Hinduism and Transcendentalism

I started out in life wanting to be a hippie.  I LOVED the Monkees and liked the Beatles (yes, only "liked") and saw how the "peace and love" movement and music had a trace of the mystical.  There was something echoing about the words "Transcendental Meditation".  And even in the 1990's and beyond, I made friends who were into hummus, tofu, yoga and the teachings of India.  But they did not seem to be into "Indians".  That is, they didn't seem to know any.

I've been working in Technology for the past few years and have been making friends with a lot of people who were born and/or raised in India.  I've been amazed at their levels of devotion in this secular American society, as I am with any devoted religious group.

I have one friend who left when he was 13, and how he mentions the deepness of Hinduism and meditation as holy things, but not things which take him over in his everyday life.  It is not something that he can aspire to.  He pointed me in the direction of Deepak Chopra for the Pop Psychology introduction to it.

He was careful to talk about separation, of spirit and the rest of the ego and the titles that you associate with yourself.  That "detachment" is a bad translation.  That emotion is a thing which washes over you like a wave, and you must let it.  And that things are only there to evoke emotions, but are not significant in and of themselves.

The longer I am on this earth, the more I am grateful for forests.  And lakes.  For the healthy bodies of the people I love.  For things which mean other things, but which hold significance in and of themselves.

I do not want to "appropriate culture", not even the culture of the 60's.  But I still see some divides across beliefs.  And I'm noticing that although Henry mentions his books, there are not a lot of books on the topic.  Or plays......

HDT making news at Standing Rock

A great article about the Standig Rock protests in North Dakota. Pure drinking water on tribal lands vs an oil pipeline.

Civil Disobedience. Henry's on record again.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/opinion/at-standing-rock-and-beyond-what-is-to-be-done.html?_r=1&referer=http://m.facebook.com

And when all else is lost and you are staring down the barrel of a rifle, use the words, "We love you" 

It worked for the people in the article. Nobody died.

(Yet)

Latest Swim in Coldest Water Yet!!

My most recent swim (and most likely the last of 2016) happened on 10/19. I think the water was estimated to be 54 degrees. The air temp that day had reached 80, so I think I am indeed a fair weather friend!! 

The fastest time too!! I'm sure it had nothing to do with the cold! ;)

After & before, the same day, believe it or not!!

Opening of the Visitor's Center!!

Finally, after waiting all summer for the NEW Visitor Center to open, it opened on September 27!!

But I was in NYC.

:(

EXCITED TO SEE IT FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN I GET BACK!!

Upcoming Celebration of the Closing of the Arts Walk

September 5 at 11am, there will be a brunch near Fairyland Pond.

In the area of performance, at the gathering point of all the artists. Everyone who can show up, will.

A picnic.  Bring your own art. And food.

It will be a celebration of the Opening Event, the art all along the trails, a dance, my 3 performances, including Thoreau's Bday, a Moonlit Walk and rest by the benches, and a poet (who I couldn't witness during her own performance).

Funny how a place records moments for you.....

Thoreau Plays of Summer 2016

Thus far, I have done 2 different sets of plays for Thoreau.  And I'm working on another one before the end of September!

I'm excited by this approach which I seem to have discovered/pioneered/stumbled upon.  As a curious reader/researcher who is obsessed with the impossible questions, I love bringing together a wide variety of quotes and sources, to tell a story from a somewhat modern perspective.  As if a scholar could dramatize their research.  Or give the great minds access to the internet & the variety of ideas that are more commonplace in our modern age.

One, July 6th, for the opening of the Thoreau Society, a play called "Thoreau Vs Schultz: Skimming the Surface".  It was a rebuttal to Pond Scum in the NYer, everyone was utterly delighted by it.  A comedy.  I included LOTS of Thoreau's critics' quotes.  Emerson, Robert Louis Stevenson, even where he was called Hitler.  (The other "play" offered was a video of pages of quotes with minor introductions.)

The second was a series of performances, called "the Transcendental Ghosts of Fairyland Pond".  There was a birthday performance (July 12th, we had cupcakes made by my mother!) And then 2 more, July 16 & 17th.  One geared for children-I had a dream that I needed to lead everyone around the Pond, to keep my audience interested.  It was a gift from Henry, who taught class like that.  And it was a great way to discover art and flowers-PIPSESSEWWA- for the audience.  We did it again for the grownups the next day.  I also attended a moonlight walk on July 19th, which was incredible.

