(CONTINUED... from Dec 2008, Part 1)

Lunar Rainbow

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 12 - Well, amazing things continue to happen around here.  As went to the spa tonight around 1AM, I saw an enormous ring around the nearly full moon.  Huge!  When I outstretched my arms, I counted its diameter as being seven widths of a hand.  And it was directly overhead, like the sun at high noon during a summer solstice.

Which reminded me of a similar, albeit slightly smaller, moon last night.  When I was watching in amazement those new flames shooting up from a dead fire, I looked up at one point.  The moon was in a similar position, almost directly overhead.  It was as if an invisible cylinder connected by fire pit to the moon.  I did not know what, if anything, that had to do with those miraculous fires, but I made a note of the fact.  And then I promptly forgot all about it. Until tonight.

But this tonight's moon, that was something incredible.  I took pictures of it with various camera settings when I got back from the spa.  None of them do it justice, of course, but they'll give you an idea of what I am talking about.

At one point, suddenly, like a flash, a shooting star appeared and shot right across the lower half of the moon's ring.  I barely had a chance to register what had happened, and it was gone.  Then I a coyote howled.  A dog barked.  Then it was quiet again.  Very quiet.

I was watching it carefully from the spa for a long time.  There was an orange glow on the inside ring, gradually changing into pure white on the outside.  It looked like a rainbow.  A lunar rainbow.  I have never seen anything like it before. And here it is now, nearly 2AM, and most of the Phoenix residents are missing a spectacular celestial show.

The scientist in me couldn't help but look for answers about what this "moon halo" effect is all about.  This is what I found out at an astronomy web site:

Halos are caused by the light of the sun or moon passing through a very thin layer of cirruform (ice-crystal) clouds in the upper atmosphere. The ice crystals refract the light of the moon, similar to the way water droplets in the lower atmosphere can refract sunlight to produce a rainbow. Just like a rainbow, strong halos can have bands of color in them, due to slightly different refractive properties of the ice crystals for different colors. Essentially, halos ARE rainbows caused by primary refraction in ice crystals.

Above is also a top quality photo from that web site, obviously taken with a high res camera and a tripod.  Quite beautiful, isn't it?  Good night!

New License Plates

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 10 - Today, I decided to switch my car plates around.  It did not seem right that my personalized plate APU LUV should be sitting on gas guzzler that's mostly just sitting in my garage - the "beauty and the beast" as I called her last year (the Mercedes Benz SL600).

When I told the government clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles what I wanted her to do, she rolled her eyes, sighed, looked at me in disgust and mumbled, "do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?  That will be VERY difficult."

"Not at all," I said cheerfully, pretending not to understand what she was implying.  "All we need it s a screwdriver."

"You can do that, but you've just given me a major computer problem," she said.

To make the long story short, it took two government employees half an hour to get it done.  But get it done they did.  By the time they were finished, we were all on a first name basis, cracking jokes and laughing all the way.

"I will never forget the APU LUV license plate," Gloria, the clerk, said at the end with a big smile.  "Happy holidays!"

"The same to you, too!" I replied.

"Don't forget your sun glasses," Gloria said with a smile while I was putting papers in my bag.

Christmas Preparations

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 11 - Even before we returned from Hawaii, I had canceled our planned Christmas/New Year's trip to Acapulco.  I'd had enough travel and travel expenses this year.  Which now freed me up to make my own Christmas plans at home.

The first thing I decided was that this will be my first Christmas that will be solely a spiritual holiday which I want to celebrate by myself with the spirits' help, not another family feast.  I had already dispensed with gifts 11 years ago, opting for donations to various worthy causes throughout the year, rather than waiting for Christmas to remember other people. 

A few weeks ago, I found out that my children have now followed suit.  So we will all celebrate Christmas this year in three different homes on two different continents.  Yet we will all be with each other in spirit - literally and figuratively.  Lest we forget, Christmas is not a shopping spree or a call to gluttony.  It is birthday of a very special baby boy, one who grew up to be a great man endowed with miracle making holy spirit.  And I resolved to celebrate it as any other birthday, with one exception...

