devamitenblog

catchin' up in south america part five

this south american blog would not be complete without a picture of our new friends from brasilia, pedrinho and thais.
we love you guys!

...and katu and alvaro – thank you for welcoming us to chile!

and thank you to carla in rio

and oscar and family, sat narayan, and gustavo, in buenos aires

..and not forgetting enio, our great sound technician!

thank you everyone, for welcoming us so beautifully to your homes...we’ll be back!
with love from deva and myself
love
m
...and manose!

catchin' up in south america part four

..and on the weekend, at maresias, which is a beach resort a few hours outside sao paulo, where we hosted 160 yoga/chant participants.

sharon and david, along with marco schultz, facilitated the yoga classes, and we, of course, chanted.

we spent one evening as part of a panel, where participants could ask questions etc...it was interesting to do this.
...a first for deva and me.
sharon and david are strict vegan activists, and do their best to inspire their students to pursue a diet that is not harmful to animals.
this brings up many issues for people, and it was great to have space to share our views.

marco acted as mediator!
thank you marco, for inviting us to brasil!

catchin' up in south america part three

in chile we visited deva’s cousin, andrea, who was born and raised outside santiago and who now owns and runs an organic farm there.

here’s a special pic.
if you own the ‘more than music’ cd, you will know about the ‘ah, this!’ band.
i’m talking about the photo that was taken in the ashram before deva and i knew each other – the one where she is standing next to me in the band (see below).
well, if you look closely, you’ll see i was actually holding a young child in my arms - which the magazine editor saw fit to edit, only the head of the child is visible -  and i’m standing in between two beautiful women (deva and the child’s mother, a dark haired chilean beauty).

i hadn’t seen mother or son for over 20 years, and we actually met up again, in chile!
here’s my friend, santosh and her son chetan.
he’s a bit bigger now!
(he told me he never smiles for photos! - which is a shame, because he has a beautiful smile!!)

another highlight!
this is david life and sharon gannon, founders of the jivamukti yoga centre in nyc - they flew down to spend a few days with us in sao paulo.
we talked about them coming, but to be honest, i never really expected it to happen.
but it did!
we were very happy to have the chance to be with them again

we spent some quality time together, hanging out...

catchin' up in south america part two

funny how everyone wants to know about mantras these days...!

...not so long ago we were sharing the music with a handful of friends...now look!

we had the pleasure of chandra’s company for the concert in sao paulo.
chandra is known for his expertise on the kalimba (african thumb piano), he’s a great musician, singer, and instrumentalist.
here we are in the dressing room, warming up before the concert, along with govind who played pakhawaj.
you can find chandra’s music at www.myspace.com

one of the highlights of the whole tour for deva and i was meeting marlui miranda in sao paulo.
we have been fans of marlui ever since we first heard her album ‘todos os sons’, many years ago.
i don’t know where you can find her album now, but it is one of the most intriguing and inspiring albums i’ve ever heard, and worth the search, i promise.
she lived with indigenous people in the amazon, and recorded some of their chants for posterity.

in brasilia we were joined by our old ashram friend, arun.
arun is another jewel of a musician who brings his love of osho to his instrument

he is a great guitarist, singer and composer - find arun and his album www.myspace.com

catchin' up in south america part one

hi friends – south america has been a revelation for us.
too much!
i’m posting a few random shots which hopefully, will give you a taste of how amazing this trip has been.

the andes, seen from the plane as we flew into chile

a day later, we were hiking – and skinny dipping! - in those mountains

concert in santiago – the stage resembled a moonlit garden

argentina!
another overwhelming welcome!

having fun in buenos aires

Machu Picchu, Peru part four

it was a long, long way down...machu picchu hardly visible in the distance

-but definitely worth the climb

back down to ‘civilisation’...

giving thanks

love
miten

Machu Picchu, Peru part three

the distant mountain is the equivalent of the shiva lingham and was worshipped as such

manose wore it on his crown chakra

eventually, at the top - looking down on the world

...catching my breath...the air was a bit thinner up there!

...while manose communed with the gods...

...and deva sung the gayatri mantra...

Machu Picchu, Peru part two

that mountain in the window is known as wayna picchu (mountain of the forever young) – we climbed it to the very top!

before the climb, manose serenades wayna picchu through the clouds

our guide – a young shaman named jesus

...he led us through some rituals to tune us into the spirits..

this stone is known as the heart of machu picchu

Machu Picchu, Peru part one

hard to describe the feeling of being on machu picchu – hopefully these pix give you some idea of how it was.
according to legend, it was a woman’s retreat of some kind - a university.
this theory arises from the fact that most of the skeletons found there were female.
it was definitely some kind of planetary observatory, because many of the buildings are aligned to sunrise, moonrise, and the planets etc...
there are altars of course, and sacrificial ones probably...so...who knows the true story...
these days, like everywhere else, it’s a tourist attraction, many of the buildings having been reclaimed and rebuilt.
but still, a strong feeling remains of an incredible and mysterious civilisation, that, according to some, even the spanish invaders of previous centuries never found.
it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be there – a city in the clouds.

how they lived up there is a mystery

the stone work is truly awe inspiring