Talking with Thomas

Us Roadtrip

2010-12-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

11 July 2010

Sunday 5pm

Canyon de Jemez, New Mexico

I have listened to my intuition this afternoon, which was really good. I’m here at my campsite and I’ve been watching the dark and various clouds today and really wanting to put up my tent, but it just didn’t feel right. And then the Heavens opened and Oh my God, I went down to my briefs, picked up a rag and stood in the rain wiping down my car, and repeating the mantra, Om Namah Shivaya. It was so fun and so liberating to just get soaked in the downpour. It only lasted for about 15 -20 minutes, and now I feel so much better. What an excellent shower a rain downpour is.

This reminds me of a short story. Last year I was biking along Lake Constance (Bodensee) with my good friend Roswitha Schaefer, who lives in Bregenz Austria. The Bodensee borders the 3 countries of Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It was a really beautiful day and we decided to bike over the German border to the lovely town of ______ . This is such a picturesque town/city on the lake. It was never bombed in the war and remains to be a Very Charming and old time German city. We had a coffee and walked around a bit observing the beautiful buildings and structures. The clouds started looking threatening so we started biking back to Bregenz. Om Namah Shivaya, the heavens opened and we still had a good 15 minutes to get home. I must say that this was one of the most liberating moments of my life, completely surrendered to being drenched in a summer rain, and loving every minute of it. It rained so hard, and I too laughed so hard, so many times as I was in an ecstacy of sorts. So now anytime it rains I just get the urge to take off my cloths and go outside and really receive the Shakti(energy) of the rain. Don’t worry family and friends, I will attempt each time to exercise discretion.

This brings up the issue of nudity and seems to be the right moment to comment more. Once again, I am in a posture of Gratitude to the Esalen Institute. In this place I learned to be at peace and without anxiety while being naked in public. There was a learning curve, so to speak, and it took me some time to learn to be at ease and not caring about what others “might be thinking”. We certainly deal with any body issues we have in the practices of yoga and then the nude baths and swimming pool is another level of being at ease with what is.

I LOVE being in the Esalen baths in the winter time when it’s raining outside. Oh that is So Great! The combo of the hot and cold in the same moment feels magical and again just being naked in the rain is such a cool sensation. While most people hide away from the rain, it is quite an exhillaration to fully embrace the wetness and sloppy kiss of the rain. MMMmmm Good........Thankyou to the Forces of Nature!

One more thing, I feel the outer nakedness facilitates an ability to be more naked on the inside, being more transparent. This correlates to the possibility at Esalen, as a healing place on the planet. First of all an individual can relax back from normal life into a natural setting and stunning environment. And then through the various workshops of gestalt, yoga, massage and the many physical and mental-emotional approaches to healing and better health, we can integrate and heal more deeply. It is the combo of placing ourselves in a natural healing environment and then consciously allowing shadow material and challenging issues to arise and integrating them into our yin/yang, light/dark identity. We are the light of the Supreme and we are the Shadow issues also. Bingo!! Most people try to pretend they are perfect and don’t have a shadow side. You know what, we can spend a lot of our Shakti and Energy on repressing our issues. Maybe this is fairly common. What’s up with that? Que pasa? The Hero’s journey is taking the time to acknowledge and embrace these challenging parts of ourselves, requiring many pauses and moments of re-evaluation. There are many layers to doing this as we know, and it takes time to heal deeply. Gurumayi once said,”It takes great determination to take the wheel of karma into our hands and to steer it in a new and beneficial direction”.

I feel that an individual is deeply sobered on the Hero/Heroine’s journey, seeing with Total Clarity and Honesty who we fully are, light and dark. With this awareness we move forward with great humility and a knowing that we are consciously connected to the flow of Grace, and Life.

13 July, 2010

Tues, 1pm

Canyon de Jemez, New Mexico

Dear friends,

Well let me tell you, it is realy HOT. The temp has been 63 degrees when I get out of bed and the days high yesterday was 97 degrees at 5pm. There was some good rain and lot’s of clouds when I arrived on Sun and then yesterday the WIND was blowing like mad. The wind is not a good friend to an artist, especially if they want to work outside. And, I still managed to finish 2 paintings and started another one which I finished this morning.

Remember, 2 paintings out of 10 may be fantastic, 2 are trash and the the other 6 are so-so. But the point is, the so-so ones still require my full attention and essentially the same amount of time. So I’m still dealing with the thought that, ” maybe I’m wasting my time and could be doing more valuable things”....like making money and being a responsible member of society.

The resistance factor is also something I deal with. It was Very Hot yesterday, but still I procrastinated and put off starting. Once I did, I couldn’t stop and kept painting and painting till dusk. Cool huh, and a good awareness for me...just get started and the rest will take care of itself.

Now here’s an example of the polarity/paradox of life which I/we cannot avoid. Here I am in this beautiful canyon in New Mexico, doing my Kniep tx’s in the river and just basking in the beauty of the natural world. Yes! Then yesterday morning, a Native American couple here at the campground went into a major domestic violence episode. I did not witness the violence towards her but I saw her leap out of the truck on the highway, she crying and in hysterics with him screaming and screaming for her to get back into the car. In the moment I didn’t really understand what was happening and then later I understood. Their little 10 y/o boy was still in the campsite with the baby and as I walked back to my place I greeted him. I could see that he was in crisis. The look on his face was far away and very scared. I understood later that it was his father and mother in the rage and violence and he must be familiar with what was unfolding this morning.

Then Alex, the 68 y/o host attendant for this campground, who was involved in this incident, told me the story of his mother being shot in the head and killed by his stepfather when he was 10 yrs old, and all the gory details that he witnessed.I could hardly wait till he walked away, and I just wept and wept after he left, overwhelmed by what I had witnessed and heard.

The tragedy and pain of this world is unbelievable to me. I just kept thinking of that beautiful little 10 y/o Indian boy and his mother, going home and continuing to go to bed and waking up with a time bomb in their house; living out this tragedy. I reflected too on the abusive father. At first I was so angry with him, calling him a coward in my heart, beating a woman and his own children??? And then I realized that someone probably beat the shit out of him and he was just passing along his wound to his wife and children.

