Meditation in the Now

There are probably 100's of CDs, MP3s, and other megabit sized downloadable tropical jungle sounds for meditation for sale.  I personally, at this particular space and moment in time, have no such need to download tropical rain forest sounds.

Being in a quiet space that is not over-run by massive human noise intrusion (traffic, car stereos, jets, vacuum cleaners, etc.) is the perfect place to meditate.  The absolute beauty of meditating in a subtropical rain forest is that there is no need to visualize being in the space.  Meditation then takes on a new form.  It is not sitting softly, with your body relaxed, and the eyes closed.  This is the meditation of "Now."  Being absolutely present in the moment, to allow the moment to wash over oneself.  The natural sounds of breeze through the trees, the calls of different birds, the flashes of butterfly wings --  watching the sun play with the light and shadow of foliage.

Mindfulness soon sets in with this meditation.  One NOW moment leads to the next as a Blue Mot-Mot moves through the garden from tree to tree.  The NOW is the hummingbird darting and drinking nectar as he passes through.

The mind stills it ceaseless quest for a future that has not happened and peace fills the space formerly filled with anxiety.

Simplicity - Consumerism

Two words, two worlds, and two languages are swirling about my existence.  I am physically in one cultural paradigm while simultaneously engage in a completely different world view in the spatial plane of the internet cloud.  I hear the ice cream truck and its owner calling out, “Helados por cinco queztales, por niño’s, por todo de famila….” And at the same instant have the screen blare at me an offer for an iPhone 5. 

Simplicity and sustainable living confront the global marketplace and its race to have consumers increase the profit margins of multi-national corporations annually.  Living in harmony with our eco-systems or living off our eco-systems – these seem to be choices that have potentially gone beyond the tipping point in places. 

Consumerism and consumption of resources drive the social structure and the social construct of the “developed” world; a place sometimes called “The First World.”  As I gaze out from my outdoor covered living space in the middle of a subtropical jungle, where the air is fresh and clean, I wonder if the analogy of “first” and “third” worlds is in error.   I turn my eyes back to the laptop screen and read a headline from NPR.org that says, “Why New York is the Hub of the Trinket Trade,” an article that explains how a wholesale market in the middle of Manhattan thrives on providing cheap plastic trinkets to business owners who purchase them for retail sale in Africa and Latin America.  As I look back out to the jungle in front of me, I wonder, “Where do they think all that plastic will go?  Even here in the jungle plastic does not decompose.” 

Another headline catches my eye,” ‘Million Dollar Blocks’ Map Incarcertation’sCosts,” an article where through mapping software technology researchers have discovered that incarceration rates are high in specific areas of low income, poverty, and areas lacking in opportunity – specific city blocks.   These are areas that depend on public education --- areas where increased money spent on education would seem to be money better spent than on incarceration.

There are no “million dollar blocks” in this village due to incarceration or in the state of Petén.  This village and the parents in the village have found it better to invest in their children’s education.  The thought of what an education can do makes me smile as I think of Tonya and Allen, here in the village, who attend school every day.  Tonya has many awards for being the number one student in her school.  She has told me she wants to be a teacher.  Here is the village life is simpler, families talk to each other, eat together, work together, and enjoy life together.  As Sonya, Tonya’s mother told me, “It is a good life, it is enough.

Cooking Fresh and Local

At sixteen degrees north of the equator you have a large variety of local fruits and vegetables available to eat.  The local Mercado Central has papaya, onions, tomatoes, chilies, platanos, carrots, cilantro, parsley, and --- more.  Bananas and avocados are two items in the United States that are both tropical in their growing habitats. Avocados are able to be grown up into the southern part of California because they require the warm heat and very little frost danger.  Because these two items are shipped, the varieties that United States consumers generally have available are only those bananas and avocados that will ship well and can be picked green so that they ripen after they've arrived on the supermarket shelf.

In the current season, here in El Remate, there is available a delicious, meaty, deep rich flavored avocado that grows in "jungle" conditions.  It is ripe and ready to eat when it falls off the tree and hits the ground.  They are the size of a large softball.  The skin is both durable and delicate.  The pit is large, but there is more than enough in one avocado for two people.  Because the skin is thin, you scoop out the meat of the avocado onto a plate, sprinkle with a little salt, squeeze of fresh lime juice and serve.  Of course, if you add in some fresh tomatoes and a fresh tortilla -- well, you have now gone to another level of incredible taste.  The cost for these avocados is -- nothing -- they are supplied daily by Danny Diaz who has an abundance at his Harmony Station project.  The same is true for the lemons that are currently in season.

Bananas are one of those foods that I don't eat very much of in the United States.  They don't have very much flavor.  In the Mercado Central on Thursday, Danny, Terry, and I purchased a banana bunch of small bananas for 30Q -- or a little less than $4USD for 10 pounds of bananas.  They are on the stem and will ripen in an order so that we'll have enough for two people ripening every day for a week.  These bananas are also not shipped because they have a delicate skin.  They are creamy to eat with a dense banana flavor -- perfect with yogurt (made fresh by my friend Anne -- so local) and granola.

