CoSM blog

Denver

Event was sold out!!! Nearly 4,000 people!!!

Allyson and Alex thank Denver for supporting CoSM and tell them how things are coming.  All proceeds from speaking and live painting appearances goes to build the exhibition hall.

Reading from Art Psalms

We got to spend the first hours of our wedding anniversary, December 4, together with thousands of friends immersed in a sea of creativity and love.

Johnathan Singer melted everyone's eyeballs with his stunning video projections.

Zoe stuns Denver



Celebrating with the amazing Beats Antique!!

Dance of Cannabia (so far)

We hosted a screening of CoSM the movie at the historic MAYAN theater in Denver as a benefit for CoSM and Colorado cannabis legislation.  The theater is an architectural masterpiece by Montana Fallis, with beautiful ornamentation throughout.

Rob Kampia of MPP Marijuana Policy Project who was there collecting signatures for reform in Colorado, a bill to regulate cannabis like alcohol.  Thank you to Colorado for leading the way to sensible drug policy.

Holiday Greetings from the Greys

New Orleans

Alex delivers talk on CoSM at House of Blues in New Orleans

Allyson and Alex onstage with Tipper

Eli Morgan joins us at Dithyrambelina the Music Box Shanty Town where a cluster of music shacks were built of recycled materials after the house that dwelled on that lot was demolished in Hurricane Katrina.

Brooklyn based artist, Swoon, designed Dithyrambelina as a House that can be played like many musical instruments.

Swoon's model for Dithyrambelina.

Swoon's larger model of the Dithyrambelina.

Swoon is one of the greatest artists alive - here's more of her installation.

The shantytown was erected by 23 artists and concerts were played to sold out audiences. 

Each interactive shack invites visitors to "play" music inside -- a wall is piano-wire, a floorboard is a keyboard, a swing bows a stringed shack.

One of our favorite DJ's, Tipper, with one of the empresarios of the Music Box Shantytown, dj Rusty Laser who masterminded the transformation of a condemned building into an extraordinary installation of music and sculpture. Shacks are now for sale. 

Dear friend of visionary culture and author of Tryptamine Palace, James Oroc, a.k.a. Roc, takes us to St. Roch's Shrine, patron saint of miraculous cures.  James took us to many of the special sites in New Orleans and with his fisheye lens took some incredible photos.

Praying at Marie Leveau's tomb. She was the VOODOO Queen of New Orleans.

Cemetery guide explains that if a visitor marks Marie Laveau's mausoleum with three "x's" and leaves three coins on the altar, their wish should come true, after which they should return to circle their "x's."

Allyson makes her favorite wish while marking Marie Laveau's grave with "x's." We shall return!

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters

When CoSM's architect Al Cappelli said that the weak, old roof of the exhibition hall building must be replaced, we decided to literally "raise the roof" several feet higher. The old barn-like beams will be recycled into a future project and a new cathedralesque span of arches created, connecting archangels between the Sacred Mirrors. The new roof on the exhibition hall will cost $75,000.

You can help raise the roofbeams by sending CoSM a positive intention or prayer for the new roof, by gift shopping at the CoSM Shop, or making a donation and/or becoming a member.  We thank you for all your prayers and financial support.  Collectively we are a stand for bringing divine love and beauty into the imagination of our stressed-out culture.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  – Margaret Mead

CoSM's chief builder, Brian James, created a beautiful model he is showing to architect, Al Capelli.

Entheon Exhibition Hall progress

 

First visit to CoSM carriage house with friends Paul Crisafi and daughter Juliette on Earth Day 2007.

Summer 2011 Carriage House empty and ready for power wash and pointing all around.

October 2011 Good bye, tiny sister building.

November 2011 After pointing and masonry.

Back of carriage house, 2011, ready for transformation.

Back of carriage house with outer layer peeled off.

Tyvek cover to keep out the weather.

Staff member, Tim Mundy, master mason, returned to CoSM especially to teach our builders to point this formidable structure, bricked in 1882.

Joey pointing, demonstrating the empty holes between bricks that pointing remedies.

Entheon is now completely pointed and the foundations have been reinforced, Alex here with Joe Martone, supervisor and master mason.

