Sitting in a park in Paris France
Reading the news and it sure looks bad
They won’t give peace a chance
That was just a dream some of us had
Still a lot of lands to see
But I wouldn’t want to stay here
It’s too old and cold and settled in its ways here
Oh but California
California I’m coming home
I’m going to see the folks I dig
I’ll even kiss a Sunset pig
California I’m coming home
“California” -by Joni Mitchell
Singapore recently conducted an 8-session hearing about “Fake News” , claiming that deliberate online falsehoods could rip apart the very fabric of the “Lion City’s” democratic society.
Malaysia passed a law penalizing those who disseminate fake news with jail sentences.
I am watching every word I type, afraid—really afraid—of making some kind of error that might be misinterpreted as “fake news”. And not wanting to call undue attention to a blog that began as a way to keep in touch with friends and family.
How’s the dissemination of digital information coming along in your neck of the woods?
Maybe I’ll just keep this contained to cat pictures and personal news. After all, what could be more real than my own experience? There must be plenty of non-fake, verifiable news to share.
Firstly, I am happy, excited, nervous and moved to be sharing the Pachamama Alliance “Awakening the Dreamer” symposium at our home this coming Sunday. There is an online version here so you can join in at your convenience. Spoiler alert: you might find yourself committed to bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on planet Earth.
I have scraped together the funds to travel back to the U.S. in May to participate in the Pachamama Alliance Global Gathering, where I will be joining a community of like-minded “Pacha people” and building tools and getting supported to keep bringing the vision to SE Asia. I am also raising funds to pay for the flights, attend the conference and get around California here on a go fundly.com page. It’s very easy, I will really appreciate it and every penny will be dedicated to serving the planet.
It has been an amazing few months and feels unreal in some ways. I find myself in the middle of a vortex of happenstance, miracles, and synchronicities surrounding and inside of my commitment to serving Mother Earth. One of those miracles is being introduced to FOLO farms by Judy Millar. I visited the farm last week and was lucky to make it onto their subscription list to get a box of vegetables delivered every week. They are the best vegetables I have ever eaten and I feel like Popeye after a can of spinach every time I make a salad with their gorgeous, delicious lettuce.
FOLO (Feeding Our Loved Ones) is a co-op of families who are dedicated to growing and eating organic, sustainable food and have put their money (and backs and sweat!) where their mouths are. They are changing what’s possible here in Malaysia, a country in need of wholesome, untainted, non-processed food.
The other activity of time-sucking awesomeness is our Podcast, which I co-host with Ian Nenke, “Fine Food and Healthy Living Asia”. Besides just being fun, we have met some amazing people. From 2-star Michelen Chefs Julien Royer and Gunther to world-famous Singaporean photographer Russel Wong to the one-woman powerhouse Elika Tasker to Chef in the sky (Salt Grill on top of 55-story-high ION Orchard building), Jake Kowalewski. It is quite a venture, interviewing, downloading, editing and uploading a podcast. But it is fun as hell and I love working with Ian and meeting these amazing people.
We were fortunate to be able to see Guru Amma on her visit to Singapore. Did you know that Singapore was the first country other than India to host Darshan with Amma? Well, I didn’t! 31 years ago was her first tour here and now, 34 million hugs later, she is still infusing Shakti to anyone willing to receive. I was able to ask her a question about my purpose in Malaysia, to help bring sustainable farming practices to this country and SE Asia. She said, “Try!” and then gave me that divine smile and pinched my cheek! I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.
I am also admin and IT Support for the Rachelle Goering express. She has been unbelievable in her job here, singlehandedly covering a region from Dubai to Japan to Korea to India to China and everywhere in between. That is some serious mileage and she has become a professional traveler and is getting outstanding reviews about her expertise and training from the doctors, distributors, and staff that work with Thermi technologies. And yet, even after thousands of miles, planes, trains, automobiles and even one camel, she comes home and picks right back up with her swim routine, meditation and commitment to her spiritual practices. I do what I can to keep her travels smooth and without too many incidents, although she has had a few, to be sure. At this very moment, she is being detained at Narita Airport in Tokyo because they forgot to give her a visa sticker upon entry. Now she has to explain how she got in, or they won’t let her out. Have I mentioned my antipathy towards borders?
On her last visit to India, she had time to do some shopping and brought home a few very nice statuettes of Saraswati and Ganesha. I keep Saraswati next to the laptop on my desk and she has been quite the muse. To that end, I am sharing the following poetry and prose, inspired by her, discovered in my dreams and emerging pre-and-post-meditation. I’ve split these into four parts and will be sharing them over the next four weeks. Enjoy!
Thoughts On Purpose
Sometimes I’m so happy I can hardly stand it.
Sometimes I’m so depressed I just want to sleep all day.
The earth is so beautiful, miraculous and full of love.
So cruel, unforgiving and immoral.
The emptiness and meaningless of it is an infinity of impossible unreckoning.
I appear to be a space, a container with only the walls of my own consciousness, or perhaps consciousness itself in which to hold all of this.
I am not happy. Happiness occurs.
I am not depressed. Deep sadness arises.
The world is not beautiful. I notice it’s beauty.
The universe is neither moral nor bankrupt, I just name it so from time to time.
And where does purpose lie in a universe that is full of the meaning I give it as well as bereft of any true meaning?
How can I, or anyone, even really have a purpose? If I do, it is only because I say so. It can only be from the word I speak, the stand I take and the feeling I create.
Out of nothing.
Where is Mother Earth’s Mother?
There’s a sadness in the world. Do you feel it? Sometimes, it creeps up on me, like a lonely fawn looking for her mother. I say nothing, I only stare. I don’t speak Deerish. But even if I could, could I tell her that her mother is dead? Shot by the rifle of a hunter looking for the thrill of the kill. It’s like that with the sadness of the world. There is a beauty and a peace to it too. A lonely orphan of sadness, foraging through the woods. Sniffing for its mother.
Why God Moves Away Every Time
Science is limited, yes. To what we can observe or measure. There are aspects of science and philosophy that require hypotheses and theory. These can be tested to discover their veracity or lack thereof. Gravity, Electromagnetism, Weak and Strong Forces.
Any concept of god or gods goes beyond our ability to measure. By definition, god is greater than all there is. And inconceivable to our finite minds. God is no thing. Beyond everything.
God is always where our understanding ends and mystery begins. God is what we call “I don’t know” when we are trying to ponder infinity.
Stop Waiting
Creating and sharing love is so much more reliable than waiting for it.
I Am Ill-Prepared for The Inevitability of My Nonexistance
When never comes again, surprising me with flowers from around the corner that looked like just another boring turn.
I Love Stories
God is a big old mass projection of unresolved daddy and mommy issues. Of course, we’d want to believe in a wise old man to comfort our every ill and fear. Even if Dad and Mom were always there, never made a mistake and said the right thing at every perfect moment, eventually we see them die. (And that’s if we’re lucky!) And others in our tribe die. We wonder what is happening, all this death. So, we made up stories, not knowing but making guesses based on what we did know. Mom, Dad, family, birth, life, death. Good things. Bad things. These things we knew became the ingredients of our recipe for the cosmos. Our biology, feelings, culture and thoughts were all we had. Of course, we told of a powerful old man in the sky that knew everything and could make it all better.
Of course we did.
TO DO List
Listen
Prepare.
Organize.
Speak out.
Lead.
Follow.
Let myself be held.
Play music.
Sing.
Dance.
Take a test.
Tell friends.
Forgive.
Laugh.
Feel love.
Be compassionate.
Remember death.
Have fun.
Be ok with being broken.
Be in nature.
Connect with Mother Earth.
The Far Here and Now 