Founder, Meditation Guide

John Shiva

Co-founder John Shiva has a lifelong love of nature and friendship with the plants, and has been homesteading or developing permaculture living for many years. For several years, he lived in a  yurt in the forest, bringing his water in and building things by hand. He’s a tireless seeker and investigator into the magic and mystery of optimal states of human consciousness. He leads meditation in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. He also leads ceremony, and throws great parties! John is an amateur herbalist, with an expertise in treating ailments with supplements, and an accomplished raw and vegan cook. He is also a filmmaker and has made a documentary on India and is currently writing a screenplay to develop. 

Co-Founder

Christine Marie Mason

Founder of New Earth and Sundari Farms. Christine has been teaching, studying and writing on yoga and consciousness since 2000, with an emphasis on bringing yoga into daily life and human systems. Her books include Indivisible, Bending the Bow, The Invitation, Love in the Face of Everything and the upcoming 9 Gifts. She’s the founder of Rosebud Woman, an intimate wellness line, and the host of the rose woman, a podcast on waking up. She’s a Phd candidate in Philosophy and Religion, with a focus in consciousness and cosmology, at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Yoga and Consciousness Studies: Christine’s primary teacher is Mark Whitwell. She has completed teacher training with Rod Stryker (ParaYoga Level 1 & 2), Maya Yoga (500 hours), Baron Baptiste (Baptiste Power Yoga – Level 1) and continued training with other senior teachers, including a Thai massage certification, Love and Ecstasy Training, and Yoga Anatomy coursework. She’s YACEP and YA E-RYT certified. She is a Vipassana practitioner, and a student of non-dual tantra. She holds a certificate in the practices and philosophy of yoga from the Mattamayura Institute.  She is trained in ZEGG forum facilitation, and is a second year student in Thomas Huebl’s Timeless Wisdom Training program in collective, energetic and subtle healing. She is a devotional singer, an enthusiastic adventurer, and a science nerd who studies plant medicine, cryptocurrency and biohacking. Her social service work is focused on yoga in action: women’s equity, restorative justice and internet freedom.

Her paintings are tucked all around the property.

Teacher

Adam Bauer, Kirtan and Healing

Adam Bauer travels the globe sharing the heart-expanding beauty of group chanting in gatherings large and small. From Bhakti Fest and Wanderlust to more intimate festivals, ashrams and yoga studios, Adam enchants and inspires listeners with his deep, soulful presence wherever he goes.

Adam spent much of his Boston childhood on a bicycle exploring Harvard Square, absorbing the rich cultural ferment of the 1970s. Unsatisfied with the socio-economic offerings of the early 1980s, at 18 he took his vows of renunciation, poverty and celibacy and lived as a monk for several years, studying massage and healing work while living in a small but vibrant community above The Western Front, a funky jazz and reggae club. He eventually rejoined the mainstream world again, but never quite shook a core orientation of service and renunciation.

The later 1980s found him studying Hatha Yoga with Eddie Modestini – a practice of solo-healing he experienced as a complement to the work of giving and receiving healing touch with others. He was also discovering music, starting a 15-year gig playing bass in The Equalites, a reggae rock band he co-founded who became a cornerstone of the music scene in Western Massachusetts.

His post-monk plan of moving to a remote stretch of the California coast instead turned into decades of vibrant life in rural Massachusetts. He has been homesteading for almost 30 years at Tree Toad Farm near Amherst, where he offers healing session work, special events, and customized retreat accommodations for people hungry for a nourishing alternative to the pace and practices of modern living.

Adam was blessed to spend many years playing bass in support of sacred chant pioneer Krishna Das, and later with Bhakti Yoga legend Shyamdas, both of whom nourished his love of sacred sound and the yoga of devotion. For the last several years, and especially since Shyamdas’ passing in 2013, Adam has been on the road offering his own voice, teachings, and kirtan across America, Canada and India.

A lifelong student of the devotional life, Adam enjoys sharing perspectives on the path of love and devotion wherever the opportunity arises. Trained and certified as a massage therapist, ontological coach, and neo-tantric practitioner, Adam brings a variety of experience into his coaching and hands-on session work. A longtime student of the I Ching, sacred sexuality and sacred song, Adam works to synthesize and integrate life in a body with love, healing and devotion. With kindness, humor and sensitivity, Adam brings his whole self to his coaching and consulting work, marrying passion, discipline and inspiration into a unique and potent offering.

