issue 10: To Walk in Beauty

It may evoke the image of a pleasant jaunt through a pastoral landscape though, in the traditional Diné (Navajo) teachings from where this expression comes to us, To Walk in Beauty is a commitment to personal integrity as one journeys through a vast terrain of lived experience both brutal and beautiful.

To Walk in Beauty, or Hózhó Naashá, is a concept central to the traditional worldview of the Diné. This worldview is spiritually-based though is not a religion but a holistic Science of Life within the Natural Order. The Beauty Way, or Yellow Corn Pollen Path, is accessed through the Path of the Rainbow which serves as the threshold to an initiatory journey. It represents one of two paths we can take in this life: one is a life-affirming path of truth, beauty and goodness based in personal integrity and oriented towards service to all; the other is a path of deception, delusion and wanton destruction oriented towards service to self. In the Beauty Way of the Yellow Corn Pollen Path, the fundamental values are not subjective nor are there many paths. Should one go astray, it can be very difficult to return to the Beauty Way though, as that epic song goes, Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on. The way back to the path of integrity is through acknowledging where we went wrong and making our way back through our steadfast commitment to right action.

The Yellow Corn Pollen Path emphasizes the fertile, alive, regenerative and ever-evolving nature of life as represented by pollen. Pollen is absolutely everywhere in this world—the air, the water, the soil and in every living creature. As such, it represents an ever-present accessibility to an abundant aliveness within all things. In The Corn Pollen Prayer, a pinch of corn pollen is first sprinkled on the swirl of hair at the top of the head where the soul is said to enter the body reminding us that we are of another world, merely sojourners in this strange land. Then, placing a pinch on the tongue, we indicate our willingness to take in that fertile and regenerative aliveness all around us as nourishment. Sprinkling the last pinch before us to the east with the rising sun indicates our commitment to a new day dedicated to the good and right living way of The Yellow Corn Pollen Path.

Embarking on The Yellow Corn Pollen journey we will inevitably be met with great challenges that test our mettle and we will face difficult choices that test our discernment and commitment to truth. We can expect to encounter helpful friends and nasty foes, immense beauty and terrible ugliness. There will even be beneficent and maleficent “holy people” intervening on occasion to guide us toward or away from our right path. We may get confused along the way as to which direction will take us to where we ultimately wish to be. We may fall into a deep sleep as we draw nearer to our destination, be targeted by covetous witches and their flying monkeys or deceived by faux wizards…

I may have wandered just a bit from the corn pollen path, though this all sounds strangely familiar, does it not (even the part about arriving in this strange world via a spiraling vortex from above... )? As with all myths, the themes and characters represent archetypes that we live as and among in our own personal and shared myths of our lives. Whether we’re speaking of our journeys on the The Yellow Corn Pollen Path or the Yellow Brick Road or the Winding Road of the particular journey we find ourselves, these epic adventures all point to a process of personal and shared evolution. Like the Tin Man, we may be seeking the ability to give and receive more love and compassion… or like Scarecrow, greater discernment and mental aptitude for developing creative solutions… or, like the Cowardly Lion, we may huff and puff until we find ourselves in situations in which our true courage is called forth from within.

Of course, let us not forget our brilliant rainbow (pictured above) that comes to us as a blessing from the Holy People who are rooting for us from somewhere over that rainbow. They send us the rainbow as an open line of connection and a representation of all our hue-man colors joined together. It’s appearance in the east (as in The Corn Pollen Prayer) directs our attention towards a new journey based in the life-affirming Beauty Way to restore and maintain balance, harmony, order and beauty in all aspects of life both here and beyond.

The powerful symbolism of this brilliant full rainbow is a reminder that, even within the mundaneness and often harshness of this crazy trip we call life on earth, magic, awe and wonder abound. Hopefully we see also that our very willingness to travel the Beauty Way path can set us on the right course and our commitment to remain on that path as best we can, no matter how discouraging it may sometimes be, will bring us to that which we most long for, that which existed within us and was possible all along though had to be discovered and uncovered through our commitment to the right and honorable way of Beauty.

