tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25055024087128426862024-03-05T03:52:56.281-08:00Official Blog From Critically Acclaimed Author and Musician Lee (Mirabai) HarringtonWelcome to my oft-neglected but well-intended blog page. Topics range from books, music, publishing, Buddhism, Kundalini yoga, Amma, kirtan, life, love, dogs and my obsession with Pete Townshend.Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-89085994192102460952016-12-07T08:19:00.000-08:002016-12-07T08:19:01.591-08:0099 cent sale! REX AND THE CITY on sale for the 2016 Holiday Season<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDT08XmHLRQohg-Q8wegXezDhEqlVtDedYtiF24dV3JulLNzYZPp99Grlvrg4SzTAkG96ERxlRRCb39K4FXx_Z6X7tc2w_cpWF9YPSzP4gATP1MYTSQP3qBR9S3SZ3Y-1d5mjNJZuDMw/s1600/15370010_1223071264397518_294993222304342828_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDT08XmHLRQohg-Q8wegXezDhEqlVtDedYtiF24dV3JulLNzYZPp99Grlvrg4SzTAkG96ERxlRRCb39K4FXx_Z6X7tc2w_cpWF9YPSzP4gATP1MYTSQP3qBR9S3SZ3Y-1d5mjNJZuDMw/s320/15370010_1223071264397518_294993222304342828_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "inherit","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My humble memoir
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-78403707344884951772016-11-09T06:12:00.002-08:002016-11-09T06:12:59.472-08:00Post Election Stress Syndrome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today I am contemplating the image of the 1000-Armed
Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. He has 1000 arms to better serve all
the millions and millions of suffering beings. </div>
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I didn't stay up to watch the
election results (I couldn't) but all night long I could feel the pain of
millions of other people and feel it even more so now: Confusion. Fear. Shock.
Betrayal. (The challenges of an empathic life are that you feel EVERYTHING).
I'm reminded more than ever that we are still in the Kali Yuga--the
"degenerate" age. Those of us who are lightworkers and truth-tellers
and earth-protectors and heart-openers and consciousness-raisers and wisdom
seekers and dharma teachers and Christ Consciousness-raisers and Way walkers, yogis,
Khalsas, mystics, sages, animal rescuers....this list goes on...those of us who
are somewhat awakened simply have more work to do, starting now, to help others
awaken.</div>
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I keep staring at the 1000-Armed Chenrezig: look at what he
holds in his hands: lotus flowers, musical instruments, malas. It's clear that
most people in this country believe we need guns, walls, hatred and Otherness
to protect themselves from their own fears. But let's continue to create a new
kind of super-hero, which is actually a very ancient one. Let's just keep
loving everyone, serving everyone. We have many Great Ones on our side. We are
the sparks of the great flame. Keep igniting! </div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-53554703215873355512016-10-20T09:29:00.000-07:002016-10-20T09:29:50.362-07:00Farewell, Thom Jones<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I woke up this morning thinking intensely of my
friend Thom Jones (and the other night I actually dreamed I was writing like
him) so after I made my tea, I sat at the computer, intending to write to him
because I hadn’t heard from him in a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s when I discovered—via his Facebook page, of all places—that he
died on Friday 10/14.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was travelling
all weekend and not was not online much to check emails or Facebook. So my
first reaction on learning that he’d died was shock—that such a driving force
of goodness and intelligence could just disappear (although, given that both
Thom and I believe in reincarnation, we know that his mind/soul lives on and
will delight us again in some other form); then there is the guilt that so many
months have passed without my reaching out to check in; then there is the
sorrow that life is indeed very short and very impermanent.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thom and I met through my role as an editor at
various literary magazines in New York City and also through our mutual friend
Alice Turner, who died two years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thom
and I shared a love of books (but not so much of having to write them), a love
of dogs (which should be listed first), and complicated brain chemistries and
life histories that left us both prone to intense depressions. And thus prone
to be writers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was, in so many ways,
my de facto psychopharmacologist (back in the days when I took meds) and my de facto
shrink. A number of times, especially during the “get me off this planet”
years, he probably saved my life. His humor was one of a kind. Truly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d have to read his stories to know what I
mean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no writer like Thom
Jones and this is why still, to this day, zillions of aspiring writers try to
write like Thom Jones. But miss the mark. Because you can’t be authentic by
trying to imitate someone else. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thom’s world view encompassed so much—light and
dark, good and evil, truth; always Truth. Thom saw and described the world as
only a depressive, genius, and sometimes off-kilter person can: as both
beautiful <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> terrible. Poignant <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> banal; supremely intelligent and
idiotic. Thom understood and accepted that such dichotomies exist. That you
can’t have one without the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We
had many conversations about duality). And that, in the end, Beauty always
wins. So it’s no wonder that Thom was one of the first authors to write—full force,
no-holds-barred—about manic depression and AS a manic depressive. And certainly
to first to make it all seem comic. And therefore bearable. And temporary. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Those of you who read authors’ acknowledgements
page (and most writer and editors read it first, before reading the book) know
that Thom broke ground in his acknowledgements page by thanking a Big Pharm
company—I think it was Eli Lilly?—for providing him the opportunity and the
sanity to write (I should find that page and quote it properly, but I am away
from my books right now).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before then,
not everyone was willing to admit they struggled with psychological issues
and/or that they took medications to cope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Both the struggle and the ways in which one attempted to cure such
struggles were considered shameful things. Dark. Scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thom helped take that shame away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I know he became a willing confidante,
cheerleader, uncle, friend, mentor and counselor to many a young writer
struggling with the “curse of a creative mind.” His simple kindness and total
lack of judgment has helped many, many people I am sure. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also had the honor and pleasure of editing
Thom, which gave me a cherished window into his creative process. Structurally,
his first drafts were often a delightful mess, but one could always see the
genius and energy behind his words. (As an editor, I have an inexplicable ability
to take messes and make sense of them--inexplicable because I don’t seem to
have that skill when it comes to my own life). Plus, in Thom’s early drafts,
there was always an irrefutable through-line, and that though line was pretty
much, as stated above: life is painfully comic and/or comically painful, but
beauty and love always prevail. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
editors/readers might see a different through-line, but that is also the genius
of Thom’s work. It operates on so many levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ve used Thom’s brilliant—sorry, I meant
f*cking brilliant—story “Cold Snap” in all of my creative writing classes since
1998. My strategy is to bring this one out about three weeks into the semester,
after we’ve read and discussed a few modern classics and gotten a sense of
typical story structure. Then—wham—I offer them Thom Jones and enjoy the
pleasure, again and again, of witnessing their reaction, of feeling what they
feel, which is basically “you mean I can write as myself, with a voice?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Invariably, some students will then try to
write using Thom’s voice, and, if I’m successful as a teacher, I can help them
find their own voice, which sounds cliché, but is the essence of all creative
writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I’m trying to say here is
that Thom Jones is/was one of those authors who can help an aspiring writer
find his/her own voice. His work gets writers excited to write. So read him.