His critically-acclaimed first solo record, Shyam Lila, debuted on Mantralogy Records in 2014, and is available on major music services like iTunes and Spotify, or direct from the artist at http://iamadambauer.com/shyam-lila. His new album Wonderville is set for release on September 22. The album was co-produced by Adam and noted Kirtan producer Ben Leinbach. The basic tracks were recorded on the solar eclipse of March 9 2016 at Mahadev Audio Recording Studio, Varanasi India, engineered by Vipul Asthana.

Through facilitating inspiring workshops, personal coaching and hands-on therapeutic sessions, Adam’s impact transcends the labels of singer or musician. As a bhakti yoga practitioner and healing artist, Adam shares his unique voice and inspiration through both ancient and contemporary spiritual practices.

Suzanne Sterling, Voice of Change

Suzanne is an ecstatic vocalist, innovative composer, teacher and invoker of the sacred. Both as a performing and recording artist, as well as a facilitator of transformational workshops and intensives for many years, Suzanne has received critical acclaim.

Called a contemporary “musical priestess”, she creates sacred and participatory ceremonies for large gatherings and festivals worldwide. As a voice for joyful and sustainable activism she has created trainings and curriculums for numerous communities, is co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World® with other yoga luminaries, Seane Corn and Hala Khouri

Suzanne’s musical explorations in the realm of electronic dance music, devotional chanting and songs of the ecstatic soul have brought her to the forefront of the “kirtronica” sound (Conscious Dancer magazine named her a “kirtronica pioneer”) and have led her to enjoy mainstage billing at festivals such as Earthdance, Harmony Festival, Burning Man, Power to the Peaceful and The World Festival of Sacred Music (hosted by the Dalai Lama). Suzanne has performed and toured internationally both solo as well as with well-known electronic dance act Medicine Drum, innovative electronic dance act Alcyone (System Recordings NY) and acoustic trio Kali’s Angels.

Her music has been commissioned for film, theatre, and DVD, including “Gifting It,” an award-winning documentary film about the Burning Man Festival, and the bestselling, award-winning “Vinyasa Flow Yoga I and II with Seane Corn” produced by Gaiam Inc. She also created the soundtrack for a postnatal Yoga DVD entitled “YogaBonding” and appears in the DVD “Yoga from the Heart” with Seane Corn and produced by Yoga Journal. Most recently completing a three DVD set to accompany Seane Corn’s Chakra Flow DVD series.

Co-Founder

Christine Marie Mason

Founder of New Earth and Sundari Farms. Christine has been teaching, studying and writing on yoga and consciousness since 2000, with an emphasis on bringing yoga into daily life and human systems. Her books include Indivisible, Bending the Bow, The Invitation, Love in the Face of Everything and the upcoming 9 Gifts. She’s the founder of Rosebud Woman, an intimate wellness line, and the host of the rose woman, a podcast on waking up. She’s a Phd candidate in Philosophy and Religion, with a focus in consciousness and cosmology, at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Yoga and Consciousness Studies: Christine’s primary teacher is Mark Whitwell. She has completed teacher training with Rod Stryker (ParaYoga Level 1 & 2), Maya Yoga (500 hours), Baron Baptiste (Baptiste Power Yoga – Level 1) and continued training with other senior teachers, including a Thai massage certification, Love and Ecstasy Training, and Yoga Anatomy coursework. She’s YACEP and YA E-RYT certified. She is a Vipassana practitioner, and a student of non-dual tantra. She holds a certificate in the practices and philosophy of yoga from the Mattamayura Institute.  She is trained in ZEGG forum facilitation, and is a second year student in Thomas Huebl’s Timeless Wisdom Training program in collective, energetic and subtle healing. She is a devotional singer, an enthusiastic adventurer, and a science nerd who studies plant medicine, cryptocurrency and biohacking. Her social service work is focused on yoga in action: women’s equity, restorative justice and internet freedom.

Her paintings are tucked all around the property.

Founder, Meditation Guide

John Shiva

Co-founder John Shiva has a lifelong love of nature and friendship with the plants, and has been homesteading or developing permaculture living for many years. For several years, he lived in a  yurt in the forest, bringing his water in and building things by hand. He’s a tireless seeker and investigator into the magic and mystery of optimal states of human consciousness. He leads meditation in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. He also leads ceremony, and throws great parties! John is an amateur herbalist, with an expertise in treating ailments with supplements, and an accomplished raw and vegan cook. He is also a filmmaker and has made a documentary on India and is currently writing a screenplay to develop. 

