Florida Postcard

I was delighted and privileged to have the opportunity to attend a conference the Florida Nature and Culture Center outside of Fort Lauderdale last weekend. The FNCC is situated on the border of the Everglades Wildlife Management Area so in between conference sessions on Buddhism, philosophy and everyday life, I took out my binoculars and checked out some of the local flora and fauna (ibis and black vultures and anhingas, oh my). Beauty and truth, always a winning combo....

Yoga: Art of Transformation Exhibit @ The Asian Art Museum

“Vishnu Vishvarupa,” India, Rajasthan, Jaipur, circa 1800-1820

Saturday, we took the ferry to SF and spent half a day at the Asian Art Museum, catching the next-to-last-day of the Yoga: Art of Transformation exhibit. A much-buzzed-about-in-yoga-circles show (there were many accompanying events that drew on the vibrant and diverse Bay Area yoga community), the curators of the exhibit created a compelling narrative in 135 artworks that serves both as visual feast and food for thought, tracing the roots of yoga as a practice of renunciates in ancient India, to its overseas sensationalization in Europe and the US, and present-day popularity, and commercialization, worldwide. A winding narrative of paintings, sculpture, drawings, photos and video, including South Indian temple-derived sculptures of multi-armed yoginis, pages from a 16th century treatise“Ocean of Life" (some of the earliest examples of asana  illustrations),  large early-1800 paintings of the chakra system from the Jodhpur court that carry both religious and political associations, and footage of Krishnamacharya and Iyengar practicing asana, very clearly showed how captivating, and widely interpreted, yoga has been throughout the ages. Fittingly, the show culminates with a wall-size piece by Pardon My Hindi, #WhitePeopleDoingYoga in the Education Resource Center:

#WhitePeopleDoingYoga / *Pardon My Hindi from *Pardon My Hindi on Vimeo.

The Yoga: Art of Transformation exhibition next travels to the Cleveland Museum of Art (June 22, 2014–Sep. 7, 2014).

ancient yogini

Beyond such special exhibits, the Asian Art Museum, now housed in the former SF Publication Library that was built in 1917,  is truly a treasure trove of Asian art and culture.  Every time I've gone to a special event here, I take solace from the inevitable crowds in one of the upstairs galleries. This time, after viewing the yoga exhibit, we popped into a gallery filled with Japanese Buddha sculptures and then just stood a while in the beautiful interior court. 

Read.Eat.Listen: Time and Distance

I've been spending more time in SF proper more the past week than I have in a while so I'm really getting how quickly the place is changing.  New multi-story apartments, new restaurants, harder-than ever-to-find parking, but nonetheless beautiful as ever... When I moved 5+ years ago it was 'just across the bay' but driving across SF today I felt like I really moved a lot further away, like a stranger in a strange town. Plus it was super sunny. No fog in sight. Weird, but kind of cool, too. 
Read:  Waking the Buddha, by Clark Strand. After reading an interview with Strand on how he made his way from Zen to Nichiren's Buddhism, I had to get this book. Strand, a former Zen Monk and contributing editor to Tricycle, applies his scholarship to cover the SGI's remarkable and rapid growth with both rigor and heart. Good stuff ‘What the SGI has discovered isn’t just a new form of Buddhism. It’s a new way of being.' —Clark Strand in Waking the Buddha. Good stuff.
Eat: It's broiling hot. Who can think of food? Well, I usually don't forget for long. I had a simple satisfying smoothie @ Jane the other day composed of "organic kale, spinach, green apple, cucumber and lemon blended together with a drop of agave."  You can make it at home super quick. Yes. 
Listen: Conor Oberst - Time Forgot (Upside Down Mountain) I was taking advantage of NPR's First Listen to give Oberst's latest a listen... and this lyric caught my hear and kind of stopped me:
"They say everyone has a choice to make/To be loved or to be free/I told you once I felt invisible/And I guess by now you see/That what I meant is I’m not all there until I finally leave."

