Greetings, Greetings

Hello Ya'll, you all, youz alls, a few of you, and the rest. Hello.

Helloooo out there!!!

This page feels like a big empty room. I like big empty rooms. We live in a big empty room. We're living in a barn. It's red. Its name is...we haven't named it. I'd rather not. What if we didn't name anything? What if none of us had names!? Some people search this concept, but ultimately sharing a name with your parents is pretty cool. What if we chose our name after a while? Or chose it at any point? Well, we can. I'm not ashamed of my name, but I also realize that it's me. That's okay, because for as long as I'm here, I'll be myself.

So on to the next topic: Dolphins.

I feel this needs to be sincerely discussed. The free bin in Mount Shasta is a pretty good representation of what people are up to. It's more of a 'Hey I really want you to read this book about communication with dolphins so when I run into you everywhere I go because this town is small enough where you see the same people every day but they're all really cool so it's okay' bin. And thats okay. It sits outside a thrift store, and I've pretty much outfitted my self with clothes and books and other odds and ends from this bin. Most recently was a history of 20th century Jazz. I had a dream that I was listening to Bob Dylan on the radio and looked over to my father and said "what the hell does this mean." He looked over at me and said, "I don't know—you're the poet."

Dreams don't have to be seen as real, or unreal, anymore. He proceeded to tell me that he didn't like Bob Dylan or John Prine very much anymore (these were his two favorite artists, hands down), but instead he was in to Duke Ellington. I don't recall hearing much of Duke screeching from his turntable, housed in an asymmetrical wooden cabinet. It was usually folksy type stuff, lots of Beatles, Hendrix, a fair amount of Zappa and Beefheart, Marley, oh yea, and his all time favorite—Joni Mitchell.

So this Ellington thing was new to me, and I went about me day saying to myself—yea right. He was this and that and that's who he was. That's because I don't know his likes and interests as Scott McDermott anymore. I don't know what his body and his name associate with, so I figure it's easier to just assume that it's those things he once did.

I used to associate with eating McDonald's and collecting happy-meal Beany Babies, playing video games day-in and day-out, blowing up aliens with sticky grenades and flying Banshees over virtual realities. That must be how our politicians feel. Things change. We change. We grow beyond what we can see, and what we can put a name on. I'm only Kyle because I'm alive and as long as I'm living that's what people can see. They can't see the depths of my soul, but neither can I.

So I challenge you, the reader ... to like Duke Ellington. To accept something that you normally would pass by. To check out that concert that your so-so on. To write down the band that your friend suggested you listen to. To take a walk when you think about it, rather than talking yourself out of it. I'll leave you with this:

"Let yesterday's high be today's low."

And just to wrap up the dreamscape into something cohesive, the same day I had that dream, I found the book about 20th century Jazz, and sure enough, I open it up, and there's Duke Ellington.

Hurah!

KMCD

 A few film images from our travels taken by Madeleine~ www.madeleinehanlon.com

Blackberry days are back!

Hello hello!

Life is good in Northern California! 

Although there have been fires all aroun us, Mt. Shasta has been very lucky and has been missed by the destructive paths. I don't think we were ready to evacuate due to wildfires again.... And as I write this it has just started raining outside, which we desperately need!

This past weekend Donna, Kyle's mom, came out to visit us. It was so nice getting the chance to show her around our new home! We went to Redding and saw an incredible show by the reggae legend Jimmy cliff, we went to Castle lake and soaked up the sun and good vibrations, we drank spring water from the Mountains, picked blackberries in Dunsmuir, and Kyle and she just went up for an evening in Ashland, Oregon before she heads back to Arizona. Love really does make a family. 

We also got a quick visit from our friend Ashley from Flagstaff! She was passing through on her way south and we got to spend the day with her which was a true joy :)

Here are a few photos of the good times that have been rolling through our lives and echoing elation~ 

 

Kyle and Donna on Sundail bridge!

Kyle in a sculpture. 

The infinite adventure!

Here are some photographs from our recent escapades in Northern California.

We've been having so much fun adjusting to our new life here that we haven't had much time to post on the blog, our apologies!

Pluto's Cave! 7/23/14

Paige and Karlie's visit! Our first out of town friends to see our new home in Mt. Shasta!

Kyle & Madz meadow explorin' Independence day~

Lenticular clouds over Mt. Shasta!

Liquid consciousness

Hydration. This new chapter in my life seems to be strongly influenced by water. What time in our lives have we not been affected by water? But now it seems different. Palpable. Tangible. The feeling is both enlivening and mysterious.

