We just completed our Summer Noble Silence Meditation Retreat (NSMR), leaving RoZie and I dog-tired, but a country-mile from feeling depleted. “I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear,” per legendary coach of the Pack Vince Lombardi, “is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious." It always feels like it rained in our hearts after running a great retreat, as a bright, rainbow afterglow colors our personal practice. The summer of self-love and healing continues, touched upon in previous posts, and brought full-circle on our new Wetlands Outdoor Practice Platform during the Solstice Men’s gathering pictured above.
Earlier in July, the mighty Anthony Michael Blowers, our local mycologist and knowledgable naturalist, made his triumphant return, appearing out of the Southwest Michigan woodlands to lead us on a private nature walk and wild forage. We didn’t get far beyond the vibrant green moss fields of our front lawn before Tony’s Northern Harrier hawk’s eye spotted a number of what he proclaimed to be incredible finds, including Crown-Tip Coral, Fairy Goblets, and the Purple Coral Fungus (Clavaria Zollingeri) also pictured above. According to an internet source, “this beautiful, violet coral-like fungus is found only very occasionally” (love that), sending Anthony home to get his good camera. Texting notes on my phone, “Get his good” auto-corrected to “God is good”, which I suppose is true, in the light of the beauty of life’s great, eternal, creative expression, of which both we and Purple Coral are a part. This harkens to our not-so diabolical plan to know every single plant, tree and piece of flora on our land, a life-long endeavor, but one we’ll be forwarding on Anthony’s Nature Walk and Wild, Fall Foraging Workshop on Saturday, September 14th, with registration up shortly.
In September, we’ll also be offering our first Dark Sky Event, a celebration of the Lunar Eclipse that maximizes in the Americas on September 17th 10:44:18 pm Kalamazoo, Michigan time. While we can’t control whether (weather?) the skies will be clear that evening, hopefully our minds will be, with an outdoor yoga class, a guided meditation surrounded by wetlands and stars, and a telescoped take on the eclipse, one in which a dark shadow partially covers the moon. But before fantasizing and perhaps even fretting over an imagined future, let’s return to this present moment, the eternal, always illuminated now, outside space and time, and enjoy July 31st, with the virid back-nine of Summer ‘24 stretched out before us. We’re embracing August and Everything After with a special Signature Meditation + Mindfulness 101 class Saturday, August 10th, during South Haven’s Blueberry Festival, opportunities still open for private sessions and personal visits, and closing out the rocky, retrograded month with our Way of The Contrary Ceremonial Purification Weekend Saturday, August 31st — Sunday, September 1st, more late summer heat ironically providing some sweet, soulful relief.
We’ll wake that Sunday to a September morn, after traveling halfway 'round the world to find ourselves again, we’ll look how far we've come, so far from where we used to be, but not so far that we've forgotten how it was before… moving into our favorite season of Fall, with a September Class, Anthony’s Workshop, September Ceremony, and our early Fall Yoga + Meditation Practice Weekend from Friday, September 27th to Sunday, September 29th. All attending yogis will be called to elevate their practice by doing it in its original intent: to keep one’s body supple and energized for lengthy periods of sitting meditation. Speaking of, our Fall NSMR happens mid-October, and watch for a special 10-year anniversary event to mark our first night spent at 494 63rd Street, South Haven, Michigan, USA, on October, 31st, 2014 (Boo!) Until then, we’ll close with the kind words of John from Ann Arbor, one of the men seated above in our healing circle, with the hope that you, too, come out and join us soon.
Testimonial: 5 Gold Stars for Higher Haven Retreat Center: “I highly recommend The Higher Haven to any one or any group seeking a stunningly beautiful, deeply relaxing getaway. Paul Sarkes Tootalian is an amazing healer who's created a magical space, all within a beautiful, nature-filled landscape, where even the accommodations were simple yet perfect. This retreat center is 'The Real Deal,' as we worked with Paul, who lead our clan of thirteen men in an indigenous, spiritual purification Ceremony, teaching us traditional songs, sacred gestures and language; it was quite the experience, and one that I'm very much looking forward to enjoying again this Fall!" ~ with a sincere Pilamaye to The Shepherding Bison.