plant friends

some representatives of the green-is-beautiful movement... see some
familiar faces?

monkies

south indian, western chinese, and global monkey
south indian monkey looking for perfect victim to steal food from,
western chinese monkey looking for perfect butt-scratching place,
global monkey looking for perfect home for her

tiruvanamalai town, arunachala mountain, sacred south india

i learned here that regardless of the age, size, beauty, splendor, or
sacredness of these temples... nothing can compare to the vastness,
ancientness, majesty, gorgeousness, and absolute sacredness of Mama
Earth, her very self. that is all. so simple.

toes, beans, and guitar stick

running across slippery rainy road at night in Boudanath, Nepal-
slipped and fell into the gutter. couldn't sleep; heartbeat thumping
in my toe. wake up to two small purple grapes on my feet instead of
healthy toes... 2 weeks of no walking with infected toes that turned
into a week of fever, fatigue, and frequent fervent doodles on endless
pieces of cheap indian paper. now, china. toe grapes have diminished,
i can practice yoga again, can run and play again, but still am
careful- toe nails are shedding, it averages about 30-40 celsius here
as i sweat and sweat, my green beans are sprouting in my friends
japanese pot and i eat these life-filled beings daily (om), and thanks
to magic of couchsurfing found someone (thanks jeep) to bring my
little stick guitar from taipei over here (originally from vermont,
usa) for me to play along with my new friend jan's big guitar, a
native american flute from india, a bamboo flute from america, brass
singing bowl from nepal, and a voice from the universe (aren't we
all?)- filled with gratitude... and a lot of studying, prayer,
dreaming, being, and practice, practice, practice...

want to give my guitar stick a resonating box. got ideas, let me know.
thanks, peng you :)

mindful tea

take a moment 

stop 

make a cup of tea

your favorite herbs

drink it slowly 

relax

enjoy

really smell it 

taste it 

savor it

feel 

do this everyday

no thinking, just feeling 

enjoy your daily cup of 

mindful tea 

ahhh

--
 ~~~~~~~
    jiling . 林基玲
    www.JazArt.blogspot.com

    skype: Lin.JiLing 
    china: 183.138.34551

    qq: 1521559095

    usa: 626.344.9140

((( . love . gratitude . presence . )))

 

mailing address:

Jiling Lin, c.c. Kazu Koikeda, Annamaya
No.3 Taojiang Rd Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200031 China.

in CHINESE= 中国徐汇区桃江路三号 上海尔苑咖啡厅有限公司 和子

Tree of Balance

the Tree who can stand up to the fury of the Storm one day, and the next day dance in the soft Breeze and Sunshine is a Tree of Balance--- one who knows the peace of knowing, and one who others can rely upon for strength and guidance
- Tamarack Song

--
 ~~~~~~~
    jiling . 林基玲
    www.JazArt.blogspot.com

    skype: Lin.JiLing 
    china: 183.138.34551

    qq: 1521559095

    usa: 626.344.9140

((( . love . gratitude . presence . )))

 

mailing address:

Jiling Lin, c.c. Kazu Koikeda, Annamaya
No.3 Taojiang Rd Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200031 China.

in CHINESE= 中国徐汇区桃江路三号 上海尔苑咖啡厅有限公司 和子

rain in dali, china

dark night, pouring rain, minimal umbrella 

i could be anywhere right now

but i am here

my home a country away, my home a world away, my home 

right here

now

tomorrow night in another town and another bed, but still wearing the same old dirty indian yellow shirt, and sleeping under the same yak-hair shawl i bought in nepal 

new friends today, new friends everyday 

"if we have affinity, then we will meet again," he says, catching my eye across the crowd of chanting old women in traditional bai-tribe outfits

it's time to go 

"if we have affinity," i repeat, and smile knowing that it's all affinity, it's all yuan-fen, it's all complete magic, synchronicity, and a blessed symphony of massive dimensions that we can only dream of

"we humans," said my new sculptor friend today, hands calmly massaging his bowl chipped on the outside and smooth on the inside, "we humans are like hair. if the universe is a human, then we are but hairs on the human. we are less than the leg hair or arm hair. but we think we are so much…" 

he merges taoist philosophy with each pot, each vase, each ceramic piece filled with loving kindness, calmness, and general goodwill

they will have a baby in 2 months 

in 2 months i will be… 

"you do too much," he says, as we share life stories, "just pick one thing and completely dedicate yourself into it."