Wisdom Accrual: 16 notes to myself on my birthday

It's not a particularly big birthday this year, but it's far enough down the road that of course I'm taking stock after my latest turn around the sun. Have I learned anything useful past the 'all I learned in kindergarten?' Yes, some of those lessons carried through: daily painting (or art-making) sessions and naps are still a great idea. Bikes and birds are joyous things, being nice matters, and its best to watch out for boys like Charles Hoff who made a game of chasing girls by running them down and grabbing at them.
Mostly I learned in kindergarten that my existence was the tiny tip of a large iceberg of humanity stretching far beyond the scattered houses, canyon roads and apple orchards of our smallish town....which eventually led me through and to the BA, countless hours of post-graduate/extra-curricular study, 26 states, four continents, four guitars, two marriages, two houses, two cats, multiple dogs, multiple deaths, multiple therapies, multiple stitches, Catholicism, Buddhism, yoga, omnivorism, vegetarianism, veganism, pens, paper, art, music, bikes and birds to here, now.
What to make of this?
Notes from the road thus far:

1. Do your practice. (Everything is a practice, whether it's feeding the cat, chanting the sutra, taking a shower, loving your mate, facing the page, stepping on stage, etc. et al)
2. The forgiveness business. Even if it's painful as hell.
3. Have your feelings. 
4. Know what's yours.
5. Listen.
6. You can rewrite the story
7. Get clear. Be clear. (Are you in or out?)
8. Get out in nature. (The moon! The stars!)
9. Laugh.
10. Moderate consumption of all kinds.
11. Don't wait. 
12. It, everything, will change.
13. Honesty.
14. Gratitude.
15. Reverence. 
16. Love.

Artist Interview: Sarah Fisher's Sacred Video Network

I first met Sarah Fisher when I was looking for a local director and filmmaker for a  music video for "Let's Move". Sarah has a clear aesthetic and an appreciation for both independent artists and Eastern Wisdom traditions — we had fun working with her to boot! I recently caught up with Sarah about her latest project, The Sacred Video Network, a project dear to her heart.

Q How did you first get into film making? Who or what inspired and inspires you?

SF: I've been making films since I was 12. I have loved creating visual stories since I was a kid. I studied Mass Communications/Broadcast Journalism as an undergrad because I wanted to be an international television reporter. While I never ended up pursuing the TV reporter path, I did develop a strong interest in producing/directing documentary films. Documentaries are such an important visual medium. I love that you can be both creative and educational — that you can really move people by crafting a story in a way that a broadcast entity most likely wouldn't do on their own

Q Whose work you look to as a standard? Do you have any mentors?

SF: I have a lot of mentors! I try to surround myself with people who are talented in all areas of film. I admire filmmakers like David Lynch, Walter Salles, the Maysles brothers, and Darren Aronofsky. Specifically, right now I am focused on entrepreneurship. So, I spend more time studying business-related topics than film making techniques. You'd be more likely to find me at a Meetup group, intensive start up business conference, or marketing seminar than any film networking group.

Q Tell us about the Sacred Video Network? 

SF: The Sacred Video Network is a start up website that will greatly raise the visibility and help forward-thinking holistic businesses reach their target customers. The Sacred Video Network (SVN) will widely promote our clients businesses across the web through unique distribution methods. These are some of the video products we produce to help your business gain exposure: testimonial videos, promotional videos, mini-documentaries, instructional videos. The mission of the SVN is to really connect holisitic businesses with their nice audience in a powerful, engaging way as well as help educate consumers who want to learn more about ANY type of holistic practice. We'll be launching our website in a few months. To learn more, visit http://www.sacredvideonetwork.com/ 

Q: Describe your dream project?

