2^nd part of the journey

Wildlife and plants…

I love seeing other countries, cultures, and the tribal dance variations, and I also love seeing the different wildlife and native plants. I was so fortunate to stay at the Banksia Farm in Mt. Barker, when I was teaching the dancers for those few days.

It is a B&B that is known for it’s 11 acres of the native plant, the Banksia, which is an amazingly diverse plant, with wildly exotic blooms and pods. Not only are the grounds are great walking tour to see this plant, but also to see lots of wildlife. The birds themselves were numerous, with loud calls throughout the day, as they flew in flocks around the grounds, the bush, and the pond.

I awoke every morning to the shrills and calls of the white-tailed black parrots, the ducks, the other assorted parrots, the guineas, and other birds I have no idea what they were, but there were lots of them! I saw the Blue Wren, the Honey sucker,  along with the guana lizard ( a monitor), an ibis, several hawks and crows, tons of cows and sheep with the assorted goats, a gorgeous baby donkey, and others.

And of course the variations on the eucalyptus and gum trees were outstanding, the bark alone diverse in its striped and peeling nature was a visual treat, as always.

And Kevin, the banksia expert, gave me the informative lecture on the banksia, which are just so cool!

and now, on to a weekend in Denmark with Becky and a full on two days of dancing and a hafla….

Oh, where have I been? I”ve missed my blogging! and you…

The long lost traveler without her computer! Traveling across the world for the past week, on the road, without much computer access, but I’m still lurking with blog in mind!

I finished off the Tribal Vision book giveaway before I left Oregon, and Hiya was thrilled to be the winner. Such lovely entrees for the new year, may all of you receive your dreams and desires in the dance and beyond.

I have been writing the February enewsletter, which should be out next week. February already? Wow… the new year is cruising and life is good.

After a 30 some hour flight, a too brief visit with a good friend, I jumped yet another plane for another dance adventure. Dancing with the crazily wonderful girls called Tribal Thunder down in southern Australia for a few days has been such a treat. They get the true meaning of tribal dance, and it warms my heart to see such a beautiful, loving community of women who want to dance together to celebrate their friendship, creativity, and passion for life. They share it with their community, and when they do make money from a performance, they save it for their yearly giveaway when they pick a cause to donate it to. How lovely is that?

So we danced and talked dance for several hours every day, and then they treated me to sightseeing their beautiful countryside, their local wineries, and a gonging session!

Yes, I’ve been gonged, as everyone should be. I’ve had many different healing experiences, and tried varieties of methods. But this was a new one for me. This involved a vibrational sound healing using five different very large gongs in a teepee type room, plus adding the scent of sandalwood to help with the meditation. We lay on soft mats in a circle in the dimly lit room while our facilitator gonged around us and over us for almost an hour. The purpose is to relax our muscles and our minds, and it took me almost the full hour to let myself unwind. I figured it was because after teaching dance for four hours and then going into the gonging with the uncertainty of trying something new, my mind didn’t quite want to let me go.

So I went back the next day, now knowing what to expect, and being earlier in the day too. And I enjoyed it so much more. The facilitator was also better, with a healing rhythm to her talk and energy, and I was able to relax better, although that crazy monkey mind chatter kept jumping in throughout the session! Just breathe those thoughts away and let go… ahhh… I love the deep vibrations of the gong, and with the several different sounds and tones, it was a calming experience. Just like the didgeridoo sound healing I have done before, with that deep vibrational wave of sounds that washes over you. And vocal toning is another great method of using sounds as a tool for energetic healing where you are doing the toning instead of having it done to you. If you’ve ever chanted, it is similar, having not only the vocal release, but the vibrational sound within your chest and body.

ok, more tribal travels to come…