the most powerful herbal infusion is not a mishmash of different herbs. one herb fills the bottle and you let it steep

dear life, how am i steeping? 

i have not even yet begun, small hair just beginning to be aware of being nothing but a small hair… 

"i am an artist," i said today, as she fondled my notebook and cooed love songs of all sorts to my companion-journal of 5 years, "life inspires me"

thrissur, india

Photo from a month ago, with some of my teacher Babuji's family in Thrissur, south India... people will often ask, "Aren't you scared?" regarding my travels. But... you must realize that this world is full of beautiful people. There are much more beautiful people than horrible people. If you project out a feeling of fear, then you will draw those few horrible people towards you. If you exude joy and love, then you shall draw that towards you as well. And also, you are born gifted with all the intuitive powers of an animal of the Earth, like any other, but coupled with a mind. Silence the mind, tune into intuition... and if your powers of attraction don't draw amazing people towards you, then your powers of intuition will help you know the difference between the "yes" and the "no" people.

May you say "yes" with passion, and "no" with conviction.
May you attract great beauty to yourself!

snowy mountains

jiling and lingjia, snowy mountains above deer park- magic

himalaya

waterfall behind deer park in north india, himalayas

taiwan taroko river crossing

i literally met this guy in the river: both the photographer, and the man in photo. these photos are from many months ago, during my taiwan taroko trip, my birthday wilderness solo in january. i am still in india right now- just wanted to share these photos, as i can't upload any india photos yet! 

story of me with man in the water- this powerful river has some sweet rapids... that could rush you downriver really easily and turn you into delicious river pancake, around the next river bend. many rains at that time (the night before actually) rose the river up to past waist level (thus my sexy pants). crossing the river, at a deep part of river (though still walkable) with crazy rapids, i didn't know how to cross. at that moment, seemingly out of nowhere, man in photo shows up- he is a local village elder who knows all the best routes thru the river. he helped me across. on my way back across the river coming downstream, he magically showed up again and helped me cross once more- i just feel like this story is metaphor: when we really need the help, beautiful grandfather and grandmother turtles and all kinds of brothers and sisters will just show up. help just shows up when we need it- and when we ask for help. 

blessings on your journeys, my brothers and sisters. may you ask for help, and receive guidance, as your need arises 

love, jiling 

babu

babu tells a story 

there is the monkey god, hanuman 

he doesn't know that he has great powers 

one day he encounters a wise old teacher 

who sees the strength, beauty, and power lying latent within hanuman 

teacher tells hanuman what he sees within him, and helps him realize his power 

hanuman gains confidence and keeps developing his powers 

he steps into the god powers that he has always had 

this is the power of a good teacher 

and this is all the magic that we have lying latent within all of us 

traditional candles

clay or metal cups 

they are small and fit comfortably into my hand 

fill with coconut or any other oil

put a cotton wick the length of my pinky into cup, letting it rise up a little above the oil 

thickness of wick is 5-strands

wet the top of wick sticking out with fingers 

sing a song to give thanks

light the wick 

have a comfortable flame for a nice long while 

keep singing 

this is south indian traditional "candle"

much better than wax! 

i will make many clay cups when i make a home again 

to put fire into 

i put these photos up thinking that my friends justin, bill, kari, joy, tamarack, and other traditional-ways pottery-loving friends would appreciate... and put the simple effective skill to immediate use!

in temples here they use metal instead of clay to hold the candles... have many indentations into a clay or metal plate, for the wicks to hang out. one cup or bowl or plate can hold many wicks and much oil to sustain it all... a beautiful powerful light. great for rituals, romantic dinners, and effective night-lighting. 

temple flower tree

i have only seen this flowers in trees next to ashrams 

they smile big toothy grins like they are in bliss, 

and waft sweet honey vanilla heart-opening scents

into the thunderstorm-approaching-big-wind air

bhud's back

more symbolic images 

everywhere they abound!

this one right on my friend bhud's back 

image from buddhist monks of thailand 

can you feel it? 