 

I decided for the first time in this house to get a Christmas tree.  Keeping with my need for beauty, I picked one out that I would be happy to keep in my living room year round (see above).  I also decorated with Christmas lights my Italian cypress outside (right).  So the inside and the outside trees are in sync, both in terms of lights and shapes.

DazBog Coffee

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 9 - Ever heard of DazBog coffee?  I had not before I walked into this store four days ago.

It used to be a Starbucks.  So I walked in without even looking at signs.  Everything SEEMED the same, even the staff.  Then I noticed the Russian language on the wall, and the old Soviet symbols.  "Strange," I thought.  "Are Starbucks now into promotion of Old Russia?"  Not so.  They are still not evidently THAT desperate.  What happened was, according to the staff in the store, a literal takeover.  A new franchise, started by two Russian émigrés from St. Petersburg (they still call it Leningrad), decided to challenge Starbucks virtual monopoly on nationwide coffee shop chains. 

"DazBog" means "God of Plenty," the staff told me.  I bought a packet of DazBog White Knights coffee to try it in my coffee maker.  Haven't done it yet.  We'll see if the new "reds" will replace enough of the old "greens" to make it a success.  They have a long way to go.  But "a thousand mile journey begins with the first step" (Confucius).

Happy holidays!

Feminine Energy of Sedona, a "Pacarina"

SEDONA, Dec 15 - On Monday, I took a quick drive to Sedona to meet some friends.  I pulled the trip from jaws of an oncoming winter storm.  As you can see from these pictures...

... taken at the airport mesa, Sedona looks beautiful in any weather.  By the time I left for home late Monday night, temperatures had dropped into the 30s, and it was raining.  By the morning the next day, heavy snow was falling on the red rocks making them look like layered cakes with icing sugar on top.

During the two-hour drive from Scottsdale to Sedona, I had plenty of time to contemplate all my past trips there during the last quarter of a century.  This time, however, I felt something I have never realized before.  You know how they say that Sedona is a high energy vortex?  There are even vortex tours that local guides give to curious tourists.  I have never felt that before.  But this time, I felt its energy.  And it was definitely feminine.  I saw Sedona as a womb, a place of emergence (birth), a pacarina, in the Inka Quechua language.

When I talked about it to two lady friends who live in Sedona, both of them said that the same thing: "That's interesting," implying they weren't aware of it themselves.  Yet both have lived there for years.  And both are very spiritually advanced. 

Then one of them told me that a cousin of hers once bumped into a sacred ceremony that a group of Indians (Native American  shamans or chiefs) were holding in an area known as the Red Canyon.  And he learned from them that the Native Americans believed that this is where life on earth began in the form of a spider.  That's not unlike the place of emergence that the Yezidis (or Yazidis) (an ancient tribe in Northern Iraq) believed in.  Except that the letter believed it all began with a peacock angel (Malek Taus) that landed in their capital (Lalesh - click here to read more about it, including some photos).

Season of Miracles: God's Christmas Card

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 17 - They say, this is the season to be merry.  It is.  This is also a season of miracles.  At least that's been the case with my life ever since I have returned home from Hawaii 10 days ago.  Nearly every day has brought some new ones, some even more than one.  Today was a case in point.

I woke up early after a dream that combined a mountain peak image and the ocean energy.  Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" ("A Little Nighttime Music") was playing in my head.  That's not surprising.  This has been one of my favorite Mozart pieces since my youth.  But because it was orchestral music, I never played it on the piano.  But this year, as my Christmas gift to the baby boy whose birthday we celebrate on Dec 25, I decided to try to do my own piano version of it.  And to include it as part of my musical Christmas card to all of you, my friends and family.  And so, for the last several days, I have been working on that arrangement.

Right after getting dressed, I went straight to the piano and started playing it.  After a while, I switched to various Christmas carols that I am also considering for my "Christmas concert."  When I was driving from Sedona on Monday night, someone was playing the "Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer" tune at a jazz radio station.  I had never played it before.  So I decided to incorporate it into my Christmas repertoire. 

