Category Archives: Valley Moments

Residency: Personal Wellness at Arenal Kioro

LA FORTUNA, CR – Arenal Kioro offers a fabulous place with a natural viewpoint to the Arenal Volcano which make a great retreat for Personal Wellness. The hotel has 27 acres of undulating land, surrounded by two streams (La Palma and Kioro) with crystalline waters that begin to flow in the Arenal Volcano National Park. Private Thermal water surround exuberant gardens for our guests´ pleasure.

The hotel hosts 53 suites, 11 with one king bed and a daybed and 42 with two Queen beds and a daybed, with two “Juliet” balconies with the best panoramic volcano and mountain view , hydromassage hot tub, air conditioning, safe deposit box, minibar, coffee maker, hot water, direct dialing telephone, cable television, hair dryer, key card, safety locks and wireless Internet.

With Costa Rica being a short 6 hour flight away from Boston, it makes a great getaway destination. Surrounded by lush greens and flora, the Arenal Volcano makes for a luxurious backdrop for a personal wellness weekend. Staying at a suite and spa resort promotes personal wellness; everything from scrumptious Costa Rican dishes to accessibility of the hot springs and an experience at Arenal Kioro gives you a sense of green luxury, promoting sustainability practices to help keep the area green and lush. 

Arenal Kioro also offers tours and activities to give you a chance to explore the area. It is always convenient to work through a hotel to organize excursions in the area. I took advantage of the hanging bridges tour since that was something different than my last trip to Costa Rica that I hadn’t done. After the tour, I spent the afternoon sipping Pina coladas and mojitos and enjoyed the hot springs. Despite the rainy weather and season, I went into the experience embracing it as the locals would say – Pura Vida!

Inquiry: Signs of Spring

Spring has been in full swing for the last several weeks, but this time of year has to be my absolute favorite. Studying botany and/or using organic materials in artwork can be difficult in the winter, as everything is literally frozen over. When I can start foraging for mushrooms, seeing botanical gardens and collect specimens for my studio to dry and/or use in my artwork I feel more complete. Spring and Fall in New England also has to be my favorite seasons. On Sunday, a Dryad’s Saddle popped up under the young maple tree out in my backyard and at the beginning of the month, the lilacs were in bloom at Harvard. With the plants in bloom and to continue in bloom, it’s easy to feel abundance of inspiration during these times.

Hunab Ku

The Origin of the “Hunab Ku” Symbol

“The Origin of the ‘Hunab Ku’ Symbol”

Sept. 24, 2006

http://www.diagnosis2012.co.uk/new10.htm#hunab

Hunab Ku

The “Hunab Ku” symbol, is widely presumed to be a Maya representation of a major Maya deity and the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. You can find a representation of it at the centre of the Dire Gnosis logo on the index page of this website.  Anthropologist John Hoopes recently asked the Year 2012 discussion group if anyone could pinpoint any Maya sculpture, ceramic vessel, or other Precolumbian Maya source where it is shown.

The discussion brought out some interesting facts, summarised as follows:

The symbol became widely known when Jose Arguelles published The Mayan Factor in 1987, where it appears in circular form on the cover of the book, and as part of many illustrations. On p. 32, a rectangular version is labelled “Hunab Ku”, and on p.52, the rectangular version is shown and labelled as “Hunab Ku: One Giver of Movement and Measure”. On p. 30-32, Arguelles explains that in 1968, he visited a little town called Teotitlan del Valle near the Zapotec site of Monte Alban in the mountains of Oaxaca, in central Mexico, and he was shown two rugs with this pattern on them in a textile shop. He bought one in blue and orange.

The connection between the title of Hunab Ku and the design is not explained by Arguelles, but seems to have come via the modern Maya day-keeper, Hunbatz Men. Arguelles says on p.40 that he met Hunbatz Men in 1985, and admits that he was heavily influenced by him. The following year, in 1986, Hunbatz Men published a book in Spanish called Religion Ciencia Maya, (published in 1990 in English as Secrets of Maya Science/Religion), he says that the Mexicas (Aztecs) worshipped Hunab Ku, and they (as well as the Mixtecs), also worshipped the Milky Way, as represented in the “G symbol” (p.40-41). Men calls Hunab Ku “The Only Giver of Movement and Measure”, and at the bottom of p.34 he says that “in order to understand the sacred Hunab Ku…one must venerate the origin of zero, the Milky Way…”.