And love him. And celebrate him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took
on a lot of pain in this lifetime and gave back reams of beauty, of life, of
wonder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what a true Artist does.
Praise him. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thom’s
advice to me, during my dark days, was always to 1) write about it and 2) spend
more time with dogs. Chloe and Sugar. Chloe and Sugar. Our dogs never met, but
they know one each other’s names. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I haven’t gone through my correspondence yet to
highlight all the nuggets of advice I’m sure to find in his many emails, and I
look forward to reading some of our exchanges about Schopenhauer <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Thom’s favorite philosopher) and Buddhism (my
guiding force) but for now I am just going to sit with this feeling of awe and
gratitude and wonder, that a man with such an “untamable” and “poisoned” (not
my words) mind could put forth so much kindness and generosity and joy and
peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those qualities are all the
antidotes to poison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine the amount
of energy and essential goodness it took? To transmute one’s own mental poisons
into beauty for others to enjoy? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank
you, Mr. Jones. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s an oft-quoted quote from an interview in
the Mississippi Review: “I channeled my obsessive-compulsive behavior into my
writing and soon found that if I wrote a lot each and every day, a kind of psychological
integration took place within me and a form of peace became available...” </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thank you, Mr. Jones. You were a true Champion
in this lifetime. May you now dwell in the purest of Pure Lands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Om Ami Dewa Hri.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My heart goes out to his family, including his sweet-faced
Boxer-dog Sugar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">~ photo of Thom Jones by Zhong Juanning </span></span></div>
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/19/books/thom-jones-dead.html</div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-7110221118122599692016-05-28T06:47:00.001-07:002016-05-28T06:47:22.504-07:00Happiness is....August in May!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span data-offset-key="ff983-0-0"><span data-text="true">Happiness
is: feeling the heat of our 80 degree weather at 7:00 am. (It feels
like India!) Walking barefoot through the meadow, parting my way
through four-foot tall grasses and wildflowers and fragrant phlox.
Sitting down for morning meditation on a literal bed of moss. (So soft! I
plan to carpet my future house with moss!) Watching pleasure boats
carve silent wakes in the river. Listening to the giant and jubilant
nation of birds singing. How many species of birds are there in this
Hudson Valley meadow? Dozens? Hundreds? And yet they all live
harmoniously, letting their individual calls join into one large healing
song. A song that wakens something ancient in this human's blood.
There is no "Us verses Them." It's all Everything. Listen. Happiness
IS! </span></span></div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-86944127755664223852016-03-17T12:58:00.004-07:002016-03-17T12:58:44.842-07:00"Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Soha (Beyond the Beyond) is another one of my favorite tracks from BEYOND THE BEYOND: A MANTRA MUSIC EXPERIENCE.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Soha (Beyond the Beyond)" is another one of my favorite tracks from BEYOND THE BEYOND: A MANTRA MUSIC EXPERIENCE. That's why it's the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/titletrack?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">TitleTrack</span></a>. This mantra--known as the Great Supreme Mantra, the Unsurpassed Mantra, the Mantra that Cures All Suffering--brings us to a state of "perfect wisdom" and bliss and contentment. It takes us beyond the mind, beyond the beyond.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<br />When the music and melodies and harmonies for this mantra first be<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">gan to percolate in my mind, I realized (to my surprise) that this ancient and revered Buddhist mantra was coming forth as a gospel song. And why the heck not? It's a very celebratory mantra, at least as I feel it.</span></div>
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I am blessed to have yet more amazing vocalists contributing to this track, starting with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/lamakarmathendup?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">LamaKarmaThendup</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ktdmonastery?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">KTDMonastery</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>singing the prelude. The one and only<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/gauravani?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">GauraVani</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>takes a solo, sings backup, and set this ship to sail;<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/caliamarshall?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">CaliaMarshall</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/helenstyringtocci?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">HelenStyringTocci</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/kirtansoulrevival?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">KirtanSoulRevival</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>join the gospel choir with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/keithfluitt?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">KeithFluitt</span></a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/johnjames?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">JohnJames</span></a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/reverendkimlesley?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">ReverendKimLesley</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/rashmipierce?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">RashmiPierce</span></a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/satyafranche?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">SatyaFranche</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>takes a short solo. The elegant and sublime<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/johnmcdowell?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">JohnMcDowell</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>played piano and djembe (and I'll never forget that recording session, in a snowstorm, in sub-zero temperatures in Amherst MA);<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/anthonymolina?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">AnthonyMolina</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>plays bass, organ, tambourine and steered the ship to shore. I played the shaker, thereby earning me a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/percussion?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">percussion</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>credit.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmAPhmtelt1OiMFEJsvi0hmLXC8JsbbzTwEt2ttJMyGGDnMWA6y7kHhDdUEauJncJaTa4lTneawoTDcYiUWgPR91d4fyrGaxnifyttarJQZn1QAB6Z7GxnJOxT38_w2eWuznKSgu3M5U/s1600/Beyond-the-Beyond-high-res-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmAPhmtelt1OiMFEJsvi0hmLXC8JsbbzTwEt2ttJMyGGDnMWA6y7kHhDdUEauJncJaTa4lTneawoTDcYiUWgPR91d4fyrGaxnifyttarJQZn1QAB6Z7GxnJOxT38_w2eWuznKSgu3M5U/s200/Beyond-the-Beyond-high-res-cover.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />Please join us in dedicating the merit of this track, and this album, that all beings be free from suffering and that all beings experience happiness. And that this mantra, in particular, takes everyone beyond the beyond. Thank you!</div>
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LISTEN TO THE TRACK HERE: </div>
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<a href="https://soundcloud.com/lee-mirabai-harrington/05-gate-gate-paragate-parasamgate-bodhi-soha-remix-beyond-the-beyond" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/…/05-gate-gate-paragate-parasamgate-…</a></div>