To Walk in Beauty is quite the epic adventure. It is fraught with challenges though the rewards are immense. Like Dorothy and friends, may we choose this path together, to lighten our shared burdens and lift one another up towards all our greater potentials along the way.

In Truth, Beauty and Goodness,

B. Monique

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✺This newsletter is intended to be a collaborative project so if you would like to make a contribution to any upcoming newsletters, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

All archived back issues of The Community Garden may be found here.

ART AS MEDICINE

Representing Native American Dignity in Street Art

When photo murals of everyday Navajo life began appearing on abandoned buildings, roadside stands and water towers across the Four Corners region, it was a surprise for many in the community to discover it was the work of Dr. Chip Thomas, a long-time resident of the Navajo Reservation known by many as a healer of another kind. Watch how the street artist, working under the moniker Jetsonorama, honors the lives of his Navajo neighbors and shares stories of their resilience with the world at large.

Find an interview along with more of Chip’s work here.

CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY & RESILIENCY

This New Mexico Café Funds A Bittersweet Cause For The Indigenous Community

Carpio Joseph Bernal is an artist, chef, contemporary and modern dancer and entrepreneur. After his sister’s unexpected death during the COVID-19 pandemic, CJ returned to his native Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, a UNESCO world heritage site that has been continuously inhabited for a thousand years, to open the first full-service espresso and juice bar located inside the ancient walls, where there is no running water or electricity. Bernal is using his family’s former art store as a space not only to serve food and drinks, but to have conversations about the challenges faced by Native Americans, and to raise money for an art center. In this edition of Voices in Food, Bernal talks about how Indigenous voices have been oppressed through generations, and how members of these communities can start healing through self-expression.

Note from the editor: It may appear from the Pangea website they are to credit for the Dawn Butterfly construction project. However, as CJ explained to me, the total work done by Pangea was the pounding a some tires before being dismissed from the project as mounting issues of integrity became evident. Ever resilient and determined, CJ is in the process of recovering from the loss and damages this relationship has caused by taking the build on himself along with his father (Carpio T. Banal Sr., former tribal War Chief) and others, again turning path-altering challenges into positive shifts. Currently there is no fundraiser for the project though we can support CJ by visiting the lovely Dawn Butterfly café on the Pueblo which is free (entrance fee) to Taos area residents on Sundays.

OFFERINGS OF WELLBEING

Walk in Beauty

In this moving short film, Beverly Gorman and her daughter Naiyahnikai guide us through the spiritual rituals and breathtaking landscapes of the Navajo reservation, sharing the profound significance of Hózhó—the concept of beauty, balance and harmony—and the enduring connection to their ancestral roots.

WISDOM TEACHINGS

How to Walk in Beauty

The Beauty Way path is a philosophy and way of life that set our Diné People apart from others thousands of years ago. This Way of Beauty continues today. Not all choose to walk it. It requires sacrifice, endurance, strong moral character and time. But if these conditions among others are met the reward of the Beauty Way Path is Joy, Happiness, Confidence, and Peace.

FLORA & FAUNA

Chemisa in bloom!

Chemisa, aka Rubbery Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) is a perennial shrub in the compositive family. The species name “nauseosa” refers to the smell given off when the leaves or flowers are crushed, described as pineapple-like by some and foul and rubbery by others. Rabbitbrush was first tested as a source of high-quality rubber during World War II. In recent decades, there has been renewed interest in its potential for production of rubber, resins, and other chemicals.

The leaves, flowers and seeds are a food source for deer, antelope, elk, small mammals and birds and it provides cover for several animal species including jackrabbits and sage grouse. It is one of the few native plant species in the intermountain west that provides habitat for pollinators during late summer and fall months. This shrub can be used to restore degraded and eroded landscapes due to its abundant seed production and deep roots. Furthermore, its ability to grow in nutrient-poor substrates, such as sand, shale and slickrock, makes it an ideal plant for mine reclamation. Traditional uses include chewing gum, tea and cough syrup and using the flowers to make yellow dye. Ceremonially, this species is considered potent medicine to treat someone who has been attacked or possessed by an unwanted spirit.

