I've been leading and participating in so much great group ritual lately! My own mystical-visual Kabbalat Shabbat Friday night, complete with K'Gavna and Atkinu Seudata, both Sefirotic unification invocations, and a big dinner. 12 people came. I led Shabbat services Saturday, about 60 people were there! I used Smetana's "Moldau" theme for B'riech Shmei during the Torah service - it's breathtaking. People really love the way I lead, and say my Hebrew is beautiful. There are so many different tunes to remember, besides all of the difficult language - it's quite exhilirating.

Havdalah was at Rabbi Hoffman's and that's always a nice way to come out of my 3 hour Saturday afternoon nap. Larry Grunfest said something hilarious. He never says a word and looks like he's half asleep, and then he'll say one word that will totally crack everyone up. We were talking about choices, and all of life's issues about making them, and the Rabbi says "Larry what do you think?," and Larry stirs out of his half-slumber and says - "Uh, yeah, I'm pro-choice -" - anyway, and there was some really good kugel, salmon and wine . . .

Sunday morning davening is always amazing - with a guitar, tambourines, and our loud voices, I'm sure we can be heard several houses down. Now Josh Sachs has been showing up - his Hebrew is right up there with Will's, the Rabbi's and mine - we are a powerhouse! Such diction! Such force! Like a team of fresh horses, we launch the morning and the week with vigor and courage, creating harmony and energy unparalleled. We are Jedi, generating a wave of holiness, and riding the half-pipe of creation itself. I'm SO grateful to the Creator Before Time for allowing all of this to happen (¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.->

Dances of Universal Peace is really great, too. It happens every wednesday night and there are usually about 40 to 50 people, dancing in concentric circles around a little band on the round rug in the center - a clarinet, flutes, drums, mandolines, accordion, etc. The leader plays a guitar, and teaches us first the words, in anything from Hawaiian to Hopi, and the tunes, and then the steps, and we do 8 or 10 different dances each week. I've gone 6 times and only done the same dance over one time. We do dances from India, or China, or Russia - it's really great. www.dup-co.com/index.html

I was at Shambhala Mountain for a week, meditating and doing yoga - the food was perfect, 90% vegetarian and some fish, the setting is beautiful, and the learning was brilliant. It was BuJu - a Buddhist/Jewish melange that hits a lot of notes. I took some pictures of the Stupa of Dharmakaya that Liberates Upon Seeing.
Pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/ocosingo/
Shambhala Mountain: www.shambhalamountain.org

Our Tarot and Kabala groups have been good too. I want to combine the Yoga/Dream group into a generalized arts/drumming/performance troupe, we'll see how that goes.

There's so much to do! I've also been learning Bach's French Suites for piano - they are increèble!

Ah, yes, and Monday Talmud - we've been meeting for 6 years now, and we're on page 14. It's quite interesting to have this same thread of thought going all of this time with the same people, 90 minutes a week . . . we're studying tractate Chagigah - ostenstibly a discussion of the 3 Biblical festivals - but we've talked about the 7 levels of heaven, and the green thread that encircles the universe, and the river of fire, and the sweat of the angels dripping on the souls in Gehinnom - it's really out there!

My syncretic look at Judaic and Vedic thought: torahveda.org

Check out Daniel Tammet, neo-sapiens - functional, well-adjusted autistic savant who recited pi to 22,514 digits with no errors in 5 hours, who can instantly recognize any prime number, who sees numbers as colors and shapes, who learned Icelandic in one week, and who wowed them on Letterman: www.optimnem.co.uk/

Equinox - Spring - Aries - Channel it - Guard it - Ride it - Care For it - May the Force Be With You