Carole Glenn: News

Carole Glenn’s Comments Upon Receiving the
Howard Swan Award
July 26, 2010

Beloved,
I am deeply, deeply humbled and honored to receive this award. It is breathtaking!
Many years ago I was born in Burbank, CA, grew up in Northern California, and graduated from Watsonville High School. I received my B.A. from the University of the Pacific, my MA from Occidental College, and the Doctor of Spiritual Studies from the Center for Transformational Studies.
In Modesto, CA, I taught 5th grade & choir for one year, junior high choral music for 26 years, and junior high choral music in Silverdale, WA , for 8 years. During the past 10 years I graduated from the Music for Healing and Transition Program and have worked as a Certified Music Practitioner with two hospices in the Tacoma, WA, area.
During World War II, my mother and I lived with my grandparents in Highland Park, a suburb of Los Angeles, while my dad was overseas in the Navy. We attended Highland Park Presbyterian Church where I was baptized when I was 6 months old. Howard Swan was the choir director there at that time. So, my acquaintance with Howard began at a very early age, although neither of us could remember the event later!
Age 13 is considered by many to be the most difficult year in one’s life. For me, it was the time that my folks were divorcing, and I went into what I now know was a deep depression. But something magical happened when I attended Scout Camp. As we sang around the campfire, I felt the oneness and healing and wholeness that occur when voices are lifted together in song. That is when my passion for choral music came into my consciousness, and it has never left. I know you share that passion, because you are here at ECCO! I later chose to teach junior high choral music in order to share the healing power of music with that age group, with those who seem to need it the most.
Great choral conductors have inspired me along the way – Ralph Kent at Watsonville High, Russell Bodley at the University of the Pacific, Jane Hardester, my music mentor, Jester Hairston and his heart of gold, Paul Salamunovich and the vast mysteries of chant. Many summers I spent with Jane and her husband Gene while attending classes at USC with Charles C. Hirt, Occidental College with Howard Swan, and the annual Choral Conductors Guild workshops which brought conductors from all over the world to Southern California.
During the summer of 1970, Howard Swan said that he would be retiring in 1971. Within a week I had arranged for a leave of absence from my school district and enrolled at Occidental in the Masters Program.
Does anyone know Swan’s middle name? (no response) It is Shelton, and it is so appropriate that Sheldon Disrud and I are sharing this award.
Swan was born in Colorado and moved to Southern California when he was six. He and his father agreed that he did not want to be a poor musician, so at Pomona College he majored in history, but took many music classes and sang in the choir. When the choir director was on sabbatical, Swan conducted the Pomona choir.
He taught American History at Eagle Rock High School where Robert Shaw first became acquainted with him. Swan had a beautiful tenor voice and was well known for his solo work in the Los Angeles area.
At age 31, however, he said that he woke up one morning and had lost the upper notes of his range. As time went on, he lost more notes and then one of his vocal cords became paralyzed. He had no voice at all. He said, “It’s just as well that my solo career ended. I wouldn’t have amounted to much anyway.”
He worked with John Finley Williamson who helped him to regain the partial use of his speaking voice, a high pitched sound. He even began to smoke, thinking that this would thicken the paralyzed cord. Finally, in the 60s the damaged cord was injected with silicon and he was able to speak with a more normal voice. In the meantime, he was employed full-time at Oxy to teach the Glee Clubs and other music classes. Upon retiring from Oxy, Swan taught at Cal State Fullerton and University of California at Irvine. He also conducted the choir at his assisted living facility – which is now conducted by Sheldon Disrud!
One day, in the fall of 1970, Swan said, “Now Carole, what are you going to do for your thesis project?” Driving home to Santa Monica, where I was renting an apartment for the school year, the idea came in a flash that I could interview well-known conductors and ask them a number of questions. I was so excited by this thought that I drove right past Santa Monica and ended up down the road in Malibu!
Dr. Swan was very pleased with this idea. He knew all of the collegiate conductors in the country and assisted in creating a list of them for the interviews, as well as the questions to be asked. I spent much of the year traveling with my cassette tape recorder. It was an incredible time, even though it meant many hours transcribing tapes with my typewriter while watching the Steve Allen show and others on TV. I also enjoyed singing with Jane Hardester and her Unitarian choir in Palos Verdes at an early service, and then driving to St. Basil’s Catholic Church, downtown LA to sing the late mass with Paul Salamunovich. It seemed as though the music rose above the denominational divisions.
Dr. Swan suggested that I submit the thesis, Choral Practices In The United States, to the Choral Journal. Chapters were published monthly over a period of two years. Later, Paul Salamunovich suggested that the material be published in book form so that his fingers wouldn’t get sore as he worked the duplicating machine to make copies of the Journal articles for his conducting class! At a national convention Paul introduced me to Don Hinshaw, and Hinshaw published the work as In Quest of Answers: Interviews with American Choral Conductors.
During the 1984-86 years, I was elected president of the Northern California ACDA. Past President Byron McGilvray suggested that we create an award to honor retiring California choral conductors. We settled on the name of the Howard Swan Award to honor this amazing man. Swan was the epitome of what a choral conductor might aspire to be. It seemed so easy to talk with him about anything. I could have been talking to my own grandfather. (They had the same hairdo!) His ego was under control. He loved people and was passionate about music. In order to communicate with his large choir at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, he would handwrite a note to each singer during the month of that person’s birthday. These missives were treasured by the choir members. But, best of all, he had Katherine as his life partner. He passed away in 1995.
In 2000 a friend was going to Tibet and needed 5 people to go with him to form a small tour group. I knew that if I didn’t go, I would regret it the rest of my life. My school board didn’t feel that it was such a great idea. We would be gone in September to avoid the monsoons. So I thought deeply about the situation, decided that 35 years with junior high was plenty, took a leap into the void and resigned my secure, tenured, with health care job, and went to Tibet. It was all I had hoped it would be and more.
Upon returning, I was hired by two hospices in the Tacoma area as a Certified Music Practitioner. It is a joy to use music to ease the journey of those who are leaving this earthly life.