ART IN THE REALM OF SCIENCE

Hania Rani - Live at the Faculty of Science, Paris

I love this concert for its emotionally evocative beauty (and because they appear to be on the iconic yellow path together). It was filmed in the center of a space where more cerebral activity dedicated to science is dominant though this was a rare invitation for the group to drop into the heart and body, to allow the soul to be stirred by such a skillful expression of one’s love for her music. All present seemed absolutely captivated and I can’t help but imagine they felt a sense of connectedness to the beauty of the music and artist as well as to the resonant beauty within themselves and one another through the experience of this very special event.

LECTURE

Beauty Prepares Us for Eternity

Mythologist and author Martin Shaw on the need for beauty and its connection to sacred ground. Through myth, poetry and personal account we will explore the need to not just experience beauty but create it in our own lives. That beauty making is a skill and strongly connected to our capacity to praise.

A more condensed reflection on Beauty by Martin Shaw here.

POWER TO TRANSCEND

The Subversive Power of Beauty

Beauty has the potential to be a transcendent and transformative element in conflict situations. In John O’Donohue’s book, Divine Beauty: The Invisible Embrace, he argues that beauty has real power, a power that can be subversive…

Naval architect and sailor Steve Callahan survived for over 50 days drifting across the Atlantic. Despite constant danger and fear, he was able to write in his journal:

“I am constantly surrounded by a display of natural wonders….It is beauty surrounded by ugly fear. I write in my log that it is a view of heaven from a seat in hell.”

Despite being surrounded by profound uncertainty, he maintained a capacity to recognize and appreciate beauty.

This presents us with an interesting and challenging concept. Beauty is not some vague, abstract idea. It’s the opposite. It’s at these times, when there is a dearth of hope, that beauty, in all its forms, has the ability to create moments of transcendence. As Victor Frankl writes:

“As the inner life of the prisoner tended to become more intense, he also experienced the beauty of art and nature as never before. Under their influence he sometimes even forgot his own frightful circumstances. If someone had seen our faces on the journey from Auschwitz to a Bavarian camp as we beheld the mountains of Salzburg with their summits glowing in the sunset, through the little barred windows of the prison carriage, he would never have believed that those faces were the faces of men who had given up all hope of life and liberty. Despite that factor — or maybe because of it — were carried away by nature’s beauty, which we had missed for so long.”

…Beauty is subversive. Why? Because it is powerful. It’s powerful because it makes us dream. It makes us think. It makes us imagine a world that’s bigger than the one we know and one that’s worth taking a risk for. Even in a brutal world, beauty exists and its power leads us to hope, faith, and love.

Excerpts above are taken from the post here.

The book that inspired this article: “Divine Beauty: The Invisible Embrace” by John O’Donohue. Find a most wonderful 10-page excerpt from the book here.

HEALING OLD WOUNDS

The Truth About Your Beauty (Why You're Enough)

What is more important - a beautiful face or a beautiful heart? While outer beauty may turn heads at first, it is easily forgotten when the true nature is revealed. Inner beauty will be remembered. Our relationships with others will be what is cherished. "The important thing is not how one looks, but how you are able to connect to the people and the world around you." - Jenny Jackson

TURNING MADNESS INTO MUSIC

The Drone Song

A music teacher in Gaza has transformed the sound of Israeli drones into a powerful song honouring those killed in Israel’s genocide. Ahmed Muin Abu Amsha uses music to help displaced and traumatised Palestinian children cope amid war and devastation.

QUESTIONING SELF-PERCEPTION

What if we saw our own true beauty?

A truly beautiful young artist, Devon Rodriguez, demonstrates for us how having our beauty seen by another helps us to see the beauty of ourselves.

BEDTIME STORY

The Rainbow Goblins

The Rainbow Goblins is captivating story with vibrant paintings detailing the journey of the seven rainbow goblins as they set out to capture the rainbow and drink it down till they're full to bursting with the bright colours they so crave.

A storm is brewing, but can the rainbow escape the goblin attack, or will its brilliance be lost to the world forever?

A beautiful allegory and cautionary tale. Moral of the story: allow no one to steal your color!

PRIMUS story time reading - chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7