SF: I have so many dream projects! I've really been trying to reign in my focus lately and not take on too many big projects at once. The Sacred Video Network is my passion project right now and I'm determined to make it a sustainable business. I believe in the mission strongly because it can help so many people around the world improve their lives. After a few years of going strong with the SVN, I hope to build a music video network for independent musicians. Doing work in one medium for a very long time seems rather boring. Variety is the spice of life! I want to use the powerful medium of film/video to create a lasting impact of the lives of many people with lots of creativity.
Contribute to Sacred Video Network:

Artist Interview: Roberta Donnay's Got Sugar

I met jazz singer Roberta Donnay more than 10 years ago through West Coast Songwriters, discovering one of the Bay Area's most multi-talented singers, songwriters and producers in the process.  Soon after meeting, I sought out the Washington, DC native's help producing an EP and received an education in musicianship, studio work and Buddhism as well as a finished project. Having written for film, TV and the UN, Roberta has an abundance of songwriting and vocal chops, working as a music supervisor for film and singing with Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks when she's not fronting her Prohibition Mob Band. However, Roberta's first musical love was jazz, and for the past five years she's been focusing her energies on the genre. On November 13, Motéma Music officially releases her latest CD, "A Little Sugar," a showcase of vintage jazz, blues and swing. Roberta discussed her latest project as she got ready for her CD release and tour with her Prohibition Mob Band.
Q How was the process of making your new CD different from your other productions? What can listeners expect?
RD: "A Little Sugar " is meant to transport the listener back in time, to educate, to inspire. Back to a time in music which is the roots of almost all of what we now listen to.  Born out of the blues, this was the music of the people, reflecting a time of great creativity, new inventions, the breaking away from stagnant thoughts and rituals of the past, the beginning of a certain freedom for women... and, of course, a time of great struggle, not unlike now.

Q What led to your decision to go back to focusing on jazz? How did your Prohibition Mob Band come together?  

RD: I grew up listening to Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin and Broadway shows as a young child.  But when I discovered Billie Holiday and the early women of jazz, this had my full and complete attention.  I've based my own sound and my own place of study on this era of music since the beginning of my musical life. I was always a huge jazz fan.  I was singing and studying jazz when I first moved out west.  My goal was always to become a great jazz musician.

My vision with this band came together organically. This music just made me feel happy. And I wanted to work with my friends, and with those whose style and ideas I admired.  I searched high and low to find some songs which weren't as well known, and picked the songs on this record from that perspective.  But the band itself was years in the making.  We experimented with the music in our live shows for two years before recording anything, and I based much of what we ended up recording on the reactions of the audience.  This project was literally focused on our audience more than anything else.  And being able to create a project with a great musical partner and bassist Sam Bevan, well, that made the whole thing easy.

Q How do approach balancing life touring with Dan Hicks and Hot Licks with doing your own material and shows?

RD: Carefully.  And I work long hours!

Q You’ve truly spent a life in music. Who and what keeps you inspired?

RD: Studying Buddhism, philosophy, history, the writings of Nichiren Daishonin (a 13th century monk) and the writings of Daisaku Ikeda has been a major inspiration for me for many many years.  I have always had a seeking spirit to discover the truth.  I would not have lasted this long in music if I hadn't found a way to grow as a human being and to be able to focus on the inside as my primary goal. 

To raise my life condition and to become the person I wanted to become and fulfill my true potential, well, that is a struggle against my weaknesses, my doubts, my fears, and the eternal struggle of good against evil.  I finally found that I had all this unlimited potential but when my major focus was on external things, I grew more dissatisfied with my life.

I believe that when we grow closer to our core existence, when we focus our energies on this relationship first, then the superficial existences have a tendency to melt away and what we find is an energy of pure light which is at the core of our being. If I feel joyful, hopeful and inspired, then maybe I can help another just by being there, to help make this feeling possible for another person.  But one has to be willing to dig deep, to throw off the transient outer layer of ego, and focus on (possibly) a higher purpose and create who we truly want to be.

If one can do this, then that is absolute freedom.  And so that is my goal for myself and others.  I wish  freedom for every living being equally in this world.  

Music which saved my life and inspired me to go forward.  Other great musicians inspire me and I'm thankful to all of them...  I believe that my musical ancestors—Billie, Ma Rainey, Bessie, Louis, etc —  are the ones who truly raised me, [and] I feel I owe a huge debt of gratitude to them.   