mandalas

from a temple floor, chalked in white, prayers aplenty, 

coming soon to a post office near you

family and home

sweet mud and spicy rain splashed all over

my wet body rolled into a nice warm blanket 

listening to soothing rumbles of my deep-voiced friends

a grounding bass base for the drumming and clanging overhead thunderstorm

fire cracking through sky in spirals, rivers, and explosions 

like all the meridian energy lines and waves rolling through body 

just feel it

powerful electricity pulsating through every molecule of sky united with earth

as we lie in center, just breathing clay pot bodies infused with electricity

just feel it 

moonlight, firelight, and inner light reflected in flashing eyes of all colors

sitting in a circle gently igniting kundalini with voices and arms uplifted in wild sacred celebration

threads of melody and voices of all textures interweaving a tapestry of celebratory moonsong

live your life as a celebration

dharma, karma, and moksha- you know the knowledge that knows what knowledge is

three oms, three shantis, and then sound of silence pulsing with prana, heartbeats, breath, and... something 

just feel the vibration 

says my teacher 

just feel it 

 

we infuse sacred silence with laughter that rolls through the night to dance with the clouds 

clouds weaving triangles and spinning dragons around full moon smiling upon us

in tall old tree near my home, three small monkeys by day, three huge bats by night

you must merge into the simple state simply

words of wisdom

"Focus in on your zone. Zone in on your focus." - Guy, Thailand

"Let your practice be the basis of your freedom." - Efan, USA/ Taiwan

"Heaven determined my Fate, but Destiny is in my hands." - Tommy, USA

"Trust." - Universe

spiraling into the center

love you! :) 

Heartsong

Hello, dear ones! 

I want to share a story with you. This story originates from the forests of Connecticut, as received by fellow nature educator, Justin Pegnataro. After leaving Connecticut, I have continued to share this story as I walk my winding walk. The story has evolved, as stories do. I have adapted Justin's story, from the land of Connecticut, into the written story below- may you read it out loud and share with dear friends, a special younger/ older person, and complete strangers. May you enjoy this story, and share your own!  

With love, 

Jiling 

朋友們

我寫了一篇故事。 我不想要翻譯， 因為翻譯起來， 會很不好聽！但是， 這個故事很特別。 我每次聽了這個故事都會全身發抖。 這個故事來至Connecticut和我 的好朋友Justin。 我離開Connecticut以後， 繼續分享故事。 故事也就慢慢改變了。底下的故事是我的基玲版故事！如果你想要聽故事， 請不要用Google翻譯。。。 請來找我， 我親自跟你講故事！

祝你這新的龍年天天發現生活中充滿了美妙和神秘的東西， 讓你天天開心， 大笑， 忍不住的在跳舞！ 

感恩， 

基玲

---

Once upon a time, a long time ago, when all the world was still dark, there lived a little bird named Ji. Unlike other creatures content with crawling, flying, and bumbling through the darkness, Ji could no longer stand flapping around in the oppressively endless blackness, bumping into trees and strangers, confusing friends with food, and forever getting lost. She was convinced that there must be a better way of life, but knew no other alternatives besides the life that she led. One day, while trying to fly as high as possible to seek an opening in the Sky, Ji crashed into a massive mountain and went rolling down, down, down over cold ice and sharp stones. Crumpled onto the Earth, her body twisted, bleeding, and broken, Ji cried and cried, feeling painful, hopeless, and frustrated. Grandfather Turtle crawling through the forest heard her cries. “My dear most beautiful beloved,” called out Turtle, “Why are you crying so sadly?” “I am stuck! I am broken! I am suffocating!” gasped Ji, “I CANNOT live in such darkness!” Turtle crawled over, and tenderly cleaned and bound up Ji’s wounds. “My dear most beautiful beloved,” crooned Turtle, “when I was your age, a long long time ago, my Great-Grandmother told me that there is a Sun that brings light to the Sky. Great-Grandmother said that only the most beautiful song in the world can call out Sun.” Ji sat up straight, her breath caught in her throat, “I will find and sing the most beautiful song on Earth. I will call out Sun.”

Before her wounds were even completely healed, Ji set off on her journey to find the most beautiful song on Earth. She swam to the bottom of the deepest Oceans, learning all the songs of all the fishes, sea plants, and waters. She clambered to the tops of the highest Mountains, learning all the songs of all the birds, trees, plants, stones, and winds. She learned the songs of the newborn, songs of the sick and dying, songs of joy, and songs of pain. She learned the songs of all the four-legged, two-legged, crawling, flying, jumping, swimming creatures of Earth, Sky, Water, and even bacteria. Ji journeyed up to the icy North, down to the hot South, and all the way around the windy East until she landed back in the windy West. Every day, Ji sang a new song, each song more beautiful than the next. But, Sun still did not appear. The world was still as dark as it had ever been. Most creatures did not understand Ji’s journey, though some were sympathetically helpful. Though she was often ridiculed, Ji persevered in her quest to find the most beautiful song on Earth, and call out the Sun.

