2013 has been a wild ride, the year of the Black Water Serpent. Somehow I landed in Las Vegas, a space I never thought I would visit again, but through the darkness, truth was found. Deepak Chopra was quoted saying Las Vegas is the most spiritual city in the world, simply because Vegas does not pretend to be anything that it is not. I feel blessed to be in a space where I am learning to accept exactly who I am: imperfections, impulses and all. My most recent journey began in the wilderness of Alaska.
I had the privilege of being a part of a 3-man guide team leading 9-Alaskan youth, ages 11-18, into the wilderness of 7-weeks at a time. Even though we dealt with long days, hard work, elements, behavior issues, violence, and periods of sadness, the great outdoors granted us with peace, serenity, and beauty. Surrounded by moss, massive trees, bald eagles galore, whales, seals, gushing rivers, spectacular mountains, and the vast ocean, we were gifted the space to contemplate life. While paddling around 10 miles a day or sitting around the daily fire, my mind pondered my life's purpose. Am I doing the greatest service to these individuals and the world? I hoped to have a deep, spiritual impact on each individual in the program. One that would last. I found that meditation and ceremony blew the crowns off of my participants and opened their eyes to alternatives. They could get high off of breath. They have other brothers and sisters that are going through the same process as them. Fire ceremony, cold water plunges, pranayam, sleeping on the earth, living a disciplined life of steel...working with the elements.
Towards the end of my time with the Diamond Hummingbirds (a group of 9 fantastic gentlemen and 3 strong guides), a few boys approached me about starting my own program. Of course they wanted it in Hawaii. To my surprise, they all agreed that they would enjoy a program that emphasized discipline through meditation and physical activity, eating healthy, and being outdoors. These boys were craving to be initiated into Manhood; asking for guidance in becoming a strong man and a gentle lover. I found myself remembering the story Robert Bly told of "Iron John." I began asking myself: Why are we eating canned salmon and tuna? Salmon are jumping from the streams. Why are we bleaching the water? Alaskan waters are pure and can easily be purified naturally. Why are we not eating seaweed, beach greens, forest greens, mushrooms, berries? Instead we rely on packaged trail bars and other processed snacks.
Children benefit immensely from learning how to be a HUMAN BEING. Kids now a days think our food comes from the grocery store. They forget Mother Earth provides everything for us; we are the one that process and package things. Only one of my participants had experience hunting, fishing, and gathering edible plants from the earth. A pity. I began thinking about my own life. Where am I getting my food from? What should I be eating?
I went back to the east coast after Alaska to visit family and to see my newly born nephew Johnny. Wahe Guru! I traveled up to Maine for the Common Ground Fair, where organic farmers gather to share their bounty and people come to celebrate life. I love being there because the vibes are high and the food is delicious. I visited my friend David on the way. I love hanging out with David. He is an incredible chef and a brilliant man. David introduced me to the concept that the agriculture revolution is one of the most detrimental things that has ever happened to the planet. Our overproduction of grains has caused an imbalance on earth. David uses a top quality animal products in his meals and enlightened me to the benefits of eating them. Our ancestors did, we are built to, hmmm...curious. I ate his cooking, as I always have, and felt amazing. I still struggled with the idea of killing animals for foods and continued to eat vegetarian.
Friends from Kauai called me out to Mendocino county where they were building an intentional community on our friend's Tague's property. With no plan, I landed in San Francisco and made my way to the mountain. I spent two months sleeping under the stars on Hummingbird Hill. My days were spent barefoot hiking the 220+ acres of mountainous land, drinking spring water straight from the earth, teaching Kundalini yoga and singing mantras with the wonderful community of musicians and yogis living on Loveland, harvesting wild mushrooms, observing methods of permaculture, and continuing to refine my philosophy on my existence. Occasionally I would adventure off the land for a few day soak in the hot springs. On one of these visits, I saw a book called "The Vegetarian Myth," took note of it and moved on.
