(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/11/09/prayer-stone-dedication-at-north-hawaii-community-hospital.aspx)



This past weekend saw the fulfillment of one of Phill's unfinished commitments in this world.  I traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii to meet with Dr. Earl Bakken (founder of Medtronic, Inc. and inventor of the pacemaker!) and present him with the Buddhist Prayer Stone that Phill wished to donate to Dr. Bakken and the North Hawaii Community Hospital he helped build.  

It was one of Phill's many dreams to meet Earl Bakken...a dream that was realized a little more than a year ago...



"I looked into his sentient eyes...and the wisdom and experience of 80some years were imparted upon me. My tears of Joy have been well spent.  
To be in the presence of a true visionary who exudes altruism is an overpowering experience that I would wish on...EVERYONE!"
-Phill Michael - July 19, 2010-

....I wouldn't do it justice to describe the experience in any other way!


Prayer Stone dedication ceremony in the chapel at North Hawaii Community Hospital


Prayer Stone dedication ceremony in the chapel at North Hawaii Community Hospital


Chris Stanko presents the Buddhist Prayer Stone to Earl Bakken on behalf of Phill Michael

Phill always felt that he owed his extended lease on life after his heart surgery to not only his surgeon and the Medtronic Freestyle Heart Valve in his chest...but also to the visionary founder and driving force of Medtronic, Dr. Earl Bakken.

One of Dr. Bakken's MANY humanitarian and community improvement projects is the North Hawaii Community Hospital.  This hospital is unlike any other in its philosophy of 'Blended Medicine'...the best of 'high tech, and high touch' in an amazing healing environment.  The locals refer to it as 'Lokahi'...the balance of body, mind, spirit, nature, and the community.


The North Hawaii Community Hospital

NHCH resides in the shadow of Mauna Kea on the Big Island and was built on an ancient gathering site where native tribes would meet in peace to draw upon the natural healing energy of the land.  It is believed that the spiritual healing energies of the 'Five Mountains' (Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, Kohala, Kilauea, and Hualalai) come together and are focused in this place.


A peaceful garden area...patient rooms actually open up to the beautiful outdoor surroundings as part of the overall 'healing environment'


Upon entering the lobby of NHCH, you would never believe that you're in a hospital!

The focus of the North Hawaii Community Hospital is on cardiovascular disease and stroke prevention programs.  They have a wide range of community screening programs with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment in an effort to make the Island of Hawaii the healthiest cardiovascular community on Earth.  NHCH has partnered with other prominent hospitals and medical institutes including the Cleavland Clinic Heart and Brain Institute in Ohio, to offer a wide range of additional resources, second opinions, and educational collaboration.




Thanks to Kerry, Julia, and Krista of the NHCH administrative staff for putting this ceremony together!

The philosophies of the North Hawaii Community Hospital blended quite well with Phill's drive to push the limits of science and medicine while focusing on the cultural and spiritual aspects of the community.


A Beautiful Koa Wood Bible outside of the chapel at NHCH...the Prayer Stone will reside directly across from this bible in a similar custom built Koa Wood display!


A rare, early morning shot of the observatories on the summit of Mauna Kea...usually obscured by clouds during the day.

In thanks and respect to Earl Bakken for all that he has achieved and all that he has inspired in others, Phill could think of no better place for the powerful healing energy of the Buddhist Prayer Stone to reside than in 'The Most Healing Hospital in the World!'


Sunset looking out towards Mauna Loa and Kona

Aloha and Mahalo!

-Chris Stanko

chris@phillmichael.com

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/08/07/in-loving-memory-phill-michael---1970-2011.aspx)






I’m reminded of the last passage from the poem ‘Ulysses’ by Tennyson…I feel it fits Phill’s life well…

“Though we are not now that strength which in old days
Moved Earth and Heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, yet strong in Will.
To strive, to seek, to find…and NOT to yield.”

Rest in Peace Brother!

