July 2012

We recently welcomed the Summer Solstice at Sunrise here at the Cuyamungue Institute. (click on the sunrise photo, above left, to view full size image) It was only a few days after winding up our “Hero Journey” workshop at the beginning of June (we’ve scheduled the next one for October 4-7) that the Board of Directors arrived for a five-day intensive board meeting. The focus was to bring the business of the Institute up-to-date and map out the future. We are fortunate to have the dedication and wisdom of three long-time members, Jackie, Rae, and Stephanie, as well as my wife Laura, a visionary, and two new, energetic members from the world of environmental consulting, with Alan Ismond — and psychotherapy, with Cynthia Devlin (see more on our new members below). Please join us in welcoming them.

We have a whirlwind of momentum stirring things up here at the Cuyamungue Institute and many exciting developments. While we are an international organization, it has been important to meet and great our neighbors in the Santa Fe area. Laura and I have hosted several introductory events for the local community and everywhere we go, as people ask us about what we do, we are meeting wonderful people who are expressing interest in this work.

After the board meeting, Laura and I joined Cynthia Devlin for a pilgrimage to Chaco Canyon. We first visited Chaco in the early 1990’s and received my first native flute. So, I now travel with a flute and “pray the flute” as a way to honor sacred sites and the ancient ones who came before.  Here is a photo at sunset at Casa Rinconada. This is the largest kiva in the extensive complex of Chaco’s extraordinary collection of three and four story stone structures. Sitting in the middle of this kiva is where I had a break-through experience that changed the course of my life, so going back to revisit this site had deep significance. Laura arranged a private visit with Ranger G.B. Cornucopia, an archeoastronomer who in the 25 years he has been at the park, has come to know intimately the vast number of sites aligned in various ways with the solstices, equinoxes, and other celestial markers that are cleverly and subtly incorporated into the large, well-planned, ceremonial structures. The next time you come to CI, consider adding several extra days to your trip to camp out at Chaco and explore this unique and fascinating part of the Anasazi world.

We want to thank all those who have made donations and/or have volunteered to support the Cuyamungue Institute. Please take a moment to scroll down for our donations report prepared by Laura Lee. With your help, we are committed to continuing to broaden and deepen the impact of the Cuyamungue Method and continue to offer this profound experiential practice to the global community.

If you have any questions about the Institute or the Cuyamungue Method, please feel free to contact us. We welcome all correspondence. Email me directly at paulrobear@cuyamungueinstitute.com  … and please check out our upcoming workshop schedule.


 Ecstatic Trance in Colombia by Patricia Santamaria
In Colombia we have practiced ecstatic trance using the Cuyamungue Method for more than three years, although I began to experience a connection with this knowledge more than five years ago when I had a series of dreams and visions in which a friend gave me gifts that my grandmother had sent me in order to heal hearts… Continue to full article:

https://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/ecstatic-trance-in-colombia/


Milky Way over Cuyamungue by Hsi May
World traveller and photographer Hsi May ,from Singapore, recently attended the “Hero Journey” workshop and captured a few amazing photographs of the Milky Way over the Cuyamungue Institute.

“This is my favorite adobe building in Cuyamungue, it’s not on the electrical grid and is only lit up with candlelight in this image…” Complete article with photos at:
https://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/articles-and-news/the-milky-way-over-cuyamungue/


Cleveland Workshop Report – from Belinda Gore
Our Director of Instructor training, Belinda Gore recently held a workshop in Cleveland Ohio – with a strong turnout.   She reports 33 very enthusiastic participants, and is planning to offer a healing workshop in a few months based on the requests of the participants. Sounds like it is going to be a powerful event. If you are interested in attending this workshop with Belinda – email her directly at belindagore@hotmail.com


Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman – 100 year celebration

2014 will be the 100th anniversary of Felicitas’ birth and a great opportunity for special events at Cuyamungue and as a way to honor Dr. Goodman.  We hope to have an international event and welcome all cultures, all languages and representation from around the world. We continue to hear stories of how Felicitas and her work impacted peoples lives.  We are currently developing this conference for the Summer 2014 and are actively looking for knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers. We welcome and need your ideas and participation. We are willing to add additional temporary accommodations and gathering spaces as needed. For those who need more comfort and full accommodations, the recently built Hilton at Buffalo Thunder is only a short distance away, very reasonable priced, full of impressive contemporary native american arts. We can negotiate a group of rooms depending on the demand.

If you would like to be on the committee that plans and executes this event, just let me know. Email me directly at paulrobear@cuyamungueinstitute.com


New Board Members – We want to welcome two new members to the Board of Directors for the Cuyamungue Institute.

Alan Ismond – Alan has a Chemical Engineering degree with a minor in Food Technology. He has spent the last 30 years working for the largest corporations in the food industry. This experience has allowed him to see the how the corporate drive for growth and profits has resulted in the compromising of food quality, human health, and environmental sustainability. Alan has also studied alternative methods of food production, health maintenance, and ecology and is convinced that, for every problem that we are now faced with, there is a solution.

Cynthia Devlin – Cynthia is a licensed as a Professional Counselor and a Marriage and Family Therapist in Farmville, Virginia, with over 30 years of clinical experience. A native of North Dakota, Ms. Devlin attended undergraduate school at Moorhead State College in Minnesota graduating Magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sociology/Psychology. She received an M.S in Counseling from San Diego State University,California and completed post-graduate coursework at the University of Minnesota, University of Virginia, et al.


