Archive for the ‘Inspirational People’ Category
17/10/2009
By Randall Richards
Joel Cage prior to taking the stage
Tonight, I just heard my good friend Joel Cage play an evening at our local Sunapee Community CoffeeHouse. This will be one of the harder posts to write because no words will justify the experience. You had to be there. Nevertheless…
Joel played to a small audience tonight. He’s always been the consummate professional. When I first heard him during our early days, when the CoffeeHouse was just starting out in Sunapee Harbor, he blew us all away with his style and technical know how. But hearing him tonight was like hearing a different person. He seems wise beyond his years, and presents an affable, grounded style.
Joel in action at SCC
Aside from his stunning guitar playing and vocals, he’s really made a major shift skyward. His whole energy, the way he takes the stage, the feeling put into every note, brings the audience, (at least those willing to go), to a new level of warmth and community. It seems he’s been on a long journey in a short time. He’s making the most of his journey with the time he’s given – that is clear.
The first thing I noticed immediately, was his total commitment to the performance, right from the first note. The second thing I noticed about Joel, was his guitar.
At first I thought, “That’s an interesting sound hole placement for a *guitar”, and “what a cool finish and woodwork.” Then I realized what I was seeing. It wasn’t a sound hole. Joel had actually worn away the finish, and then the wood just above the strings with his strumming, until he created the hole after years of playing .” That in itself might be a curiosity, but it’s how he plays the thing, and how he and the guitar are one. The guitar is an extension of Joel. (*see image)
Joel Cage consciously creates a space, for himself, the audience, and each person in the room. He’s got the technical skills to pull off an amazing performance, but more importantly has put the heart behind his craft that puts him at the cutting edge, leading the way.
Read this book.
Often I talk about leadership in these posts, and the “Courage to Create” comes to mind (Read Rollo May’s book about this, with the same title). Joel is a true leader. It takes courage to present and show a new way, and break the mold of what we think music should or shouldn’t be. The gift that Joel brought to the audience tonight, was his ruthless walk to the edge and his skill in bringing us with him on his journey. Thanks Joel, we’ll be making the trip to see you tomorrow night, at The Mill. Keep up the good work.
This is why we need live music. Unplug the computer, the TV and get out to hear someone play this weekend, or pick up a guitar and play it. To be continued.
Tags:CoffeeHouses, community through music, Courage to Create, Joel Cage, Leadership, Live Music, Mountain Spirit, Music Therapy, Old guitar, performing, Rollo May, stage presence, Sunapee Community CoffeeHouse
Posted in Books, Inner Work, Inspirational People, Leadership, Music, Spiritual | 4 Comments »
28/09/2009
Restaurant Salud y Vida Continues to Grow After Over 13 Years in Business – The Owner’s Dream of Cultural Food Institute Becomes a Reality.
By Randall Richards
Hauraz, Peru
D. & G. Sanchez, Restaurant Salud Y Vida
David and Gracelia Sanchez started with a small vegetarian restaurant and a dream in Hauraz, Peru. Hauraz is the climbing capital of Peru, and basecamp for climbers headed to Mt. Huascaran (the highest peak in Peru) or the Cordillera Huaywash (Scene of Joe Simpon’s Touching the Void). Head cook Gracelia, learned about vegetarian cooking while attending an institute in Lima, Peru, and graduated with a diploma in whole cooking arts from the school. Since then, she and her husband have never looked back. Salud y Vida means “Health and Life”. T
Their small restaurant, originally located on a side street in Hauraz, has been through a number of transformations and four or five location changes, only to come full circle back to its original location on Avenue Leonisa Lescano 632. Their new/old location is bigger than it was 12 years ago. They’ve added a second floor, a full professional kitchen and more seating. The second floor also doubles as a meeting and lecture space for David and Gracelia to deliver programs.
Their Cultural Food Institute is a lifelong dream which continues to morph. They cover topics from healthy eating and digestion to larger issues such as factory farming and its byproducts. They teach to the locals as well as visitors from Lima and other countries. David’s other job is a school teacher, and he loves to teach. His warm subtle teaching style is laced with subtle humor and a quick wit. MSI’s blog will go into more details on Sanchez’s Institute in another entry. Stay tuned.
