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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Without Return






            It’s been six months since the tour has ended and five months since I have been home.  Without wasting a moment, I hit the ground running.  The first morning I woke up back in my own bed, I was off.  Made breakfast, grabbed my bike and set sail in search of a job.  I had been in touch with old work associates and bosses from the days with the city.  It wasn’t what I wanted to go back to.  Our hope was to raise enough money on the road to work on the film and books for at least half the year.  That didn’t happen, obviously.  RISE made just enough to complete the tour and get us back home-with a tiny bit of change left over.  Despite my pre-tour feeling, going back to the city was a safe bet. 

            Safe bets aren’t always the right way…then again, is there a right way?  Some presume.  These days, I don’t want to be one of those people.  The tour taught me that much.   Homecoming was interesting.  It drudged up a lot of emotional content that was very much apart of the shadow side of my ego.   What I mean was, the victim aspect of said ego was quit disappointed in turn out.  I know, poor little me, always the victim.  In truth, the people that I shared space with in the two weeks after my arrival were the ones I was supposed to spend time with.  Now, I’m not saying it was preordained, but life is one big divine sonnet being sung into existence.    

            Truth be told, the only thing to be expected was that life would be different.  Of course I changed while out on the road, but so did everyone else.  Did I really believe that people looked at me as some kind of hero, anticipating my return with the intention for a grand parade?  Get real.  No one cares.  I was just a man living my life.  All those I left behind, well, that’s all they were doing.   I can’t speak for anyone else, and I don’t want to be the asshole assuming.  I’ve played that part before, and I’m sure I’ll do it again; today, I chose a different role.  I’ll just tell you about Thomas Brown, and the man who returned home to phoenix.

            People ask me, “How was the tour?”  To be honest, answering that question is the most difficult task in the process of the journey.   How do I explain it?  How do I emote how the experience has changed me?  At this space and time, it seems much too impossible of a feat to attempt.  So I stare blankly at people, while fumbling over my words. It’s frustrating, because I do want to share.  I need to share.  I don’t want to wait for a probable future speaking engagement.  I don’t want to wait to put it into a book that someone may or may not read.  I want to share its personal truth with the people I know. 

            It is because of this inability to share, that I must admit, has created a dramatic disconnect between what I have known as friends and myself.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is this intensity that continues to flow through me.  The world that I walk through, the world that I see is completely different from the world I knew on Saturday, February 25th, 2012.  The answer is simple, the world I walk through…the world I see…it is different, simply, because I am different.

            I recently spoke with a friend I met while on the road.  Stephanie Sammuels, our New Jersey Jewish mother, and now the patron saint of RISE travelers, filled me in on her perspective of who Thomas seems to be.  She told me, while I was staying with her and her family, that I had that 100-yard stare.  Though physically present, and polite, I was detached and focused.   Being thankful for the grace given to us by The Sammuels clan, yet not allowing myself to get to close.  The mission was still at hand.  I suppose she was right, and is still very correct.  I feel that demeanor is still very much a part of me.

            Somewhere, deep in my core, the road is still with me…the mission is still beating within me.  As I went dormant after my return in terms of RISE, it seems the dragon has awoke from its slumber.  I do have a mission; it is a mission without end.  It is a mission that may just be a lifestyle.  There is a path that I have ignored for far too long.  It is the path, my soul yearns for, but my ego has been too frightened to walk.  Frightened, because it is a path that will contain extreme moments of solitude. 

            This path was introduced to me when Marc died, but I lacked the courage to step away from the life I knew, no matter how toxic it was for me.   The road I walk is one of self reflection.  It is a path of humility and spiritual renewal.  It is no way a place of perfection or mastery; but a place eternal exploration and evolution.  Though I have an outline of the process, I understand the need for malleable flexibility.  RISE was the doorway to returning to this path that I ignored eleven years ago.  It is beyond the concept of suicide.  Suicide is just the symptom of a greater problem.  My path will run parallel with that larger issue.

            There is no projected outcome; there are only levels of growth.  Like a fractal, there is no true beginning as well as no end.  I don’t expect anyone to understand.  This blog post isn’t meant to lift a veil.  I’m not here to be a wise teacher.  My purpose is to play a part in the great drama of existence.  Anyone that may learn or be inspired through witnessing me, do with it what you will.  I promise to do the same.  I walk through this world as an equal to all I encounter.  I walk with purpose.  I walk to be a part of something great than I am, as I walk as myself.  No matter what happens tomorrow, I will walk…with the intention to never stray again.



Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Road to a Place Once Known as Home


          



           This is my second round with this particular blog.  My first version was pages filled with a play by play of my journey home.  Almost endless content empty of any true power of the abstract that is emotion.  It was apparent to me, that this was no way to convey elements of my road back to Phoenix.  Though there is nothing more that I would rather do than share every thing that I experience on my way back to the land of my birth, it would take far too much time to recite...and to be absorbed.

            As Zak took a four hour flight from Philly to Phoenix, I opted to spend the next month and a half on the road.  I would use this time to reunite with old friends, new friends I found on the road, and to reflect on what I have just put myself through.  I was still riding the high of both finishing the RISE tour and meeting Sharon at COSM;  I was filled with a nameless emotion...an overpowering buzz.  I couldn't define it...I couldn't contain it.   I was a beautiful mess of joy and curious uncertainty.


            Adding to the intensity of overwhelming vibration, my first stop on my road back to Phoenix was Algonquin, IL.  My intention was to meet with two old friends of my brother, Jessica & Joe Buccheri.  Though he didn't know my brother for a long time, Joe and Marc's friendship grew fast and with great depth.  The two might as well been siblings...there love and respect for each other was apparent.  The two men entered one another's life during a time of great upheaval and transition.  On the surface it seems that Joe was the one who made it through the fires of his crucible.  Arriving at Joes that first evening was another act of cosmic poetry written in the stars.