The sounds of Rudolph were still in my head when I went to my office.  I spent some time on correspondence with a friend from Florida, an MD with a PhD who is becoming spiritually evolved.  I suggested to her that she may want to have a session with Heather, my Inka shaman friend from Sedona.

At about the same time, my cell phone buzzed, indicating a text message had arrived.  It was Heather.  I wasn't surprised.  Not anymore.  After experiencing so many such "coincidences" this year, and ever more every week or day, I have stopped being amazed when it happens.  There is no such thing as a coincidence, I have come to believe.  Often times I would think of a person, and the next thing he or she would be on the phone, or would send me an email or text message.  The same thing was happening with Heather, I've found out.

Synchronicity is one of the hallmarks of divine communication.  Only the Creator (God, if you prefer) can pull the strings, like a composer/conductor of a symphony, to make sure all notes are harmonious and the resulting melody beautiful.  So I knew that the Creator was again eavesdropping on my correspondence with my friend from Florida.

I told Heather as much in my reply to her text message.  She agreed.  I also told her about my friend who, in the meantime, said she would be too busy to contact Heather until mid-January.

Then another message arrived from my Florida friend.  This time, she had received a message from a stranger hailing the virtues of shamanism.  She said she was amazed.  I replied that I was not, and explained why not, and why I thought she got the message. 

"Interesting how and when God speaks," Heather commented when I told her about what had just happened.

Then it was time for me to go to an outside business appointment.  Before I left the house, I stopped by my mesa, picked up my two cornerstone kullas that I got from Apu Ausangate during the rites of passage last July, and blew my love into them for the Creator, Pacha Mama (earth) and Mama Kocha (water).  I felt in a state of grace after they had showed their presence to me this morning.  Little did I know that that was only a start...

As I was driving on Pima Rd south toward the 101 freeway, a classical radio station was playing a tune from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker."  It sounded very Christmassy.  By now, I am sure you are beginning to see why there are no coincidences.  "Thank you, thank you..." I said out loud, smiling ear to ear.  Then I looked up.  And this is what I saw...

"God's Christmas card," a team of reindeer pulling a sled across the southern sky, heading west. And just in case there was any doubt where this card originated, there was also a red orb behind the Sun (Inti, Sun God, just like Kon-Tiki in Polynesian/Hawaiian cosmology, is believed to be the son of Virakocha, the Creator, according to Inka mythology). Later, at home, I augmented the image with a man-made reindeer card shown in the top right corner (right).

So that is my this year's Christmas card.  I did not have to either design it or buy it.  It came to me straight from God's art studio.  All I had to do is receive it in grace and gratitude, and snap a picture of it with my camera.

But God wasn't done with me yet...

As I was getting off the McDonald Dr ramp off the 101, I became mesmerized by the image ahead of me.  I have lived in the Valley of the Sun for over quarter of a century now, but I have never seen anything as beautiful as the sight of these fluffy clouds hovering between the South and Estrella Mountains.  They were the stragglers the winter storm had left behind that passed through the valley yesterday and overnight.  They looked like cotton balls stuffed into the valley between these two mountain ranges.  I felt tears welling up in my eyes as it always happens when something touches my soul, such as a strong presence of the spirit inside of me.

"How do you describe grace?" Heather asked rhetorically the other day.  You don't.  You just feel it.  And it overwhelms you.  So the tears flow freely.  No exceptions, male or female.  I have seen plenty of them during our "Conversations with Spirits" in Peru last July.

On my way back home, some two hours later, this was the northern sky that greeted me over North Scottsdale, where I live.  Breathtaking!  I think that the Creator, Pacha Mama and Mama Kocha (check out my Hawaiian ocean scenes) are very talented artists there are, don't you?  And they really put on a show today in the Valley of the Sun gallery.

The season of miracles is upon us.  Don't miss it by spending a lot of time looking for presents in shopping malls.  Beautiful gifts are all around us. And they are free, but for looking and understanding the enormity of the Creator's love for us.

