Hello again!
Technically, I should be in North Manitou right now, soaking up the beauty of an island uninhabited. However, the winds have been a bit strong and they postponed the trip until Monday. So I have been filling my time until then. I've done quite a lot of socializing with people in the area compared to other areas.
One of the first places I ventured to when I arrived in town where I met people was a small art exhibit. They had beautiful artwork, followed by free snack foods and wine. Although I wasn't hungry, I made my way for a little bit of wine after perusing the art on the walls and it was here that I struck up a conversation with the artsy looking fellow who was serving. Artsy was right! He had some artwork up in the exhibit. I remember being struck by the beauty of the Italian city in his work before I knew it was his. It wasn't long until I happened to meet another very kind gentleman. We talked a lot about various things but, mostly, talked about his daughter. She also happens to be a traveler. She is currently in one of the southeastern states working in some fashion with birds. She also has met the Dalai Lama. From here I met some other kind folks and, eventually, made my way out of the exhibit and strolled along the streets.
I had been walking about the town asking locals where I can find the hangout for young people. I wanted to do a bit of mingling with my own age group. Most everyone pointed me to a restaurant called the Bluebird. Although I did go there for a bit, I did not see many people my age and left shortly. Tired, I parked my car in the lot for the small beach and laid down to sleep.
Not long into my un-restful snoozing I heard two woman talking outside of my car..."Is someone sleeping in that car?!" I perked up right away and, since I knew that I had been seen, poked my head up and said yes. They invited me down to a beach fire where I met some people my age. From the conversations I had with people earlier in the day I pretty much assumed this wasn't happening. So I was very glad this happened! We talked about a lot of things, mainly travel, spirituality, and shamanism/mask work. This made me very happy since, more often than not, anyone who is sincerely interested in this work tends to be in their 50's or older.
When I awoke the next morning I bought my ticket for the Manitou ferry and walked amongst the small shops. There are a bunch of old shacks down along the channel that feeds out into the lake. They are very well taken care of since they are part of the history of the town. Most of them are converted to shops. They look very small from the outside...but boy are they big on the inside! I walked into the hat shop and struck up a conversation with the lady behind the desk. Once she found out I am living out of my car, she told me all kinds of interesting stories from her travels. It sounds as though she started traveling in this way a little bit later in the game (though it is never too late for the average person, since I see all age groups traveling in this way.) Gosh...I must have been down there for an hour or so...I can't remember. But it was very fun. I bought a wide brimmed straw hat to cover my face in the shade (one that my brother would like) and, at her advice, headed north to the tip of the peninsula.
On my way I stopped at a park that...doesn't appear to be on google maps. I spent a good hour or two walking the trails and ended up walking about 5 miles total. This is one of my favorite smaller state parks in MI so far. I was taken back to the times I would hike out in PA with my cousin Josh, since the terrain looked very similar. I love walkin' the trails with him and his dogs and hope I get the opportunity to do this when I head back home, since I will be passing through PA.
Next stop...Leelanau State Park! This place....was absolutely beautiful. It is a preserved lighthouse that use to be in commission back in the day. I walked among the many rocks at the very tip and sat my butt down and watched seagulls fly about looking for a meal. When I was done I happened to see a white-cedar tree that was very old and very beautiful. Cedar is used quite often in the sweatlodge ceremonies back home...so I have a beautiful connection to cedar trees. I asked the spirit if I could take some leaves to make for tea. So I have that to look forward to today.
Not much else happened. Today is Sunday and things seem kind of relaxed right about now. I am really turning the gears in my head when it comes to making this next chapter of my life more suitable for the long-term. So much so that I have decided to end my trip in October and make my way back to Grand Rapids. Once there, I will be working between 50-75 hours (hopefully around 60) a week. This is something that I really, really dislike and it will probably be a cold, wintery hell for me. But I feel that I must do it in order to get myself off on the right foot.
In previous years, I have always worked the minimum hours necessary in order to work on the things that were more important to me and, eventually, more important for our culture and our world in times to come. So I spent all of my time in the endeavors that I do now. Mainly, meditation, shamanic practices, and healing work. On top of that, I have done a lot of reading/studying with currents in religion, spirituality, and philosophy and have done a lot of thinking and observing these trends in the world around me. However, now that I see the path that lies ahead of me very clearly, I am willing to do whatever I need to do to make it happen. So, suffering through the deprivations of working in a field that I don't care much for isn't so bad. I'll just have a calendar marking off, day by day, the days until I don't have to do it anymore. :)
I will still be doing ceremony during this time. I am planning on twice a month, on Saturdays, around MI, OH, IN, IL. Mostly places that are within a few hours driving distance from Grand Rapids. If you know of someplace that may be interested, please let me know! When the time comes near, I will also be sending out information to people who are interested in becoming an assistant. Basically, I would be looking for someone to help me during the ceremony. I am not looking to find people who want to apprentice with me.
I was planning on going over the next few usages of religion and how they pertain to shamanism and mask work...but this has been pretty long. When I get back from N.Manitou I will continue with those definitions and pump them out so we can get to other topics. So expect some heavy stuff upon my return. ; )
Instead, I will talk a little bit more about what I am working on while on this trip. My book. For a few years now I have been wanting to sit down and write a book about shamanism. Mostly, shamanism looked at through an AQAL framework. So, if you haven't guessed it already, many of the articles I am writing here will eventually be published in this book! It is a call to look at, with a stronger lense, what is going on within shamanism. I will explain in more detail the integral framework later on. But for now, I am beginning with what is known as an UL quadrant, Zone #2 perspective. But in the book I will also work with UL, Zone #1 perspectives. Once these are fairly fleshed out I will begin writing other books about shamanism within the other quadrants so much as I am able to. Again...anything that I talk about I will be going over at some point in this blog. So don't worry if you have no idea what I mean when I say AQAL, zone #1, or zone #2 at this point. Understanding the AQAL framework is pretty difficult in the beginning (once you get the hang of it though...)
Writing through the AQAL is terribly difficult. Especially since there isn't much out there to look at with these two topics (AQAL and shamanism.) So I will be probably be banging my head against the wall a lot. ; ) Hopefully the people in the library won't care too much....
Last but not least: I want to sincerely thank all of you out there reading my blog. There are many more people reading this than I expected at this point. I know quite well that there are many other things out there you could be filling your time with. So I am grateful to have you following what I am doing. Especially since so much of it is...largely unclear to you at this point. I kindly remind you with my mantra that this will take awhile. So save my websites somewhere. It doesn't matter if you read every post the week that I post. You could put this on the cyber shelves for months at a time at this point. But please, if you feel some kind of connection or pull to what I am doing, keep returning and reading everything that I write. See the progression of how my personal life experience unfolds. This subjective account will eventually play a role in the UL, Zone #1 perspectives and catalogs the process. Even though I am working largely through shamanism and Buddhism, this is really working with larger currents outside of these two forms and asking you to step into methodologies that will help you to understand what reality is on an experiential level. Not just theoretical. No beliefs...no "this is what I think." Rather, this is what I see after performing this injunction.
The movements that are going on today are immensely important. The movements with Monsanto, human rights, etc. To me, I see them as already solved and am looking down the road to what lies next. If you follow this work for long enough, You WILL have your entire world flipped upside down. Quite the statement isn't it?
Cheers!!
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