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<br /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/prajnaparamitramantra?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">prajnaparamitramantra</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/gategateparagateparasamgate?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">gategateparagateparasamgate</span></a><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/beyondthebeyond?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">beyondthebeyond</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/mantramusic?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">mantramusic</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/kirtanmusic?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">kirtanmusic</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/buddhistmantramusic?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">buddhistmantramusic</span></a><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/buddhistchants?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">buddhistchants</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/contemporarybuddhistmusic?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">contemporarybuddhistmusic</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/lamathendup?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">lamathendup</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/lamakarma?source=feed_text&story_id=1154792081211324" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">lamakarma</span></a></div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-60174740121960168942016-03-12T14:58:00.000-08:002016-05-28T06:46:51.780-07:00Preview of another track ("Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha") from my album "Beyond the Beyond"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span data-offset-key="cjhjv-0-0"><span data-text="true">Here's a preview of another one of my favorite tracks from my album </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-1-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-1-0"><span data-text="true">#BeyondTheBeyondAMantraMusicExperience</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-2-0"><span data-text="true">. This track, "Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha/Homage to the 21 Taras" features </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-3-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-3-0"><span data-text="true">Tibetan vocalist #DrukmoGyalDakini</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-4-0"><span data-text="true"> singing the Twenty-One Praises to Tara. WIth </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-5-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-5-0"><span data-text="true">#SteveGorn</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-6-0"><span data-text="true"> on flute, </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-7-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-7-0"><span data-text="true">#HansChristian</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-8-0"><span data-text="true"> on saranghi, </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-9-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-9-0"><span data-text="true">#GauraVani</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-10-0"><span data-text="true"> on harmonium (Gaura also orchestrated and assembled the band), </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-11-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-11-0"><span data-text="true">#HollyMontgomery</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-12-0"><span data-text="true"> and </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-13-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-13-0"><span data-text="true">#BenLeinbach</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-14-0"><span data-text="true"> on bass (we have six bass tracks on this track!) and </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cjhjv-15-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-15-0"><span data-text="true">#ANthonyMolina</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cjhjv-16-0"><span data-text="true">
on just about everything else, this is an EPIC fourteen minute track
that will transport you into the realm and soundscape of Arya Tara, the
mother of all the Buddhas. </span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cto5m-0-0">
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<span data-offset-key="b831r-0-0"><span data-text="true">This song and melody came to me fully formed while I was in the middle of a </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="b831r-1-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="b831r-1-0"><span data-text="true">#GreenTaraRetreat</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="b831r-2-0"><span data-text="true">
at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery. So I feel the melody carries
the essence and blessings of Green Tara herself. May all beings
benefit. </span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6ntgd-0-0">
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/lee-mirabai-harrington/03-om-tare-tuttare-ture-soha-remix-homage-to-21-taras"><span data-offset-key="6ntgd-0-0"><span data-text="true">https://soundcloud.com/lee-mirabai-harrington/03-om-tare-tuttare-ture-soha-remix-homage-to-21-taras</span></span></a></div>
</div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9esj8-0-0">
<span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-0-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-0-0"><span data-text="true">#greentaramantra</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-2-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-2-0"><span data-text="true">#omtaretuttareturesoha</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-3-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-4-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-4-0"><span data-text="true">#omtaretuttaretureswaha</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-5-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-6-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-6-0"><span data-text="true">#homageto21taras</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-7-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-8-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-8-0"><span data-text="true">#21praisestotara</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-9-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-10-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-10-0"><span data-text="true">#mantramusic</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-11-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-12-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-12-0"><span data-text="true">#kirtanmusic</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-13-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-14-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-14-0"><span data-text="true">#buddhistmantramusic</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-15-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-16-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-16-0"><span data-text="true">#buddhistchants</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="9esj8-17-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="9esj8-18-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="9esj8-18-0"><span data-text="true">#contemporarybuddhistmusic</span></span></span></div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-20573998368510852872016-03-07T06:43:00.001-08:002016-03-07T06:43:13.498-08:00Happy Maha Shivaratri! Here's my track "Om Namah Shivaya/Holder of the Moon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span data-offset-key="c1d1d-0-0"><span data-text="true">Happy
Maha Shivaratri! </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c1d1d-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="c1d1d-0-0"><span data-text="true">It's a beautiful day to celebrate the union of
Shiva/Shakti, the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine. It's also a
great time to integrate those aspects of ourselves that we think of as
"opposites." Think union, not separation. And love everything. And
chant Om Namah Shivaya as much as you can during this auspicious time. </span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true">Here's
track 2 ("Om Namah Shivaya/Holder of the Moon) from my new album BEYOND