Beloved,
We are here in Peru! What an adventure it is! Our flight landed in Lima via Costa Rica, a beautiful country that we saw just long enough to change planes. There are 16 of us on this spiritual tour - Susan, Rob, Bob, Greg, Jeanette, Beth, Bridgette, Louise, Frances, Sid, Gale, Deb, Barbara, Rose, Peggy, and myself.
Louise and Rose were on an Alaskan flight to Los Angeles which was diverted to Ontario, CA, because of fog. Passengers were not allowed to get off the plane, and the plane could not be refueled because of the impurity of the gas. Finally, Louise and Rose had been sent by taxi from Ontario by the airlines. Louise arrived in time to catch the Taca flight. But Rose missed her earlier flight to Costa Rica. So, we left not knowing whether or not Rose would just go on home and forget the trip. However, when we arrived in Lima, I heard an all-call for Louise. She left the group and then returned a few minutes later - with Rose! This amazing lady had talked the airlines into honoring her ticket! We were very thankful!
We spent the first night in a beautiful hotel in Lima and 6 of us had dinner in a five star hotel called Rosa Nautica. We had complimentary drinks called Pisco Sours - somewhat like lemonade with egg whites and whiskey - very tasty. We were served this national drink several times on the trip.
The next day we flew to Cusco at 11,000 ft. As soon as I got off the plane, I realized that the altitude was indeed a problem. I followed Susan to a booth for a free whiff of 02. We were encouraged to eat coca leaves and drink coca tea to prevent altitude sickness.
The first night we had alpaca for dinner and it was delicious! Today we took a tour of the sacred areas around Cusco. Our guide is a shaman named Willaru (Pronounced "we-ah-roo") who is extremely knowledgeable about many spiritualities. We saw amazing Inca ruins and felt the beautiful energy of those people who were here long ago. One of the most impressive sites was called Saqsaywaman (or "Sexy Woman" as Jeanette titled it!) One thing that amazed us was that the huge stones were beautifully fitted close together. Bridgette said that the Incas were able to liquefy the rocks to make them fit so tight that one couldn’t put a razor blade between them. There are no signs of tools being used to shape the stones. Willaru said that they used levitation to put them in place.
During the first few days, I found that I couldn’t walk very fast without feeling the effects of high altitude. Happily, Gale and Peggy both brought prescription meds to prevent altitude sickness, and I took a couple of them at various times.
A friend of Willaru's, who is also a shaman, did a special ceremony with us. We circled one of the rocks and participated using coca leaves. At the end we were gifted with Inca crosses. They are very special.
We had lunch overlooking the city of Cusco - fine food beginning again with Pisco Sours and ending with something like vodka. (I decided not to imbibe in the last - too easy to fall asleep!) Apparently, in Cusco, all the houses and other buildings must be built in the Spanish style. The roofs are made of beautiful tiles.
We continue to have a wonderful time in Peru. On Halloween night the small children, dressed in costumes, roamed the area near our hotel. They said, ¨"Happy Halloween!" as we passed. One tourist made the mistake of handing out coins and was totally mobbed by small folks dressed as Spider Man and other creatures.
On Nov. 1, clocks in the US were turned back to Standard Time. Peru is not on Daylight Savings time, so there was no change here. Some of our folks who had electronic clocks were a little confused. We are now the same as Eastern Standard Time.
We have visited numerous sacred spaces and have felt the wonderful energies of the Incas. The construction of their homes and monuments is just extraordinary. In one area we saw large round holes which barely made a dent in the huge stones. The holes were made by the Spanish cannonballs.
One of our stops was in a market place. Oh, what temptation to purchase one of everything! The prices are so low. The vendors are not aggressive like those we’ve met in other areas of the world. They are very gentle and just look sad when we do not want to purchase any of their products.
There has been the threat of a rail strike. Happily, that has been canceled. Tomorrow we will head for Machu Picchu, which we can visit only by train. We feel very fortunate!
On a rainy afternoon some of us walked to one of the cemeteries on a mountain. The pre-Incan people buried their deceased in caves in the fetal position. They planned to leave the earth as they came into it. We found this to be the process in Bolivia and later in Ecuador.

Another amazing day! We have been staying at a gorgeous, modern resort out in the middle of a cornfield next to a river. Our rooms are beautiful and large. And there are bathtubs! The people who assist us are so sweet. There is a lovely dining room overlooking the river. They have set it up so that all of us can eat together. The menu is excellent and we feel so fortunate!
Monday night we had a special visit from another shaman who created a packet of coca leaves and other sacred objects and put them into the fire with prayers for us. Then we held hands and danced. What was funny was that the llama that lives on the grounds was attracted to our dancing and came to join us! It was lovely and we felt duly blessed.
We have been visiting sites in the Sacred Valley and loving every minute of our time. We are continually amazed at the beauty of the Inca buildings, which were built some 7,000 years ago!
We drove to Ollantaytambo, a very special area and walked among the ruins of the Condor Temple which was very powerful. On the way back, we visited two houses, which were used many years ago and were still in use. We were amazed to see that the floor was covered with Guinea pigs. These animals are a staple in the local diets. It might be a little hard to live with Guinea pigs and their etcetera all around. There were cats present in both houses who were not paying any attention to the smaller critters.
We arrived home last night and had a light supper. Then several of us tuned into CNN to watch the US Presidential election results. We began to watch about 10:00 PM. Right at 11:00 PM, when the West Coast polls were closed, Obama was announced as the winner. We were delighted with the results (well, almost all of us were!) We watched McCain’s very gracious concession speech and Obama´s very gracious acceptance speech. It certainly was an historic moment and we will remember that we were in Peru when we heard the news.

