Early risers find themselves on the dock as the sun boldly climbs up over the volcanos across our beautiful Lady Lago and blasts us with golden beams of warmth. Some stretch, some lie naked, some swim and some sip tea, all in silence. It’s an amazing contrast to the symphony of the night before, and the blessed quiet is wrapped up in bird song and serenity. We are blinking and dazed, our prayers from the fire still fluttering like butterflies around our gentle eyes. These loving songs have colored all we see. When the breakfast gong rings, there is no hurry to the delicious offerings of fruit, oatmeal, peanut butter and other locally-sourced goodies. We float like we’re dreaming, and I suppose after 3 days and nights of song and hearts wide open in wonder, maybe we are dreaming (most people I know would confirm exactly this but I’m in journalist mood and not about to dive down that rabbit hole). It’s all so wonderful, HOW CAN IT EVER END?
Well, dont cry ‘cause we’re here in the now and in the now there’s still one more day of delight planned for the Heart Song fam.
Though the morning is slow as miel, the love that holds us gives the entire family full permission to be a bit pooped. Cuddle puddles form and fluctuate like super cute human amoebas and a few float away to serenade with their inner children in the next workshop. There, we learn to use the energy of vocal activation to unearth parts of ourselves we’ve long forgotten and give these little pieces of us a chance to sing their song. In so doing, we understand our realities a little more and our hearts a little deeper. With courage, many voices open and rise. We find strength in one another, discovering a new depth to our singing some of us have never before experienced.
Lunch is, as expected by this happy mouth full of teeth and tongue, delicious. We sit together and reflect on the day, nourishing both our bellies and our spirits with shared stories of our many unique experiences here on the farm. The vibe seems to steadily be getting squishier, and there’s a good reason for it: next on our crazy cool schedule is perhaps the squishiest course of all. It’s time, my fairy friends and lovers, for Cuddle, Cacao and Kirtan. We’ll be guided in song as we snug on blankets, vibe and sip our blessed favorite medicine. What medicine is this, you ask?
It’s cacao! Duh! Yay!
At the Kirtan, we settle into our spaces and begin our journey. It’s activating work, and many of us feel the love…as well as our tensions around love. Guided in song and held by chocolate, we allow ourselves to relax into the session. Some cuddlers rise and become dancers, while others melt together into cute blobs of lovin’. The power of song is what we are here for, but the power of cuddling can not be underestimated. The feeling of warm family arm in arm, strangers holding strangers and becoming friends. Our nervous systems vibrate with this sweet energy, releasing the fear and shame around touch and affection and allowing us to simply be together as one. The cacao dilates our hearts, the chants soothe and soften. By the end, we aren’t even quite sure where one person ends and another begins. We’re just one flowing frequency of luv.
Dinner is slow and snuggly thanks to our cuddling session. It’s our last night, the last fire ceremony of this beautiful five day prayer. We eat, quietly contemplating what we will share around the fire. It’s already lit and waiting for us, and drums begin to beat into the night. One by one we make our way to the circle. One by one we make eye contact with those around us, ready to lift our spirits together in a Heart Song to rise above every other Heart Song. Is it even possible? I am not certain since every single day was the best day ever and every single night was also the best night ever so who even knows anymore. What we do know is we are vibin’, thriving and ready to fly.
Those who haven’t shared a song during the festival are invited to bring their voices to the circle. The shy ones, the quiet ones, the ones who didn’t think they had a song to sing. After four full days of workshops, love and snugs, suddenly these voices are ready to be a bit louder. Much louder, in some cases. The gift of these blossoming song holders is the most precious way we can celebrate this last evening together. The power around the fire after four days of devotion lights our hearts with their own sacred flame. The presence of family, soul family, moves us deeply. Gratitude is the attitude, and love is the lesson. As always, it seems.
The songs pour from our mouths with such power into Grandfather Fire, thanking him and blessing him and praising him. Our songs spill into the sky, touching the wind and the Lake and moving through the trees and melting into the stone. We rejoice alongside the elementswith songs born straight from the heart. And somewhere beyond all of this, these songs become the seeds of magic.
