Video

Happy For Reason: Tunak Tunak Tun

Words fail to express what exactly this video is.  I can only summarize it as yet another one of the 10,000 expression of being happy for absolutely no reason. And I  might add that this video fills me with giddiness at how creativity and joy pervade all cultures. I'd like to hang out with this guy!

Best to turn up the volume and let it flow.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bAN7Ts0xBo]

(Thanks, Nar!)

Oy, I'm Such a Geek

My original iPhone died.  Some condensation got into it and the cost of fixing it equals the cost of a new one.  Since I have gotten so dependent on this device, I didn't have much choice but to upgrade.  So I've got the new iPhone 3Gs which has an upgraded lens for the camera and can now shoot videos. Here's my first video (!), shot in my car in the parking lot of the Apple Store in South Portland, ME.  I ran this through a filter, giving it an 'old movie' look.  Pretty amazing technology ...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTKk-3VDo1k]

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Home from Retreat

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There's nothing like stepping away from email, vmail, telephone, tv, movies, newspapers, magazines, radio and web.  Add to that days upon days of transformational practices and some very interesting material can arise. These two retreats were simply exquisite.  We laughed, we cried, we despaired and inspired each other.

I managed to get out of the building twice to hike and shoot some photos.  One of my favorite spots on the Kripalu property is a creek deep in the woods.  I used to hike it a lot and now it has no formal path leading to it.  It's almost impossible not to feel uplifted there.

In late afternoon light I walked up the center of the creek in my sandals shooting what caught my attention and trying to slow the camera down enough to catch the movement of the water.  Later in the week I got back in mid-day for some rare direct sunlight.

If you can do full screen, that would be best. The soundtrack is by Fredrick Karlsson, an Icelandic artist. I highly recommend his work.

A meditation on water, nature and light.  A bit over three minutes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFWcGytuKko]

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I Believe

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A wonderful, lively and articulate interview with Hyan Gak Sunim, passed on to me from my friend Francesca Vanegas, director of the Florida Yoga Institute.  This interview is with Hyan Gak Sunim, her first meditation teacher in RI at the Providence Zen Center  back in 1990. He now lives in Seoul, Korea and has become well known in the international community of this Kwan Um School of Zen. As Francesca invited me, have a cup of tea and enjoy this 26 minute interview!  The "I Believe" series with Dennis Wholey, part of PBS, is quite ambitious.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3661730521946953220

Enough is Enough

A few years ago I directed a conference at Kripalu Center called "Change Yourself, Change the World," which featured Arun Gandhi, Julia Butterfly Hill and Wayne Muller.  Wayne, who is the Founder of Bread for the Journey, a micro-lending non-profit, is also author of Sabbath: Restoring the Rythmn of Rest, on the topic of taking time for self care.  Here's a clip from him speaking on "Enough is Enough." [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldgJjrgtrDg]

Thanks, Judi.

Get Your Tickets Now

Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 30th for the Dalai Lama's visit to DC and presentation on October 10th.  You can go here for more information.  There is always great energy at these events. A short clip from the Dalai Lama on meditation:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P9F29jT7QQ]

Happy for No Reason: Extreme Sheep

Being away on retreat for a week resulted in some great video references.  I grew up on a sheep farm and actively tended our herd from about the age of six, hauling water, feed, culling lambs, helping out with shearing.  While we had a collie who sometimes surprised us with his herding instincts, in England I got a hit of the mastery of sheepmen with their dogs and you really see it here on display.  It might strike you as a bit rough on the sheep, but from what I know of people who work so closely with animals, this is more of a display of creativity than any harm to the sheep. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3qvJgY9XQI]

Thank you, Mark.

The World is One Family: World Wide Data Flow

While this presentation from the TED talks is ostensibly about new ways to use and communicate data, I was entranced by the images of the world as a whole and how our species has shifted, changed and possibly evolved.  This is a twenty minute clip, but you might find it expanding and even enthralling. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w]

Thanks, Andy!

Happy for No Reason: I Dreamed a Dream

This viral video has been touching hearts around the world.  Quite wonderful.  As a friend who passed it on to me said:

It makes me cry every time I see it. There is some sort of deeply moving lesson there about judging mind...
Update:  I can't seem to get the embedded video to work.  You might try the link here.
Enjoy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY]
Hat tip to Ellen.