On the 4th of November Aña and I started a Vipassana meditation course in North Fork, CA. I didn't know quite what I was getting myself into, but it was Aña's second attendance. She didn't reveal too much about the course, and probably for the better. If I would have known more of the details about the experience prior to attending it, I might not have gone through with it. Having completed it, however, I am very grateful for the experience.
The setting was remote, beautiful and serene. The center was bordering the Sierra National Forest not too far from Yosemite National Park. There was an array of scraggly oak species and smooth red Manzanita trees with small supple jade leafs. Herds of does and a buck frequently trotted and grazed through the grounds. Squirrels were busy burying acorns for the winter while several wood peckers were eating their hearts out on wood grubs. The sunrises and sunsets set the sky ablaze and skewed the many shades of green dancing on the ground.
It was easy to notice the subtleties of nature while spending ten days focusing and quieting the mind. I suppose the vow of noble silence helped in this process. Each day, almost 11 hours were dedicated to meditation. I spent most of these 11 hours perched on a buckwheat pillow on a 2”x2” pad in a seated half-lotus posture. The first three days were spent quieting the mind focusing on respiration. It quickly became obvious how chaotic the mind really is and how easily distracted it is. After three days, however, I had made some progress. On the forth day we started actually practicing the techniques of Vipassana. Supposedly this technique is the purest form of the teaching of Gotama the buddha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha). Techniques that are not a rite, ritual, or affiliated with any religious practice. They are universal techniques for purifying the mind, mastering the mind, and developing compassion and wisdom. During these 10 days I experienced intense physical pain, and explored the depths of my unconscious. Without intending to, I feel I got to know myself better in those ten days than I have over the last ten years.
I highly recommend attending a Vipassana course. I can't think of anyone I know who wouldn't benefit from it if they apply themselves. There are courses offered all over the world. They are free, food and housing provided. Find a center near you and learn more at www.dhamma.org. I would be more than happy to answer any questions. This could be the best gift you've ever given yourself.
Monday, November 23, 2009
In The Bay Area
Tonight I find myself in Berkeley, CA. I'm in the company of friends Steven and Casey who are living and working here. Aña and I have known these wonderful people since living in Madison, WI. Steven is currently working towards his Ph.D. in environmental studies. Casey is helping to spearhead a non-profit organization to provide food and schooling for children of Haiti (http://whatiffoundation.org/). Haiti, if you don't know, is in rough shape economically and politically. Since being the first/only country with a successful slave-led revolution, outside forces have detrimentally manipulated its political system. The U.S. is mainly at fault playing sides throughout its history. More recently the U.S. has supported malicious dictator families like the Duvalier family, and military and parliamentary coups against democratically elected leaders. Currently Haiti is occupied by a UN “stabilization unit” that keeps the country under martial law and 80% of its people living in poverty. The “stabilization unit” has been charged with numerous human rights abuses.
We spent two days exploring the urban concrete jungle of San Francisco. A very strange environment to encounter after spending 10 days purifying the mind at a Vipassana meditation course. We used the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to get into the city from Berkeley not wanting to drive. Winding through the city we explored the Latino district, and the Japan Center before ending up at Golden Gate Park. The huge park contains museums, exhibits, fly fishing pools, a buffalo pen, and other interesting attractions. We went the California Academy of Science Museum for the Night Life event. This was the cheapest time to experience the museum and see a special planetarium event. The museum is also turned into a night club for singles and couples. Strangely out of place were several impromptu bars and three DJ's providing a unique ambiance. There is an amazing aquarium collection and the planetarium program is truly incredible. The one day a month program was “Update of the Universe”. An astronomer on the line from NY narrated the show and controlled the planetarium via laptop. We travelled through a three-dimensionally accurate portrayal of the current view of the universe and what we know about it. We went beyond the recorded galaxies, to quasars from billions of years ago, to the back ground radiation of universal conception. We only stayed one night in S.F. with a couple who we were couch surfing with because they were sketching us out. They were arguing and stressed out from the financial stress of home-ownership gone bad in economically tough times.
One bizarre random coincidence was running into two people we worked with in the kitchen at Breitenbush. Sean Gamble and Casandra who were driving through the city in a converted ambulance crossed our path at a random intersection. We had a quick thri
The second day in San Francisco we explored down-town and China Town. China Town is great! We found some goodies in some herb shops. We were enticed into one mysterious herb shop with their display of Ling Chi (Ganoderma lucida) mushrooms. A rare conch mushroom used to make a health drink; “The Drink of Immortality”. Luckily we still have a supply from the redwoods and were only observing. Then we found a place to taste over a dozen types of amazing green and white teas traditionally prepared (950 Grant St. if you're in the area). After a less then impressive lunch at a vegetarian restaurant there in China Town, we headed back to Berkeley. After getting off the BART in Berkeley it felt like we were going back to the country.