The great, great musicians who I've had the honor of working with, cause me to listen, [and] add to the joy I already feel.  Imagine being able to perform in an environment such as this!  I am very grateful for this life in music.  I actually can't imagine a more wondrous existence here on planet earth.  And, of course, having a wonderful partner to share this life with, that makes everything a million times sweeter.  

For more information about Roberta and "A Little Sugar" go to http://robertadonnay.com/

India: Playing Tourist, Coorg & Bylakuppe

While I've barely been a week in Mysore, a long weekend break from yoga class yielded opportunity for a bit of a get-away. Three other yoginis and myself booked a car, two rooms and some spa treatments at Windflower Spa & Resort in Coorg, about 100km east of Mysore with a side trip to the Tibetan Buddhist settlement of Bylakuppe. Bylakuppe is the largest Tibetan settlement outside of Darmasala, and 7000 Tibetan monks call home. We were there in time to hear the monks practice their chants in the impressive Golden Temple.

Coorg is often called "the Scotland of India" for its rolling hills and lush vistas. While the history of Coorg dates back to as early as 888 AD, the Windflower has been open in this location about two years, and while it may still be somewhat of a local secret, we enjoyed attentive service, some great spa treatments and massages and an abundance of food. Serious. Three meals in an open air restaurant overlooking the pool included about everything you could think to order off an Indian menu and then some. Drip coffee, fresh watermelon juice, dosa.....yum.

Set upon 25 acres of hilly coffee plantations, the resort was remote, quiet and filled with birdsong. We were told elephants lived in the area as well, which I would have loved to have seen, but didn't. Nonetheless, in the morning we toured the plantation of Arabica and Robusta coffee plants. About a month away from harvest, we were able to see plenty of coffee beans ripening on their vines as well as some colorful birds I'll have to look up, an impressively large spider and yikes! leaches! Our guide thoughtfully told us to inspect our shoes in the nick of time.

Playing the tourists that we were to the hilt, we ventured down to the nearby town of Kodagu in the evening to visit 'Raja's seat' an impressive overlook of panoramic valleys and mountains. Evidently, it's where former royalty (tombs of the Kodagu kings Lingaraja and Doddaveera Rajendra are also found here) would gather to witness the sunsets and we followed suit...and were duly impressed. We also picked up some chicory enhanced local coffee in town from a very popular vendor at Coorg Coffee Works who patiently explained roasts, chicory blends and making coffee in the Indian coffee makers he sold.

Our final day at the resort was reserved for spa treatments, each of us opting for a different form of Ayurvedic massage and/or facial. A few hours later, we set out for Mysore under a big full moon, thoroughly relaxed & nourished.

Interview: Rosy Moon on Identity Yoga

After reconnecting with Albany-based yoga teacher, actress and personal coach Rosy Moon Schlussel, she invited me to an intro to the coaching and yoga instruction she does, a part of which she calls "Identity Yoga." Rosy's instruction was encouraging, precise and inspiring and I found the work to be effective at getting to the core of what's going on. I asked her more about her approach to yoga, coaching and the Identity Yoga workshops she teaches with her husband David Schlussel.

Q: What is "Identity Yoga?"
RM: Essentially it's a playful moniker for what we're up to with this combination of yoga and coaching. Identity is that which we relate to ourselves as. The way that hatha yoga practices give you more freedom in your body. Identity Yoga gives you more freedom to be yourself.

Q: How did you first come to yoga? Was it through acting?

RM: When I was 15 years old, I would go to Iyengar classes taught by Franciose Barbira
Freedman with my mother. I had danced since the age of 10, and by 14 I had discovered "new
circus," that was characterized by an emphasis on human skills with a more theatrical element, as opposed to relying on traditional spectacle and animals. Physical training and performance had become a joy and a necessity in my life, so you could say it was through the circus, although what I remember about those classes was feeling cold, rather bored and hungry! It wasn't until moving back to London in 1999, after briefly living in a beautiful Australian beach town, that I committed to yoga as a practice. I felt drawn to the flow and challenge of Ashtanga and I knew that I could not survive the London winter without this joy-drenching and spirit-strengthening infusion on a daily basis.