Isn’t this what the Catholics mean by Original Sin? Grandma and grandpa passed their wounds onto mom and dad, and then mom and dad pass their wounds onto the children. It’s just what is. Then each one of us has the choice, I LIVE OUT THE WOUNDS OF THE ANCESTORS, or, we take our place on the Hero/Heroine’s journey. In this we face the demons and dragons of our shadow parts and the lineage we come from. The process can be long and sobering. In India they call it, Sadhana, doing the spiritual practices as a way of burning away illusions and deceptions and getting very clear about who we are, light and dark. We recognize and embrace this polarity within ourselves and come into an integration, like the Yin-Yang. In this process there is no pointing finger, and we simply accept a deeper responsibility for our lives.

I imagine this message came to me as a gift from the Eclipse, reminding me that even as I bask in the Holiness of Sacred Ground, tragedies are continuing to unfold every day on our dear planet. I feel so sad that so many people experience such horrors in their lives, and, I feel so grateful to my family that I did grow up in an environment of Love, despite our warts and issues.

Om Namah Shivaya....Bless All Peoples, victims and perpetrator’s alike.

from my heart to yours,

Thomas

14 July 2010

Wednesday, 0900

Canyon de Hemish

Well, this has been quite a week in so many ways. I did a 2 hr guided hike through the Red Rocks on the Jemez reservation. The natives actually pronounce their tribes name as Hemish, same pronunciation as Heinous, and the Spanish put the word Jemez to this sound. The hike was incredible through this deep RED landscape and she, the guide shared so much Hemish(Jemez) history and natural remedies in the plants, and sharing the philosophy or way of thinking of her people. She was a good speaker, interesting, fun and upbeat. I did this hike on Monday morning after the domestic violence incident, and felt like the hiking experience grounded me in the knowledge of the ways of these people. They are human beings like we are and simply have different cultural rules and accepted norms from most of North America. For instace, they do not own land on the reservation but have a timed property deed. This feels So Right to me. Maybe cause I don’t seem to break into the housing market somehow, but not owning the earth just makes sense to me. It drops away a lot of ego identity if we don’t own the land. I know this is very contrary to the values of the majority of the Northern hemisphere population.

Anyway, thankyou to the excellent guide for giving me/us such a sense of her people and how they relate to Mother Earth, the supplier of All Our material needs.

I feel such a connection to the native American ways and imagine I have some karmic connection to this Indian way of life. There are words to follow which are a quote from the Hemish Pueblo museums. I was deeply touched and affected by these words, wrote them down in my journal and wish to share them with you.

“The secret of their existence was simple: they came face to face with nature but did not exploit her. In the view of the native Americans, when the Europeans arrived, America was well cared for: so beautiful, so loved, so plentiful. America remained New because it had not been made old and scarred by human greed. America had been lived on by people who regarded Earth as a Living Entity, the mother of all life. All her children, everything in nature was alive, the living stone, the great breathing mountains, the rushing rivers and streams, the trees and plants, the birds and animals...

We speak the Towa language. We have lived in this valley and surrounding mesa tops for centuries beyond memory. This land is ours; it is our past, our future and our friend. We have no word that translates religion. We have a spiritual life and that is part of us 24 hrs a day. It determines our relationship with the natural world and our fellow man. Our way of life and our religious practices are the same as in the time of our ancestors...

There is a design in living things. Their shapes, forms, ability to live, all have meaning. If we fill our minds with pure materialism and accept a convenient religion, then the backbone of our life, of our perception of beauty will be broken and, as unseen winds, gone.

We must not let ourselves get caught up in the results of an over-efficient society, rapidly moving at a rate and in a way that to most Indians represents panic”.

15 July, 2010

Thursday, 0830

Canyon de Hemish

Wow, my tears have really been flowing this week. They just keep coming and coming, thinking of the native family on Monday and my dad and the effects on me and my family, and just the general issues of Violence, Anger and Rage. So many times in these last few days I’ve been in the river doing my Kniep treatments and feeling a welling up of sadness and emotion, and just crying and crying into the flowing river. I’ve been offering my own anger and rage, consciously acknowledging it and releasing these energies into the cool rushing waters. I don’t know what else to do as these energies arise within and around me. I’m okay with crying for sure and have always trusted its’ healing and relieving effect.

The New Moon eclipse on Sunday was opposing my natal Mars. Eclipses are stronger New and Full Moons and their effect is more long lasting, like for 6 months. So clearly the dark side issues of Mars, anger, violence and rage are being reflected to me from the outside. The transit is also very positive, enhancing my Masculine energy, libido and sense of vitality and self expression.

I’ve been reading this fantastic book lately, Jung and Tarot, by Sally Nichols. It seems that I’m in a period of doing a deeper metaphysical study and this book is giving me a deeper understanding of symbols and archetypes in our collective consciousness. I haven’t picked it up for 6 weeks or so and opened to nearly to the page I had finished some time ago. The following sentences were highlighted, something I love to do, and the message just popped out at me at the first re-opening of the book. I’ve been asking questions and pulling the Tarot cards lately as a way of study of these archetypes, and opening to the Hermit, #9 , seemed to be no mistake. These words spoke deeply to me and of course, my tears flowed...

“Like St. Francis, he must feel an intimate, tender relationship with Brother Sun and Sister Moon and all the birds and beasts; yet at the same time this Hermit must have the stamina of a St. Anthony to withstand the myriad devils, the monstrous aberrations of the human spirit, which beset man in his loneliness. Perhaps the old wise man has come back to teach us the forgotten art of solitude”.

“It seems increasingly difficult for us to accept the lonely path to self-realization. The art of individuation, of becoming one’s unique self, is an intensely personal experience and, at times, a lonely one. It is not a group phenomenon. This involves the difficult task of disentangling one’s own identity from the mass of mankind. To discover who we are, we must ultimately withdraw those parts of ourselves which we project onto others, learning to find deep within our own psyches the potentials and shortcomings which we had formerly seen only in others. Such recognition is facilitated if we can withdraw from society for brief periods and learn to welcome solitude”.