Enjoy the Winter Solstice this Sunday!  It is a holy day celebrated world over, at Stonehenge as well as in Machu Picchu, and at other ancient sacred sites around the world.

Season of Miracles: God's Christmas Card - Reader Reactions...

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 18 - Perhaps not surprisingly, the preceding story has evoked a number of nice reader reactions.  Here's one from an Ohio friend...

"Hi Bob, love your Christmas card!  Best one I have received," she said.  “More philanthropy = less stress.”

“And more joy,” I added in my reply.  But I also said that we should both thank God for the card.  “I just noticed it and held up the camera to his/her artwork.”

This friend's poignant comment about the positive correlation between philanthropy and stress reduction reminded me of a story I wrote 11 years ago (see "Singapore: Materialism Without Idealism", Dec 1997). 

When I returned home from that trip, I told my kids that there would be no Christmas gifts for them that year or ever. 

“We are among the most fortunate families I know,” I said.  “You’ve already received ample gifts in life.  Christmas is not about shopping.  It's a celebration of a birthday of a special baby boy who has given so much to others."

We should be doing things for others who are less fortunate, I added.  And we should do it year-round, not just at Christmas.  My two daughters were in college at the time.  They seemed a little perplexed but understanding.

From that point on, Christmas lasted 365 days a year for me.  And I have been helping those who cannot help themselves – the orphans and the elderly in various countries around the world.  I have been also helping people in this country who have talents but no resources to develop them.  Directly, not through various “charitable” organizations who skim a lot of donations as “management fees.” 

Sometimes, my daughters and their college friends delivered the donations directly, such as to some St. Petersburg or Moscow orphanages.  Afterward, some of these American college kids wrote lovely “thank you letters” to me for giving them the opportunity for "one of the most fulfilling experiences," as they watched those deprived kids' eyes widen in delight at the love and kindness that the gifts brought them. 

Check out "An Uplifting Christmas Story" (see below) about one such a young American college student.  And not only was she paid back for her good deed by the children's gratitude, God also rewarded her in a special way.  She met her future husband on that trip.  Last I heard, they are happily married and living in Chicago.

Later, when my elder daughter lived in Moscow, she continued the same practice of giving one's time and kindness as a gift, along with some of her Russian co-workers at an international bank where they all worked.  This, in turn, inspired some Truth in Media readers also to contribute and send donations (see "A Heartwarming Christmas Story," Jan 2001).

And "one good turn deserves another," as they say.  The gifts of kindness inspired some of the Russian orphan kids to create their own artful "thank you" cards (shown above), which they later sent to me via my daughter and her friends.

This year, for the first time, my (now grown) kids asked me if it would be okay for us not to exchange gifts (they kept sending presents to me even though I had stopped doing it 11 years ago).  Of course, I welcomed it with a big grin.

Have a joyous holiday season!

