a FREE PDF version of the preview issue

Transcription

Tree image © Jennifer Bernard Swiderski.
contents
A New Kind of Music Man
Simon Ashaan is a musician and a sound sensitive. For him,
music and words are one in the same. Each creates movement
in people and their spirits. Every sound has an intent of its own,
whether it’s love or peace or hate or violence.
32
16
Healing Within
Laura Lanham shares her life story and how she
came to be on the path of spiritually, learning, and
self-healing that she follows today.
22
The Joy of Birding
Britain’s David Cromack explains the appeal of
this constantly challenging hobby.
Oracle
Oracle
Dream Catchers
8 Reviews
Portraits
12 Painter of Dreams
Encouraging and enlightening
books and music.
9 Insights
Unconventional, outspoken,
and inspiring views of the
world around us.
9 Events
Upcoming gatherings and
other events of interest.
Jennifer Bernard Swiderski is a
figurative painter in the tradition
of fantastic-magic
Dream
catcherrealism, surrealism, and the visionary. Known
as “The Painter of Dreams,” her
subjects develop from internal
sources, not simply the external
world, and most often come
directly from her own dreams
and experiences.
14 Born of Solar Energy
Yvonne Wright started sewing with
her mother at the
Dharma
age of seven. Today, she
cross-stitches, patchworks,
embroiders, appliqués, makes
rugs and soft-furnishings and
clothing as well as soft toys.
My Story
16 Healing Within
6
Laura Lanham shares her life
story
how she came to be
Tyaand
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on the path of spiritually, learning, and self-healing that she
follows today.
Columns
Oracle
Dream catcher
Dharma
Dream catcher
Dharma
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Dharma
Tya Totem
36 National Treasure:
Dharma
22
22 The Lugh Chronicles
Birdwatching with David
Cromack—our essential guide
to enjoying this relaxing pastime from the editor of
Birds Illustrated.
Saguaro National Park. Two
districts make up this park,
which totals more than 90,000
acres surrounding Tucson,
Tya totem
Arizona.
42 Earth Guardian:
The Nature Conservancy. With
over one million members and
with projects in all fifty states
and more than thirty countries,
the Conservancy is the world’s
largest private, nonprofit conservation organization.
24Tya
ImagiNation
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Photo Challenge
Tribe members share their vision through striking photos in
our quarterly competition. This
time the themes were Community, Connection, and Creativity.
28 Murasaki’s Pen
Poetry, short stories, and creative
nonfiction from Tribe’s members.
31 Spirit Teaching
Barbara Drifmeyer on her
spiritual path and journey of
enlightenment.
42
44 Personal Journey:
Holly Richter shares her
experience on the Nature
Conservancy’s San Pedro
River Ecosystem Project.
3 From the Publisher
This is your Tribe.
6 Forum
Tribe members share
their thoughts.
16
tribe.paramimedia.com
Special Preview 2009
1
Contributors
tribe
heritage with the economic reality
of her life as an office manager
along our Nation’s Beltway. She
is active in the American Indian
community and in passing on
her traditions to her two young
grandsons, Dylan and Tyler.
Oracle
Dream catcher
Dharma
Ainsley Allmark
As the creator of the Dolphin
Dancer, Dolphin Muse, and
Dolphin Explorer blogs, Ainsley is
a “seeker after the indefinable.” A
thoughtful and productive poet,
he is a trained spiritual healer who
helps others to heal themselves,
reinforce their connection with
Source, and see “their own
divine beauty.” He lives at the
western point of Cornwall in
England. Websites: http://ainsleydolphindancer.blogspot.com/ ;
http://dolphin-muse.blogspot.
com/ ; http://dolphinexplorer.
blogspot.com/.
Tya totem
Simon Ashaan
Simon is a musician,
performer, and multimedia artist
living in New Zealand with his
family. A self-professed “geek,”
he uses organic, electronic, and
hybrid instruments to create
music that “uplifts the human
spirit.” Website: http://www.
simonashaan.com/
Special thanks to
Jennifer Swiderski who
did the painting featured
on our cover.
2 Jennifer Bernard Swiderski
Known as the “Painter of
Dreams,” Jennifer is an American
painter who creates what she
calls “spiritual or symbolic art”
that come from her own visions.
She also creates sculptures
and jewelry based on her
inspirations. Website: http://www.
wisdompathart.com/
David Cromack
David is widely known for his
20-year tenure as editor of the
market-leading Bird Watching
magazine. In recent years, he
added speaking engagements
as part of his repertoire. David
offers a range of talks: three are
based on his experiences on bird
magazines, while others look
at garden birds and birding in
Arizona and California. For more
information and details on David’s
bird guides and talks, please visit:
http://www.birdsillustrated.com/
other_publications.html#yearbook
Barbara Drifmeyer
Barbara lives in northern
Virginia, balancing the spiritual
reality of her First Nations Mi’kmaq
Lee Karalis
A writer and editor, Lee lives
within the warm embrace of the
Santa Catalina Mountains in
southern Arizona. She has an
amazingly supportive husband, two
loving grown sons, and a devoted
Blue Weimaraner. Website: http://
tribe.paramimedia.com/blogs/Lee/
Laura Lanham
Laura is always seeking the
“why” of things. Perhaps that is
why she loves books so much.
She is also enamored of birds,
dragonflies, unicorns, and “old
musty, dusty, antique filled stores.”
She is a constant and dedicated
observer of life and prolific writer
at all times of the day and night.
Holly Richter, Ph.D
A former landscape architect,
Special Preview 2009 Holly is the director of the Upper
San Pedro Program for The Nature
Conservancy in southern Arizona.
She absolutely loves rivers—
studying them, preserving their
riparian ecosystems, and simply
being with them. Website: http://
www.nature.org/wherewework/
northamerica/states/arizona/
features/art28951.html
Brenda Wilson
Brenda is the founder of
the online support community
Highly Sensitive Information
and Message Board and the
Heartlight Café blog. She loves
writing and reading and sitting
in her special alcove, sipping
tea among the surrounding
Colorado cottonwoods,
admiring Mother Nature’s
fantastic works. Websites: http://
highlysensitivesouls.proboards.
com/ ; http://heartlightcafe.
wordpress.com/
Yvonne Wright
Yvonne is an award-winning
British toy maker who combines
her two passions: soft toy making
and the environment. Each of
her unique Ecobears is hand
made from eco-friendly products,
utilizing solar energy during
production. She and her partner
David enjoy living off the grid in
northeastern Spain. Website:
http://www.ecobears.com/
Tribe
living the dream
Your passion. Our purpose.
Welcome to the first issueof Tribe magazine! This special preview edition is a taste of how you,
our readers, create this unique publication.
Publisher:
Tina Bentley
Creative Director:
Todd Hagler
Editor:
Lee Karalis
Tribe magazine is published by Parami Media.
The opinions expressed
in the magazine or on its
website do not necessarily
reflect those of the publisher. Neither the publisher nor its staff, associates,
or affiliates are responsible
for any errors, omissions
or information misrepresented to the publisher.
This is a special preview
issue of Tribe magazine.
To register for email updates, to join the forum, or
to subscribe to Tribe, visit
Questions or comments?
tribe@paramimedia.com
Tribe is online at
twitter.com/paramitribe,
facebook.com/tribeonline,
and flickr.com/hsp-tribe/
It’s a hot humid day in early September, and as I write, my mind drifts back to a year ago when I was
preparing for a trip to New York’s Catskill Mountains to experience a Highly Sensitive People Gathering held
by Jacquelyn Strickland. When I engaged with other sensitive people at that 2008 event, I realized that there
was an amazing pool of unrealized talent among HSPs. These people were painters, sculptors, writers,
poets, and photographers. Most importantly, they had brilliant minds that were farseeing and astute.
As a creative publisher, it had long been my dream to create a publication for sensitive people like me.
For fifteen years I’d held that vision, its content and style, shaping and reshaping the concept. After my
Gathering experience, I wanted to embrace these innovative, creative, and interesting people and offer
them an opportunity to be heard. I knew their voices, experiences, and talents could become the powerful content source for the magazine—my benchmarks of excellence coming from my long tenure of working with the best in European publishing.
Advances in technology have enabled the creation of Tribe as an online community, a place where we
discuss and encourage each other’s talents and, in the process, create Tribe magazine. User-generated
content is an important evolution of traditional publishing, and our community is already becoming an
active place where we escape from the trials of everyday life and immerse ourselves in creativity.
Tribe’s members tell me that the online community gives them a new sense of purpose. Every day
they’re actively looking for pictures to take or stories to write. They’re enjoying the thrill of creation, often
waking in the middle of the night with ideas; they welcome the creative distraction it gives them. As a
community, we’re all finding the Tribe experience therapeutic and energizing.
Passion is quite simply the lifeblood of publishing. During my career at the British media company Emap
PLC, we encouraged that passion through our multimedia ventures. Their philosophy helped me to understand how to publish great award-winning media products by embracing the interests and enthusiasm of
our audiences. As a consequence, self- expression and passion have been the driving forces in my own life.
Through Tribe I now have a strong sense of purpose, too. And as a life coach and publisher, I’m realizing my
dream of helping people fulfill their creative potential. It’s a marvelous, self-sustaining system.
I’m very fortunate to have the skills and talents of my editor, Lee Karalis, and my creative director, Todd
Hagler—and I’m grateful for their commitment, professionalism, and help in bringing my vision to life.
A great big thank you also goes to those featured in this Tribe. They were courageous enough to share
their stories and their passions. It’s been my pleasure and delight that these special people allowed me
into their lives and trusted me and Lee enough to share their wisdom, their joy, and their tears.
I hope you’ll be thrilled with the broad-based content and realism of every story in this issue. Tribe
really is a celebration of the sensitivity we share. We invite you to share your stories or creative ventures
with us online at www.tribe.paramimedia.com/community/.
We welcome your feedback, so please email me with your comments. And, of course, we’d love you to
share this preview issue with friends and family.
Enjoy the experience!
Tina Bentley,
Publisher
3
Letters
tribe
Inspired
Oracle
Tribe magazine has been a
godsend to HSPs. With so many
of us that have undiscovered talents in writing, art, photography,
crafts etc., it has been the outlet
that we have needed to provide exposure for our abilities.
Tribe has been a catalyst for
my own creativity, allowing me
to find new direction at a crucial
time in my life. It has inspired me
in many ways and has helped me
to have confidence in my work.
Tina Bentley, Lee Karalis
and the rest of the staff at Tribe
have been encouraging and supportive. They have worked hard
to provide an atmosphere that
is conducive to the nature of
HSPs. They understand the special needs of the highly sensitive person and use gentle and
caring constructive direction.
It has been a pleasure
to be part of this groundbreaking magazine.
Dream catcher
Dharma
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Brenda Wilson
Thrive In Creativity
I love Tribe magazine!
The staff of Tribe has a positive, encouraging, and peaceful
atmosphere. We can thrive in
our creativity here, as well as encourage each other's creative expressions. The magazine teaches
all of us HSPs to celebrate who
we are. Here we also have an
opportunity to learn about ourselves as well as each other.
Thanks to Tribe we have
a place to support, comfort,
and cherish the HSP within.
Tina Hansen
Gentle Encouragement
I would love to take this
time to thank Butterfly,
WaterbirdRising, and Seeker
for all the love, kindness, and
gentle encouragement they
have shown to me. I would
also like to thank them for giving me a place for my at times
4 quiet, and other times scream
in your face voice to be heard.