“Such periods of solitude are not morbid or antisocial. They can return us to the world with renewed energy for action and a keener sense of our own identity and our special role in relation to the world....the original Greek word for single or solitary can also be translated as “unified”.”

16 July, 2010

Friday 10am

Canyon de Hemish

my Dear Friends,

It has been so fun and deep for me to share my journey and thoughts with you in these last weeks. Thankyou for receiving this. I have sent these emails to the say 50 people I feel closest to in my life. I did not ask any of you if I could send you these emails and imagine that you read as much as you wanted. I have a new blog on my website, (I hate the word BLOG, it reminds me of BLOB or BLAH, BLAH, BLAH) and I see that I enjoy writing like this and will continue to write and simply put these words onto the Travelogue- Blog-Asana, hahaha !!!

Okay, back to the moment. So funny, after the last quote above about solitude, then the hand of life brings me some fun companions/compadres.

I met a great couple from a town south of Albuquerque, (that is some word to spell and type out) and we have had some real fun activities this week. Morgen and Darren live in the desert and have worked in a Smith’s grocery store for about 12 years or so. Living in the desert, this Haimus canyon and series of springs, waterfalls and and river, has drawn them to this canyon many times. They’ve given me great cues on where to go and some of the more local secret spots.

So this was cool......they told me to go to the tunnels, a swimming hole on the other side of the Big Yellow and Red Mountain to my west. I drove down 4 and turned right onto onto NM 485. Once again, the terrain and the scenery of the mountains is Stunning and I am driving so slow enjoying the whole atmosphere. Same red and yellow stone, different canyon. Whew! Getting there I climbed down into the gorge and for quite awhile let my feet and legs and hands get pounded in the waterfall there. I see that this is an Earth Medicine which I’m describing. There is a stronger energy at a waterfall and this is avaiable to anyone who chooses to consciously absorb it. My absorption technque is repeating the mantra and breathing consciously, knowing that I am receiving the Enhanced Vitality of the waterfall and pond.

And then climbing back up to the car, OH MY GOD, I hear the rattle of a Rattle Snake. My heartrate elevated immediately and I started breathing deeply....and walked away from the sound of the rattle. Yowza!! I love witnessing when my body goes into fight and flight, I think it’s the Parasympathetic nervous system response. Anyway, all is fine and I get back to the car, realizing that I received snake medicine. Cool! I know that Christianity has made a devil out of the snake. But I moved on from that thinking in Siddha Yoga where the snake is regarded as a symbol of the inner spiritual energy, laying dormant at the base of the spine. So the medicine of a snake is deeply significant for me and indicates the spirtual or inner realms of being. So I’m returning home and driving on that little NM highway 485, when all of a sudden a large bird to my right flies off a post and over the car. I whipped my head to the left and looking out the window seeing this large bird was white with black and tan stripes and spots. I knew it was an owl(Spotted Owl) cause this has happened before and it seems I have owl medicine. The owls have shown themselves to me many times over the years. The owl is like the Fool card in the Tarot deck, mystical and easily connected to trans-dimensional states of consciousness. The owl sees everything in the night, so it symbolizes intuitive ability and being connected to forces beyond the physical dimension. For the Navajo tribe the owl is to be avoided and for others it is a guardian to spiritual dimensions. So there you go. I feel very happy to be in this special place and to receive these 2 omens from the animal kingdom.

Yesterday(Thursday) was such a fun and excellent day! Wow! I travelled with Darren and Morgen to several local natural mineral springs and waterfalls. We parked and hiked about 20 minutes through the forest and came to the natural springs and soaked there in the warm waters for an hour or so. This couple is very different from me and yet we have had so much deep sharing about our lives and what has happened. Morgen shared that she too grew up in a physically abusive home, watching her father beat her mother.

What is this? What is the Intelligence showing me? So clearly, this Gestalt, this issue of domestic violence, anger and rage has come up in so many ways this week. I see and acknowledge that my psyche and being is accepting the reality of this force in me, and in all humanity. So in the Accepting and Embracing, maybe I can forgive the heinous abuses of the masculine energy, in myself and in the others. The abuses of women and children and Mother Earth are unacceptable. And even men having power and authority over each other and the killing and maiming of other men. I cried and wept several different times as we shared our stories. It was pretty cleansing for my heart, crying so freely and from such an open and innocent place in front of my new friends and strangers really.

Here’s one stunning and beautiful moment. Darren is speaking about his job in the grocery store, and he said,”You know the very best part of my whole job is being of service to the customers. Seeing that lost look on a persons face and helping them find what they’re looking for, and being kind to the elderly and helping them with their bags or cleaning up after somebody breaks something”. So here I am, looking at this man working in a mundane job for seemingly too long(my judgement) and here he knows that he is in Service to Humanity in his own profound way.

Om Namah Shivaya.....Who am I to judge anyone?

I deeply bow to Darren’s dharma of Service

We left the springs after our eyes were dry, walking back to the car and drove down Highway 4 to a picnic lunch at Battleship rock and then to Soda damn, just before the village of Jemez Springs. There is a mineral spring here as well, and the residues of the minerals have created this huge dome and dam like structure at this great waterfall. So Morgen and Darren lead as we Kniep’ed our way across the river to the pool and then into the Waterfalls. Oh my God, (usually I say), Om Namah Shivaya........ This is really Something!! I have had the experience of going under the waterfalls in Yelapa Mexico many times and it is Super Special!! There is a ledge here behind the falling water where we could sit, and I allowed nearly every place on my body to get a powerful massage from the waterfalls’ intense pounding.

I consider these minutes and hours like a Baptism really, it is so strong and uplifting. Clearly this is another Earth Treatment, like walking on the dew grass or being barefoot on the river stones. Mother Earth has so many portals and openings for sharing and extending her Vital force to us, if we can only take the time to calm down and be quiet in nature.

Thankyou Hemish Canyon for so many naturally occurring Earth Treatments. You are a great Valley of Consciousness.

