A lot could be (and has been) said about Kazuaki Tanahashi (who is affectionately known as “Kaz”) — a deeply precious teacher, artist, and activist. Here, we’ll let his masterful bushwork do most of the talking. Enjoy.
Zen Circles
“In the Zen tradition ensos, or circle symbols, have been drawn with black ink on paper, to represent enlightenment. As the multi-colored flow of paint represents the interconnectedness of all life, each circle reflects my hopes, visions and aspirations for a world making healthier choices for the benefit of future generations.”
–Kaz
Brush Calligraphy
“The ideography that originated in China has been a common writing system in China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan for centuries, although the ideographs are pronounced differently.”
–Kaz
One-Stroke Paintings
“Tanahashi’s one-stroke paintings … always painted in just one breath, leave a passionate swash whispered trace.”
Speed like weeds. Flowers like music. Pulsating perfection, and busy bodies missing beats. A million words, a million actions — exhausted bodies wanting to flop… but far too busy. A million deaths and missed opportunities, a smile, and one perfect ringing note — the bliss bell. Soon-enough, tumbleweeds of thinking. Busy bodies. But, perhaps more and more often — bell.
Breathe. A weekend with Shenpen, Sensei — arranging flowers, slowing down, opening up. Her being is her teaching. It’s always that way. More the wholeness than the spoken instructions.
My emotional state — worked-with through arranging. And then the arrangement as a mirror.
Heaviness purified through art-form. The energy, once challenging, now reflected, purified, no more grief about it, rather… there it is.
Flowers. Resistance to knowing flowers, revealing ever-floral me — the fragility is too much to bear. Always so tender and never-lasting. Afraid to say goodbye… and, thus, afraid to say hello.
So… dropping all of that and being simple. I wish to be more relaxed — not in a floppy way, but in an open way. I wish to do my work, but without all the tension and goal-orientedness. I believe it works better that way.
What good is scatter-brained accomplishment? What power is there in that? Instead, one simple, perfectly timed bell.
One after another.
After the weekend program concluded, Sunday with lunch, I went to my house and napped. Then, awoke and cleaned, and arranged, my space. Sensei said that Ikebana is a dangerous contemplative art, because it will change your life.
I see the way environment affects mental and emotional states — and vice versa. It felt amazing, uplifting, to be in my space after it had been cleaned and arranged.
The world is always communicating. We are always communicating… What is the message? Heart, care, awake, play, not-so-serious. We’re expressing always. Artwork — changes the world, changes minds.
The whole way through. Friday afternoon, I felt like I wanted to nap for three days. I was so burnt from the work week — so much activity. So much obligation. So much hope and fear. Instead of curling into a ball, I engaged in artwork. It purified my state. And the result was more beauty in the world. The whole process was helpful and beautiful on many levels.
Grateful. Grateful for the reminder. For the immersion. Grateful to have been in space with Sensei. Her floral radiance. Her heavenly wisdom and strong hands, delicate touch. Glad to know my world to be a living arrangement. Sensei, smile. Oh, virtue of whimsy. May I not become too busy. Sensei, awake. Pause. Awake.
— April 21, 2014
~~~
Travis Newbill is a curious dude on the path of artistry, meditation, and social engagement who is very glad to be residing at Shambhala Mountain Center. His roles within the organization include Marketing Associate and Head Dekyong–a position of leadership within the community.
Master artist Cynthia Moku has contributed to, and drawn much inspiration from various Buddhist Stupas. In her recent exhibit Pilgrimage: A Dakini Map (on display until April 25 at Naropa University’s Nalanda Gallery, 6287 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, Colorado) she presents close to two decades worth of artwork reflecting her mystical experience and insights.
Recently, she took some time to share a bit about this project and her journey. Please enjoy our interview below.
Also: in May, Cynthia will be co-leading two programs at Shambhala Mountain Center along with Acharya Dale Asrael:
Can comedy improv help you live a more awake, more joyful, and less fearful life? Can comedy improv save the world? YES AND… Check out our recent interview with popular Manhattan-based comedian/holistic health humorist Jacqueline Kabat to learn how.
Jacqueline Kabat is a Manhattan-based comedian who performs stand-up at popular comedy clubs, including Gotham and Caroline’s on Broadway. She has studied with Amy Poehler, warmed up audiences at ABC Studios with Mario Cantone, and is currently in production for her documentary, Comedy Improv Can Save the World. She teaches improv in theaters, corporations, medical centers, and institutes such as Omega and Esalen.