According to the official Mayanists, such as Sharer, Hunab Ku means “one god” in Yucatec Mayan language, and was the creator of the universe and equivalent to Itzamna, but “Hunab Ku seems to have figured little in the life of the ancient Maya and no representations of Hunab Ku have been identified in the codices or elsewhere.”

In John Major Jenkins’ 1998 book, Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, he shows the rectangular symbol, (p.329) and says it originates in the Nuttall Codex (a pre-conquest Mixtec document named after Zelia Nuttall who identified and published it), but after failing to find it in the the Nuttall codex, Hoopes contacted John Major Jenkins, who said he had seen the symbol as a frontispiece House of the Dawn – in a romance novel by Ryan, published in 1914, and also in an academic work by Zelia Nuttall, but he’d rechecked and it was not in the Nuttall Codex.

Next,  I located the symbol in its rectangular form in a 1922 edition of Herbert J. Spinden’s Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America (p.220), with the caption, “Mexican blanket with the design representing sand and water”.

John Major Jenkins finally settled the matter, when he found the rectangular design in the Codex Magliabecchiano, published in 1903, with a commentary by Zelia Nuttall, which is an Aztec document and dates from some time before 601. Hoopes went on to find that the codex shows variations of the rectangular design, and says they are “mantas” – mantles or ritual cloaks that were used in festivals – in particular, the festival of  lip plugs. The word for lip plug was originally mistranslated as spider water, which is given in the caption.

So, in summary, the “Hunab Ku” symbol was originally a rectangular symbol used by the Aztecs as a ritual cloak design, known as the Mantle of Lip Plugs (or, arguably, mantle of spider water). The symbol survives as a rug design being sold in central Mexico, but was associated with the Milky Way and the god Hunab Ku by Jose Arguelles in 1987, who changed the symbol to a circular one. This is how the symbol appeared in the 16th century Codex Magliabecchiano:

Introducing… MagKnotic!

It’s been about a year since switching gears to my artistic practice. The electrography collection literally came to me via psychic insight and I was able to follow that insight at the time. I was in college at the time, and deep into my research interests when the idea came to me and with the help of my father – he was able to help build the device I needed to pursue the project. My professors encouraged me to build a legacy of images surrounding this style of photographic art. I have been deeply terrified of following other ideas due to them not having any sort of structure to measure success or to define the project to be successful. Through the years of exhibiting my electrography collection I’ve been teaching myself how to measure the success of this project so I can embark on other projects and ideas that are similar – which is why and how I devised the research framework. I had realized my electrography collection came from my research interests and once I defined a framework for that, my other ideas for projects developed nicely.

This past year I have done an enormous amount of soul searching and figuring out what and how I would conduct my artistic practice. I have 8 research interests that are propagating that I see unfolding over the next 5-10 years. I have felt very blessed that my first steps into the art world professionally have been met with success, but it is also terrifying to me to try to follow and continue these steps. Of the 8 research interests, only a few have stuck with me as something to pursue and that are feasible to pursue in the moment.

One of the things that was brought to my attention is that much of the opportunities that I pursued were in order to help other organizations continue to run. Which is fine and all – perhaps for an entry level artist – however, I feel at this stage of my career there should be less of that and more things carried out and organized on my own. So this means having a full body of work ready to be displayed when submitting to calls for exhibition, learning how to apply for grants and securing funding for larger scale projects, collaborating with larger institutions and universities to carry out work that is beneficial to the people involved, among other things. When realizing that I have the skills to conduct these projects essentially on my own outside of the established boundaries of art, it is quite freeing. I do not need that residency or development course to carry out a project – utilizing the resources at hand, I can carry out these projects myself.