Q: Can you talk about how you arrived at your current approach to practice? You have a background in vinyasa/Ashtanga and I noticed you [often] emphasise longer held poses?

RM: Before I had the good fortune to be introduced to my teacher Sofia Diaz, I had given up teaching. In a twist of fate that was as surprising to me as how I began teaching, it slowly dawned on me that it was no longer right for me to be teaching and I dropped the pre and post natal classes that had been my niche for a while. Then on the invitation of a dear friend I went to Sofia's class. Part-way through the rigorous practice she had us in a deep half squat for almost a minute and she asked the question, "Are you satisfied with this moment, right now?" It was one of the many things that cracked me open that night. I realized that I had been living in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction or withheld appreciation of each moment. In the moment of her asking that question I was struggling to simply stay standing and I felt able to choose, not only satisfaction with that moment, but celebration of every flavor of my experience. This re-ignited my passion for teaching—now I knew a whole other level of what yoga could offer. Through longer holding of poses and a real-time, deep inquiry into our emotional reactivity, we can access that which is greater than simply our own effort—the union with that which is greater than you, that yoga is named for.

Q: How would you describe the intersection of teaching yoga and personal coaching? Are they really that different? Any common themes?

RM: They are very complimentary and distinct. The style of coaching that I practice could be called "being" coaching. We have ways of being that govern our actions in life. Awareness of these ways of being are often buried deep under layers of habits and assumptions. Thus we may believe the way we see the world is not just our perspective, it is "the way it is." Through coaching we distinguish habits from assumptions, from what is actually so. One of the wonderful aspects of yoga is that it can bypass the confusion and certainty of the mind. If you are confused and lost in some way, a deep asana, held for long enough will have you get pretty clear in a relatively short time. It will energize you and propel you beyond your small problem so that you can tackle the larger problems of your life without fear. If you are convinced of your limitations (certainty), with asana you get to feel your limitations and nuzzle into them while cultivating an appreciation for your limits. In this process, over time, without fail, your limitations shift. Yoga is a practice of feeling, with coaching we can also learn to feel and articulate feeling, which in our mind-oriented culture, is harder than it sounds and, in my opinion, is deeply necessary for our evolution/survival.

Q: How do you balance being a mom, working with your husband (also a yoga teacher) and your own work? What, or who, keeps you inspired?

RM: I find the work that I do inspiring. As a coach I am working with people who trust me enough to share what is vulnerable for them so that they can change their lives and understand themselves and fulfill their desires. As a yoga teacher what keeps me inspired is my teacher, and yoga itself. As well as a regular practice, I take class with Sofia over the internet (she's based in Colorado & comes to the Bay Area every six weeks). I am also a practicing Buddhist in the Nichiren Daishonin tradition. By making time for these practices it not only informs what I teach, but also gives a radiant and peaceful light to my life and a greater capacity for trusting life as it unfolds. My husband and I do the same work so we are constantly sharing what we learn and teach. We inspire each other.

Q: What does a 'typical' Identity Yoga Workshop?
RM: We [usually] have two days from noon to 6pm where we teach Yoga asana practices to explore freedom in your body, and relational games and practices to facilitate more freedom to love being who you really are, in any circumstance.

Rosy teaches Tues. & Thurs. & Sat. at Vara Healing Arts in Albany, CA. David Schlussel and Rosy Moon Schlussel teach Identity Yoga Workshops at AuthenticSF, & other studios in the Bay Area. Contact for more information contact rosymoon1@gmail.com.

