 Trebbe Johnson's Newsletter
November 2011 |
|
Dear Questers, Friends, Seekers of the Beloved, and Makers of Radical Joy for Hard Times,
Beginning July 9, I embarked on a very busy summer schedule that took me out to California three times, to Morocco, back here to the Endless Mountains, to Massachusetts, and finally to Turkey on a wonderful vacation with my husband Andy. And now I am home for two months and am so happy to be here: to work on my new book, to rake leaves, ride my bike on the dirt roads where the only sounds in the air are the call of crows and the sound of golden and russet maple, oak, and poplar leaves falling from the trees. Because of the death of my brother in April and because of the constant threat of gas-drilling here in my own county, I am more aware than ever of the preciousness of beauty and the fragility of life. There is abundant beauty on Earth, in what people have created thousands of years ago in response to their mysterious universe and in what they are creating today. To those who are receiving this newsletter for the first time... welcome! Here you'll find news of upcoming Vision Arrow and Radical Joy for Hard Times events, reflections, profiles of people doing extraordinary things, and stories of transformation that occur when we accept,in small, bold, startling ways, the invitations the world is always sending us. |
|
HONORING THE SPIRITS OF PLACE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 How do you relate to the spirits of a place, especially those who have passed on and the non-human ones? If you speak to them, will they answer? What if you don't speak their language or know their traditional songs? Have they left the places where they used to be? Can we help them... or is it we who need the help? These are the kinds of questions that Daniel Foor has been asking ever since he was a boy, and they were the focus of the second annual conference sponsored by his organization, Earth Medicine Alliance, in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area on October 22-23. The mission of the organization reads, in part: "We believe that efforts to mend our relations with the rest of the natural world can also bring together people of diverse ancestries, spiritual traditions, and ways of life for healing and celebration." On Saturday I was honored offer a Radical Joy for Hard Times workshop and to meet and listen to others who brought to the conference both traditional spiritual practices and innovative new ways of honoring the Earth. (For the conference agenda, click here then click on the link for the program.) Then, on Sunday, separate groups did ceremony to honor the spirits of place at four different locations around the Bay. The photograph above is of the offerings of cornmeal, molasses, bottled water, and rose petals, made along with our stories, to a bowl of Ocean at Daniel's and my ceremony at Baker Beach. On a regular basis Daniel leads journeys around the Bay area to do ceremony to honor the spirits at different places. At our Baker Beach gathering he spoke of how sometimes the process of healing takes a long time and you never know what you're going to encounter when you open up to engaging in this kind of exchange. As the members of our group went out for solo walks on and around the beach, he reminded everyone: sometimes when you are on the land, there are beings or spirits who need your help; sometimes they can help you; and sometimes their power is so great that you simply stand in awe. For me the weekend evoked renewed awe that such abundant and vital mystery dwells among us and that there are people committed to living in better harmony with it. |
A VISIT TO THE OLDEST BUILDING ON EARTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Early this summer a friend told me about an article in National Geographic about the excavation of the oldest building ever discovered on Earth, an 11,000-year old temple (more specifically a temple complex) called Göbekli Tepe near Sanliurfa in southeastern Turkey. At the time the first of the temples was being constructed, people lived by traveling in bands, gathering and hunting their food as they went. Settled agricultural communities did not spring up for another thousand years. Yet the construction of the temples would have required teams of people to gather and stay in one place to cut the stone, shape it, carve it, and erect it.
For this reason, the discovery of Göbekli Tepe by the German archeologist Klaus Schmidt may completely revise previous theories about how settled communities came into existence: that it was not agriculture that brought people together in one place, but religion. That it was worship, not produce, people had the need to share.
On a sunny morning last month, my husband and I and a couple we'd met at our bed & breakfast in Urfa spent the morning at this ancient, mysterious place. Along with our guide and the son of the man whose land the temples were discovered on, we were the only ones there. As we crested the hill (Göbekli Tepe means "belly hill"), the first temple rose up before us, its T-shaped pillars making a circle barely larger than my own modest living room. One of the pillars was carved with an exquisite stylized fox (above). On the broad sides of some of the pillars, which face one another around the circle, are carved triangular shapes; when you move around and look at the narrow side facing inward, you discover that the triangles are arms that end in the middle in a pair of open hands.
Twenty-two acres comprise the entire site and only about one-tenth of that has been excavated, and that only partially. To be there under the blue sky, to hear the birds singing and see how the details of the pillars are emerging from under the gently wielded brushes of the archeologists, was to witness both the very old and the very new. This temple is the oldest building in the world, yet it is undiscovered, not fully revealed. It may change the way we look at the start of civilization, yet its symbols and purpose remain a mystery.
|
|
RADICAL JOY FOR HARD TIMES NEWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Win for Salmon!
