On Labyrinths, The Nebraska Heartland and Private Lesson Healings

See the sun rise over her skin… Dawn changes Everything… In this heartland Soil… Heaven knows this is a Heartland…”

Cheryl makes her way into the heart of the labyrinth of Yanney Heritage Park, in Kearney, south central Nebraska. Per Greek Mythology, the labyrinth was an elaborate, confusing maze. In the modern world, labyrinths have come to symbolize ancient structures related to wholeness. Combining the imagery of the circle and spiral into a meandering but purposeful path, the labyrinth used as a meditation or prayer tool represents a journey to our own center, out into the world, and back again. Because Cheryl and her husband Mark did just that, on a recent visit to Southwest Michigan, I’ll let her finish the story. In the meantime, take a look at our Retreats/Calendar Page for upcoming Fall offerings, consider scheduling your own Private Lesson or individual Higher Haven Visit, and enjoy a healthy, happy close to a clunky summer, transitions always made smoother by spiritual practice.

“Hello my name is Cheryl. About a month ago my husband and I had a private session with Paul. I was (and am) impressed with the information he shared with us. I have some physical limitations due to cancer treatments that make the typical poses during meditation difficult for me. Not only did Paul go out of his way to make me feel comfortable facing these personal but normal challenges to developing a practice, he showed me a walking meditation technique that I have found very effective and helpful. I would recommend working with Paul to further your own meditation practice and quest for healing.”

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On Nature, Death and The Spirit of All Things

“… Whispers from the long-departed, songs of stillness carved in silence, locked in time like wasps in Amber…”

Say Hola to Sphecius Speciousus, the Cicada Hawk or Cicada Killer, a large, solitary, digger wasp, aptly named as Cicadas bugs are their prey. Sometimes referred to as a Sand Hornet, this female Hawk paralyzed the cicada below her, held it upside down and tried taking back off toward her burrow. With the bug being twice the wasp’s weight, the flight proves difficult, as we witnessed this weekend, spending extended time outdoors under an impeccably blue August skyline. Solitary wasps behave differently than social wasps such as hornets, yellow jackets, and paper wasps, Cicada Killer females using their sting to paralyze their prey rather than defend their nests. Despite their size and ominous appearance, unlike most social wasps and bees, they don’t attempt to sting unless handled roughly. Wasps even lug their prey up into the nearest tree, gaining altitude for the flight to the burrow, Cicada Killers exerting a measure of natural control on bug populations and enjoying symbiotic relations with the deciduous trees that provide them a launch pad and head start.

As you have heard me say before and will hear me say again, just experiencing our natural, simplified environment offers said wondrous, engaging experiences with nature. Although it may seem a bit odd, maybe not so much in today’s world(!), I’m also fond of highlighting how we build up resources in the face of death here, knowing that Death, which is so a part of nature, isn’t an issue one solves but rather resolves. The visiting Cicada Killer during our Ceremonial overnight helped the cause, as did the words of Oglala Lakota Sioux sage Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa) below. Check out our full Fall offerings on our Retreats/Calendar page, with our next Ceremonial Overnight the weekend of September 12-13th & more info. & registration up soon on our Fall Foraging Workshop and Wild Dinner Saturday Sept. 19th.

“The rite of the Onikure (sweat lodge) utilizes all the powers of the Universe: earth and the things which grow from the earth, water, fire and air. The water represents the Thunder-beings, who come fearfully but bring goodness, for the stream which comes from the rocks, within which is the fire, is frightening, but it purifies us so we may live as Wakan-Tanka wills, and he may even send to us a vision if we are pure. When we use the water in the sweat lodge we should think of Wakan-Tanka, who is flowing and giving His power and life to everything; we should even be as water which is lower than all things, yet stronger even than the rocks.

The sweat lodge is made from sixteen young willows and these, too, have a lesson to teach us, for in the Fall their leaves die and return to the earth, but in the Spring they come to life again. So, too, men and women die but live again in the real world of Wakan-Tanka, where there is nothing but the Spirit of All Things, and this true life we may know here on earth, if we purify our bodies and minds, thus coming closer to Wakan-Tanka, who is all purity.”

Full Moon Groove

“… and the Grand Facade, so soon will burn… without a Noise, without my Pride, I reach out from The Inside.. “

Saturday night we were honored to have the High Priestess of Groove in the house, Heather Winia, Groove Master Educator, Holistic Health Coach, and Fitness/Wellness Specialist, leading a super safe, outdoor movement class at The Higher Haven. You’ll recognize Heather if you’ve scratched about a bit on our website, as her unmatched wellness and leadership skills have been well appreciated since our founding several summers back. I love her guidance and classes, as they are always innovative, challenging, and seem as spontaneous as they are well-planned.

In her own words, Heather inspires people “to LIVE, I mean really feel ALIVE, through positive self-care and GROOVEment in their bodies.” I’m happy we are members of one another’s tribe, as Groove is a simple yet revolutionary group dance experience that provides a safe place for INDIVIDUAL AUTHENTICITY (held in high esteem by The Higher Haven) all while building community around functional fitness. We started Saturday night with a guided meditation, and Heather took us from stillness right into a holistically healthy, mindful movement class where every Body can Dance. And did.

We’d had hoped to throw down under the August full moon light, the moon the Anishnaabe People of The Great Lakes call Minoomini Gilzis - the Grain (Wild Rice) Moon. The full moon on the rise out over our front lawn, serving as a grassy Groovy dance floor, is always quite the luminous sight. But cloud cover kept the shining symbol of feminine energy hidden from the eye but not the heart, as our Groove went on unhindered. And the good news is the substantial rainfall, which went on all night long, didn’t start until 10 minutes after the last dance and collective exit, to the delight of every garden in Michigan.

I began this post thinking about the power of dance, the clown in me recalling that Kevin Bacon scene from Flashdance, do you know that one (?), where he quotes Ecclesiastes? It’s funny. “Ecclesiastes assures us... that there is a time for every purpose under Heaven. A time to laugh... and a time to weep. A time to mourn... and there is a time to dance… see, this is our time to dance… It is Our Way of Celebrating Life. It's the way it was in the beginning. It's the way it's always been. It's the way it should be now.” Lol The student in me recalled another great dance story, told by Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth Series. I’ll close with that below, and know that Heather will soon return for another Fall or even Winter Full Moon Groove, with our Full Fall schedule up this week and ever evolving.

Western Sociologist:
“You know, I have now been to a number of these Shinto shrines and I have
seen quite a few rites, and I have read about it, thought about it; but you
know, I don’t get the ideology. I don’t get your theology.”

Shinto Priest:
(polite, as though respecting the foreign scholar’s profound question;
pausing a while as though in thought; looking at his friend)

“We do not have Ideology. We do not have Theology. We Dance.”