As an offshoot of the above, I've begun researching Brister (of Brister's Hill and Stream) and Peter Hutchinson-who knew more about the woods of Concord than any man alive.  Black Walden and a lecture by Dr. Lois Black of Weslyan about the hidden history of Concord.  I am NOW working on a performance of a meeting between Ellen Garrison and Thoreau for the Robbins House, for the opening of the African American Museum on September 24th. (And perhaps for an event on September 17th, as well)!

Ghosts in the Forest At Arts Ramble Opening!

Welcome to the Emerson Umbrella Arts Ramble for 2016!

Follow the signs!!  

More information can be found at:

http://theumbrellaarts.org/2016-Art-Ramble

Some crazy artists at the trailhead! ;)

The map maker and my beautiful mother survey the Arts Walk.

Nancy, introducing the art and artists in front of Fairyland Pond.

An eager audience, indeed!!

A poet and her son!

Dancers poised on a bench, ready to turn the branch sculpture into a kinetic tent!!

My Mom and I, both immensely proud after the performance!

Thoreau & Money

A terrific night!

Jim Sherblom gave a very eloquent lecture on the financial context of Thoreau's time, as well as the economic philosophies that shaped him and his contemporaries. The crashes of 1837 & 2008 are more similar than we might realize.  The full text is at his website, here.

Jim Sherblom and the Strawberry Shortcake Party (Thoreau's Huckleberry Party would fit in nicely)

Reflections on the evening.

Both Henry & I enjoyed the evening immensely!

Art Ramble Opening!

Thursday is the first event/opening/kickoff for the Art Ramble at the Emerson Umbrella!

I will be performing for 10 minutes as an intro to the series of performances in July.

Thoreau's Annual Gathering, July 6, Wednesday night at the opening of the conference. 

Thoreau's Birthday, July 12

July 16 & 17

Rain date, July 23rd

More info can be found at the Emerson Umbrella's website!

Dates for the Emerson Umbrella Arts Ramble!

Finally, the official dates for the GHOSTS of FAIRYLAND POND PROJECT!!

Part of the official Emerson Umbrella Arts Ramble 2016:
All performances will take place inside the Hapgood-Wright Forest, 4 minutes along the path, on the shores of Fairyland Pond.

Dates:

June 2, Thursday, Opening for the Summer Project (excerpt)

July 12, Tuesday eve, Henry's Bday, 6pm (Party afterwards!)

July 16, Saturday, 11am
July 17, Sunday, 2pm

(July 23rd, Saturday, Rain Date)

Additional events:
On July 16th, a Tiny House Festival is happening at 12pm on, come enjoy the day at the Umbrella!!
Also, a Moon Walk happening on July 19, a quiet meditation, completely separate yet also cool!

Thoreau Annual Gathering and Arts Ramble in Summer

I have a few exciting ideas for the upcoming summer and also for 2017.

I ALSO am happy to report that I now have venues and am finalizing dates for the upcoming shows.

The AG show will be called "Thoreau VS Schultz" and will be performed around 8pm on July 6th, on the eve of the gathering.

There will also be a series of performances, perhaps including art, INSIDE the Hapgood-Wright Forest.  Both are providing me with opportunities to actually bring both ideas to fruition.

Very excited to spend my days as a theater/creator!!

Thoreau's Continuing Identity

Despite his famous grave at Sleepy Hollow, HDT is alive and well.

There are countless books, events, plays being read, written, performed and published about him every year.

The "interpretations" take on various permutations.  Live-action humans who lead educational programs, or people who write books for children.  Or, theater which extends the documented & literary materials into personal immediacy (not that I am biased, but this is what I do).

Lately, there has also been a video game created about Walden.

And a young graphic designer who wants to "update" Thoreau's words for the modern age.  Something about "how dated the language is" and the "inaccessibility" of its ideas.  (I can't bear to include a link, or even the designer's name for fear of adding to publicity, and thereby adding "support")

The last example is the slippery slope.  At what point does he need to be repackaged, yet again? Instead of taking bumper sticker slogans from the literature, it is building a book based on the bumper sticker format.