The universe has a funny way of working… I have been working on this new artwork series within the last month and just the last couple of days an opportunity came through within my network for me to go back to my artistic home – Italy – to potentially work with a textile manufacturer in a collaborative project. I had been feeling a pull to work on my research interest of weaving and textile arts  and this synchronicity has sort of confirmed it for me. I have put several ideas out into the universe and seems to me that this one will lead somewhere. Which leads me to introduce the project…

MagKnotic! A series of textile arts that are inspired by magnetic fields visualized with ferrofluid and light. This project is about the theory that weaving and textile arts, specifically Celtic – as well as others, contain meanings embedded within the knots, forming a language. For example, a comparison between an image of the earth’s magnetic field and the Celtic tree of life depicting the exploding/imploding energy. An implosion is simply the opposite of an explosion. In an explosion, matter and energy fly outward, but in an implosion, matter and energy collapse inward. So in short, implosions are caused by having a greater pressure on the outside of an object than on the inside. For the purpose of this project, it will focus on the Celtic knotting methods and it’s correlation to magnetism. However, this project can extend to other cultures such as South America and as far as East Asia.

WTA – Magical Designs of the Shibipo Indians

Have you ever wondered what inspired the designs of the indigenous peoples?

There are instances when design inspiration comes from an other worldly experience.

He reports that Shipibo shamans believe that taking Ayahuasca permits the shaman’s soul to leave his body in the form of a bird which then can fly to a distant enemy at night. This bird then changes back into the shaman’s human form so he can destroy the sleeping enemy. Shipibo WomanUnder the influence of the Banisteriopsis drink mixture, the Shipibo Indians often report seeing giant anacondas, poisonous snakes, and jaguars. Less frequently, other animals are observed in their visions. In addition, Harner reports that often a shaman, taking the drink, believes he acquires giant snakes which are to be his special demons to be used in protecting himself against other shamans in supernatural battles. The Shipibo shamans, under the influence of the drug, believe they imprison other persons’ souls with supernatural boats whose demon crews are led by a yellow jaguar and a black puma.

The pineal gland is your third eye. It is usually illustrated in art as a pinecone. This eye is actually a small gland in the center of the brain, which we’re told is to help balance both the left and right brain when working properly.

This gland secretes a serotonin known as DMT or Dimethyltryptamine that is nicknamed to be the spirit molecule, because it’s the very tryptamine that helps us fall asleep. This gland is called an eye because it has a retina and is built like our exterior eyes. This eye opens when lights are off, or we close our eyes. In Matthew 4:16 “the people sitting in darkness saw a great Light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, Light sprang up to them,” Isa. 9:1-2. This eye is home to visions, dreams, ideas and imaginations. There has been an interesting study of the brain chemistry of schizophrenics and creative people. The basis of the conclusion of this was the chemistry from the third eye. Schizophrenic behavior occurs when the third eye is awake when the person is awake.

By Howard G Charing,

The intricate Shipibo designs have their origin in the non-manifest and ineffable world in the spirit of the Rainforest and all who live there. The designs are a representation of the Cosmic Serpent, the Anaconda, the great Mother, creator of the universe called Ronin Kene. For the Shipibo the skin of Ronin Kene has a radiating, electrifying vibration of light, colour, sound, movement and is the embodiment of all possible patterns and designs past, present, and future. The designs that the Shipibo paint are channels or conduits for this multi-sensorial vibrational fusion of form, light and sound. Although in our cultural paradigm we perceive that the geometric patterns are bound within the border of the textile or ceramic vessel, to the Shipibo the patterns extend far beyond these borders and permeate the entire world.

One of the challenges for the Western mind is to acknowledge the relationship between the Shipibo designs and music. For the Shipibo can “listen” to a song or chant by looking at the designs, and inversely paint a pattern by listening to a song or music.

The Shipibo believe that our state of health (which includes physical and psychological) is dependent on the balanced union between mind, spirit and body. If an imbalance in this occurs such as through emotions of envy, hate, anger, this will generate a negative effect on the health of that person. The shaman will re-establish the balance by chanting the icaros, which are the geometric patterns of harmony made manifest in sound into the body of the person. The shaman in effect transforms the visual code into an acoustic code.