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 12 (Bernalillo, New Mexico)

2010-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

New Moon Cancer, full Solar Eclipse

I see that there are many places on the planet where I feel very comfortable and could live. This great state of New Mexico is one of these places, probably in the northwest quarter of the state. There is a combination of factors here which thrills me to even consider this place as a potential home; the phenomenal colors of the mountains and wide open feeling of the landscape, Big sky and broad vistas, and the easy feeling of being an artist and writer here. I love the major presence of the native American population and their awareness of the preeminence of nature. The adobe architecture is so calming as I look at them in context with the environment, and, I just feel a Thrill in my body and soul to be here in this place and on this land. The prayer in my heart right now, may it be in my destiny to live and work from this land.

I did the long drive yesterday from Springfield Mo. and arrived around 8pm to this town of Bernalillo. I actually drove all the way up to my campsite near Jemez Springs, knowing it was my first desire to set up camp last night. As suspected, the campsites were full so I gave myself a nice nights sleep in a bed before these next 5 nights of camping.

Pisces horoscope for this eclipse.....”Today’s solar eclipse in your 5th house of creativity encourages you to set aside a block of time for artistic self expression”.....Wow!! That is exactly my plan for this week, 5 nights camping, making drawings and paintings and writing to my hearts content. Nobody knows me here and I hardly speak a word, except for some occasional wonderful human contact and exchanges. This time to be back here in nature and in this yellow and red canyon, well, I can think of no better place for me to be right now. Maybe this is the epicenter of my trip. It seems like writing and making art is my deeper dream and wish for my life. Hmmmmm......and being friends and in love with you All.

Tommaso

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 11 (St. Louis, Mo.)

2010-07-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

It is time for me to return to New Mexico and California and I feel that little sadness that this trip of a lifetime is nearly over. Come on Thomas......and then a week at home in Big Sur, and then an Esalen weekend and then Europe for 10 weeks with 3 retreats starting July 26. But still, there is an aloneness on this trip that I am just loving, and even returning to my campsite at Canyon de Jemez feels so perfect.

This thing of saying goodbye until the next time..... I feel so sad to leave this place I could call home. Also the dynamic of ”I could really live here again” and to know this is really true for me. In reality, I’m here in St. Louis for 2 months total in 2010 when added up together and I feel so grateful to have this deep connection with the place where I was born and grew up. I started coming back to St. Louis with regularity say in 1993 or 4 and over the years developed a very strong relationship with the yoga family of St. Louis. So having my blood family and yoga family in St. Louis means I'm always super busy seeing friends and relatives, taking classes and teaching classes, and just Being in this great place on the planet.

I feel very at ease with my roots and family of origin and at peace with the choices I’ve made in life. This has been a process in the last few years, really challenging at times, where I’ve been looking deeply at the decisions I’ve made and the direction I have taken. I’ve taken stock of what I have and don’t have and am in a place of accepting myself where I’m at. Maybe this re-evaluation happens several times in our lives, where we really look and see who we are, and accepting this, we move forward one more time. I feel so deeply grounded to see and accept who I am, and the reality of my life.

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 10 (New Era Michigan and Camp Miniwanca)

2010-07-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been super special and powerful for me to return to this beloved land and place of Camp Miniwanca. Om Namah Shivaya..... and so many Thanks and so much Gratitude to the Land and Lake Michigan, and to the Consciousness of Miniwanca, this Ashram and place of prayer and play and fun. As I walked the Miniwanca beach this evening for sunset, the girl’s camp was gathered there for Versper’ service. Each evening at Miniwanca, the camp gathers for quiet time, singing and some words for contemplation and self-reflection, as the Sun is setting on the lake.

The mantra of Miniwanca is:

My own Self at my very best, all the time.

The symbol is the simple 4 squares cross, actually creating the fifth square in the middle. M-P-S-R, Mental, Physical, Social and Religious, All in Balance for a productive and meaningful life.

It was an interesting perspective to see camp from the perimeter. I could not get onto the camp grounds b/c the Young Boys and Girls camps are in session. Totally out of respect for the place and the programs of Miniwanca, I did not step foot onto the property at all. In the 3 community experiences of my life, there has always been the issues of outsiders wandering into the community grounds and needing to have good boundaries in place for the curious who pass by. This was true of Miniwanca, the ashrams of Siddha Yoga and also at Esalen. I feel the issue is not about insiders and outsiders, exclusion vs. inclusion. More than that, the issue is to preserve and encourage an atmosphere of quiet and calm for the one’s who have chosen to come to that particular retreat center in nature. The community creates a schedule and has some basic and agreed upon rules which facilitates the experience of communal life and inner reflection. Clearly, whenever we are in nature, we are in the Temple of the Supreme Force.

It is as true here at Miniwanca as it is at Esalen or at the ashrams. The beauty of the natural environment is stunning and evokes a deep relaxation within me. I have so appreciated the vistas of Stony Lake and Stony Creek, and have watched a flood of memories pass across the screen of my mind. My time here at Miniwanca was from age 17 - 32, so not the average age when someone goes to camp. Being here was a profound opening in my life and truly the beginning of a spiritual evolution. I think of the many, many heart connections I made with so many people here over the years, as a student and as the teacher. I would say that I grew in self confidence and self esteem, feeling like a loved and valuable member of the human family. I grew up as a Catholic and had a wonderful spiritual upbringing in the Catholic church. And when I came to Miniwanca, I was introduced to the world of Protestant Christianity which struck simply me as a different approach to loving God. At Miniwanca, they were very aware of Embracing Everyone’s path to God, Christian and Non Christian. I had never considered such an idea before and I see that I embraced this attitude full on. This attitude and value has remained to be essentially the most important.

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 9 (St. Louis, MO)

2010-06-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

I realize now that the Travelogue turns more private and less public, maybe that even started some days ago. What I really like to do is to write everything I want to write, and then I can edit, and edit more and then even more. This was going around in my head yesterday in terms of just letting myself flow as I write, knowing that I will go back and edit and edit. In this way then, I get my flow going and do not diminish what I want to say as I express myself. This seems to be a key for me.

Naturally, as I come to St. Louis the whole issue of family becomes paramount in my mind and body, and in actions as I hang out with them. There is some curious phenomenon that many of us experience around family, where it feels like we regress back to some childhood family dynamics. Where we are seen or dealt with as some role from long ago even though we’ve changed so much and are at peace in our normal lives. I have heard this experience from so many at Esalen and have experienced this myself as well.

