Podcast and Notes

For all that joined us this last Tuesday night at myc yoga studio… wow! What a wonderful time with such beautiful people.

The dialog will speak for itself!

Here’s the link to the notes.
2010-01-19 – Outline for Chapter 3

Link for the podcast

Hey there folks! I am very pleased to announce that you can now tune in online to our weekly dialogs at Spiritual Integration (Mandala Yoga community).

We are going through Bill Plotkin’s book, Nature and the Human Soul - Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World. This book could change the trajectory of our community. Highly recommended… highly transformational.

Here’s the link to the podcast site.

And the actual podcast link is HERE.

I will also be posting the notes for each week / podcast’s discussion. Chapters 1-2 are HERE. 2009-01-12 – Chapters 1-2

I heard yesterday that President Obama ordered another 30,000 troops into Afghanistan. Frankly, I am not surprised. I have probably written too much on my blog already about politics (“Creating our Own Kingdoms“) and “Why I don’t vote” and other such controversial things (“Post-election thoughts” and “Fear-Mongering“… I try to stay out of it and focus on what is happening in my local community and how that can change the world at large (which is entirely possible if we can tune in to the message of Christ and other universal teachings of love and peace).

But this?!? Seriously…

This is why I chose not to vote for any political personality, right or left, republican or democrat… I do not need to choose the lesser of the two evils… and I do not have to divide my allegiance or be disappointed by the choice of any president or political leader. For those of us who are seeking a world of love, peace, and unity, we will always be disappointed by a political leader of our choosing. Always… Peter Block writes in Community: The Structure of Belonging,

We love our habit of dependency and accept the culture of retribution because it reinforces the case for strong leaders – “strong” being the code word for autocratic, a message our culture is increasingly willing to accede to. We are fascinated with our leaders. We speak endlessly, both in the public conversation and privately, about the rise and fall of leaders. The agenda this sustains is that leaders are cause and all others are effect. That all that counts are what leaders do… That they are foreground while citizens, followers, players, and anyone else not in a leadership position is background. This is a deeply patriarchal agenda, and it is this love of leaders that limits our capacity to create an alternative future…

The effect of buying in to this view of leadership is that it lest citizens off the hook and breeds citizen dependency and entitlement. It undermines a culture where each in accountable for their community… In its own way, it reinforces individualism, putting us in the stance of waiting for the cream to rise, wishing for a great individual to bring light where there was darkness…

If we do not change the way citizens come together, if we do not shift the context under which we gather and do not change the methodology of our gatherings, then we will have to keep waiting for great leaders, and we will never step up to the power and accountability that is within our grasp.

I can no longer speak out without offering my own commitment to making a change for the future, for my children and their children. Protesting does not seem to make a lasting change as it is devoid of relationship and focused on fixing the perceived problem rather than living into a different future. I recognize that to lessen war, there needs to be less people who will accept war as an option… less in the military and less in the government. What I know I can do now is to begin raising and teaching new generations to have an abhorrence to war. That’s right…

We must raise generations of children who abhor the concept of war, who do not even see why killing someone for their ideals would make any sense whatsoever. We must encourage our communities and our children to be far more used to love than competition, vengeance, retribution, violence, or slander. It will happen slowly, unfortunately, but slowly is often the best and most long lasting way. It is the way of subversion.

I have been earnest about more things than I can remember. I AM earnest now about a number of things. But I am starting to realize that the more earnest I am, the more damage I will do. Isn’t it true that the most hurt and pain in communities and the world has come about because of people’s (religions, governments, etc) earnestness for their specific way? We need others to see the world from our perspective. We need them to believe what we believe. We need them to live like we live. Ok, maybe we wouldn’t say we “need” them to be a certain way. Maybe we “demand,” we “insist,” we “plead”… and then we try to fix… or persuade… or imply…

Because, we know better than the other how they should live their lives. Or we know better what God wants for someone’s life. I think the easiest thing the earnest do is to pray. Oh yes, they pray and pray. They feel the pain of their prayers… they pray in earnest. But how do they know that what they are praying for, what they feel so strongly, is what God really wants? I am not saying that I don’t believe in prayer and I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray in earnest… we just must be aware of why we are doing it.