A key element in this magical dialogue with the energy which permeates creation and is embedded in the Shipibo designs is the work with ayahuasca by the Shipibo shamans or muraya. In the deep ayahuasca trance, the ayahuasca reveals to the shaman the luminous geometric patterns of energy. These filaments drift towards the mouth of the shaman where it metamorphoses into a chant or icaro. The icaro is a conduit for the patterns of creation which then permeate the body of the shaman’s patient bringing harmony in the form of the geometric patterns which re-balances the patient’s body. The vocal range of the Shipibo shaman’s when they chant the icaros is astonishing, they can range from the highest falsetto one moment to a sound which resembles a thumping pile driver, and then to a gentle soothing melodic lullaby. Speaking personally of my experience with this, is a feeling that every cell in my body is floating and embraced in a nurturing all-encompassing vibration, even the air around me is vibrating in acoustic resonance with the icaro of the maestro. The shaman knows when the healing is complete as the design is clearly distinct in the patient’s body. It make take a few sessions to complete this, and when completed the geometric healing designs are embedded in the patient’s body, this is called an Arkana. This internal patterning is deemed to be permanent and to protect a person’s spirit.

The smaller flowing patterns within the geometric forms are the radiating power of the Cosmic Serpent which turns this way and that, betwixt and between constantly creating the universe as it moves. The circles are often a direct representation of the Cosmic Anaconda, and within the circle itself is the central point of creation.

In the Western tradition, from the Pythagoreans, and Plato through the Renaissance music was used to heal the body and to elevate the soul. It was also believed that earthly music was no more than a faint echo of the universal ‘harmony of the spheres’. This view of the harmony of the universe was held both by artists and scientists until the mechanistic universe of Newton.

Joseph Campbell the foremost scholar of mythology suggests that there is a universe of harmonic vibrations which the human collective unconscious has always been in communion with. Our beings beat to the ancient rhythms of the cosmos. The traditional ways of the Shipibo and other indigenous peoples still reflect the primal rhythm, and their perception of the universal forces made physical is truly a communion with the infinite.

Exploration: Discover the Bohemian North Beach Lifestyle

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Discover the Bohemian North Beach Lifestyle by walking through pier 39 and uncovering the whimsy and amusement, the pier to plate delicacies, and the authentic European flavors of San Francisco.

San Remo Hotel

Beginning in the 1930s, artists, musicians and poets found a home at the San Remo, some paying their room tab with a painting or two, most moving on when they could find a larger place more suitable for use as a studio. The easygoing environment at the hotel, a perfect fit for the bohemian North Beach lifestyle, attracted creative talent for several decades. Local San Remo Hotel artists like Julius Hatofsky and Ernie Biggs were San Remo guests in the 50s. Hatofsky became an emeritus instructor at the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute after a long career as an artist, and Biggs gained a reputation in New York. Sometimes the less glamorous tenants needed a little looking after. Proprietor Nello Ragghianti, who operated the hotel from 1945 to 1972, would bank their monthly Social Security checks and dole out funds as needed so they weren’t squandered.

Pier to Plate

Since 1965 local fisherman have been bringing their catch to Scoma’s pier. This local favorite is home to fresh seafood in a diverse menu. I dined on a Mediterranean Mussels dish and had a cocktail. While this restaurant is in the higher fine dining end of the spectrum, it was refreshing to see a local favorite still in existence. Its’ longevity shows its’ importance the ever-changing landscape of San Francisco.

European Flavor

If you are visiting San Francisco and suddenly crave some French flavor, head to pier 39 where there is a wide array of shops, restaurants and kitschy experiences. One of my favorites was the Crêpe Cafe, serving authentic crepes in a buttery envelope. I personally had the Florentine, a crepe of Spinach, Diced Red Onion and Feta & Cheddar Cheese. Made for a lightweight but filling lunch and a great alternative to the abundance of fried food.

Experience Whimsy

Experience the whimsical and amusement side of Pier 39 and the bohemian lifestyle, from mirror houses to authentically painted carousels, there was an air of otherworldly in San Francisco. From pier 39 the above carousel is described as, “Handcrafted in Italy, the San Francisco Carousel is intricately hand-painted with famous San Francisco landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Chinatown, Lombard Street, Alcatraz and the popular California sea lions at PIER 39, making it the only carousel in San Francisco (that we are aware of) that has artistic renderings of the city.”

Time

As I usually like to tell clients that I read for, we are all conduits and experience the world through a set system of beliefs, knowledge, perspectives and everything that may come from our upbringings, parents, family members, professors and teachers, etc. help shape the way we perceive the physical world. These perceptions are based on either belief or fact and often oscillate between the two and sometimes intertwining causing illusions, delusions and things that may not necessarily exist.