-Chris Stanko

chris@phillmichael.com

P.S. Please feel free to leave comments...we'll get as many up as we can.  We are already planning to expand this blog format to accommodate registered users for people to post their stories and experiences with Phill!   This blog will remain in its current form until then.

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/07/09/sausagepartyaspx.aspx)


Ang Dawa Sherpa is already planning his next adventure!

Dawa just returned from waaaaiting for a weather window to fly through...from Lukla, Nepal! =^o
He was stuck there so long that he was asked to become an official citizen! %^>
Now we are re-united in Kathmandu, Nepal!

Master Gelu, Pete Colgan and Phill Michael are rolling along...SherpaSchool.ORG styley...right along the Bhanu Peace Path! Things are happening because...<< MORE >>

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/07/07/beautiful-face-of-nepalhindu-country-b.aspx)


My spellbinding Usha wants another drink...of water?! %^P


Master Gelu and Phill Michael with the Shivalayans

Master Gelu and I marched into Shangri La...for the SherpaSchool.ORG...guns blazing. All we found was Love. Hmmmm...<< MORE >>

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/07/02/saving-valentina-b.aspx) 

Congratulations to Michael Fishbach for helping OUR planet...one entity at a time! Awesome!

Thank again Bajee Namgel...for feeding us this...<< MORE >>

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/06/24/dawa-cleaned-up-everest-b.aspx)


Ang Dawa Sherpa at 7400m/24,272ft on Everest's South Side in May 2011

Everest expeditions are pretty much wrapped up for this Spring Season.

Dawa spent most of May cleaning up on Mount Everest's South Side!


There was a wee bit of trash on Everest

More about that in a future post!

Summer IS here! B^)

Until Soon
BuddhaPhill =^)

 

PHILL MICHAEL
Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition
Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
PhillMichael.COM
SherpaSchool.ORG
SecretSpotStore.COM

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/06/21/report-from-the-sea-of-cortez-b.aspx)


Phill Michael in Shangri La in Spring 2011

Ahhhhh...currently, I'm removing toxins from my body in Shangri La...while a full and sweet Chandhrama smiles upon me. Yakpudu and que bueno...all at once!

Here's that report from the Sea of Cortez:

********************

Michael Fishbach's Report from the Sea of Cortez for 2011



The 2011 season was one of fine weather and a fairly consistent season.  We went out 26 days on the sea and saw Blue Whales on 23 of them.  Our largest count was 15 Blue Whales in one day.  The winds were cooperative this season, with many flat calm mornings.  We had good numbers of both Finback and Humpback whales this year. 



We had very low number of Common Dolphins but very high numbers of Bottlenose Dolphins.  We did see a Gray Whale.  Pelagic birds were low in number, water temperature was fairly high, there were no jumping Manta Rays, and balls of fish with accompanying diving birds were at a minimum.

Without any doubt the highlight of the year on the water was the Valentines Day disentanglement of  Humpback Whale just south of Isla Carmen.  We can be assured that we saved this young whales life as the net had the individual almost totally immobilized.  It was a humbling experience for all and not without risk.  Seeing a full surface display from this freed whale including 40 breaches is a sight none of us will ever forget.  It also has shown me that some new equipment including proper types of knives for cutting net will become standard equipment aboard in the future.



Loreto is about the same, with the exception of a new timeshare resort that is almost completed south of town.  This resort threatens to bring significant numbers of low end tourists flocking onto the sea and into the nearby mountains, and both of those environments could take a serious hit if things are not managed properly.

Final numbers for the years include 35 different Blue Whales photographed, including 3 cow/calf pairs.  Also 1000 Bottlenose Dolphins in one day was an all time record.  The number of cow/calf Finback Whales which was not recorded seemed to be an all time record as well.



Cheers and look forward to seeing you in 2012!