After seven years, Ji had circumnavigated, re-circumnavigated, and re-re-circumnavigated the whole world in search of new songs, stories, and ideas. One day, she found herself once more at the base of the Mountain that she had crashed into and so traumatically plummeted down, years ago. Exhausted from all her journeying, Ji fell into a deep sleep. After four days of dreamless sleep, Grandfather Turtle came ambling into Ji’s dreams. “My dear most beautiful beloved,” he called out, “just sing. Wake up! Just sing.” Ji woke up, well-rested, and empty. Letting go of all the songs that she learned, all the known songs of the world, she began to sing. Ji sang from the deepest recesses of her Heart. Her voice, at first cracked and tired, grew stronger as she drew breath from the deepest core of her belly. Her song, at first unsteady and questioning, grew stronger as she drew powerful infinite melodies from the deepest core of her Heart. Other birds in a nearby forest, startled from their bumbling in the darkness, stopped to listen to Ji’s singing. They had never heard such a beautiful song before. Intrigued, inspired, and excited, they too began singing from their Hearts. More birds in a further forest heard the singing, and like a powerful spark, were also incited into singing from their Hearts. The song grew louder and more powerful as and more and more birds joined the singing. Soon, all of the birds from every direction on the entire Earth were all joyously singing their Heart Songs, drawing deep full breaths from their core center, and drawing deep full songs from their heart center. No one had ever heard such music before! And then… it begins with a small reddish glow that slowly illuminates the bleak blank blackness, slowly drawing never-before-seen outlines into existence. Everything begins glowing, until there is an uncontrollable shaking on the horizon, colors begin exploding and dancing, and eyes must be shielded and arms must be thrown open in celebration, as the brightest, most illuminatingly beautiful Sun bursts flaming into existence to greet the brightest, most illuminatingly beautiful song on Earth, the Song of the Heart.

恭喜新年快樂!!! Happy Lunar New Year!!!

May you find strength in letting go of attachments, surrendering to the Universe, and going with the flow. 

May you see below the surface. 

May you remain grounded in that which sustains you. 

May you walk with integrity and clarity with your visions and values. 

May you clearly hold sacred space for each moment. 

May you stop often, notice the beauty of all the little things that you'd otherwise run by, marvel at this gift of life, and give thanks. 

May you personalize your wardrobe, decorate your house, speak your mind, dance on the roof, and be authentically you. 

May you open your arms, raise your head up to the sky, lift up your chest, laugh, and howl at the Moon rising behind the clouds. 

May you enjoy all the magic and beauty that this life has to offer as we walk together into the fresh and glowing unlimited potential of this bright new year that our ancestors have been talking about for such a long time. 

Welcome, 2012. 

May you walk in beauty. 

AAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

turned on women

photo courtesy of Efan Hsieh, and little old camera! 

National Taiwan University of the Arts- after Thursday night contact improvisation dance jam- hanging on trees, eating chia-coconut-orange-hemp-peanut-yum and admiring cloudy moon, laughing loudly and raucously, and then playing with sparkling firecrackers- reliving childhood in the Motherland of Taiwan with my non-blood-but-very-heart-sister! 

dancing on Earth and Air

just completed my final dance performance for this school term

has been my first time auditing so many college level courses... i have been a full-time part-time audit-student for 3 dance classes, 2 anatomy classes, and a spattering of other classes here and there 

did homework and completed my finals just like the normal students 

and today was my final dance final 

in which we had to choose four lines of a Baudelaire poem

commit it to memory 

choose a fitting piece of music below 3 minutes to choreograph and dance to 

and then perform in front of the class 

after the performance, i am all shaky

my breathing is shaky, my heart is shaky, and my whole body is visibly trembling 

i have moved in more ways than one 

i feel like i have never before trembled this violently on a stage environment 

the anxiety comes from loving my teacher so much 

i really love and respect teacher Wu, this has been my favorite out of ALL of my classes these past four months (i love it even more than my acupuncture class!), and i wholeheartedly want to do justice to teacher Wu's teachings, my body's capacity, and Baudelaire's poetry 

the funny thing about performance (and art) is that there is no way to gage "did i do a good job" or not 