            I spent three days in Algonquin.  Joe and I shared stories of the past eleven years.  We talked about Marc, Joe talked about the passing of his father, and of course...I had many moments from the RISE tour to speak about.  In our conversations I told joe how Marc and I grew up on Chicago Cubs baseball.  To help me pay tribute to Marc, Joe suggested we take a tour at Wrigley Field.  Doing so gave us the opportunity to spread some of Marc's ashes at the legendary ball park together. Spending that time with Joe and Jessica just after the tour was a precious gift I will always be grateful for.


            My journey after leaving Illinois was saturated in the unnamable emotion.  An exhausting and exuberayting feeling that overwhelmed the senses.  I continued on revisiting new friends that I made along my travels.  In Atlanta, I reunited with Haya (my soul sister from COSM) and Iris Bolton (one of the founders of suicide support group).  Iris invited me over for a discussion and to participate in one of her drum healing sessions. 

            After 20 minutes of sitting under her grandfather drum while she played, i had a spectacular feeling of my consciousness being dramatically altered.  Iris, and her work, has been a major inspiration for me.  She was the only individual who has integrated ancient wisdom traditions into the subject of suicide and depression.  since my time with her, I have had the pull to walk the same path she started over twenty years ago.  The first step on that road leads one to the core of their personal being.



            As I continued along my way, I connected with other great friends and supporters of the RISE tour: Raela Marie Villanueva in Pensacola, Frank Campbell (another pioneer in working with suicide survivors) in Baton Rouge, LA,  Marian Trattner & Jessica Tartaro of Austin, TX, and the wild roundtrip mini journey to be a part of Zak's wedding in Denver.  Each person I revisited help bring a new level of understanding in the wake as RISE passed through.  It was the beginning of journeying inwards.  As the road to Phoenix intensified with emotion, I was supported with a friendly reinforcement...Shawn Daukarus was heading to Austin to travel the final 15 days with me.

            A long time friend from film school, and philosophical kindred spirit, Shawn  flew out to Austin to help my decompression back into the world after tour.  In many ways he has continued to do so.  Once we arrived in Norman, OK to stay with my family, Terri and Tinker Owens;  I would not only reconnect with my family, but begin my Tai Chi and Qi Gong training with Shawn.  Despite Shawn's caution, I was ill prepared for the door I was opening within my own heart.  After the first lesson, I was already beginning to feel energized.  By my fifth lesson,  I found myself breaking down emotionally mid session. 



            Shawn would tell you that once one begins to move energy or chi more fluidly through their body, emotional energy begins to rise up to the surface.    I'm still a beginner, both in practice and philosophy, but I can vouch for his sentiment.  I am still learning how to pay attention to those feelings that pop arise when in practice.  As the two of us continued to travel west, I felt as if I was being unraveled, only to be rewound.  Who I was before the tour seemed hidden, underneath the veneer of what I experience during the tour, and what I had gone through on the road to Phoenix.

            Originally the plan before returning to Phoenix, was to make one last stop at the Golden Gate Bridge.  For me, it was significant in ending a journey like RISE at the place where we began.  Return I did, but as plans do, they changed.  I had made contact with an old friend who now lives near Huntington Beach, CA.  i made contact with Nicole Nelson, my friend and a woman who dated my brother, back when I was passing through Chicago.  The last time I saw her was at my brothers funeral.  Though she was a friend from childhood, and I hold many memories of time spent together, the last image I have of her face is one of pain and sorrow.

            Shawn was witness to our first interaction in eleven years.  I can only imagine what his perception of that moment was.  From my vantage point, we looked like two dumbfounded friends who forgot how to communicate.  We just stared, smiled at one another, and repeated, "I can't believe you are standing here."  There was a sad beauty that intertwined us together in the moment.  Meeting with Nicole on that final night of tour after seven months held a poetic gesture of rightful purpose.  As it is in life, the two of us had undergone so much radical change over the past decade.  Besides the love we both had for Marc, our evolution has taken to a similar state of awareness.



            Nicole and I shared a similar conscious weirdness.  Not really weird for us, but for those that accept life as it is without much mystery, Nicole and I are most certainly out on the boarders of fringe territory.  To help you further understand, both Nicole & I in our own way, and for our own reason's, had set out on a spiritual path in order to expand our understanding of who we are.   A master author couldn't have written a better ending to the RISE tale.   As it was in the beginning, providence had a role in the end.  Spending that last evening of life on the road with Nicole was a gift far greater than what I could have planned or hoped for.

            To simply reconnect with each other, the three of us walked to a local spot for dinner.  We ate, had a few drinks and inspired many laughs through expressing our stories.   After dinner Nicole and I took our own journey.  We walked along the water and connected more through conversation.  After an hour we decided to rest at a small dock.  I invited Nicole to help with the spreading of some of Marc's ashes.  Agreeing, I put some of the ashes in her hand.  We sat in silence, as Nicole meditated and offered positive intention into those ashes and moment.  Before she cast them into the ocean water, she turned to me; with tears in her eyes, she thanked me.



            The road to a place once known as home...this statement isn't to say that Phoenix isn't my home, it always will be.  The journey after the RISE tour was just as life changing, and sense I left Arizona, I feel that I have died and been reborn several times.  I can tell you that this blog has done zero justice to express to you what I really experienced.  For that short coming, I'm sorry.  The story of RISE is not over, it is always in process.  It is just another journey within the journey of being.  When the journey needs to express itself...it will.  For those that share the road with me, even for moments...thank you.


