Sweat Lodge: Old Indian ceremonies in a new Place

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"Isn't it love that keeps us dreaming
Isn't it love what we were sent here for?
Wasn't that love we were feeling
deep in our souls, deeper than we know?"
(Bonnie Raitt, Longing In Their Hearts (Album)

Pantelleria. Many of my friends here do not have computers. Pantelleria is not a high tech place. Many of them seem to feel that the time I spend at the computer is idle time; that "he is doing nothing" "he needs to get a real job", and so forth. There is not a great curiosity about these boxes. I am using a new Mac Book Pro made by Apple Computer. I really like their computers and tend to use Mac Computers exclusively. The new one even runs Windows by Microsoft; I even have the Windows running on the damn thing, which is a strange experience. Love keeps me going. Love in eight directions.

Meeting. A few weeks ago I met an Italian lady of exceptional spirit and clarity, here at my sculpture studio. She was so intelligent and strong in her spirit, in her observations. I was very impressed with her. She told me her name. I thanked her for coming by. She was a graceful woman in her middle years, accompanied by a very pointed italian many with a camera. While we talked, he took many photos. She was very observant of the art. I wished I had asked her to stay for coffee. Only later did I learn that I had just met with the esteemed Margherita Boniver. What I most enjoyed about her was her sense of consciousness; her powers of observation were very strong. I have met politicians in the past and most of them are slugs, leeches on the public trust and far from being what I would call observant. This woman was a person of consciousness and intelligence. It was really nice.

Work has finally been completed on our new sweat lodge. There is no long wood for this work on Pantelleria, so we finally settled and made the new sweat lodge from pvc. Now I am digging out the steep hillside to make the fire pit area. We hope to have our first sweat lodge around the full moon. This is the first ever sweat lodge for me not made from saplings of wood. I am learning to appreciate that if what you want is not available you can see if it is possible to just continue your work with what you have. I wonder what my old indians would think? Whatever the review might be, we are at last very happy to have this working tool here. The sweat lodge is a place to gather strength; a place of renewal and a meditation on the deeper mystery of life. It is a strong meditation with the hot stones, with the earth itself. Silvia and I are very happy to have this sacred meditation now possible here on Pantelleria.

Dreaming. All night, night after night.
Always searching for the Dreamer inside the dream.
I put a little fire on my belly. I put a little dream beside my spirit. I dream
and think about the fire
look for it in my dream
and slowly, slowly, slowly
the golden eagle appears
and carries me to the ground
where there is tobacco
and a fire
beside the sacred sea........

(Monday)