Michael Fishbach

********************
Indeed...the Baja needs our constant attention!

Until Soon
BuddhaPhill B^]

 

PHILL MICHAEL
Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition
Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
PhillMichael.COM
SherpaSchool.ORG
SecretSpotStore.COM

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/06/18/petes-relfections-on-nepal.aspx)


Pete Colgan on Peekay Peak (13,368ft.4096m) in early March 2011

As I sit down to write this reflection of our trip to the Sherpa country of Nepal some 3 months after our return, the past tense seems like it should make sense – but it doesn’t.  I am still there.   Perhaps the trip affected me so because I am at an inflection point in my life.  Drew is off to college in the fall, and Susan and I will soon be tending an empty nest.  Perhaps it’s because the personal connection I feel with Dawa began not when we met in Kathmandu in 2011, but when we met in New Mexico in 2008 during his first trip to North America.  Most likely, though, it’s because the Sherpa way of life is just correct – and has something to teach us all. 

Of almost three weeks...we spent five days in Kathmandu, eleven days in the countryside (of which only a day and a half was in our target village of Gorakhani) and returned to Kathmandu for just a day before returning home to Boston.



Each day is a package of emotions, a collection of people, images, smells and sounds. 

Pondering the itinerary reminds me of not just the physical journey we took, but also of how quickly we moved from judging this “strange” culture, to simply observing it, and then to allowing ourselves to just be a part of it.  You can’t appreciate the essence of a place unless you become a part of it and you allow it to become a part of you.  Because I was able to do that, I am still there – even while sitting on my backyard porch.  It’s in me.



The majority of Nepal’s people live here in the Kathmandu valley.  We are packed together, a few of us very rich and almost all of us without much monetary worth.  Each day is mostly about surviving – but it’s not a struggle against some oppressive outside force.  Survival here is about doing the honorable work that our karma requires of us.  In Thamel, where we’re staying at the Kathmandu Guest House, it’s the tourist part of town and there are purveyors of luxury goods like Coke and cookies and books and $1 DVDs.  There are Chinese knock-off branded goods from the North Face and Patagonia everywhere.  People are engaged in growing and finding food, cooking and eating, staying simply clothed, bartering goods and services for a few rupees, and fixing things that break.  In the streets, there’s pent up energy from constrained movement – too many people for the roads to handle – and the noise of horns honking to warn others (no one honks in anger).  People and chickens and bikes and scooters and cars and cows and carts and goats all flow in chaotic harmony, never seeming to worry about crashing or being run into.  It just seems to work.  Shops along nearly every road are open rooms or an area on the sidewalk packed with the stuff of living:  vegetables, dried fish, rice, cookware, cloth, tools and cell phones.  Chewing tobacco packets hang like German sausages in some stalls for those who have worldly needs, while next door incense and bronze Buddhas and Shivas are there to support our needs for the inner journey.



Hindus and Buddhists, Newari and Chhetri, Brahmins and Sherpas all co-exist, even blend together.  Tolerance pervades the way people interact with one another, although the lingering attitudes of the now officially defunct caste system are clearly evident.  So, too, are the strong feelings that swept the monarchy away peacefully and brought the Maoists into a legitimate, democratically-elected majority of a fledgling government that is trying to hold the country together while squabbling over the constitution that remains unwritten.

We are here, though, not to be a part of life in the city.  We are here to help Dawa’s village and to put plans together for the new primary school that they want. 



So we’re now on the bus to Shangri La, listening to high-pitched Nepali songs on the radio.  Then we’re on the bus again, up and down over the pass through a hundred potentially fatal switchbacks, until the one-lane road ends.  And now we’re walking, higher and to the east, towards the simple life of yaks and rice, Buddhism and Himalayan bamboo, sweat and hard work, Sherpa tea and chang.  Mostly, though, we’re walking towards smiles and happiness, towards contentment with how things are.  On the way, we’re living the daily rhythm of waking at dawn, tending the animals, cooking over the wood fire in the one-room kitchen, hot water, then tea, then rice or potatoes, then spinach and pickled cabbage and peppers.  We’re squatting over a hole in the wooden floor when our body is done with the rice from the day before, and we’re burning incense in the morning for the Buddha.  

