BeautyDialogues

The Religion of Love

My annual Solstice Ceremony with good friends in the Santa Cruz mountains was deeply fabulous.

It has become a crucial yearly ritual for me in which I take the time to BE in community, within nature; a kind of gyroscope through which I re-calibrate to my own internal clock and reconnect to my inner nature.

This year's gourd, above, painted by Sue Blondell (aka Lightning Dove) and this poem, below, recited by Paul Strickland (aka Woolly Mammoth) speak for me of the essential magic of this powerful event.

The Love Religion
by Ibn Arabi

The inner space inside
that we call the heart
has become many different
living scenes and stories.

A pasture for sleek gazelles,
a monastery for Christian monks,
a temple with Shiva dancing,
a kabba for pilgrimage,
a Medicine Wheel for the People. (ok, he added that line himself)

The tablets of Moses are there,
The Qur'an, the Vedas,
The sutras, the gospels,
And the teachings of the Old Ones. (this one too)

Love is the religion in me.
And whichever way love's camel goes,
that way becomes my faith,
the source of beauty and a light
of sacredness over all things.

True Beauty

"Nothing is more important than that you see and love the beauty that is right in front of you, or else you will have no defense against the ugliness that will hem you in and come at you in so many ways."
~ Neal Stephenson, Anathem

This randomly chosen signature on an early email seemed particularly apt this morning in light of a gift sent by my friend (and co-founder of the Beauty Dialogues) Ashley Cooper.

See if you agree - check out this video (one in a series of SoulBiographies) by filmmaker Nic Askew. It's about the beauty of taking a "second glance" at that beauty right in front of you:

Survival School

Six important years of my life - between the ages of 15 and 21 - were spent in a back-to-the land commune in rural north eastern Vermont. It was one of the seminal experiences of my life, and I’ve always felt fortunate to have had the opportunity at such an early age - to bond so deeply with nature, learn key survival skills, and know without a doubt who my friends are and what really matters in this world.

"Moonlight in Vermont" - photo by Professor Bop

I know that Vermont, although resolutely rural, is not wilderness, and that even though we built our own shelter, grew our own food, cut the wood that provided heat for both and did so in one of the most extreme climates in the US, it was not the same as a wilderness survival experience.

Still, when I read an article by Laura Read about Wilderness Survival Schools in the SF Chronicle Magazine this weekend, I saw some similarities in what happens to the human psyche when you live in nature, giving me an even deeper appreciation of all those years immersed in the beauty of Vermont's green hills.

Here are a few quotes from Read's article:

"Most good schools teach that wilderness survival is not only about making a fire, capturing food and building a shelter, though those skills are important. It also requires an intimacy with natural systems. Students learn how things work in the environment around them, and how they themselves fit into that environment."
~ Laura Read

“It’s not what’s in your pack that makes the difference in survival, it’s what’s in your heart.”
~ Lawrence Gonzales, National Geographic Adventure columnist

“Survival is not so much about technique; it’s about the opening of your mind to possibilities.”
~ Lawrence Gonzales

“We want people to realize that they are part of nature, and nature is their home – that they can trust nature, but that they can also trust each other.”
~ John Chilkotowsky, Program Director, Wilderness Awareness School

“There’s something elemental in nature that invites you to be who you truly are.”
~ John Chilkotowsky

"Things Look Brighter in Vermont" - photo by Paul+Photos=Moody

Matilda is 12 Today!

Staying with the Spring theme, here's a photo I took yesterday morning of my neighbor's tree. Its freshness and delicacy reminds me of my beautiful Goddaughter Matilda, who lives in England and is turning 12 today. I am dedicating this image to her, with the wish that her life continues to be blessed, and that she is true to herself always. Happy Birthday, Tilda!

It's Spring!

I guess I've been spending too much time indoors lately, because when I finally went out for a walk the other day I was stunned at how beautiful and green and totally alive everything is. It must be Spring ...

On the Mountain

All those who live in my region are blessed by the presence of a sacred mountain, Mount Tamalpais, who shelters and graces us with her presence. She was sacred to the Native Americans who lived along these shores long long ago, and she is sacred still to those of us who know her.