When the 125-foot Condit Dam was built in 1913 in White Salmon River of southeastern Washington, it blocked the run of wild salmon and steelhead to their spawning grounds. Since 1992 dedicated activists, including Radical Joy for Hard Times Council of Advisor member Daniel Dancer, have been trying to get the dam dismantled. They used many tactics besides testifying at meetings and presenting hard scientific and social evidence about why the dam should be removed. They also used art to further their cause. At regular "Salmon Pageants" groups of children carrying colorful salmon cut-outs would rush a "wall" and breach it.
On October 26, 2011 all the hard work paid off. The dam was exploded to the cheers of the activists, the chants of native people singing the salmon home, and such a rush of water through the breach that even the most hardened cynic would have to agree that the river appeared jubilant to be liberated.
To see Daniel's 18-minute video, "The Art of Dam Removal," click here. As he wrote in one of his postings about the film, "Bet you can't not cry!"
Become a Charter Member of RadJoy!
Radical Joy for Hard Times is now a membership organization, and we invite you to become a charter member!
When you become a member for just $35 a year you receive:
- a Radical Joy for Hard Times bumper sticker
- a subscription to our quarterly newsletter
- advance notice of our programs and events
- discounts to these programs and events, when there is a fee
We are currently in the process of developing a new feature on our website, "The Commons," that will enable members to sign on to tell your own stories about places they love, what's happening to them, and how you are (or hope to) bringing beauty there.
For contributions of $100 and above you will receive the benefits listed above, as well as additional gifts, such as a Radical Joy for Hard Times T-shirt and a copy of Essence: Contemplations in Image and Word, photography by Corinna Stoeffl and poems by Stewart S. Warren.
Join us and become a part of the path to changing the way we care for the Earth!
|
|
UNCOMMON GROUND ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recently I read one of the most important and enlightening books about the human relationship with the natural world that I have ever come across. It's called Uncommon Ground, edited by William Cronon, with essays by a wide selection (yes, including more than half women and people of color) of authors. Explore, for example:"Nature" as a cultural concept, not a real place located somewhere in the world; Why "nature" can be seen as an elitist place, far away from where one usually lives, but only accessible to those with time and money; The common attitude that humans harm nature by their very presence, which does a disservice to those who work with nature through farming, fishing, hunting, mining, gardening and other manual labor; The concept of a wilderness as a "lost Eden" as a recurrent theme, and a troublesome one, in the environmental movement; The tendency among well-meaning advocates and journalists of indigenous rights to to position native people as somehow wilder and purer than the rest of the world. This book forces you to rise above your own concepts about nature, which you take for granted, and look at them through other eyes. Each essay will shake up those ideas, not in a confrontational way, but through good writing and great thinking.
|
WRITING AND WORKSHOP NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My book, The World Is a Waiting Lover, with a foreword by Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, is available from Amazon.com or from your favorite bookstore. It's also available as an e-book!
UPCOMING PROGRAMS from VISION ARROW
Coming soon: I promise! We are fine-tuning the details of next year's programs! Watch for:
*Bali from Within
*Second annual Lead Like a River in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco
*Sahara Desert Vision Quest and Camel Caravan
 Sahara Desert Vision Quest and Camel Caravan
December 31, 2010-January 21, 2011
Southern Algeria
Following the steps of intrepid seekers throughout the ages who have been drawn to the desert to fast and pray for guidance, we venture into the greatest desert of all: the Sahara. Our guides are a group of nomadic Tuareg, a matriarchal people known for their love of the desert, poetry, camels, and beauty.
Our base camp is truly remote, reached after 1-2 days travel by Land Rover, followed by 4-5 days in a camel caravan. Your three-day solo will take place in a place of your choosing, in a desert valley or in a black basalt wilderness. To undertake this quest, you must have an adventurous spirit and be prepared to sleep under the stars, immerse yourself in the ways of another culture, experience hot days and cold nights, live three weeks without a shower, and move fearlessly into a life of meaning and fulfillment.
Guides : Sabina Wyss, Trebbe Johnson, Adem Mellakh, and Tuareg hosts
Cost : 5,555 Swiss Francs, (approximately $6,300.00), including all meals, camping fees, riding camel, land transportation in the desert, and air travel from a European city to Tamanrasset, Algeria
For a complete list of 2009 programs offered by Vision Arrow, see our website.
Call 570 727 4272 or email Trebbe if you have questions or would like to talk about any of these programs.
|
|