An Uplifting Christmas Story ST. PETERSBURG, February 1998 - My trip was wonderful and it was hard to come back, St. Petersburg wins me over every time. My mind is still on vacation and my heart is certainly still there, so excuse my lengthy explanation of where your money went, but I welcome the opportunity to reminisce. I think I found a wonderful place for your money and I hope that you will feel the same. I'm well aware of and have witnessed first hand what too often happens with well-intended, generous gifts when they fall into the hands of the unscrupulous individuals. Suffice it to say that I was concerned foremost that the money end up outside of a "director's pocket." I have the good fortune of knowing a very good family in St. Petersburg and from the minute I told them what I needed to do, no one sat still until it was done. They are not naive either, and understood the importance of finding a reliable place for the money. The mother of the family, Nina, is a very religious individual and also considered the church. However, it was her opinion that the Orthodox churches (at least in St. Pete) have "a lot" of money right now. Just to attest to that, I was surprised to see the progress of restoration on a number of churches I had previously seen just a year ago. It was then, the general consensus that the money could best be used by an orphanage. I must admit that I also have a soft spot in my heart for providing for the children of a struggling country since I taught in a school there. At any rate, that decided, we then thought it best to find an orphanage, go and find out what was needed, and then make the purchases ourselves to be sure that the money was not misused. Somewhere in between all of this I took the elektrichkaya to Pushkin about 30 minutes from St. Petersburg where Ekaterinskii Dvorets is located. As things happen in Russia, my friends have an acquaintance there who was to serve as my LIVELY guide around the city. This woman is about my grandmother's age but has as much energy as I did when I was about 4. Truly a delightful woman. At any rate, she knew of a place called "Aist" which means stork, that was a shelter of sorts for children. So after a freezing but inspiring jaunt around Pushkin, we went back to her place to warm ourselves with some borshch and made a phone call. Over the phone (three of us spoke to them in one call - you can imagine how amusing this scene was me, the American with sorry Russian skills and two impatient Russian women telling each other and me what to say and then in the end just grabbing the phone and saying it themselves). They seemed to say all of the right things. However, in the end I wasn't satisfied and I wanted to go there and see for myself. Surprised at the ease with which we found this place (perhaps you've had some experience of your own finding a Russian address!), we rang the doorbell and were met minutes later by a young girl of about 8. She led us to the director's office who received us eagerly. In the short walk from the door to the office my eyes were checking out the place. At the time, it was still unclear to me what exactly this place was (I gathered it was more than an orphanage), but one things was clear, it was a healthy environment for kids. We visited with the director, a very energetic woman, for some time. She explained that all of the children there have parents, but most of them were alcoholics or abusive or had simply kicked their kids out onto the streets because they couldn't afford to keep them at home. We ended up staying there for a very long time and she shared a lot with us, but since I'm at work and once I get started, I wouldn't stop, I'll just share with you some of the things I thought to be very important and different from a lot of "orphanage-type" establishments. The kids are free to come and go on their own so that they do not feel as though they are trapped there or that it is like a prison. The door is always open to them when they want to come, when they need a hot meal, but they retain a sense of freedom and independence - responsibility for themselves, if you will. Unlike lots of "shelters" this was much more than a roof over the kids' heads. They provide enriching activities for the kids, encouraging theater, painting, music, etc. etc. Which from what I can tell does much to nurture a sense of pride and accomplishment. They celebrate birthdays, holidays, etc - do the sorts of things a family would do. They place the children at a new school in the city so that they are not burdened by the stereotypes and judgments that were established with them in their old schools. They work to place the kids in some sort of job or internship after they graduate from school. They encourage the children to try to maintain a relationship with their parents and even work to rehabilitate or find opportunities for the parents. All of the furniture, etc. was donated much of it by the few staff that work there. The are in desperate need of some renovation, but don't have the money and as of yet, no one has offered. They survive mainly on donations form what I understood. Currently there are 17 children there and only space (beds) for 14. A lot of what makes the place bright (at first it seemed to me that maybe this place wasn't in such bad shape and didn't really need the money) is work that the children do themselves. Pictures, crafts, etc. simple but with lots of heart. To say the very least, I felt very good about leaving your money there.  I told them you wanted to remain anonymous. For their official books, however, they needed someone's name to put down, I gave them mine and they indicated somehow that it wasn't actually from me. Also, they have a very home-made sort of thank you that the kids sign and it has the shelter's emblem on it (they had a contest among the kids to draw the emblem). They filled out the certificate, I instructed them to leave the name blank and that you would fill it in yourself. They were truly grateful. I toured the place and met some of the kids - it's a place where I'd love to tutor English if I end up spending some substantial time in the Petersburg area. I took some pictures which I will send you and was invited back to a concert if I come in the summer. I also left my address as they thought they would write and let me know exactly what the money was used for and hopefully send more pictures. In short, it was one of the most fulfilling experiences I had on my short trip to Russia. Thanks for providing me with the opportunity to do that. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them, or get the answers from my friends who were with me. You'll be getting something from me in the mail later this week or next." Gifts, Love, Marriage and God I did. It was a hand-made "thank you" certificate that the Russian kids have made for me along with a photo of the kids.   Ever since, I have continued this practice of no Christmas gift and making charitable donations.  And not just as Christmas.   Last year, for example, this Pushkin half-way house used my donation to buy musical instruments, a fax machine and organize a field trip to the beautiful Tsarskoye Selo (Czar's Village) for all the kids (that's one of the biggest tourist attractions in the St. Petersburg area). By the way, the young American lady who took my donation to that orphanage in 1998 has since married a Russian doctor with whom she fell in love on that trip.  How's that for God's approving finger "meddling" in our lives? Phoenix, Arizona - Feb 1998