THE BEYOND: A MANTRA MUSIC EXPERIENCE. </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-12-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-12-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></span></span></span><div class="" data-block="true" data-offset-key="5rosd-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5rosd-0-0">
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/lee-mirabai-harrington/02-om-namah-shivaya-holder-of-the-moon?in=lee-mirabai-harrington/sets/beyond-the-beyond-a-mantra-music-experience"><span data-offset-key="5rosd-0-0"><span data-text="true">https://soundcloud.com/lee-mirabai-harrington/02-om-namah-shivaya-holder-of-the-moon?in=lee-mirabai-harrington/sets/beyond-the-beyond-a-mantra-music-experience</span></span></a></div>
</div>
<span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true">There's a long story behind the
title, and behind the music and melody for this mantra, which you can
read in my liner notes. </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0">
<a href="http://leeharringtonmantramusic.com/beyond-the-beyond-2/"><span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></a></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0">
<a href="http://leeharringtonmantramusic.com/beyond-the-beyond-2/"><span data-offset-key="1m3ip-0-0"><span data-text="true"> http://leeharringtonmantramusic.com/beyond-the-beyond-2/</span></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-offset-key="cbs57-0-0">
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<span data-offset-key="cbs57-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwWOqroNBZBcbXMmWZ29woJsSUu2GmGkhUyPRh_pQVgbN9VoanONBrHuz3ambrgOUzxhFdNPyWdJOzU8lu7OHqoLkX4Yfp7tLyXd9idl0P9w-8exNuDKXgPk-LQM1bp1n38nfADUhcJQ/s1600/A-statue-of-Lord-Shiva%252C-Rishikesh%252C-India.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwWOqroNBZBcbXMmWZ29woJsSUu2GmGkhUyPRh_pQVgbN9VoanONBrHuz3ambrgOUzxhFdNPyWdJOzU8lu7OHqoLkX4Yfp7tLyXd9idl0P9w-8exNuDKXgPk-LQM1bp1n38nfADUhcJQ/s320/A-statue-of-Lord-Shiva%252C-Rishikesh%252C-India.jpg" width="320" /></a><span data-offset-key="cbs57-0-0"><span data-text="true">This track features an amazing ensemble of maestros in the kirtan world: the incomparable </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-1-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-1-0"><span data-text="true">#CCWhite</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-2-0"><span data-text="true"> on backing vocals, </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-3-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-3-0"><span data-text="true">#StevePostell</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-4-0"><span data-text="true"> on electric guitar, </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-5-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-5-0"><span data-text="true">#WynneParis</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-6-0"><span data-text="true"> and </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-7-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-7-0"><span data-text="true">#AnthonyMolina</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-8-0"><span data-text="true"> on additional acoustic and electric guitars, (Anthony also plays piano, percussion and more); </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-9-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-9-0"><span data-text="true">#HollyMontgomery</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-10-0"><span data-text="true"> (my idol) on bass guitar and </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-11-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-11-0"><span data-text="true">#AndyHamburger</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-12-0"><span data-text="true"> on kit drums (channeling his inner </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-13-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-13-0"><span data-text="true">#KeithMoon</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-14-0"><span data-text="true">). The elegant and talented </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-15-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-15-0"><span data-text="true">#JohnMCDowell</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-16-0"><span data-text="true"> plays Hammond organ and African drums. Internationally reknowned sound healer </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-17-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-17-0"><span data-text="true">#PhilippeGarnier</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-18-0"><span data-text="true">
sings the intro and plays the Sruti box, crystal bowls, chimes, and
overtones. Response chorus includes sweet devis Eileen O'Hare and Cat
Guthrie of </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-19-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-19-0"><span data-text="true">#Blissing</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-20-0"><span data-text="true">. Produced with my beloved bhakti brothers </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-21-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-21-0"><span data-text="true">#GauraVani</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-22-0"><span data-text="true"> (who also came up with the great song title and got this big ball rolling) and </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="cbs57-23-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="cbs57-23-0"><span data-text="true">#AnthonyMolina</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="cbs57-24-0"><span data-text="true"> (who held things together as the ball kept rolling). I love you all!</span></span></div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4dojg-0-0">
<span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-0-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-0-0"><span data-text="true">#spiritvoyage</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="4dojg-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-2-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-2-0"><span data-text="true">#beyondthebeyond</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="4dojg-3-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-4-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-4-0"><span data-text="true">#mantramusic</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="4dojg-5-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-6-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-6-0"><span data-text="true">#kirtannewreleases</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="4dojg-7-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-8-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-8-0"><span data-text="true">#omnamahshivaya</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="4dojg-9-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-10-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-10-0"><span data-text="true">#musicforshivaratri</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="4dojg-11-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="4dojg-12-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="4dojg-12-0"><span data-text="true">#shivashakti</span></span></span></div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-89116067835615451072016-02-27T07:35:00.002-08:002016-02-27T07:35:35.195-08:00My cure for post-India withdrawal and jetlag:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">My cure for post-India withdrawal and jetlag: lying in the Florida sunshine, eating<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/hailmerry?source=feed_text&story_id=10153488083391295" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">HailMerry</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>chocolate tarts (note the plural), reading YA fantasy fiction, studiously avoiding the gargantuan To-Do list, and listening to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/singhkaur?source=feed_text&story_id=10153488083391295" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">SinghKaur</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">. If I had at at-home steam room, I'd add that to the list as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">#indiapilgrimage2016 </span></div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-89011122376618462512016-02-27T07:34:00.000-08:002016-02-27T07:34:00.962-08:00I am back in the land of hot baths...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">I am back in the land of hot baths, high-speed internet, Western toilets, paved streets, and silence. While I appreciate that I am no longer at risk of having my long-trailing scarves and kurtahs getting accidently dipped into toilets pits, I miss the noise and the chaos and the mayhem! Last night was the first night in two months in which I was not waken up by amplified music at 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6:00 am. There was total silence all night long. My ears are buzzing as my system readjusts...someone told me this would happen (the post-India ringing-ear syndrome). What's that about?</span><br />