This morning we got up early for breakfast and headed for the train to Machu Picchu. We were told to pack our suitcases, which would be sent on to Cusco, and to bring only what we could carry in our daypacks! That was really a challenge for us! I brought important things like my curling iron and a book.
We caught the train at 8:00 AM and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The cars had windows, which showed the huge mountains and beautiful foliage along the way. We are now waiting to check into our hotel at 11:00 AM. Our guide will then take us to the ruins, an event which we have been anticipating for quite some time!

What an incredible two days! We took a wild bus ride up to Machu Picchu on a one-way road. We met many other buses coming down the hill and were amazed at the skill of the drivers. When we entered the area we were all astounded at the beauty of the setting. Our first thought was, how on earth could this community be built so high in the air? Hiram Bingham discovered the ruins in 1911. We can't imagine how he found them.
Our guides, Willaru and Juan, assisted us to find very special sacred spots. Willaru led us in several meditations and shared knowledge about this special place, which is not written in any of the books. This was amazing. The area is so rich and we’ve only touched the surface.
Some of our movements were up and down high, uneven steps. A few of our members had difficulty with the heights, so we all assisted. There were no guardrails that I could see.
We returned down the hill and had dinner in a nice, but very slow restaurant. That three-hour meal almost did us in, because we were so exhausted by the events of the day. We stayed overnight in a nice hotel and took another trip up the mountain the next day. A few intrepid long-legged adventurers (Rob and Greg) hiked up the tall mountain. The rest of us enjoyed a more leisurely walk around the ruins and heard more amazing stories from Willaru.
Llamas are used as lawn mowers here. So many times we would round a corner to find one of the lovely, big-eyed beasts on the trail. They were pleasant company. Louise even shared part of her lunch (a banana peel) which was left in sight of an enterprising llama!
We returned to Cusco on the train last night and enjoyed a wonderful rest. Today we are on our own and will be doing mundane things, such as laundry!
We did take a trip to the cathedral on the square. This cathedral was built on top of an Incan temple and contained a large, sacred stone. We could touch the stone and all felt a wonderful, but sad energy. The cathedral was huge and was filled with gold-encrusted paintings. Mass was being held and the contrast between the lovely, modestly-dressed Peruvian worshipers and the white Biblical figures encrusted in gold was amazing and made me angry. There were a few darker-skinned images of paintings which had not been cleaned recently and which were probably closer to the skin color of the Aramaic Jesus.
I did discover one more recent painting which showed the Last Supper. All the figures were looking elsewhere except for Judas who seemed to be looking right at the observer. Scary! On the table was a roast guinea pig next to the bread and wine. There was also a window in the painting that showed stars and what looked to us like a spaceship. In that small section was also the outline of what looked like an Inca figure. Yea!
Beloved,
Thanks to the universal use of internet we are able to keep in touch with what is happening in the world. In the meantime, our world is expanding at such a fast pace. It is such fun to travel with our Alohem spiritual family plus a few others who fit in beautifully. We have encountered some of the travelers' ailments' such as altitude sickness and turista, but folks have been able to share medications and so we are doing well for the most part. We are very careful to use bottled water for everything, even brushing our teeth.
In Cusco we followed Gale and Deb's guidance to a lovely restaurant for lunch. While we were there a Peruvian band came along and played wonderful, joyful music for us. For our last dinner in Cusco we went to our favorite restaurant. The waiter greeted us with hugs and we celebrated one of our guides, Juan, who had completed his time with us. It was a joyful night!
The next day we headed for Puno, a 7-hour trip on the bus. Puno is located on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. We stopped at Raqchi, an Inca village which is larger than Machu Picchu - 3,000 inhabitants at one time. We saw the extraordinary architecture of the Inca buildings, including some beautiful, round buildings with tall doorways and extremely tall roofs. We felt so at home in this area. In one of the buildings we made a circle and had a lovely meditation.
We stayed that night in a gorgeous, new hotel. We were greeted with cups of coca tea as we checked in. The rooms were lovely, large and had tubs! Yea! In the garden area were some huge 2-foot high quartz crystals. There is no way someone would walk away with them!

We had a delicious dinner that night and then headed for Bolivia the next day. There was a little apprehension in the case of a few of our fellow travelers. They had applied for their Bolivian visas after the Bolivia-US consulates were shut down. Happily, we had a fine Bolivian guide who walked us through the whole process and was able to facilitate the visas. Yea!
We then headed down the road to Lake Titicaca. Another stop along the way was at Tiawanaca (spelled various ways) where we had lunch and then visited other ruins along the Inca Road. We were amazed to see huge, elongated skulls in the museum. They were similar to the ones in Harrison Fords’ latest movie, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. We wonder what that's all about! Proof of ET visits???
Our guide, Willaru, was married at Tiawanaca. He and his future wife received information that this is where they were to be married, so off they went. They met some spiritual friends, coincidentally, who gave them $500 as a wedding gift. With $300 Willaru bought a parcel of land and built their home out of mud and straw bricks that he made himself. This is the typical building material in the countryside.
We spent the night in a hotel in La Paz, the capitol of Bolivia. The street sounds made it a little difficult to get to sleep, be we all managed! The next morning Gale was able to find a travel agent who would help with the next part of the trip in Bolivia that several of us will be taking. As we stopped at a tollgate, I took a photo of some people by the roadside. One was a man with a plastic crate full of live chickens. I smiled at him and he held up a plucked chicken so that we could see what he was selling. We all waved. Gale said I should be careful, because I might have just purchased five live chickens!
We then headed to Cococabana, today which is on Lake Titicaca. The bus went over on a ferry slightly longer than it was while we went on an ancient passenger ferry. Our hotel here is lovely and has beautiful views of the lake. We are truly enjoying the trip and the people.
About 3:00 AM I woke up to find the full moon shining on the lake. It was just breathtaking! I stayed awake for several hours just watching until it disappeared.

