A PLANETARY PLEDGE

I wrote the following poem many years ago while hiking through the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas:

 

The cold clear water of Charlton Creek

murmurs and mumbles an ancient song

as it tumbles headlong through the mountains

 

I try to sing along, but my tiny human voice is swept aside

by the breezes stirring through the trees

by the sheer size of this majestic forest, stretching far past the horizon

by the strident cries of a zealous blue jay

guarding his wooded domain

 

There is nothing to do but remain

silent

in the face of such a display of royalty

and wait in humility

 

Kneeling on the spongy, green woodland floor

I swear my oath of loyalty once more:

"I pledge allegiance to Mother Earth

and to all Beings which walk, fly, swim or stand

One Strand, indivisible,

With affinity and respect for All"

 

At the time I wrote this, the feelings which this creek fostered and the solemn oath which it imprinted on my soul seemed unique to that particular "power spot" and its breathtaking vista. 

 ANOTHER VIEW

     But, since then, I've had similar experiences in a variety of locations: from the top of the Rockies to the bottom of Grand Canyon; from the heart of the Yucatan jungle to the edge of the Bavarian Black Forest; floating on the Dead Sea, and wading in the river next to my own back yard. Each of these (and many others) was a sacred space in its own way, engendering a sense of awe and wonder. Time and again, I've been forced to release my tenuous grasp on the top rung of the "food chain," and remember once again that every creature is my relative, that every spot is Holy Ground, and that becoming aware of our Oneness is not just a good idea, it is the very ground of our being. 

      As the national debate over climate change and environmental regulations continues, I believe it's more important than ever to be mindful of our relationship to Mother Earth as servants and stewards, not dominators and manipulators, of our environment. Such a shift in consciousness requires a massive change in orientation and acculturation occurring one person, one day, one decision at a time.

 ANOTHER CHOICE

     It is precisely this kind of incremental, individual shift in perspective that we seek to nurture and support in the Celebration Circle. Week after week, we meet to affirm our willingness to learn new ways of being and seeing. To free ourselves from the grip of our fears and unfold into our limitless possibilities.To be more compassionate with ourselves and each other. 

     Sure, it's a big order, and we fall short of the ideal, time and again in the course of our daily lives. But that's no reason for us to stop moving toward our Big Ideas. To keep meeting, meditating, praying, singing and ritualizing together with other like-minded, open-hearted folks to share our strengths, heal our weaknesses, and feed our deep longings for connection to the "One Strand, indivisible - with affinity and respect for all. " To think Big Thoughts, feel Big Feelings, and see the Big Picture as we remember together: "We Are One."

     With blessings and wishes for a safe and happy summer,

     Rudi Harst

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

READY FOR A CHANGE

     One day, two construction workers met on a new job site and sat down to eat lunch together. The first guy opened his lunch box, sighed and said, "Oh no, not a bologna sandwich.  I hate bologna!" - and then proceeded to eat his lunch with a frown. The next day, the same thing happened, as well as the third day.  Finally, when it occurred again on the fourth day, the co-worker's curiosity made him ask his new friend, "If you hate bologna so much, why don't you tell your wife to make you something different?"  To which the first guy replied, "What wife? I'm not married. I make my own lunch!"

TAKING CHANCES

     Sound familiar?  While we all know it's not really helpful for us to complain or wish that things could be other than what they are, the question is:  What are we willing to do differently in order for things to be different?  Sometimes that might mean performing some task or physical action that we've been avoiding.  At other times it might involve changing our attitude towards something or someone that's been bothering us, particularly if it involves something/someone over which we have little control (which is usually the case).

MAKING CHOICES

     But in every case, it's important to remember that (a) we always have choices, (b) it's necessary to make a conscious choice and then (c) take appropriate action(s).  And that not making a choice to do anything different is a choice too, albeit one that generally leaves us feeling like powerless victims of circumstances.

