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FOLLOWING THE NOMAD STAR

Conscious adventure and resilient leadership for collective liberation.

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CO-CREATING OUR JOURNEY: SYNCHRONICITY, EVOLUTION, AND ENERGETIC SHIFTS

Kathleen used to say being an artist means never having to do anything you don’t
want to do. We met in graduate school. She and her husband Will, a retired
architect and strict Buddhist, were originally from Pasadena, and had relocated
to the land of rugged coastline and Redwood Forests in far northern California,
after they welcomed their first child onto Earth. Later, she also informally
adopted me and invited me to call her my “Humboldt Mom.” Kathleen was a local
sculpture artist and community activist; she had led a grassroot initiative to
integrate quarterly tsunami preparedness drills into the emergency training
practice at an elementary school north of Trinidad, California, one at a high
risk for submersion or liquefaction. That project, which she launched as part of
her Masters thesis, was completed only two years before she passed. 

Sometimes, synchronicities unfold that illuminate the profound truth of our
interconnectedness and what we are collectively creating. Carl Jung is credited
for categorizing and naming synchronistic experiences, referring to the
“meaningful coincidences” or “acausal parallelism” that provide insight,
direction, and guidance to the observer. Last week, I had thought about texting
Peter to arrange for a discussion of workshop content that he is developing
around “Yoga for the Common Good.” In April, Peter had facilitated a session
through the Yoga Teacher Training certification at World Peace Yoga, and he had
requested a meeting afterwards to hear my insights and feedback. I met with him
for an hour and shared ideas based on my perspective and experiences. He had
then requested a second meeting, but I was unable to hold more time. The second
session of the workshop series was offered on May 19. Following this session,
the thought crossed my mind to schedule another coffee chat with him for
Wednesday, May 22, but that appointment never occurred. However, the energetic
channels had been activated, and our discussion unfolded organically on a
sidewalk in Clifton. We both happened to be walking along Ludlow Avenue on
Wednesday, May 22, and had a few minutes to exchange ideas and knowledge about
facilitating space to integrate yogic principles into collective decision-making
processes. These synchronicities, or meaningful experiences, indicate to me that
what I am creating in my life is aligned with the larger collective mind we
share as humans. 





Changes are in progress for Nomad Star Travel, to align within a framework that
feels the most authentic for what I desire to create on this planet. I had been
feeling stuck within Nomad Star Travel. Travel as a concept felt limiting to me;
travel conveys a time-bound departure from the ordinary to replace drudgery with
escape. I am feeling the need to facilitate spaces that weave paradigm-shifting
adventure into the daily moments, moments shimmering with meaningful
coincidences and acausal parallelisms, because really, we are all traveling all
the time, whether here or there, for four days or 106 years, alongside fleeting
companions who are all following their own paths. This Earth could be one large
multi-bunk hostel of transient beings twinkling in and out like meteors that
burn streaks of fire across the atmosphere. 

When Kathleen told me that an artist never has to do anything they don’t want to
do, I understood her to mean that we are creators of our lives, we are the
magicians who alchemize our experience into the energetic qualities we desire.
The intention is not to selfishly only do what we want to do, but to see the
intrinsic value and purpose of whatever it is that we are doing, even if the
experience is not necessarily pleasant or immediately rewarding. Viktor Frankl,
a physician and psychologist who survived Nazi internment at Auschwitz, decided
that the truth of his resilience grew from his ability to identify with a
connection to purpose throughout his experience. This truth grew so strong
within him that he abandoned plans to escape so that he could continue to be a
peaceful and loving presence in a space of deep hatred. I read his memoir,
“Man’s Search for Meaning,” last January, and his ability to maintain faith in
the meaning of his experience inspires me to collect moments of gratitude every
day, recognizing with humility that my heart and mind have never been tested
like his. What he endured and survived reveals the depth of darkness possible in
the human heart. 





Recently, I was sharing my feelings of energetic stagnation around Nomad Star
Travel to my friend Karen, who is a healing arts practitioner in northern
Kentucky. She smiled, and suggested, “how about Nomad Star Journey?” I loved it.
A journey has edges that are more blurry than ”travel” and implies a process
rather than the destination. We are living our journey, and each outcome is
illusory, blowing like sand into the great ocean when we grasp at the wind. So,
Nomad Star Travel is evolving into Nomad Star Journey, and the services are also
shifting to focus on personal transformation, intuitive-energetic body
strengthening, and mindfulness through movement, pilgrimage, and yes, some
travel. I’m still navigating the shape of this evolution, and the pieces are
falling into place. In the meantime, to quote NorCal oracle Rob Brezny, “Ride
hard. See deep. Speak true. Live free.”

Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarMay 23, 2024Posted inUncategorizedLeave a
comment on Co-Creating Our Journey: Synchronicity, Evolution, and
Energetic Shifts


RAMBLING THE BODHISATTVA PATH


TWO NORTH AMERICAN BUDDHIST COMMUNITIES WHO WELCOME TRAVELERS ALONG THE WAY

Chagdud Gonpa Rigdzin Ling is nestled in the remote Trinity Alps of Northern
California. It’s a jewel hidden behind the Trinity River and Highway 299 deep in
the Trinity National Forest whose name means, “the abode of the Awakened State
Holders.” The site is a Buddhist educational center for retreats, ceremonies,
meditations, practice groups, and Padma Publishing. 

A path through the Eight Great Stupas.

Overnight visitors who respect the space are welcome. To respect the space means
to refrain from alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, amplified sound, loud voices, and
speaking at all while in the Tara House or Prayer Wheel House. Come on, people
are trying to meditate. If that all sounds reasonable, you have several lodging
options. Budget travelers can choose from tent camping or what is called indoor
camping. Indoor camping is sleeping in a shared space like a lodge or the yurt
with others. All travelers must bring our own bedding. 

The Padmasambhava statue, representing Enlightened Body.

Listen for the whistle of the Prayer Wheel House. The spinning of fifteen giant
wheels whisks the energy of 10 million Vajrasattva mantras into the clear
mountain air, and returns to humanity as an experience of purification. Rigdzin
Ling’s founder, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, commissioned the Prayer Wheel House
after his mother passed away when he was eleven years old. He had been on
retreat when it happened, and he declared that her assets be used to construct
the space so that “all who come there and pray with would be cleansed of
obscuring habits and poisons of the mind.” 

The Prayer Wheel House at Chagdud Bonpa Rigdzin Ling.

The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center outside of Bloomington, Indiana,
is a centrally located doorway into Eastern thought from the comfort of the
American midwest. It was originally established in 1979 to preserve Buddhist
traditions among the Tibetans and Mongolians in exile from Communist regimes,
and since has expanded its scope to foster peace, harmony, and cultural
exchange. 

The Prayer Wheel House at the Tibetan Mongolian Cultural Center.

In 2005, the Dalai Lama invited the Chinese Buddhist monk asylum-seeker Arjia
Rinpoche to relocate from Mill Valley, California, to Bloomington, Indiana, to
direct the center since the founder was approaching an older age. Arjia Rinpoche
accepted the request and he is the current Abbot. Like Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche,
Arjia Rinpoche is a “tulku,” or someone recognized from a young age to be the
reincarnated being of a previous holy person. These individuals are on the
Bodhisattva path, and the belief is that they chose to return to Earth as
ascended masters who joyfully accept the human experience of suffering to
fulfill their Dharma, their spiritual purpose.

Prayer flags printed with mantras inspire positivity, wealth, and health.

Look for the brightly colored prayer flags. Each individual flag is printed with
the wind horse symbol and mantras for positivity of mind, wealth of spirit, and
health of body. The colors also have meaning. Blue is sky, white is air, red is
fire, green is water, and yellow is earth; together, they represent balance. As
they fray and whither in the sun and the weather, the fabric unravels and the
energy of the mantras is spread over the land. The threads travel and depart
from their experience as a flag, but leave behind a profound meaning of a path
that is accepted and followed.

Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarFebruary 22, 2024February 22, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:buddhism, buddhist culture, california travel, indiana
travel, meditation, mindfulness, spiritual retreat, spiritual travel,
spirituality, yogaLeave a comment on Rambling the Bodhisattva Path


ON AN EBB AND FLOW THROUGH KRAKOW

When I arrived in Krakow from Prague, it was late May, pouring rain, and very
dark. I had layered practically every item of clothing onto my shivering self,
to no avail from the damp. I was only in the city for two nights, and although I
wanted to cocoon myself in blankets and bask in the inviting den of the hostel,
I knew I would probably regret that decision. With the intention of life on the
tip of my tongue, I bundled up in sweater tights, jeans, a knee length dress, a
long sleeve t-shirt, a hoodie, and a woven hat, and ventured out into the
radiant city, which glistened with street lights shimmering dimly in the
puddles.

My fellow passengers on the boat tour had all canceled. They must have stayed in
bed, and with rain that blew sideways across the river, I can’t blame them. In a
small boat with a dragon at the helm, I was guided on a private river tour of
the City of Krakow. A cassette tape explained the landmarks and history, but it
wasn’t in sync with the flow of the water, and at times, the speaker was
abruptly cut off and replaced with bits of a Bob Marley song, as if someone had
accidentally recorded over the original content.

The dragon at the helm guided me through Krakow along the Vistula River.

The boat experience ended, and I drifted to the Rynek Glowny, the Main Square in
the Old Town, to find a warm beverage and maybe some heat. Rynek Glowny is
renowned in the Project for Public Spaces as the best public place in Europe. It
is a centuries-old market square, and what exists today had been rebuilt in 1257
after a Mongol invasion destroyed the city. Although some of it was also
destroyed during the German Nazi occupation of WWII, most of it was spared.
Today Rynek Glowny is lively with cafes, foot traffic, bars, vendors selling
amber jewelry and sheep fur pelts, street musicians, and guides waving English,
Italian, and Spanish flags to indicate to tourists the languages they speak.

