Cathedral

Recently I spent several days trekking around in the North Cascades mountains. This is something I've been doing for over a decade now. Every summer this feels like a cleansing, or a renewal process to me. Both in the shedding of day-to-day concerns (which for this time in the wilderness become mostly irrelevant to me), and in rediscovering my connections with nature.

On this trip I revisited Upper Cathedral Lake, near Cathedral Peak in the Pasayten Wilderness. I find myself repeatedly drawn to this location over the years. It's hard to describe, because I am not sure exactly what it is I am describing, but this place in particular has always felt to me like a place where the Earth's power and energy was concentrated and focused.

I started this dance without a solid intent other than to let the place move me, I became a being emerging from the earth, somewhat intimidated by the huge empty world it saw, pushing against something, excited by the wonder of it all, considering jumping out even further.

seven seven eleven moon

"Heart is like the moon. Don't keep sorrows in it. Cast them off in waters deep." Rumi

After spending a few days alone in my childhood home one month to the day after my Dad passed (7/7/11), I could feel his presence as I left. Unexpectedly, the motion detector lights at the far end of the house turned on mysteriously as I was packing up my car. I was reminded of the ritual Dad and I had of him standing at the door, waiting and waving as I backed out of the long driveway after visiting with him

.

Missing him, tears began to flow and I felt inspired to dance my grief, so I threw on a sweater and hat that belonged to him, and just as I set up the camera, a thundercloud overhead began to send rain to the earth - the hugest drops I have seen in a awhile, feeling like they were my tears, washing my spirit's grief...

Driving home, I was inspired to pull off the highway onto a deserted country road to take a photo of the moon, which suddenly appeared through a crack in the clouds. As I pulled to the side of the road, a white barn owl flew across the moon's light and onto a nearby barn roof. Once again I felt insipred to dance, feeling my Dad's presence in the infinite night sky, reminded of the connection I felt with the moon and his passing...

Right after Dad passed in the hospice a visitor in the lobby began to play Debussy's 'Clair de Lune,' a song that I remembered hearing waft through our home as a child. Hearing the song so soon after he passed, felt like Dad was being serenaded into the spirit realm with the sounds of the moonlight...

Connecting to my Dad, the moon, the owl, the cosmos and the mystery...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQUO9fsJM

Music: Clair de Lune

Grateful for our deepening connection here to one another... dancing our souls... thank you, Momo, for bringing us together in this most meaningful way....

Lee

Sunrise Progressions

I camped out on top of a mountain on Saturday.
I hiked up with a friend of mine- then we set up camp apart from eachother to do a "solo nite" in silence!

The following morning was full of butoh inspiriation moments.
Originally I had the idea to start off before the sun hit my side of the mountain, when it was still super cold, and as the sun progressively rose I would take off layer after layer-
The video snapshots kind of show that but not in the ideal way I would have imagined.

My idea was to meditate for hours on the mountain ridge....
HAHA that went well.
First there are wayyyy  tooooo manyyyyy mosquitos for one's comfort-
Second I have a really hard time sitting cross legged because I have this wierd thing where my limbs fall asleep really quickly.
Third- There was just no way other than to lie down in my tent, to get comfortable to sit without moving for hours on an end.
So thus we revert back to butoh.
Moving in the midst of nature- being comfortable- and attempting to be still.


I found a really helpful way to quiet the mind is to just walk ultra ultra slow- it begins to feel like you are moving at the pace of nature, not at humanities insane speed walk pace

Bliss and love- I like this video- first time I added music

Feet and Face at Lake Tahoe

OK- here we go with the help of Lorenzo!

Sharing online is fun, right!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I love feeling my feet in fresh water

I touch the softness of wet wood

Strong toes and high arches carry me thru life

My face in the sunset

My feet in the water

Sand and Rocks are hot and cold

My sternum to the sky

I rest on rocks up high

Thank grace for the act of completion...

The God's are Laughing

I had just written an incredible post.... it got deleted.
So here is my second attemt. This goes to show how nothing is ever permanent- change is constant.

My creation story is BLISS.
I realized this
I choose to expand
Opening my arms to welcome space into my hands

My body moves in the way it chooses
In the joy of spontaneous eruption
My soul can taste ecstasy in the simplicity

Bliss is our inherent birthright
To follow, breathe, and be it
Her laughter tickles my belly
she moves me

Inside the vortex of creation
There sits a dancing God
laughing hysterically

Be bliss
In your experience
Let yourself be moved by it




REcognizing my own creation story...
I was birthed from bliss, I was created by bliss, and I will die in bliss

So when I move I can tap into my most raw state.
Presence.
Awareness
Freedom of self expression
It doesnt matter to me what anything may appear to be
Rather, I feel what the dance wants to express though my body
There is no seperation between divine intention and human dancing
Or I'd like to believe that
But it is true, the deeper I surrender to the flow the more bliss I find
The more bliss I find
the more I can hear god laughing

momobutoh meeting minutes august 30

I doodled while members of the MomoButoh Dance Company met via Skype on August 30.







The inspiration to co create our creation stories spins in my head and my heart. Thank you to all for your contribution to my life.