,

or, . . .

we can liberate ourselves,

and most of all,

the children.

We must look starkly

in the face of our own darkness.

Bring the book of our days,

into the morning light,

approach it as you would a tender wound.

Approach these wounds of our history, gently,

as if coming upon sacred pools of wonder.

Look back in silence and see freshly:

See the Christian thrown to the lions,

for following the prophet of Nazareth.

See the woman of Salem--

who would not bow down before the image of Christ--

but only to the moon and to the stones--

who, through the magic of herb and incantation,

suffered a similar fate as He.

See the day when the skin of a Huron man

would fetch half a dollar,

and see the night at Sand Creek,

when men in blue rode in on Black Kettle's camp,

the dying of babies still in the womb,

never to see the light of day.

See the Black man,

hunched over, picking cotton,

the tell-tale signs of the bull whip upon his back,

only to keep going,

for his dreams of Africa.

See the Irish wandering across a soggy landscape,

burned from their homes,

tongues stained green with the grass of hunger;

the sacred earth withholding her harvest.

We have come so far, and yet we have so far to go.

The Common Wound: 2

Close the book of our days for now,

and return it to rest.

Look into the future,

the book of days we have yet to write,

for the Golden Age is ahead, not behind.

See the Indian, the Buddhist, the Sufi, the Hindu,

the Jew, the Muslim, the Pagan Witch, the Protestant, the Druid, and the Catholic,

joining hands and hearts,. . .

paying homage to the sacred trees. . .

converging upon a site. . .

coming together in peace. . .

anointing one another with prayer.

See a rain of a thousand days,

washing away the blood and the hate

from different lands,

cleansing,

cleansing Gaza Strip and Northern Ireland,

Bosnia and Vietnam,

south central L.A. and Baghdad,

Buchenwald and Hiroshima,

cleansing Tiananmen Square,

and Wounded Knee.

I long for the days when we will see

all the earth as our Holy Land,

all peoples as the Chosen Ones.

We have come so far,

we have so far to go.

from Building Fences In High Wind:
Poems of Longing
(an unpublished collection)
by Frank MacEowen (c) 2002

author of The Mist-Filled Path:
Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers, & Seekers
www.celticwisdom.org

# revealed! 02'06'11 10:31

Now I can tell what couldn't reveal in march! Paul McCartney's getting married today and two friends of mine play at the party. Good luck Chinmaya & Sadhu! And many happy years to come, Paul.

# says it all 02'06'11 02:28

adding to the last post: I've sung my heart out for two and a half days, and I haven't lost my voice, on the contrary, my throat is open and relaxed. That says it all.

# feeling grateful & graceful 02'06'11 01:17 link

Peter and Aneeta Makena were in town this weekend, for a concert on friday followed by a two-day Soulsound Seminar. I went to both and it was fantastic.

The concert was heartdance like I remember it from Pune (*). It's very different from a traditional semi-acoustic concert, where the musicians play and the audience listens politely, or from a rock concert (by which I mean, a wall of amplified sound, so that includes Moby and Faithless ok?) where you can dance and let go in experiencing the sounds and lights - almost always, that's letting go in escape.
This kind of concert is different. There is much singing along, or rather, together. There is intense listening, and silent pauses inbetween, to close your eyes and feel inside. And joint dances, based on sufi and other traditions.
Most importantly, the musician's ego is much less in the centre. The artist is doing the work for a higher goal than just self-gratification and that just doesn't get along with a being-a-star trip. Which is humbling for the artist, and brings down the barrier between those on stage and those who aren't (not that there's a high stage at concerts like this, but there is a difference between playing area and the rest, of only because of the position of the speakers and mikes).

The group went further where the concert stopped. Singing mantras, chants, and going within. All with few and simple words spoken and sung. And, importantly, it was a very inspired and intensive gathering, with a willingness to go in from the very beginning - we supported each other, everyone in the group. Thank you guys. We'll sing some more soon.
And God, all the singing did me so much good. Inner and outer. It was a while since I'd done a seminar, and I was glad in a humble way to see that I've dropped so much of my endless worrying about what other people think of me. I just wasn't busy with it. Just at some point I looked at myself, seeing how much I was just being me then, and I realised how very rare that has been in my life til only a little while ago.

It was a very down-to-earth workshop - no big deal was made about anything - everything that was there, in the room, invoked by our chants, expression, prayer, was just there for whoever wanted to see it. And I want to say especially that Peter and Aneeta did such a great job creating the atmosphere in which this could happen. Very good. Caring, open, and cutting spot-on when necessary. They are two very loving folks. If you get the chance to see them, go for it.

* where they don't do it anymore, apparently - all things pass, my heart goes out to Shantidharma though, who's living and breathing his heartdance. Hope he's alright. If he'd do a weekend somewhere in europe I'd go!

# Fernando 02'06'04 00:44 link

Finally a real fansite devoted to Fernando Lameirinhas! Great job, Indra.

# Do your part. 02'06'02 16:06

Opened up a book I hadn't looked at in months, at these words from Kalindi:

“ Whether you desire ultimate freedom in this lifetime or not, do everything you can to evolve, to love God, to serve God, and to server mankind. Love yourself as God loves you, and love each other as God loves you. Care for each other in this world of duality. Respect each other and honor each other's chosen path.

Pray for humility. Do away with unworthiness. You are all worthy to do your best to surrender to God and bring His love forth, in humility and prayer. His love is not born of ego or attachment in any way. Strive to become pure of heart and live your life in service, truth, and love.

The world is crying for pure truth and love of God to manifest. Do your part. Become pure of heart. Do away with "me" and "mine" and exclusivity. Open to God's love and truth for the world.”