Monday, June 29, 2015

Fathers & Sons: Esalen, June 2015

Celebrating Father's Day in the Tradition of the Old Ways

What a gift to be together. Fathers and sons of all ages and generations. There seems to be something primal about walking in silence in wilderness in the company of men—young and old—fathers with sons—passing on and deepening the skillful family lineages and traditions while letting go of the ones that no longer serve, creating new traditions filled with aliveness and authentic connection. I feel a deep appreciation for our collective willingness to deepen our relationships and build upon the foundations of what works with the underlying intimacy of love.

The wonderful convergence of birthdays, Father's Day, the Summer Solstice supported our time. I hope we each continue to deepen and build the relationships we each have, and perhaps the benefit will ripple out into other parts of our lives and the greater world. This type of investment has a life long pay back of value that does not die.

Here are some links:
Photos: Some group and individual photos you are welcome to download
Charles Varni Ceramics
V Bar V Heritage Site the native site where  Charles took inspiration from to create the tiles 

Gratitude to my sons Kai and Kes for their willingness and capacity to keep showing up so fully. Gratitude for the many gifts we gave each other in story, presence, and especially the tiles that Charles so thoughtfully made for each of us. Gratitude for each of you for participating and celebrating in our time together.

Heartfelt regards to each of you,

Steven

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Art of Pilgrimage: Ojai, June 2015

Part of our Pilgrimage group along the Sespe River

Here is another version/translation of the Zen story that I told out on the path from the "Book of Serenity"

Zen Teacher Earth Treasury asked the monk Dharma Eye as he was leaving the monastery, "Where are you going?"
Dharma Eye said, "I am going on pilgrimage."
Earth Treasury said, "What is the purpose of pilgrimage?"
Dharma Eye said, "I don't know."
Earth Treasury said, "Not knowing is most intimate."
Dharma Eye was greatly awakened at these words.

Here are some links:
Photos: most of these photos are from Alana (sorry we never managed to get a whole group photo)
Exploring Pilgrimage by request, draft notes on pilgrimage 
Meal Chant Stew Since Bro. David Steindl-Rast's quotes kept coming up, an article about gratefulness 
Walking Water Pilgrimage: a project and a short film that Laura Whitney's husband Jim made and appears on the homepage
Walking Water definition of what pilgrimage might be.
Inner Wild An organization that Shannon is a part of
The Traveling School where Shannon is president of the board
The Ojai Foundation check out their other offerings!

We were blessed with such a wonderful variety of weather. From pea-soup thick fog,  needed rain, to clear star-filled nights, to hot sun with little shade... not to mention the external weather. I hope each of us is able to bring something embodied back to our other lives as a gift to self and others. I am filled with gratitude and hope to see you all again along the wild path.

Special thanks to Adam for his encouragement to come down to Ojai and for co-leading with me. Gratitude to Alana for support and photos along the way. Thanks for all of you for choosing to show up and do the hokey pokey—putting your whole self in and shaking all about. Deep bow to all of the seen and unseen conditions that supported our being together on the path.

I invite you to pause for a moment as though you have just heard the ringing of the bell... and for the next three breaths... I invite you to open your awareness and attend to whatever arises. May we all live "most intimately."

Deep gratitude filled bow,

Steven