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greetings from the great white north...brrr.... where the tale last left off, i was on my way back to montreal to reunite with nina. and so, i'll pick up from there... i hitched from new hampshire to montreal, via vermont, and met such lovely people. a family of five or seven or something in a minivan picked me up somewhere along the way, and dad asked mom to get out the notepad, on which were written the questions he asks hitch hikers. just four, but really nice questions that inspire meaningful conversation. by the end, he gave me the name of a meditation center in vermont that i should check out when i'm around sometime. the family lives on something like 60 acres in rural vermont (is that an oxymoron?), mostly sustainable in energy sources, food supply, etc., and she's homeschooling everyone. the two older girls had interests that far surpassed their years. really beautiful people. they let me off at a truck stop, as dad thought it the best place to get a ride in that stretch of highway. i walked around to the four trucks there, but no one was headed in my direction. so i started walking back to the restaurant, preparing for a slow afternoon of waiting for someone going my way, when an elderly woman rolled down the driver's window of her car and asked, "dear, are you hitch hiking?" i said yes, and she said, "well, hop on in!" i rode with mrs. and mr. for some time, and she happily shared with me the details of their lunch at the truck stop~she had a western sandwich and ate the whole thing, the waitress was so friendly, and they even got a senior discount! at this mrs. raised her arm with closed fist and cheered "hurray for retirement!! woohoo!!" turns out, mrs. and mr. were 89 and 90 years old, respectively, and had a friend in my great aunt's town in new hampshire (auntie ruth is 90). i thought to pass on a message, but since mom doesn't know i hitched, i thought better of making dinner conversation of it... rides continued like this until rene and nina finally retrieved me from my last let-off outside of montreal (the last ride's ladies were continuing on to ottawa for a dog show). it seemed forever and a day since i had last seen them, sitting together at rene's camp at the rainbow drinking coffee or chai..a ritual nina and quickly adopted when we found his camp so close to our own.. we went back to rene's and stayed the weekend with him, in his flat in montreal. he's just starting a new story in his life, the one called full-time-dad, with his 14 year-old son having just joined him in the city. so, for the first time in many many years, rene has a flat in the city and a full-time job, and his flat overlooks a beautiful park of large trees we saw from our bedroom window. nice choice, rene. as we talked, i learned rene was in malaysia at the time i last went, studying qi gong with his master. he had mentioned this on the thai caravan, if anyone needed a place to stay passing through, but i didn't connect with him. would have been good. but all the same, it was special for me to share with rene the sights of penang, including the massive statue of kwan yin (bodhisattva of healing and compassion) atop the mountain. this was a very moving experience for me, to stand before her in such splendor, and my camera refused to cooperate, so until that moment with rene, it was a memory shared only with myself. on sunday, nina and i again went to the tam tam in the city center with a box of vegetarian sushi and a sense of humor. again we walked around the people lounging on their picnic blankets, offering our sushi. "it's by donation~give as you feel." one carried the tray of sushi, the other carried the soy sauce and the magick hat~if someone felt to contribute to our magick hat, we held it out for them. if not, they simply ate sushi. the magick hat is an idea we borrowed from the rainbow, as this is how money is donated at the gatherings, the hat is passed and you give as you feel, and somehow, magick happens, the abundance of the hat feeds the family. and it was so for us as well. our magick hat held for us amulets, cough drops, smokables, and loonies and toonies for our monetary budget across the great canadian continent. for us, this was the only way to exchange. we met people in the spirit of giving, and people responded in kind. we sat and talked with many people, and shared laughter all around the park. special for us was sitting with the endless stream of street kids, who were trying sushi for the first time, because it's not something you afford yourself when you haven't any money. and yet, these kids, to whom we offered sushi and asked for nothing in return, would dig deep in their pockets amidst the lint and loose tobacco, to loose change and tidbits to offer our magick hat. kids were digging through pockets for each other, to give an offering for a friend who dared to try the sushi. we walked along the row of vendors and offered sushi, and a vendor chased after us, giving us each a necklace adorned with a resin-enshrined flower petal that reminded him of us. mine was a sunflower, and i've worn it every day since. and so, with a warm hug and a big thank you to rene and his hospitality, we began moving westward. and after the nice officer tossed us off the highway (about two minutes into our first hitch), we managed to meet wonderful people and have interesting adventures as we meandered across the country. our first night included a wonderful surprise...while our driver took a rest in the back, we spent