I had a wonderful visit with my family people on Sat morning, sharing the experiences of my trip and the artwork which I’ve created. They were genuinely interested and asked me great questions about the journey. I showed them the Petrified wood and then the paintings and carpets which I brought from California.

It’s wonderful to see and be with these loved one’s and I am so grateful to have my family and to be able to see them 3 or 4 times a year. The Mother continues to shrink and shrink into herself. Anyway, this woman, my mother is becoming quieter and quieter, more self contained, more indrawn and less controlling of the social situation.

On Sunday, 27 June, my family celebrated the birthday of my sister Denise. Yah Denise!! God Bless you dear sister of mine, Cancer Sun, 18/9 the Moon card and Hermit respectively. This one is very deep and quiet and intuitive being and is connected to Source in a soft and private way. After dinner and cake the family decided to watch the California video which Dad created with his little video camera. We watched this home video in honor of my Roadtrip 2010, since I have been traveling HW 66/40 which is the basic old route.

Om Namah Shivaya!! Watching the video was deeply stirring for me. I was 8 y/o in 1966, imagining I was going into 4th grade. I had so much energy and ran around a lot like any child. There was also video of pre California and this was the period when my family all calls me droopy drawers, b/c my diapers were always hanging down my butt. Often I was with no shirt and had my drawers hanging down. So funny! When the color video started I was often dressed in red, the warrior color. It was red shirts and red pants and shorts. Unbelievable really. Was I showing or manifesting the family energy of repressed anger and rage? I don’t see that energy on the video but I know this with all my inner work and contemplation.

I was also so deeply moved to see my older brother Bobby holding me as a small boy, and then I’d jump out of his arms and go do something. And my cousin Timmy also holding me. I felt so touched to see this.

I really honor my father over and over again for being such a visionary in the sense of buying this video camera in the early1960’s. My dad had issues, no doubt about it. A terrible repressed anger I suppose since he beat and spanked Denise and Bobby a lot. This is a dark shadow of my family. The expression of anger, rage and violence through accepted norms of discipline at that time. I was recently reading a psychic reading that I had a year ago, and she said, “ Your brother endured a severe abuse in his early childhood, and developed a defensiveness and guarding in his belly region.

I am ready to see the other video also. Apparently, my sisters Colleen and Denise collaborated and got all the old video’s and had them put on DVD.

Pretty awesome sisters!

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 8

2010-06-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Guten Morgan Everyone,

Coming to you from Canyon de Jemez, on the western side of the mountains of Santa Fe. It is another glorious day here in the elements, in this canyon and from under this cool and breezy canopy. With departure in 4-6 hrs, there are still so many things I want to do. Yipee!! I’m groovin’ and doing one thing at a time and it’s good.

I wanted to go to Santa Fe and Bandalier on Tues so that I would have these 2 days here for art and play. It’s worked out well for sure and I can see myself coming back here on my return trip to California.

I guess I need to briefly explain what I am doing out here on the road. I had originally carved these 5 weeks out to be in Peru, giving myself a Creativity Personal Retreat in this magnificent garden house I rent in the Valle Sacrado(Sacred Valley), Urubamba Peru. This year, the house was rented out, and I have my home rented out and no work set up. So Boom, after considering many options, I decide that I’m going to visit Camp Miniwanca in Shelby Michigan, squished b/w Stony Lake and Lake Michigan. I spent about 12 or 13 partial summers up there, and it was the place of my first Communal experience, where I was Opened up to a Larger View and Experience of Life. Anyway, this is what propelled me onto this trip, and also having my family and dear friends in St. Louis as a natural place to stay on the way to and back from Michigan.

I’m intending to spend the next 2 weeks in St. Louis and the Miniwance area, departing on 9 July, returning drive to California, and back into my house for 16-26 July.

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 7 (Canyon de Jemez)

2010-06-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hello to you all,

It has been a wonderful morning for me, waking again in this red and yellow canyon, the early morning and day sky so clear like you can touch the clouds. I feel so grateful to have this alone time in the splendor of nature. This campsite is next to and visible to HW 4, and the cars pass occasionally, but mostly it’s the sound of the creek and the birds and the wind. The most important thing is that there is a 12-15 ft. high overhead covering the patio and picnic table, making the mid-day Sun totally tolerable. I have gotten out all my art supplies and cooking supplies and really feel like I have moved into this space here. My Taurus Moon is Very Happy!!!

I must say that I have really adjusted to the camping and quite like it as long as there is some shade in the day. The tent now is totally in the Sun for a good part of the day, and, I’m nice and cool here under the roof above. I’m really grateful to Heidi and Greg Marsolais for giving me all the equipment I needed, the stove and tent and supplies. I really am into this groove of life, the camping and simple eating and way of being. MMmmmm Good....

I could write and draw and paint here for weeks or months I think. The amazing visuals and the quiet and shade are in balance it seems. The temperature under the canopy is perfect and I just need to get some place for plugging my computer battery in. And now that you know how I feel about stones, I went to the creek(about 25 yards) and did my Kniep tx for more than an hour, being totally naked the whole time. I bathed myself without soap, and stacked and balanced stones on each other, and pressed my hands and feet so hard into the stones under the water. I love this so much, repeating the mantra, Om Namah Shivaya, and consciously absorbing the energy and Shakti through my hands and feet. Yo baby, this is good medicine!!

Some of you are saying, What is a Kniep treatment?

Bernard Kniep lived around 1880 in Bavaria which is southern Germany. At 20 yrs. age he was diagnosed with TB and told to go to the sanitarium for isolation. Bernard said, Fuck that! I’m going to nature and will heal myself there, or die. So, he healed himself by walking barefoot on river stones. Over the years he became a priest and a master of many different bodies of knowledge. In my awareness, the hands and feet are reflexology points in the body. In a sense they are microcosms of the macrocosm of the body. Through this treatment the stones press on points of the feet as the feet are absorbing the freshness and moisture of the water. The body becomes more alkaline or base as opposed to acidic.