Shadows over buildings at Rynek Glowny.

I had booked a Polish Food Tour to introduce me to traditional Polish jedzenie.
With a couple of hours to spare before the rendezvous, I settled in beside an
outdoor heater at a street cafe and ordered a German coffee, a decadent cocktail
with Kirschwasser, coffee, and whipped cream. A flow of pedestrians, shoppers,
and tourists meandered through the cafes and kiosks, and although it was only
late afternoon, dusk was already settling. 

Tourists and shoppers meander the city streets.

Feeling a bit warmer, I wandered to the other side of the main square to meet my
tour group. A man named Peter held a British flag to indicate English, and for
three hours, ten of us followed him through the Old Town as he introduced us to
his country’s traditional food.

Peter at Stary Kleparz, the oldest operating market in Krakow.

From the main square, we walked a short distance to Stary Kleparz, the oldest
operating marketplace in Krakow. For seven centuries, Krakovians and visitors
have been buying sausages, cheeses, fermented cucumbers and cabbages, fresh
fish, and supplies of endless herbs and dills marinating in glass jars. Kleparz
is a derivation of the word klepac, meaning “to bargain.” Peter guided us
directly to a stall selling sausage and some type of dried cheese. The spices
warmed me a bit. 

Next, we went to a restaurant that served us a full meal. We drank tea sweetened
with plum and pears; and ate dense rye bread with lard and pickles, creamy and
salty pig belly soup, and of course some type of dumpling with potato. Imagine
the time, effort, and planning needed to prepare a meal of this variety for a
family of twelve!

Rye bread, pickles, lard, and dill sauce.

After that meal, I wanted a five mile walk, but instead we waddled three blocks
to a bakery. Peter said it was the bakery where his father and mother met before
they were married. Inside, we ate kremowka, a layered cream pie, filled with
whipped cream, buttercream, and custard cream. Our last stop was a distillery
with flavored vodka. My flavor was honey. Zachwycajacy. Entrancing.

Kremowka from the bakery where Peter’s parents had met.

With my head, heart, and stomach full of warmth and food, I wandered back to
Rynek Glowny and to a kiosk that sold Baltic amber harvested from the Gdansk
coastline. 40 million years ago, the Baltic Sea had been a forest of
resin-producing trees like pine and sequoia. The beautiful gem of amber is
formed from hardened tree sap, and it washes onto Poland’s beaches after a
storm. A necklace of amber set in leaf-petal shaped silver charms had caught my
eye. Amber is polished and made smooth from the movement of the Baltic Sea. Like
our own lives, it is molded through a gentle ebb and flow. My jeans were damp up
to my knees, and I shivered as a wind pushed against me in the dark night.

Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarFebruary 15, 2024March 7, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:Europe, europe travel, food tours, krakow, poland,
travelLeave a comment on On an Ebb and Flow through Krakow


THE ANCIENT STEPS: UNEARTHING KNOWLEDGE IN MEXICO’S TEQUILA VALLEY

We flopped onto a park bench in the Plaza de la Liberacion. We had been
wandering up and down the Avenue Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla for hours, and were
dehydrated, famished, and frustrated with each other. The map we had picked up
at the hostel refused to match in either scale or street name with the city in
front of us, no matter how many times we pulled it from each other’s hands (let
me see!) and turned it upside-down or sideways. Earlier that day, we thought we
had gotten on the correct bus only to find ourselves at the end of the line in a
village far away from the Zona Centro and the Catedral de Guadalajara, our
primary landmark. The city’s dust had aggravated the exposed skin of my ankles,
and they were red and inflamed, as if I had been wading through fiberglass. We
had wanted to find Teuchitlan Guachimontones, but one entire day of our short
three day adventure in Guadalajara was already over, and we had given it all to
being lost. 

The sun was painfully brilliant while we rested in the Plaza de la Liberacion
and waited for something to change.

Los Guachimontones are what remains of an ancient civilization located in the
hills above Teuchitlan in the Mexico’s Tequila Valley. It is the largest
pre-Columbian archaeological site in the province of Jalisco. It is a fairly new
discovery as far as the field of archaeology is concerned, and the site has
experienced heavy looting. For this reason, it was added to the 100 Most
Endangered Sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008. We only found our
way to the site through an act of cosmic alignment. I had a dream about the
place, and we both followed the call onto a plane, because at that moment, we
were supporting each other’s dreams, and the more spontaneous, the more
intriguing. 

We drifted in solemn, sullen, and exhausted silence back to the hostel and after
a quick dinner of empanadas, I went to the women’s bunk room to sleep. I had
decided that whatever experience we had together was the purpose, ancient
civilization or not. The next morning, my traveling companion was already awake
with coffee on the outdoor patio. On his face was a confident and knowing smirk,
and he explained to me that after I went to sleep, he got to talking and it
turns out that the host of the hostel is actually from Teuchitlan, and he was
pleased to hear that we were in Guadalajara to see Los Guachimontones. To add to
the fun, a group of five German tourists overheard the conversation, and having
never heard of this archeological site, of course they wanted to join us. 