the night chatting away in the front seats of the truck. it was a full moon, and she graced us with a perfect view, right out the front window. as the night lingered on, we watched as the moon was eclipsed. we exclaimed in delight, and in our excitement went outside to watch, huddled together against the frigid canadian cold. the cold won out, and to the truck we retreated, but our seats were perfectly aligned for watching, and the night was long. as the eclipse overtook the last of the moon's light, the sun started rising in the east. such a special night. if you haven't guessed, that meant we got no sleep that night, and then spent the day on the road...our driver left us at the turn off to wawa, ontario, as he thought it a good spot to meet our request for a nice spot along a lake for sleeping, and a little town to visit the next day. just as we got out, he mentioned it was supposed to rain all night, so perhaps we should seek shelter. luckily, the tourist information center wasn't far, and closed soon. the view from the center was lovely, overlooking the valley, with a huge wawa~the ojibway word for canadian goose~greeting all who visit the town. we wanted to sleep under the wawa's wings, large as they were, but with the rainstorm coming and the 3 meter high block on which she sat~between us and the protection of her wing~we opted for the overhang of the information center building. it was a long, cold night, with half of me drenched by morning, and we gathered ourselves early and ambled into town. all we wanted was to lay by the lake and rest our weary bones, but it was cold and cloudy, we will ill-prepared for this weather. oh, canada. and so, we ambled into town and warmed our bodies and hearts as we peeked into little shops at the trinkets and fascinations sold to the people of wawa, all the while warming our hearts with our own pronunciations of wawa..wa-wa..waa-wa!..waaa-waaa...yes, high level entertainment. at one point, we found ourselves in a fine jewelry store, which puzzles me, but there we were, and sure enough, she sold nose rings. who'da thunk it. after a time, i got talking with cathy, the owner, about her elderly mother who was experiencing dementia and recently moved into cathy's apartment above the shop as she wasn't safe alone anymore. from years of work with the elderly and experience with dementia, i offered cathy some suggestions for coping with these changes, of techniques, of books to offer support, and other ways to care for herself and her parents during this difficult time. perhaps it was the relief of finally having a ear to listen, or perhaps it was sparked by the spontaneity she saw in us, but something inspired cathy to do what she'd never done, and she invited us to spend the night with her and edna. a middle-aged woman and her elderly mother, alone in an apartment~over a fine jewelry store~with two vagabonds. it restores your faith in humanity. that night, edna was complaining of neck pain, and not sure what she had done. i offered her reiki, which she accepted. cathy sat aside of me as i placed my hands on edna's neck, and listened intently as edna described the sensations and experience of receiving this energy. as relief came to edna's neck, she said, "i asked my angel to send me one his little helpers today..how did you know to come?" as nina emerged from a much-needed hot shower, we were beginning a reiki circle meditation, which she happily joined. both edna and cathy expressed surprise and elation at the sensations they felt in the energy coming through their hands. later, nina and i talked about this, and she shared that she was excited for our time together, that it would reconnect her to reiki, as she had gone on to practice energy work in another discipline since her days of reiki. "what i realised, though, in the circle we did, it that it's all the same! what was coming through me was reiki, but it was also my tibetan master! it's all the same!" i felt such happiness at this, because to me, yes, it is the same: light is light. next day we bid farewell to edna and cathy, with our new gold-engraved pens and our excellent wawa pins in hand, and we walked back out to the trans-canadian highway. before nina could finish her snack, our next ride was waiting. joe is a trucker for four years now, i think, having packed up his hair salon after many years. for two days and a night we traveled with joe, sharing inspiring and interesting conversation, learning about canada, and sharing tales. joe brought us home with him to winnipeg, where we met his wife, son & daughter, and dog. we spent two days in winnipeg; nina got a professional haircut from joe, we went to the local dive bar, plundered unsupervised through the mennonite museum (a bit boring without the plundering..well, plundering is a bit strong..we just played around and pretended to plunder), and to the park and children's museum. and as we bade farewell to joe at the truck stop outside winnipeg, the next ride picked us up~again~before we were finished with snack time. this truck had two drivers, and so the plains of canada went quickly. in a day and a half, we were saying good bye and getting off at revelstoke, in the canadian rockies, to make our way south to the kootenays. rainbowrainbowrainbow a week in mostly trucks had given us a kind of sense of speed, one that you roll along and make time, but don't keep time. our death-defying rides between revelstoke and balfour were quite different from this, clinging for dear life inside the cars of teenage boys. (how do