I was driving over this very mountain Sunday on my way to Bolinas, and I had an experience that I wanted to share with you here. But before I could write it, I found myself in my Medicine Wheel circle on Second Life telling the story:

"It was one of those foggy wet days we get here (when we're lucky :-) and everything had that rain-drenched glow - all the colors standing out rich and deep like river stones in a glass of water. There were streams crashing white against the dark rocks that held their banks and trees like arcs of green tinged with a still lighter hue; prism drops of rain-light falling from them."

image by Eric in SF, found on Flickr

"It was so enchanting. I was lost in admiration and just so grateful, feeling the gift of this world - experiencing the infinite beauty of each tiny part. I heard myself think, "Darn! I wish I had brought my camera!"

But then I realized that it was a blessing, this time, not to have it and instead to feel the record of that perfect drive etched on my skin, captured in my eye's membrane instead of the camera lens. In that moment I felt the full power of my work as "Record Keeper"; the sacred work of keeping my eyes open, keeping them clear so I can see the beauty in this life and share it with others."

So, on this day I didn't bring my camera, and that triggered the epiphany, but there are many ways to record the beauty of this world, and I plan to try as many of them as I can. That's part of my work as a Record Keeper, a Light Bearer.

We light-beings are precious to each other, and to those around us, especially in these times - our light is truly needed now. Here is my prayer for all of us: May we be strong and clear. May we see the beauty around us, even in these days of darkening and fear. May we become beacons of light, sharing the beauty & clarity we see with those around us. And may they too be strengthened by our vision.

Beautiful People

From Paule Marx, this link to the French photographer Hans Silvester 's view of what must be some of the most beautiful people in the world.

Beauty

The Beauty Dialogues isn't about "beauty" in the sense of what we see in the mirror - in fact, one of my pet peeves is how difficult it is to find appropriate tags for a blog like this and keep myself out of the make-up and fashion listings - but I recently came across a videographer named Giovanna Chesler whose work has me questioning some of my assumptions.

Giovanna's filmography includes a short but powerful documentary series about herself, her two sisters, and their relationship to beauty.

The series starts with the first in the BeauteouS triolgy - BeauteouS: Stephanie, which tells the story of a young woman's experience with numerous surgeries for a cleft lip and palate. Next is BeauteouS: Giovanna, where the artist experiments with showing her body in a way that is beautiful but not sexualized, a task which proves difficult. The third piece, simply called BeauteaouS, is a fictionalized acount of the third sister's journey toward her own inner self.

The final film in the series (so far), named hand-some, begins with an idealized vision of a woman's love life, but soon changes into the chronicle of her unraveling relationship.

Winter Solstice

It's a little late, but I just found this poem by Rebecca Parker in my in-box (which shows how behind in my correspondence I am), and it was so lovely I wanted to share it.

WINTER SOLSTICE
by Rebecca Parker

Perhaps
for a
moment
the typewriters will
stop clicking,
the wheels stop
rolling
the computers desist
from computing,
and a hush will fall
over the city.

For an instant, in
the stillness,
the chiming of the
celestial spheres will be heard
as earth hangs
poised
in the crystalline
darkness, and then
gracefully
tilts.

Let there be a
season
when holiness is
heard, and
the splendor of
living is revealed.

Stunned to stillness
by beauty
we remember who we
are and why we are here.

There are
inexplicable mysteries.

We are not
alone.

In the universe there
moves a Wild One
whose gestures alter
earth's axis
toward
love.

In the immense
darkness
everything spins with
joy.

The cosmos enfolds
us.

We are caught in a
web of stars,
cradled in a swaying
embrace,
rocked by the holy
night,
babes of the
universe.

Let this be the
time
we wake to
life,
like spring wakes, in
the moment
of winter
solstice.

"Most Beautiful" in 2008

The end of another year... 2008 slides back into history and we march forward into 2009. But before she disappears from view, I want to stop and contemplate the abundance of beauty I experienced in 2008.

Here are just a few of the those moments that provoked the "beauty response" in me this year:

~ Learning that Oprah Winfrey had produced a 10 part series on Ekhart Tolle's A New Earth and was offering it free online to the public

~ Watching the grace and power of all those synchronized bodies in the opening ceremonies for the Chinese Olympics; experiencing the pride they felt as hosts and the warmth of the hospitality they extended to the world

~ Sharing in the wave of relief and joy that spread throughout the world when Barak Obama won the election for US Presidency

~ And most recently, waking up to a Winter Wonderland in Eugene

We are so blessed! To be surrounded by all this beauty!

How about you? What was the Beauty that stood out for you this year?