Their encouragement and
gentle hugs along with their vision for the HSP world has been
healing and transforming for me.
They have shown me that all the
eclectic chaos that has rattled
inside of my head for so very long
is creative and artistic; and they
have helped guide me to the best
ways to release it for the benefit of
not only my self-healing path, but
to help others find a voice as well.
It is and has been such an
honor to have been allowed to
step up onto the platform of this
groundbreaking threshold. May it
heal the world as it is healing me.
Much love and success
to all our Tribe family.
Laura Lanham
aka/the healing Brokenheart
Extremely Pleased
A magazine of the nature of
Tribe has long been awaited. To
my knowledge, there are none
around at the moment, and
so Tribe fills an aching void.
I had never met the concept of
what a "Highly Sensitive Person"
was and didn't realize that I was
one, even though I knew that
there was something different
about me. It is only now, after
talking with Tina and reading
about HSPs, that I have started to
understand where and what I am.
Tribe, the community, is a
wonderful place to meet and
chat with other HSP people.
Tribe, the magazine, is a really
great place to discover information and also to showcase the
works and thoughts of individuals - writers, photographers,
poets, healers...the list goes on.
I am extremely pleased
and fortunate to be associated with Tribe, and I wish all
who are behind it every success with the magazine.
Ainsley Allmark
aka DolphinDancer
We Fit Right In
Wow, a magazine for
HSPs! In it, we are not invisable; we fit right in. It's not
only for us; it's about us.
While looking for a new door
to open, I saw the info about
Tribe and was compelled to
check it out. The Community
Forums give us the opportunity
to connect with other HSPs, explore and develop our potentials, share and contribute our
talents, expertise and knowledge or just have some fun. I
am looking forward to evolving with this new magazine
and with its wonderful community members. To everyone
involved with Tribe...thank-you.
Mona Moore
Very Unique Concept
Hello you wonderful Tribe.
Lee, Tina, and Todd, my very
heartfelt thanks for inspiring
me to contribute to your very
first issue. When Tina and I first
met on Twitter, she invited me
to take a look at the community and collaborative magazine they were putting together.
What I discovered is a caring,
group of down-to-earth people
with a very unique concept who
are so genuine in their efforts to
help other sensitive’s celebrate
who they are through their craft
and often misunderstood gifts.
I was invited by Tina initially
to submit a list of bullet points
highlighting some basics about
me. I'm not very good at writing
about myself and found this an
easy way to focus on key points
in my life and where I'm working
creatively. Then Lee interviewed
me, via Skype, which I found a lot
of fun and such a pleasure. She
is relaxed in her approach and
could easily chat about anything
that came up without feeling
guarded (something in the past
I have been conscious of in my
approach to media interviews).
Special Preview 2009 But this was different. I very
much felt at home in the interview, and Lee emailed me a proof
copy that I am very happy with.
Todd I am yet to give specific
praise in terms of my experience as he's the man at the helm
making things look good; and
as I write this, I have no idea
what the finished article looks
like and have no preconceived
ideas. Consistent with the experience I have had with Tribe
so far, I am confident more
magic is happening alongside
Lee's wonderful writing skills.
I have no doubt it will be great.
Humble thanks goes to Todd
though for being a fan of my
music. I am honored he was one
of auspicious first to download
my work online and for his encouragement. Cheers, Mate!
It has been a pleasure discovering Tribe, and I'm sure
the family will grow rapidly as the magazine reaches the hearts and minds of
many others. Nice one guys!
Namaste
Simon Ashaan @:-)
A Journey of Discovery
Thank you for being a safe
place for me to explore being
an HSP. Sometimes still I wonder if it is true or just another
imagining. My life has seemed
to be a journey of discovery. I
have spent many years (from
a very young age) wondering if
and why I was different and did
everyone feel the same way I felt
about their place in the world?
Tribe is for me a place of
gentle discovery. I find great
safety in the love and support.
Thank you for this.
Heidi Hessen
Tell Us What You Think!
Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length
and clarity.
Online: tribe.paramimedia.com/community
Email: info@paramimedia.com
get involved
Tribe magazine is made by you!
As a Tribe member, your stories, ideas, and
creative contributions are what make up each
issue of the magazine. The forums need your
active participation. Tribe is all about the
conversation—your passion is our purpose!
Share work on the forums for peer review.
Submit your photos and stories to issue
themes, but only one photo or story per theme
—so choose carefully!
Tribe’s editors create each issue based on
votes from the community and the level of
discussion around each submission.
Between issues of the published magazine,
you can find some of the hottest topics on the
Tribe site.
five easy steps
to getting published:
1 Register for free membership in the forums.
2 Do your thing: photograph, write, paint,
sculpt, think. Anything goes.
3 Submit your work to one of the various
forum categories.
4 Other members vote and provide constructive critiques.
5 The editorial team and category sponsor
select the best entries for publication.
5
Insight | Reviews | Events | Online
Oracle
Photographer: Emin Kuliyev
Location: Bronx Botanical Garden, New York
Dream catcher
Dharma
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6 Special Preview 2009 tribe.paramimedia.com
oracle
Inspired by the Celtic Tree of Life. When
a tribe cleared the land for a settlement in
Ireland, they always left a great tree in the
middle—known as the crann bethadh (krawn
ba-huh), or Tree of Life—as the spiritual focus
and source of well-being. They held assemblies and inaugurated their chieftains beneath
it to absorb power from above and below. We
all have wisdom to gain along the road of life,
and perhaps we can learn from the sacred
trees how to live in harmony with the Earth
and the inevitable cycles of seasonal change.
7
Reviews | Insight | Events
Oracle
reading
Dream catcher
Dharma
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The Highly Sensitive Person:
How to Thrive When the World
Overwhelms You
By Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D.
Reviewed by Brenda Wilson aka HeartLight
In The Highly Sensitive Person:
How to Thrive When the World
Overwhelms You, psychologist
Elaine Aron introduces and defines
a personality trait that affects as
many as one out of every five people. Dr. Aron says that the highly
sensitive person (HSP)—a terminology she coined—has a sensitive nervous system, is aware of
subtleties in his or her surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment.
Aron says that being HSP
“means you are more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment for too long, bombarded by sights and sounds until
you are exhausted.” But HSPs are
quite normal, she says. Their trait
is not a flaw or a syndrome; it is
an asset they can learn to use and
protect. In fact, HSPs are often unusually creative and productive
workers, attentive and thoughtful
partners, and intellectually gifted
individuals.
Dr. Aron (who is HSP) explains
that in the past, HSPs have been
mislabeled as “shy,” “timid,” “inhibited,” or “introverted,” labels that
miss the nature of the trait. Thirty
percent of HSPs are actually extraverts. HSPs only appear inhibited because they often pause before acting, reflecting on their past
8 experiences. But in a culture that
prefers confident, “bold” extraverts, it is harmful as well as a mistake to stigmatize all HSPs as shy
when many are not.
HSPs could contribute much
more to society, says Dr. Aron, if
they received the right kind of attention. Her book provides that right
kind of attention by offering self-assessment tests to identify individual
sensitivities and information on how
to cope in a non-sensitive world.
Her national best-seller proves that
this 15 to 20 percent of the popula-
A Whole New Mind is a lighthearted approach to a very serious change that is taking place
in the world. Drawing on a variety
of research, Pink outlines six fundamentally human abilities he believes are essential to professional
success and personal fulfillment
in what he calls the “Conceptual
Age.” Gone is the age of “left-brain”
dominance. As the title suggests,
the future requires a “whole” new
mind where “right-brain” qualities
will be needed to flourish.
As an HSP, you’ll be encour-
tion is eager to get off on the right
foot in asserting their unique personality trait.
Undoubtedly, reading this book
has changed my life.
aged by the book’s premise.
Perhaps Pink’s Conceptual Age
will be a time when it will be easier
to be an HSP. An age when we’ll
not only gain a little understanding
but enjoy a higher value, both professionally and personally.
After outlining his idea and making a case for the forces that are
driving the change; Pink defines the
six essential abilities needed to succeed in the Conceptual Age: Design,
Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play,
and Meaning. Each of these “Six
Senses” are given their own chapter; then at the end of each chapter
is a portfolio—a collection of tools,
exercises, and further reading to
help sharpen the particular sense.
To me, it’s these portfolio sections that are most interesting.
They take A Whole New Mind beyond the traditional business book
and make it “The Non-HSPs Guide
to Thinking Like an HSP.”
If you’re an HSP, read it to be
encouraged. Then share it with the
non-HSPs in your life to give them
some insight into what it’s like to
be you.
A Whole New Mind: Why RightBrainers Will Rule The Future
By Daniel H. Pink
Review by Todd Hagler aka Seeker
I don’t know if Daniel Pink has
ever heard of the Highly Sensitive
Person (HSP.) But I do know he’s
created a guide for non-HSPs that
can help them develop more HSPlike awareness. A Whole New Mind
is a long-running New York Times
and BusinessWeek bestseller that
has been translated into eighteen
languages.
Written for the business world,
A Whole New Mind argues that the
future belongs to a different kind
of person with a different kind of
mind: designers, inventors, teachers, and storytellers—creative and
emphatic “right-brain” thinkers.
Sound familiar?
Pink has authored a trio of
bestselling books on the changing world of work including Free
Agent Nation: The Future of
Working for Yourself and his latest,
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko:
The Last Career Guide You’ll
Ever Need.
Special Preview 2009 listening
DNAture
By Simon Ashaan
Review by Todd Hagler aka Seeker
DNAture is the debut recording from 39-year-old New Zealand
musician and multimedia artist,
Simon Ashaan. Its six tracks offer a
cinematic journey of transcendent
healing.
Inspired by nature and with track
titles such as “Oasis,” “As If a Leaf,”
and “Sunrise”—Ashaan has created
a melodic, lush, and subtly layered
soundtrack to accompany your everyday life or meditation practice.
The recording utilizes organic,
electronic, and hybrid musical instruments to create its kaleidoscope of sound. This is electronica borne of a melancholic soul
emerging into the light of an optimistic and hopeful future. Ashaan
achieves a balance of quiet yearning and joyful exuberance.
You can hear the entire album
on his website simonashaan.com,
and it is available for purchase on
iTunes. (Note: track 3, “The Canyon”
on the website is titled “Rapids,” on
the iTunes download.)
Highly recommended. DNAture
will be on high rotation in my playlist for some time.
Reminiscent
of
Vangelis’
Blade Runner soundtrack; William
Orbit’s Strange Cargo series; and
Ulrich Schnauss’ Far Away Trains
Passing By
insight
events
A member’s opinion on:
Respect
by Brenda Wilson aka HeartLight
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it
means to me. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Take care, TCB.”
No one sang it quite like Aretha
Franklin. The whole world paid
attention and sang her anthem
along with her. There isn’t anything that grates on my nerves
more than a lack of respect—
it’s like fingernails across a
blackboard
Respect should be automatic.
Everybody deserves it until they
do something to lose it. Respect
is a God-given right. It rates right
up there with the right to breathe!
Unfortunately, respect seems to
be lacking greatly in today’s selfabsorbed world. What is so hard
about giving our fellow human
beings respect in the form of kindness, courtesy, love, and honor?
