Archive for November, 2008

Polar Bear Comes in Peace

09/11/2008

bear13These images came to my inbox via a friend. I thought I’d post them.  Stewart Brown describes photographer Norbert Rosing’s images of a wild polar bear coming upon tethered sled dogs in northern wilds of Canada’s Hudson Bay.

“The Photographer was sure he was going to see the end of his dogs when the polar bear wandered in, but….”

bear-2I have often read a particular piece written by one, Morgan Hite, to my Outward Bound and MSI students right before they leave a program. It’s called “A Briefing for an Entry into a More Harsh Environment.”
It recaps what the students have learned while in the wilds of the mountains, in snow, sleet and rain, remembering all the hardships, but it also prompts them to reflect on what sanity they can take back to society when they reenter the “real world”. Is asks of my students, what are take aways bear-3from being in such a beautiful,  sometimes unforgiving place where nature seems more in balance.

Somehow these images remind me of  how much of life makes sense in the wild, where animals actually have a natural respect for each other and humans. I feel, in general, safer in these environments, than in our civilized world.  Of course, one has to use one’s head and common sense in the

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wilds. Don’t pet the bears.
I’m sure you know what I mean, when I say I feel safer, even though you may not have been out here with the bears.

 

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” As it turned out, the polar bear returned every night that week to play with the dogs.”

 

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robert-norsingThese brilliant images taken by Norbert Rosing. Thanks Norbert for the great work.

We Were There: Obama in Unity, NH

08/11/2008

D.R. Richards

Image: D.R. Richards

I happened to be coming back from the Northfield Conference last spring, and heard from a friend, that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were in Unity, New Hampshire, of all places, giving a speech of Unity. The timing was right, so I swung in, on my way back to Sunapee. There were shuttle buses all over the place. Acquaintances and fellow townspeople that recognized, were streaming in along with from the surrounding towns of New London, Sunapee and Newport to see these two. Joining were them were a few thousand from points afar, and joining them were photographers and press people of all sorts.  I hadn’t heard about the shuttle buses, or any arrangements about leaving cars at some remote lot, and drove my van along the road to Unity and parked about a half mile from  the “downtown Unity village district”.   

During my travels with Mountain Spirit Institute, Outward Bound, or Alpine Ascents International, I have always encountered foreigners who have enjoyed getting to know us North Americans, but have had concerns about our serious lack of judgement when it comes to controlling or choosing our leaders.   I am once again proud of our populace for finally making a progressive decision. I haven’t felt this way since I was a child.  I have no delusions that Obama is the fix-all president, however this goes a long way in our country, to rising to the occasion, as a more compassionate people and nation. Thank God, it’s about time.
I used to work for Suki Coughlin in New London, NH.  She was a stringer for U.P.I. Wire Services, and taught me a lot about press work. I used to cover quite a few presidential campaigns in my former life. So, When I had my camera with me this day,  decided to get near the podium and take a few shots of this moment. Who would have thought? It’s not only true that we’ve passed a crossroads in having our first black president, but we’ve certainly crossed a wonderful threshold where it’s becoming self-evident there is a new paradigm in the U.S., one of a new level of compassion, humility and equality.

Snatam Kaur’s Music Transforms

02/11/2008

snatam-kaur-toronto5Snatam Kaur’s Music crossed our paths of by way of Amanda Hamilton. A gift it is. Below is an article on Snatam by Alan di Perna, writer for Yoga Journal, Rolling Stone,  and Guitar World.  Her music goes right to your soul. The flowering of human consciousness is no doubt in full swing. Just listen to “By Thy Grace” on her website, http://www.snatamkaur.com/,(Track 4), and you decide. Enjoy and be at peace

Chant Enchantress: An Evening with Snatam Kaur.
Concert, chantfest, musical group meditation, a yoga class in melody . . . how best to describe a live performance by Snatam Kaur and her band? (more…)

Prajna, The Best Knowledge – Climate Change

02/11/2008

Mountain Spirit Blog Post #1…

The concept of Prajna, or ‘the best knowledge’, is sometimes known as a state in which wisdom prevails over needs and desires.  It also has many deeper layers of meaning and practice, all worth exploring.

Climate change is a fairly large global challenge, with a number of great minds working on the problem, but we can all do our part to minimze our individual impact on the environmnent.  The practice of “Sustainable Living” can mean many different things, but for many, it’s a call to action, which can be simply applied…

You are cordially invited to learn about climate change, reflect on your current practices, and experience a change in how you make simple everyday choices.  (This invitation is loosely based on the three prajnas, of which I know very little, and inspired by a passage in the book, “Buddha Is As Buddha Does”, by Lama Surya Das).

The Global Living Project, a program of author and lecturer Jim Merkel (Radical Simplicity), promotes the value and practice of a sustainable, low impact lifestyle.

To explore your ecological footprint, take a simple quiz which measures your transportation, housing, energy and food consumption practices, then consider possibilities for making changes toward a more sustainable lifestyle.

Finally a challenge with a sweet reward – homemade apple crisp to the first blogger who can identify the source of the following:

“It is not enough just to meditate and pray, which are always good things to do, but we also must take positive action in this world.”

Willie Unsoeld and the Spiritual Values of Wilderness

01/11/2008

Willie Unsoeld, along with Kurt Hahn are some of the biggest influences on Mountain Spirit’s founder. There is large collection of material on Unsoeld at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Here is a snapshot of Unosoeld’s thinking, taken from a lecture.

The Spiritual Values of Wilderness
From Pacific Crest Outward Bound School Book of Readings

And so what is the final test of the efficacy of this wilderness experience we’ve just been through together? Because having been there, in the mountains, alone, in the midst of solitude, and this feeling, this mystical feeling if you will, of the ultimacy of joy and whatever there is. The question is, “Why not stay out there in the wilderness the rest of your days and just live in the lap of Satori or whatever you want to call it?” And the answer, my answer to that is, “Because that’s not where people are.” And the final test for me of the legitimacy of the experience is, “How well does your experience of the sacred in nature enable you to cope more effectively with the problems of mankind when you come back to the city?”

And now you see how this phases with the role of wilderness, It’s a renewal exercise and as I visualize it, it leads to a process of alternation. You go to nature for your metaphysical fix – your reassurance that there’s something behind it all and it’s good. You come back to where people are, to where people are messing things up, because people tend to, and you come back with a new ability to relate to your fellow souls and to help your fellow souls relate to each other.

Willi Unsoeld, Former Director of Northwest Outward Bound
Founding Board Member of Evergreen State College
[Edited: Male references replaced with non-gender specific terms]

Editor’s Note: February 2023
I was running through some of my old posts, and thought I’d hunt down the first one, which led me to this post on Willie Unsoeld. How fitting to have launched this blog with this post. Life, not just climbing, is an experiential adventure. I think what i learned most from being an Outward Bound instructor as how to, (as I asked my students to do) transfer what I’ve learned on course in the field, to my daily life. Now so many years later after this first post, I now have an 11 yr old, just turned old enough to receive a pension here in New Zealand, and and feeling my bones a bit more. I’m still Telemarking though.  There’s a lot of water under the bridge since this first post, what with Covid, lockdowns, and gender questioning in the recent years. Ah, but it’s all worth the game of life, isn’t it?
Randall Richards
Hawea, New Zealand