As soon as we NEED someone to be a certain way, we are in trouble. As soon as we NEED God to do make a certain change, we are in trouble. When we NEED something to be a certain way, it is no longer about the other, it is no longer about the Earth, it is no longer about God… it is about US!

Religion, economy, and government have been the prime perpetrators of this earnestness throughout our history… or should I say money, power, “Truth,” and sexuality… we have done so much harm in the world. Something, something must change.

We need to start taking responsibility for ourselves, being accountable to each other, as citizens… not relying on the “leaders” to get the job done (the “right” pastor, the “right” president). We need to start talking about the possibilities of what we can do together rather than the problems (of the other guy, or of ourselves) that need to be fixed. We need to practice hospitality rather than fear (of our neighbor… globally… other religions, nationalities, economic class, etc).

Do I say these things in earnestness? Well… I suppose I do… although I don’t NEED everyone else to be this way in order to do it myself, in order to change the conversations we are having in our own community. I can say, though, that the world itself needs people to shift their perspective. I can say that matter-of-factly, without any personal agenda, that if we do not change, if we do not, we are in serious trouble.

So much going on these days. I suppose it is a good thing to be spending so much time actually doing things for, with, and in light of community that I don’t have much time or energy for the writing. It’s hard to sit still long enough to think through a blog post. I think the base, the foundation, for where my (and many in the community) thoughts and action take grounding is in food. Really, this is where it should be with those seeking out the village experience, as it is the means for our survival and the focal point of our gathering.

We gathered for Spiritual Integration class last night at myc yoga and our friend Jill shared her experience with food sourcing and local food security. We’ve been going through a three month dialog series on Foundations in Sustainable Community. Last night was profound… It really is pretty overwhelming to think of the rising problems of food scarcity and how we can increase our resilience as the times change. As a community, we have all that we need. With a little organization, some personal and community gardens, and more conscious spending, the possibilities are endless.

One of my favorite things that was said, thanks to Chris, was that he sees “food as church.” I guess I really do see that. Especially after our Saturday morning breakfasts. With 20-30 plus people showing up, music playing, kids running around, and food in abundance, I see it as a beautiful example of the community (the village) celebrating the gifts that we all have to give. No one has to be any certain way or believe any certain thing. All are welcome with embraces… late or early or right on time.

As we begin to pay closer attention to our bodies and what we put in them… in light of what I wrote about in the last post, it is so essential that we begin focusing on food and giving it a very important place in our communities.

I have been tuning in to Daniel Vitalis lately and really resonating with his ideas on health awareness, human domestication, and the ways that we as human beings can become more conscious inhabitants of this Earth. Here are a couple youtube videos that have really spoken to me. They are all part of longer talks, so if you find them interesting, I recommend watching the ones that come after.

Much of what I like is Daniel’s talks on water. Water holding memory… our bodies being made of 85% water… connecting with the place we live by drinking the live water from the local springs. There is so much we don’t know… so much we are not told.

Kat and I went on our own spring finding adventure. For those who are in Central Oregon and looking for a local drinking spring, go to the Cold Spring campground 4 miles west of Sisters on hwy 242. You can park on the side of the highway or walk to the source from the campground parking. It was so beautiful… I wish I had pictures. There was so much green in and around the spring even with the snow cover. The water is so fresh and you can drink it right out of the ground. It could be my imagination but I actually got kind of a buzz from drinking it.