Amazing things are happening! The group took a boat trip on Lake Titicaca to the Island of the Sun and the Island of the Moon. There were ancient Inca ruins in both places and we could feel the energy. When we returned, we had a lovely ceremony created by Louise, which united us all as a group of 16. Two will be leaving for the US and four of us are going off on our own to the central Bolivian desert. It felt as though the family were separating. We brought Mom and Peter into the ceremony.

brought Mom and Peter into the ceremony.
In the morning, Alex, our tour guide arrived with a driver and small tour bus, and four of us - Jeanette, Greg, Gale and myself - headed south. About half way to the desert, we traded our nice vehicle for a 4-wheel drive Land Rover, the same kind of vehicle we used in Tibet. After several miles, we found out why there was a change. The paved road ended and we were traveling on dusty, bumpy roads. The driver seemed to know where he was going, and for that we were very thankful! We stopped for lunch at a questionable looking but safe restaurant. I ordered leg of lamb and was served almost the whole leg! We continued on to Uyuni and spent the night in a hotel, which did have electricity, but not much hot water. We all slept really well after the long trip.
The next morning we transferred to another Land Rover and another driver. These were experts on the salt flats., like that near Salt Lake City. This one is gigantic and larger even than Lake Titicaca. Amazing! Our driver headed across the salt flat with no guidance except a few tracks in the salt. It was wonderfully smooth going after the bumpy ride of yesterday! We stopped at a salt processing plant. Anyone may dig up the salt. Usually it is done by hand with a pick ax. Then the salt is roasted, ground and packaged. We saw one man filling many plastic bags and sealing them with a candle.
There are several salt hotels - built with huge blocks of salt. We visited the original one in which beds, tables, and chairs were all made of salt blocks. The outside and inside walls were also built of salt. Amazingly, these did not melt in the rainy season! There were several salt sculptures including one of Big Ben. A salt statue of a llama carrying a salt pack was there also.
We love seeing the llamas! There are thousands of them grazing on the sparse grass. They have a leader who at night will lead the herd home with no humans in sight. Amazing!

In Bolivia we continued across the amazing salt flats to an island which rose above the salt. Here we climbed toward the top where we had a wonderful view. There were thousands of cactus plants all over the land. When we returned to the car, our driver had set out a delicious lunch. We sat on rocks around a rock table. There were dozens of other tourists also eating lunch around rock tables.
A word about toilets. They are called ¨baños.¨ (I think that the California town of Los Banos could surely choose a nicer name!) Sometimes there aren’t any. Our tour guide will ask if we would like to use an Inca Toilet, in other words the Great Out-of-Doors. After using some of the official toilets, which are not always very clean, the Inca Toilets do hold an appeal. We were reminded of our trip to Tibet. An interesting procedure here in Bolivia and Peru and Ecuador is that people do not flush the toilet paper. It is placed is a separate can next to the toilet. This also was the custom when we were in Korea.
After leaving the first island, our driver took us to the second one - Isla Cujiri. We climbed into the mouth of a small cave and had an amazing spiritual adventure. (I’ll tell you about it later.) We were all deeply touched.
When we left the cave, we found that some gas had leaked into my suitcase on top of the Land Rover. I isolated a few things and put them into a plastic bag and was able to wash them out later.
We drove toward a beautiful volcano. As we got close to the edge of the salt flat, we saw an area, which was liquid. And there in the water were flamingos! We were totally amazed. We stopped the Land Rover and walked as close as we could to take photographs. We can’t imagine what those lovely birds would be eating in that salty water. They were a different variety than the ones that my brother Jeff and I saw at the San Diego Zoo earlier this year.
Near the volcano we spent the night in a lovely, fairly new salt hotel. As with the others, the walls, beds, chairs and tables were made of heavy salt slabs. I put my suitcase outside the room in the patio to air. Two German couples came to the patio later to play cards. I wonder what they thought of my smelly suitcase!
We had dinner in a lovely dining room overlooking the salt flats. There was no way one could move one of those heavy salt chairs! After dinner two families provided music. The men played pan pipes, the women danced, and the children beat drums. As we left the children came rushing up with hats off for a few coins.
The next morning we went for a walk near t he hotel. We found beautifully tended crops of beans, quinoa, and alfalfa surrounded by rock walls. I’ve never seen so many rocks in one place! Apparently they had been cleared so that the crops could be planted. We walked around a small, closed church and peeked through the keyhole to see a very pleasant sanctuary.
A little later we drove to a museum created by one of the residents who lived near the volcano. He had been working on the museum and the grounds for about 40 years and was very happy to show it off. He had a sculpture garden, which included an image of Evo Morales, Bolivia´s presidente and the first indigenous president in the history of the country. Everywhere we went we saw words painted on the walls of the buildings, "Ëvo Si.¨ Apparently he and President Bush had some disagreements, so Evo sent the US ambassador packing and Bush followed suit with the Bolivian ambassador in Washington. But all was well. We were treated very kindly everywhere, despite the political policies of our countries.
Our guide took us to a locked cave in which resided mummies of pre-Incan peoples. No one knows who they were or when they were interred here in the fetal position. Very interesting. We sent lots of white light.
We then had lunch, which was, I think, llama. It was delicious. I had given Alex a few clothes that I had not been wearing on the trip. He passed them on to one of the ladies and he said she was just thrilled.
We then visited the train graveyard - dozens of trains and boxcars lined up in various states of disrepair. There were graffiti markings over many of them. One said in Spanish, "Experienced mechanic needed, urgently. ¨ Another said in English, ¨George Busch (sp) is like these trains - terminated. ¨ That must have been a more recent addition!
Beloved,
We reversed our trip from Bolivia to Peru and enjoyed the adventure so much! One of our drivers played a CD of favorite 50s-60s hits and we sang along as we passed herds of llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and sheep. We seemed to be in a place out of time!
We also saw an amazing horizontal rainbow, something that I’ve never seen before. The wispy clouds didn’t seem capable of such a phenomenon, but it was beautiful and seemed to follow us along the road. Perhaps it was a sign!
Along the way we stopped at a traffic check. (By the way, most of the roads we traveled were toll roads. Except for those on the salt flats and the non-paved roads to get to them, the roads were very well kept.) There was a festival going on and the women and men were dressed beautifully. A band of about 20 men was playing and the men and women were dancing. The women’s shawls swayed to the music. One lady spotted Gale and came to the car window to ask him to dance. Much to Gale’s relief, we were waved through the traffic stop at that time. We all had a good laugh.