Furthermore, I learned that there is also an accumulated Energy in stones that are at the surface, with a rushing of water over them, like miniature rapids. I received this in a Naturopathic retreat in Peru. As well, walking barefoot on the morning dew grass also has a very alkalinizing and softening effect. They use this in the Andes mountains as a treatment for Cancer.

Whether we are laying on the lawn or doing any of the earth treatments listed above, what is required is that

“We Slow Down, I Slow Down” If I’m walking on the river stones or gazing at the beauty of the environment or walking barefoot on the dew grass, I am in the present moment and Everything can slow down.

Yes to Yoga and Tai Chi and all movement and exercise and being fit.

And, I/We also know how to Slow Down to a Stillness of sorts.

What I’ve learned is, the body heals most easily in a state of rest and relaxation. The Prana flows most easily when the body is in a calm and restful state. Examples of deep relaxation are when we get a massage, or Savasana; the last pose in yoga class, yoga restorative poses, meditation and pranayama practice and when we sleep. This is a natural time for the body to rest and to heal.

So I really appreciate having this river/stream right here next to my campsite.

It was hard to leave here yesterday (Tues) but I knew to make the trip to Bandalier NP and then on to Santa Fe.

I would Highly Recomend HW 4 as a beautiful and very scenic road. From Santa Fe you drive North and then west onto HW 4 into the mountains. The road makes a northerly curve through the mountains ending at San Ysidro and HW 550. My campground and site is more on this side. There are many campgrounds and parks along the way and the scenery in the mountains is so gorgeous.

I first visited Bandalier in Dec 1998 when I left Esalen for a week and flew to Albuqurque. I rented a car and drove around to different places. Bandalier most impressed me then with a re-built Kiva which I entered into by climbing down a ladder. The soft light in the kiva was extraordinary and the temp so cool compared to outside.

This Kiva moment really stands out for me.

I made my way yesterday to the Cliff Dwellings of Bandalier and climbed up the ladder into one of those and just hung out for about 20 minutes. I really cooled down and got my journal out and reflected a bit there.

It’s always so impressive for me to remember and contemplate that people lived in these places for their homes at some time in history. Chaco Canyon also had cliff dwellings adjacent to my HOT campground, which I visited late in the day and in the shade.

I was able to add up all my National Park receipts, and paid $24.00 more to get my yearly pass to all the National Parks. Wow Yippee!! Hooray! I take that as a good Omen. I’ll make an effort to use this as generously as I can. (When I was in Switzerland last summer, I bought a 2 year Swiss 1/2 price rail card. I think both of these are good indicators for me............

After about a 90 minute hike I got in the car and drove to Santa Fe. Maybe I’ve been here 3 or 4 times over the years, and as I return I see and feel why. The buildings of the city are all Adobe and the city is ringed by mountains. The city blends into the environment so well and it is sooo beautiful here. Very well done city planners. I drove right to where I always park, picked up a few things at the store and then had a super picnic along this little river-park. The issue of food and nutrition while camping is really something, and really important. I brought olive oil and my spray Balsamico, salt and pepper, and then with a bag of salad, a tomato, cheese and crackers and Voila. Super Yummy! The fruit is also super important and is making a huge difference at this elevation and in the heat of the southwest generally. I’m loving the grapes and plums and cherries and cantaloupes.

I picnicked and wrote in my journal for awhile and then walked around the streets and the cathedral area, going to some of my favorite spots. This is one thing about me and my Taurus Moon....I love to go back to the same cities, towns and places, finding my way, and seeing the same people in the same shops and remembering and greeting each other. I love that familiarity so much.

I was sooooo happy to be coming home to my campsite last night. So Grateful to come to my tent and my sleeping bag, so close to Mother Earth.

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 6 (Canyon de Jemez, HW 4)

2010-06-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

I feel I have found the spot I have been looking for. Ahhhhh..............I am in this beautiful red and yellow stone canyon. I’m calling it, Canyon de Jemez, since this area is just beyond the reservation for the Jemez Nation. The radiant beauty of the stones is so amazing. I am in awe in this exquisite expression of Pachamama.

There was a sunrise service this morning in the Chaco Canyon park in honor of the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere. We could just easily say that the solstices and equinoxes mark a Sacred Geometry in the movement of the planet in relationship to the Sun. It is a matrix of energy(Sacred Geometry) which supports our planet and all the people living and breathing on it. Like a calendar, the Solstices represent summer and winter and are a way of marking time by indicating the extreme movements of the earth north and south, in relationship to the earth.

It appears that the people of the Chacoan culture(early Pueblo people, Hopi, Navajo,Zuni) lived here from 800-1250 AD. Naturally as indigenous people, they spent a lot of time observing the natural forces and elements and were adept at watching the movements of the Sun and Moon. There are several Kivas here (circular ceremonial rooms, normally underground), where the light of the rising summer solstice Sun comes through a window and hits a large niche on the wall, exactly within a half hour of sunrise. This is where we met this morning, observing this phenomenon.

It’s interesting to me that the Inka’s, in the Andes mountains of Peru,(where I’ve spent the last 5 June solstices) did the very same thing in their building and rock structures. They aligned windows with the Sun, so that on Solstice mornings, the first light of solstice would come through the window and make contact with a special niche on the wall. As well as making markings in stone which marked the extreme movement of the Sun/Earth at the solstice time.

I realize that for the average North American now, we rarely raise our faces to look at the stars or to watch the phases of the Moon in the night sky. Sadly, we as a people are deeply dis-engaged from the rhythms of nature, more obsessed with material desires and financial concerns.

I was awake several times in the night and went outside to pee and was overwhelmed with the night sky. The Moon had already set and the sky was ABLAZE with all these sparkling lights. Now this is someone who has watched the night and early morning sky from the place of the baths at Esalen for so many years....the Sky here was unbelievable, I suppose b’c of our elevation and no city close by.

Om Namah Shivaya....that was something

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 5 (Chaco Canyon)

2010-06-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! I came here b/c for years I have looked at the petroglyph photographs from Danny B. at Esalen. Danny comes here every year or so in Sept and has accumulated an amazing collection of these awesome photographs from Chaco Canyon. He has spoken of this place in a mystical way and deeply appreciates his time here.