Second generation member of the Shambhala community Doug Karr has brought a marvelous film into the world recently, and we at Shambhala Mountain Center are excited to share the news that our own Executive Director Michael Gayner has helped the film along, serving as Executive Producer (he’s an executive kind of guy). And, in related delightful news, Doug has generously offered up one of his producer points from the film so that a portion of the film’s profits will go towards the Shambhala Mountain Center. (Thanks, Doug!)
The film, titled Art Machine, tells the story of a child prodigy painter who must make the difficult transition into adulthood–as an artist and human being. Throughout the film, notions of sanity, inspiration, madness, dharma, fame, and love are explored in a fun and edgy way.
Recently, Doug took some time to speak with us about the film, which you can purchase in iTunes by following this link: Click Here
SMC:It seems that, in Western culture, art is not always seen to be an expression of sanity. There seems to be some sort of glorification of the disturbed, crazy, tortured artist. I wonder if that seems true to you.
Doug Karr: Yeah. I think that once the mercantile nature of the art industry took over, that sort of shifted things as far as who wanted to get involved in the practice of becoming an artist. Also, I think that people who gravitate toward making art tend to be more out there, more free thinking–lots of interesting insights into what they want to say about the world. That could go either way.
What do you mean?
I don’t necessarily look at mental health and think that it’s a negative thing when someone has a free-flowing mind, but I think there is a line. If someone is having a psychotic break, in our culture that is something that people have a hard time dealing with. There’s been ancient cultures where those people have been looked upon as seers. That’s interesting to me –the artistic possibilities of someone who has that sort of wide open mind. There can be a bit of groundlessness and also an opportunity for them to find freedom of expression.
Is there a fine line between creative genius and clinical mania?
Yeah, I think in my life, when I was growing up, there were quite a few people who were having psychological breakouts when I was a teenager. And I found that it was almost a very attractive thing when people would start to lose it, because they would manifest all this really amazing energy and communicate what felt like direct, super inspired insights. That was both frightening and attractive. When they were on the edge, before things got really crazy and the police got involved, there was this sort of amazing place at the root of the mania.
Right…
I think that there is this aspect of genius in that and people who are either highly intelligent, or highly artistically minded, or super inspired, have the potential to walk that edge. I think it’s really dangerous and evocative place. The reason I wanted to explore this film was to explore that.
And you did so through this character, Declan Truss, who is a child prodigy now coming of age. Why?
I got really excited about studying child prodigy painters and researching those kids. I started to see the potential to take a kid like that and see what may happen to him to in his teen years when there is the potential for bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia to manifest. And, especially when you combine that with psychedelic drugs, there’s a crazy mix of possibility there. I think that’s where that edge became important to this story and something that I wanted to talk about.
There is a buddhist tone throughout the film, which mostly comes through Cassandra, the romantic interest of Declan. How would you describe the role that the dharma plays in Declan’s progression?
Cassandra’s focus on impermanence and the true nature of reality was at first very interesting to Declen, and shifted him in a new direction. Then, those ideas become fuel for the mania. I’ve seen that happen before. People get a little hit of dharma, but they don’t have the foundation of years of practice. It can be very liberating–to the point where they don’t have much ground under their feet. It was exciting to explore the possibility of Declan going down the rabbit hole, and then having the ground forced back under his feet through his own actions. I wanted to show that progression, and see that arc.
To dwell in the sacred is to live with shimmering presence in the physical world. It is to experience your home and community as living, breathing extensions of your mind, body and nature. It is to engage visible forms and colors, objects and places as allies revealing the unseen forces energizing and guiding you. In the middle of the crushing craziness of daily life, it is finding spaciousness and peace wherever you are. Dwelling in the sacred is your natural way of inhabiting the earth. But it gets lost in the fears and limited patterns of thinking promoted by our materialistic culture.
To reclaim sacred ways of dwelling involves expanding beyond the conventional mindset that views the world as isolated, lifeless objects. It is to see with fresh eyes and shape your surroundings in ways the promote renewal and awakening. Sacred Seeing opens you to experiencing walls and windows, chairs and cabinets as the alchemy between human imagination and the earth. Through such awakened eyes, inhabiting your home and city becomes an active meditation for touching profound vitality and connection through physical places. Sacred Making offers you ways to make your home and workplace environments that nourish wholeness in your mind, body and family. It is a means of entering a dialogue with nature and finding healthy, sustainable ways of making your place in the world.