Joseph, Lisbeth, Kennedy, Kiara & David Sanchez
I first met the two with their *small family of six, (including my future God child, Joseph who’s now 11 years old), when they nursed me back to health after a serious bout of traveler’s bug. I ended up spending almost a month at their restaurant. We became good friends. I and a traveling buddy were asked to be Godparents of their son, Joseph, which we gladly accepted. *The family now proudly numbers eight wonderful children, who all blend well together, the older girls helping with cooking and chores and some basic childcare.
Back then we talked about their opening an Institute to educate the public about good eating habits. Now it’s a reality. Besides getting an education at Salud y Vida, Gracelia’s vegetarian fare can’t be beat. Don’t be fooled by the humble decor when you visit their restaurant – Gracelia is a master cook. Her vegetarian tortilla de vedura (vegetable pancake) has been my favorite for over twelve years. Also try her homemade granola with yoghurt and fruit. I’m admittedly a little biased – they’re great friends, but if you’re headed to Huaraz, make sure you stop in and have some great food…..and say hi to my God child for me.
For more information on Restaurant Salud y Vida, or the Cultural Food Institute contact the author and the contact link at the right of this column.
Their address is: Jiron leonisa y lescano #632 just SE of “Plaza PIP”
In the aerial image below, their location is indicated by the circle. Note Plaza de Armas on the lower right, and the main street indicated by the yellow line running N/S
Tags:Cordillera Blanca, Cordillera Huaywash, David Sanchez, Dexter Randall Richards, Gracelia Sanchez, Highest Peak in Peru, Huaraz, Huascaran, Institute Cultura Alementaria, International Menus, Joe Simpson, Joseph Sanchez, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, Peru, Peruvian Food, Restaurant Salud y Vida, Touching the Void, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarian Restarants Peru
Posted in Experiential Education, Health, Holistic Living, Inspirational People, Peru, South America, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | 2 Comments »
18/09/2009
Lebanon NH, A top Ten City to Raise an Outdoor Kid,according to The Outdoor Foundation and Backpacker Magazine.
Magazine says Director Heath's Rec. Dept. gets the job done
MSI Director Cindy Heath who has also headed up the Lebanon City Recreation Department in New Hampshire for 26 years, has received notice that her city has received the tenth slot in the USA of the nation’s top 25 place to beat nature deficit disorder. Heath’s recreation department has focused on providing outdoor adventure opportunities for its youth for years and receiving recognition at the national level continues to inspire the department. Whether it’s engaged in actively leading residents into the outdoor adventure playground that surrounds the town, providing maps to conservation lands or offering advice to families getting started on their own, Heath, wants to motivate residents to use and enjoy what the region has to offer.
MSI Director Cindy Heath
Cindy Heath also serves on the board of directors at Mountain Spirit Institute. When asked about the #10 position in the poll, Heath said, ” We’re excited about what we’ve accomplished in the community. We have a solid program of diverse activities from rock climbing and hiking to snowshoeing.” She added, “Our goal is just getting people outside, and the poll confirmed that we’re on the right track”.
Editor’s Note: Pop Quiz – Name the peak and in what mountain range it is located, which is featured on the cover of Backpacker Magazine above. The first one to guess correctly receives a copy of the Peruvian Folklore band Chimu Inka CD “Fusion Etnika” sent by mail to their address.
Tags:backpacker Magazine, Lebanon, Mountain Spirit, Nature Deficit disorder, New Hampshire, Outdoor education, Richard Louv, Top Twenty-Five place's to beat nature deficit disorder
Posted in Climb/Ski/Mntneering, Experiential Education, Focus on MSI People, Holistic Living, Inspirational People, Leadership, Mountain People, MSI News, Service | 2 Comments »
20/08/2009
“Putpockets” Give a Little Extra Cash
by Luke Baker
Put-Pocketing
Visitors to London always have to be on the look out for pickpockets, but now there’s another, more positive phenomenon on the loose — putpockets.
