“Te tiro atu to kanohi ki tairawhiti ana tera whiti te ra kite ataata ka hinga ki muri kia koe.”
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.”
In a sense, this resonates with the primary teaching to come out of The Farm Community, "What you give your attention is what you get more of."
This is not to deny the existence of the shadow parts of our life, of ourselves, but more to maintain them in their proper perspective so that they do not dominate our consciousness or overshadow our light.
During our time in Turkey and Vietnam, Inana Calero, daughter of Arjun, founder of the Beyond Initiative Caravans, interviewed participants and created a wonderful new video, illustrating DUP's expansion around the world!
And below... Many of you have heard this story told by Shabda called Life After Mother, by author Wayne Dyer. I found it online, and pass it on to you to share, and if it is new for you, for your contemplation of the Great Mystery.
We are very grateful to experience two Dance Camps during our time in New Zealand.
The Aotearoa Camp was in the center of the North Island, high on a hill overlooking huge Lake Taupo. It reminded us of the Ozark Camp, with a nice number of families and children in a range of ages, including a few teenagers who would occasionally join us in the Dance circle. Cooking of meals and cleanup was shared by all. Even the shared rooms with bunk beds was reminiscent of Ozark Camp.
And like some of the Camps out west I’ve attended, the dance space was a yellow and white revival tent. It provided enough space for two circles accommodating our group of 120 people just fine.
Dances were led by Leaders from across New Zealand, as well as a number of visiting international leaders, including myself. Maitreya Jon Stephens from Florida was a featured special guest.
Jamica Haqq, Māori grandmother of the New Zealand Aotearoa Dances of Universal Peace CampOne very unique aspect was the embracing and honoring of Māori culture. Each day the dances began with an invocation in Māori. Many of the dances are in the language and have movements based on Māori traditions.
We danced every morning, late afternoon and evening, with some time in the afternoon used for workshops, Kirtan, a talent show concert, and free time to walk down to the lake.
On a couple of evenings, I revived the tradition of late-night singing, as we do at Ozark and the Puerto Morelos Camps. Great fun!
The Aotearoa Camp ended on a Thursday, and the following Tuesday, a second camp started at the Mana Retreat Center, further north on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Mana is known for its incredible dance space, a large, octagonal room with walls of glass overlooking the bay and mountainous coastline below. A long deck provides spectacular views for hanging out with a few picnic tables for meals.
The all-vegetarian gourmet menu is prepared by staff, allowing guests to spend all their time relaxing together. There are numerous mountain trails including one that takes you up to a peak giving you the widest view of the water and surrounding mountain range.
A window in the Sanctuary
Just below the peak is a stone sanctuary with the most amazing acoustics. We spent one afternoon dancing there and folks continued to share acapella songs for a while after the official session had ended.
The common thread is that no matter where in the world we travel, the heart of our dance community remains true, attracting such nice people, dedicated to a vibration of love, together doing our small part to bring more peace into the world. We are so grateful to be a part of it!
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Conversation in the Womb – A Parable of Life After Delivery
from Your Sacred Self by Dr. Wayne Dyer
In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”
The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”
“Nonsense,” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover, if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”