Take the workplace. It’s one
thing to take direction from our
superiors so we can do our jobs
properly; it’s quite another when
we are disrespectfully ordered
around like children who cannot think for ourselves and then
degraded for the work that we
do. Whatever happened to praise
and respect for a job well-done?
Too often, all we get is someone
standing over us waiting to point
out every mistake. Now I ask you,
what the heck is that all about?
Customer service is another
area lacking respect. Try going into
a grocery or department store and
asking for help without a clerk becoming visibly upset that you have
disrupted her conversation with a
co-worker. I cannot tell you how
many times I have been pointed in
a general direction and told, “Three
isles down that way and take a
right.” Whatever happened to the
good old days when the clerk took
you to the place where the item
was, asked you how you were doing, and engaged you in conversation along the way? No one seems
to have the time for that anymore.
Now I ask you, what the heck is
that all about?
Even as we continue to evolve
culturally, male chauvinism remains
as a form of disrespect. Men who
say they can do a job better, are
smarter, are more deserving of
higher pay and respect are looking
down on their female counterparts.
This is still one of the most prominent forms of disrespect in society
today. Now I ask you, what the
heck is that all about?
The doctor’s office is another
place ripe with disrespect. Ever
question a doctor’s diagnosis or
form of prescribed treatment?
With a roll of the eye or a look over
the brim of his glasses, he conveys his disrespect. Many of us
feel especially brushed aside by
our doctors when we suffer from
chronic illnesses or from things
that they just don’t have answers
to. That disrespect is detrimental
to finding solutions and in creating
an atmosphere of trust and healing. Now I ask you, what the heck
is that all about?
Everyone is so busy living their
lives, trying to get from one moment to the next that respect has
either gotten lost or been forgotten.
We must remember to check
our attitudes and mannerisms, be
aware of the words we choose
and the body language we use so
that we convey a little respect toward the people around us.
Travel with the HSP World Network
Remember those study
abroad/foreign exchange programs you heard about in high
school—where students immerse
themselves in other cultures while
staying with host families in a
“homestay” situation?
Well, those time-honored
homestays aren’t just for students
anymore. They are a popular method of lodging for more adventurous, culturally curious travelers—
including highly sensitive explorers.
The newly unveiled HSP World
Network website is a place of connection for such HSPs wanting to
meet and even find friendly travel
lodgings with other HSPs.
You need to be a highly sensitive adult to join the World
Network’s subscription program
($50 for a single membership; $65
for a family). You are then eligible
for guest services at fellow members’ homes around the world; and
they can be your guest, as well.
Guests do pay a nominal gratuity to the host ($10-$25 depending
on the number of guests), but it all
makes your travels much easier on
the wallet and more relaxing in being with like-minded HSPs.
HSP Counselor and Coach
Jacquelyn Strickland is the subscription site’s developer. As the
co-creator (with HSP researcher
Dr. Elaine Aron) and coordinator of
HSP Gathering Retreats worldwide, she has witnessed how
such connections between HSPs
provide “many therapeutic, life
changing experiences.” As an HSP
herself, she hopes that the World
Network will “help create positive
new connections that will enable
our strengths and talents to shine.”
For more information about HSP
World Network membership and its
Travel Home Stays Program, visit
http://hspworldnetwork.com. Learn
about HSP Gathering Retreats at
http://www.lifeworkshelp.com.
Participants pause for a group photo at the
HSP Gathering and Retreat at Croydon Hall,
Somerset, England in April 2009.
Experience an HSP Gathering
This is a reminder about the
next Gathering coming up:
Estes Park
Colorado
October 1-5, 2009
www.lifeworkshelp.com/
hspgathering.htm
We’ll provide a full report on
the Gathering in Tribe’s next issue.
If you've never been to a
Gathering, you should treat yourself to five amazing days of rest
and relaxation. The Gatherings
are becoming a very popular
event for HSPs, so next year there
will be three. Please book early for
2010 to avoid disappointment.
2010 Gatherings
Black Mountain
North Carolina
April 8-12, 2010
YMCA
Gabriola Island
British Columbia
June 11-15, 2010
The Haven
Petaluma, California
September 2-6, 2010,
Walker Creek Ranch
9
Oracle
Portraits | My Story
Dream catcher
Photographer: Sam P.
Location: North Dakota
Dharma
Tya totem
dream
catchers
In the tradition of the Ojibwe tribe of North
America. Hanging a dream catcher over a
sleeping person is believed to protect them
from bad dreams. The bad dreams are caught
in the web, preventing them from reaching
the sleeper. The good dreams pass through
the center where they then slide down the
feathers to the sleeper below. To Tribe, the
dream catchers represent those of us who
have followed their dreams—and fulfilled them.
These stories of inspiration are intended to
hearten in all of us the concept that anything is
possible; all you have to do is dream.
11
Oracle
Portraits | Jennifer Bernard Swiderski
Dream catcher
Dharma
Tya totem
j.swiderski
painter
of dreams
I’m a figurative painter in
the tradition of fantastic-magic
realism, surrealism, and the visionary. I’m known as “The Painter of
Dreams” because my subjects
develop from internal sources,
not simply the external world, and
most often come directly from my
own dreams and experiences.
As an artist, I have a compulsive need to create inspirational
and spiritual art, art that heals and
12 provides a positive energy. I believe
that a successful painting will open
viewers’ minds to their personal
mysteries. It will help people gain insight into their own spirit. So I create
art the way I live my life, beginning
from a positive place, filling it with
light, joy, love, spirit, and meaning.
My working style is best understood as intuitive symbolism:
I go deep within, to the depths
of my soul, and open myself to
expanded states of consciousness. It is in this place that I receive guidance from my higherself, from the angelic realm, and
from all aspects of the divine.
Ideas for my new art and guidance on its development come to
me during this spiritual meditation.
My journey as an artist began as a youngster growing up
in Norfolk, Virginia. I come from a
very diverse heritage, which always
Special Preview 2009 encouraged me to be creatively
and spiritually open. I entered and
won many art competitions, and as
I became older, I began exhibiting
my work. I’ve been a professional
artist since I was sixteen, full time
since the age of twenty-five.
But in 2003, I slowed my fastpaced professional career to care
for my terminally ill mother. After
she passed from cancer in 2005,
I disappeared for a few years to
The art of J. Swiderski
(from left): Winter, Gemini
(sketch), Shaman, Muse,
Goddess, Firefly Magic,
and Libra Dream. All copyright of the artist.
All images pages 12, 13, and cover painting © Jennifer Bernard Swiderski.
grieve, to heal, and to do some
serious soul-searching. It was
during this intimate journey that I
found myself helping others with
their struggles. Helping them
helped me to heal and grow into
a much wiser, stronger, spiritually
aware woman. It also encouraged
me to begin to use the name of
Bernard for my work in order to
honor my mother’s passing.
During this period, my art
became more personal, spiritual,
and symbolic. After this introspective
interval, I became ready to re-enter
the world and share everything I had
learned by inspiring others through
my art. Although my art is deeply
personal, reflecting my own life experiences, it also symbolizes many
universal issues we can all relate to.
I hope that my art teaches by
reminding people of their spirit.
I hope it stirs them and perhaps
sparks a deeper understanding
of themselves and their journey
through this life. And with their
newfound wisdom, perhaps they
will find a new way to approach life
with meaning and purpose.
I see myself as an American
visual artist, occasional writer,
and spiritual counselor. I create
art to inspire others to find their
path and to walk that path in wisdom by healing, dreaming, and
honoring their own spiritual nature. And that’s why my website is
called Wisdom Path Art.
From the home I now share
with several dogs and a semi-feral
cat in the great Southwest, I hope
my story will inspire everyone to
find their wisdom path. I hope they
remember the magic and beauty
in their own lives, along with
their dreams.
http://www.wisdompathart.com/
13
Oracle
Portraits | Yvonne Wright’s Ecobears
Dream catcher
Dharma
Tya totem
Illustrated by Gareth
Rivett; the Ecobears are
devoted to the harmony
of their planet — their
primary aim is Vynen's
ecological upkeep.
born of
solar energy
The Ecobears cast of
characters include (from
left): Dapple, Victoriana,
Matilda, Mel, and Lil’
Pet. Many Ecobears are
one-of-a-kind, and all
are made from a combination of hemp and
various recycled and
reclaimed materials.
yvonne wright’s ecobears
Creativity has been an integral part of my life since I started
sewing with my mother at the age of seven. Today, I cross-stitch, patchwork, embroider, appliqué, make rugs and soft-furnishings and clothing
as well as soft toys.
In 1993, a man named John Parkinson made fabrics that mixed hemp
with mungo (wool fibers obtained from cloth) and shoddy (shredded wool of
old cloth) from a company in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Around that same
time, I began making various accessories from the hemp/mungo/shoddy-mix
materials for a few hemp companies. I made record bags, purses, rucksacks,
coffee filters, juggling balls, ladies and men's tops, cushions, and soft toys.
A couple of years later, I decided to work on my own, but concentrate in
one area. Creating character bears seemed the best idea. So Ecobears were
born from a combination of two passions: soft toy making and environmental
interest. Using a hemp/recycled cotton/wool mix fabric was highly unusual at
the time, making Ecobears the first bears of the twentieth century to be made
from such materials. In fact, I was honored with the 2000 Best Newcomer
Award from the British Toymakers Guild.
I want Ecobears to encourage an awareness and interest in the versatility
of hemp and other natural fibres. From its outer fibrous stem to its inner cellulose content, hemp makes products such as textiles, paper, and paints. The
seed oil is used to make bio fuels that run vehicles and also provides a rich
source of omega-3 fatty acids for nutritional consumption.
Hemp demonstrates an alternative to the way we live today. It's a fabric
steeped in tradition. Burlap, which was used to make soft toys in the 1800s, is
a woven cloth created from hemp, jute, or flax fibres. Ecobears are helping to
revive this tradition.
At the beginning of 2003, my partner David and I decided it was time for
a new life-challenge. So we sold our house in the United Kingdom and set off
with our two cats and two dogs to find new pastures somewhere in Europe.
We travelled in France, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco before finally settling in
Catalonia in northeastern Spain.
Living here has given us a much more self-sufficient way of life. We are
off the grid, collect our own water, grow our own produce, and use solar energy; hence, all Ecobears are now made using solar energy. It takes a while to
build this new kind of life, but it becomes more meaningful every day.
I now develop playthings and accessories that incorporate the Ecobears
“green-bear” logo. David writes the Ecobears Epic Tales for the website. They
chronicle the story of six Bearonauts who travel to Earth from their planet of
Vynen after a series of devastating threats are revealed from one of their own.
Gareth Rivett is responsible for the lively and colourful illustrations, which we
hope to eventually publish as greetings cards.
Ecobears educate and provide fun and personality. But above all, they
show what lovely things can be made from environmentally friendly fabrics.
Contact Ecobears at www.ecobears.com
15
Oracle
My Story | Healing Within
Dream catcher
Dharma
Tya totem
healing
within
the
by Laura Lanham
I watched my soul
Oh how it did sway
So fluid and quick
Is all I can say
When I was a child I was molested
by my grandfather.
That tragic line has become so commonplace that rarely anymore do we flinch
when we hear it. But the effect it has on
the human psyche remains shocking.
And if one is a highly sensitive person to
start with, then the detrimental and lasting effects on the mind are heightened.