The foundation of Sacred Seeing and Making is creative play that discovers how the earth truly longs for you to inhabit it. In turn, it is finding out how you can live on earth the way you have always wanted to. Through the creative play of Sacred seeing and making our sense of home can expand beyond the walls of your house or apartment and include the entire world.
You can learn how to Dwell in the Sacred at a workshop I am leading May 30-June 1 at the Shambhala Mountain Center. This retreat invites us to experience our home,workplace, and community as sacred places that can serve as allies on our life journey. Exercises held in the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya will allow us to feel the archetypal elements of holy sites and to learn ways of finding peace, healing, and inspiration within the buildings we inhabit each day. Through a variety of practices we will sense the connections between the buildings sheltering us and our patterns of thought, speech, and action. We will learn ways of arranging furnishings, selecting colors, and choosing materials to increase inner and outer harmony, health, and happiness, and to engage our living spaces as vessels for spiritual awakening. Click here to find out more: Dwelling In the Sacred: Spaces as Vessels of Awakening
I hope you will join use for a fun, inspiring and transforming weekend.
After taking a similar course I taught in New York, a real estate agent there sent me this email: “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of you and the new awareness you brought me as I walk through my city. It really added to my fascination with the architecture of NYC in that now I really look at all of the little details and feel the energy behind their creation—the joy and beauty. It brings me into the present moment and I feel a connection with timeless existence and my place in it. Quite a gift! Many thanks.”
Anthony Lawlor will be leading a weekend program called Dwelling in the Sacred: Everyday Places as Vessels for Awakening at SMC from May 30-June 1. For more information, click here.
Second generation member of the Shambhala community Doug Karr has brought a marvelous film into the world recently, and we at Shambhala Mountain Center are excited to share the news that our own Executive Director Michael Gayner has helped the film along, serving as Executive Producer (he’s an executive kind of guy). And, in related delightful news, Doug has generously offered up one of his producer points from the film so that a portion of the film’s profits will go towards the Shambhala Mountain Center.
The film, titled Art Machine, tells the story of a child prodigy painter who must make the difficult transition into adulthood–as an artist and human being. Throughout the film, notions of sanity, inspiration, madness, dharma, fame, and love are explored in a fun and edgy way.
Recently, Doug took some time to speak with us about the film. You can watch our interview below, or scroll down to stream/download the audio.
Ikebana is more than just flower arranging. Rather, it is a practice through which we explore nature & life, the relationship between heaven, earth, humanity and personal artistic process — whether we feel we are artistic or not! We begin by learning traditional, harmonic forms. Engaging with Ikebana as a contemplative practice awakens the unconditional beauty of our world, inspiring a way of living.
Below are some words from our wonderful teacher, Alexandra Shenpen, Sensei and some images of arrangements created by introductory students.
On structure and improvisation:
“Forms tame us, helping us to wear-out our artistic ego, so that what comes through is fresh and awake, an expression of what’s already there — both in ourselves and in nature. This is a wonderful ground for later improvisation. In other words, structure provides a language of flowers — and from that language, not only can the poetry of botanical materials communicate more vividly, but one can begin to play. Ultimately, the plants speak for themselves, if we understand their presence in space.”
“Ikebana, as a non-verbal art form, allows us to let go of thoughts and judgments that can cloud the way we see the world. By really looking at a branch, a twig, a flower, we can discover how to look , that we might trulysee, and fully appreciate what’s there. The flowers and branches find their own place harmoniously. When we begin to taste that experience, isness–things as they are–renews our real heart. Ultimately, when we are experiencing the vivid inseparability of form and emptiness, we feel very alive, in touch with ourselves and phenomena. It quite goes beyond words. Art embodying that is very helpful to have in the world.”
Flower as guest:
“Human beings have a universal soft spot for plant life, for the beauty of nature. Just holding or looking at a flower touches that soft spot. Once flower or branch has been cut, it is no longer being sustained by its own way of growing. It is in our care. Being considerate of the flower’s needs comes naturally when our soft spot is open.”
“Every Choice is an Artistic Choice” — Ernie Porps/Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche
“Ikebana can be a positively dangerous contemplative art —— it can change your life! It becomes harder to not notice. Our natural instinct is to be awake and care for our world — noticing, appreciating, and engaging aesthetically. How we get dressed, or how the dishes go in the dish rack — becomes more of an ongoing creative process, rather than just something to put up with.”