Christmas Eve Ceremony at My McDowell Mountain Peak

Squeezing life out of a stone; "Slumdog Millionaire:" Perfect Christmas Film

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 24 - Most Christians, even those who rarely make to church all year, usually attend a Christmas Eve service.  And so did I.  Except that I went to a church that God built, not man.  Trying to squeeze in a hike in between two winter storms, I climbed up to my McDowell Mountain peak...

... and did a nice Christmas Eve ceremony at my "apucheto" there. 

It was a pretty gloomy day, as you can see, though the rain had not yet started by the time I climbed down the mountain.  Interestingly, while I was doing my ceremony, I felt gusts of wind hitting me from the east, even though the storm was coming from the west.

But perhaps the most unusual thing I saw was this palo verde tree that grew out of a clump of rocks.  It was very close to my "apucheto peak," at about 2,500 ft. Who says you can't squeeze life out of a stone?  :-)  The close-up of the tree and the rocks (right) also shows how well camouflaged they look together.

Merry Christmas!

"Slumdog Millionaire:" Perfect Christmas Film

After I was done writing the above story, I went to see a movie.  I did not even bother with dinner.  I don't usually drop everything and go out just like that.  And I have never done it on a Christmas Eve.  But something inside of me pulled me to see the film, "Slumdog Millionaire," made in India.  It was the best movie I have seen in a long time, and certainly the best of 2008.  You can read a synopsis if you click on the above title link, but it misses the key point. 

This rags-to-riches movie is about LOVE - above all.  It's about the invincibility of love in the power struggle between Good and Evil.  And it makes you want to shout "God is great" as the main protagonist's brother whispered in his dying moments, having atoned for his sins with his own life.  Which is why it is a perfect film for Christmas. 

Not soapy or sappy like some Hollywood's Christmas productions, "Slumdog Millionaire" will shock you at times, keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time, make you shed a tear or two, have you recoil in horror over human inhumanity, make you laugh your heart out... You will be mesmerized by this action-packed film for the entire two hours so you won't even notice the time flying by.  Here's what some critics have said about it...

Boston Globe Ty Burr	"I'll keep this simple: Cancel whatever you're doing tonight and go see Slumdog Millionaire instead. " more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert	"This is a breathless, exciting story, heartbreaking and exhilarating at the same time..." more...
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips	"...a ruthlessly effective paean to destiny, leaving nothing to chance." more...
E! Online Skylaire Alfvegren	"...spacious meld of old, old-school Hollywood and traditional Indian saga..." more...

Merry Christmas!

How My "Peru Pants" Led to Gorgeous Sunset, God's "Firebird" Ballet in the Sky

From Mundane to Sublime...

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 26 - Want to hear a funny story about my trip to Peru last June, a sort of delayed wet echo from it?  Getting ready for a trip to the High Andes, I had bought some allegedly waterproof pants at the outdoor specialty store REI. Alas, it never rained while we were in the Holy Mountains.  It only snowed a few times.  So yesterday, Christmas Day, was the first time I wore them in rain.  And they were anything but waterproof.  My knees and thighs were soaked!  Of course, now it’s probably too late to go back and make a claim, six months later, I figured. 

What could I say? “I’ve been waiting for a real rain for six months?” 

Nah.  I don’t think they would buy it. :-)

Guess what?  I was wrong.  I took my "Peru pants" back to REI just for a lark this afternoon.  An email from the store about a post-Xmas sale jogged my mind to it.  It took it as an invitation to try my luck with my wet pants exchange. 