As any child will do when faced with
this horror, you rarely tell anyone what has
happened. You know something isn't quite
right about it, but you are too young to
know exactly what. As you get a little older,
you begin to realize the wrong of it. You
also realize that molestation is not normal in every family, just the unlucky ones.
But your young mind still finds a way to
make it your fault and turns it into shame.
As you get even older, you realize that
although you did nothing to cause this
to happen, you still feel shame. So you
bury it deep and pretend it did not happen. You never tell anyone. But with each
older male that enters your life, you look
for ulterior motives in his behavior.
The energy did move
In the most mysterious of ways
As I watched it transform
In some amazing ways
Time continues to pass and you find
that you do develop relationships. In my
case, I married a man I grew up with. One
that showed me attention but was more
a friend. I realize now that it was probably a protective mechanism from deep
within that encouraged me to marry him.
We had two children, and I gained a lot
of weight from the pregnancies. He constantly told me he did not want to be seen
with me because I had gotten fat. I was
an embarrassment to him: A loss of selfesteem was added to the buried shame.
I lost all the weight, but by then it was too
late. To him, I was the fat woman still. So this
turn of events brought my buried shame and
self-esteem to an all-time low. I thought I had
managed to bury it all very deep when actuality
it was always right there just under the skin,
waiting to surface and bleed through. Because
I thought I had buried it so safely deep, I was
able to put on a beautiful smile and proceed
with life. Of course, the marriage ended.
It swooped and it swayed
Went in and back out
An interesting display
Of shadows and light
I was never comfortable in my own skin
and rarely dated because my self-esteem was
so low. Now I can look back at it and howl
with laughter, as after the divorce, I spent
probably ten years between relationships and
didn't date. I think I could have made more
sense out of my issues with shame and selfesteem if I had dated and gained more experience with relationships.
>>>
17
Oracle
My Story | Healing Within
Dream catcher
Dharma
Tya totem
But all I could think was, Why would
anyone want to date me? It was simpler to just work and raise my kids.
and shape and reconstruct the real me.
So I have spent the last six years totally
alone, almost isolated. I gained 40 pounds
I occasionally went out with a group of girls, but I
silently wished to be home with the kids where it
was quiet and tranquil.
And that is exactly what I did. My house
was meticulous, the yard manicured, and
supper was on the table every night. I
made Martha Stewart look like an amateur. But still I had no self-esteem. I even
developed a fabulous sense of humor as
the perfect cover-up. People would always
ask why I didn’t date. They said, You are so
pretty. But this was not what I saw. I saw
only ugliness, worthlessness, and shame.
I was twenty-two, divorced with two children, trying to live on $300 a month in child
support, which he quit paying as soon as I got
a job. As with most highly sensitive persons,
I was good with my hands. I had done hair
for years, so I went to cosmetology school.
This was the beginning of thirty-two years of
channeling my repressed creative energies.
I occasionally went out with a group of
girls, but I silently wished to be home with
the kids where it was quiet and tranquil. I
walked around in public as if a huge mirror
surrounded me, reflecting an image I wanted
others to see. It was also a kind of feng shui,
deflecting negative energy away from me.
Inwardly, I knew that the backside of
this marvelous mirror was riddled and
growing with tiny cracks. One day it had
to finally shatter beneath the weight.
When it did, it would leave exposed the
sad, quiet, sensitive introvert who shielded herself from the world, jumped at every
sound, and cried herself to sleep at night.
Years later, I did marry again. This one
would get drunk and tell me I was old and
wrinkly. I was 30-years-old and actually
looked good, but once again, I let another
person sabotage my inner-being. Obviously,
that relationship ended—with the help of
a lifetime of self-analytical self-sabotage.
That’s when the mirror finally shattered. I
knew I could succumb to insanity, or I could
carefully pick through all the tiny shards,
keep those I liked, and like a sculpture, mold
18 because for once in my life, no one could say
anything ugly to me. I now realize I built a
suit of armor for protection. In my subconscious mind, I probably said something like,
Men don't like fat women, so pack on the
pounds and it will keep them away from you.
That suddenly morphed before my eyes
Into a being, much to my surprise
In awe and delight
I witnessed the change
This abundance of time gave me the
space to search within. Six years ago, I
had a spontaneous Kundalini Awakening.
Kundalini is based on Eastern philosophies and teaches that at the base of the
human spine resides an energy source that
is, in a sense, divine. Its power is enormous. It correlates and responds to the human energy centers called the chakras.
These energies are usually accessed
through meditation and, as mine did,
some erupt spontaneously. The energy is
so intense that it rocks your body, feels
like hot snakes crawling through and up
and down inside of you. It normally induces visions and other spiritual mysteries.
At the time, I didn’t understand
any of this. It took years of research
to discover what had happened to
me and its importance in my life.
In the throws of this energy eruption, I
met God and Jesus and even my higher-self,
who introduced herself in a way I will never
forget. She literally took over my body and
controlled its every move. She froze my legs
solid like a statue. They were so heavy that
I could not lift them. She didn’t solidify my
Special Preview 2009 tribe.paramimedia.com
upper body, but did take control of it. She
turned me into a statue when she wanted to
make a point, and she took control of my arm
when she wished to do automatic writing.
Automatic writing, or trance writing,
occurs when what you are writing is not
from your conscious thoughts, but comes
from another energy moving through your
hand and onto the paper. Some people are
able to auto write messages, poems, even
complete novels from a trance-like state.
For others, the words run through their
minds, and they copy them onto paper.
For me it was a combination. I lost total
control of my arm and hand as the words
rolled across my mind, through my body,
and onto the page. During these experiences, I heard messages from my higher-self
and also met her in visions and dreams.
When these things happened to me, I
was always near the kitchen where there
was pen and paper. She made me solid on
the bottom, took control of my arm, and
had me reach for paper and pen. Oh, believe me, I tried to fight it. I tried to resist.
It was during these experiences that she
told me she turned me into a statue to show
me how hard and stubborn I had been. She
said I had been as stiff and unrelenting as a
marble statue when she had tried to awaken
me to my spirituality. She let me know who
was boss and made sure I did not panic or
flee. She explained why I was seeing certain things and people and who they were.
I have met her during meditations
since that time, but now she just looks
at me and smiles. Never says a word.
With the help of my higher-self, I saw
things before my eyes that I still see today, like orbs and shadows and sparkling
lights and occasionally a ghost. But most
of it was behind my eyes. Of heaven and
realms and dimensions high in the sky. I met
the masters and was shown many truths.
I was shown that there is more to heaven
and hell than we will possibly ever know.
In this time, I found that the true hell
had resided deep within me. As I released
and purged the dark energy within, letting it flow out, I got stronger and healthier
and realized I was truly a beautiful soul.
With each dark thing I released, a hole in
my soul was cleansed. It was like I was puking demons from within. I awoke spiritually and stepped on the path of learning and
I awoke spiritually and stepped on the path of
learning and self-healing that I am still on today,
a path with no end.
self-healing that I am still on today, a path
with no end. But at nearly fifty-eight years,
can I change a lifetime of self-sabotage? I
have looked within and found a beautiful
human being, full of compassion and kindness. Of course age is catching up, and I do
need to lose weight—but for me, no one else.
I now try to meditate or at least find
quiet time for me everyday. I have learned
how important to the soul this truly is.
I actually like who I have become.
So in retrospect, did I isolate myself out
of the shame of molestation and the resulting low self-esteem that grew during two
ill-conceived and non-supportive marriages? Or did my higher-self lead me to
isolation so that I could find ME—the true
me—so that I could heal mentally, emotionally, and physically, so that I could find my
Goddess within and the truth of it all?
A beautiful female
A Goddess of Gold
Adorned in silks
Aglow and renewed
Images:
(previous spread)
Claudio Beiza; (previous
page) Bruce Rolff; (this
page) top: Hannah
Eckman, bottom:
Steve Byland
19
Dream catcher
Lugh Chronicles | ImagiNation Photos | Murasaki's Pen | Spirit Teaching
Dharma
Photographer: Chin-Cheng Liu
Location: Japan
Tya totem
dharma
Inspired by the teachings of Buddha.
The Dharma section is devoted to learning.
Throughout Indian philosophy, Dharma represents a higher truth—that which is natural and
right. Dharma is often represented either by the
lotus or the dharma wheel whose eight spokes
represent the elements of the Nobel Eightfold
Path. Following the path is beleved to lead to
self-awakening and is our goal with the various
sections of Dharma: the ImagiNation Photo
Challenge, the Lugh Chronicles, Murasaki's
Pen, and Spirit Teachings.
21
Dream catcher
Lugh Chronicles | Birdwatching with David Cromack
Dharma
Tya totem
The Joy of
Birding
by David Cromack
W
e share our world with almost 10,000 species of wild birds, ranging
in size from the tiniest hummingbirds to the giant ostrich, so
it’s not surprising that birdwatchers always feel that something new and
exciting is around the corner. In this edition of the Lugh Chronicles, Britain’s
David Cromack explains the appeal of this constantly challenging hobby.
Photos this page: Mark
Simms, Geese; opposite
from top: Borislav Borisov,
Bee-eaters; Mircea Bezergheanu, Egret; Michael G.
Mill, Shore bird; Bauman,
Blue Jay
By 4 p.m., the light of the November day on the Scottish island
of Islay was fading fast. My wife Hilary and I hunched deeper into our
padded jackets to fend off a chilling breeze. Spots of rain added to our
discomfort, making us question just why we’d asked to be left
standing in the reedbed at the end of Loch Indaal.
The answer lay over the horizon. Ten minutes elapsed, and then
fifteen and twenty before the first dark specks appeared in the sky,
almost at the limit of our vision. They were definitely birds, but too far
to identify. The first shapes from the south started to head our way,
and gradually we realized that hundreds were pouring towards us
from all points of the compass.
Even at half a mile distance, we could hear overlapping, barking
kaw sounds as up to 4,000 barnacle geese greeted each other
following a day of feeding in many different areas of the island. Soon
the elegant black and white birds were pouring over our heads, flying
in formation like the movie images of war-time bomber squadrons.
Circling and calling, until all the birds had arrived, the flock then
dropped dramatically from the sky to land in the shallow waters at
the end of the loch—their roosting site for the night where they would
be safe from predators.
This was something the geese did every night from their arrival on
Islay (pronounced “eye-ler”) in October until they departed for their
Arctic breeding grounds in March, something that succeeding
generations had done for thousands of years. For us to witness the
spectacle for just a few short minutes was both thrilling and humbling. We were shaking with excitement—and remembered to start
breathing again.
Shorebirds or starlings darting left and right, up and down, in
perfectly synchronised tightly-packed flocks is another awe-inspiring
sight that cannot fail to inspire even the most jaded observer, but
Tits, Siskins, and Chaffinches at our
feeders, but on visits to Arizona and
California, we have been delighted to visit
gardens to savour the busybody antics of
hummingbirds, orioles, woodpeckers and
grosbeaks – all impossibly exotic compared to what we see at home.
Birdwatching is a very broad church. It
offers thrill-seekers the opportunity to
travel the globe to tick off previously
unseen species; for the scientifically
inclined there are endless surveys; and for
those who just want more challenges, bird
identification is a topic that will fill a lifetime. Just take a peek in an
American field guide at the pages dealing with Empidonax flycatchers, and you’ll see what I mean!