“Ikebana/Kado honours the sense of above, below, and in between- – – below is not lesser than above and above is not greater than below, and in between is not “not as good as” or “better than” something else. Those are human neuroses which are rampant in the world and in ourselves. Some liberation from that takes place when we create a living piece. We come to recognize that each element has its own place, creating a harmonious whole. This really interrupts our conventional way of thinking about things.”
~~~
Finally, a testimonial from David, a student of Shenpen, Sensei:
“Whether to choose this blossom, or that branch has been an absolutely safe place to be daring. The most dreadful consequence has been total collapse (of my flower arrangement) – something I have found I can live with! After a year I am beginning to bring this development of felt-sense into my larger world. I find it easier to move with confidence and trust myself. Who would have ever thought that arranging flowers could have such potential for informing my life? The fresh perky blooms are rubbing off!”
We use the language of rhythm all the time. I feel “off-beat.” Happiness is called “up-beat.” We talk about feeling like “we got our groove back.” But dive deeper into this rhythm metaphor to the deep pulsing heartbeat that defines life itself, and you’ll discover that rhythm exists within and all around you. Playing drums and percussion can become a sacred invocation of this healing life force.
Four Rhythms of Life
We all have rhythm within us. This rhythm is so natural that we hardly notice the drum of who we are. The following are just a few examples of four rhythms we know from being alive that define the movement of life.
1. Heartbeat. The heartbeat rhythm is primal—the mother of all rhythms and the rhythm we first heard inside our mother’s womb. The groove of life ranges from a resting heart rate of seventy-two beats a minute, or adagio, which liter- ally means “at ease,” to andante, or moderate, like a walking pace. When you question your own innate rhythmical sense, just remember this inner beat pulsing within you always. If you are alive, you’ve got rhythm.
Video to practice the heartbeat:
Watch hundreds of people playing the heartbeat together at the Sounds True Wake Up Festival: CLICK HERE
2. Breathing. The beat of breathing is a natural balanced pattern of inhale and exhale. Breathing is the rhythm of life that gives the body the chance to receive and release. How we breathe creates great impact on our health, and our breath is a barometer of our state of being. Relax, and we breathe more deeply. Under stress, our breath becomes shallow. Become aware of this breathing rhythm, and you will be more present and connected to your body.
3. Walking. Walking is a two-beat pattern, a double beat, which in music is called “duple meter.” The walking beat has a masculine energy, like marching forward, feeling a sense of linear movement, straight ahead. Military chants are formed to this rhythm, but so are samba grooves in Brazilian street parades. In the walking beat, we learn the subtle contrast between downbeat and upbeat. In the downbeat, we feel a sense of grounding, like steps walking on the earth. In the upbeat, we feel lifted in the magical space between each pulse.
Learn the walking rhythm in a labyrinth practice:
4. Rocking. Rocking back and forth or swaying creates a soothing, more feminine groove.
We all know it from the motion of being rocked as babies. Rocking inspires the hips to move in the sensuality and circularity of undulating motions. Rocking is a triple meter or three-beat pattern. We hear this rhythm in many world beats, from Africa to Brazil, and in cultures that live in more connection to the feminine energy of Mother Earth.
The Groove—The Pocket of Life
The groove in music is the feeling that calls our bodies to dance easily and effortlessly. It’s the underlying essence of the rhythmical force that holds music together. Good drummers learn to establish the groove and then fall into it, maintaining a consistent energy. The groove is a pathway, a portal, a secret spot that drummers call “the pocket,” a place of rhythmic alignment where playing becomes effortless.
Being in the groove also happens in life when we create the groove that is our essence; it’s our way of moving through life, sharing our gifts, growing, and dancing. We can tell when we’re in the groove. Life lines up, and we feel a sense of being carried by the rhythm of our daily movements and interactions. Gradually we learn to trust the groove and take risks; and we do so more and more effortlessly. Life becomes a dance to the beat of our own drum, building the “mojo” upon every beat of our life as we step forward, sometimes in uncharted compositions orchestrated by our own heartbeat.
Tune in to your own life’s groove and notice the tempo changes. Be courageous and share the beat of your own heart. Notice how you create the pocket of life—the place where your gifts line up with the opportunity to serve, grow, and create.