The outdoor patio at the Santa Maria de Guadalupe hostel in the Centro
Barranquitas district of Guadalajara.

So the seven of us followed the guide to the bus station and we rode through a
barren and dusty desert until it was our stop at the village of Teuchitlan. We
followed our guide through the village, pausing at a beverage bar that sold
creamy drinks of fermented corn that people believe have healing properties.
Some of them included lime and were served over ice, some appeared in mugs and
were served hot. The guide encouraged us to sip the beverage, explaining it
would help with the abrupt change in elevation we were about to experience.

We stopped for ceremonial beverages made from fermented corn and lime.

The site was clearly very new. Many of the areas were still under excavation.
Archaeologists have unearthed one large circular pyramid, nestled around several
smaller pyramids. The pyramids are actually shaped like a bulls-eye, with
several distinct elements that comprise an entire structure. Researchers have
also discovered what appears to be a large, rectangular area that they speculate
was a field for playing games. A mural inside the Visitor’s Center (under
construction) depicts a shaman dressed as a bird and flying tethered to a pole,
using the area for his ceremonial magic.

A couple walks hand in hand through the newly excavated archaeological site.

I still don’t know how or why exactly I ended up in Guadalajara for a weekend to
witness an ancient civilization unearthed after centuries buried. My traveling
companion believed that the site, among other portals on Earth, vibrates healing
energetic frequencies, and perhaps that is true. Any journey into the unknown
gives healing, if we are willing to follow our intuition more closely than our
maps and turn off our phones long enough to listen. Growth, like traveling, like
healing, is a process, and the journey to the destination may look different
from what we might have expected. 

The silhouette of our unofficial guide whose moments intersected with ours long
enough to facilitate an experience that could never have been fully planned nor
could have existed on any map.
Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarFebruary 8, 2024February 6, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:Aztec, Aztec culture, Guadalajara, Los Guachimontones,
MexicoLeave a comment on The Ancient Steps: Unearthing Knowledge in Mexico’s
Tequila Valley


HIKING MEDICINE MOUNTAIN: A JOURNEY INTO TRANSFORMATION IN WYOMING’S BIGHORN
NATIONAL FOREST 

On the 28th day of July, at the full moon in Aquarius, I drove into the
mountains of the Bighorn National Forest, searching for the medicine wheel.
Located at around 10,000 feet in elevation, the medicine wheel and the Forest
Service road leading to the Medicine Mountain Trail, is obscured with snow for
most of the year. Even on this late day in the summer, heavy clouds threatened
overhead, and a chilly wind dropped the temperature down to 44 degrees. 

A summer storm gathers in the Bighorn National Forest of Wyoming.

It is significant that I searched for this sacred site on the 28th day of a
month, in respect to the power of the number 28. The medicine wheel has 28
spokes, as does the lunar cycle. According to Toltec shaman Don Jose Ruiz in his
book The Medicine Bag: Shamanic Rituals & Ceremonies for Personal
Transformation, the medicine wheel is and “has always been an integral part of
spiritual life. It contains the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and
west … In this way, the medicine wheel is a physical object represented in
symbolic artwork, and the image of the wheel is built into landmarks at sacred
locations, which are often meeting places for communal ceremonies and rites.” In
Western thought, the 28th day of July marks the successive rise of the star
Rigel first, and then Sirius 28 days later. Furthermore, the full moon in
Aquarius represents a connection to the future, non-attachment, and visionary
ideas. I was ready to connect to a spirit map in search of my inner cardinal
directions, my own north.

With my belongings loaded into my fuel-efficient Ford Fiesta, I had left my days
of basking in the Nor Cal sun on the banks of the free-flowing mountain rivers
behind me, and my inner-eyes sought only for how a new vision and future could
unfold. I searched for the medicine wheel to walk its spokes and in those
movements, to align my personal energetic life power with the intentions and
inspirations that would blaze my path forward from here.

Although I had written directions to the trail on a page of my journal and had
lodged the torn sheet in the console of my car between several CDs and my bottle
of water, the trail head proved difficult to find. I continued to gain elevation
while my tiny car protested the steady climb. I almost turned around, concerned
that perhaps I had passed it, but felt a pull to keep going. Intuitively, I knew
I was on the correct road and that what I searched for was still up ahead if I
kept driving.

Nearly 50 miles from the turn onto Wyoming’s Highway 14A, I finally found the
trail head. From this point, it was a 1.5 mile hike to the wheel. A Forest
Service ranger gave a quick warning to bundle into a sweater, to stay on the
trail that protects the fragile tundra vegetation from being trampled, and to
respect the cultural artifacts and sacred objects that surround the wheel. The
hike up the mountain took about half an hour. I shared the trail with very few
people, and it was pretty much only myself along with a handful of indigenous
people who protect the wheel as their heritage.