We spent the night in La Paz and continued to the border once again. The next morning we made a safe crossing and went to our beautiful hotel in Puno, Peru. Jeanette and I had a room overlooking Lake Titicaca.
We spent time resting and some of us took a walk around the area of the hotel. There were two churches and an Incan fertility temple close to where we were staying. (I’ll tell you about the fertility temple later!) The people were so friendly. We enjoy interacting with them, even though we could not speak the same language.
The next morning our guide took us to the famous floating islands on Lake Titicaca. We saw a boat that was owned by the Peruvian Coast Guard. Apparently they have to keep an eye out for smugglers on Lake Titicaca. Part of the lake is in Peru and the other part is in Bolivia.
The reed islands are very unique. They are created with large chunks of cork on which are piled reeds three feet deep. The islands are anchored to the bottom of the lake and can be moved from place to place. There are about 100 of these man-made islands. We stopped at one on which five families live. Everything was made of reeds and the residents also showed us how to eat the tender part of the reeds.
We were greeted with enthusiasm by several cheerful ladies who sang us ashore. We had a special ceremony with our guide who lit a small fire on a rock and used sweet herbs and coca leaves as part of the ritual. The ladies watched the fire carefully, because the reed island could burn easily! There is a small supply of electricity from a solar panel on the island we visited. A young girl was watching TV in her reed hut.
A word about coca leaves. We were encouraged to chew on them to combat altitude sickness. We also had coca tea. The natives use the leaves extensively, even in baking a cake. The original Coca-Cola included the use of the coca leaves. Apparently the US government wants the natives to stop production of the leaves because they can be made into cocaine.
Next the ladies dressed us up in typical costumes, with bowler hats for the girls and the typical hats with ear covers for the men. We wore long skirts and the men wore the typical costumes also. We were all very beautifully and colorfully dressed. The ladies led us in song and we even danced a little. A goodly period of time was spent purchasing souvenirs. So, just wait until Christmas! One of the ladies took us for a ride on a boat made of reeds. She was a skillful captain and deposited us on the island where the children were in school. The children on the reed islands did not have a school until Presidente Fujimora had two buildings sent to them. We visited one of the schoolrooms and were given hand-drawn cards by the children. The children were really sweet. They sang a few songs for us, such as ´Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and "Alouette.¨ In turn, we gave them gifts of fruit and school supplies. We were encouraged to give fruit rather than sugary sweets, because dental care is such a problem.

The next morning we flew back to Lima. We met up with the rest of our group and had a wonderful reunion. It was like seeing old family members again. The other ten folks had been on a trip to the lower areas of Peru, including the famous Nasca lines. These are huge markings on the hills, which can be seen from the sky. There are all kinds of animals represented. One of the legends is that the ancient peoples created them so that they could be seen from space as a communication with ETs. An exciting thought.
They also saw books of carved stone, which are said to contain ancient knowledge of the lost continent of Lemuria. Apparently these rock books were brought to mystery schools around the world, including the Andes, Egypt, etc. Bob was thrilled and felt that this was the highlight of the trip for him.
The next day we visited a museum of ancient Inca and earlier civilizations where we saw incredibly old pottery, carvings, tools, figures. It is estimated that the early people were in this area some 7,000 years ago or so. There was a vault in which some of the gold items were displayed. The second museum, however, had even more gold items and was just overwhelming. It was well secured, as you can imagine! Now the gold is collected today from the tourists - us!
I was very happy to take along my butane curling iron, so that I wouldn’t have the problem of trying to use different electric systems. However, I found that the butane would not ignite at high altitudes! Apparently it needed more O2 than was in the air at 12,000 feet. My hair suffered at those times. In Lima, at sea level once again, I was my own beautiful self.
We had a wonderful lunch all together and then spent the afternoon shopping. The souvenirs are very inexpensive. Wish I had taken a larger suitcase, because Louise says the best is to come in Ecuador!
We also enjoy a purple drink called chicha. It is made from purple corn and is very delicious. I understand that chicha in the jungle is very alcoholic, but we didn't try any of that. There is a huge amount of corn grown in Peru, particularly, and it is usually a part of every meal. We also enjoyed quinoa.

Beloved,
We had a gathering of our Alohem group and friends once again. This time we shared our insights, adventures, and feelings about the trip. We thanked Willaru, our amazing shaman all for the wonderful spiritual guidance he provided. He has truly been a blessing! While we were shopping earlier in the day, we enjoyed exploring a rock shop with beautiful stones and crystals. I found a basket of amethyst crystals, which were about an inch and a half long, carved with double terminals. I passed around the bag and everyone took one as a reminder of the incredible trip we’ve all had together.
Bob and Susan were the first to leave. They had a flight that night. So, we all waited to wave goodbye to them. I’m just fine with hellos but not so great with goodbyes! We could feel the shift in the energy.
Most of the rest of the group headed out to find dinner. We were sorry to find that the restaurant Govinda, run by Hara Krishnas, was closed. We had enjoyed two delicious vegetarian meals there. So, we continued down the street to the area where we’d had lunch earlier in the day. As soon as we appeared, a waiter came rushing over and linked arms with Deb and brought us into his restaurant. We all laughed and followed along. He gave all the ladies some beautiful yellow flowers and all of us some Pisco Sours. We had a light dinner and a lot of laughter!