How does a reader distinguish from educational aids and the genuine literature? Cliff Notes are built on the idea of helping a student, or providing a way to skim through the Great Works.  Reader's Digest Condensed versions for the populace.  Books for people who will not have the luxury of time to attend classes for each.

Time is the biggest social class divide.  Not the rich vs the poor.  But people who fill their leisure time with things to prevent them from thinking, and those who seek ideas and quiet to fill up their thoughts on their own.

The speed-read of Walden will be a physical oxymoron.  A publication created to last hundreds of years because it is printed on acid free paper, but it only fit for immediate gratification.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Thoreau Farm

(Richard Smith interpreting Henry David Thoreau.  Photo credit:Alan Rohwer)

With both Richard Smith (in the guise of his alter-ego, Thoreau) and Thomas Blandings (Former President of the Thoreau Society), the Thoreau Farm was abuzz with discussions about Civil Disobedience.

The conversation was launched from Henry's writings, the first publication of the essay in The Aesthetic Papers in 1849, a single volume journal published by Elizabeth Peabody.
This original (first publication) was entitled "Resistance to Civil Government".
(The highlights below are based on my personal notes)

References to his best quotes/paraphrases & concepts:
Government is best which governs least.
Not "No Government" but "Better Government"
Ideals are not to be realized, but I must advance towards them-age 26
(HDT treated "Reality" as a verb, more than a noun)
His effort to see the big in the little (from his last walk with Ellery Channing)
His advice to a young writer: "Write with fury & edit with phlegm!"
On being imprisoned, "They treated me as mere flesh & bone"

His Actual Night in Jail
In 1846, he came to town from Walden, to pick up shoes that needed repair.
(And ended up being in jail with only one shoe!)
Sam Staples, an old friend, and future surveying assistant was the tax collector.
Told Henry that he hadn't paid tax for 6 years, and that he'd loan him the money.
Otherwise, he'd have to go to jail.
Henry reportedly said "Now is as good a time as any,"
The jail itself was substantial, built 1790, Concord was the county seat (which included Cambridge).
His prison roommate had burned down a barn and spent a considerable amount of time in jail afterwards. (Note that years earlier Henry had inadvertently burned down a forest near Walden, but was never punished for it)
The below exchange never happened,
it is actually from the Broadway play, "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail"
Emerson: "What are you doing in there, Henry?"
HDT: "What are you doing out there, Waldo?"

HDT was a philosopher of balance. 
"Actual/Natural World" i.e. the world we bump our head against
"Real World" i.e. the Spiritual World
He took few notes in the field, would write up his field notes the next morning. (Speaks to his powers of observation, memory & goal of synthesizing all the elements of a walk)

HDT influenced & was cited by others
MLK, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Martin Buber, Tolystoy, etc
It was pointed out that Gandhi was already on a similar path, based on his Hindu beliefs of Satyagraha (nonviolence) & that HDT's writings served to reaffirm them.


Some tantalizing questions which came up during the discussions included:

What happened to the fugitive slaves that HDT and others helped along the Underground Railroad?
>>He and other helpers never learned the names of anyone they helped, so if they were questioned, they would honestly have no names to offer.

Did Hitler's attempted assassin (an actual person) have moral right on his side?  And would others be given permission to kill, if it is better for society? (i.e. a rabid dog, or D. T Rump?)
>>Are there other options?  HDT argued that you should reject any

Taking Land Away from the Birds and "Returning" it to the People with Guns

There's an interesting intersection of issues happening in Oregon right now. A bunch of terrorists have taken over a bird sanctuary.

Or, it can also be viewed as a bunch of bullies with guns are using unusual phrasings.  They want the land, which was stolen from Native Americans, to be returned to ranchers. Because the land is now owned by the government, as a preserve.

Can anyone twist the words of "Civil Disobedience" and convince the press and the rest of America that armed protest is the patriotic duty of those who disagree? Even if the basis of their disagreement serves their own personal greed?

Below is the argument from the NYTimes, which is a thoughtful take from a birder, one of the actual people who would lose if the terrorists win.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/opinion/bird-watching-patriotism-and-the-oregon-standoff.html