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-64857307930560836472016-02-11T19:03:00.002-08:002016-02-11T20:01:28.293-08:00The amazing women at Amma's ashram<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span data-offset-key="br5cm-0-0"><span data-text="true">It's Friday morning here in India, and it's a day of goodbyes as most people are leaving the ashram to follow </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="br5cm-1-0" spellcheck="false" style="background-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.14902); border-bottom-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px;"><span data-offset-key="br5cm-1-0"><span data-text="true">#Ammachi</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="br5cm-2-0"><span data-text="true"> on her South Indian tour. I've met so many amazing people: the kind Monique from Montreal, who follows Mothe Meera; Padma from Michigan (by way of India) who loves Sai Baba; Patrizia from Italy, Uta from the Netherlands, the elegant Mireille from Paris, who looked so much like my Aunt Isabelle I could not stop staring at her. The two people who have struck me the most are 1) Maddie from Montana--who decided at age 79 to leave her life behind and move to India for good, because she had always wanted to and "never got the chance until now." Until NOW! My other superstar inspiration is Winnie from California, who left home at age sixteen, graduated high school at 16 and came to India at 17. This young, brave, nonplussed person has all the makings of a swamini. She has been talking about India since third grade, she says, and furthermore, she recognizes that any problems she may have had at home with her birth family were simply catalysts to get her to India. I rejoice in her wisdom....it has taken some of us years (decades!) to recognize that most life challenges are simply catalysts for growth. And here she is, at age seventeen, accepting her past and willing to accept whatever comes. From Maddie I learned it is never too late to become who you are meant to be; from Winnie I learned it's neer too early either. Rock on, little sister! And rock on, revered grandmother. I love you all.</span></span></div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-47456379753273841842016-02-05T19:34:00.001-08:002016-02-11T18:09:09.814-08:00My album is featured on SpiritVoyage's Free Music Friday!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdJOBRnN8CaJXDmHdn38pyUeSn5UvNWL1gEN8njoJS38ar0Zrza5d-XIygIWE0RtDyesGdaTHNrmS1ZXXGFn7hzSLkmMj3ZWZHErR1ViZU4NqoadvAsiz9Z6GQ7x8kibzkh5NOZXbI7Y/s1600/Beyond-the-Beyond-high-res-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdJOBRnN8CaJXDmHdn38pyUeSn5UvNWL1gEN8njoJS38ar0Zrza5d-XIygIWE0RtDyesGdaTHNrmS1ZXXGFn7hzSLkmMj3ZWZHErR1ViZU4NqoadvAsiz9Z6GQ7x8kibzkh5NOZXbI7Y/s320/Beyond-the-Beyond-high-res-cover.jpg" width="320" /></a><span data-offset-key="561o-0-0"><span data-text="true">Surprise surprise...February 5th is my #FreeMusicFriday with #SpiritVoyage. IPlease enjoy this free download of my track #AadGureyNameh from my new album BEYOND THE BEYOND. Based on a melody by #YogiBhajan himself, and featuring the response vocals and instrumentation of Renee Finkelstein (Radharani), this mantra will build a strong protective aura around yourself and your environment. Enjoy, beloveds!</span></span></div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-52686567156066583772016-02-05T00:37:00.000-08:002016-02-05T01:21:49.899-08:00Profile of me and BEYOND THE BEYOND on Spirit Voyage.com<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span data-offset-key="c1s0l-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true">I just realized that </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="c1s0l-1-0" spellcheck="false" style="background-color: rgba(88 , 144 , 255 , 0.14902); border-bottom-color: rgba(88 , 144 , 255 , 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-offset-key="c1s0l-1-0"><span data-text="true">#SpiritVoyage</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="c1s0l-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true"> posted a profile about me and my music a few days ago. I am quite out of my own loop here in India :) They even posted an old picture of me and my dog Chloe, which was a nice surprise. </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="c1s0l-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true"> The album drops today! February 5, 2016<a href="http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/get-to-know-lee-mirabai-harrington-beyond-the-beyond-a-mantra-music-experience-is-available-2516/"></a></span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="c1s0l-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true">You can read the profile here: </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="c1s0l-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="c1s0l-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true">!<a href="http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/get-to-know-lee-mirabai-harrington-beyond-the-beyond-a-mantra-music-experience-is-available-2516/">http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/get-to-know-lee-mirabai-harrington-beyond-the-beyond-a-mantra-music-experience-is-available-2516/</a></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="c1s0l-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true">http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/get-to-know-lee-mirabai-harrington-beyond-the-beyond-a-mantra-music-experience-is-available-2516/</span></span></div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-90452342657319739002016-01-31T20:39:00.000-08:002016-01-31T20:39:15.522-08:00Feeding Your Demons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Minor ashram challenges:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">The other day I returned to my hut to find that everything I brought has been invaded by ants—there were thousands of tiny red ants swarming over my clothes, my toiletries, my suitcases (inside and out), my tuning forks, etc. Given that I don’t kill insects, it took many hours to bring everything outside and de-antify each item one by one. The solution, I found, was to give the ants something sweet to eat and bless them on their busy little journeys. It was fascinating to watch the ant armies rapidly change course, racing off my new </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/fabindia?source=feed_text&story_id=10153436588791295" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">FabIndia</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>scarf toward the tiny piece of banana I’d offered. This summer, I’ll be taking my first “Feeding Your Demons” workshop with Lama Tsultrim Allione at Tara Mandala. This little exercise in feeding my “invaders” felt like a sample of the larger work to come.</span></div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-43934048855810101262016-01-31T20:36:00.002-08:002016-01-31T20:36:53.160-08:00It's been a unique birthday...starting with archana,<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fA6AffUrCnY5MFW5d0nO-YHDAV_1zaTt1Dplyq7cJAKyafSmEcpIHbFaZGqjPOy5yroBGiL354XynS8GzVVzXKlZI1P2UVUwt4Fev-B027g5sx9smDf4r4GoP2TSxtei5T1FGyFPjMw/s1600/1112508.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fA6AffUrCnY5MFW5d0nO-YHDAV_1zaTt1Dplyq7cJAKyafSmEcpIHbFaZGqjPOy5yroBGiL354XynS8GzVVzXKlZI1P2UVUwt4Fev-B027g5sx9smDf4r4GoP2TSxtei5T1FGyFPjMw/s320/1112508.png" width="284" /></a>It's been a unique birthday...starting with archana, then tea, then sunrise, then some unsettling emails, followed by sitting onstage with Amma and handing prasad to Amma, then lunch, then a quick rehearsal for my song offering at darshan this coming Thursday, then a walk and a blazing sunset, followed by a dharma talk and, finally, some private time at the Kali shrine, where I asked her to help settle what has been unsettled. I know we are all born for "a reason" but sometim<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">es I still have to search for what that reason is. My hope is that my birth has been a gift to this world--not a curse. And so, as I get ready for bed here in India, I return to my Bodhisattva vow:</span></div>