How it feels sometimes.... I am swimming in a high alpine lake. A body of water suspended above surrounding clouds, floating below me in other parts of the world, I feel their form as I glide through the captivating liquid. The water is quite cold but as time passes our temperatures meet somewhere in the middle. The sound of the water moving past my ears is familiar like the voice of an old friend yet exciting like locking eyes with a complete stranger. As I swim further into this seemingly endless oasis I begin to feel a sense of insecurity at the depth below me. The water I cut through is now black in its vastness. My muscles feel strong and useful, I look back at the opposite shore and see the bodies of my friends are now very small. I keep going. Trees reflect on the ripples in front of me and the sunlight refracts rainbows off the crystalline water into my eyes. I realize that I am not much different from this essence. In fact all of our bodies are in majority composed of water. I feel better. Although i'm sure they are watching me with curiosity, no fish have shown themselves as of yet. This water is alive all around me. Could there be any better feeling in this world? I feel at the pinnacle of my own reality. Completely at peace. I make it to the opposite edge of the lake. Hundreds of turquoise dragonflies populate this area which is shaded by the mountain above. All of my senses are fully awakened.

How it feels other times...
A congregation of my species around a spot in the earth where water pours out. The city park in Mt. Shasta is dedicated to this spring. This spout in the rock-face where life emerges, 50 year old snow-melt from the mountain above, free for your drinking pleasure. People tactfully hop from rock to rock to get closer to the source. Filling bottles, filling their hands like cups, even sticking their face right into the icy cold water, their cheeks pressing against the rocks at either side of the opening. Filling their bodies with liquid consciousness. It is truly a sight to behold. All different "types" of people, families, hippies, hobos, motorcycle riders, elders, and youngsters of the community gather in this sacred spot to share the gift of life. Instruments play, people sing, dance and celebrate, all with the constant sound of flowing water, like a peaceful reminder. Stay true. Run free.

How it feels most of the time...
Life is ever changing. Especially it seems in this time in our lives, when things are conceptual. We are capable of creating our own destinies, our realities. It is exciting and sometimes scary, like diving into the unknown. But you must realize that this is your life. There is nothing to be afraid of. Be joyful. Ride the wave. The water will flow on, like time, and before you know it you'll be downstream in another part of the world, or on the ocean looking out onto a brand new horizon.

So for now, as the wise man John Lennon once said:

"Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream
It is not dying, it is not dying

Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining

Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being..."

With love, MH

A look at today, from the future

Recently I've been noticing a shift. When it may of started, I'll get to later, but I'll start with what reminded me of this realignment. I was reading this week's issue of the Flag Live and one of the contributors mentioned spirituality and how it is becoming more and more widely accepted as part of the answer to scientific debacles. My own personal journey has led me out of the state for travels, internal and external exploration. We've been mainly on the West Coast in more progressive areas—for a while I couldn't tell if I had turned on the light switch or if the rest of the world was suddenly illuminated. Maybe it's living in a country with an at-least semi-conscious, non-war mongering leader. There's some food for the spirit when it's not being barraged by gruesome wars and blatant self-interest.

So when I read that someone was noticing this shift—the idea was, maybe my simple writings or contributions have caused a butterfly effect? Or, maybe everything you do is like this, it affects the world, the global consciousness and that's the grandeur idea. Consciousness is just a fancy word for doing what needs to be done, anyway. Some mistake it, and I use the word mistake loosely, for their own reason of divinity. That is, in the sense that they realize they are divine, but only to feel tingly and powerful.

Now I propose the tingly feeling to empower ourselves and launch out earthquake-like vibrations. Maybe that's why San Francisco, sitting atop the San Andreas fault is so colorful, exciting and spawning of great ideas. Why Jack Kerouac called it the greatest city on earth—why I'm getting the tingly feeling from California—it has learned to transform this energy into ideas.

Literally, it is one of the few states moving forward on renewable energy—which leads me into the next segment—that of a new paradigm.

It started with Dr. David Vasquez, at the very end.

It was the last few months of my schooling in Flagstaff. The outlook shaky, an Environmental Science major, the study aligned with grim clouds of hope, the silver lining in some unknown possibility.

So the strange fellow comes in on a cold midweek evening. He's putting on a seminar at the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He's kind of squirrely, giddy. Maybe that's what Einstein was like when he was inventing the light bulb, da Vinci and his once far-fetched conceptualization of a helicopter. Looking back, I ask, have I just been placing myself into these situations? Maybe I am creating this idea of change through my actions—but the audience was just a handful of scraggly freshman, cold and pale, showing up for extra credit, scrambling to boost their grade.

So, others are finding the same type of feeling elsewhere! Aha.