Palms together, we say “Namaste” a thousand times along the way.  We say it with a genuine smile and eye contact connection with happy strangers, each of whom takes to heart the fact that “Namaste” means “I recognize the God in you,” and realizes the profound significance of that statement.  Each evening we sleep in the bedrooms that our guesthouse host family have happily abandoned in exchange for the opportunity to earn a few rupees for hosting us.  Each morning we awake to hot tea and happy service. 


Ang Dawa Sherpa

Dawa is an amazing human being.  He is not just guiding our trip, working out logistics with the porters and guesthouse hosts.  He is sharing his world with us, introducing us to his friends and family, and worrying about whether we are OK with the simplicity of the rustic lifestyle of his homeland and people.  He is apologetic at first, but soon figures out that we are not worried or grossed out or judgmental of how things are.  We are there with him and Phill and each other and the people we meet along the way.  That we are together is more than enough.  It is what it is.  The fact that where “it” is happens to be on the other side of the globe and a million cultural miles from home is irrelevant and wonderful.



Along the way to Gorakhani, we celebrate Shivaratri, Lord Shiva’s day.  It is a day of huge celebrations in the Hindu world.  While we are out in the country, there are bonfires at every street intersection in Kathmandu.  It is the only day each year where ganga is legally smoked, and we are missing a WILD celebration by being out here.  Our Newari host in Tatakhoche, though, builds a fire, and we are happy to do our part honoring Lord Shiva with rum and Cokes brought in for the occasion.



We celebrate Sherpa New Year (Losar) at Phill's Secret Monastery.  We start the day with Tibetan bread and honey, apple, sweet biscuits, and – oh yes – a special batch of chang that had been aging for three months for this very occasion.  The Sherpa culture requires an ever-full glass of tea or chang, and to refuse a refill is tantamount to saying, “I’m challenging you to make me drink until I explode!”  There is no such thing as “no” on Losar, and we are pretty buzzed by 10 AM.  It is from this place, though, that we get our first really amazing views of the Himalaya just to our north, and the exhilaration from that fuels us through the hangover that tries to slow us down during our long journey that day to the high point of our trip, Peekay Peak.



I’m on Peekay Peak with my sons, Tom and Drew- my adopted son, Chhiring Dawa Sherpa, and Phill.  The boys have bonded, Chhiring happy for the company of other kids in his age range and the opportunity they brought to make a little money.  The fact that Tom and Drew have carried baskets has made them an oddity – no one sees Westerners carrying baskets with the porters – and endeared them to their compatriot porters, Chhiring, Gelging, and Dendi who is Chhring’s father and our soon-to-be host in Gorakhani.  From Peekay we can see Everest.  It’s nice to be able to say, “We’ve seen Everest.”  But even nicer is the fact that, from Peekay Peak, we can also see our destination – Gorakhani.



Finally in Gorakhani, we are at Dendi’s home.  His wife Lapka is happy, silent, dutiful.  I wouldn’t want to play Poker with her.  She’s wonderfully nice but hard to read because, I think, she is focused on the work at hand – always.  I feel like we’ve arrived home.  Before we descended into Gorakhani, Dendi showed us his “cow house” high on the ridge above the village where he lives with his cows during the monsoon.  If he is not already there as I write this, he will be soon.  In Gorakhani, we finally see where he keeps his cows and goats during the rest of the year.  He milks them, and showed us how he makes the dry, smoky, hard cheese from their gift.  He loves them.  We see his potato cellar, filled still from the fall harvest.  We smell the dried, shaved radish that lies in a 3-meter wide pile under a tarp in the downstairs room that also is home to a shrine to Buddha that is visited and refreshed every morning. 