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May I be a guard for all those who are protector-less,<br />A guide for those who journey on the road,<br />For those who wish to go across the water,<br />May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.</div>
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For all those ailing in the world,<br />Until their every sickness has been healed,<br />May I myself become for them<br />The doctor, nurse, the medicine itself.</div>
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~ Shantideva</div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-18148842871930346002016-01-10T23:40:00.002-08:002016-01-10T23:46:02.689-08:00Monks playing kit drums in my dreams...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05jTbyfMYaNXcoUfgvoBRhrJvr3cKBC9CYNwxb_c1bsfOlIC7-M2YaDt6UMkZoe1x3TogCfnwVB6Fqki4qo92zkkMVhkscp6wutXLDBhWbeYhq_iem5aQwn9Bg9RXgbGUcrKdG8NOOOc/s1600/Siva_Fire_01a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05jTbyfMYaNXcoUfgvoBRhrJvr3cKBC9CYNwxb_c1bsfOlIC7-M2YaDt6UMkZoe1x3TogCfnwVB6Fqki4qo92zkkMVhkscp6wutXLDBhWbeYhq_iem5aQwn9Bg9RXgbGUcrKdG8NOOOc/s320/Siva_Fire_01a.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">I always have interesting dreams after White Tantric Yoga and the 3HO Winter Solstice retreat. I also usually have interesting dreams around the time of the full moon. This year it was a double whammy, with the full moon occurring just after the solstice. Before I get to the dream: in my waking life I have been a bit worried, off and on, about the intensity of the drums—that would be the full-kit drums—on one of the tracks on my kirtan album</span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/beyondthebeyond?source=feed_text&story_id=1114927541864445" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;"> #</span><span class="_58cm">BeyondTheBeyond</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">, which launch</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">es on 2/5/16. The track is “Om Namah Shivaya and the drums, at times, sound a bit Keith Moon. There is a longer story behind that (which will eventually be up on the website), and I should state here that I adore<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/keithmoon?source=feed_text&story_id=1114927541864445" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">KeithMoon</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and his frenetic, masterful drumming and the constant fills. But does a Moonie belong on a kirtan CD? That’s what my worry-mind sometimes wonders (until my wiser mind reminds the worry-mind to let things be). So imagine my delight when I dreamed that one of the younger Khenpos at the monastery where I practice was playing a full drum kit during an intense Buddhist puja. He was whaling away on the drums and having a blast, and the puja was as powerful as ever. This confirmed to me something we all know but continually forget. That every sound is sacred as long as the intention is there to make it sacred. I felt that Khenpo was reminding me that the “Om Namah Shivaya” track was blessed. Is blessed. And all is well, well, well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/3ho?source=feed_text&story_id=1114927541864445" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">3HO</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/3howintersolstice?source=feed_text&story_id=1114927541864445" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">3HOWinterSolstice</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/whitetantricyoga?source=feed_text&story_id=1114927541864445" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">WhiteTantricYoga</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/dreams?source=feed_text&story_id=1114927541864445" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">dreams</span></a> #beyondthebeyond<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/spiritvoyagerecords?source=feed_text&story_id=1114927541864445" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">spiritvoyagerecords</span></a></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-25057536974688018302016-01-07T19:39:00.001-08:002016-01-10T23:45:01.764-08:00Honoring our incarnations....from the Kerala Chronicles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wFkWDf8mAVLzqnvdPylRvvRDU4jOaxZZzCAp95Zjyfg_86HHtOJOJepG2JI4qJz9qWwPVGe69kQ656iEUyLz2hSffEegDGpmTzX5OtmB01ap6LQKhRAzq3ldkyu8dlrLwWcIRXT81jU/s1600/IMG_0317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wFkWDf8mAVLzqnvdPylRvvRDU4jOaxZZzCAp95Zjyfg_86HHtOJOJepG2JI4qJz9qWwPVGe69kQ656iEUyLz2hSffEegDGpmTzX5OtmB01ap6LQKhRAzq3ldkyu8dlrLwWcIRXT81jU/s320/IMG_0317.JPG" width="320" /></a>When I started packing for my first trip to India a few weeks ago, I began to think about my spiritual origins. Even though I was raised as a Catholic, from a very young age I was always yearning for a system of spirituality (and why I use the word "system" I cannot explain) that would make sense to me. That yearning has led me along many beautiful paths, including the path I walk today, which I call "mostly Buddhist." (In Woodstock we're called Hindu-Bu or BuHindhist). As I was packing for the trip and closing up the Florida cottage, I had to take all the images off my traveling altar and tuck them away. As I took down the images of Christ and Mary, I said to them: "Don't worry. I am not leaving you. I am just going home, to India."<br />
<br />
"And how," the Inner Voice of Reason countered, "can 'home' be India if you were born in Massachusetts?"<br />
<br />
Clearly, Reason does not believe in reincarnation. Good thing we don't listen to Reason too much :) <br />
<br />
Anyway, I believe in honoring one's incarnation, and this time around I was born into a Catholic family. So be it. When I arrived at our retreat center in Kerala and stepped out of my little cottage on the first morning, I was delighted to notice that I was situated right next to a tiny Catholic church. Here's a picture of it, just over the wall of our compound. The presence of this tiny church, so close by, seems like a beautiful little in-joke between me and my first Teacher: when you honor your incarnation, your incarnation honors you. <br />
#keralachronicles #@EM_Harrington #beyondthebeyond<br />
<br /></div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-7491558116784254742015-12-01T10:01:00.002-08:002015-12-01T10:01:15.459-08:00After a decade in an animal shelter, Sweet Sheba finds a home! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfCn_XKq3LWUAdJ4YyeST7JCKLAd7ddtZfthC1T5AbG7uyQN5Z25HuaJguzhLYJuj-fAQEAidvswsdyMeU6cr_J471JG0h36O_gWy4YDWzu6BLcKNSLyS_AfHQjHzDmHbPvhKYp3VVS0/s1600/12291242_10153803852451528_3724625795050894861_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfCn_XKq3LWUAdJ4YyeST7JCKLAd7ddtZfthC1T5AbG7uyQN5Z25HuaJguzhLYJuj-fAQEAidvswsdyMeU6cr_J471JG0h36O_gWy4YDWzu6BLcKNSLyS_AfHQjHzDmHbPvhKYp3VVS0/s320/12291242_10153803852451528_3724625795050894861_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It seems there's a "Sheba" dog at every animal shelter. <br />Our Sheba--a pit mix--spent her earliest years chained to a radiator in some horried NYC project apartment, then was moved to a shelter in Yonkers, and finally "rescued" from that shelter and moved up to the Ulster County SPCA in Kingston, NY. Sheba spent almost a decade in the shelter system. She is not a "beautiful" dog in the classic sense, nor is she a silly young pup, and sometimes she would bite people who moved their hands on her in ways she didn't like. (And as for the "beautiful" dog comment, I want to stress that I don't care about that sort of thing, but a lot of people sadly do).<br />
<br />
As a result, potential adopters rarely even said hello to her through the windows of her kennel. She was the passed-by dog, day in and day out....for many, many years. We worried she would never find a home. But we loved her and loved her and loved her, and those volunteers whom Sheba rarely bit got to walk her and play with her, and take her out to the kiddie pool in the summer time, and rub her belly, and tuck her into her favorite "bunk bed." We believed in her, in other words.<br />
<br />