I left Gallup this morning and once again made my pilgrimage onto the roadside, over and over as I stopped and took so many photographs of the beauty of Mother Earth. So many times in and out of the car. I think of you Elliott as I do this, so free and just stopping wherever I want, totally in the moment.

They make getting into Chaco Canyon a little challenging, as any approach to Sacred territory will be. There is 20 miles of unpaved road before entering the park, so the going is slow and purposeful. This moment of challenge is critical in all mythical stories of the Hero/Heroine. Before entering the Golden Palace or the Emerald City, (the place of Communion with Spirit), the Hero/Heroine will have to persist through some difficulties and an ordeal before making their entry and contact with the Golden Vessel. This trek into Chaco canyon is well worth the challenge of the heat and difficult approach.

The Pueblo tribes(Hopi, Navajo, Zuni) have an oral tradition, and they all honor the place of Chaco Canyon as the home of their ancestors. So I carried this awareness as I walked among the ruins of their Great Houses. These buildings are mostly the original foundations now with some archaeological rebuilding. They imagine that thousands of people lived in this canyon at the time(800-1250AD) and the great houses were more the administrative and ceremonial centers for the people, some living close by and others further away. The stone work of the Great rooms is so beautiful, such small stones placed like bricks with no mortar.

The big feature here is the intense heat of the day. I found my camp spot about 2pm in the full blazing heat and came back around 5pm expecting to be in the shade....no chance. No shade till 7pm when the Sun finally dipped below the rocky outcropping. I pitched my tent and the wind was blowing and blowing and it was sooooo hot, and I was in such a bad mood! I’m telling you, between the wind and heat, I was not a happy camper. No trees here and no shade and it’s Really HOT!

The cool thing about the heat is that I don’t want to eat anything, or only fruit, so that’s a good thing.

I chilled out after sunset and hung out and talked with a New Age guy. It’s so interesting to listen to people, to hear their stories and to be present for them.

I’m so grateful for this life, and so Grateful to you Mother Earth.

Guten nacht everyone,

Thomas

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 4 (Gallup, New Mexico)

2010-06-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Sunshine,

I’m kinda talking to you and to myself. It’s Sunday morning and that always feels so special. Not so much the church connection as the “later morning” feeling, when everyone just get’s up whenever they want. I love that! I love being out in the Sunday morning environment before everyone gets up.

Well, I’m getting ready to head off to Chaco canyon this morning. I love this space I am in, just being in the moment and flowing with what I want to do. I had a plan for where I was going yesterday, and then I actually ended up doing the same route, but in reverse. I didn’t freak out, it’s just what happened and I went with it. It was a car-journey day, and I made so many stops taking photos and just appreciating the landscapes outside the car. I never turned on the radio or music and just drove in silence all day. Wundebar!

I traveled from Gallup west into Arizona again and north to an Inter-tribal meeting spot at Window Rock, a very beautiful and impressive red stone and mountain landscape. I got out of the car for awhile and just walked around, so impressed with the deep quiet of the place. All I could hear was the blowing of the wind. There are so many natural Stone Monuments jutting out of Mother Earth, Wow!! Then driving back south and to the east, I entered the Zuni Pueblo. Wow, Wow and more Wow!!! Just the word itself, Zuni, feels good to me and magical and feels turquoise in color. Their town, or pueblo, lies in the high valley with many multi-colored and magnificent mountains all around. Om Namah Shivaya! Really breathtaking. The mountains are with special shapes and features and the colors are the deep reds and purples and pinks. I feel very happy for this tribe, that they secured this remarkable landscape as their reservation, their home and land.

I see that I’ve not been doing much drawing and painting yet, mostly photography as my art so far, and the writing. The conditions outdoors can be challenging for an artist, the heat is so oppressive so shade is critical and then the wind is incredibly frustrating.

I’ve been saying recently in yoga retreats that “Being in the Flow” is one of the spiritual practices in the Age of Aquarius. Being at peace with what is as opposed to forcing what we think we should be doing. Ahhhhh....this surrender to what Is always feels so good to me.

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 3

2010-06-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

This Travelogue is serving several purposes for me. On the one hand I’m doing most of my daily journaling here as well as communicating to my friends and family, and then documenting my daily activities and travel experiences. This is a good writing exercise for me and may lead me in directions I cannot see at the moment.

It is Sat morning and I’m in my hotel room in Gallup New Mexico. I have decided to spend 2 nights here and will go out on field trips today to Red Rock park and then maybe to the Zuni Pueblo.

Yesterday was an awesome day really. I finally got out of my campsight and the GC park by 10:30 am and then made another stop at the Petrified wood lady, Marge. Her place is a Mecca for me. Her late husband had spent many years collecting stones and petrified wood and they were All laying in many and various piles. I went to each pile in my 3 visits there, picking my most favorite pieces, and only from the top layer. What fun was that!

I decided to just wiz past Flagstaff and went onto stops at Meteor Crater, where the Advertisement was........

Feel the Impact.

I heard it on the AM station as they gave info for the place. Hearing their voice say those words still makes me laugh and smile. Funny how some things can just make me laugh and laugh.

Well the Crater and museum was cool, and just getting a sense of something like this happening. I’ve seen a lot of shooting stars at Esalen. Mostly in the early morning hours, and I can imagine sometimes one of them is big enough and can make impact with the earth. It was cool to look at the research in the museum, and viewing the photos of the Moon and Mars gives us a visual of the normalcy, in a way, of meteors making contact with planets. And they suppose maybe a meteor is the reason the dinosaurs went extinct. Hmmm

I also stopped at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National parkland. I see that stopping and taking photographs is another way that I’m making art on this trip. I have a lot of editing to do and Wow, is it beautiful! The landscapes over and over again are so stunning. Really uplifting for me. If I see it as an artist I look at the shapes of the mountains but also the shapes created by the various colors of the landscape. It’s also a play b/w light and dark, shadows which look more purple or blue to me and then the bright greens and yellows and reds of the landscape.