(so yes, art school was sort of a joke) 

a great art exhibition may get many visitors (or not) 

a fabulous dance performance may get long and loud applause 

or it may be in front of the bathroom mirror 

it can be a whole series of undefinitions 

art cannot be boxed or defined 

dancing alone at home feels very different than dancing in front of my class 

it's been four months 

i haven't personally spoken with everyone in class (about 50 students in here), 

but we have all danced together, witnessed each other dancing and breathing,

and there are a handful of people that i dance, share jokes, and smile with on a weekly basis 

comfortable with each other enough that when it's not dance-class time, i will wonder how they are

but not comfortable enough to give each other hugs when we parted ways today and... i am heading to india (and then, onward!), i don't know when i will return to taiwan, i've really enjoyed dancing with you, i am really grateful for your laughter, openness, and bright eyes, i hope you do wonderful things in this world, i know you will... maybe i should just shove aside awkward social norms, and give you a hug 

too late 

chance has passed 

my final final is over 

before dance, trembling

running over my poem infinite times in my head, my body tense, jerking, sweating through my toes onto the foreign wooden classroom floor (we switched to a different classroom today, and i am not familiar with this wooden floor or the echoes it exudes) 

it always happens like this: 

i like too many things 

i had a list of infinite possibilities for songs 

narrowed it down to 6 songs 

then narrowed it down again to 3 songs 

and now for the past week i have been seesawing between this-or-that-or which song, which perfect song for my heartfilled dance? 

i finally decided on a song this afternoon... half an hour before class begins 

before deciding on the song, choreography is rather impossible 

i just keep my music player cycling through all my possible songs, 

and dance to all of them 

cycling the poem over and over through my body and mind 

trying out new ways of expression with different music

different ways of moving my body infused with "black sea and sky" and "hearts filled with rays of light," etc 

grooving to different rhythms 

then getting bored and frustrated with the poem and the same songs cycled over and over 

and back to "pop" music (frowned upon, for our dance performance!), 

and shaking and grooving my body without any trace of poem left in my mind, 

just mindlessly jumping and shaking to the likes of eminem, hang-drum percussive melodies, and other artists whose names i cannot remember, but their music runs like rebellious fire through my veins, making me waver between wearing all black and wearing the brightest colors i can pull out of my closet, mindless hip and spine gyrations punctuated with knife-like waterfall flower like movements that suddenly drop off some random steep cliff of nowhere and leave me crawling, rolling, and twisting around on the floor like amoeba 

dance performance today

teacher encourages us to move from the spine 

move in ways that allow us to dance with the utmost manifestations of expression

our body speaking louder than words ever could 

while at the same time speaking or singing as clearly (while dancing!) 

that it leaves zero questions in the audience's mind as to 

"wow, she sure can express" 

and 

"i completely understand what is going on here" 

while leaving room for imagination, 

a dancing on all levels 

i want my audience to catch their breath and lose their own heartbeat when they watch me dance 

i want them to get so caught up in the rhythm of my undulating spine and flailing limbs that they forget that their own body is tense with excitement, focused on my dance 

i want to inspire all these other students in class 

to forget about anxiety 

sink into the music

forget everything we learned in class 

and just surrender to all there is in this moment:

music

body

breath

rhythm

(and for this performance... that poem i've been repeating to myself everywhere like a madwoman! getting caught in the poem's tumultuous expressions/ emotions in the subway, biking across town, eating dinner, laughing with friends... this poem has not left my mind for about a month now) 

and it all came together tonight 

i want to share these feelings because today felt simply incredible 

before the performance, while i am trying so hard to create something amazing to share... 

it's actually quite stressful 

and then i layout the bones of my performance 

and the rest is improvisation 

most of it is improvisation, borne of all my endless hours of dancing to song after song, set loose on a sea of rhythm and melody 

i shouted and spat Baudelaire while twisting, jumping, crawling, rolling

i looked my audience in the eye, growled, and howled Baudelaire into the echoing wooden room 

i watched all of the mirrors reflecting my powerful body dressed in black and white 

my heart on top of all the black and white, visible with every trembling movement

dancing on Earth

dancing on Air 

conscious of nothing else but rhythm, poetry, my body, and endless flow of breath and blood pounding through my body

and then, 

the final heaves of my song as i slide onto the Earth, proclaiming the final strains of my Baudelaire poem (i have made it mine, now): 

let us plunge to the depths of the unknown 

to find something 

new 

happy new year!

Jiling on Seven Star Mountain Peak for 2011 New Year, and 2012 New Year as well! （First time in the same place for two New Years in a row!）

基玲站在七星山上， 2011 和 2012 新年！