We sought refuge at a housing co-op we had been staying at with our friends Patrick, Pepper, and their wonderful house mates. We made some great food together before a party began to pick up momentum. When the party was growing beyond our desire we fled to stay with Steven, Casey, and their funny dog, Silly. Truly wonderful people with a wonderfully playful puppy! They would be strong contenders in the contest for the nicest people around. We drank a gallon of my mead together, some wine, and played Big Boggle until our brains were well scrambled.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Rob and Aña Update; heading south
Aña and I are now three weeks into a travelling venture that will most likely last years. Our current rough plan is to drive a newly acquired Toyota 4x4 pickup to Panama. This will happen over the course several months to a year. We hope to explore volunteering, organic farming, and community building opportunities along the way. In Panama we will be able to sell the truck, provided it hasn't been stolen, and decide which direction to go next.
Our travelling got of to a great start in Northern California. Aña and I met up with our precious Portland friends Justin and Amber to do some camping. Justin grew up in the Kalamath River area and knew of a great spot to camp up Clear Creek. We ended up hiking 7 miles into a spot called “The Bear Pin”. We were truly in gorgeous isolated wilderness. Justin an I spent a day boulder hopping, rock climbing, and rapid dodging to find the best fishing holes. Two nights in a row we feasted on immaculate rainbow trout. It was a beautifully luxurious camping venture complete with fresh espresso (courtesy of little Octavio), whiskey, and some interesting herb infused coconut oil. We refreshed after camping staying with Justin's generous parents and enjoyed his mom's fantastic cooking.
Now, our travels have kind of taken us in a circle, or a knot, back to the Kalamath Knot! We left Arcata after trying the trimming thing for a couple of days. We were kind of sketched out by that scene and didn't feel like doing that tedious work for so many hours a day for weeks. Instead, we went back to the Redwoods in Northern Cali. We spent a few nights camping in the Tall Trees Grove of the Redwoods National Park. We we're back country camping on the gravel bars of Redwoods Creek. There we slept next to some of the tallest trees in the world. With a nice fire the first night we roasted some chicken apple sausages over the fire, and again for breakfast. It is interesting to occasionally eat meat again. We didn't see much wildlife, but an elk knocked down our suspended food bag in the middle of the night and then stormed off in a fright. There were some fish, but all too tiny to eat.
Then we went to Crescent City and camped by the ocean at Nickleback Creek (a free National Park site on the coastal trail). It was so nice to sleep to the waves crashing on beach below. Exploring Tolowa Dunes State Park we turned up some delecious Angle Wing (Oyster) and Shrimp Cap mushrooms. From there we went into Jedediah Smith State Park and hiked to the massive “Boy Scout Tree”. While driving in Aña spotted a nice bunch of Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms. I had to climb about ten feet up in between a couple of trees to get them, but what a reward! After a night of clandestine camping and some more beautiful hiking, we decided to head to a couch surfing host in Orleans.
We are very glad that we decided to come back to the Kalamath. Our host Nathan has been an amazing guy to meet and stay with. It seems to be a good indicator when you're meeting someone to scope out their bookshelf. As in this case every book on his shelf is one I'm familiar with our would want to read. Naturalist, sustainable living, some down to earth spiritualist literature, and the Foxfire series have made for some interesting perusing. Our first night we made a meal together with some Yellow Chanterelles he had just found. Then we went to a community game night at a nearby subsistence organic farm, Sandy Bar. The day after we spent the afternoon chopping wood, gathering walnuts, and harvesting the chestnuts from the world's largest American Chestnut tree.
The next day we had the fortune of helping out with a salmon survey on the north fork of the Salmon River with Nathan. He has been working for the Salmon River Restoration Coalition. We donned some fancy lightweight waders and river shoes with felt on the soles and walked/waded three miles of the fork. We only saw one salmon and 7 redds (salmon nests). It's amazing any salmon had made it up this far after early gorge mining and the damming of the Kalamath river. The scars from hydraulicizing the mountain sides in searches for gold are still very visible in the from of rubble piles and abandoned equipment. From a bridge where the north and south forks of the Salmon River meet we spied down on about 30 large salmon. We were told that in the past the river would have been flooded with Salmon; so many that they would have been spawning on top of each other. We learned that the Salmon are functionally extinct and efforts are focused on just keeping any alive for future genetic material. The dams are supposed to come out of the Kalamath in 2020, but who knows. Maybe Edward Abbey can help us out.
We will spend a few more days on the Kalamath exploring the immense local beauty and enjoying the company our new friend. I will be contemplating the meaning of my find of a Bald Eagle's white tail feather. The white feathers are connected with Grandmother Medicine, tremendous wisdom, healing, and creation. We might also explore some of the other remnant mountain mining communities or the secluded commune of Bear Claw. Then we will camp through the national forest on our way to a Vipasana session in central Cali. Ten days of silent meditation at the session will be a very interesting and hopefully insightful experience.
Our planned itinerary for the U.S. ends in the Bay Area. There we hope to visit some great friends in Berkeley and Santa Cruz. We also hope to be meeting up with our Breitenbush friend, Ilsa, there to start the next lag of our travel; down to the Baja!