Exchange?  They gave me my money back - $108!  No questions asked.  I couldn’t believe it.  I had the use of the pants the whole time I was in Peru, plus almost six months after that, and they took them back.  Guess, I’ll be shopping more at REI next year… :-)

But the best part was what happened on my way back from the store...

As the sun was setting, it was lighting up the stormy eastern sky, making it seem as if the curtain had dropped, hiding the world behind the McDowell Mountain hills, still basking in bright sunshine.  Given that the temperature was dropping into the upper 30s, the clouds you're looking at were probably dumping snow at higher elevations.

About half an hour later, after I walked out of a Whole Foods store, I found the same eastern sky on fire, even though the sun had already set by then.

A few minutes later, just before arriving home, I saw this great Firebird (left) flying from the north as if to confront the Kashchei the Immortal (right) riding a cloud in the south.  Kashchei is the mythical character from Stravinsky's 1910 ballet "Firebird" (see NOTE below for more details).  I outlined their features by hand in green (right two shots).

See what can sometimes come out of a pair of wet pants? :-) God's "Firebird" story.  All we need to do is add Stravinsky's music.

---

NOTE: The “Firebird” ballet story is quite fascinating.  Prince Ivan, the central character, enters the magical realm of Kashchei the Immortal (left).  While wandering in the gardens, he sees and chases the Firebird (right). The Firebird, once caught by Ivan, begs for its life and ultimately agrees to assist Ivan in exchange for eventual freedom.

Next, Prince Ivan sees 13 princesses, with one of whom he falls in love (right). The next day, Ivan chooses to confront Kashchei to ask to marry one of the princesses; the two talk and eventually begin quarreling. When Kashchei sends his magical creatures after Ivan, the Firebird, true to its pledge, intervenes, bewitching the creatures and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance"). The creatures and Kashchei then fall asleep; however, Kashchei awakens and is then sent into another dance by the Firebird. While Kashchei is bewitched by the Firebird she tells Ivan the secret to Kashchei's immortality and Ivan destroys it killing Kashchei. With Kashchei gone and his magic broken, the magical creatures and the palace all disappear, and all of the "real" beings (including the princesses) awaken and, with one final fleeting appearance from the Firebird, celebrate their victory.

In Slavic/Russian mythology, Kashchei is also known as Koschei the Immortal or Koschei the Deathless (Russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный), as well as Tzar Koschei. There is a wonderful magical tale associated with this creature.

Kashchei cannot be killed by conventional means targeting his body. His soul is hidden separate from his body inside a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest, which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan, in the ocean. As long as his soul is safe, he cannot die. If the chest is dug up and opened, the hare will bolt away. If it is killed, the duck will emerge and try to fly off. Anyone possessing the egg has Kashchei in their power. He begins to weaken, becomes sick and immediately loses the use of his magic. If the egg is tossed about, he likewise is flung around against his will. If the egg is broken (in some tales this must be done by specifically breaking it against Kashchei 's forehead), Kashchei will die.

A LETTER FROM CANADA

Seeing Beauty in Everyday Life: Secret to Happiness

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 28 - I am blessed with many thoughtful comments about my stories that some of you share with me.  I always learn something valuable from them.  The letter I just got from Vancouver, Canada, is a case in point.  It came straight from the heart - written by a shaman-friend whom I met last summer in Peru. I wanted to share it with you, with her permission, because I hope the rest of you would also benefit from her key message: Seeking and finding beauty in our everyday lives is a secret to happiness:

Dear Bob

I just wanted to let you know how much I have been enjoying your stories.  I love how you find the interesting, the spiritual, the unusual in everything that you do.

I also love that you write about it, and send it on to all of us.  For, it makes me realize how we treat much of the everyday as routine and we look, but do not actually see anything. We certainly are not looking for messages from the spirits who are there and are sending them to us. If we all looked in wonder and astonishment as you do, life would be a whole lot better, and we would remember what life is all about (i.e., that it isn't the stock market and bank failures!! and the coming recession! - if you can believe all of the media reports).

Fear is the big fight now in the world, and it is trying to get us all to collapse back into it.