The next morning after breakfast, seven of us boarded the small bus for our trip to Ecuador - Louise (who organized this part of the trip) Frances, Sid, Gale, Greg, Jeanette, and I. The bus was late arriving and we were a little concerned. Happily, we got through check in, customs, and airport tax. The long wait came with the passport check. It took about 45 minutes of waiting in line. We just had time to find our gate with a few minutes to spare.
The flight to Quito, Ecuador, was very pleasant. We have now visited the highest capital in the world - La Paz, Bolivia just under 12,000 feet- and the second highest capital - Quito. We’re sure that Lhasa, Tibet, would be in this category, but it is now considered part of China. Happily, we had spent so much time at high altitude that the change from Lima did not bother us.
Friends of Louise’s had rented a 12-passenger bus for a goodly part of our journey in Ecuador. We were greeted with hugs and kisses by all the family members and were taken to our hotel in downtown Quito. Along the way, introductions were made. Louise and Sid speak Spanish, but the rest of us communicated with signs and laughter. My new name is Carolina. There is Fabiola, 78, the mother of Ligia, Louise’s God daughter, Nelly, Fabiola´s sister, Nelly´s husband Manolo, Nelly´s two daughters Cindy 22 and Linda 12.
The hotel is arranged around a beautiful central courtyard with lots of ferns and other growing plants. Jeanette and I have a room off the courtyard, which is nice. Our door is complicated to lock, but we do our best. Nelly guided us to a chicken restaurant. We had a roasted chicken and soup with French fries, one of the favorite foods worldwide, we’ve found. Our table, however, was down about five steps below the road, so car fumes came right in the open door.
We enjoyed a rest in the afternoon. Early evening we were taken on a trip around Quito where we saw the lively nightspots and went to the top of the mountain overlooking Quito. There was a tall statue of an angel with outspread wings. They were in the process of setting up Christmas decorations. This seems so odd to us when it is spring here. I took a photo of a Santa dressed in a red poncho and typical Andean hat.
After the city trip, several of us found the small jewel of a restaurant in our hotel. The chef greeted us and spoke beautiful English. Apparently he had spent years studying cuisine in New York. He told us what items were fresh and we each ordered wonderful dinners. I topped mine off with tiramisu, my favorite dessert. It is a fabulous mixture of cake, whipped cream, coffee liquor and something indescribably delicious. (Don’t tell Mac Kimmie!) We look forward to our next meal there.

In the morning we walked around Quito and enjoyed the city. There are many plazas, which are usually beautifully landscaped with fountains and lots of lawns and trees. The people make good use of the space to walk and just sit and relax. We did that and enjoyed people walking.
Ecuador uses American dollar bills, which makes it so much easier to figure out the money system. They use some Ecuadorian coins interchangeably with American coins. In Peru we had to figure about 3 Solis per $ and in Bolivia it was about 6 Bolivianos per $. Prices generally are very low, which pleases us no end.
In all three countries we see a lot of policemen and policewomen usually in groups of 3 or more standing on the corners. We’ve grown very comfortable with them. They are usually polite and exchange greetings with us. In Lima we did see quite a few more, some with guns and riot gear as the international conference was going on.
In the afternoon, we were picked up by the 12-passenger bus and headed for the town of Otavalo, north of Lima. We stopped in another town on the way to see a large cathedral where the townspeople were celebrating the name day of the patron saint of Quito. We were in time for mass and then watched the dancing and singing in the square afterwards. In the large cities of Peru and Bolivia we saw many people in traditional dress. However, there were none to be seen in Quito. In the villages, however, we saw many in beautiful traditional outfits.
We arrived in Otavalo and checked into a hostel downtown. The rooms were all different and sometimes a little odd in their construction. However, we enjoyed being there. We found a wonderful restaurant with live music and delicious food.
The next morning was the famous Otavalo market. We were astounded to see that the downtown streets were all blocked off. There were hundreds of vendors who came from all around for this weekly event. People from other parts of the world come here to buy in bulk and send containers back to their countries. We had a fine time accumulating items for Christmas gifts, etc.
In the afternoon we took a trip to a lake located in the middle of a volcano - somewhat like Crater Lake. We all piled into a boat and motored around the two islands in the lake. We were amazed to see dozens of loons. At one point we views bubbles of gas coming from the volcano bottom. It gave us a strange feeling to know that the volcano was still active. There were hundreds of school children there also. It must have been a whole-school trip.
Upon returning to Otavolo we sent a few emails and then the electricity went out. Happily, I had just finished my last email. I had my flashlight and we headed to the restaurant where we had eaten last night. It was totally dark, so we chose a table by the fire as the waiters lit candles to be placed on the tables. We had another wonderful meal and were very happy that the restaurant had gas ovens and stoves! The band began to plan once again and we thoroughly enjoyed listening to them without the amplified instruments. Just before we left the lights came on again and the staff turned them out because we had all been enjoying the candlelight!