      Why chew on the same old bologna, when there's a magnificent buffet awaiting us every moment of every day?  Bon appetit!

With joy,

    Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS EASY (OR NOT)

     It's b-a-c-k!  The sweaty weight of humid heat hangs heavy over the streets of Sauna Antonio once again, making even the smallest of movements seem like too much trouble. Of course, most of my work takes place indoors, in air-conditioned comfort, but at the moment, I'm busy schlepping several loads of music equipment from the house to the car, working up a sweat. Soon enough I'll be back indoors, I tell myself. "But that's not the point," a grasshopper whispers as he sails by my ear, on his way to a shady spot nearby.  "It's summertime and you're supposed to be following Mother Nature's cue, slowing down a bit in the heat of the day...Why not stay outside, settle down and relax awhile?"

SURRENDERING 

     Feeling the gentle downward-tug of gravity, I slump into the shade of an oak tree in order to recharge my batteries for a minute or two. Its been a super-full week, and there's an even fuller weekend ahead: three nursing home shows today, the Summer Solstice tomorrow, the Morning Circle and family Father's Day celebrations on Sunday. There's a bunch of stuff to do, so I can't sit here long. But I've learned from experience that just a couple of minutes of quiet time, preferably unleashed from my electronic gadgets, can make all the difference in the pace of the day, and the amount of focus I'm able bring to my task(s) afterwards.

LISTENING

     So here I sit in the shade of a tree, feeling the heat and doing my best to pay attention to what my surroundings are telling me:  "slow down, relax, listen for the quiet clues whispering from inside and all around you."

     Having heard that invitation, it seems appropriate to extend the same reminder to you. Won't you take a few minutes now, or sometime soon, to simply be outside and feel the rising heat and the changing of the seasons? Maybe just a few minutes sitting in the shade outside your home or workplace right now? Or a slow stroll along the river tomorrow. Perhaps you'll be able to set aside a couple of hours to drive out to the Cave Without a Name near Boerne, and join us for our Summer Solstice concert down in the cool, damp cave tomorrow night. That will certainly be a particularly fine chance to slow down, cool down and feel your connection to the Earth and the fullness of summer.

INVITING

     In any case, wherever, whenever it works for you to do so, I invite you to consider taking an opportunity(s) to be outside, feel the heat and sink into the sweet, slow simmering sensation of summertime tugging at your sleeves, inviting your body to surrender, sometime sooner than later. All of Creation is waiting for you...

     That's my invitation, and I'm sticking to it.

With joy,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

SUMMER SOLSTICE

     I am very happy about each of the many different inspirational events the Celebration Circle has produced over the years, but I'm particularly proud of Underground Sounds, our seasonal concert series in the Cave Without a Name. That's just one of several reasons that I'm really looking forward to performing there again next Saturday, June 17th, to celebrate the Summer Solstice with an amazing group of musicians.

     There's something so powerful, so timeless, so deeply moving about gathering with scores of other people in this gorgeous limestone cavern, located 180 feet inside the earth, as we celebrate the changing of the seasons with a mix of ancient and modern instruments pulsing in rhythm and resonating off those magnificent limestone formations. What a sound!

BEYOND DESCRIPTION

     And then, about halfway through the concert, with all the lights turned off, we are immediately plunged into a total, pitch-black darkness. Suddenly cut off from all visual input, an age-old instinct kicks in, making our ears acutely attuned to the environment to an extent that most of us have seldom experienced. And into that space of heightened awareness, we introduce the primordial sounds of the didgeridoo, drums, vocal harmonies and other instrumentation, all providing a degree of aesthetic and spiritual stimulation that can't really be described in words. So I'm not even going to try. 

     Instead, I invite you to join us for this amazing experience and find out for yourself why it's such an indescribable delight that's thrilled and uplifted thousands of people over the past 16 years. If you've attended one before, rest assured that this concert will be even better than the last one, because we have some amazing new musical surprises that I won't spoil with a verbal description because it wouldn't do justice to what you'll hear this time. And you can scroll down for details on the logistics and ticket information.