So dear Bob, keep those cards and letters (and pictures) coming. You continue to remind me to look in wonder and astonishment at what is all about us, and to be joyous for everything that is there for us.  How lucky and blessed we all are.

Blessings,

Linda (of the “foot warmers” from Canada)

(Explanation Re. "foot warmers:" No, that's not some new Canadian tribe or movement.  :-) Linda "saved my life" on Mt. Ausangate in Peru by letting me have the use of her extra foot warmers overnight).

As for her letter, I never thought of it as an explicit purpose of my stories - to show how you can look for divine beauty and fulfillment in ordinary things.  But if that's indeed what they cause readers to do, that would be a real blessing.  For, such spirituality would make their lives richer and happier as it has mine. That is why the subtitle of my above piece reads, “From Mundane to Sublime.”  It is a trip we can all take, if we choose to.

And that message complements something I learned a long time ago from a dead poet:

“Two men look out through the same bars: one see the mud, and one the stars,” Frederick Langbridge (1849-1923) wrote in “Cluster of Quiet Thoughts.”

We can choose to look up or down as we walk through life.

See what kinds of things can come out of something as ordinary as my wet “Peru pants?” :-)

New Year's Eve Fire Ceremony

Saying goodbye to 2008: So much to be grateful for... especially your love and support

SCOTTSDALE, Dec 31 - I spent the early part of the New Year's Eve in a contemplative mood, reflecting on all the things that happened in 2008 for which I should be grateful, both to the spirits and to you - the people who shared a part of my journey in the last 12 months.

My younger daughter Emily, for example, surprised me earlier today with a wonderful food gift pack (left). It was her way of wishing me a speedy recovery after my surgery and a Happy New Year. 

There have been also so many other people to whom I wanted to express my appreciation for their love and support in 2008.  So I decided to do it via a fire ceremony this evening, both to mark the end of the year, and to send you my love and gratitude through it.

With the sounds of Peruvian flute music in the background, I did a shamanic ceremony in which I mentioned by name in my prayers all the people who touched my heart and soul in 2008.  That's when I realized how blessed I really was.  That part alone took over half an hour.  Of course, some of them have come and gone, others have come and stayed, and my old friends and family, of course, never left.  But you all played a role in helping me and guiding me on my spiritual path, whether or not you were aware of it.  And for that, I am eternally grateful.

So doing this New Year's Eve fire ceremony was like watching "2008," the movie, which the Creator directed.  The rest of us, including the spirits, were a cast of characters scattered around the globe and across time. 

The fire itself was beautiful. It included the remaining red and white carnations from my Hawaiian Despacho [User ID, password required].  Maybe that's why it again sprouted some blue flames (right) - a sign of sweetness and gratitude that the spirits send back?

Something else happened that was pretty amazing.  After I had opened the sacred space with my prayers, something told me that, if I put my hand into the fire to move the pieces of the wood that had not yet caught fire, I would not get burned.  Sound crazy?  Well, no more crazy the spirits taking away my Hawaiian sea shell and some kullas, such as during the Hawaiian despacho.  Besides, I've heard of stories of high level shamans literally walking through fire without being hurt.

Anyway, I was at first apprehensive, and quickly pulled my hand out when it came close to the fire. "Scarity cat," I chastised myself. But then the flames suddenly waned in that part of the fire pit.  So I reached down and moved the wood.  Then I walked around and did the same at least four or five times in various spots around the fire.  And the same thing would happen each time - the flames would wane, allowing me to grab and move the wood.

From high up in the western sky, Mama Quilla (Mother Moon) was watching all this, smiling thinly (it was a tiny crescent moon), as if she was the one playing with me.

In the end, my hand was intact, and I had a nice cheerful fire going. I took a picture of it (right), and decided to use as my New Year's card.  I then blew my four New Year's resolutions into the fire through my mesa, as well as the specific requests for all the people who have asked me to pray for them.

So with that, Happy New Year to you all!  And thank you for your love and support in 2008.

And now, here are the first pictures of 2009, straight from Times Square in New York City...

Back to Arizona 2008 Index