Read.Eat.Listen: Intention

New Year, new decade, new possibilities. There's a reason the New Year comes with the urge to resolve to do things differently this time. Ultimatums tend to backfire in my book so I'm setting some intentions for both creative projects and my personal life. Some resources I drummed up while setting about life plan review and revision:
Read: 'The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World,' By Lynne McTaggart (as well as the McTaggart-led "The Intention Experiment" which rallies communities to participate in experiment to effect change.)
Eat: Not so much about what but how this week, tips on eating with intention from The Center for Mindful Eating as well as Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.
Listen: Look At Miss Ohio, by Gillian Welch, From the album: Soul Journey - 2003

Community continued: Cowrites

I like to cowrite songs. It gets me out of my head— and often genre—and there's always something new to learn. I had an especially rewarding cowrite this year with songwriter friends Alex Walsh, Jacqui Naylor and Art Khu when our Buddhist district leader Lauranne Cox requested we write a song for a world peace gathering at the San Francisco Cultural Center. We started a year ago, and while the songwriting of "Community is Unity" was efficient, getting us all together in the same room at the same time, for the same purpose, on three different occasions took some doing. After a successful live debut of the tune last week, we now have a plan to record the result. Yes, the next two months are a lot about studio work!

Artists as Peacemakers Exhibit in SF

On the way home from finalizing the last song of the blues project Alex and I wrote for the RPM Challenge, I did a walk through of "Artists as Peacemakers,"* which the San Francisco Culture Center is hosting, Feb 22-March 1 (in Room 1B). Illustrating a host of great musicians and actors (Joan Baez, Herbie Hancock, Angelina Jolie to name a few) who serve as Artist Ambassadors for the United Nations or other humanitarian programs dedicated to peace, the show highlighted the importance of volunteerism, the role of the arts in providing understanding and solace & provided a great boost of hope to this viewer. At the same time, Obama was electrifying the country with his speech— I came home to some very inspired housemates who'd watched the president outline his ambitious plan for our recovering country to the joint session of congress:

"In a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment. My job – our job – is to solve the problem. .......For in our hands lies the ability to shape our world for good or for ill.” — Obama

*The Artists as Peacemakers," runs from February 22-March 1, then it will be displayed at the Academy of Arts University from March 2-6.

Talking Music with Alex Walsh: This is What He Heard

Having been in a song group together for the past couple of years and played together, I know that Alex Walsh is one of San Francisco’s most consistent songwriters. Having started out on the troubadour path as a young college student playing the Haight Street songwriter circuit, he’s steadily amassed a body of work consisting of original songs too numerous to count, band, collaborative theater and writing projects as well as his role at the Musician’s Union #6. He’s recorded much of his best material on three full-length, pop/folk/rock-flavored Cds, including 2007’s well-received “Take Me Back to the Country.” In 2008, however, Walsh committed both his musical and Buddhist practices to Cd, recording a full-length collection of contemporary songs inspired by the Lotus Sutra, The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, and President Ikeda. The Cd “This is What I Heard,” is Walsh’s fourth full-length Cd and the first that he’s recorded and mixed himself. I sat down and chatted with Alex a bit about his most recent process of making a Cd. Here's a bit of what he said:

DC: This Cd is a little different that your other recording efforts, can you talk about the process?

AW I started practicing Buddhism about 5 years ago and I wanted to make a Buddhist Cd because I had been really inspired by it all. I'm in the chorus in the SGI and there aren't a lot of original Buddhist songs. There are very few that are very specifically talking about this stuff. That was my inspiration.

DC: How did you start?

AW: The first song I wrote was called 'Eternity.' I had no idea I was going to make a Cd. It was 2005, and my goal was just to have something to sing at a district meeting [so] the group could sing along. So I did that, and maybe eight months later, I wrote another one [which started] a three or four song run. Three of those ended up on the Cd. I got into writing a song a day in February (2008) and some of them were Buddhist songs, so [I included a few of those].

DC: You made a Cd that's in line with your musical sensibilities and integrated your faith practice. Listening to this I hear that lyrically, it's Buddhist, but the music definitely comes from your pop songwriting.

AW: Yeah, I wanted to do that. I didn't want to make a sort of new age, trancy, sit down and hear bells or something…Although I do like that sort of thing. I got inspiration from Bob Dylan doing his Christian phase.

DC: There’s also a way that people who aren't practicing Buddhists may not get what the songs are saying right away.

AW: I didn't want to hit them over the head. I didn't want to preach. I tried to have the Cd be generic so that if you didn't get the references you might think they were just cool images.

DC: Do you see yourself self-producing the rest of your Cd's?