Upstairs, the main room is mostly dark, lit by the one window at the peak of the roof that is also over the sink.  A black pipe brings water from the hillside to the sink; another carries the grey water down to the terrace below the house.  The home now has power, and is dimly lit by a single LED lamp.  The walls are dark with pitch from years of open fire smoke from the hearth that is the center of the room, the heart of the home, and the point where the family’s attention is focused throughout the quiet ritual of meal preparation that takes place twice a day.  Hot water.  Tea.  Rice.  Vegetables.  Hot water.  More tea.  Cleanup.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat…



We are now at the school, which we first see from the hillside far above it.  Most of the kids are already at Urgin Sherpa’s home, but five kids decided to come to school first.  We’re greeted from far below by the headmaster, who has had the job for some 39 years.  The school is way nicer that we expected – because someone had brought money and school supplies the year before!  It became very clear, though, that while the school is in decent shape, teacher training is a real need, and we’ll focus on that in the future.



At Urgen Sherpa’s home later the same afternoon, we are greeted warmly with chang, tea and smiles.  We hand out the pencil sets that Mrs. Arakelian’s Lance School second grade class collected.  We deliver the other school supplies, too, that the Bedford High School interact club and the girl scouts in town helped collect.  It seems like so little, but the gifts are received thankfully by the kids.  The parents are delighted.  The teacher receives his supplies as well, and Dawa explains to all in the Sherpa language where the supplies came from and why we came at all.  We receive white and cream katas in thanks from many of the villagers.  They are so thankful for so little, and I am feeling that there is so much more to do.  This little bit, though, is so much because their needs are modest, and they appreciate the heart with which the help and gifts are given way more than the actual gifts themselves.  I am high on the love.  These people get it.  They don’t know what they don’t have, they are happy to have what they do, and whatever we do to help them moving forward will be done with an unwavering commitment to avoid screwing that up.


Ang Dawa Sherpa and Phill Michael...Founders of the SherpaSchool.ORG

Phill’s quiet intensity has brought us all here.  He is Motomanchi (Big Man).  He walks slowly, but with purpose.  He thinks big, but smoothed out all of the small details, too, that made the trip possible.  While he thinks of himself as something of a Laughing Buddha, his impressive persona enables him to work with great authority in the situations that require that.  He is committed to the goal of helping our friends in Gorakhani while preserving all that makes the village the uniquely wonderful place that it is.  As a result of our trip together, my family, Dawa’s family, Phill, and the people of Gorakhani are connected in a way that transcends time and distance.  I am still in Gorakhani, in fact, and plan to remain so forever.   I hope you’ll come visit!

Namaste

Pete Colgan
A True Supporter of the SherpaSchool.ORG

(This dispatch is available with plugins at: http://blog.secretspoteverest.com/2011/06/15/full-moon-fever-in-sherpa-country-b.aspx)


Shangri La flat wheat bread...soaked in local honey. Can you say o-r-g-a-n-i-c?!!! B^P


Pashi and her husband Pemba...King and Queen of the Happy Sherpa House...correction...proud parents of 9 children! =^o


Master Gelu Sherpa and our new, shy friend Purba! B^]


Generations of Beautiful Sherpa people! B^]


Building tiiiiiime! B^]



The air at 12000ft is...fresh!


Ramro! B^]


Many mani! B^]


Dhal Bhat and Roxi tiiiime inside Xangbu's magic castle! B^P


Sweet Chandhrama rules! B^]

I'm fully immersed in Sherpa Country. If you find yourself above 3000m/9840ft in Nepal, you will probably be hanging with Sherpoids...which is a very, very good thing. This is a Hatman free zone. Some of you know exactly what I mean. %^]

By the time You read this dispatch, I'll be in deep meditation under a Full Moon. For those of us who live on Earth, Sweet Chandhrama guides all of us through life...whether we like it or not. I like it quite a bit. B^]

If you aren't accustomed to really appreciating the Moon, I suggest you make a special effort to spend a few minutes worshiping said satellite today.   We'll be loving Life under the same sweet light...which can only be good. B^]

Until Soon
BuddhaPhill B^]

 

PHILL MICHAEL
Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition
Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
PhillMichael.COM
SherpaSchool.ORG
SecretSpotStore.COM