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

My Heart is Her Drum Machine


          


            The RISE bicycle tour has come to an end.  Within the journey I have been blessed with the grace of others and experienced things far greater than what I could have imagines.  I have travelled through seemingly endless terrain that was a beautiful as it is diverse.   Zak and I engaged in countless heartfelt conversations with hundreds, if not thousands of people.  Our stay at COSM couldn’t have been more than the perfection it was.  Still eclipsing all that transpired, or more importantly, adding to the tour as a whole, was the chance to meet a truly enchanting soul: Sharon Stelluto, the Hospitality Manager at COSM.

            I have to tip my hat and show my greatest appreciation and gratitude to Brad Burge of M.A.P.S. (The Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies) who was the gatekeeper that introduced us to COSM via Allyson Grey.  Without his support and willingness to vouch for us, things might have ended differently.  No need to invent imaginary scenarios.  Things happened just as they were meant to.  After a few interactions with Allyson by way of email, she connected me with Sharon to continue a dialog and updates as Zak and I travelled across the country.

            We didn’t talk much, perhaps once a month or every three weeks; every communication was very professional and to the point.  Before we entered Manhattan, I emailed Sharon, expressing my desire to talk with her on the phone and discuss our arrival on the final day of tour, as we have done this with all our contacts.  In my mind, it was a conversation that should only take five to ten minutes.  When we did finally talk, we did only spend that five to ten minutes talking about our arrival, but for the next hour or hour and a half we just talked.  The conversation didn’t even begin till after 6pm at night.  I was in the room given to me for my stay in Manhattan, and she was still in the COSM office building.

By the time we decided to end the conversation and go back to our separate worlds, I was dumbfounded.  I didn’t want to hang up.  I wanted to continue to talk to her and learn more about who Sharon is.  She was so easy to talk to…so familiar.  During the remainder of my time in Manhattan and Sparkill, I found my thoughts drifting more and more to Sharon.  Here I was, at the edge of finishing this monumental journey, about to ride my bicycle to the visionary community of one of my inspirations, and all I could think about was this woman who I didn’t know.  We’ll I didn’t know her this lifetime, that’s for damn sure.

As the final morning arrived, I was filled with so many mixed emotions.  This is what Zak and I have worked so hard for, for so damn long.  I wanted to hold onto it, yet I knew it needed to be let go.  In the back of my mind, Sharon was there.  As the day of riding progressed, she moved closer to the forefront of my mind.  Who was this person?  Why now, here at the end.  It felt like a powerful gravitational pull, but with no way to explain it’s reason or purpose. 

Arriving at COSM, my anticipation only intensified.  Not to be annoyingly redundant, but who was the woman who belonged to that voice.  It was about time to find out.  Riding up to the top of the hill, I was blown away by an unexpected visit.  My mother was flown in by our New Jersey contact, Stephanie Samuels.  As I mentioned in my previous blog, my mother had been sick and rushed to the hospital not long before this final day.  I had been extremely worried about her condition and health.  To see her there was a shocking and blessed surprise. 

As much as I wanted to finally meet Sharon Stelluto, I was swept away by an emotional tempest.  I lost it.  I cried so damn hard, my mother walked over to me and embraced me. And we stood there and just hugged.  I know how special this journey Zak and I embarked on was for her, as it was for so many.  Crying like a little baby who wants her/his binky in front of a woman that has captivated you is usually a resounding “NO NO” in the unwritten rule of Man Code.  Sharon was witness to this powerful moment between mother and son, a moment I was grateful to have shared with her. 

After the family departed, allowing Zak and I a tour of COSM by Sharon, I couldn’t help but feel so comfortable in her presence.  Sharing space with her and talking felt so familiar, as if we had known each other for years.  This was surprising, and frustrating, as my time at COSM continued, ifelt as if the hospitality manager was avoiding me.  It was a paradoxical scenario, unless I was reading her wrong, I wasn’t getting an uneasy creepy vibe.  Quit the contrary, she expressed in her smile and body language, that she enjoyed my presence just as much as I enjoyed hers. Still, she was elusive.  Come to find, there was a reason for her conflicting behavior, but that explanation is for another time and medium.

During the time that I did spend with Sharon, I discovered that she is a phenomenal painter.  Go figure…she does work at COSM after all.  In the dining hall is a beautiful painting of a rose that I wanted to take home.  As soon as I discovered it was hers, I knew I had a way to pull out my creeper card and get the extra time I wanted with her…to talk.  I asked Sharon if she would be up for an interview for our RISE tour documentary.  We could discuss COSM, our arrival from her point of view, and her passion for painting.  To my delight, she agreed to the interview.




During the interview, I couldn’t help but be an open book to her.  Not so much with words, but with my energy.  I guess it showed too.  Later she told me I she could see what I was feeling just by the way I was looking at her.  I couldn’t help myself.  In such a short order, and without knowing…I was smitten by this woman. After the interview, I gave her my RISE necklace.  I had been wearing the necklace since Austin.  I must admit, I gave the necklace I started with to someone who also made an impact on me, but this was different.  This necklace was saturated in a deep development of my personal transformation, and when I gave it to her, it was like giving her a very powerful piece of myself.  We then shared in a very long hug that I did not want to part from.

Before Zak and I left, Sharon and Haya (another COSM homie/my spiritual sista from anotha motha) joined us in our RISE tradition…the scattering of Marc’s ashes.  Sharon helped me with a picture that I have taken in so many places across this country.  With some of Marc’s ashes in my hand, I held them up to the sculpture “Altered States” the future site for The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors.  I circled the sculpture as I scattered the ashes.  Besides Zak, there have only been three others that have shared that space with me the entire way.  Having Sharon there to act as witness…once again made this final tour scattering so much more beautiful and relevant. 