AW: Well, there are a lot of ways to work now...As far as doing stuff at home and bringing it to a studio. As far as the technical stuff, you can do stuff anywhere now. And that's what was interesting about this one. I really had to switch the hats. 'Okay, I'm writing the song now,' then I'm the recording, later I'm the mixing guy and that's where you take all the tracks and takes and put it all into the final mix. That's where I had to be the producer and say 'okay, that's enough.' And then be the record label and say 'a deadline you have to meet to get to the mastering people,' then deal with the manufacturer, and be the graphic designer. Every step of the way was [like that] and I've done this over the years so I've had some practice.

DC: How does it fell getting this done? Does it feel different than your other Cd's? Even though you did all the work, it seems like this Cd came out kind of easily. Was that your experience?

AW: Yeah, it did. There were times when I was totally frustrated and got deeply depressed, but because of my practice I was able to bounce back really quickly. I don't have the finished product in my mind completely when I start. Writing is an act of discovery. I'll refine [a song] as I go, maybe go back to it a year later and re-write it. Then a year later, go back and say the original is better. I just read an article in The New Yorker about creativity. They said Picasso didn't do trial versions or sketches of things, he just did it. Whereas Cezanne took along time to get his thing together, and he wasn't really famous or discovered until he was in his 50's. Picasso was [discovered] when he was 19 or 20. There's a difference [between] the way creative types work. For some people, like Picasso, they do their greatest work first. And for some, like Cezanne, it takes many years of trial and error to become a master of doing Cezanne. And I think I'm more like Cezanne in that it's taken me many many years to get it together.

DC: You take inspiration from these stories of the masters?

AW: As far as western society, we're all about the creative genius. Where as someone like Cezanne, he did it all his life and didn't become "great" until he was in his 50's. So the question is how do you...

DC: Keep the faith.

AW: Keep the faith.

DC: You are obviously someone who is a songwriter no matter what the world says. ...

AW: Yeah, and I've gone through the fire as far as my own insanity to figure that out and come to terms with it!

(laughs)

On obstacles

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny day." — Johnny Nash

Amid a week of delays on more than one project/order/plan, I surrendered another notch to my yoga and Buddhist studies.
More reading, including renewing my subscription to the wonderful (and now web-based) Namarupa, yielded the following bon mots. Happy learning to all!

"Matters of minor importance arise from good, but when it comes to a matter of great importance, great disaster without fail changes into great fortune." —Nichiren Daishonin, A Warning against Begrudging One’s Fief, Written to Shijo Kingo in July 1277

"A pundit whom I met on my third trip told me that Ganesh will often put an obstacle in teh way of those who are driven by their egos, so that they can redirect their energies and actions to better align with their soulpaths." — "Discovering Ganesh" by Shana Dressler, Namarupa

peace out

It was off to Kosen Rufu Gongyo at the SGI Cultural Center today. I played three songs with Yoon Ki's violin accompaniment (yay) during the afternoon Youth Division celebration. I don't qualify for youth division anymore, but I'm not going to complain.


But today started with an earlyish special practice at Ashtanga Yoga San Francisco, a benefit Mysore session for Operation Shanti. Good to see some faces I haven't seen in a while, and know that funds from the day were going toward the Tracy K-led effort to help India's poorest. GREAT photos of the new shelter facilities and the street kids looking happy. Check 'em out....and donate if you can.


Before I forget, Deborah Slater Dance Theater's Desire Line featured some extremely beautiful dancing. The piece, which draws inspiration from architecture as well as the paintings of Alan Feltus, is, to me, a high mark in a very accomplished career. Hat's off to you Deborah!