We enjoyed another yummy breakfast in the hostel at Otavalo (pancake, organic fruit, bread, eggs) and packed up for the trip back to Quito. On the way we stopped at an archaeological site where there were many pyramids. Those who were here before the Incas created them. We can’t quite figure out who they were. Apparently the structures (about 10 small pyramids and quite a few burial mounds) were covered up with earth to hide them from the Incas. They were rediscovered some years ago. It was a fascinating area. We had a meditation at the top of one of them.
After lunch on the road we returned to Quito. We discovered that the restaurants and shops all close down on Sunday afternoons so people can spend time with their families at home. Some of our host family’s members came to visit and we enjoyed their company very much. We were able to talk about meditation, 2012, and how to use the pendulum, even with a language barrier.
When the family left, the seven of us had a good chat and said our farewells to Sid and Frances who are off to the Galapagos tomorrow. We hate to see the group getting smaller and smaller. We celebrated with beef jerky and chocolates!

The family picked us up and we headed just north of Quito to the Center of the World. I wasn’t quite sure what that was. It turns out that the French came to Ecuador many years ago to find the equator. With the help of an American some times later, the site for 0¨`0¨ was established. So, measurements of the earth’s latitude in degrees north and south are measured from this point. We enjoyed visiting the various exhibits, such as the huge live beetles in one area. They are the largest in the world at 5" long. Greg had his photo taken with one in each hand and one on his hat.
We went to another site just next door. Here we saw some amazing things. There was a yellow line for the equator drawn on the pavement. In one exhibit there was a sink on wheels. When it was filled with water and placed on the equator, the water flowed straight down into a bucket. When the sink was moved only 3 feet to the north, the water flowed down the drain counter-clockwise. When it was placed 3 feet to the south, the water flowed down the drain clockwise.
Another experiment was the placing of a raw egg on a nail head right on the equator. Only one person in our group was able to balance it correctly. Jeanette said she could feel the egg yolk moving from the north to the south. The pull was very strong. She received a certificate for her efforts.
We were asked to put our thumb and forefinger together while someone else tried to separate them. Either north or south the fingers were very strong. Right on the equator the fingers were easily separated.
It was great fun to straddle the equator line, making us in both spring and autumn at the same time! There are no real seasons here - only wet season and dry season. The sun rises at 6:AM and sets at 6:00 PM every day year round.
The next day we headed south to Baños. On the way we saw amazing sights and enjoyed the weather. That night we put on our swimsuits and headed to the baños to take in the waters. Some of the braver in our group sat in the very hot tub while the rest enjoyed the cooler pool along with almost everyone else in town! We had pizza and spent the night in a nice motel.
This morning we had an Americano breakfast of eggs, freshly baked croissants, tea, fresh juice. We then headed to see some of the beautiful waterfalls in the area. The highlight for me was taking a gondola across a very deep gulch to the very top of the waterfall. I’ve never seen a waterfall from that angle before! We walked around the paths and came to a restaurant, which served fresh trout and fresh fruit. We’d just finished breakfast, but we did have some of the wild mandarin oranges. Yummy! We did a little shopping in Baños and then returned to Quito.
Had a final delicious dinner and then met with our local friends for a good visit. Tomorrow we leave about 11:00 AM and head for home. What an adventure it has been!!!

In June, 2008, the Music for Healing and Transition Program held its biennial conference in Portland. Dr. Bruce Wilson, a cardiologist and the Medical Director of the HeartMath Institute, gave a presentation that left the audience breathless. He placed heart monitors on a volunteer and asked her a few simple questions. When he asked her occupation (teaching 3rd grade) the monitors went wild with the recognition of the stress felt by the volunteer.
Then, as we watched the monitors, there was silence as Dr. Wilson used a simple breathing technique. Almost immediately the monitors registered the calming waves of heart coherence. We were absolutely stunned!
HeartMath has instituted the Global Coherence Initiative as a method of bringing coherence to the earth by using the same simple breathing technique demonstrated by Dr. Wilson.
As quoted from the website, www.glcoherence.org, “The Global Coherence Initiative is a science-based initiative uniting millions of people in heart-focused care and intention to shift global consciousness from instability and discord to balance, cooperation, and enduring peace.”
If you are interested in becoming a part of the project, please go to the free website (above) and register. The goal is to have 100,000 people around the world sending peace.

Introductory Coherence Technique
1. Heart Focus
a. Put your attention on the heart area.
2. Heart Breathing
a. Breathe and calm yourself in whatever ways you choose.
b. Imagine you can see your breath coming in and out through the heart.
c. Slow your breath and count to five as you inhale and then count to five as you exhale.
3. Heart Feeling
a. Choose something you appreciate – a person, pet, nature, etc. or remember an event that made you feel great.
b. Feel positive emotions of love, caring, gratitude, or appreciation, and radiate those feelings for about 2 minutes. This helps open the heart more and increases your effectiveness
c. Now evoke the genuine feelings of compassion and care for the planet and breathe those feelings out from your heart.
d. See yourself, along with other caretakers, participating in this process of healing and facilitating peace.
“To help with focus, some people imagine the compassion and care flowing out the way an ocean wave flows toward a beach. Some imagine their compassion radiating as a beam of light. Others simply radiate it out with the rhythm of their breath. There are no hard and fast rules on how you do this. People are different, so find what suits you.”
“Being coherently aligned while radiating compassion and care increases focus and effectiveness. However, any genuine care and compassion you radiate benefits the planet, whether or not you are in total coherence. You can radiate care and compassion while riding down the road, exercising, working in the yard, standing in a grocery line or at any time you can squeeze it in. It all counts and adds to the collective intention.”
“This project has been launched by the Institute of HeartMath®, www.heartmath.org a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, a recognized global leader in researching emotional physiology, heart-brain interactions and the physiology of optimal health and performance.” The above quotes are from the website.
“Know that compassion for others is never wasted. It has its own timing and higher discernment in how it plays out.”
—Doc Childre, Founder of HeartMath

One evening in March, 2008, I was at a hospice facility in Tacoma, WA, singing for patients. When I had completed the music, I decided to check on the CDs and CD players in each room. Some of the rooms were locked, so I obtained the key and checked each one. When I entered one locked room, I was amazed to find that the CD player was going. I turned it off and then asked the nurse on duty how long that room had been locked. She replied that the last patient had died in that room 2 days earlier!