As Daniel and others say (like David Wolfe), water is far more than just H2O. Coming from thousands of feet down, it actually rises out of the ground. What is it about natural water that makes it defy gravity?!? And if it holds memory and information, it is far better than the purified, chlorinated toilet water that comes out of the tap. The fact that we have antimicrobial-ized our water leaves our immune systems very weak. And then there is the fluoride… according to this site, fluoride in water can be traced to “Adolf Hitler, who added fluoride to the Nazi prison camp water supplies to lull the prisoners into a sense of complacency so they would not try to escape. It is doubtful that Hitler was concerned about the prisoner’s dental health.” So what does fluoride do to us who drink it and bathe in it every day? Here is an article that sums it up pretty well. Here is another one! Should we take showers in bleach?

So yah, been taking the “red pill” lately…

Here it is folks… hope you like it. Granted it is not a whole set, but the segments will give you a good idea as to what we are all about… minus the people practicing yoga! Enjoy… and be sure to join us every second Friday of every month at myc yoga | downtown bend | or. Also visit us at our Vasudeva website.

VasudevaKPOVclip (mp3)

I’ve been reading A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss, by Gerald Sittser. Some thoughts have been coming through in regards to my interaction with the community… the village, in the midst of pain and tough decisions. I have been struck lately with how much my own personal decisions and experiences effect the community as a whole… I mean, they should, right, if we are truly engaging in the life of the village (or should I say “the kingdom”)? I have been hit with some huge decisions lately, that individualistically would be a no-brainer, but communally really have a major impact. Painful experiences should be the same, if not more so, when we are engaging in life as a village.

Two ideas from the reading have struck me intensely. Sittser says on pg 104, “I simply do not see the bigger picture, but I choose to believe that there is a bigger picture and that my loss is part of some wonderful story authored by God himself.” This I was saying to a group just last night about the decisions and community… and it is so true with pain. There is much comfort in knowing that there is a bigger story we are involved in. It helps with the randomness of suffering for sure.

The second thing that hit me was Sittsler’s consideration of fairness. On pg 114, he writes, “I dread experiencing undeserved pain, but it is worth it to me if I can also experience undeserved grace.” Both are a reality and they exist simultaneously… if there is anything I can offer the community from my own painful experiences, it is this reminder and this living out of grace and mutual pain-bearing. We must experience it to know it, and if I can offer an experience through the work of the Spirit in my life, the community may know that God offers it even more.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my gifts most resonate… how my calling fits in within the context of the community. It is difficult to consider this while putting aside the modern definitions of what makes me “successful.” Isn’t it amazing how much the concept of money and pay clouds our freedom to admit what it is that truly makes our hearts beat faster?!?

I know… I know that I know that I know… that my purpose is to hold space for men and women to engage and grow into more mature and sustainable relationships with self, others, and God. This is it for me. I thrive on relationships. I connect. I listen. I engage in the fine art of “village alchemy.”

This concept of the village is something that has rocked my world in the last couple months. If you are familiar with Christ’s teachings on the kingdom of God, his early followers, or other people throughout history but definitely within the last ten/twenty years concepts of sustainable community… then you have an idea. Our gifts, our relationships, our sharing, gathering, time choices… everything… gets lived out in the framework of the village.

I will be writing much more about the concept of village culture as I move forward from here (who’s it for, what it consists of, how it sustains, what we do, etc). But for now, a word must be written about my place. Alchemy. I guess there is an element of combining substances and seeing what happens, with all the live-culture foods and beverages I love to create, but this is just a tangible analogy… within the community of the village it is about relationships… self, community, and God.

This idea of village alchemy was clarified by Kat and my new friends Rick and Sally last night. Immediately, I knew they were on to something. Merriam-Webster defines alchemy as

“the speculative scientific way to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life” or “a power or process of transforming something common into something special.”

There is a lot to the historic aspect of alchemy, but for me, in the context of the village, it is crafting, honing, connecting, improving… with a little “magic” that comes from listening to where the spirit of God is whispering. My work in this area will be made clear in the posts to come.

This has been pretty motivational for me in the last week or so.

Gary Vaynerchuck who started up the Wine Library from his own home (www.winelibrary.com) with social media… here is a video he did for FORA.tv. The full episode can be found here