Aware that people are suffering in the economic crisis, 20 former pickpockets have turned over a new leaf and are now trawling London’s tourist sites slipping money back into unsuspecting pockets.
Read the rest of this Reuters story
Tags:Donating, giving, ideas for altruism, Putpockets
Posted in Inspirational People, Leadership | Leave a Comment »
20/08/2009
We stumbled upon Maribel Torres Leon’s Museum of Biodiversity in Ollantaytambo, Peru, when we walking on a side street one afternoon. The motto on her business card states, “Trade rightly, Sustainable Tourism, Cultural Identity”. Check out the video, and if you like it, please support Maribel’s work by either visiting the museum (see address and telephone number below), spreading the word about her good work, and/or making a donation. Well done Maribel!
Museum of Biodiversity
Maribel Torres Leon, Director & Founder
Calle La Convencion
Ollantaytambo, Peru
Tel: 51-84-984-962607 or 984-934263
Email: info@biomuseo.org
Tags:Alternative Tourism, Biodiversity, Cultural Identity, Experiential Education in Peru, Fair Trade, Maribel Torres Leon, Mountain Spirit, Museum of Biodiveristy, Ollantaytambo, Randall Richards, Sustainable Travel
Posted in 1- Video Posts, Conservation, Experiential Education, Fair Trade, Holistic Living, Inspirational People, Peru, Service, Spiritual, Sustainable Living/Communities | Leave a Comment »
17/08/2009
By Amanda Richards
Eva and I met while we were both studying at Copenhagen University about 5 years ago. We were both sad when we said our good-byes because neither of us had any idea when we would see each other again as she was heading home to Germany and I was returning to Australia. Yet, now here we are in South America!
Eva is traveling with Sebastien and they arrived here in Peru intent on cycling and hoping to explore `a strange new world, its countryside, people, cultures and languages for 2.5 months…´ Their adventures began in Lima and they first headed down south to Nazca (a desert area) and then up to Cusco.
On the way to Nazca
They have both been surprised at just how many other cyclists there are on the road – their expectation was that they would be almost the only ones on this big adventure!
After the chaos of Cairo (where they are both currently working) they are particularly enjoying the times when they are higher up in the mountains (sometimes above 4,000m) where there are fewer people.
Up up up and down down down
Eva and Sebastien are at Machu Picchu today and will continue with their cycle tour when they return to Cusco tomorrow. Once again Eva and I will sadly say our good-byes and who knows when or where we will meet again. Somewhere fun!
Tags:Copenhagen University, Cycling through Peru, Eva and Sebastien, Machu Picchu, Mountain Spirit, Peru, Peru by Bicycle, Travel by Bike
Posted in Animals, Archeology, Books, Environment, Experiential Education, Health, Inspirational People, Mountain People, Peru, Power of Place, South America, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
06/08/2009
Corn, Peru Style
Tomorrow, Amanda and I head back for Anna’s place in Ollantaytambo. I was just there a few weeks ago with our participants. I look forward to our second visit this year. A few weeks ago, we spent an afternoon getting tutored by Anna on how she grows amazing varieties of corn. She took us down to her fields in the Sacred Valley, just a stone’s throw from her home, and showed us the different sorts of corn, and how she plants them. She explained that these are not mono-species. Most of the corn cross-breed every season creating a multitude of colors and styles of corn, used for everything from Chicha to toasting corn. She explained that most times every row will have a mix colors, which in fact makes them stronger against disease and drought. She also explained how all the other neighbors work together to share various tasks such as irrigation and maintaining the fields.
Anna giving a lecture on planting corn
Unlike Monsanto corn, these varieties reproduce and are carried down through generations. Not to say there weren’t problems. Some twenty years ago, there were serious health issues with the villages due to pesticide use in the fields. Cancer rates were high and people were really being affected. Now though, things are mostly if not totally organic. Most of Anna’s corn goes to feed her family and chickens, and doesn’t reach the local market. She also grows grains to feed her guinea pigs which she sells to neighbors and other villagers. We’ll keep you posted on what we learn next at Anna’s.