Report from Laura Lee, Director of Outreach and Development

CI has been blessed with contributions recently, and we want to acknowledge our donors here. FOR A COMPLETE REPORT of the donations, developments and upgrades with photos at the Cuyamungue Institutes, visit  https://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/articles-and-news/donor-acknowledgement/

CI has been blessed with many gifts recently.

Kim Miller, and The Lester and Bernice Smith Foundation, both donated a significant sum for refurbishing the grounds and facilities at CI. This generous contribution allowed us to accomplish a lot, and quickly. Paul and I arrived three weeks before our June workshop, so this was the window to get CI upgraded and ready for the workshop season. We were thankful to have the funds on hand so we could get right to it.

The first project Paul tackled was the kitchen. He wanted to expand it, as meal prep for a dozen people, by four or five, gets rather congested in a tiny kitchen!  For the wall where a long plastic table had stood, Paul found nine feet of matching cabinets at the Habitat for Humanity charity store, plus a counter top to fit. That adds a lot of work space, plus storage. He found a tall pantry cupboard to replace the metal cabinet, and reworked the cabinets around the stove to accommodate the newer, larger stove that Jackie Haworth donated. Thank you Jackie, for the stove, and just in time! The old one blew up while we were waiting for the new one to arrive.  Also, Jack and Diana Scott made a much-appreciated contribution to this kitchen project. We ran into Steve Thomas, former host of “This Old House,” who we knew from my previous interview with him regarding his years spent with a Polynesian elder, one of the last who knew the old ways of navigation by the stars, waves, and birds. Steve’s new gig is spokesman/ambassador for Habitat for Humanity, and it was his turn to interview us for his blog, about why we were shopping at the Habitat store. We needed vintage cabinets, we told him. We couldn’t afford to rip out all the kitchen cabinets in order to expand them. We were lucky that we found older, recycled cabinets that exactly match what we have already.

Vintage and recycled was the theme that carried us through the entire project — that, and to have just what we needed appear, when we needed it! We bought new as appropriate, as needed; but where we found items, ready and willing to be repurposed, we were glad to do so — it helped us maintain the rustic simplicity that is part of the charm here at CI. Not to mention, stretching our funds to accomplish even more!

Part of the fun was that we seemed to have slipped into some higher order shopping groove; just when we added some unusual item to the list, it seemed to appear. One day we were wondering how to handle the recycling of jars and plastic and paper, the next day, as we were looking for something else, we found a practically new recycling unit with three lidded  bins that just fits under the kitchen window. I bought  many, many kitchen items to make food prep and clean up easier: cutting boards, pots, serving dishes, flatware, towels, racks, mitts, an assortment of tools and utensils, as well as big serving trays to make the trek from kitchen to dining table more efficient.

For the dining hall and entry of the student building, we rearranged what furniture was here, and added a few new pieces. You’d be amazed what is donated to charity shops, in the way of rustic, hand-made pine tables, sideboards, and other pieces we found. Happily, it all blends with what is already here, and was very affordable. Paul is good at seeing the potential in a piece, and repurposing. He found a long, low set of rustic pine drawers, that he remade into the bench seat now sitting at the entryway. He made a new top for it that fits the curve of the wall, now looks like its always been there. And a new, tightly fitting screen door should help keep critters out of the building. The bathrooms got a bit of a make-over: shelves were added, mirrors replaced, new hooks, and fresh paint on everything cleaned it right up.

Paul found a gorgous trestle table with matching chairs on Craigslist. It is a hand-scraped, custom built set by renowned local artisans. The owner made a partial donation (–thank you Ken!) of it, and it’s ten-foot length comfortably seats full workshops. The former long skinny dining table has become the library table, with the addition of two library chairs, and a span of bookshelves.

The landscaping project centered on making the pathways safer. Some paths were widened  with additional flagstone. Some were raked and re-edged with rock. A torrential rain early on showed us where the water hitting the ground wanted to go so a french drain here and there was added, and a few channels dug to redirect it. I found solar path lights on sale for $2 each at Lowe’s, so I bought dozens and they now illuminate the paths at night. They are on the dimmer side, as we did not want to interfer with watching the stars. (see May Hsi’s gorgeous photo of the Milky Way over the casita). Now, as you drive down the hill at night into the complex of buildings, the solar lights make an enchanting welcome.

The next project was to make the bunk house more comfortable for guests. Paul removed the storage bins, making more room for the cots. He added carpets and Native American wall hangings, and a big rustic table with chairs and overhead hanging lamp. It was now so comfortable there — — its the coolest place to be on a hot day — that it was the preferred meeting place during our recent board meeting…
FOR A COMPLETE REPORT of the donations, developments and upgrades with photos at the Cuyamungue Institutes, visit  https://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/articles-and-news/donor-acknowledgement/


Upcoming Workshop Schedule.  Direct experience is a path to transformation. Participants report that these workshops expand personal power and strengthen inner guidance that can be life changing. Make your plans now, come experience the special power of the land and enjoy the benefits of going deep into the posture experiences. Based on several requests, we have added an Introductory Workshop the first weekend in October.

July 25-29    Using The Cuyamungue Method for Healing, Growth
and to Access the Universal Mind.  Instructor: Nick Brink

August 29 – September 2   Teacher Training: Becoming a Certified Instructor
Instructors: Belinda Gore, Jackie Haworth

September 18 -23, 2012  Experience the  Zodiac Dendara through Posture
Instructors: Jill Schumacher & Meredith McCord

October 5 -7, 2012  Introductory Workshop
Instructors: Paul Robear & Laura Lee

Online registration is easy – go to  https://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/events/


Blessings,
Paul Robear – June 2012