But at whatever point you join the birding world, I guarantee it will
fill your life with joy. For the price of a pair of binoculars and a field
guide, it’s the bargain of a lifetime.
Buckingham Press Ltd is a publishing company
run by Hilary and David Cromack. Its ethos can be
summed up as: Dedicated to providing relevant and
trustworthy information in all its publications to
enrich people’s experience of birds and the wider
world of nature.
10 Worldwide Birding Destinations
1) Southern Arizona, USA for hawks and roadrunners
birdwatchers take their pleasures in many different ways.
For some of us, birding helps us to connect with the earth. It
encourages us to walk, observing everything we encounter in greater
detail, and appreciate those special moments when a bird does
something we’ve never seen before.
Others are drawn to the beauty of birds, whether the gaudy display
of a Peacock’s extravagant tail feathers or the understated but
complex patterning of a Scaled Quail. Seeing species like this in the
wild requires some physical effort, but even people with mobility
issues can tempt beautiful species to visit their gardens by keeping a
range of bird feeders topped up.
Here in Britain, we can enjoy seeing such little gems as Long-tailed
2) Eilat, Israel for more than 400 species in spring and autumn
3) Wollongong, Australia for the best seabirds
4) The Camargue, France for 1000s of flamingos in late spring
and early summer
5) Tatras National Park, Slovakia for owl watching
6) Morjim, India for sea birds, including the white-bellied
sea eagle
7) Falsterbo, Sweden for the autumn migration of some
500 million birds
8) Viñales National Park, Cuba for the world's smallest hummingbird
9) Florida's natural areas, USA for a wide variety of birds anytime of year
10) North Berwick, Scotland for the seabirds
23
Dream catcher
ImagiNation Photo Challenge | Community, Connection, Creativity
Dharma
Tya totem
Community
Connection
Seals
by Lee Karalis
Creativity
Trees
by Michelle Gilbert
Pencils
by Patricia Lindberg
Each quarter, Tribe will announce three themes for our members to interpret through their
photography. The winners of this issue’s ImagiNation Photo Challenge each receive a free year’s
subscription to the magazine. Congratulations to this quarter’s winners.
The themes for next quarter are: Home, Magical, and Tranquility. You may only enter one photo
to each theme category—so choose carefully. Post your entries to the forum, and the community
will vote for their favorites. Good luck!
25
Dream catcher
ImagiNation Photo Challenge | Community, Connection, Creativity
Dharma
Tya totem
Park
Community
by Kathy Luurtsema
America the Beautiful Park, Colorado Springs
Community
by Brenda Wilson
Red Rocks Park, Colorado
Connection
by Brenda Wilson
Phi Phi Islands, Thailand
Creativity
by Simon Ashaan
Stained Glass Window
Creativity
by Brenda Wilson
Fawn
Connection
by Kathy Luurtsema
27
Dream catcher
Murasaki's Pen
Dharma
Photographer: Jorge Pedro Barradas de Casais
Location: Portugal
Tya totem
Walking Together
by Ainsley Allmark
We have walked through the darkness
You and I
Our fingertips touching
Guiding, leading
Taking it in turns
To show the way
To help the faltering foot.
We have walked through the dawn
Together
Hand in hand through
The growing light
Confidence, learning
How to take control
Striding toward the sun.
We have walked through the afternoon
You and I
In sympathy, knowing
Our deepest feelings
Taking it in turns
To touch our minds
Our inner thoughts, our lives.
We have walked in the evening
Together
Mind in mind through
The fading light
Knowing that, whatever,
We will always be,
Have always been, together.
We will walk through the darkness
You and I
Eternally together
Our spirits are together
Having drunk from the well
We know that we shall always be
Together.
Photos:
(top) Juriah Mosin,
(bottom) Jozsef SzaszFabian
beauty
the
I have missed
by Brenda Wilson
I waited and watched for the barren trees of winter to
finally put forth the first green buds of spring. As the weather
got warmer, I kept my vigil and waited to witness the miracle
of those tiny emerald jewels transformed into new leaves,
providing soft green coverage for the earth.
One day, in a moment in which I must have blinked, those tiny
beauties burst forth in all the magnificence of the spring season.
Somehow I’d missed this miracle, as if I’d been in some deep slumber or
blinked too slowly and the world had set into motion something that
was faster than I could capture. I watched in awe as overnight, the trees
were transformed from leafless gray creatures, reaching their cold limbs
toward the warmth of the sun, to majestic beings of fresh green color,
moving in the breeze like marvelous giants dancing in the wind.
I promised myself that I would not miss the next grand change, the
one from summer to autumn. Whatever had transpired in the course of
Mother Nature’s timetable that had prevented me from seeing the
transformation of spring’s change would not happen again in the fall. I
would watch more carefully. I would trick the forces of nature and time
so that I would not miss the next miracle of the seasons.
Alas, a great slumber must have befallen me, for I sat and watched
from my window as, one after another, the leaves drifted from their
perches amongst the branches and slowly floated to the ground in their
bold, beautiful oranges and yellows. Like vibrant jewels they gathered
in mounds, blowing about our feet in the wind.
I knew I had been there. I thought I had been aware. But Mother
Nature had tricked me once again. I had seen her visiting with Jack
Frost one day, which should have been my clue that another great and
marvelous event was about to take place. I must have turned away for a
moment, and in doing so, Jack crept in and painted all the trees in
autumn’s beautiful colors.
Once again, I promised myself not to miss the miracle of the next
changing season. The days became shorter and colder as the nights
wore on endlessly. Everything seemed so still and lifeless as the
branches were transformed yet again to great, gray barren arms
reaching toward the sky, empty and sorrowful, like a mother who has
just lost her child. They swayed in the wind, creaking and moaning
wistfully for something to fill them once more.
I awakened one cold morning, in the early days of winter, to a
beautiful white softness covering the landscape. The trees were
wrapped in a fluffy blanket of snow, as if Mother Nature has reached
out and provided comfort for those sorrowful, barren arms. The air was
fresh and filled with a crispness that tingled my nose. In the stillness of
the day, the snow glistened like diamonds in the sunlight.
In life’s great commotion, I had missed the transformation of yet
another season. Year after year, they come and go, and it seems I have
missed them all. In the stillness of a single moment, great changes take
place that I will never have the opportunity to witness again. As I grow
older, it becomes clearer to me that I must slow down, catch more of
what this life has to offer, and witness the transformations of time and
space, of life and death and rebirth.
29
Dream catcher
Murasaki's Pen
Dharma
Tya totem
love
books
why I
by Laura Lanham
.I
ok s D F
o
b
P
love fan of , I have
I
.
l
tel not a ourse 't seem
t
u
o
am s. Of c t I can the
it ab t
s
i
file m, bu t with reen.
t
ha ok tha l?
the onnec the sc m
a bo specia
to c rds on int the ect.
t so the
i
s
e
e
wo if I pr I conn rb
mak ld it be r mayb cal
i
But , then n abso en.
Cou tent? O ’s phys s.
out n I ca s writt
con he book ve book
The word
it’s t ure? I lo ay they ell.
the
text e the w their sm ey
I lov . I love ories th
look e the st
I lov
W
The stories in books are great, but it is more than that for me. It is
as if in my hands, the written manuscript opens a doorway or builds a
bridge from the book to my mind. I can read the very same words online,
but they don’t connect or resonate with me as when I hold them in my
hands.
Maybe I was a tree in another life, and maybe the cooked tree pulp that
is now such beautiful ivory paper was me or some member of my family.
One thing is for sure: I connect with the words when they are on paper.
I love the textures of the paper, whether rough or slick. It doesn't
matter to me if the book cover is of luscious leather or cloth or paper. It
doesn't matter if it's sewn or glued or a simple lacing with holes to bind. I
love the feel of the words on the paper within its covers.
In my lottery winning fantasies, I have
a room with books aplenty.
I must admit that I would probably make a librarian apoplectic. If the
book is mine, I mark in it. I write in it. I highlight passages, draw stars,
and make check marks. I write in the margins. I doodle in a corner. And I
am known to break the spine. I can because it is mine.
In my lottery winning fantasies, I have a room with books aplenty.
30 With walls of shelves from floor to ceiling. With just enough windows
to allow a proper reading light. There are rows and stacks of delicious,
mind-altering material for me to while away the hours. There is a
fireplace in the corner with glowing embers and comfortable chairs to
curl up in. To absorb myself in countless hours of gaining the knowledge and pleasure I seek. Hours of love sought or a cowboy shot. Of
faraway lands and times long gone. In this room of books, I can travel
the universe.
Yes, I truly love books and the knowledge within them. I've actually
cooked meals with a child on my hip and a book in the other hand. So
enrapt in the story I was that my mind wouldn't disconnect from the
words on the page.
But I know that I am not alone in this love, especially during the
bedtime ritual of I'll read just one more page and then turn out the light. But
even as the page is finished, the connection won't break. The page is
turned again and again and again. Then another hour has passed, and the
realization takes hold that work must begin in a few hours. The page is
lovingly marked and ever so gently placed beside the bed. Sleep finally
comes even as the characters and the plot continue to unravel in infinite,
delightful, obsessing possibilities.
There is something so amazing when the words on the paper
connect with the mind’s imagination, when they mesh as one. Yes, I
simply love books.
I
took many twists and turns before stumbling upon my Spiritual
Path. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but it has been enlightening.
gathering
spirit
my
by Barbara Drifmeyer
As children, my brother and I were never forced to choose a particular
religious path. Our parents gave us the opportunity to choose whatever
religion felt right to us. Whenever attending Christian churches, I felt
myself still searching for a sense of belonging, a place to feel comfortable.
And no matter how many churches I attended, I never felt complete. There
was always something missing.
In order to find out why I felt so lost, I began researching my ancestral
background. Why did I only feel at home in the open air, on the land,
outside with nature—with Mother Earth? I discovered a blood link to the
people of the Mi’kmaq Nation of Nova Scotia. Suddenly things began to
make sense; things I had heard in childhood began to take shape.
As a child, my mother told stories of walking through the woods with
her grandmother to find the medicines that Creator provided. Mom would
spend hours with me, teaching about flowers and trees and instilling in me
a great sense of respect for all living things. She was opening me up to
Spirit, but I didn’t realize it.
As I got older, I was drawn to
the teachings of Native Elders. I
More Spirit Explorations
began to read about my heritage
and attended local Native events. I
The Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia
http://www.mikmaq-assoc.ca/
sought out elders and people who
http://www.mns-firstnet.ca/
seemed spiritually strong—people
http://www.gov.ns.ca/abor/
who had a sense of knowing where
The Gathering of the Good Minds
their life walk was taking them. I
http://www.goodminds.com/history.htm
was searching for a place to belong,
not a physical place, but a place
Dodem Kanonhsa’ Cultural Facility
http://www.dodemkanonhsa.ca/
inside my heart —where things felt
right. I began praying and
Soul of the Mother
smudging myself with sacred sage,
http://www.soulofthemother.org/
asking Creator for guidance.
In the fall of 2004, I attended the “Gathering of the Good Minds” in
Canada and met Isaac Day, a gentle Ojibway ceremonial leader who taught
me about the Four Directions and the Medicine Wheel. Blessed to attend a
sweat lodge, it was there that I heard the call of Spirit. I knew my spiritual
journey had begun.