Tags:Anna, cancer rates and pesticides, Monsanto, Mountain Spirit, non-hybrid corn, Ollantaytambo, organic farming, Peru, Varieties of Corn
Posted in Experiential Education, Health, Inspirational People, Mountain People, Peru, South America, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | 1 Comment »
04/08/2009
By Amanda Richards
We had been invited for lunch at the home of Guillermo’s parents-in-law who live in the upper hills of Cusco. Although I had not met them before, Ernistina and her husband were all smiles and welcomed us with hugs and kisses when we arrived. They appeared very humble and live in a simple home. Although spartan and with dirt floors it was clean and comfortable. We sat down to eat and were served soup followed by a lamb stew. The food was delicious and the thing that struck me was that we were given what seemed to be the best meat and they went without any meat at all in their stew. I was a stranger and yet they gave the best of what they had. It reminded me of being on a train in India when complete strangers who obvioulsy had very little, offered me their food and bought me chai, refusing to accept any payment from me. There is still this idea that having guests is an honour and it makes me wonder if this concept is being lost in our western culture.
After lunch we sat outside and again were given the ‘best’ as our chairs were placed in the little bit of sun that was shining in the courtyard. It was a gracious act.
‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give’
Winston Churchill
There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. ‘Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night’s lodging. ‘Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tags:cultural immersion, Generosity, Mountain Spirit, Peru, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Winston Churchill
Posted in 1- Video Posts, Inspirational People, Peru, Quotes, South America, Spiritual, Traveling | Leave a Comment »
05/07/2009
Reconnecting with a Mentor
By R. Richards, MSI Founder
Screen Shot of "American Bedouin"
According to an excellent 2007 Aljazeera Feature video, Erga Rehns has been living the life of a Bedouin in the desert with the Bedouin tribes of Wadi Rum for seven years. I’m not sure if she still does though. I’ll have to do more research in order to contact her again. The last, (and first) time I saw her in person was in 1981, when we first met at her little art studio and home in Obidos, Portugal.
Some people are lucky enough to be a primed for a turning point in their young lives, and come across just the right person at the right time that poses questions, and challenges one’s view of the world – who plants the seed for a paradigm shift. Most people aren’t’ aware they’re ready for that change, until years later, when they realize the shift was primed by those mentors. (more…)
Tags:Aljazeera, Alta Utah, American Bedouin, Chiusa Italy, Dexter Randall Richards, ecospiritual psychology, Erga Rehns, Ex Patriots, Experiential Education, Holistic Living, Jeanne Pickett, Klausen, Living abroad, Luciano Cappella, Martin Strolz, Materialism, Mentors, Mountain Spirit, Mountaineering, mtnspirit.org, New Hampshire, New Zealand, Obidos Portugal, Peru, Simplicity, Spiritual, Strolz GmBH, Strolz Ski Boots, Sud Tirol, Sunapee, Sustainability, Travel, Utah
Posted in Conservation, Environment, Film/DVD, Holistic Living, Inner Work, Inspirational People, Leadership, Power of Place, Spiritual, Sustainable Living/Communities, Traveling | 10 Comments »
21/06/2009
Nobel Laureates in Dialogue, September 26 to 29, 2009
The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education will host His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Vancouver, September 26-29, 2009 for the Vancouver Peace Summit: Nobel Laureates in Dialogue. Joining the Dalai Lama will be Nobel Laureates: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Mairead McGuire and Betty Williams, as well as a number of respected international leaders from the realms of education, the arts, business, politics and social transformation.
The Summit will be built on dialogues held at the Chan Center for the Performing Arts and the Orpheum Theatre. The focus of these dialogues will include the themes of peace, education and women and peace-building. There will also be World Peace through Personal Peace, and Educating the Heart sessions at the summit.
Tags:Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, Dexter R. Richards, Jody Williams, Mairead McGuire and Betty Williams, Mountain Spirit, Nobel Laureates, Peace Summit 2009, Randy Richards
Posted in Holistic Living, Inspirational People, Leadership, Spiritual | Leave a Comment »
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