Arctic Circle

As imagined, it is a harsh life.  On the island of Kivalina there is no running water.  There is very little room to build homes for growing families and the island, due to climate change, is shrinking.  The community knows what the next move must be, where to migrate, how to save the culture, but there are voices that tell them "no" - voices telling them to go elsewhere.  That elsewhere (far north of the village and ocean) does not include a life the tribe has lived for hundreds of years; a life of subsistence, a life of rhythm.

I, being from L.A., only a visitor, made my way to Fairbanks today, on to another set of interviews.  I sat in a bar (non-existent in Kivalina) next to a man from Illinois.  He asked why I was here, whether I was a tourist.  I said "no" I was working on a documentary on climate change.  He wasn't impressed. I could tell that he, being from Illinois, a cold state, didn't put much stock in the concept.  "Is that what they tell you?" he asked.  "No" I answered, "that's what they're living."

And then he made me smile sadly, ironically, inside.  "Why don't they just come down here if it's that tough?  If life is hard, why don't they move south?"  I realized his beer wasn't deep enough to dive into the the fact that some of them had tried that.  Had been to Florida.  Had been to Nevada.  Deep warm states.  They went back north.  Why? Because of the heat?  No.  Because they couldn't find jobs.

In Kivalina, meat is the price of gas for the boat.  When you catch it, or kill it, it feeds an entire village.  In Kivalina, life is lived for others.  

We need to think about that.

San Diego Vedic Meditation Students

I taught in San Diego last week (Thursday through Sunday) and it was such an amazing, synergetic experience.  Every turn was supported by nature and completely frictionless.

Just want to give a shout out to the new meditators, B.J., Marti, Blake, Leah and Lou Ann!  I also wanted to thank Heather at Bird Rock Yoga for hosting us and providing such a beautiful space for the course.

Jai Guru Deva!

Connection through Conversation

I just finished a telephone conversation with Michael Miller, a colleague whom I respect very much.  

It is at these moments that I appreciate the individual manifestations that make up the many.  I enjoy the give and take in communicating with an other that ultimately leads me to a deeper understanding of Self.

Oneness.

Intro Talk in San Diego!

As you know, I've been to Des Moines, Iowa to teach and my hosts have been Jules Green Zubradt and her mom, Joyce Green - lovely women and incredibly evolved beings.

Jules is a Life Coach and the soul of The Meditation House, a three-city venue offering workshops that expand your event horizon and providing a space to learn Vedic Meditation.

In June, Jules will be in San Diego offering a workshop and yes, once again helping to introduce Vedic Meditation to the community.  Toward that end, I'll be holding an Intro to Vedic Mediation on Wednesday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m. (location to be announced).  

In the meantime, you can go here to r.s.v.p. and let us know you're interested.

Homeward Bound

Teaching Vedic Meditation in Iowa this past week has been a re-connection for me and I hope a re-cognition by the students of their higher deserving power leading to renewal of self/Self.

In Los Angeles we have access to many avenues of evolution - so many roads that it's easy to lose our way, easy to sit in traffic, feeling at least we're pointed toward destination.  So sometimes when potential students show up for an Intro Talk, they see meditation as just another thing to try and, like other things, maybe it will have the surface affect of the "feel goods" for a little while.  Those people usually come up with a reason they can't do it "right now".

But those who are ready and understand, finally, that they're tired of reading books, attending workshops, saying affirmations and talking about the idea of "higher Self", make the commitment to learn Vedic Meditation. 

From the first meditation, the resonance, the recognition of unbounded leads to the realization that this is not a set of beliefs - this is not a school of thought.  

It is action.  

It is knowledge enlivened through experience.

Reunion

I have a high school reunion coming up this summer in Bismarck, North Dakota.  The deadline for registration is May 1.  I haven't registered yet as I'm still waiting to see what the spring will bring.   Recently, a classmate sent me a message, through the website created for the event, asking if I was the one who dated so-and-so.  I honestly couldn't remember having dated the person in question (gives a hint as to how long ago this was) and I answered that I remembered being friends with him but not dating him (and apologized to him if I had) and then gave a brief answer as to my activities in high school to help the emailer identify me.

He had the right person (and apparently my apology to so-and-so was merited) and then went on to ask me about my spiritual beliefs because in high school I was a self-professed "athiest".  Here, I should explain how I came to be an athiest at such a tender age, suffice it to say, it would take too long and the truth is I was at the beginning of my spiritual evolution.  First, we tear down, clear a space -- then Truth has somewhere to begin its growth.

In any event, that led to a series of emails between us where he assured me he wasn't judging me, then asked me about my spiritual beliefs now and told me I was "incorrect" years earlier.  Hmmm.   Basically, he has a Christian faith that he wishes everyone would adopt. 

Since all faiths are welcome to practice Vedic Meditation, I acknowledged his spiritual path and then asked the following question to illustrate my current spiritual understanding: 

God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent - how can we not be wholly God?

He replied "Do you see yourself being omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent?"   A challenge that I answered so that he could understand.  

The simple answer can only be elicited by worthy inquiry.

The Martin Guitar & Miracles (Part II)

On March 27, just before noon, the doorbell rang.  I was in the bedroom in my meditation chair reading, waiting for potential meditation students to show up to my Intro Talk for Vedic Meditation.

I heard Carl answer the door and a woman's voice say "I have something for you" and then a silence and then Carl's stunned voice ask "Who are you?!?" and her voice answered but I didn't hear what she said.  Assuming a potential student had arrived, I went out to the living room to find Carl who looked at me and then pointed at something.  I followed his hand to find a case "Martin".  We sat on the floor next to each other and opened the guitar. It looked exactly like his - he said "I'm absolutely sure that it's mine." He pointed out familiar scars. 

The woman had said her name was Jules.  Carl didn't recognize her and I never saw her. 

Carl sat on the living room floor strumming his guitar.  I didn't have any students that day but we have music in the house again.