The following spring, I received an invitation to attend four days of
teachings with Canadian Diane Longboat (a Mohawk of the Six Nations
Reserve) in Natural Bridge, Virginia—the land of the Monacan People. I was
told to bring cloth for prayer ties, always wear a skirt, and bring an open
heart. I filled my backpack with sage, tobacco, sweet grass, and cedar and
headed for Natural Bridge.
The gathering was my awakening. I sat on Mother Earth inside a tipi
filled with “like-spirited” people around the sacred fire. I held my tobacco
and prayed while the pipe keepers smoked and the singers played their
hand drums. I shed many tears, but not in sadness; I knew I had finally
found my path.
I was taught to listen with my heart to the voices I heard, the voices
of my ancestors—the same voices I had always heard, but had been
afraid of. I asked for and received many blessings from my ancestors
and learned to trust the voice of Spirit. When the four days were over,
I was a different person.
I now know my Spirit name and the special gifts/medicines that I am
blessed to carry in this life walk. I know Creator is always with me, as are
my ancestors. The Mi’kmaq believe our ancestors are in our shadow; we
may not always see them, but they’re always with us.
I continue to seek wisdom from Elder Two-leggeds, the Four-leggeds,
the Standing People, and Mother Earth. Sometimes I feel torn between my
“white man’s world” and my Spiritual world. But when I stop trying to
figure things out on my own, when I listen and accept the loving discipline
from Creator, everything comes together as it should.
31
A
New
Kind of
Music Man
by Simon Ashaan
S
ome artists paint with oils on a canvas, others with words on
a page or screen, still others with sounds through musical
instruments. I am a musician and a sound sensitive. For me,
music and words are one in the same. Each creates movement in
Limited Free MP3 Download
Exclusive to Tribe Readers from
Simon Ashaan’s album DNAture
www.simonashaan.com - (Look
for the Tribe Logo on the front
page) Password: TribeMusic
32 people and their spirits; each carries a pure sound vibration; most
importantly, each carries the vibration of intent. Every sound has
an intent of its own, whether its love or peace or hate or violence.
Sound acts as container for thought
a nd intent. Thought also carries a vibration
that can be carried into sound. If you strike a
gong with hate, the gong’s sound reflects
that. The same happens when you strike a
gong with love. As a highly sensitive person,
I can hear the intent of some music.
As a child, I constantly heard sounds that
others didn't, sounds that would cause me
physical pain and even absolute panic. The
sound of a siren or horn, the very deep
vibration of sound, would set my whole body
on edge. The sound itself would shock me
awake, like coming suddenly out of a deep
sleep. It wasn’t a very positive experience.
This happens to this day. It’s not the sound
itself; it’s certain sound frequencies that
create a shock-shift in the body
Consider the sounds in our everyday lives,
like the ambulance siren: it has a traveling
frequency that goes from one pitch to
another. Those sounds are placed to create
fear and shock. It doesn’t seem natural to me.
It has a negative, spiraling effect on the body
that I feel on a daily basis. Sometimes I’d like
to just wrap myself in a cocoon.
On the other hand, the sounds of the
ocean are like going home to me. When I feel
that I need to reconnect or disconnect from
an environment or sound, I find that focusing
on my breath or the sound of my breath
actually helps. It’s like putting my feet into a
sandy beach.
The Music
My music begins with a couple of ideas
about the sound, but it develops itself. I
cannot consciously write music. It must
evolve as it will. When I write, I start with a
series of sounds and instruments. I assemble
my orchestra, start off at one sound point,
and allow the other pieces of the orchestra to
compliment or create harmony. That’s true
inspiration.
Music has always been a part of my life. I
have memories of standing on a box with a
makeshift music stand and conducting
Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture—at the age of
three. I did that everyday with all kinds of
music. I could easily hear the whole orchestra, but breaking it down to bite-sized pieces
to create it was too frustrating. I went on to
study the classical violin at the age of five, the
clarinet at ten, and discovered the synthesizer
at fourteen.
I remember seeing a hooded figure
looking over my sister during those mornings. It appeared like flesh and blood to me,
I began seeing music in colours. I played intuitively
by ear, which became my natural way of learning to
play instruments.
I did learn to read music, but became
dyslexic while reading it—though not in
other things—and experienced migraines.
Afterwards, I began seeing music in colours .
I knew so much about music and sound, but
couldn’t read musical notation. I’d look at it
on the page and see stars and end up fainting.
Since I couldn’t read music anymore, I played
intuitively by ear, which became my natural
way of learning to play instruments. This
allowed me to find a nice tone, rhythm, and
melody out of any musical instrument I tried.
The Artist
My intuitive side showed itself very early
in other ways, as well. I was born and raised
in New Zealand, but spent about a year-anda-half in England when I was around four. My
father was a psychologist and teacher, and
while on a sabbatical at Bristol University in
the South West of England, we rented an
amazing Victorian house. That old house
opened my spiritual awareness, something
my parents had already experienced.
not a transparent or ghostly form. I wasn’t
afraid. It seemed curious about my sister, but
didn’t even acknowledge me. Another time at
Stonehenge, I remember the feeling of being
spun around, feeling dizzy, while among the
stones. There was something there that I
didn’t like.
While growing up in the 70s and 80s, my
father often held meditation groups in our
home. It was there that I was exposed to
alternative schools of thought and had many
experiences with shamanism and metaphysical realms. Through my parents, friends, and
international teachers, I learnt many things
from the Ancient Mystery Schools—those
schools of the soul where the mysteries of
nature and humanity are studied so we can
become one with our inner divinity.
During my childhood, we hosted
meditation groups and speakers on Sunday
evenings in the lounge. I had the experience
of speaking to beings from higher planes and
also meeting people from all over the world.
>>>
Simon playing
the laser harp during
a live performance.
33
Feature | Simon Ashaan
I remember one chap who was into crystals
and UFOs would come and give chats. He
knew and spoke of Billy Meier (the famous
Swiss UFO contactee whose contacts began
in the 40s and continue to this day).
The Ancient Mysteries schools taught the
ancient principles of sound, like levitation
and the mechanics of resonance that the
ancient Egyptians and Tibetans understood.
Such bits and pieces gave me a better
understanding of the metaphysical side of
sound. It all confirmed for me what I already
knew intuitively. Interestingly, over the past
three years, I have witnessed many people
picking up on these principles. They didn’t
read it out of books or attend the mystery
schools. It’s all intuition.
The Man
I also began learning about computers
and electronics at a very early age, including
computer programming at the age of eight. I
have been programming in various forms
ever since. Yes, I got called a geek a lot at
school. I was drawn to like-minded tech
savvy people and intellectual contemporaries. I became fascinated with radio
stations, electronics, lasers, and astronomy. I
experimented with audio recording via
website pages and, most recently, methods of
collaborative sound-healing online.
I felt isolated and
depressed in school,
especially with the social
aspect of it in which I
was constantly teased.
I gravitate toward electronic sounds and
those of nature. As contradictory as that may
sound initially, the merging of music with my
love of computers has let my spirit create
something positive in my world. I wrote a
little music on and off as a child, yet it wasn't
until I discovered the electronic keyboard
and the synthesizer that the missing pieces of
the puzzle started falling into place for me.
But I have never understood the
traditional education system and its
penchant for mental abuse. I constantly felt
34 Simon's photo of a temple and yoga center, taken during his recent pilgrimage to the Hindu holy city of Rishikesh.
isolated and depressed in school, especially
with the social aspect of it in which I was
constantly teased. I was fourteen or so
before I finally had a group of mates that
really stuck with me. But negative effects of
my experiences in school, my parents’
divorce, remarriage, and a younger sister
who died compounded. Depression kicked
in at thirteen. I felt very alone. Ultimately, I
dropped out of school at fifteen.
For the next twenty years, I joined the
regular work-world in order to pay the bills.
I started out in retail and quickly worked
my way into management roles in IT sales
and marketing. I even started a multi-media
development company that developed
applications and web brands for many high
profile New Zealand businesses. But the
business partnership went sour, resulting in
a deep depression. I tried Prozac, but it
made me feel horrible and dark, emotionally
disconnected, and deprived of my “self.”
The Void of Creation
I began composing again, but from that
dark place, from "The Void." The more I
explored The Void, the more I found beautiful
music flowing forth. I learnt how to create
from within it, but I also needed to learn
strategies to cope when I wasn’t creating.
When I began my own healing, others told
me that it was affecting them, too. So now I
am a full time artist and dad working from
home. It is wonderfully rewarding and
financially challenging. But my family is on
this new big adventure with me.
The Void’s darkness stirred up in me all
the “rubbish” of my ancestors’ DNA. By that I
mean the vibrations of unworthiness, the
need for power, the fear-based patterns that
have been in our blood for so long. While I
don’t feel karma exists anymore because
we’re all free beings, I do believe we’ve finally
come to a time when we all can be free and
responsible for ourselves.
The ancient Hawaiian Huna Process of
Ho’oponopono relates closest to my cleansing experience. It is the tradition of “making it right with the ancestors,” of healing
yourself through your own cellular structure so you can help others do the same.
You heal and transform yourself by looking
at who you are and how you affect others.
The music I wrote during this time helped
me to move on from eons of limitation.
Certain pieces of music, and pieces within
those pieces, began clearing all that had
been in the blood of my family for generations. It was a very profound time for me. I
let go of any preconceptions of how things
should go and freed my mind to develop
music without analyzing everything. This
process let me discover and engineer new
sounds and even make new instruments.
Recently, I’ve been rediscovering the design of a laser harp, a wooden instrument
that uses laser beams as its strings and sends
MIDI signals back to a sound module or computer. The design explores sacred geometry
and playability as well as expression through
gesture. I plan to build a small number of
handcrafted laser harps on commission soon.
From all this, my album, DNAture, was
created and released on CD in New Zealand
in 2007. I performed it live with a synthesizer guru friend and fellow sensitive in our
local town's brand new multi-million dollar
performing arts centre. The auditorium was
full, and the show received glowing reviews.
But the highlight for me was when legendary
Jazz composer Russell Garcia came backstage to congratulate us. Russ wrote songs
for Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
as well as the soundtrack for the original movie version of "The Time Machine,"
the first Hollywood soundtrack to use a
synthesizer. If you play the guitar, it was
like having Eric Clapton turn up to a gig.
Children enjoy discovering the power of music at the pre-school education center where Simon installed a variety of large-scale outdoor instruments he created.
The Pilgrimage
As part of my healing, I recently travelled
to India to explore my own Indian raj heritage and ancient traditions. It was a magical
time for me. It was a feeling of home. At one
point, as I explored the holy city of Rishikesh,
I wandered into an ashram garden where a
group of holy men chanted evening prayers
from a room above. As I recorded their beautiful sounds, I felt I had always been there.
In Rishikesh, I also attended a Ganga
Aarti, the twice daily ritual that Hindis
perform on the banks of the Ganges River,
the most sacred river in India. They float
flowers on the river, light candles, and
sing songs in praise of the life-giving river.
While waiting, I began communicating
with a boy standing by the fields. There
was a language barrier between us, but
we clicked. He’d never seen a video camera before or how it operated. I showed him
how it worked and asked him to take video
while I recorded sound during the Aarti.
I also designed and built a music installation for a pre-school education centre that
has New Zealand's largest outdoor stringed
instrument—the Earth Harp, a huge stringed
instrument with a sound not dissimilar
to a very deep cello, but more ethereal.