Dr. Vasquez goes on to talk about the inevitable shift of the paradigm. His message comes from the vibrating lands of San Francisco! He proposes a revolutionary and inevitable shift in ... just about everything—but particularly the transition into a solar/hydrogen economy. Both of these technologies are on the verge of cracking through the shell, Toyota has just announced a summer 2015 launch of a hydrogen powered car in the US. Why does this matter? The development of hydrogen storage technology may be the key, the yin to the yang of the storage issues plaguing renewable energy.

We've all heard it before, they (my parents, et cetera) had it in the '70s! Things are far different now, and if you think the '70s movement wasn't just incubating a generation of change, then take this pencil from may hand and make it disappear. The magic exists in more than one place, including in various places in time. It existed just as much, if not more in Mr. Bobby Seale's speech a few years back just next door in the W.A. Franke College of Business. Seale, a pioneer of the '60s Black Panther movement, with fervor and cunning wisdom, laid out the tracks of history to an audience that was momentarily paralyzed by its intensity and gashing relevance. The magic was, as Kerouac described in his iconic literary work On the Road, "blowing" through horns of the jazz musicians he was digging in the '40s. Man, it was happening. Music was leading to a generation of social change. It may never be quite like that again. Art may never be as good as it is right now.

So for those of you who have "woken up," welcome to a beautiful sun shining day.
And for those that haven't—look around, enjoy the paintings, the writings, the creation around you. The future is being written by the remarkable movement that is happening today.

New.leaves.spring.winter.hikes.peaks.lamas.

Incredible. Magnificent. Beautiful.bountiful. Robust. Sweet. Bitter.butterfy.nectar. Bees, pollen. Water. Nutrients. Grass. Blossom. Bloom. Expand. Free. Light. Dark. Moon. Blues. Doom! Wolves. Critters. Splinters. Worms. Tumble. Spin. Screaaam. Defy. Investigate. Pretend. Remember. Breathe. Focus. Elevate. Meditate. Yolk. Folk. Strings. Dancing. Water. Clouds. Bliss. Tears. Driving. Smelling. Sifting. Forgetting. Ending. Beginning. 

Happy solstice!

Today in honor of the summer solstice (and the longest day of the year) I will take some time out of my day to post on our severely neglected blog site.

Kyle keeps promising he'll post and I know he's got lots up his sleeve, but this will just have to act as a fill in for the time being. 

So in order to update anyone who is still checking in on us we are okay! Actually more than okay, we are fantastic! 

We have been in the city of Mt. Shasta California since about June 15th and are loving it. 

We spent a few days getting to know the place, shopping at thrift stores and the natural grocery store Barryvalle which we've frequented many times since then :). One of the kind strangers on the street told us we had to check out Castle lake and the beyond hike to Hart Lake on the west side of town. Here's a glimpse of what we saw-

Beautiful views of Mt. Shasta and black butte and the view of castle lake from above. Just behind me from this vantage point was Hart lake which looks like this ....

On our way down the trail we ran into a very warm and friendly group of hikers named David, Carol, Peter, and Beth. We immediately hit it off with them, and started talking about sustainability, apirituality and exploration. Carol had just moved to town and asked us to come stay on her property. She has a beautiful home which is decorated with masterful tile work designed by its previous owner with breathtaking views of the mountains all around. Carols brother Pete lives on about 6 acres just down the hill from carol and is also a very spiritual and sharing person. He has a lot of land that he has been wanting to utilize for a long time but has not had the time or the resources. This is where we came in. We offered to help Peter create an organic garden on his property and help with an existing garden, in exchange for parking our trailer on a piece of his land. He was more than willing and very gracious and we all hit it off immediately. We feel very happy, free, and at home here. Pete even has a barn in which we can park the trailer in for the winter which can get very snowy in Mt. Shasta. 

It is hard to explain how great it is here and why we have chosen to stay. I guess it was an unspoken feeling we both had that this place just felt right, and why keep looking if we felt home here. The surroundings are beautiful, there is a giant spring called the Headwaters in the middle of town where people fill jug after jug of liquid conciousness and sit around drinking 50 year old snow melt and smiling at one another with peace in their eyes. There's a farmers market, an ecology center, a yoga studio, a wholesale solar company, coffee shops, mountain climbing, alpine lake swimming, hiking, spiritual healing and so much more.

 If you've never gotten the chance to visit Mt. Shasta I could not reccomend it more. It's a bit of a journey though, the largest airport being in Sacramento over 2 hours away by car. But that's part of the over all allure to this place. It feels like a hidden gem, like the beacon of light we were searching for all throughout California on this trip. We weren't sure we'd even find a place like this in California, but this place feels like a whole other universe in itself. 

Promise we'll update again soon :) time to go hike the mountain! 

Love!