we survive those years?) we arrived to powerline beach, excited to reunite with rainbow brothers and sisters, only to learn that the gathering had petered out, and six people remained. okay, mind shift. we left the next morning with luke and denise, and headed for halfway hot springs, where brothers and sisters were likely reconverging after the gathering. luke, denise, and i chose a campsite in the moss-covered forest, halfway to the hot springs. each morning luke and i rose, each attending our morning practice in the glimpses of sunlight flickering through the heavy canopy of trees. i gave luke a reiki attunement, and watched as he joined this ritual with his existing practice, giving it the attention and dedication needed for it to truly become you. my practice was lovely amid the moss, albeit cold, and afterwards luke and i would meet at the fire for chai and breakfast. we spend many days in this way, spending mostly in silence, and all going later to the hot springs, laying in the tubs and looking at the stars. nina opted to camp alone, and soon came and said goodbye. i knew from quebec that our travel time together would be limited, and was relieved she chose to go on. california was calling her, and it wasn't calling me. my calling was in b.c. soon we moved camp down to the river's edge, and my practice moved to the rocky beach. i spent the first day erecting wish piles of the endless stones, remembering the spires and piles surrounding korean temples, especially the temple near one of my favorite places in korea. there was a patch of sand amid these rocks, and i relocated all the stones into wish piles in a circle around the sand, and created myself a sanctuary. i spent many hours each day within this circle, my practice facing the beautiful peaks to the east, witnessing the changing colors and aspects of the mountain shifting in the sunlight's reflections. i spent these days alone and in silence, in meditations of the elements, in reiki meditations, in visions and manifestations. i read and sewed and wrote. my body and mind rested, my spirit restored. it remains, however, that i was still camping in canada in the autumn, and my provisions leave me ill-prepared for such a thing. each night in my tent, i laughed and cursed as i ritualistically layered on the cotton socks and flannel skirt, the shawls and burlap sacks under the yoga mat, more cotton socks over my hands, and all of it inside the thin layers of my thai hammock, which, when wrapped fully around me offered a surprising level of warmth. don't misunderstand~i still froze my ass off every bloody night~but at least all my appendages are still intact. and so it was, with bittersweet emotions (oh...my practice....oh! heat!) that i bade farewell to halfway hot springs, moving on for the next story... i met eli in nakusp, and soon we were on our way to his land in edgewood. there i met his wife kim, and we became fast friends. harvest season is a busy time in valleys abundant with fruit and harvest, and young families have lots to do to prepare for the coming winter. kim and eli bought their land two years ago, and now live in the yurt while they continue to work on llama fences, the cabin, and the gardens. poppy guards the land with her ferocious bark, and kiah, sage, and cedar play cafe in the forest and ride bikes in the front yard. for nearly two months i lived with this beautiful little family, cooking hearty lunches and hot chai for the people helping out with the autumn harvest, cleaning the house and tending the kids. kim and i went many times to the town for errands, and as kim is a country girl through and through, having someone else to drive in "the city" was an opportunity she had long awaited. life on the shores of arrow lake was peaceful and quiet, with the permeating silence ringing in my ears. the lake was surrounded by small mountains, unspoilt by boats, and i enjoyed walking along its shores collecting clay beads. up the country road were marge and wayne and their 36 dogs~sneaking up on them an impossibility to be sure. the dogs are little, which makes it a bit trippy to have all these little barks zipping around you. i loved to visit with marge, to see the deluxe dog house bedecked with heat lamps, pens for mamas and babies, and a couch and vcr/tv for their evening entertainment. marge's gardens are beautiful, and i smiled to learn that kim had helped with them this past summer. i look forward to returning to kim's and helping her with her flower gardens. there aren't many folks living out there, and so there are a lot of cougars and bears. i enjoyed sitting just outside the yurt door in the evening with antoine as he pointed out the constellations to me, and the evenings we climbed the hill to gaze at the full moon over the lake or walked up the quiet road and breathed in the cool mountain air. life in the kootenay s is simple and peaceful. the land is rugged and pristine. i like b.c. have to stop by there again. soon. and now, i'm in new hampshire, making arrangements for a new england winter. my spirit needs a winter rest, in the wood-fired stillness that defines a new england winter. i need time to rejuvenate, to return to just this moment, to stillness. tomorrow i go to a meditation center an hour from here, on 600 acres of rolling hills in vermont. i hope to share with you soon that this is my residence, and to write to me there. in the meantime, many blessings on your journeys~~~write when you can. in love and light, karin
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