Well, if you survived reading all this you think you might want more maybe I'll get a blog going. I don't really like sending out mass email, because of its impersonal nature. However, I also don't like being behind a computer for long lengths of time to personally email everyone I care about. It's not you, it's the computer.
Hope everyone is well and happy! Much love,
Rob
P.S. Start thinking about meeting up with us in Central America and having your own personal interpreters and travel guides!
Our travelling got of to a great start in Northern California. Aña and I met up with our precious Portland friends Justin and Amber to do some camping. Justin grew up in the Kalamath River area and knew of a great spot to camp up Clear Creek. We ended up hiking 7 miles into a spot called “The Bear Pin”. We were truly in gorgeous isolated wilderness. Justin an I spent a day boulder hopping, rock climbing, and rapid dodging to find the best fishing holes. Two nights in a row we feasted on immaculate rainbow trout. It was a beautifully luxurious camping venture complete with fresh espresso (courtesy of little Octavio), whiskey, and some interesting herb infused coconut oil. We refreshed after camping staying with Justin's generous parents and enjoyed his mom's fantastic cooking.
Now, our travels have kind of taken us in a circle, or a knot, back to the Kalamath Knot! We left Arcata after trying the trimming thing for a couple of days. We were kind of sketched out by that scene and didn't feel like doing that tedious work for so many hours a day for weeks. Instead, we went back to the Redwoods in Northern Cali. We spent a few nights camping in the Tall Trees Grove of the Redwoods National Park. We we're back country camping on the gravel bars of Redwoods Creek. There we slept next to some of the tallest trees in the world. With a nice fire the first night we roasted some chicken apple sausages over the fire, and again for breakfast. It is interesting to occasionally eat meat again. We didn't see much wildlife, but an elk knocked down our suspended food bag in the middle of the night and then stormed off in a fright. There were some fish, but all too tiny to eat.
Then we went to Crescent City and camped by the ocean at Nickleback Creek (a free National Park site on the coastal trail). It was so nice to sleep to the waves crashing on beach below. Exploring Tolowa Dunes State Park we turned up some delecious Angle Wing (Oyster) and Shrimp Cap mushrooms. From there we went into Jedediah Smith State Park and hiked to the massive “Boy Scout Tree”. While driving in Aña spotted a nice bunch of Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms. I had to climb about ten feet up in between a couple of trees to get them, but what a reward! After a night of clandestine camping and some more beautiful hiking, we decided to head to a couch surfing host in Orleans.
We are very glad that we decided to come back to the Kalamath. Our host Nathan has been an amazing guy to meet and stay with. It seems to be a good indicator when you're meeting someone to scope out their bookshelf. As in this case every book on his shelf is one I'm familiar with our would want to read. Naturalist, sustainable living, some down to earth spiritualist literature, and the Foxfire series have made for some interesting perusing. Our first night we made a meal together with some Yellow Chanterelles he had just found. Then we went to a community game night at a nearby subsistence organic farm, Sandy Bar. The day after we spent the afternoon chopping wood, gathering walnuts, and harvesting the chestnuts from the world's largest American Chestnut tree.
The next day we had the fortune of helping out with a salmon survey on the north fork of the Salmon River with Nathan. He has been working for the Salmon River Restoration Coalition. We donned some fancy lightweight waders and river shoes with felt on the soles and walked/waded three miles of the fork. We only saw one salmon and 7 redds (salmon nests). It's amazing any salmon had made it up this far after early gorge mining and the damming of the Kalamath river. The scars from hydraulicizing the mountain sides in searches for gold are still very visible in the from of rubble piles and abandoned equipment. From a bridge where the north and south forks of the Salmon River meet we spied down on about 30 large salmon. We were told that in the past the river would have been flooded with Salmon; so many that they would have been spawning on top of each other. We learned that the Salmon are functionally extinct and efforts are focused on just keeping any alive for future genetic material. The dams are supposed to come out of the Kalamath in 2020, but who knows. Maybe Edward Abbey can help us out.
We will spend a few more days on the Kalamath exploring the immense local beauty and enjoying the company our new friend. I will be contemplating the meaning of my find of a Bald Eagle's white tail feather. The white feathers are connected with Grandmother Medicine, tremendous wisdom, healing, and creation. We might also explore some of the other remnant mountain mining communities or the secluded commune of Bear Claw. Then we will camp through the national forest on our way to a Vipasana session in central Cali. Ten days of silent meditation at the session will be a very interesting and hopefully insightful experience.
Our planned itinerary for the U.S. ends in the Bay Area. There we hope to visit some great friends in Berkeley and Santa Cruz. We also hope to be meeting up with our Breitenbush friend, Ilsa, there to start the next lag of our travel; down to the Baja!
Well, if you survived reading all this you think you might want more maybe I'll get a blog going. I don't really like sending out mass email, because of its impersonal nature. However, I also don't like being behind a computer for long lengths of time to personally email everyone I care about. It's not you, it's the computer.
Hope everyone is well and happy! Much love,
Rob
P.S. Start thinking about meeting up with us in Central America and having your own personal interpreters and travel guides!
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