Wappinger Shrine

Native American Scholar and shaman, Evan Pritchard, dedicates CoSM's cairn in honor of the indigenous people who walked our land 400 years ago.  "Honoring the Wappingers" was a special event that featured an opening song by Roland Musafa and offerings of prayer and tobacco.  The day was spent learning about Wappinger culture.  The shrine's shape, suggested by Evan, was modeled after stone mounds found in the Hudson Valley, some thought to be over 4,000 years old.  All stones were found or dug up from CoSM's property, with stone carved letters by local sculptor, Nils Kulleseid.  Visitors to CoSM are greeted by the Wappinger shrine as they first enter our holy grounds.  Thanks to all who helped us celebrate the ancestors!

Hot Atlanta

Area 51 presents the Greys!!!  Thanks to Area 51 directors David Morris and Sugar Kayne who put together a spectacular event bringing out the Visionary Love Tribe of Atlanta!!  We gave a talk on the Entheogeneration and shared the CoSM Project with our friends down south.  Thanks to the many amazing artists who banded together to create an unforgettable gathering.

World Body Painting Champions: Scott Fray & Foxy Moxy

Keith Prossick, one of Atlanta's great visionary painters and visionary culture instigators

Sugar Kayne sweetens the night

Snowy trick on Halloween weekend

Saturday October 29, 10 am...  is that snow?!  Hah, it will probably melt as soon as it hits the ground...

11 am  uh oh...

A hawk, perched on extinguisher around fire circle, who seems to be warning us there is an impending emergency.

2 pm power is out, guess the Halloween celebration is not happening...

candlelight at CoSM for four days.

Monday clean up...  Gratitude and apologies to those CoSMonauts that bought tickets to the bash, look for an e-mail with details on CoSM vouchers.  Consider coming this weekend, the spooktacular Egyptian deco is still up and many performers are returning for a soon to be epic weekend!

I'm sure God prevented something nasty from happening this past weekend by that paralyzing storm, Thank you God!  And is that you too Gaia?  Letting us know the weather gets weird if you mess with the balance of greenhouse gases and start heating up the planet.  Around a month ago we had to suddenly postpone the opening of the Wappinger Shrine because of Hurricane Irene.  A Hurricane in Vermont?  Check out our friend, the director of Wisdom University, Jim Garrison's reflections, It's the Weather, Not the Debt, Huffingtonpost.

Nature of Mind

Our friends at Integral Life put up a special gallery about my painting called Nature of Mind.  Recently, Ken Wilber and I spoke in depth about the painting and this discussion, and supplementary research materials are all posted.  Please check it out!

Kosmic Creativity

A & A with Ken Wilber May 2011

One of our favorite people, the philosophical genius Ken Wilber, spoke with a small group tonight on Kosmic Creativity, the subject of an upcoming event sponsored by Integral Institute at which we will be presenting in late December. Creativity is usually described as a human trait relegated to a select few, the creative geniuses of science and art. But creativity is a force fully operating in all of us now. If 14 billion years ago there was literally nothing, then, in an explosive beginning, the building blocks of the universe suddenly came into being, from superstring to quark to neutrino to atom, then over billions of years evolving to molecule to cell to creature, each step in the process was a staggeringly creative event. Far from chance selection, a divine artistry seems at the very basis of existence. Creativity is another name for evolution. Evolution and creativity are Spirit in action. Fundamental to existence, creativity is Spirit's voice, the uni-verse, the one song occurring in every phenomena. Every fresh moment contains the possibility to transcend the last. Our transcendental core, our pure empty witness consciousness, carries the same potential for creation that existed before the beginning of the universe. We all bring the universe into being within our own awareness. In many wisdom traditions the universe begins by an act of God. Spirit involutes, descends into matter as the primal cause of the cosmos. From matter life evolves back to spirit because of greater and greater consciousness in life forms. The universe becomes self-aware through living creative beings.

Participants of the Integral Spiritual Experience will learn practices that take us to our transcendental core, and empower our creative path. Join us in Pacific Grove for an intensive sharing between many of the brightest and most inspiring evolutionary visionaries as we unpack the depths and heights of Kosmic Creativity. We will dance and paint with D.J.'s as we all take an Integral step forward into Spirituality and Community!

Use the discount code: "CoSM" when you sign up and get $100 off the registration cost plus Integral Institute will make a contribution of $300 to CoSM to build the Entheon exhibition hall. Click here for more info.

Cosmic Creativity is also the theme of the recently released CoSM Journal. This exquisitely designed issue is filled with illuminated art and wisdom by leaders of visionary communities on every continent. Get a CoSM Journal when you become a member of CoSM and purchase one as a bridge to friends and family, a gift that gives twice because all proceeds from CoSM Journal help build a sacred site.