The four of us (Sharon, Haya, Zak, & I) said our goodbyes as we parted ways.  Zak and I had to head to East Stroudsburg, PA to speak at the University the next day.  Though we had to, I didn’t want to leave.  I hadn’t spent enough time with her; I wanted to know more about that pull.  As we headed down the driveway, I was left aching feeling…as if I was being torn from my home without consent.  The morning after our speaking engagement at East Stroudsburg University, Zak and I parted ways.  He was heading to Philly to catch a flight back to phoenix, and I was heading to Illinois to visit an old friend.  Still thinking about my short lived time with Sharon, driving through the state of Pennsylvania, the universe it seems, did not want me to forget.

For One Hundred and Fifty miles, every five to seven miles, the mile signs were speaking to me.  As I traveled further away from the wonderful Hospitality Manger of COSM, I was wandering closer to the small town of Sharon, PA.  It was one of those synchronistic gut punches that demand your attention.  Over and over again, her name was thrown into my face.  It’s as if she was calling out to me.  I couldn’t resist any longer.  If I didn’t have a schedule to keep, I would have turned around.  I didn’t, but I’d be damned if I was gonna ignore this pull.  I was gonna investigate this…I needed to. 

A lot of people like to talk about the concept of logic.  I sure am one to espouse the comfort of such rational thought.  If it is one thing I learned from the tour, one true and honest universal truth…is that paradox rules supreme.  Like everything else, logic is relative.  I’m sure there are many, who will disagree, but like paradox, they are both correct and incorrect…just depends on the vantage point.  I know, sometimes I sound like a dog chasing my tail (wait…sounds?). 

Sharon lives 2,510 miles from me, door to door.  Where is the logic in sustaining an intimate relationship in that situation?  Then again, where is the logic in quitting my job in the midst of a terrible economy to ride a bicycle over 7,000 miles with only %5 of the budget secured?  Traveling across this country at the pace of a bicycle reminded me of the magical power of will.  The human spirit is an amazing thing, with infinite potential.  I’m not going to sit here and convey in type that I know what is meant for Sharon and I.  All I do know, there is a magic between us.  Each day is another chance to learn from one other.

Since I have left COSM, we have continued in discovering the potential of our connection via, facebook, phone, and skype.  We have already had one visit, and are looking forward to more.  All we have is that sacred moment that is the big “NOW”.  Sure we have intentions, hopes, and desires; still, there is no promise of a future.  We take it day by day, and learn what we can with the tools at our disposal.  I know one thing is for sure…Sharon Stelluto sets me ablaze in dramatic fashion.  I have never met anyone quit like her.  I don’t know what is down the road for the two of us, but we have an intention.  In this moment, we walk with respect, compassion, and a willingness to explore and understand.  I look with great anticipation where this road will lead us without judgment or attachment.  I am eternally grateful to have entered her life, as she has entered mine.  What ever comes next…well, we will have to live and see.









Tuesday, December 18, 2012

GIVE EM HELL


 


The hackivist group Anonymous has been so kind as to leak the personal contact information of Westboro Church members.
With a special thanks to Vets Against the WBC.Thank you #anonymous 