And several months ago, while recording some new material, I began receiving
very specific information on a new project
from my spirit guides. They told me that
in 2010, the potential would exist to help
mankind by creating a library of sounds
from 144 people, an assembled group of
healers who would each provide particular
sounds—shamanic, sacred sounds. I believe
the collective intent will have a profoundly positive effect on our beloved planet.
I love working with others on collaborative creative projects, helping them
to realize their potential through the use
of music and light—empowering them,
hopefully, as it has empowered me.
The Canvases
Backstage at 2007's live performance of DNAture. Jazz legend, Russell
Garcia (left) and Simon Ashaan (right).
Those sounds and images inspired a DVD
and new album that is in production and due
for release late 2009/early 2010. It has video
imagery of the naturally occurring mandala
diagram formed with a patented optical system and the use of the humble soap bubble.
For more information about Simon
Ashaan’s DVDs and other projects, visit his
website at http://www.simonashaan.com/.
35
Dharma
Earth guardian | National treasure | Personal journey
Tya totem
Photographer: Sam DCruz
Location: Kakadu, Australia
Inspired by the Australian aboriginals.
Anthropologist W.E.H. Stanner notes there are
no English words to express the connection
between an Aboriginal group and its homeland.
Our word home does not match the Aboriginal
word that may mean “camp,” “heart,” “country,”
“life source,” or “spirit center.” Our word land
is too spare—too meager. To put our words together into “homeland” is a little better, but not
much. Our different tradition leaves us tongueless and earless towards a world of meaning
and significance — a world that we are as much
a part of as soil, water, and air.
tya totem
37
Dharma
National treasure | Saguaro National Park
Tya totem
Photographer: Kellie L. Folkerts
Location: Tucson, Arizona
discove
er
Arizona’s
Saguaro National Park
by Lee Karalis
E
ach year, millions of people head off to one or more of the 391 parks that
make up our national park system. These precious jewels of nature get us
away from the exhausting concrete and glass and heat sinks of city living and
into the refreshing woods and wildlife and water of our nation’s park lands.
With a lifespan of 175200 years, saguaros can
reach 50 feet or more
and weigh over 8 tons,
90% of which is water.
Their many famous
“arms” begin as prickly
balls that do not sprout
until after 75 years
of age.
Photographer: Sasha Buzko
Location: Saguaro National Park, Arizona
Map courtesy of National Park System
http://www.nps.gov/sagu
Images of the enormous
saguaro cactus silhouetted by
Saguaro Park Facts:
the setting sun symbolize, for
many, the great American West.
But did you know these majestic
plants are only found in a small
portion of the United States?
Some of the most impressive forests of these giants can
be found in the Saguaro National
Park to the East and West of
Tucson, Arizona. The park is
also home to a stunning array
of desert plant and animal life.
• 90,000 acres
• 71,000 acres of wilderness area
• 165 miles of hiking trails
• Open daily, 7:00 a.m. to sunset
• $10 for private vehicle
(valid for 7 days)
• $5 for individual on foot/
bicycle (valid for 7 days)
• Winters are mild, with days
averaging 65°F, nights 40°F
• Summers can be hot,
with days averaging 105°F
and nights 72°F
Travel Information:
Rincon Mountain District (East)
3693 South Old Spanish Trail
Tucson, AZ 85730
520-733-5153
Tucson Mountain District (West)
2700 North Kinney Road
Tucson, AZ 85743
520-733-5158
More information at
http://www.nps.gov/sagu
>>>
39
Dharma
National treasure | Saguaro National Park
Tya totem
There is something undeniably calming
and balancing about sleeping under and
walking among the trees of our national
forests—the most ancient “peoples” of the
Americas. Many indigenous tribes acknowledge the Standing People as guardian spirits,
providing food and shelter and containing
Earth’s ancient knowledge and wisdom.
There is a kind of “schooling” that takes
place as we walk under those lush canopies
that refreshes a connection to the land that
is all but lost in our cities. The air we breathe,
the appreciation of wildlife, the perception of time are all altered in those natural
days and weeks of reconnection. We reset
so we can survive the artificial air and walls
and light until we return again to reconnect and reset among the Standing People.
But in order to reconnect, must there
always be a canopy of green from the
People of the pines or oaks or birches or
spruce? The canopy is also made up of
the open Sonoran Desert sky punctuated by the outstretched arms of its own
unique Standing People, the saguaro cactus (pronounced SAH-WAH-ROW).
culture as a sibling in the family. The spiny
giants are included in the O’odham creation
stories and are the center of celebration
during the weeks of its fruit harvest, after
which the life-giving monsoons return.
As a result of the harvest, sweet red fruits
are made into candy, jelly, syrup, and wine.
The tiny black seeds are rich in protein and
are ground into flour. The skeletal ribs from
those fallen and naturally decomposing become harvesting sticks, used to remove the
ripe fruits from the top of the saguaro, and as
building material for fences and roofs. As a
part of the land, the saguaro provides for and
shelters humans, birds, insects, coyotes, and
javelinas. As a part of the land, the saguaro
is also a part of the Desert People’s culture,
included in stories of coyote and turtle.
Saguaro National Park
One of the best places to see the saguaro forests is at the Saguaro National
Park edging Tucson, Arizona. Two districts make up this park, which totals more
than 90,000 acres. The Rincon Mountain
District, on the east side of Tucson, began in
1933 as a national monument. The Tucson
Mountain District, on the western edge of
the city, was added in 1961. The entire monument became a national park in 1994.
Both districts offer bike and car tour
routes, picnic areas, fabulous views,
and 165 miles of hiking trails ranging
from the lowland into the mountains.
The Eastern District also has the 71,000
acre Saguaro Wilderness Area for those
more adventurous hikers, backpackers,
and campers—permits are required.
Photographer: Joshua Boles
Location: Cactus Forest Drive, Saguaro National Park, Arizona
benches; it is wheelchair accessible. The
loop has picnic areas and trailheads and
twelve new roadside exhibits. The 2.5 mile
multi-use Forest Trail is an easy walk to the
lime kilns historic site within the loop.
Many trails throughout the park are
suitable for longer hikes and backpacking.
They rise from the saguaros of the desert lowlands, riparian areas, and foothills
(such as the 5.3 mile Garwood Loop) up into
the Rincon Mountains with their grasslands, oaks, pines, and firs. And while there
are no campsites accessible in the park,
there are six back-country campsites.
Exploring the West District
The Tucson Mountain section of the park
has 12 miles of paved roads, but the unpaved
(mostly gravel) 6-mile Bajada Loop Drive offers spectacular views, frequent pullouts, and
picnic areas. The Loop’s Desert Discovery
Exploring the East District
Photographer: Doug James
The Southwest’s Treasure
As you travel the roads of Arizona,
you cannot miss these seemingly improbable giants thriving. With a lifespan
of 175-200 years, saguaros can reach
50 feet or more and weigh over 8 tons,
90% of which is water. Their many famous “arms” begin as prickly balls that
do not sprout until after 75 years of age.
Among the Southwest’s Tohono O’odham,
the Desert People, the saguaro (ha:sañ)
is as integrated into the community and
40 From the visitor center, the 8-mile Cactus
Forest Drive loops as a paved, one-way road
through the heart of the saguaro forest and
back to the visitor center. The narrow road
is a very popular destination for serious
bikers and runners, as well as those wanting a relaxing stroll. The road rises, falls,
and twists with the natural curves of the
land. There are pullouts along the route with
short trails for hiking and biking, as well as
scenic overlooks with great photo opportunities and picnic areas. The self-guided
Desert Ecology Trail is a popular 0.25 mile
path beside Javelina Wash offering Sonoran
Desert plant and animal exhibits plus resting
Photographer: Alex Neauville
Trail is 0.5 mile long with
Sonoran Desert exhibits, trail
guides in Braille and cassette
tape formats, trail texturing, and
shade armadas with benches for
resting. The 1.6-mile Ridge View
Trail climbs to a turnaround
with rocky side canyon views.
Two other trails are available for exploration. The Hope
Photographer: Norman Bateman
Camp Trail is 5.6 miles that
parallels riparian areas and
passes by windmills, water
towers and storage tanks—all
offering wonderful photo opportunities. Another short but
satisfying hike, the Signal Hill
Petroglyph Trail, offers a rare
view of dozens of examples of
rock art from the Hohokam
period (AD 300 to 1450) scattered around the rocky hilltop.
The Hohokam, ancestors of
the Tohono O’odham, were socially, politically, and scientifically
sophisticated desert dwellers.
Long before first contact with
Europeans, they built complex
public works systems, including
an intricate canal system that irrigated their fields of cotton, tobacco, corn, beans, and squash.
American pioneer farmers later
excavated those ancient canals
and used them to successfully
irrigate their own farmlands.
Living Among Giants
by Lee Karalis
Most of my childhood was within
earshot of the ocean. I often awoke to
the sound of foghorns and would cut a
wake through salt-dewy mornings on
my way to school. I never imagined myself living very far from the ocean. The
salt spray, the waves, the magnificent
and moody blues of water and sky at
different times of the day and year—
they are as much a part of me as my
breath and blood.
But for the past five years, southern Arizona’s Sonora Desert has been
my home. And I love it. The foothills
of Tucson’s Santa Catalina Mountains
circle my home and my life with a spir
ituality that gives me a newfound peace.
The mountains contain the spirits of giants who once walked this world, gently
guiding fragile humans in their quest for
Photographer: Paul B. Moore
knowledge and growth. The giants may
no longer walk in the same way among us,
but they are here still. I feel their spirits every day.
My husband and I are both southern Californians; the salt air was our first
breath. Graduate school took him to northern Virginia, and in my desire to
be with him, I followed. We lived in a small, but growing commuter community south of the DC Beltway. A grove of elms, maples, and oaks backed our
home, giving us a peaceful retreat from our daily exposure to the Beltway’s
madness. I meditated under those Standing People, told them my hopes
and dreams, asked for their guidance in darker moments, and tended to their
needs as best I could—but they stood on another’s property.
Over the years, as I struggled with managing the Beltway madness, I
realized that the East Coast would never ease my weariness. My husband
agreed that our retirement years would be in the Southwest, a place we often visited and that refreshed our spirits.
In the meantime, the grove of Standing People soothed me.
And then one Saturday afternoon, we found a notice in our mailbox. The
property backing ours, the home of our Standing People, had been sold to
a developer. Thirty-five new homes were to be built after a period of public
hearings. I sank into the arms of my husband and cried. Our homeowner’s
association would give the builder guidance, but the existing trees would be
cut down. While our retirement years were still a distant future, it was time
to move.
Soon the chainsaws began biting through my friends. We did not stay
for the slaughter. We found Tucson’s loving arms and now live among the
desert’s native Standing People—saguaros, palo verdes, and mesquites.
When we desire the company of the Standing People of cooler climes, we
drive forty-five minutes to the pines, firs, and oaks of Mt. Lemmon.
We may no longer live in the salty air of our birth, but after a monsoon
or winter rain, the desert’s creosote bushes open their pores and bathe our
senses is a calming freshness. Not a bad tradeoff.
41
Dharma
Earth guardian | The Nature Conservancy
Tya totem
T
rust is difficult and fragile to maintain in the best of times.