“Eventually one gets to the Medicine Wheel to fulfill one’s life.” Old Mouse,
Arikara

At the base of the wheel, a stone depicts a quotation from Old Mouse, a member
of the Arikara people, stating that, “eventually one gets to the medicine wheel
to fulfill one’s life.” Here I was, at the medicine wheel, pursuing the question
of where my life would go from here; the answer, I knew, was waiting quietly for
me to find it. It is in the process of the movement of the body, and in the
rhythm of the breath, that those inner secrets are set ajar and unearthed from
their hidden places to reveal themselves.

As I hiked back to my car, I passed another woman hiking alone. I had seen her
earlier. With her bright red ankle length skirt and a scarf over her head, she
stood out against the others of us walking in our jeans and sweaters. She also
carried a hand woven basket, and at closer glance, I noticed that inside was a
jar of water and a loaf of bread wrapped in cloth. She stopped me on the path
and asked that I take her picture. Assertively, she directed me through the
location, frame, angle, lighting, and even the theme. “Little person, big
world,” she said with a Russian accent. Through a quick dialogue, I learned that
she lived in Ranchester, Wyoming, but was from Russia. Ranchester is a village
between the remote boundary of the Bighorn National Forest and Sheridan,
Wyoming. I wondered why she had come from a remote Russian village to a remote
American village? Perhaps, like myself, she had hiked up Medicine Mountain to
find herself at the center of four cardinal directions.

The trail was a journey of solitude. As the dark clouds threatened lightning, I
hurried back to my car and met a Russian woman who carried water in a glass jar
and fresh bread wrapped in a cloth.







Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarFebruary 4, 2024January 31, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:american west, Bighorn National Forest, eco-travel, hiking,
Medicine Mountain, wyoming hikesLeave a comment on Hiking Medicine Mountain: A
Journey into Transformation in Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest 


WILDERNESS AWAITS: THREE ENTICING FOREST LANDS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

At some point in my life, I decided that the two most important American
institutions are the library system and the protected wilderness areas; access
to knowledge and nature are necessary democratic concepts. The United States, or
Turtle Island as the landmass is named among First Nation people and
non-indigenous activists, currently has 63 National Parks and 154 National
Forests. The difference between Parks and Forests is that Forests are protected
for mixed use like timber, grazing, fishing, and recreation; while Parks are
preserved in their natural state of ecological existence. The Western states
like California, Alaska, Oregon, and Idaho are well-known for their expansive
playgrounds of mountains and trees, and rightfully so because those Humboldt
Redwoods are my favorite 300-foot tall beings I’ve met on the planet. But the
eastern ecosystems deserve a shout out too, and here are three (in no particular
order) totally worth exploring.

Shawnee National Forest: Stunning Vistas in Sasquatch’s Summer Home

Sunset vista at Garden of the Gods overlooking Shawnee National Forest
wilderness.

This rural and rugged wilderness oasis is located in southern Illinois, nestled
between the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. It’s 451 square miles of
oak-hickory forest, flourishing wetlands, steep canyons, stunning vistas, and
Sasquatch sightings. Two of the most impressive features are the Garden of the
Gods Wilderness Area, and the 160 mile long River to River Trail which forms the
southern section of the American Discovery Trail. The Shawnee National Forest
has quickly topped my list of checkpoints on any camping road trip. Off grid and
primitive, Pharoah Campground is a short walk to the Observation Trail through
the Garden of the Gods, and Pounds Hollow offers a pristine freshwater lake for
a refreshing swim and trail access to Window Rock. Definitely make a stop at the
Garden of the Gods Outpost for firewood, a selfie with Sassy Sasquatch, and
supplies; you won’t find other stores nearby.

Sassy Sasquatch, Bigfoot’s social sister, who hangs out in front of the Garden
of the Gods Outpost near Herod, Illinois.

Ocala National Forest: Mineral Springs and Manatees

Early morning at Juniper Springs in the Ocala National Forest.

The Ocala National Forest in central Florida protects the world’s largest Sand
Pine forest. As if that weren’t cool enough, the area also has over 600 lakes,
rivers, and springs cascading across the sandy plane, and it is in these waters
that Florida’s remaining 6300 manatees migrate for the winter. Let me tell you
about these springs: crystal clear, shimmering with eel grass, and forever
hovering between 72 and 74 degrees. These springs emerge from underground
limestone caves, and the water is soothingly cool and fresh. Fresh water
swimming, especially in cool spring water, has many documented physical and
mental health benefits like stimulating blood circulation, releasing endorphins,
and boosting the immune system. One of the springs and my personal favorite is
Salt Springs. It pools from deep enough underground that the water is slightly
saline with minerals of sodium, potassium, and magnesium, and has been known to
reduce inflammation and pain in the body. The springs are all developed so
you’ll find the human infrastructure we all enjoy, like picnic areas,
facilities, accessible walking trails, and parking lots.

Salt Springs in the Ocala National Forest.

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest: Waterfalls and Rhododendrons

Rhododendrons along Frogtown Creek in the Desoto Falls Recreation Area of the
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.