On the dry erase board where the dog's "statistics" are written, Sheba's profile said something to the effect of: She will always have a home here and she will always be loved. That's what I love about my shelter: there is always love, and there is always hope. We don't euthanize animals, and we never assume any dog is "unadoptable." We believe that there is someone for everyone--and whether that combination involves humans, dogs, cats, horses, goats, bunnies, or all the above, we hold true to that Truth. If you exist on this planet, you belong, and you will find your Soul Friends.<br />
<br />
Last week--and here come the tears--Sheba was adopted. I wasn't there to witness the going away party, but it looks like about two dozen Fans of Sheba were there to see her off. Many blessings to you, Sheba, and to your new family. Let this story be a sign of hope for ALL shelter dogs. <br />
<br />
https://www.facebook.com/ulstercountyspca/posts/10153803854501528 <br />
<br />
<br />#ulstercountyspca #thereisalwayshope #adoptdogsLee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-75173897949425155862015-11-16T05:57:00.000-08:002015-11-16T05:57:09.672-08:00It's impossible to say "nothing has changed..."<span data-offset-key="4qq8l-0-0"><span data-text="true">A conversation
with my dear friend this morning began with her saying "I don't know
what's wrong with me. Nothing has changed in my life but I woke up
feeling so depressed." I lovingly pointed out that, actually, something
has changed in her life, and that something was the terrorist attacks
last week in France.We are ALL CONNECTED. (Sorry for the all-caps, but
sometimes it's necessary). Somewhere, several tens of thousands of
animals are likely being slaughtered horribly as we speak. Somewhere, in
the depths of the ocean, a turtle is choking on a snarl of plastic
Wal-Mart bags. Somewhere, in some derelict rural lot, a swarm of ants is
being set on fire by a group of misguided boys. Somewhere, a girl-child
is being sold into slavery because her family has to choose between
food and her. So she becomes someone else's food. I'm not trying to be a
downer here, but it's important to remember that until ALL BEINGS are
free from suffering, none of us will be free from suffering, because we
are those all-belngs. I invite you to pray that everything and
everyone--including the perpetrators--be free from suffering and that
all beings experience peace and happiness. </span></span>Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-70250125348835108242015-11-08T06:03:00.002-08:002015-11-08T06:03:54.968-08:00Saturday in Florida began with an early trip to the farmer's market...<div data-contents="true" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0">
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="dkbiq-0-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq">
<span data-offset-key="dkbiq-0-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.0:$dkbiq-0-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.0:$dkbiq-0-0.0">Saturday in Florida began with an early trip to the farmer's market, to pick up my organic greens from </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="dkbiq-1-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.$dkbiq-1-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="dkbiq-1-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.$dkbiq-1-0.$dkbiq-1-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.$dkbiq-1-0.$dkbiq-1-0.0">#GreenFlamingoOrganics</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="dkbiq-2-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.2:$dkbiq-2-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.2:$dkbiq-2-0.0">
and listen to that day's entertainment (a kitchy lounge keyboard player
delivering an unironic version of "Black Magic Woman" followed by "The
Long and Winding Road"). Then I caught an unexpected buzz from my
ginger-lime kombucha (causing me to skip yoga) and an unexpected big
score at the thrift store ($4 Juiceman II!). Then a field trip to </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="dkbiq-3-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.$dkbiq-3-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="dkbiq-3-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.$dkbiq-3-0.$dkbiq-3-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.$dkbiq-3-0.$dkbiq-3-0.0">#CassadegaSpiritualistCamp</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="dkbiq-4-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.4:$dkbiq-4-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.4:$dkbiq-4-0.0">--which is kind of like Hogwarts for adults--with my friend</span></span><span data-offset-key="dkbiq-6-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.6:$dkbiq-6-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$dkbiq.6:$dkbiq-6-0.0">,
where we communed with crystals and had our futures told. Then a sunset
walk on the beach, watching lightning dance behind the clouds. Then
dinner consisting mainly of the market greens, then evening sadhana,
then a lovely conversation with one of my best friends from high school
(with a brief reminiscense of our wilder Saturday nights from youth) and
finally, retirement, crawling onto the thermopedic mattress with a good
book.</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="8100k-0-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$8100k">
<span data-offset-key="8100k-0-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$8100k.0:$8100k-0-0"><br data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$8100k.0:$8100k-0-0.0" /></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="af7cj-0-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj">
<span data-offset-key="af7cj-0-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj.0:$af7cj-0-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj.0:$af7cj-0-0.0">My
high school friend pointed out that I was living the life I had always
wanted. She was speaking of the music, and of my forthcoming album
(woohoo!)--I have always wanted to "be a singer." But it's larger than
that. The psychic today told me that the universe was bringing me peace,
because I had asked for it and had "worked" for it. Oh, yes, we worked
for it. But I also think that inner peace is somehow easier to achieve
in 85 degree weather, with the ocean as one's soundtrack. At least the
Yankee in me says that. I think my Florida friends might agree. In the
meantime, in this month of </span></span><span class="_5u8n" data-offset-key="af7cj-1-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj.$af7cj-1-0" spellcheck="false"><span data-offset-key="af7cj-1-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj.$af7cj-1-0.$af7cj-1-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj.$af7cj-1-0.$af7cj-1-0.0">#gratitude</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="af7cj-2-0" data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj.2:$af7cj-2-0"><span data-reactid=".d2.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$af7cj.2:$af7cj-2-0.0">, I am grateful for the sun. And the sea. And friends. And lounge singers. And my teachers. And on and on and on. </span></span></div>
</div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-3074913373102516602015-10-22T10:23:00.003-07:002015-10-22T10:23:55.074-07:00Abandon your homeland. That is the way of the Bodhisattva<div data-contents="true" data-reactid=".a.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0">
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="51gj5-0-0" data-reactid=".a.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$51gj5">
<span data-offset-key="51gj5-0-0" data-reactid=".a.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$51gj5.0:$51gj5-0-0"><span data-reactid=".a.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$51gj5.0:$51gj5-0-0.0">As
I prepare to migrate south for the winter, I am filled with, well,
mostly melacholia and yearning, because I love New York, and I hate to
leave it. But I just don't do well in the cold, or the darkness; thus,
as soon as the clocks change, I bolt. So I have to leave what I love in
order to preserve my sanity, that I might continue to be able to love. I
wish there were another way, but maybe this is The Way. </span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="8mi0u-0-0" data-reactid=".a.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$8mi0u">
<span data-offset-key="8mi0u-0-0" data-reactid=".a.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$8mi0u.0:$8mi0u-0-0"><span data-reactid=".a.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$8mi0u.0:$8mi0u-0-0.0">This
morning, I opened my little pocket booklet “The 37 Practices of the
Bodhisattva” at random and read this: "Abandon your homeland. That is
the way of the Bodhisattva."