war & peace

New Year's in SF was bright and sunny, augmented by attending Kosen-Rufu Gongyo at the Herbst Theater with my fellow SF practitioners (Kosen-rufu: Literally, to "widely declare and spread (Buddhism)." To secure lasting peace and happiness for all humankind"). After, several of us convened to discuss our community, service, music (a big % of this group are performers) at Mama Toby's for lunch. A happy start to the year.
Later, I saw Atonement @ The Clay. The book is far better than the movie and having read it, I dealt better with the slow-slow-slow pace of the movie better than my friend. That said, I thought it did a good job of depicting war...which brought up more compassion for some of my veteran family members. I grew up hearing stories from my Great Aunt about her time in Europe as a head nurse setting up temporary hospitals in Europe and coming home across the Atlantic on a ship (at the same time, my dad was coming home across the Pacific from his duty in the So. Pacific on a ship). No wonder having lived through that she was one of the coolest, most patient people I've known....Anyhow, movie nit-picking aside, I hope, if anything, Atonement reminds people AGAIN, that the fact of most of our survival, even into this age, is so much luck and chance, and of course, opting not to choose feeding the war machine—whether that's personal or global —rather than peace.
Given my penchant for yoga to remind me of the power of choices coupled with the fact of my mother's side of the family's Croatian heritage, I was interested to find today that: Yugoslavia means “land of yoga”. The Yugoslavia my grandparents knew no longer exists, that war-torn area now formed by several small countries....

drummers, food, sound vibration

I'm searching for a drummer in SF. I put the word out to my musician coworkers yesterday; ran an ad, then met up w/Talbot re: liner notes and Jacqui for chanting and dinner and forgot about it. Nonetheless, amid the eating and catch up I found out that her main man just bought a drum kit; then it was revealed that the bartender was a drummer. I always laugh when things like that happen. Anyhow, I'm sorting through possibilities as I realize I better get rehearsing for December and January shows and SF rehearsals have to happen given the work schedule. I've been working more than anything these days.
Today, the office crew went to Osha and feasted on Thai for lunch. There's a reason there's always a wait at this place. Yes to papaya salad and salmon skewers....Since I've been reading about them for a project I've been listening to Band of Horses later. I believe they're at the Fillmore. Probably be packed. Live and in person, I'm likely going for something obscure @ the Sangati Center, a newish yoga space in the Mission....
I can't get to Sylvia Nakkach's sound&music workshop at CIIS tomorrow as I'm leading a half-hour of chanting at the Cultural Center @10 am, but the description of the chanting is apt for both:"Since time immemorial, sound has been used as a gateway to transcendence and the exploration of consciousness by shamans, yogis, mystics, and scientists. Sound expresses the relationship between the human and cosmic orders, and it can deepen our knowledge of the universe."

sweet old weekend

"Looking out on something like this," Emmylou Harris said from the Banjo Stage at HSB, introducing the Lucinda Williams tune she was about to perform. "I'm reminded what a Sweet Old World it really is."
"But not everywhere," a man sitting behind me on the packed grass said to no one in particular, "so savor it."
The Blue Angels had flown over during Earl Scruggs's set, reminding some of us of the not so sweet side of earthly existence. In SF for Fleet Week, the planes weren't as much of an interruption of the music (on Saturday, snippets of Boz Scaggs & Michelle Shocked, and sets by Gillian Welch and Belle Monroe and Her Bluegrass Boys. On Sunday, I parked it for Scruggs, Doc Watson and Harris in bluegrass band mode) as they were last year, but their presence still rankles amidst such a convivial event. Some of us think the last place resources (both financial and fossil fuel) need to go at this point in the game is into war-plane worship. Nonetheless, it was a sweet old weekend with Hardly Strictly Bluegrass packing the park with smiling music lovers, playing music with friends during the evening and community ... Earlier in the day, I'd been at the Herbst Theater again for a peace gathering celebrating SGI President Daisaku Ikeda's first visit to San Francisco. A Mayor's Office Proclamation and some comments by Assemblyman Mark Leno were well-received, the latter reminding us all that the Herbst was appropriate for a Buddhist peace gathering given the United Nations Charter was signed in the theater in 1945.

On Saturday morning, before Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and the evening of playing music, I got to hang out with my young pal Leo while his mom, Sally, who I've known since kindergarten attended part of a landscape architect convention at Moscone. It was an easy task given we collaborated on some Crayola drawings and listened to music for several hours. He may be a toddler but I see music and art in his future....