Although this merger of two forests (the Chattahoochee and the Oconee) are
located in Georgia, don’t make the same mistake I did and assume it will be
warm. It was here in these Blue Ridge Mountains and among the dense forest of
evergreens that I camped through pouring rain that evolved into heavy hail as
twilight descended into darkness. After digging a shallow moat around my tent to
channel the water away from pooling at the tent’s base, I simply settled in for
a chilly night. At about 2000 feet in elevation, it is at a high enough altitude
to get cold even in the late spring of May. However, the hardship was rewarded
in the morning hours with the scent of rich soil and trails that follow steep
canyons, rhododendron bushes, and creeks that cascade toward numerous
waterfalls. Desoto Falls, Dukes Creek Falls, Helton Creek Falls, and Raven
Cliffs Falls are all worth a visit.

It was a long, cold night in the hail, but an early morning hike to upper Desoto
Falls was worth the tiredness.
Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarJanuary 30, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:camping, eastern woodlands, eco-travel, freshwater springs,
hiking, national-parks, nature, rock formations, sasquatch, travel,
waterfallsLeave a comment on Wilderness Awaits: Three Enticing Forest Lands East
of the Mississippi River


PAINTED LADIES AND DISAPPEARING HORSES


A BRIEF HISTORY OF NATIVE-SETTLER INTERACTIONS IN VERY EARLY CINCINNATI

While exploring one of Cincinnati’s most charming neighborhoods of Columbia
Tusculum on a sunny summer day, I was reminded that the tale of history on
colonized land is woven into the language of the colonizer. That’s why
Grandmother’s Foot in Bogota, Colombia, is now called Montserrat, and why El
Panecollo in Quito, Ecuador, is no longer a temple to the sun. In the swift
current of time and war, the multitude of perspectives erodes like sediment,
washed into a lost ocean.

Columbia Tusculum is the oldest neighborhood in the City of Cincinnati, and the
second oldest white settlement in the Northwest Territory. The Northwest
Territory was founded in 1787, and included what would become the states of
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. Its formal
name was the Territory Northwest of the Ohio River. 

Map of the Northwest Territory

The Disappearing Horses

White people settled what is now Columbia Tusculum in the late 1700s. A guy
named Benjamin Stites from Pennsylvania was on a hunting expedition in Kentucky
when a group of Native People made off with his horses. Stites followed them but
they were gone. However, he decided that the area would be prime real estate for
his settlement. He returned to his family in Pennsylvania, and immediately
negotiated an agreement with a New Jersey Congressmen named John Cleves Simms.
Simms purchased a large piece of land in the newly established Northwest
Territory, and sold Stites a 20,000 acre parcel at less than a dollar an acre,
near the confluence of the Ohio River and Little Miami River.

Stites gathered a settlement party of 26 people from New Jersey and journeyed
west. They anticipated hostility and conflict with Native People, but they
encountered none. Although they had heard rumors of 500 Native People waiting
for them, everyone arrived safely on the morning of November 18, 1788.

The Stites House today in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Columbia Tusculum.

No One Likes a Sour Vibe

Relations with the Native People were pleasant enough in the very early days of
the settlement but they soon turned sour. History records murder and kidnapping
of the white settlers, earning the area the dire nickname “Slaughterhouse.” A
few years later in 1794, the US army staged the Battle of Fallen Timbers along
the Maumee River in Northwest Ohio. This would be the final battle in the
Northwest Indian War between the Native People affiliated with the Western
Confederacy and the United States. The leaders of the Western Confederacy
included Chief Little Turtle of the Miami, Chief Blue Jacket of the Shawnee,
Chief Buckongahelas of the Lenape, Chief Egushawa of the Ottawas, and others
that history has rendered invisible. At least one tribe, the Chickasaws, fought
alongside the US as allies. Although the battle itself was only about an hour,
its consequences resulted in the forced displacement of the Native People from
what is now the State of Ohio.

Artistic depiction of the Battle of Fallen Timbers from The Chickasaw Nation’s
Chickasaw TV Video Network, 2024.

Settling into the 19th Century

After the victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the white settlers in
Columbia Tusculum felt safe to construct their homes with less safety measures.
However, as they began to expand their settlement, they realized they were
building on a flood plain of the Ohio River. They relocated to the foot of
Tusculum Hill in 1815, and most of that existing neighborhood is still around.
The oldest home that is still occupied nearly 225 years later is at 3644 Eastern
Avenue and was built in 1805. It has evolved over the years, from a modest log
cabin to its current style of Gothic Revival. Today, many of the houses in the
neighborhood of Columbia Tusculum are on the National Registry of Historic
Places, including the rows of “Painted Ladies” that line Tusculum Avenue. 

“Painted Ladies” along Tusculum Avenue.

Although the institutions and dominant culture have not fully acknowledged the
genocide of the Native People and their forced displacement, the Ohio River
Valley and the State of Ohio have made attempts in more modern times to
preserve, protect, and share the indigenous history that remains. Within driving
distance of the City of Cincinnati are multiple mounds such as Fort Ancient,
Indian Mound Reserve, and the well-known Serpent Mound. We can’t change history,
but we can raise our awareness, shift our perspective, and compassionately
recognize that the land is native land and treat it with love. Participate in
landback movements through consciousness and donation. Learn about land
acknowledgements and introduce the practice into your spaces and circles.
Support indigenous travel and tourism when possible. No more sour vibes.

Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarJanuary 22, 2024January 29, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:cincinnati history, History, indigenous people's history,
native-american, native-americans, ohio travel, travelLeave a comment on Painted
Ladies and Disappearing Horses


GAZING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD IN PUERTO IGUAZU, ARGENTINA

A blast of chilly air massaged my face, damp with perspiration, as I pushed open
the door to a four bed bunk room at the hostel. I was in Puerto Iguazu,
Argentina, a small border town on the confluence of the Parana and Iguazu
rivers. The late February jungle air hung dense, and I had practically swum
through the unpaved streets of the town center. It had been a twenty hour ride
on a crowded bus from Buenos Aires, and I was in dirty clothes, the soles of my
feet blackened from grime, my stomach aching with hunger. My traveling companion
was equally ragged in torn cargo shorts and a face many months unshaven; he had
begun to knot the longest tips of his beard into a trio of braids, secured with
beads at the ends.  Puerto Iguazu was the final remote destination on our
journey, and from this point we would return overland to Bogota, 4213 miles to
the north. 

The comforts at the hostel were a welcomed sight after a 20 hour bus ride from
Buenos Aires.

After a brief nap, we used our Steripen to sanitize water, and our hunger then
became our primary need. We wandered the plaza, browsing the usual tourist shops
selling braided bracelets, freezer magnets, and snow globes with
Caucasian-featured figurines holding surfboards. As the gateway town to Iguazu
Falls National Park, Puerto Iguazu has developed most of its economic
infrastructure around tourism.

After a modest meal of steak and fried yucca root, I followed a trail away from
the street cafes and passed modern hotels with valet parking and airport
shuttles, to the confluence where the muddy water of the two rivers swirled into
ripples and eddies. I was in the Triple Frontier. From this point, I saw three
nations: Argentina where I stood, Paraguay across the water on the left bank,
and Brazil to the right. VISA requirements prevented me from crossing the
borders; the invisible line had been drawn. I had ventured to the farthest edge
of my journey.

We were there to see Iguazu Falls, an UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the
Seven Wonders of the Natural World. “Iguazu” means “many waters” in the local
indigenous language of Tupi-Guarani. True to its name, Iguazu Falls is a
collection of 275 individual falls that roll through the heart of the Paranaense
Rainforest, making it the largest waterfall system on Earth. The most monumental
falls is the Devil’s Throat Falls, where the water tumbles deafeningly into a
canyon 80 meters deep. 

Iguaze Falls was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984, and is one of the
Seven Wonders of the Natural World. Iguazu means “many waters” in the local
indigenous language of Tupi-Guarani.

Waterfalls produce an abundance of what are called “negative ions.” Negative
ions are healthy for our bodies, contrary to what it might seem with the use of
the word “negative.” Ions have an electrical charge that is either positive or
negative. Positively charged ions have lost one or more electrons, while
negatively charged ions are oxygen atoms with a large number of negatively
charged electrons. These two types of ions are fundamentally different in their
sub-atomic structure. Negatively charged ions can be found in natural areas,
such as on beaches, near waterfalls, and in the forest after a lightning storm.
They increase a sense of calm and well-being. 

Waterfalls are also spiritually symbolic. They represent the process of release,
of letting go; they are the continuous flow of life and energy reminding us that
no moment in time is the same as the one before it. Each breath, each heartbeat,
each blink is a space of awakening into a new experience that invites vitality,
awareness, and strength. 

At the Devil’s Throat, the water drops into a canyon 80 meters deep.

Once in the park, we followed a narrow boardwalk over several of the smaller
falls toward the Devil’s Throat. A dim roar rumbled amidst the dense jungle, and
the walkway quivered slightly beneath our feet. We carved a path to the fence
separating the crowd from the rush of water that churned relentlessly toward its
inevitable fall into vapor. After four months wandering through South America,
it was easy to imagine we had reached a final nexus point with a future as
unimaginable and unseen as whatever was beneath the mist that poured toward the
sky from the depth of the canyon. The life we had left in Sacramento was
upstream, my work in humanitarian aid and disaster response, his work in death
care services, and our shared world of weekend camping trips to the hot springs
and Redwood forest; whatever we would create from this point was as fresh and
unknowable as the mouth of the Parana River that emptied downstream into the
Atlantic Ocean, on the other side of this watery abyss. We shared a snack of
roasted cashews and dried fruit, observing a space of silence to hear messages
from the falls, and gazed at the edge of the world.

Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarJanuary 14, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:Argentina, brazil, Iguazu Falls, nature-based mindfulness,
seven wonders of the natural world, South America, travelLeave a comment on
Gazing at the Edge of the World in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina


WINTER WITH OUR WINGED FRIENDS

A new subdivision is being constructed across the street from where I am
currently living. Two years ago, this had been a woodland meadow of grass and
wildflowers. Often on my walks, I had noticed Cooper’s Hawks circling and
hunting overhead. Construction began last spring, transforming the prairie into
a field of mud as the trees and vegetation were stripped and leveled. The summer
brought a din of construction trucks that pushed clouds of dust into the air,
transforming the natural grassland habitat into a cul-de-sac-sans-sidewalk of
maybe three single family homes. For a few weeks, the hawks circled in larger
numbers as their competition for food increased, and then I no longer saw them.
They had moved on. 

Cooper’s Hawks

Cooper’s Hawks are one of several year-round birds who essentially “shelter in
place” through winter months in the Ohio River Valley. Other species are the
robin, goldfinch, barred owl, carolina wren, the bluebird, the cardinal, and the
downy woodpecker. With its moderately temperature winter climate, the area also
hosts birds from more northern regions like the tree sparrow, bald eagle, great
horned owl, winter wren, and the brown creeper. Scientists estimate that the
bioregion in winter is home to at least 150 species of birds. 

These year-round winged friends are pretty important for our ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services refers to all the benefits that nature provides, like how the
trees produce oxygen and sequester carbon; how the marshlands filter water; and
how some plants convert sunlight into energy for food, and how others convert
sunlight into energy for medicine. It’s a term that the capitalists developed to
quantify the value of nature in a dollar-driven language, and I see use for the
term because it does frame our human activity within a language that indicates a
relationship with nature and not outside of it. It places us within the web of
life. 

Our winged friends contribute to this web of life through many roles. They are
predators, pollinators, scavengers, and engineers. They help plants reproduce
and diversity, they disperse seeds and restore ecosystems, and they mitigate
disease by clearing carcasses. If they disappeared from the planet or if their
number were to significantly decrease, we would first notice a distinct decline
in global reforestation and plant regeneration rates. 

One way to create a good relationship with these beings is to help them out in
the winter with some additional seeds. Birds have a lot to contend with for
survival, between habitat loss, the avian flu, and frigid temperatures.
According to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, birds with access to seeds during
winter have an increased chance at staying alive through extreme cold spells,
and improved reproduction in the spring.

Pine cones, peanut butter, and bird seed with a braided hemp rope to hang the
completed feeder from a tree branch.

 Pine cone bird feeders are an easy and accessible option that uses all natural
materials to create a food source. The first step is to collect pine cones, then
all you need is bird seed and peanut butter. Add a decorative weave to secure
the pine cones to a branch, and you’ve got helpful eco-art. Some seeds are more
preferred over others. Look for mixes with black-oil sunflower seeds, cracked
corn, and peanuts. Don’t feed any birds bread or popcorn. 

Energetic enhancement for the completed feeders with a mantra and amethyst
stone.

Add a mantra to enhance their energy vibe. I use Lokah Samastah Sukhino
Bhavantu, which translates from Sanskrit to English as “May all beings
everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own
life contribute in some way to that happiness and that freedom for all.” Small
actions can produce deep results. 

The completed bird feeder eco-art. Pine cones, peanut butter, bird seed hanging
on a braid of woven hemp.
Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarJanuary 9, 2024January 9, 2024Posted
inUncategorizedTags:birding, birds, nature, ohio, photography, wildlife, winter
wellnessLeave a comment on Winter with Our Winged Friends


PLAN YOUR 2024 ECO CONNECTION NOW

We have several exciting nature-based mindfulness eco-tours and events scheduled
for 2024, including two multi-day, chartered camping excursions to explore the
ecological gems of lowland river valleys, hardwood deciduous forests, rolling
foothills, and the largest cave systems on Earth. Both tours will also visit
important cultural sites such as a former Utopian society, ancient indigenous
mounds, and a Mongolian Buddhist community. Booking opens on October 28, 2023.
Both multi-day eco-tours will begin and end in the trending Northern Kentucky
city of Covington.

Are you new to eco-travel and want to explore nature-based mindfulness before
committing to a week of camping and adventure? The day excursions or the full
moon meditation walks may be a better fit. Both chartered day excursions will
depart from a Cincinnati, Ohio, location. More details about the day trips and
the full moon walks will be available later in October 2023, with booking open
on October 28, 2023.

All travel opportunities through Nomad Star Travel LLC include nature-based
mindfulness practices to heighten the senses and deepen the connection with the
other living being with whom we share the planet. We are part of the flow of the
water, the movement of the air, the transformation of the fire, and the
stillness of the earth, and many Western mental and physical health
practitioners are finally beginning validate the importance of maintaining a
connection to nature to stay balanced and free from disease. On our excursions,
we will learn meditative and intuitive practices to cultivate a sense of peace
and to deepen our appreciation for the elements of nature that support our most
fundamental requirements for life.

Posted byFollowing the Nomad StarSeptember 25, 2023Posted inUncategorizedLeave a
comment on Plan Your 2024 Eco Connection Now


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