#OPWestboro Membership List. updated October 22, 2012.
Westboro Baptist Church
3701 SW 12th St
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-273-0325
Email: wbclist@speakfree.net
Email: info@phelpschartered.com
Email: chockenbarger@cox.net
http://www.godhatesfags.com/
Phelps Law Firm
Phelps Chartered
1414 SW Topeka Boulevard
Topeka, KS 66612
PO Box 1886
Topeka, KS 66601
Phone: 785-233-4162
Fax: 785-233-0766
Fax: 785-969-9017
Email: info@phelpschartered.com
Email: slpr@cox.net
Email: kjhoffice@speakfree.net
http://www.phelpschartered.com/
============================================================================================
— Abigail Phelps
Lawyer
Employee at SRS – Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority
Born 1968
Daughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
3636 SW Churchill
Topeka, KS 66604
Email: bgail@speakfree.net
Home: 785-273-7262
work: 785-296-7709
— Barak Phelps-Davis
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Rebekah Phelps-Davis
— Benaiah Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
— Benjamin C. Phelps
Born 1976
Son of Fred W. Phelps, Jr
Wife of Mara Jones-Phelps
3632 SW Churchill
Topeka, KS 66604
3636 SW Huntoon St
Topeka, KS 66604
Email: idontreadthisemail@godhatesamerica.com
Phone: 785-228-9239
Home: 785-233-4162
Phone: 785-228-9239
Phone: 785-273-0277
Phone: 785-273-1080
— Betty Joan Schurle-Phelps
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
Born 1952
Wife of Fred W. Phelps, Jr
3600 SW Holly Lane
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-273-0438
Home: 785-272-4135
Work: 785-296-3195
— Brent D. Roper-Phelps
Human Resources Lawyer for NAIC
Employee at Foot Locker
Born 1963
Husband of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
3640 SW Churchill
Topeka, KS 66604
3636 SW Churchill
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-273-0277
Phone: 785-273-7262
Phone: 785-273-1080
Phone: 785-273-3726
Home: 785-273-1445
Home: 785-273-0277
Home: 785-272-1619
Home: 785-273-0325
Home: 785-273-0325
Work: 785-233-4162
Work: 785-273-0068
— Carmen A Phelps
Relative of Daniel F. Phelps
2621 SE Granger St
Topeka, KS 66605
Phone: 785-267-5157
— Caleb Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
— Charles F. Hockenbarger
Born 1974
Son of Karl D. Hockenbarger
Husband of Rachel I. Phelps-Hockenbarger
1284 SW Hillsdale
Topeka, KS 66604
3220 SW 17th St
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-232-1570
Phone: 785-232-2485
Home: 785-271-1619
Work: 785-273-0325
— Charles William “Bill” Hockenbarger
Member of Christian Identity
Born 1953
Husband of Mary Hockenbarger
711 NW Page
Topeka, KS 66617
3600 SW Holly Ln
Topeka, KS 66604
Email: chockenbarger@cox.net
Phone: 785-272-8569
Phone: 785-232-2485
Home: 785-246-1567
Work: 785-273-0325
Fax: 785-233-4162
— Chris Davis-Phelps
Born 1955
Husband of Rebekah Phelps-Davis
1216 SW Cambridge
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-272-7035
Home: 785-272-7741
— Daniel F. Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
2621 SE Granger St
Topeka, KS 66605
Phone: 785-267-5157
— Danielle Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
3119 SW Randolph Ave #204
Topeka, KS 66611
Phone: 785-267-3253
— David Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Karl D. Hockenbarger
— Davis R. Phelps
Relative of Chris Davis-Phelps
1216 SW Cambridge Ave
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-272-7741
Phone: 785-272-7035
— Deborah Kay Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Wife of Karl D. Hockenbarger
1929 SW Lane
Topeka, KS 66604
Home: 913-233-1848
Work: 785-296-3959
— Deborah Phelps-Davis
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Rebekah Phelps-Davis
— Elisha Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
— Elizabeth “Libby” Phelps
Born ~ 1982-3-4
Daughter of Fred W. Phelps, Jr
2001 SW 2nd Street
Topeka, KS 66606
Home: 785-234-9694
Work: 785-233-0822
— Elizabeth Marie Phelps
Born 1962
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
Manager at Sheltered Living, Inc
Daughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
2001 SW 2nd Street
Topeka, KS 66606
Home: 785-234-9694
Work: 785-233-0822
— Fred W. Phelps, Jr
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
Staff Attorney for Kansas Department of Corrections
Born 1953
Son of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Wife of Betty Joan Schurle-Phelps
3600 SW Holly Lane
Topeka, KS 66604
Email: fredjr@godhatesfags.com
Phone: 785-273-0438
Home: 785-273-0529
Work: 785-296-3195
— Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Founder of Westboro Baptist Church
Pastor of Westboro Baptist Church
Born 1929
Husband of Margerie “Margie” M. Simms
Westboro Baptist Church
3791 SW 12th Street
Topeka, KS 66604
Po Box 1886
Topeka, KS 66601
Email: wbclist@speakfree.net
Email: info@phelpschartered.com
Phone: 785-272-4135
Phone: 785-273-0325
Phone: 785-273-0338
Fax: 785-273-9228
— Gabriel Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— George Stutzman
Born ~ 1950′s/1960′s
Fiance of Taylor Drain
— Gideon Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Charles F. Hockenbarger
Son of Rachel I. Phelps Hockenbarger
— Grace Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Daughter of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— Hezekiah Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
— Isaiah Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— Jack Wu
Born ~ 1982-83-84
Westboro Baptist Member
12400 W 161st St
Olathe, KS 66062
Home: 913-897-0607
— Jacob M. Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Jonathan Baxter Phelps
— Jacob Z. Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Fred W. Phelps, Jr
— Jael Phelps
Nursing Student
Born ~ 1984-5-6
Daughter of Jonathan Baxter Phelps
— James Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Karl D. Hockenbarger
1929 SW Lane
Topeka, KS 66604
Home: 913-233-1848
Work: 785-296-3959
— Jennifer Hockenbarger
Born 1977
Daughter of Karl D. Hockenbarger
Wife of Samuel Phelps-Roper
1929 SW Lane
Topeka, KS 66604
Home: 913-233-1848
Work: 785-296-3959
— Jonah Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— Jonathan Baxter Phelps
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
Son of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Husband of Paulette Phelps-Ossiander
Born 1959
840 SW Watson
Topeka, KS 66606
Work: 785-233-4162
— Joseph Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Jonathan Baxter Phelps
— Joshua F. Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— Joshua M. Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Jonathan Baxter Phelps
— Josaiah Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Charles F. Hockenbarger