Synchronicity
When rhythms line up in life’s magical moments of perfect timing in an unplanned way, it is synchronicity. Synchronicity is an awareness of the rhythm of seemingly coincidental events occurring in perfect timing. Synchronicity in life’s magical moments reflects a perfect timing beyond our own planning. Chronos, the root of synchronicity, literally means “timing.” When we recognize these synchronicities, we experience an even greater groove of life. It seems that things come together beyond our own personal efforts. Perhaps you have had an intuition to call a friend just at the moment she needs your support. Or maybe you are in the right place at the right time for a new career opportunity. When this happens, you are playing your life like a drummer in the pocket, the groove—and this is your rhythm.
When we live according to our life’s purpose, synchronicity grows. The key to this is to practice recognizing synchronicity, like a drummer listening for moments when the beats align perfectly, effortlessly. Then we can receive the magic and trust the effortless unfolding of our rhythm.
Think of a time when you experienced synchronicity in your life that was an amazing moment. Be aware of this rhythm in your life and celebrate the deep pocket of this sacred groove.
Award-winning composer, world music artist and peace activist Yuval Ron shares a chapter from his upcoming book, Divine Attunement: Music as a Path to Wisdom, to be published by Oracle Institute Press in 2014. Read excerpts below or click here to read the full chapter on “Sacred Ecstasy.”
You are there, standing among several indigenous men and women whom you have never met. Everyone around you is drumming and chanting. The drumbeat is tantalizing; it feels so good to be a part of such a group. The collective group’s presence slowly overwhelms your individuality. As the beat gets faster and faster, you and everyone around you stop thinking, stop being aware of time, stop being aware of who – you think – you are. And the rhythms and vocal chants drive everybody into an ecstatic trance where there is no self-consciousness or judgment.
Then gradually, the music slows down and fades. You are physically and emotionally exhausted, yet your senses are so sharp, you feel more alive and awake than ever before! You look around, and in a magical way, all your fellow drummers seem simply beautiful. There is a certain smile in their eyes and a misty light over their faces. You feel an intimacy and closeness to them, something you never could have imagined feeling just an hour ago, before the ecstatic drumming began.
In a sacred, ecstatic state of mind, we feel connected to all living things. We feel that we are within all of creation, and that allof creation is within us. Some might cry out at such moment, “God is in me!” as some Sufi saints have expressed. But the words are not important; we may call Source anything we like. A deep sense of the unity of all things is what we are seeking – not an intellectual understanding of the idea of unity. It is a gut feeling, a sensation, a perception. Yet, is this a true perception or just another illusion?
The mystics of old have been saying for centuries and in various terms that the unity of all things is the true reality. They have insisted that we do exist beyond our bodies. Isn’t it fascinating that recent research is now confirming that our brain neurons actually reach beyond our bodies, connect with, convey information to, and affect living things outside of our bodies!
The implications of such neurological studies are far reaching and support the mystic’s assertion that we are inseparable from all creation. If we truly feel that we and the “other” are one, if we truly love the “other” as we love ourselves, then peace would be the natural consequence. Having gained this comprehension, we would never dump toxic waste in our neighbor’s yard, we would be generous with a stranger, and we would never unleash violence in a distant part of the world. That is the essence of the ancient Great Commandment: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Even though the concept that “you are everything” is extremely difficult for many of us to truly internalize, there are numerous ways to experience it. Within ancient shamanic wisdom, it is told that music and ecstatic movement can move us outside of ourselves so that we may reach an altered state of mind – a state of sacred ecstasy – the same goal of ecstatic rituals and celebrations conducted by Hassidic Jews, Sufi Muslims, and Pentecostal Christians.
With music, the journey to an ecstatic experience typically starts with a dark, intimate, and introspective tone. Both the Sufi and the Hassid begin with a slow and pleading musical melody, almost a lament; but, it is actually the sensation of longing that the music evokes. The foundation for this quest is the human condition of separation. The soul is captured in a physical body in a physical world, yearning for Spirit, pleading for Union, aching to reach the Source of life – the powerful energy that is behind everything. The musical modes (i.e., the musical note combinations) that are used in the Turkish Sufi and Hassidic Jewish traditions share some striking similarities. Both paths employ modes that express pain and longing but – when sped up – evolve into powerful and joyful musical expressions.
Join Yuval Ron from March 28-30 for a weekend of healing and consciousness altering through the sacred sound, music, and dance based on the ancient teaching of Zen-Buddhism, Kabbalistic-Judaism, Gnostic-Christianity, and Sufi-Islam. For more information on this powerful retreat, click here.
Yuval Ron and friends will also be hosting a concert in Boulder on March 27. Read more here.