As Thanksgiving approached, the wild turkeys on the land grew fatter. As I hiked up to Loveland one afternoon, I felt the surge of excitement coming from the kitchen. Griff, a true brother, shot a Turkey. Wild eyed with energy, I watched him begin to prepare the meat. We chanted to the turkey, ate the heart, and feasted. As I walked through the darkness back to Hummingbird hill I felt fear surging through my veins. I made this walk every night, and never felt this before. An owl swooped down from the trees and skimmed over my head. I watched this beautiful creature in the moonlight. As I continued through the forrest, I heard a loud crunching sound. I turned my light on and revealed two large eyes staring back at me. Pretty sure I was standing face to face with a black bear, I turned my light off, said a prayer to the animal, put my head down and continued walking up the path. Maybe the fear I was feeling was warning of these two animal encounters, or perhaps it was fear the turkey was carrying since it was shot at once and missed before the gun was passed to Griff who shot it through the neck. I became acutely aware of my energy levels in the next few days and pondered my path as a veggie eater versus a hunter.
Tague and I ventured to a 3 day festival with Amma, an incarnation of the divine mother and an absolute saint. During these days, I realized that I wish to serve Mother Earth more than anything. This meant eating foods that were good for her, rather than eating foods just because I enjoy them or think they are good for me. I remembered the gardens at Loveland and the love that sister Shekhinah put in to them. Life and vitality growing straight from the earth. A sustainable life is one for me. A community that works together to grow food and nourish the land; giving back to the mother.
I connected with a viking brother, Michael, at the Amma gathering. We traveled to Mt. Shasta where we performed ceremony and connected to the strength that the mountain offers. Mike has been living between Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu for the last 3 years. He expressed that he wishes to step into his divine masculine and bring strength for Amma so the feminine energy can continue to blossom on this planet. Riding a similar wavelength we made it down to the San Francisco area and spent a few days at a Bhakti Yoga retreat singing and learning about Anandamayi Ma and then to Los Angeles where we read from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib at a Sikh Gurdwara. On our way to Sedona, we stopped to see his friend in Vegas...curious!
To rewind a bit....When I was in AK I had a vision of two owl eyes which told me to go to China. Then I lived with a wise Grandmother who visited China many times and introduced me to "Kung Fu Panda!" Martial Arts began flowing through me, and I was told that many masters of Qi Gong fled China during the communist take over, and landed in Taiwan. On Hummingbird Hill, Becky shared her experiences of China with me. I traveled to a mushroom farm to learn the art of growing oyster mushrooms, and met a brother who lived on Taiwan for 2 years. He downloaded me with positive experiences from the island. After my encounter with the owl and the bear, I realized studying the sword would help me on my path the fearlessness. The study of martial arts would also help me to defend any children that I guide into wilderness/urban settings. During the only rainstorm while I was in Mendocino (on my last days there) Griff, Tague and I watched "Warriors of the Rainbow" which took place in Taiwan. To wield a sword, I would like to make a sword. I shared this with Griff, and found out he once tried to forge a sword when he was a child. After a quick google search, we found out that one of the world's greatest sword smith lives in Taiwan and is looking for an apprentice to train. The two of us agreed that we need to travel to Taiwan and learn this art. We both have interest in island life, surfing, spear fishing, yoga, music and martial arts. Everything is on the island. Arriving in Shasta, a ticket straight from NY to Taiwan arriving on the morning of the Chinese New Year drops in a price. We buy it. I connect with Michael. Our adventure begins with sleeping on an ice covered mountain and doing fire puja, sleeping in the Pluto caves, soaking in springs, hiking in the dessert by moonlight, and nourishing our bodies off of copious amounts of superfood powders and raw vegetables. Michael and I have similar vision of taking groups to sacred sights and sharing ceremony with groups. This turns into initiating groups of boys into manhood at sacred sights through ceremony. We visit the Sikh Temple; Michael connects to the lineage of the Gurus and remembers lifetimes living by the sword. Michael buys his ticket for Taiwan. We start planning on making videos as we visit sacred sights to document and raise awareness as we develop our program. We arrive in Las Vegas. "The Vegetarian Myth" awaits me in the guest room I am staying it. I scan the book. I read about Jhakta, the ceremony of reading prayers and then beheading an animal swiftly with a sword, practiced by the warriors Guru Gobind Singh.
Here I am, in sweet Annie's apartment in Las Vegas and all the puzzle pieces are fitting together.
Hail to the Sword. Jai Te Gung.