Son of Rachel I. Phelps Hockenbarger
— Karl D. Hockenbarger
Member of Christian Identity
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Charles William “Bill” Hockenbarger
Husband of Deborah Kay Hockenbarger
1929 SW Lane
Topeka, KS 66604
Home: 913-233-1848
Work: 785-296-3959
— Katherine Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Daughter of Karl D. Hockenbarger
3642 SW Huntoon St
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-783-7217
— Lauren Drain
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Stephen “Steve” Drain
— LeAnn Phelps-Brown
Lawyer
Employee of Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department
Born 1966
Wife of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
3743 SW 12th Street
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-273-0365
Home: 785-273-4780
Work: 785-291-5100
Work: 785-233-4162
— Luci Drain
Born ~ 1950′s
Daughter of Stephen “Steve” Drain
— Luke Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— Lydia Phelps-Davis
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Rebekah Phelps-Davis
— Malachai Phelps
Born 2005
Great-Grandson of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
— Mara Jones-Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Wife of Fred W. Phelps, Jr
3120 SW Westover Rd
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-235-6999
— Margerie “Margie” Marie Simms-Phelps
Born ~ 1930′s
Wife of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Westboro Baptist Church
3701 SW 12th Street
Topeka, KS 66604
Email: wbclist@speakfree.net
Email: info@phelpschartered.com
Phone: 785-273-0325
Phone: 785-273-0338
Fax: 785-273-9228
— Margie Jean Phelps
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
Employee of Kansas Department of Corrections
Born 1956
Daughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
3734 SW 12th
Topeka, KS 66604
Landon State Office Building 900
Topeka, KS 66612
Email: margiep77@cox.net
Phone: 785-273-0365
Home: 785-273-7380
Work: 785-296-3128
Work: 785-296-3317
— Margy “Margie”/”Megan” Phelps-Roper
Born ~ 1985-6-7
Daughter of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— Mary Hockenbarger
Child Care Provider
Born ~ 1950′s
Wife of Charles William “Bill” Hockenbarger
711 NW Page
Topeka, KS 66617
Email: chockenbarger@cox.net
Home: 785-246-1567
— Micaiah Phelps-Davis
Born ~ 1991-2-3
Son of Rebekah Phelps-Davis
— Noah Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
— Paulette Phelps-Ossiander
Office Assistant at Phelps Chartered
Born 1960
Wife of Jonathan Baxter Phelps
840 SW Watson
Topeka, KS 66606
Work: 785-233-4162
— Rachel Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Charles F. Hockenbarger
Daughter of Rachel I. Phelps Hockenbarger
3600 SW Holly Ln
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-272-8569
Phone: 785-272-8559
— Rachel I. Phelps-Hockenbarger
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
YMCA Fitness Instructor
Born 1965
Daughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Wife of Charles F. Hockenbarger
1284 SW Hillsdale
Topeka, KS 66604
3734 SW 12th St
Topeka, KS 66604
1216 SW Cambridge Ave
Topeka, KS 66604
3220 SW 17th St
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-232-1570
Phone: 785-273-0365
Phone: 785-272-7035
Home: 785-271-1619
— Rebekah Phelps-Davis
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
Born 1961
Daughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Wife of Chris Davis
1216 SW Cambridge
Topeka, KS 66604
Home: 785-272-7741
— Rebekah Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Daughter of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
1205 SW Polk St #5B
Topeka, KS 66612
Phone: 785-783-3722
— Samuel Phelps-Roper
Born 1979
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
Husband of Jennifer Hockenbarger
3640 SW Churchill
Topeka, KS 66604
3708 SW Churchill
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-228-9287
Phone: 785-273-1080
Home: 785-273-1445
Home: 785-273-0277
Home: 785-272-1619
Home: 785-273-0325
Home: 785-273-0277
Home: 785-273-0325
Work: 785-233-4162
Work: 785-273-0068
— Sara Phelps
Born ~ 1980-1-2
Daughter of Fred W. Phelps, Jr
3600 SW Holly Ln
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-0273-0438
— Seth Phelps
Born ~ 2003-4-5
Great-Grandson of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
— Sharon M. Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Grand-Daughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
4128 SW 6th Ave #308
Topeka, KS 66606
Phone: 785-228-9323
— Shirley Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
— Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
Lawyer at Phelps Chartered
Born Oct. 10, 1957
Daughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Wife of Brent D. Roper
3640 SW Churchilll
Topeka, KS 66604
Email: slpr@cox.net
Email: kjhoffice@speakfree.net
Email: th8asluf@godhatesamerica.com
Email: brid1611kjv@bellsouth.net
Email: info@phelpschartered.com
Phone: 785-273-1080
Phone: 785-272-8559
Home: 785-273-1445
Home: 785-273-0277
Home: 785-272-1619
Home: 785-273-0325
Home: 785-273-0277
Home: 785-273-0325
Work: 785-233-4162
Work: 785-273-0068
— Stephen “Steve” Drain
Born ~ 1950′s
Husband of Luci Drain
3801 SW 12th St
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-228-1623
— Stephen Hockenbarger
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Charles F. Hockenbarger
Son of Rachel I. Phelps Hockenbarger
— Taylor Drain
Born ~ 1991-2-3
Daughter of Stephen “Steve” Drain
Fiance of George Stutzman
— Theresa Davis
Born ~ 1950′s/1960′s
Family Member of Chris Davis
3632 SW 12th Street
Topeka, KS 66604
Work: 785-291-7000
— Timothy “Tim”/”Timmy” B. Phelps
Lawyer
Employee of Shawnee County Department of Corrections
Born 1963
Son of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr
Husband of LeAnn Phelps-Brown
3743 SW 12th Street
Topeka, KS 66604
Phone: 785-273-0365
Home: 785-273-4780
Work: 785-291-5100
Work: 785-233-4162
— Timothy Phelps Jr
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Son of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
— Victoria Phelps
Born ~ Mid-1980′s/Mid-1990′s
Daughter of Timothy “Tim/Timmy” B. Phelps
— Zacharias Phelps-Roper
Born ~ Mid-1970′s/Mid-1980′s
Son of Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper
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Westboro Baptist Church
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Phelps, Benjamin idontreadthisemail@godhatesamerica.com
PO BOX 1886
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Phelps, Benjamin idontreadthisemail@godhatesamerica.com
PO BOX 1886
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Domain WhoIs Information:

phelpschartered.com
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Domain Name: PHELPSCHARTERED.COM
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Expires on: 17-Apr-13
Last Updated on: 16-Jul-11
Registrant:
Phelps-Chartered
1414 S. Topeka Blvd.
Topeka, Kansas 66612
United States
Administrative Contact:
Phelps-Roper, Shirley kjhoffice@speakfree.net
Phelps-Chartered
1414 S. Topeka Blvd.
Topeka, Kansas 66612
United States
7852334162
Technical Contact:
Phelps-Roper, Shirley kjhoffice@speakfree.net
Phelps-Chartered
1414 S. Topeka Blvd.
Topeka, Kansas 66612
United States
7852334162
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Port 80/Port 23 vulnerability
@JackHerer20

Saturday, December 15, 2012

4 8 15 16 23 42: COSM is the Island


I know…it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything written.  I meant to get this out shortly after leaving COSM, but the gravity in ending the tour and the road home was a dramatic fall into mental entropy.  A more in depth blog on that journey will…should be posted at a later time.  And now…COSM!




The Arrival

It could’ve been labeled a day like any other.  I’m sure for many it was, but for me, there was nothing usual about this seemingly typical day.  It was the final day of riding on the RISE bicycle tour…it was the Day that we arrive at The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors…It was journeys end.  Like that first day of tour seven months earlier, the morning was charged with a palpable energy.   Still, the setting was very different.  We had a bright and sunny day hanging over our heads.  The air was cool with a subtly warm overtone.  No rain or wind to slow us down.  The weight of the road ahead was now nothing more than a memory of those who lead our way to this moment…our final push.  Thirteen months of preparation and seven months of a nomadic life had lead to this last day. 

Though Zak and I have travelled this path on our bicycles alone, we were never truly by ourselves.  This day was no different.  Driving all the way from Piscataway, NJ was Officer Crisafulli & Detective Ritter, who would escort us for the final 50 miles of our 7,000 mile journey.  We have Stephanie Samuels, our New Jersey mother (and therapist) to thank for this support.  We set off from Sparkill, NY where we spent a few days with Kit Lucas, one of the first survivors of suicide to write a book on the subject.  Crisafulli & Ritter followed behind as Zak and I took turns riding and driving the support vehicle.  Once we were 15 miles out, Det. Ritter took over driving the truck so that Zak and I could end side by side.

                         


As we arrived at the front end of the property we took time to take pictures at the entrance sign of COSM.  Once we finished, Crisafulli & Ritter headed up the hill giving us those final 200 yards to ourselves.  Zak allowed me to set the tone, which was even slower than my standard turtle pace.  As we approached, Standing at the last bend was Stephanie’s two daughters waving signs.  Once we passed them, I saw two people at a distance I couldn’t place.  Probably due to the sad truth that I need glasses.  Closer I realized it was my Uncle Roger and Aunt Dorothy from Hornell, NY.  The first words that popped out of my mouth…”What the Fuck?”  I was glad to see them, but how are they here.

Reaching the end atop the hill on the property of COSM, I scanned the small group of folk who massed:  Stephanie and her family, Officer Crisafulli & Detective Ritter, Zak’s fiancée Brandalyn (Another what the fuck moment in my mind), Sharon the hospitality manager of COSM, and my mother (a monumental Holy Fuck moment).  Now Sharon has a beautiful interpretation as a witness of this entire moment, all I have is a feeling.  I’ll do my best to describe. 

The best way to poetically express how I reacted to seeing my mother, simply put…I lost my shit.  I went from an exhausted excitement to utter surprise and emotional breakdown.  A month earlier, my mother was in the hospital for an exploratory surgery due to health complications.  It was three weeks before she was strong enough to leave the house.  My father was so distraught that I had to send my friend Shawn to get clearer information for me.  My biggest fear since Marc has died has been the frightening realization that I will have to burry my parents without my big brother.  Seeing my Mother knowing she had only been on her feet for a week, released a lot of that fear I had held for the last month of tour.  Combine that with the intensity of journey’s end, could you blame me for crying like a schoolgirl who just skinned her knee?  Ok, don’t answer that.

Why COSM

Many people ask how we connect suicide to the healing power of artistic expression.  Furthermore, why COSM as journey’s end?  Stuffing concepts & philosophies into a neat little packaged box isn’t a rarity.  Art isn’t an acceptation to this culturally oppressive rule.  Most often, when someone thinks of art, their mind pictures a photograph, painting, poetry, music, etc.  Why stop there, I don’t.  To confine a concept or philosophy in a box of rules is yet another desperate attempt of humanity to control.  To control is to segregate and limit infinite potential on any said concept or philosophy, creating a limitation on Art and expression is not only unnecessary, it is profane.  The human experience is an ever transforming and evolving masterpiece of art.


Our lives are art in constant process.  We have the ability to create a life that suites our heart and soul.  While we do lack, for the most part, the control of what comes at us…we do hold the power to control how we react to any given situation.   I’ve heard all too often, “How does art help me?  I’m not creative.”  Maybe you aren’t a photographer or a painter, but you can at the very least make a decision about what life you want to live.  Can’t you?   If your life was a canvas, then your choices and decisions are your pallet of colors to play with.  It’s actually surprising that this concept is new, foreign, or vacant from ones daily thought process.

I can’t take full responsibility of this philosophy; all I can do is take responsibility for my interpretation and expressive action of said philosophy.  The primary influence of this concept has been Alex Grey and the work he is doing with his wife Allyson at The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (COSM).  The day After Christmas in 2007, I discovered Alex’s book, “The Mission of Art”.  The moment I purchased this book, I was completely unaware of its purpose & power or how it would play in the equation of influence for my worldview and action.  In this book, Alex talks about the great potential of artistic expression as a vehicle to making a better world.  He explains how art is an aspect of the divine that we all hold within us.  After time and effort, every person can cultivate that infinite power.

 


My brother’s death transformed my world in a dramatic way, and for a time, I was on a path that only leads to catastrophe.  Alex’s philosophy, among a few others was the inspiration that shined a light onto the road I now walk.  I couldn’t stop my brother’s suicide, but I do have the power to allow it to influence me for whatever purpose I choose.  At the very beginning, with the conception of RISE, COSM was the obvious choice for an ending to the tour.

The Experience

It’s safe to say, that outside of Alex, his art, and philosophy, I had no idea what to expect from COSM.  I have to admit, I didn’t do my homework on everything that was being done.  It didn’t matter much.  There was no need to be a blatant fanboy about it all.  COSM as an ending point was more about the symbolism of transcendence via creativity.  As I travelled the country, I began to see visions of a place where people could gather in community.  A property that is self sustained, where artists can create openly, where the wounded can find tools to heal themselves and others.  In many ways, COSM has been a reflection to this vision. Or at least a starting point.