     In any case, whether or not you are able to join us in person for this Summer Solstice event, I hope that your summer, too, will get off to a relaxing, refreshing and spiritually uplifting start, wherever you are, whatever you do!

 With joy,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

YOUNG AND OLD

     Earlier this afternoon, I sang at a memorial service for Ron Young, a long-time friend, songwriter and music journalist who made a big impact on my career - and on the Texas music scene in general -- over the years.  It was a poignant and powerful time; the chapel was full of old friends and fellow musicians, so many songs and sweet memories were shared. Of course, it was sad to say goodbye to Ron, but I left with a light heart, feeling glad that his long, painful battle with cancer was finally over - and that so many people had come to honor him and his legacy.

 

JOY AND SORROW

     After leaving there, I drive downtown to the Blue Star Arts Complex, where our son, Mateo, is having his high-school graduation party in conjunction with a dozen other seniors. Most of them have been close friends since early childhood, so I've witnessed their various trials and triumphs at countless birthday parties, performances, soccer games, sleepovers and other celebrations over the years. It's really heartwarming to see them swarming around the room being playful again, brimming with hope, hormones and happiness. Throughout the night, we parents hug each other, all of us astonished by how quickly the years have flown, how delightfully grownup "our little babies" have become.

 

DANCING AND SITTING

     It's great to see Mateo and his pals being so playful and carefree. Some are dancing and jamming to the sounds the DJ is spinning; others are playing chess, talking, having fun just being young. And yet at one point I find myself sitting alone in a dark corner, sighing in sadness, wanting to clutch this moment and hold on tight, knowing that this is almost certainly the last time these young people will be together in this way. Mateo's moving to Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico in August; I can't remember where all the others are going at the moment, but in the coming weeks, they're all headed off to different universities and opportunities scattered around the country. That's wonderful and totally natural, and I'm really happy for them, of course. And yet, I'm feeling this undeniable undercurrent of sadness, too, longing to hang on to their friendship and their youth (and mine) for just a little while longer.

 

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

     I slip out and leave while the party is still in high gear, the DJ's music ringing in my ears as I meander across the parking lot, trying to digest the confusing mixture of feelings engendered by these two very different celebrations of transition. I'd left the funeral chapel feeling happy; now I'm leaving this joyful graduation party feeling wistful. Weird. Opening the car door, I have to chuckle at myself, for taking my emotions so seriously, once again. Slipping behind the steering wheel, I suddenly hear the voice of my beloved friend and mentor, Arnold Patent, resonating across the years to remind me that "an emotion is simply a feeling with a judgment attached to it." And that one path to emotional freedom involves "breathing peacefully into any 'troubling' emotion until you can experience the feelings involved, separate from any judgments you may have about them." 

     So that's what I'm doing right now, right here in the parking lot: breathing quietly, feeling my feelings without judgment, witnessing the free flow of love that's underneath it all. Ahhh...Sinking into the Precious Present moment, I feel very blessed to be experiencing the sheer joy of having received yet another dancing lesson from Spirit. 

 

With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

BEFORE AND AFTER

      Recently I was mixing a fresh batch of salad dressing, when suddenly the lid flew off the bottle and splattered the oily mixture all over my shirt.  Bummer. This is one of my all-time favorite shirts; I'd hate to lose it. Made of an incredibly smooth, silky Egyptian cotton by a top Italian designer, Ermenegildo Zegna, it probably cost  $200 - $300 when new, although, like almost all of my clothes, I bought it at a thrift store and paid just a few bucks for it.