I’ve been doing a small sketch book and one watercolor the other day at the Grand Canyon. I didn’t like the WC and felt/feel discouraged. This is a normal process for anyone who creates art, dealing with the inner judge which is often overly judgemental and harsh. I look at it this way. If I make 10 drawings or paintings of the same thing, 2 or 3 will be trash, and 4-5 will be okay, not bad, I’ll keep them for a while, and 2 or 3 will be really good and I like them a lot. Every thing I create does not have to be a masterpiece. This is a very calming salve for anyone who is expressing creativity in their life.

Alright, I have made it to Gallup, New Mexico and will spend the night here in this train town. I like it here. People say it is in the heart of Indian land and indeed, I feel like I am in the Valle Sagrado de Peru or Oaxaca Mexico with all the indigenous people, all the dark skinned native peoples. I feel so at ease and so comfortable here in this environment.

I realize that my and our ancestors committed a Holocaust of sorts against the Native American Peoples. I have often felt the grief of this collective injustice when I am around them, and my heart feels so sorry for what happened to their people and way of life. What I can see about native peoples of the world is that they are more intimately connected to the primary forces of nature and have a developed intuitive sense about them. They are seemingly less well educated, I can feel this in my interactions with them. I feel so sad that the Native community deals with such a demon in the form of alcoholism, surely coming from a loss of identity, I don’t know.

I walked into a native restaurant this evening and I felt so honored to be there, nearly the only white face. I was so impressed by how quiet the room was, a large room with maybe 30-40 of us in there. Maybe life is boring in this isolation/small town and at this elevation. It was like a heaviness or weight in the room as everyone spoke very quietly. It was just a remarkable experience. I love looking at the features of these native Navajo people. They are so beautiful as a people.

Okay, off to bed....

Buenas Noches amigos y amigas,

Thomas

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 2

2010-06-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

Dear One’s,

I really have the feeling of coming home somehow. As I arrived to the Grand Canyon on Wed. afternoon, I found my camping space, #24, in a campground outside the park. Such a beautiful spot in a quiet Pine forest! I clearly felt this gleeful sensation of coming home. Part of this is the camping I’m sure, we did so much camping as a family in my childhood. And the other coming home part is being Silent and Alone in nature. I have experienced this so many times over the years; at the ashram, on personal retreats and Vision Quests(3 Days alone in nature in one spot, fasting). It’s an experience of being in the majesty of nature, and all the anxieties and concerns of normal life are completely irrelevant.

The Forces of nature are so powerful and profound.....

And too, being in nature like this can be challenging as well.

I left Kingman Wed morning, and as I drove away I realized that this little town is built among a cluster of small mesas and stone monuments from the earth. The sight of this was so beautiful. I wanted to turn the car around and draw those mesas, and, I have committed that I will come back to Kingman on a roadtrip to see Tom Robert’s parents in Buckeye, AZ (Phoenix is 2 hrs from Kingman)

I’ve continued to meander along my path, stopping here and there, taking pictures and just looking at the beautiful landscapes. Om Namah Shivaya.....I found a petrified wood stone shop on the road north to the Grand Canyon. I just love stones and have picked them up and made alters with them since being a child.I must say I found the motherload here. Wow!! This is very exciting for me for sure!

Remember the “I Love Lucy” program when they were on their road trip to California, and she had collected so many stones their RV almost tipped over as they drove up the windy road.........

Arriving to the Grand Canyon park, I found my way to Mather’s point, to the edge, overlooking that magnificent expanse of Mother Earth-Pachamama. I had brought my little sketchbook so got it out and did 4 ink sketches. Boom, it’s an hour and a half later, and I’ve been gazing at the beauty of this place all this time.

I keep thinking of Jean Peters’ and Tom Robert’s while I’m here at the GC. The 3 of us came here in 1985. Tom and I also hiked down the canyon to the river in 1984, just 5 months into our relationship.

The camping has been excellent. Well, my first night’s sleep was not so good as I adjusted to the hard and energized floor of Morther earth. I figure we’re about 7500 ft. up here, the Sun is Very Strong, and mother is just absorbing this Shakti every moment; The Energy feels very strong here. The Sun is setting around 8pm and the light begins in the morning around 4:30 am

I slept well on Thurs night and awoke at 5:30 am, got the Coleman stove out and made a cup of coffee as I took the tent down and packed up the campsite. I also had phone conversation with Greg Marsolais, Patty Witte, Chris Desloge, Sarana Miller and Norma Bischoff in Deutschland. I do love the alone time for sure, and then my need for loving-human contact is so Strong and Natural. Thank you friends!

I thanked my campsite and the forest before I left and am ready now to drive to Flagstaff and on to Gallup New Mexico. I figure to have a night in a hotel room tonight and then back to Mother earth for 3 nights on the ground of New Mexico. I want to set up my little art studio in some beautiful spot in nature. It’s not so easy to draw and paint rocks, but I’m getting a little more practiced at it. Let’s see what develops..

Love to you all from the Grand Canyon,

Tommaso

Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 1

2010-06-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hey friends

I left Big Sur on Tues by about 8:30 am and got to Kingman last evening about 8pm. It was a little hard to get away from the coast, I kept stopping for pictures along the coast and took my time in Cambria........and then I finally got on my way.

The landscapes of southern California were stunning as I was approaching the Arizona border. Wow!! I felt like a child just gazing and gazing at the horizon line of the mountains and desert. I kept looking with an artists eye seeing the shapes and colors and imagining how I would draw or paint such a landscape. I stopped along the highway once and did a small drawing.....and it was SO HOT I could hardly stand it. Wow!!

Let's see what the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff are like today. I plan on camping around the Grand Canyon tonight and then going into New Mexico tomorrow for a few nights.

I am always deeply impressed that the Native Americans were able to live here and still I can feel their mystical energy so strongly. I love feeling their influence and presence. As a child I always played the part on the Indian, never the coyboy. Even then I was always for the underdog.

My family went on a 3 week road-trip to California in 1966 when I was 8 years old and it still seems that I am looking out the window with those 8 year old eyes, filled with amazement at the colors and shapes of mother earth. Om Pachamama Om...

and thank you All for your friendship and Love

I'm grateful that you are in my life

Thomas

Coming soon ...

2010-04-03T15:09:00.001-07:00

Stay tuned!