After a wonderful stay with Barbara in East Aurora, NY, I headed out in the late morning. East Aurora 
really captured my heart – a beautiful town with old victorian houses, a sweet and vibrant main street, and a definitively progressive vibe. I can’t wait to go back! After a delicious breakfast that included some amazing locally grown blueberries, YUM, I merged into the rolling hills, idyllic with their fields of wildflowers, picturesque barns, and fields of crops. And lots and lots of wind energy turbines ~ a good sign in our progressive transition to sustainable, clean energy.
The rolling hills morphed into small mountains, and the roads were often lined with marshland reeds and cattails. I had noticed so many dead trees throughout this area, and had asked Barbara about the issue. She told me that a particular kind of insect has been destroying trees in this area, and it was truly devastating to witness the result. In places, it seemed that we were in the dead of winter… and yet, other deciduous trees were surrounding these dead zones, clearly still in the full glory of summer green. Yet another reminder of how important it is to find ways to protect our beloved 
Pachamama ~ our Earth Mother, our home.
Eventually, the road turned south, and I crossed into Pennsylvania. For much of the afternoon, I travelled alongside the magnificent Susquehanna River. Years ago, I had been so taken by the beauty of the Susquehanna, I wrote a poem about it. (I’ve included it below, for your enjoyment!) For the most part, the road took me through towns and small cities, a welcome reprieve to the impersonal endless speed of the highway. In the mid-afternoon, I rolled into Harrisburg, grateful to have arrived.
Our Sound Medicine Journey was at the beautiful healing arts center, Bee Present Wellness. Jaque, the visionary owner of the space, instantly felt like a kindred spirit and sister, and we talked nonstop about healing, shamanic practices, and the traditions that we have learned. Originally from Brazil, Jaque and I especially connected in conversation about the sacred traditions of South America. Our Sound Medicine Journey was deep and awesome, a perfect way to enjoy a Tuesday evening, and everyone lingered to chat and share about the experience. It seems that New Cumberland is quite the center for healing arts and souls called to the path of healing themselves ~ always a wonderful inspiration!
As the evening closed, Jaque invited me to return ~ which I certainly will, gladly! We 
also began planning a wonderful weekend initiation into the Rites of the Munay-Ki for the spring, and I am excited to bring this beautiful weekend workshop ~ and my beloved Helene, my co-facilitator ~ back to New Cumberland to initiate a group of people into these powerful Rites. Very exciting!
My favorite thing about this tour so far is travelling with blessings in my heart to share with others ~ I still have some of the tobacco ties I made back in Brooklyn, and will be picking up new fabric today so that I can make more and keep spreading the love. This is becoming a great teaching for me, a practice of living in the immediacy of Ayni ~ sacred reciprocity ~ each day. I give these little blessings, as well as my words and my Sound Medicine offering, from the love in my heart. My heart’s sincere intention is to bring others into peace and harmony, to provide a space so that we may come to know ourselves and our own truths, and to hold the space for healing to unfold, whatever that may look like. I am so grateful for this path, and for this life.
Susquehanna
Afternoon sunlight
glinting on the still surface of
the Susquehanna…
Yes,
the road goes this way,
we have erected towers
of gray,
rigid and secure,
safely above her waters.
A solid, gray bridge,
a clear, reliable structure
beneath our cloudy gray sky,
surrounded by our tall gray
buildings,
places where we lock ourselves away
in the realm of
dull gray suits,
dull gray thoughts,
dull gray hearts.
Electric ribbons of light,
formless,
incidental,
raucous,
rip their way across the river.
Out here,
on the banks of the Susquehanna,
there is just enough
fresh air,
just enough
brown, blue, green,
just enough
subtle silence
to coax
imagination from its
hibernation.
The space between thoughts becomes greater…
The path of the wind becomes clearer…
The hollowness of the world of man is revealed to me once more,
and I feel alive.