 

GETTING IT CLEANED

     The Cynical Critic that lives in the back of my head immediately started yelling at me for having ruined the shirt, for not having tightened the lid of the shaker bottle. Telling me that I'll never get these oil stains out; the only chance of saving it requires taking it to the dry cleaners, which will definitely cost more than I paid for the shirt. Plus, in order to get this mixture of oil and basalmic stains out of my shirt, the dry cleaners would have to use perchloroethylene, a chlorocarbon which is toxic to people and degrades the environment. That's why I haven't gone to a dry cleaner in years. No way I would do that!

     Between my anger at the mess I've made, the potential loss of a favorite shirt, and lack of salad dressing for the lunch I'd been rushing to prepare, I instantly find myself stuck in the yuck of a crummy mood. To say nothing of the fact that I've managed to work myself into an inner rant over the irresponsible industrial use of toxic chemicals and the horrors of climate change, and...

 

SETTING IT STRAIGHT

      But within a few moments, I became aware of how silly it is to get so upset over such a simple accident, and start to laugh at myself. A couple of deep breaths later, I calm the Critic, reminding him that it's just a shirt. And, that it's quite possible that the folks at Clothesline Cleaners might be able to get these spots out with the non-toxic, environmentally friendly process they use. Plus, I still have plenty of time and ingredients to mix up another batch of salad dressing.

     It's no big deal, but as Zet and I sit down to lunch a few minutes later, I find myself feeling incredibly grateful, not just for the food, but for having had the opportunity to practice the power of awareness in such a simple, straightforward way. Not that long ago, such an incident would have left me in a sour, self-judgmental mood for the rest of the day; now, it's just a temporary inconvenience, and a chance to laugh at myself. And, as poet Mark Nepo said so eloquently, it's also another reminder to enjoy this precious, present moment in all its "flawed abundance." Why not?

 

With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi

PS:  And, yes, as the before-and-after photos show, the folks at Clothesline Cleaners were able to get out every bit of that salad dressing without the use of toxic chemicals!

MOMENTS OF GRATITUDE AND WONDER

     I'm just hanging out with my wife and son, chatting about nothing particular, simply enjoying some all-too-rare time together at home, doing as little as possible for a change. Suddenly, a huge wave of love comes washing over me, and I find myself swimming in a sea of gratitude, while standing right here in the middle of our kitchen.

SEEING ANEW

     I rub my eyes and blink, seeing these two amazing beings, radiating so much beauty, love and intelligence that it's almost blinding to look at them. How did I get so lucky as to have a family like this? How is it possible that Mateo will be turning 18 next week (!!) and heading off to college in Albuquerque in a few months, when it seems like it was just a couple of years ago I was standing in that hospital room, watching him emerge from his birth mother's womb. And how could it be that Zet has been my best friend for 37 years, and yet, here I am, looking at her - at both of them  -- with brand new eyes, as if seeing them for the first time.

     It's wonderful to be basking in their radiant glow, although I also find myself feeling humbled by how much I don't know about either one of them. My mind wants to race off into analyzing this and that about them, wishing I knew more about who they are, and what they're thinking about, and what they're longing for, and...  but my heart cuts in and says simply:  "Peace, be still and give thanks..."

FEELING RENEWED

     I'm reminded once again of Garrison Keillor's wry observation that each of our lives is a thick, complex novel, full of multiple, twisting plot lines and strange, wondrous characters. And yet we walk around merely glancing at each other's dust jackets, while pretending we've read the whole book and acting as if we know everything there is to know about the people whose stories we've only glimpsed - even beloved family members, like these, with whom I've been living all these years.

      Zoom...instantly my mind goes right back to judging, twisting around to "figure out" more about Zet, Mateo and our relationships, turning in on itself to make sense out of things, wishing I had more time with Mateo before he heads off into his new life... 

     But, just as quickly, the Still Small Voice reminds me: "Peace, be still, and give thanks..."  And so I do, remembering once again that this is just another moment, just another day. Just another chance to sink into the silence:  "Peace, be still, and give thanks."

With gratitude and blessings,

    Rudi Harst

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.