On the day of our arrival, the visionary permaculture class was ending its week long summer session.  Lead by Delvin Solkinson, the Grey’s are working on making the land which COSM rests on much more sustainable for energy and food production.  The obviousness of this practice is to illicit more freedom by being a bit more self-reliant.  This is essential in any community or individual harvesting a lifestyle that is more conducive for self sovereignty. 



COSM’s hospitality manager, Sharon Stelluto gave Zak and I a quick tour of the house once our family left…allowing us to settle in.  The house, which is where guests, volunteers, and staff live, is also the primary site for most of the COSM events.  The building is a brilliant three story Victorian house.  The main hall acts as a gallery, library, and event venue.  The old renovated home is saturated with faint smell of the forest outside and the wood that is its skin.  The floor creaked and cracked with every step, always announcing ones arrival with a loud declaration.

I had a long conversation with Sharon once we had arrived to Manhattan, about a week before our arrival to COSM.  We wanted to go over the final day of our tour and the expectations of our visit.  One of the stipulations was to donate our time at the community with chore duty for a few free nights stay.  Sweeping floors, hauling chairs, and cleaning bathrooms was the least I could do for food and many a good nights rest at journey’s end.  Besides, I met some amazing & interesting individuals while contributing to the community, which would continue well into the Full Moon Ceremony on the evening of September 29th.

Before the Full Moon Ceremony, I had the pleasure of sitting in on a workshop with a shaman, Rafael Bejarano, a multi-cultural ritualist, musician, artist & cultural educator.  Rafael was masterful at simplifying EVERYTHING, and doing so with savvy sense of humor.  The man electrified me when he spoke.  Not that his concepts were anything new.  As it were, I only heard the whisper of my thoughts repeated back to me.  I can’t speak for anyone else in how they experienced Rafael, but it felt as if every word he uttered was transcript of my mind.   The workshop with Rafael was profound to say the least, he offered an even greater gift to me:  during his musical performance of his teachings, he blessed the remaining ashes of my brother.  He placed them at the center of his alter and played his didgeridoo over them.



With two hundred people crammed into the main hall, the full moon ceremony began with Alex & Allyson giving a sermon about the spiritual path that is creative expression.  They handed it over to Rafael, who played more from his hand crafted flutes and didgeridoo.   Many Other amazing acts followed which entertained, informed, and mesmerized the guests in this fantastic event:  readings from a book about synchronicity to updates on the permaculture class at COSM. The crowd was blessed with music from folk singers, singing bowl meditation, and participating in an om session that shook the walls.



RISE was given the last guest spot and ten minutes to speak with the crowd about our seven month journey.  Zak and I didn’t do a pregame talk about how we were gonna flow.  He arrived with his fiancé and I was still running around helping set up.  It didn’t help that we sat on opposites sides of the room either.  The seven months of speaking engagements was felt.  We shared our stories effortlessly and surprisingly were able to condense our travels to the time allowed and still resonated with crowed.  Once the ceremony was finished, Zak headed out to spend extra time with his beloved fiancés, and I stayed back to mingle and partake in the rest of the full moon festivities.  The evening ended with those remaining meeting in the dinning hall, joining hands, and howling at the moon.  The Tour had come to an end.

Looking Back

            You ever seen the television show LOST?  That’s how I usually start out the conversation when attempting to explain COSM.  If a person’s reply to my question is no, I give a sigh (which mean I whisper “fuck” in my mind) and I give the best generic description I can muster.  For those of you that would answer “Yes”, allow my simple but to the point description:  COSM is the Island.  While there isn’t a smoke monster that acts as sentry to the perimeter of the property, there is a benevolent force.  Though I never heard stories of a man that was miraculously able to walk after years of being confined to a wheelchair, there is a magic that flows through the land.  

            There is so much that seems to draw a wide and eclectic range of people to the property.  Most of the time it is the Greys and their philosophy, which is the mission of COSM.  Others, without knowing it, could be drawn by the land itself; and the Greys being the simple tool to do this.  The second thought is a bit of a cute and abstract romanticized idea, but what else would expect.  As long as you’re not one of the worshiping fans, with a moderate grip on reality (which I feel I am), there is a gravitational pull that makes it hard to leave.  (For those of you who know my real story for not wanting to leave…that blogs coming soon.)

            As much love as I have for the community, property, and mission of COSM, I am not blind to its dramatic and obvious dysfunction.  The community is still operated by human beings, and as we all know, humans are fallible and egocentric creatures.  I’m not going to go into all those details, it’s not my place, nor is it the time and format for such an ego driven critique.   In order to have true love for someone, place, or thing…you’ve gotta love its faults too. 

            Like the Island, it exudes a mysterious sense of refuge to so many who seek community.  Many who are marginalized outsiders find a sanctuary for much needed respite.  It feels like home to so many outcast, that many people forget there is an “hours of operation”.  You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.  Being able to walk the grounds and lend my own two hands for the community has given me further articulation of what our contemporary society may be lacking.  COSM isn’t the answer, it has it’s own mission, but it is a beautiful place filled with potential, hope, and promise.  For me…at the heart, it was an introduction.





              On our final day, before we left, I had one last mission.  As I had done along the 7,000 mile journey, I needed to spread my Marc's ashes on the grounds.  The location I chose was the future site for the actual building, The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors.  The sculpture that holds space for the Chapel is called "Altered States".  Marc and the RISE tour are forever a part of the ground known as COSM.

To Learn more about Kate Raudenbusch, The artist behind "Altered States"  visit her website 

To learn more about Rafael or Cosm, visit the links below.





Websites for Delvin Solkinson  

Gaia Craft

Crystal and Spore

Heart Gardens

It seem so cliché to attach a TooL song to this blog.  Then again, how could I not?