Platanos are a cooking banana (5Q for 3 platanos -- about $.80USD).  There are different dishes to make depending on if the plantanos is green, partially ripe (yellow and black), or completely ripe (all black). With a yellow and black plantano, one of the simplest ways to cook them is to peel it, cut the platano in half and then slice through the middle so that you have four lengths of plantano.  In a saute pan heat up on a low heat one teaspoon of butter, place the plantano in the pan and let is simmer slowly to cook until it is all a nice golden brown and serve.  If you want a fancy dessert you can add a little rum while you are cooking the platanos and let it all simmer, then top with some shavings of white chocolate (also a local product purchased in the market).

Chayote is a pear like squash that can be purchased in the United States in areas with hispanic populations.  Here it is a local fresh food and they call is Jiskel instead of Chayote. Sauteing this squash is fabulous and is a great dinner.  A little oil and butter, garlic, and onion in pan until starting to caramelize, then add the chayote sliced in 1/4 inch slices, and let simmer covered until browned -- adding in a little cumin and pepper.  Just before serving top with a little dried tarragon. 

A complete dinner for two persons includes:  rice made with capers and olives, one jiskel sauteed as the main course with platanos made with rum and topped with white chocolate for dessert.  Meal pairs well with a light red wine or a chilled white wine.

Casa de Carolina - El Remate

For anyone who has been to our home in Jennings Lodge, Oregon (Portland) -- you know that we live on a busy street, with lot's of noise from traffic.  It is only in the late evening that the traffic dies down and we can hear all of the natural sounds around us.

The house that we are renting in the village, Casa de Carolina, is located 3 blocks off the the main road that runs through the village.  This 3 blocks is all up hill -- at the corner you turn right and go downhill to the house that is on the left side of the road.  The lot is completely treed so there is a lot of shade.  There are other neighbors on the street further down and downhill.  This street connect to another street that takes you to the properties located at Lago Sal Peten.  My friend, Anne's house is 2 blocks from this one.  Sonya, who does my laundry and makes our tortillas is 2 1/2 blocks (across the street from where our house will be on our lot when it is built), and Dona Betty and her tienda of groceries is one more block.

There is very little traffic in front the Casa de Carolina.  Most of the traffic is by foot with the very occasional motorcycle and the one neighbor who has a quad that he uses to get around the village and to carry wood, groceries, etc.  So, unlike our home in Portland things are very quiet here in one way and noisy in another.

It is afternoon here, as I write and it is very quiet.  There are the neighborhood dogs that bark -- but really other than that there isn't a lot of noise.  It is that time of the day when all of nature seems to be taking a nap and staying out of the warm tropical sun.

In the evenings the jungle-bosque-forest comes to life with sounds.  Different varieties of crickets, owls, frogs, and a host of other insects begin a nightly symphony.  It is amazing how it lulls you into relaxation and when it is time to go to sleep, a deep sleep.  The sounds change during the night as various insects and animals change who is active and who is asleep.  As the night begins to turn to day, the morning sounds include chickens, rosters, and a bird that sounds a little like a chirping alarm.

The El Remate Office

The best place to conduct work and to write is on this covered balcony on the second floor of our casasita.  I have a nice view out with nice breeze all day long.

Buying Textiles in Santa Catalina - Alta Vera Paz

 

Of the items that the “modern” Maya are known for amongst tourists visiting Guatemala are the hand-woven and embroidered textiles.   The indigenous women are skilled at creating beautiful textiles on backstrap looms.  The looms are not very wide, so they will make clothing and bedspreads in panels.  The different language groups and their different villages each have a distinctive style of huipil (blouse) and corte (skirt).

In the Alta Verz Paz in  the area surrounding Coban and,  in particular outside of San Juan Chamelco, the typical huipil (blouse) is made of a white woven material.  The neckline and the edges of the short sleeves are then embroidered.  More and more the traditional hand-woven huipils are being replaced by machine made materials that the women purchase and then they embroider them.  I own two huipils that are of the hand-woven style that I purchased a number of years ago in Coban.   For this current trip I wanted to make sure to purchase at least one hand-woven huipil.  My friend, Bob, informed me that the weaving was disappearing very quickly as very few young women have learned how to do this craft.  So, in his aldea we went out to purchase huipils from a local neighbor who still does this work.

We arrived at their home.  This is a tradition home for poor indigenous peoples.  They have been converted to an evangelical Christian faith.  The home has hard packed dirt floors, and is made of the wood plank – there are no windows, there are doors that they leave open.  They cook all meals indoors with a wood fire – and the pots on a rack.  This home did not use the traditional hearth cooking stones, but rather had created something like an outdoor camp BBQ rack that was raised off the floor.

After formal greetings, we were invited inside to sit on the bench and to enjoy a hot cup of their traditional beverage which is a toast corn and hot water.  Basically, think of it as their version of a cup of coffee.  It is a sweet drink with a nice toasted flavor.  Next there were the inquiries into the health of the family and the health of my friend.  Indigenous peoples are very formal in their relationships with guests.  We eventually get to the reason why we are here which is to purchase woven huipils.  One of the daughters has one made, but not embroidered.  The work is good – and after the appropriate review and admiration for the work we ask how much she wants for the huipil – 125Q (that is $15USD).  I agreed with the price and let them know that I was looking to purchase more, if available.