Trust of corporate entities has always been tenuous and, as
the recent financial crisis clearly demonstrates, justifiably so. So
when an organization is polled as one of America’s top four most
trusted, it says much about that organization. In fact, the last
four Harris Interactive polls have rated The Nature Conservancy
among America’s top four trusted national organizations.
The Nature Conservancy’s
Latest, Greatest Campaign:
Ensuring Nature’s Survival—
and That Means You!
The Nature Conservancy
works to represent the
Earth’s iconic landscapes while helping
people to live sustainably in those places.
From left: Lakes and
Rivers, Forests, Grasslands, Deserts and Arid
Lands, and Oceans
42 by Lee Karalis
For nearly sixty years, The Nature
Conservancy has worked to protect Earth’s
plants, animals, lands, and waters. With over
one million members and with projects in all
fifty states and more than thirty countries,
the Conservancy is the world’s largest private,
nonprofit conservation organization. Its successful projects and partnerships include
reforestation in Brazil and Guam, new marine
protected areas in Washington and Indonesia,
a tallgrass prairie preserve in Kansas, restoration of native bushland in Australia, preservation of tropical rain forests in East Africa
and Canada, and creation of national parks in
California, Colorado, and Guatemala.
we are also accepting the importance to
that future of sustaining the planet and its
multitude of habitats and ecosystems.
A Worldwide Call to Action
The Conservancy’s San Pedro
River Ecosystem Project was
chosen by President Obama
as a number one priority for
funding to help conserve
one of America’s “iconic
landscapes.”
The point is that in order to protect
Earth’s natural diversity, work needs to
undertaken not only in the US, but globally. The Conservancy has successfully protected 119 million acres of land and 5,000
miles of river and developed over 100 marine conservation projects—worldwide. The
Conservancy’s latest effort to bring unparalleled success to that global philosophy is its
Campaign for a Sustainable Planet. It’s the
largest conservation campaign in history.
Modern concern for the health of the
environment is often traced to the publication of Rachael Carson’s eye-opening Silent
Spring in 1961. In the more than forty-five
years since her tome on the detrimental effects of DDT, we’ve come to understand
her dread of contamination of the planet.
We’ve also begun to embrace the idea that
humanity is a part of nature, not its better. What we do to nature, we do to ourselves. Just as we manage our lives to sustain
ourselves and the future of our families,
So the challenge for the Campaign for a
Sustainable Planet is a daunting one. With
a 2015 deadline, the goal is to have protections in place for at least ten percent of
each of the world’s major habitat types:
Forests and Grasslands—Tracts
of forest the size of Panama disappear yearly, and grasslands are the
least protected habitats on Earth;
Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans—Less than
one percent of marine environments are
protected, and half of humanity face water shortages in the next fifty years;
Arid Lands and Deserts—Just behind tropical rainforests in their plant
and animal diversity, these habitats
are among Earth’s most fragile.
The Campaign’s idea, according to
Mark Burget, the Conservancy’s chief
conservation officer, is to “represent the
iconic landscapes on Earth and to help
people live sustainably in those places.
Sustainability is the challenge of our times.”
Indeed, the blueprint for this effort
developed from five years of scientific assessment of the planet’s most critical habitats to support sustainability worldwide.
Partnering respectfully with individuals, communities, businesses, nonprofits, and governments, the plan preserves
lands and waters crucial to daily survival for some of the world’s most economically impoverished communities.
A Practical Application
The Sonoran Desert of Arizona is a
prime area of concern for riparian water balance and sustainability. The San
Pedro River f lows 120 miles north from
its headwaters in the sierras of north
central Sonora, Mexico down through
semi-arid grasslands, the desert, and
into the mountain ranges of the US. Due
to the area’s growing human demands,
it is estimated there will be a deficit of
4.2 billion gallons of water in the San
Pedro’s upper basin by the year 2020.
The Conservancy’s ongoing San Pedro
River Ecosystem Project was recently
chosen by President Barak Obama, in
his 2010 budget, as a number one priority for funding to help conserve one
of America’s “iconic landscapes.”
As one of the last undammed large rivers in the US, the San Pedro River basin
supports eighty-four species of mammals,
fourteen species of fish, forty-one species
of reptiles, nearly half of the bird diversity
of North America, and is a major stopover
and f lyaway point for millions of migratory
birds and butterf lies during their northern migration from the tropics.
>>>
43
Dharma
Earth guardian | The Nature Conservancy
Tya totem
Mapping the river’s wet and dry areas
in this bountiful riparian habitat is crucial in understanding the growing human
impact on surface and underground water supplies, adapting strategies to prevent further deterioration of water flows,
and even restoring year-round flows.
Rehabilitation efforts have shown some
of the streams in the lower watershed
healthy enough for massive fish reintroduction; the Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative
Management Area of the basin has even
shown rehabilitated native fish thriving.
Such examples of riparian health is a reflection of dedicated human communities
and trusted organizations like The Nature
Conservancy and its efforts to find that same
success for all the Earth’s ecosystems. Such
is the Campaign for a Sustainable Planet.
Such is the campaign for our survival.
To get involved and support the Campaign
for a Sustainable Planet, visit The Nature
Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
Every year, rancher Mike Hayhurst rides and helps map the beautiful Babacomari River, a major tributary to the San Pedro. He takes his grand kids fishing and
swimming here, and wants to see it protected for the future. © Holly Richter/TNC
The River’s Changing Face—
and Mine
by Holly Richter, Ph.D
(above) This double rainbow over the Upper San Pedro was a sign of the
precious monsoon rains to come. © Holly Richter/TNC (right) A view of the
San Pedro. © Tana Kappel/TNC
I was a practicing landscape architect
in my first life. I went to school, graduated, got
a few jobs, and opened my own consulting
practice. It all went as planned. I worked on
projects as diverse as designing a newly established Kickapoo Reservation in Texas, a marina
in Colorado, and irrigation systems for church
landscapes. But something ultimately didn’t fit
for me. Not all of my clients shared my basic
values, including the importance of the natural
world. I wasn’t sure I was making a difference
that mattered.
So my mid-life crisis came in my late-twenties, and I opted to abandon my consulting
business, cut my salary by more than half, sell
the beautiful Victorian home I had worked so
hard to restore, and apply for a part-time job
with The Nature Conservancy in the Sonoran
Desert. It was one of those pivotal changes in
life that either make or break you.
A few months later, I found myself at
an amazing nature preserve along the
Hassayampa River in Central Arizona, one of
the last continuously flowing stretches of river
in the desert Southwest. This new life held
much more adventure, sense of purpose, and
fascination for me than the old one had. For
starters, I fell in love with a river. Before this
job, I didn’t even fully realize this was possible.
I managed the preserve there for four years,
working, eating, and sleeping along its banks—
in a place where water really matters, where
less is more.
And I learned some very important things.
Rivers change. They are dynamic in flow and
form, in space and time, in visitors and inhabitants. So you never see the same river twice. I
never fully appreciated how amazingly complex
the ecosystems on this planet are until I got to
know a river intimately.
An Important Diversion
Had I not decided to go back to graduate
school, I think it would have been difficult for
me to ever leave that lush oasis and its continuous teachings. But I wanted to learn more
about the technical aspects of these special
places. My master’s degree turned into a doctorate that focused on another river of great
importance to the Conservancy’s conservation
efforts in the West, Colorado’s Yampa River.
I grew increasingly fascinated with understanding how natural floods reshape streamside forests, creating new stands of trees that
can get a jumpstart on life from the nutrienttribe.paramimedia.com
rich sediment they carry. The more I learned,
the more I needed to find out. And as my focus
intensified, all the obstacles to that learning began to melt away.
The most intriguing part of this research
was realizing that how these streamside forests
and rivers function was still waiting to be discovered. I knew that the answers were clearly
written on the landscape, like pages in a book
waiting to be read if we were clever enough to
decipher the language.
I never fully appreciated
how amazingly complex
the ecosystems on this
planet are until I got to
know a river intimately.
Coming Home
A few years later, I found myself working for
the Conservancy again back in Arizona, but this
time along the San Pedro River. In many ways,
I felt like I had circled back to the Hassayampa.
The San Pedro had the same kind of riparian
forest with similar bird sounds and fragrances.
But as one of the West’s most important bird
migration corridors, it had many more miles of
flowing river than the Hassayampa. There was
also more controversy about the precious waters that kept it flowing.
Over time, that controversy has not abated.
Conflicts over water in the West are intensifying as our human water-demands compete
with those of nature. But along the San Pedro,
we needed more information in order to effectively manage water wisely and keep the river
healthy. While extensive water measurements
had been collected for over a century in certain locations, we also needed to know where
along the river it flowed all year long.
In 1999, with twelve GPS units and about
twenty ambitious volunteers on foot and horseback, we set out to create the first “wet/dry
map” of 43 miles of the river, starting at the
Mexico border during the driest and hottest
time of year. We broke into teams, to cover
ground quickly, and charted where the water
started and stopped, creating our first map of
the river’s wet/dry areas.
Standing in Water: Mike Magyar mans the GPS unit while Ken Wiley, the
Conservancy's Director of Stewardship, takes notes. They mapped a section
of the Lower San Pedro River. © Melissa Magyar/TNC
That first year, I remember just hoping that
no one sank into any quicksand and that the
folks involved (many holding diverse opinions
about the river and its water) didn’t abandon
each other (or worse!) out in a remote area of
the river.
But an amazing thing happened. People
loved doing this—schoolteachers, realtors, city
council members, ranchers, environmentalists,
and miners alike. It was participatory learning at its finest. It got us all out there toward a
common goal. We all enjoyed the adventure of
getting to know the river for ourselves, and we
all agreed that the maps we jointly produced
were a true reflection of how much water actually remained in the river.
A New Community
Eleven years later, we continue to collect
this same data at the same time of year for
use by scientists, academics, land and water
managers, and others. Every year, over one
hundred people cover 120 miles of river in both
the U.S. and Mexico. This communal effort has
taught us so much about how much water remains in the river and where.
But perhaps even more significant than the
data is the awareness that hundreds of people
now have a connection with the San Pedro that
they didn’t have before they helped with this
monitoring project.
And the part that’s the most fun? We still
haven’t seen the same river twice.
45
M E D I A
Purposeful Media
Passionate Communities
Parami is the Pali word for “perfect” or
“perfection.”
In Buddhism, the culmination and perfection of certain combined virtues are known
as the Paramitas. Among the Paramitas are
generosity, truthfulness, diligence, morality,
patience, and wisdom—six perfections that
Parami Media uses to guide our day-to-day
relationships.
Parami Media is an evolutionary media
company perfecting how communities interact
by embracing online and traditional media,
harnessing the power of both to create unique
magazines. Our mission is to provide exclusive content and create unique experiences
by utilizing multi-media platforms to serve our
communities.
The Web is the undisputed champion in
efficiency for growing real communities, connecting people, and gathering data. But in
expert hands, print still provides unparalleled
tactile and emotional experience. No other medium offers the level of intimacy a reader enjoys
with a magazine. Our online platforms offer the
opportunity for connection, interaction, and
relationship building. But our magazines also
offer pure, unadulterated indulgence in a visual
and thought provoking format. The magazines
represent the sum total of our communities’ efforts—offering an enduring expression of their
opinions, their work, and their lives!
That’s why traditional publishing is an important part of Parami Media. Each of our
publications represents a community of wise,
generous, and engaged readers who seek
happiness, success, and wisdom.

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