desert weave dance

For a Father

The longer we live,

The more of your presence

We find, laid down

Weave upon weave

Within our lives.

John O'Donohue

In the Yakima Canyon I was inspired to dance spontaneously wearing my recently passed father's hat (circa 1940's), embodying my inner feeling tones amongst the stark surroundings - barren but filled with light. I adore the desert landscapes as it is a place of wide open spaces that allows for such a feeling of connection to that which is greater than ourselves.

Wearing his woven, wool, plaid hat, I was reflecting also on the First Nations story of how Grandmother Spider wove the web of life that interconnects all beings - animate and inanimate.

"When the Universe was still so dark that not even shadows could be seen in the night, Grandmother Spider sat in her web in the Sky World, waiting and watching. No one knows how old Grandmother Spider is, or how long she sat waiting for the Universal Mind to awaken. But, every Creature Being who has ever lived knows her song and dance as the weaver of the Web of Life.

From her web, Grandmother Spider observed the first thoughts as the Universal Mind awakened from the dream... Grandmother Spider took a very deep breath and softly began to sing her weaving song while she danced across the Sky. As she spun her thread, Grandmother Spider envisioned the Web of Life.

Dancing with the colored light, shadows came into being as the darkness took form. More thoughts flowed from the Universal Mind, entered through the Doorway of the Seven Stars, and took their places in the Sky World. These became more stars, suns and planets. Then, many other thoughts entered the Universe, each one taking a specific place according to the universal dream of harmony.

Each thought was a spirit essence who dreamed an individual dream for manifesting life. Grandmother Spider spun her web around each new energy being and the Universal Web of Life shimmered in the reflection of Great Mystery's light."

Told by Susun Weed

Dancing with so much gratitude in my being for the beauty of our Mama Earth / Ocean home...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7sUUqaXgaM

Music: Philip Glass

Quest Within and Without

Great Spirit sent me out West

because I was still asleep and clue less

(hiding from me

and my destiny)

I ran thru trails of every kind

floating on rivers and fighting the tide

inside of caves and outside of them too

saw Lions trapped in a las vegas zoo

burned thru the rubber in the soles of my shoes

my heart set ablaze as

I danced with the Winds of the West

What was shown to me?

Creatures of every kind- skunk, roadrunner, mockingbird, swallow, vulture, hawk, owl, bat, lizard and moth were there! (to name a few) so were circus freaks, ravers, hidden cameras, spirit of john, george, ringo, & paul, street performers and life transformers!

I bore witness to a desert scorched by wildfires.

My Aunt was my travel companion on this portion of my journey across country, and she took me to Carlsbad Caverns.

We wanted to watch the flight of the bats.

After a long and late day of driving we finally arrived at our destination. As I drove our beat up volvo up the curvy terrain we saw nothing but black scorched earth, charred cacti, and barren land. Signs every few feet reminded us of the EXTREME FIRE DANGER!

After parking, we made our way to the outdoor theatre to watch the mysterious bats exit their famous cave. The crowd whispered in anticipation as it grew darker, the bats' sonar clicks grew louder, and the feeding time approached.

"the bats! the bats! I see one! mamma a bat! Look! the bats!"

Slowly, but surely, the bats began to take flight out of their cave.

Just as quickly as the anticipation had built among us, it began to die.

Instead of thinking "Where are the bats?"

The collective thought seemed to be "Is that IT?"

People grew restless and bored, sure they had been drawn to another tourist trap and got up to leave.

But I had seen pictures of the bats in flight and knew this was not the norm.

The entire museum, in fact, had been shut down two days prior to our arrival.

We found out that many of the bats had left Carlsbad- and left for good. There was little to no food to be found, and the park rangers doubted if they would ever return.

This was all due to the monstrous wildfire that had overtaken the land. What started the fire? Surely it was Mother Nature herself. . . but no.

I learned that the cause of this particular fire was indeed a human.

Someone had thrown a cigarette butt out of their window, despite the warnings, and had in turn damaged an entire eco system in the blink of an eye.

This story, to me, represents our carelessness as Humans here on our ONE earth.

I began my dance the next day in the desert wearing a bright sundress, a bit dolled up and carrying my straw hat that reminds me of Momo.

I wanted some beautiful dance pictures in the expansive desert.

Shortly after exchanging with my Significant Others, I realized it was not going to be that kind of dance.

I changed into my shirt that reads: GIVE ME SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT and stripped down to shorts and bare feet.

I handed the camera to my aunt, and allowed her to become a part of my dance as the photographer.

This was another first for me, sharing my dance with my family in such an intimate way. It brought us closer together and i am so thankful for our deepened connection.

So. That is the story of this particular dance in words. I would like to let the images speak now. Please feel free to let me know what you see!

a special deep thank you to my buddy Art/Rev, and of course our Dear Momo