I mentioned the incident to one of the aides who told me of a similar experience. She had entered a locked room to find that the TV was on. She turned it off and a little later it turned back on all by itself! This happened several times. As soon as someone would leave the room, the TV would come on.

An extraordinary occurrence happened to one of the CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistants.) When she arrived at work, her pager went off with the message , “Room 16.” This was the room of one of the patients that she knew quite well. After she parked her car, she saw that the patient’s husband and daughter were outside, weeping. She learned that the patient had passed just moments before. The CNA proceeded to Room 16 and assisted another CNA with final preparations. A little while later the body was removed. During this time, the CNA’s pager kept going off – “Room 16.” She would remove the message and it would appear once again. She went to the nurse’s station and observed that the pager signal was not going through the main system. It went only to her pager. Finally she returned to room 16, accompanied by the chaplain and social worker, where they prayed and talked with the patient, thanking her for the beauty of her friendship and for being such an extraordinary person. The pager finally stayed off.

Another aide mentioned that she had been attending a hospice patient in Sweden, her home country. In the middle of the night she felt as though someone were holding her toes and bending them back and forth. She arose and discovered that her patient had passed.
She told another story about the night after her stepfather had died. She was sharing a bed with her mother. In the middle of the night, she felt as though she were being pushed out of the bed. She had the clear feeling that her stepfather wanted to be with his wife one more time. She slept in another room.

What was going on? I was reminded of the story told by my doctor. He and his wife were asleep when their bedroom light came on all by itself. Jim said that it was the spirit of his sister-in-law who had just passed away a short time earlier.

About a week after these events, I attended an Interfaith Seminar on Rituals of the Dying. When I shared the incidents with a lady during the break, she said that she had read a book about such appearances called “Hello from Heaven,” by Bill and Judy Guggenheim. I was happy to find that book in the display set up by a local bookstore. The Guggenheims have collected many stories of communications by those who have passed. The stories vary in intensity, starting with a feeling of a loving, tender presence of the loved one. Later stories tell of significant aromas, bright lights, and even physical appearances of the loved ones. These events have been termed After Death Communications or ADC.

This reminded me of a family story in which my grandmother was in her room, grieving at the death of her mother. All at once she looked up to see a vision of her mother. She was young, slender, joyous, and absolutely radiating with brilliant light. After a few moments the vision faded. My grandmother rushed downstairs to tell Aunt Jenny, her mother’s sister. “You’ll never guess what I just saw!” she said. Aunt Jenny replied, “Yes, I know. I saw her too!”

Another story my grandmother told, occurred when she was trying to make miniature Christmas trees with upside-down ice cream cones, green icing, and jelly beans. She just couldn’t seem to get it right. All of a sudden it seemed as though her granddaughter, Nalani Waikiki, who had died some years previously, was telling her “Try this way, Grandma.” She followed directions and the miniature trees came out perfectly!

My mother teaches classes in deep meditation. She is well aware of the spirits of those who have passed. When my father, grandparents, and aunt and uncle died, she was able to see those family members who were present for their own memorial services. They were so happy and radiant in their new lives. She was admonished by one family member, because she was so happy to see her loved ones. The family member couldn't understand why she was smiling when everyone else was sad and weeping.

She tells this amazing story. A man who had been involved with a crime organization, was changing his life around. He had amassed quite a fortune and had planned to support several charities and other organizations. One day he boarded a commuter plane for a business appointment. One of his soon-to-be former crime associates was standing with the man’s wife as the plane took off. He was holding an instrument somewhat like a TV remote control in his pocket. When the plane was in the air, he pressed a button and the plane exploded. The wife was absolutely distraught, as you can imagine. She knew nothing of her husband’s financial arrangements and was told by his associates that he had not left any money. The spirit of the deceased contacted my Mom and her friend Peter. He told them where his financial records were located in various banks. They went to the banks and retrieved the information. They were even guided to the man’s former office at night, were told where the key was and were told where important documents were to be found. With this information, the wife was able to claim what was rightfully hers.

A friend who is a nun, said that she once lived in a building that had housed an orphanage. In the middle of the night she awoke, because it seemed as though someone were sitting on the foot of her bed. She moved her legs and went back to sleep. The next day she asked if anyone knew about the history of that room. No one did. The sensation was repeated several times a week and she finally got used to it. What was amazing was that when she moved to a different facility, the sensation continued. She even felt it on her trip to Ireland. It is still present for her.

After doing much traveling, I feel that we can create international peace by meeting the peoples of the world on a one-to-one basis. We found this true in countries such as China, India, Tibet where we created bonds of friendship.
Our friends think of the US in terms of our friendship, rather than in terms of our government.
I was thrilled to see that this is happening right here in our community. In Sunday's paper was an article about members of a local church who spend time in Kenya helping the residents of a Maasai village. What an incredible act of love! The story is located at www.kitsapsun.com on the April 29 issue.

I spend a lot of time traveling to visit hospice patients in the Tacoma area. One of the things I enjoy is listening to Air America radio on our local station.
It can be accessed at www.airamerica.com I listen to the Seattle station at 1090 AM.
My favorite hosts are Stephanie Miller, Thom Heartman, Ed Schultz, and Rachel Maddow.
Here we can learn the news behind the news and I love it!

Last year I attended the Alliance for Peace Conference in Washington, D.C. It was an amazing gathering of people from every state who want peace for our nation and for the world.
The Alliance would establish a Department of Peace which would be headed by a cabinet level Secretary of Peace. The Department of Peace would address violence on the local level and on the international level. It is so very much needed today!