back to school: sanskrit, krishna & buddha

i am glad to be back to being a student, rather than a teacher. i can drink in knowledge rather than helping others get their share.

a little backing up: i visited st john's in annapolis when i was in DC

here i am on campus: i had never been to annapolis before. i regret i did not make more time for this quaint town, and especially i regret not allotting enough time to experience st john's as deeply as it deserves...



here i am with the astrolabe. why am i still dressed as uncle$am? this is thanksgiving day, for goodness' sake!





this is my friend louise and i in front of the Great Hall.

life in santa fe

here is where we live. this classic adobe structure was built in the 1950s by the parents of our landlady who lives next door in the other half of the house.



this is our back yard.

it was snowing quite a bit when we arrived, but rather little since then. there is still quite a bit of snow in shady spots, but the sun has melted it mostly away.

i am still spending most of my time trying to remember sanskrit grammar. and there are still a lot of little jobs dealing with pots & pans, bicycle tires, and of course SHOPPING.... there are two health food stores nearby: wholefoods and a local co-op, which we joined. the town is still in post christmas recovery mode relative to the arts, so we haven't been to any concerts etc.

soon the college will re-start so we can go to dance lessons and lectures etc up the hill.

realistically as soon as classes start, i will be studying FULL-TIME so i will not desire entertainment. i have my books and my poetry to protect me...

happy new year!

we went to a ceremony of green tara in which ten tibetan monks finished and blessed a sand-painting mandala, and then they destroyed it!

may there be peace and compassion and love throughout all creation!

om tare tuttare ture soha!

on the fourth day of christmas....

my phone still does not work; but at least the internet does.
there are no partridges to be seen, let alone pear trees.
the calling birds seem to be coyotes in the distance.

did you see the planets dancing this evening? the moon BELOW mercury, then jupiter, and then mighty aphrodite. what a display!!

christmas eve in santa fe

is there anyplace else in the world where people set up fires on christmas eve so the ChristChild can find His way to their homes?




i had forgotten how beautiful these luminerias are! my camera did not capture them well, but use your imagination to re-construct the real world from these psychedelic shots...

did you notice that the bottom shot shows luminarias arranged in a giant peace sign?

ahhhh, the magic functions well

i confess i was having doubts whether westcoast potions and spells could work their magic here on the right coast. but double double all's swell what ends swell.
the revels is the revels is the revels, as gertrude stein once said in a place where there WAS a there there. mayhaps revels is a place like brigadoon, which magically pops into existence once a year, but this brigadoon spell has its manifestations in ten places at once! all the people who dedicate so much of their time to this mid-winter celebration of light: well, it seems that energy seeks it own level. the community of revelers really transcends cities and theaters.



this is me with steve who played gaston (the lead voyageur, who makes the pact with the devil) for the DC production. he brought a lot more singing to the part, so his gaston was a man driven by a desire to sing with his friends-- a noble reason to make a diabolical deal. steve is a folklorist at the library of congress, and his specialty is french canadian folk song. he was consulted about new songs to add to the mix, and he got drafted to play the lead role!