1) This Weekend
2) Looking Ahead
3) A Poem



1) This Weekend

Hi, beautiful people!

I just found out today about a showcase this weekend in New York City. There
will be lots of performers; see their website (link below) for the latest
schedule. Do come check it out if you can:

Saturday, March 22nd 12:45pm
<A HREF="http://rdpgroup.com/glexpo/welcome.htm">Gay & Lesbian 2003 Business
and Entertainment Expo</A>
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
38th Street and 11th Avenue, NY, NY
2-day Expo: Saturday, March 22,2003 |11am-7pm
Sunday, March 23,2003 | 12noon-6pm
Admission: One day $12 - Two day $18
For directions, call 212-216-2000.

...and there is a chanting event on Sunday, too:

Sunday, March 23rd 2pm $10 suggested donation
*<A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kirtanorama/">Kirtan chanting event
</A>
The Yoga Garden
31 N. Narberth Avenue, Narberth, PA
(610) 664-2705 info@...


2) Looking Ahead

Here's an interesting mix of kirtan and acoustic shows coming up. The show
at Rutgers-Camden is finally rescheduled after being cancelled by the crazy
snow storm. I am really, really looking forward to singing with Krishna Das
on April 12th. What an honor.

Saturday, March 29th 8pm $10 suggested donation
*Kirtan chanting event
Yogasana Empower Center
900 Easton Ave., Somerset, NJ 08873
732-246-YOGA (9642)

Friday, April 4th 8pm
*Kirtan chanting event
Still Point Yoga Center
104A South Black Horse Pike, Blackwood, NJ
(856) 227-0999

Monday, April 7th 7pm
OutMusic Open Mic - Host
The C-Note, 157 Avenue C (@10th St.), NYC
(212) 677-8142

Tuesday, April 8th 8pm
Rutgers Camden Campus Center - Starbucks
326 Penn St., Camden, NJ
(856) 225-6161

Saturday, April 12th 6 pm - 2 am
*backing vocalist with Krishna Das
The Experience: A Night-Long Journey of Consciousness
Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center,
8th Avenue & 34th Street
New York City
w/ Jai Uttal, Gabrielle Roth, Shiva Rea, John McDowell, Jeff McBride,
David Life, Cyndi Lee, Jonathan Horan, Alex Grey, Rha Goddess,
Sharon Gannon, Sharon Gannon Drala, Lama Surya Das,
Krishna Das, Anthony Ward
$65 general admission; $25 for students
For more information and to register please call:
1-800-944-1001
Email: registration@...
http://www.eomega.org/omega/urban


3) A Poem

Well, I guess these days I am one to shy from neither religion nor politics.
A few friends asked me to post the poem I read at Moksa Yoga in
Alexandria, VA. Here it is- It is by Ellen Bass. Please read it, consider
it, pass along if you wish.


Pray for Peace

Pray to whoever you kneel down to:
Jesus nailed to his wooden or marble or plastic cross,
his suffering face bent to kiss you,
Buddha still under the Bo tree in scorching heat,
Adonai, Allah, raise your arms to Mary
that she may lay her palm on our brows,
to Shekinhah, Queen of Heaven and Earth,
to Inanna in her stripped descent.

Hawk or Wolf, or the Great Whale, Record Keeper
of time before, time now, time ahead, pray. Bow down
to terriers and shepherds and siamese cats.
Fields of artichokes and elegant strawberries.

Pray to the bus driver who takes you to work,
pray on the bus, pray for everyone riding that bus
and for everyone riding buses all over the world.
If you haven't been on a bus in a long time,
climb the few steps, drop some silver, and pray.

Waiting in line for the movies, for the ATM,
for your latté and croissant, offer your plea.
Make your eating and drinking a supplication.
Make your slicing of carrots a holy act,
each translucent layer of the onion, a deeper prayer.

Make the brushing of your hair
a prayer, every strand its own voice,
singing in the choir on your head.
As you wash your face, the water slipping
through your fingers, a prayer: Water,
softest thing on earth, gentleness
that wears away rock.

Making love, of course, is already a prayer.
Skin and open mouths worshipping that skin,
the fragile case we are poured into,
each caress a season of peace.

If you're hungry, pray. If you're tired.
Pray to Gandhi and Dorothy Day.
Shakespeare. Sappho. Sojourner Truth.
Pray to the angels and the ghost of your grandfather.

When you walk to your car, to the mailbox,
to the video store, let each step
be a prayer that we all keep our legs,
that we do not blow off anyone else's legs.
Or crush their skulls.
And if you are riding on a bicycle
or a skateboard, in a wheel chair, each revolution
of the wheels a prayer that as the earth revolves
we will do less harm, less harm, less harm.

And as you work, typing with a new manicure,
a tiny palm tree painted on one pearlescent nail
or delivering soda or drawing good blood
into rubber-capped vials, writing on a blackboard
with yellow chalk, twirling pizzas, pray for peace.

With each breath in, take in the faith of those
who have believed when belief seemed foolish,
who persevered. With each breath out, cherish.

Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace,
feed the birds for peace, each shiny seed
that spills onto the earth, another second of peace.
Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine.

Shovel leaves or snow or trash from your sidewalk.
Make a path. Fold a photo of a dead child
around your VISA card. Gnaw your crust
of prayer, scoop your prayer water from the gutter.
Mumble along like a crazy person, stumbling
your prayer through the streets.



Blessings,

Robin Renée

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<A HREF="http://www.robinrenee.com/">RobinRenée.com</A>
www.robinrenee.com
<A HREF="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/robinrenee2">CD Baby: ROBIN RENEE: All Six
Senses - hear and buy it at CD BABY.</A>
My devotional chanting group => <A
HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kirtanorama/">Kirtan-o-Rama!</A>
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