We returned to Bob’s finca and to our visiting each other.  A few hours later we hear the same young weaver and her sisters arrive at Bob’s kitchen door.  They had gone to her older sister’s home to pick-up huipils from her that she had for sale.  Her sister is considered a much better weaver and indeed the work that they brought was very good --- and yes better than the original sister’s work.  So, I purchased two more pieces for 250Q.  Both of these pieces have not been “cut” for the head to go through – so they are complete pieces. 

The picutures are of the sister who did the original weaving and several others of her sisters.  The money that I paid them will be used for medicine for their mother and to augment the food that they are able to purchase.

Nancy's Office Space at Bob's Finca outside of San Juan Chamelco - Alta Vera Paz, Guatemala

On the road to El Remate -- Immersion/Awareness

The shifts that occur while one is traveling from one social construct (social culture) to the next occur in a manner that is both linear and non-linear.  On one level there is the straightforward progression from one location to the next.  On another level there is the very non-linear overlapping, receding, encroaching, layers of diverse foods, speech, beliefs, and economic status that distinguish the elite from the majority population.

This first blog post of this journey will focus on the awareness of relative value and social constructs of goods and services that support consumerism. 

We were picked up by a van on Tuesday morning at our home located in Jennings Lodge, Oregon, a community in the Portland metro region. The cost of the van for a round-trip between our home and the airport – a total of travel time of about 20 minutes and less than 18 miles was $32.50.  Compare this to a micro-bus ride in Guatemala that I have reserved for Sunday, where my one way trip is $20USD/per person and the time that I’ll be traveling is five hours and hundreds of miles. The first class bus ride that I took from Guatemala City to Coban, a five hour ride, had a total cost of $15USD/per person.  It needs to be noted that the gasoline/diesel prices in the USA are lower than Guatemala.  Currently in the United States the costs are approximately $4/gallon whereas in Guatemala they are $4.87/gallon.  Obviously, the cost of travel has many variables.  Among them is ability and willingness to pay.

Paying attention to where one is in with a change between social constructs involves being aware of the information that surrounds one.

Upon arriving in Guatemala City we exited the plane to a tourism advertising campaign based on the 13^th Baktun, the 2012 roll-over of the Mayan calendar.  A photographic poster display running the entire length of the concourse highlighted the diversity of Guatemala – whether by ethic group, religious belief, hair color/style, or type of clothing.  The airport is seemingly sleek and modern – promoting the goods and tourist attractions of the country – just like airports in the United States. 

What information is being transmitted by these signs? It seems to be noticeable within the airport that consumerism is the “rule” of Guatemala – just as in the United States.  Once outside the airport and in the shuttle to the hotel, the fast food restaurants blaze their logos.  There is McDonald’s that looks like every McDonald’s in the USA, and all the others are the same and they are all here . . . Burger King, Chucky Cheese, Subway, and so on.  Then there are the ads for the latest releases of consumer electronics goods -- for Apple iPad 3, the Samsung Galaxy III, and those are followed by the signs at the urban bus centers for the Ford Escape hybrid – and all the advertising follows the same high gloss iconography that  in the USA.

The global reach of multi-national corporations pervades the consciousness and within a very few minutes one has seen so many familiar signs and brands that you do not notice the sinking level of economic wellbeing of the majority population – that is, unless you maintain your awareness.  To see the man with amputated legs in a wheelchair, happy to receive two quetzals in coins, a total of $0.50USD because with that he can at least buy a few tortillas.  And, then one remembers the many homeless veterans and others in the United States who live in their cars or seek shelter under bridges – some are jobless – some are working multiply part time jobs – yet still unable to afford to rent a room.  The challenges in both places, USA and Guatemala, are parallel.  The degree of difference is in the decimal point for the dollars to quetzal costs of goods and services.   Both are caught in a social construct of global consumerism that serves the multi-national corporations.

What is an "interdisciplinary lens" anyway?

One of the frequently asked questions to individuals with degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies is -- "So what is that?"  This is because we live in a society that categorizes individuals and their experiences.  If I then tell the questioner that I am an applied anthropologist, they then know how to categorize what they think they known about applied anthropologists and they believe they know something about who I am.  However, I usually answer the question "What is an interdisciplinary degree?" in the following manner:

As an interdisciplinary researcher and scholar I do not view any question from within the lens of any one single discipline.  For example, if I ask the question, "Why do individuals give broken items or items missing parts to organizations that collect used items for redistribution?"  My approach to answering that question will involve looking at the question from multiple disciplines.  I will break down the main question to:  What are the inputs into the decision to "donate" an item?  These could include economic, philosophical, and/or psychological.  By viewing the question through multiple lenses I gain a wider and more interconnected perspective on the social inputs and individuals' motivations to answer the research question.