Faces

Introductions to people we admire, featuring unique messages, thoughts, creative ideas, and artistic expressions.

FACES OF THE EARTH

JAHAN KHALIGHI poet-community activist from Berkeley, California

A popular San Francisco Bay Area performance poet (and grandson of Legendary Dancer Anna Halprin), Jahan Khalighi has a passionate, earthy, deep Rumi soul.

We have been privileged to film and photograph several of Jahan’s moving performances in Marin County, California, including this one.

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Anank desires a world of equality and without greed; where plants purify the air and crystalline springs satiate the thirst of the universe. Sharing the natural world in a place of unlimited happiness where dreams become reality. Flying above obstacles and discovering a limitless horizon. Here, in the four winds, you will hear the vibrant voice of the sacred plant Natem saying… PEACE, LOVE, UNDERSTANDING & RESPECT - from Anank Nunink Nunkai’s website www.nunkui-shuar.org

Anank Nunink Nunkai Uwishin (traditional healer) from Ecuador

Anank was born in 1947 to the Shuar, the People of the Sacred Waterfalls who live deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Guided by Arutam (a divine power that permeates the Universe and the Earth) and the wisdom of his ancestors, Anank’s mission in life is to help people and preserve the Shuar culture and the beautiful rainforest the Shuar call home.

Master Naba Lamoussa Morodenibig (1960 - 2008) Dogon Priest from West Africa

Master Naba was a Dogon Priest in the traditional priesthood of Kemet from the Gourmantche region of Burkina Faso, West Africa (click here to see where this is). Trained in both the original traditional teaching and colonial educational systems, Master Naba was a direct descendant of the priests who had been given the task of preserving ancient knowledge against the attacks of those who would seek to usurp it.

For 2500 years Dogon teachings had been preserved and hidden among the people of what the colonial world calls West Africa. Echoes of this teaching can be found in every culture of the Earth, from the traditions of African culture that we can see, to the Taoist and Shinto teachings of the East, to the Aztec, Hopi and Mayan teachings of the West to the traditions of the Pacific islanders. All of these traditions have been profoundly influenced by the teachings of the temples and nomes of the Nile and Niger river valley civilizations. - from article by Rezib Tutsanai'i

Anank opened Attitudinal Healing Connection’s annual “Make the Dream Real” Martin Luther King celebration in Oakland, California with a traditional Shuar blessing. Photography © Marguerite Lorimer

Alok’s highly original paintings - a striking synthesis of the beauty of Chinese calligraphy, the spontaneity and simplicity of Zen, as well as the evolution of Western Psychotherapy - are like Zen gates; entering the paintings we "come home" to ourselves. Alok has also brought what he calls “the creativity of non-doing” into trainings for international organizations and for business leaders.

Alok is best known for his singular work of creating Zen Calligraphic Portraits combined with exploration sessions for individuals, couples, families, and organizations. He began in 1974 and has completed more than 1,000 commissioned works around the world.

We love Raylene Abbott’s calligraphic paintings and her expressive Bodhisattva dance performances (photos of her dance above, art below). Raylene creates her art "... from the inner silence rather than what my mind wanted to paint. It is from this no mind space the 'Forgotten Female Bodhisattvas' began to self-arise. I paint without having any fixed idea of what I am doing. I just paint. It is after the major brush strokes are made the form emerges. I stand back and let the form arise from the brush strokes I have made on the paper. I am always surprised

Bodhisattva Paintings © Raylene Abbott (above, left to right) “Bodhisattva Behind the Veil” “Enlightened Elementals” “Inner Listening”

when one of these Bodhisattvas appear. I sit with the painting for a few days and I become inspired with a simple teaching that goes with the image. Then the Bodhisattva teaching is set to dance movement to convey her dharma lesson. This creative process unfolds through me like a lotus flower rising from the void. I find by dancing the Bodhisattva’s dharma teaching my body begins to remember and integrate the teaching into my life. This process gives me so much joy!"

Learn more about Raylene and her art http://zenartandtea.com

Alok Hsu Kwang-han internationally-acclaimed Zen calligraphic artist from China

RAYLENE ABBOTT artist-published author from Sedona, Arizona

Since 2003, Alokhas painted Zen calligraphic portraits for guests at Mii amo, the destination spa of the Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona. - from Alok’s website www.zencalligraphy.com Photography © John Veltri, editing by Marguerite Lorimer

Check out Jahan's community events postings on Berkeley Patch

http://berkeley-nj.patch.com/

Read one of Jahan’s poems - REBIRTH - on the Planetary Dance website:

http://www.planetarydance.org/pdf/Rebirth%20poem%20by%20Jahan%206-6-10.pdf