</span></span></div>
</div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-69897186126145951822015-09-09T05:34:00.001-07:002015-09-09T05:34:56.898-07:00Up here on the mountain, our growing cycle is always about a month behind...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4wwZlxFACv6exc70TQUPp942FAU-XXUXDvmAydvVDKEhDWxafgeMdm7rb4TM92LynT9J3r99abzWXkujbroZU63Q3XwFIQKHzgKWBgxaxV9776eONWtenTL72wDFVPQU7ZO2kJ1MbGQ/s1600/IMG_3263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4wwZlxFACv6exc70TQUPp942FAU-XXUXDvmAydvVDKEhDWxafgeMdm7rb4TM92LynT9J3r99abzWXkujbroZU63Q3XwFIQKHzgKWBgxaxV9776eONWtenTL72wDFVPQU7ZO2kJ1MbGQ/s320/IMG_3263.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #373e4d; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Up here on the mountain, our growing cycle is always about a month behind the rest of the Hudson valley. The tomatoes are still green, the sunflowers are only waist-high and the raspberries are on the perfect verge of being overly ripe. In a way I feel like it's still August, or even July, because aren't tomatoes a July thing? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #373e4d; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">But every once in a while I see a swath of bright orange leaves decorating a distant tree, or I hear the plunk of an apple falling to the ground and it hits me that it truly is September. The bittersweet month. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #373e4d; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Even though I'm supposed to be practicing non-attachment, I sure am attached to summer, because most of the things I love occur in summer: sunshine, warmth, songbirds, flowers, butterflies, green grass, thriving wildlife, trashy books, music festivals, etc etc. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #373e4d; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">But the good news is that everything that ends begins again and everything that begins ends and the one constant thing within us all is eternal and beautiful. <span id="goog_1855124420"></span><span id="goog_1855124421"></span></span>Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-40552658732578803492015-08-06T13:03:00.002-07:002015-08-06T13:03:59.913-07:00An infrequent and brief album update from the writer who never has time to write...<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="7io1a-0-0" data-reactid=".ob.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$7io1a" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #373e4d; direction: ltr; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; position: relative; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTuAj_fbE4tG_KfdBhu6X9aluf2wI4-z3SYY53_hdzwYLqTmNKWHF5kmkuQswS30P2RGmlrZMcTxtp6R0uNNx0kr9LzvTdyRFsgPf5EPwrko185uhMJtleDrIGVpi-DtiHVun7jsdazvw/s1600/shyamdas+singing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTuAj_fbE4tG_KfdBhu6X9aluf2wI4-z3SYY53_hdzwYLqTmNKWHF5kmkuQswS30P2RGmlrZMcTxtp6R0uNNx0kr9LzvTdyRFsgPf5EPwrko185uhMJtleDrIGVpi-DtiHVun7jsdazvw/s320/shyamdas+singing.jpg" width="320" /></a><span data-offset-key="7io1a-0-0" data-reactid=".ob.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$7io1a.0:$7io1a-0-0"><span data-reactid=".ob.1.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$7io1a.0:$7io1a-0-0.0">This week we're getting ready to mix the one track on my album that hasn't quite come together the way "I" had envisioned it. This is a traditional "Govinda Hare/Gopale Hare" kirtan song that we recorded in honor of Shyamdas. (The song and its unusual instrumentation basically came to me in a dream, fully formed, the day after Shyamdas died). All this time I have really clung to that dream-version of the song, and all this time I have been singing the song to Shyamdas, but it still wasn't coming together. Several weeks ago I actually prayed to Shyamdas for guidance and the next day, out of the blue, a good friend wrote to me saying that she really wanted me to meet a good friend of hers--a fellow Buddhist practitioner named Susan Ryan. I knew who Susan is of course--she is Shyamdas's sister--and we have met at various events, but we hadn't really spoken at length up to that point (which is mainly a product of my own shyness at large events). Long story short, Susan and I connected by phone a week or so after that and we spoke about how much we love Shyamdas. Then another message came to me in a dream to re-record the chant like a true love song (to the Divine) rather than in the big way I had initially envisioned it. So that is what we are doing today. I am grateful for all the guidance I have received on this project--from both visible and invisible sources. JSK! </span></span></div>
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Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-84219310035002409252015-07-19T11:48:00.003-07:002015-07-19T11:48:47.146-07:00Reason #517 to love Woodstock, NYAh, country life. <br />
<br /> This morning, on my daily post-meditation walk
past Karma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery, I happened to run into a young bear who was just
about to cross the road to get back to the state forest. This bear seems
to be a regular at KTD, especially after the pujas when the food
offerings are brought outside. Anyway, I'm so used to bears at this
point in the season that I didn't even pause when I found myself a few
feet from this one. "Hello, Torma Bear," I said casually, taking out<span class="text_exposed_show"> my ear buds in case he had anything to say. "Be careful crossing the road.There are a lot of cars out today." </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
I swear the bear looked both ways and gave me a nod as if to say, "I'm cool."<br />
<br />
Then we both went our separate ways: he into the forest, me down the hill.<br />
<br />
Oh, how I love summer!</div>
Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-73311211608468064552015-05-11T10:44:00.004-07:002015-05-11T10:44:54.104-07:00Happy Mother's Day!I attended an event today at which all the "mothers" were given roses. I
wasn't offered a rose, because I didn't bear any children in this
lifetime. It was actually rather awkward, and for a moment I almost
cried, but I kept silent. Because the truth is: we're all mothers,
whether we've delivered actual human babies or not. Later, I went to
volunteer at the animal shelter, and did energy work on a literal
bucketful of sick kittens. They were all entwined in impossible ways-<span class="text_exposed_show">-some
of them resting, some of them playing. The rascal of the litter kept
biting his sister's ears, but she was too tired to care. As I did the energy work on the kitties, eight pairs of tiny
eyes watched me with utmost trust and curiosity, mewing in that tiny,
heart-piercing way kittens have. </span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="text_exposed_show">My heart responded with compassion and care, </span>and I thought: this, too, is
motherhood. So is watering a plant. Or picking up a stray bit of trash on the hiking trail. Or saying "thank you" to the wind.
Any act of caring is a manifestation of motherhood. So to all you
"childless" friends I say: even though no one is giving you roses, the
wind says "thank you" right back. Happy Mother's Day!</span>Lee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2505502408712842686.post-83712561798855409162015-04-01T04:24:00.001-07:002015-04-01T04:24:07.961-07:00There is so much magnificence near the ocean<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UdNcBnETjAR4LfC3vZbOE2mk8cZ6VqRT9JCdZ4tz73YCwo5AJ4Byn8nryQenYUZn1SVJKfpMVSddpoXwQJ5urQEvkJlPICENNHKi1DGsQrCCSpq_Svf1ut6RTPuWMhxPJ0SNagGeJtk/s1600/IMG_2453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UdNcBnETjAR4LfC3vZbOE2mk8cZ6VqRT9JCdZ4tz73YCwo5AJ4Byn8nryQenYUZn1SVJKfpMVSddpoXwQJ5urQEvkJlPICENNHKi1DGsQrCCSpq_Svf1ut6RTPuWMhxPJ0SNagGeJtk/s1600/IMG_2453.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>At this time of year, when I make the transition from sunny Florida back to the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains, I usually go through a period of petulance--or withdrawal, I guess--in which I find myself missing the ocean very much. (Plus, it's darn cold up here on Mead Mountain Road!) But in my daily practice and study I am always encountering the word ocean: oceans of qualities, oceans of merit. I was recently reminded that Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche said my music echoed a line of verse in an aspiration prayer, because it carries "oceans of tones of melodic speech." And my own refuge name is "Dharma Ocean of Compassion." So I am remembering that we all carry the ocean within us. Which is a wonderful thing to remember. <br /><br />The act of missing, of yearning, can often lead to these bright moments of rediscovery: that we are all connected, that separation does not exist. <br />
<br />
As the poet Kabir says, there is so much magnificence near the ocean....<br />
Enjoy this track by Deva Premal and Miten.<br />
<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFUSEnIF5Ko<br />
<br />
Photo: my favorite beach at Hobe SoundLee Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06828549905922176524noreply@blogger.com0