Of these constructs is time. Time – as in the past, present and future – is a linear and man-made concept. However, time itself is based on fact – the earth orbits the sun 24 hours each day. But to organize these consecutive orbits, we have days, weeks, months and years, which turn into decades, centuries, etc. That method of organizing time is just a method – we often call this method of organizing time the calendar system. Over time… different societies and cultures have created their own calendar systems. For example, if we all still followed the Rosicrucian system we would be in the year 3368, however as the rest of the business world operates on the Gregorian calendar we are in 2018. This is why the linear method – past, present and future – doesn’t really make sense, or make time believable. What year is it truly, if two methods of organizing time are giving us two different answers?

This is why I tell clients that – the past, present and future – are all happening at once – since they don’t exist at all. But, that leaves us as to maybe why the calendar system was created in the first place. Perhaps when they were, the scholars and mathematicians realized that in order to progress a society you have to make them believe a future is real. Otherwise, how would anyone want to progress a society if a future just doesn’t exist? Which also leaves us the question of, how can psychics and seekers predict a future when a future just doesn’t exist? They analyze the world around them and the person they are reading based on systems and perceptions they have.

Residency: Experience Victorian San Francisco

About a year ago I got the opportunity to do a media stay at San Remo Hotel in San Francisco but because of the circumstances at the time, I had to push it to this year. It’s truly amazing to me how much a year can change in terms of one’s circumstances. Since I’ve started working full-time, I’ve been figuring out how to keep a pre-established lifestyle while maintaining a 40-hour work week. Quite frankly it’s been difficult and the pace has been much slower, which I don’t mind at all. Working full-time has breathed new life into my routines that had been missing previously.

San Remo Hotel is a centennial time capsule. Just over a hundred years ago in 1906 after the earthquake and fire that destroyed most of San Francisco, Bank of America founder A.P. Giannini, constructed a new hotel on 2237 Mason St. just blocks away from Fisherman’s Wharf. The hotel has 62 rooms and was originally named the “New California Hotel” hoping to infuse optimism and rebirth after the fire into the city. The hotel ambiance is Old World: quiet rooms without phones or TVs, Victorian heirloom furnishings and hallways lined with historic photos. Guests share bath facilities, reminiscent of European pensione-style lodging.

Beginning in the 1930s, artists, musicians and poets found a home at the San Remo, some paying their room tab with a painting or two, most moving on when they could find a larger place more suitable for use as a studio. The easygoing environment at the hotel, a perfect fit for the bohemian North Beach lifestyle, attracted creative talent for several decades.

Local San Remo Hotel artists like Julius Hatofsky and Ernie Biggs were San Remo guests in the 50s. Hatofsky became an emeritus instructor at the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute after a long career as an artist, and Biggs gained a reputation in New York. Sometimes the less glamorous tenants needed a little looking after. Proprietor Nello Ragghianti, who operated the hotel from 1945 to 1972, would bank their monthly Social Security checks and dole out funds as needed so they weren’t squandered.

San Francisco itself is situated in the Silicon Valley and is home a diverse array of industries most famous for technological and biological innovation. Silicon Valley (abbreviated as SV or The Valley) is a region in the southern San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, referring to the Santa Clara Valley, which serves as the global center for high technology, venture capital, innovation, and social media. San Jose is the Valley’s largest city, the 3rd-largest in California, and the 10th-largest in the United States. Other major SV cities include Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale. The San Jose Metropolitan Area has the third highest GDP per capita in the world (after Zurich, Switzerland and Oslo, Norway), according to the Brookings Institution.

The word “silicon” originally referred to the large number of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers in the region, but the area is now the home to many of the world’s largest high-tech corporations, including the headquarters of 39 businesses in the Fortune 1000, and thousands of startup companies. Silicon Valley also accounts for one-third of all of the venture capital investment in the United States, which has helped it to become a leading hub and startup ecosystem for high-tech innovation and scientific development. It was in the Valley that the silicon-based integrated circuit, the microprocessor, and the microcomputer, among other key technologies, were developed. As of 2013, the region employed about a quarter of a million information technology workers.

Learn more about the San Remo Hotel: here.