Artist Descript

Martin Bridge

Martin is proudly carrying his family tradition forth as he lives, creates and teaches in the hills of Western Massachusetts. His work spans a wide range of media from Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Theater Design and Site Specific Installations to Performance. His Spiritual Path as an Animist first and foremost influences his art. His work celebrates the sacredness inherent in nature, the consciousness in all things and power of place and seeks to challenge the cultural paradigms that dictate the way we relate to both the natural world and our brother and sisters. He strives to create work that improves his own awareness of how he relates to the natural world and invites viewers to contemplate how to live in better balance with the world around us. Through his work he hopes to inspire and cultivate a greater sense of mystery and possibility in our experience of the world.

“Martin Bridge is a gifted visionary artist whose imagery informs and inspires viewers. His live-painting performances stimulate audiences at festivals around the world.  Artist, educator, mycologist, and avid student of permaculture, Martin models an integral creative life that reflects the ideals of a new world paradigm celebrating the sacred intelligence of nature.

— Alex Grey & Allyson Grey

Artist

Kristin Jai Klosterman

Born in rural Ohio in 1977, New York City based artist Kristin Jai Klosterman is best known for her sculptural work in metal and wood, and mixed media paintings that deal with the energy, environment and movement. Her large-scale metal sculptures can be found in public forums in California, Texas, Tennessee and Minnesota. She has had one-person exhibitions in Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles and has participated in many group exhibitions in Los Angeles and New York. She has collaborated with the stylish Tom’s Shoe Company where her imagery was prominently featured in one of their international campaigns.

Since 2006, Klosterman has been collaborating with Venice based Light and Space artist, Laddie John Dill and has realized numerous monumental sculpture commissions all over the United States.

Klosterman has been developing her own process of contrasting elements, on one side the hard materials of the sculptural series and on the other side the soft delicate silks and fabrics of her canvases, meticulously hand painted, drawing from imagery she creates inspired by the Fibonacci Sequence. Both sculpture and painting series’ resonate with movement and balance while using contrasting materials and methods. These combinations of different natural elements further define the balance of the feminine and masculine embedded in her work.

Mural Artist

David Lawell

David has been painting and drawing since the age of three, and since then has been consistently honing his craft to deliver stunningly potent and moving images to art lovers and visionaries from all walks of life. Originally from Santa Monica, California, David has traveled extensively and been inspired by the beautiful energies of Hawai’i and Bali, Indonesia. These exotic places have found their way into his artwork which delivers a clear and deep representation of the connection between humans and their rich environment.

David began his artistic journey using graphite pencils and in his teens began to take his own photographs and incorporate the original reference images into what had now become a super photorealistic style. After mastering the pencil he then moved to painting, beginning with large scale murals first, then moving on to more precise canvas works in oils. He currently has merged the use of graphite and oils as one symbiotic medium.

He is often asked how to explain his artwork and his reply is this, “It is not my artwork, I am only the refined tool to facilitate a higher creator to be translated into these visions. This realization allows me to remove myself to some degree and let the artwork speak for itself since it is coming from a place deep inside all of us. This, I feel, allows the viewer to have their own true experience from a piece of art without my interpretation and I really like that because the viewer can then tell me what the artwork means to them and this is what art should truly accomplish.”

For more info on where to see and support David Lawell’s artwork, visit him online.

Bhakti Artist and Educator

Jennifer Mazzucco

Kris Cox

Born in Los Angeles, California, 1951
M.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, 1977
B.A., Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California, 1973
Lives and Works in Basalt, Colorado
                                                                 

Jun from Prana Studio in Bali

Jun’s Studio is alongside a busy road outside of Ubud, on the Island of Bali in Indonesia. As we walk through Jun’s studio, which is more of a corrugated tin roof over rough posts, we get the chance to see some more of his work.  It’s soft interpretations of female figures: Gaia, Mermaids, Saraswatis. He puts a sweetness in the faces, a very Balinese gentleness. In the neighboring workshops are other carvers, this runs in the family. They make bas reliefs of all sizes, giant Ganeshes, mostly in limestone, but also in some volcanic rock. Check out some of his work below.

Heidi Marie Faessel

Heidi’s process unites experimentation, imperfection, and exploration, with deliberate and considered editing.   She is driven by the spirit of discovery, and find deep satisfaction and unlimited potential in the creative process.

Heidi was born and raised in Southern California. Prior to moving to Montana in 2002, she lived in New York City for a decade, attending college then working professionally as a textile designer in the home furnishing industry. Heidi earned BFA in Textile/Surface Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY, graduating Magna Cum Laude.  Her work has been exhibited in Whitefish and Missoula, Montana galleries.

Noah van Barriger

NVB is a photographer on the Big Island of Hawaii. He shoots nature, the night sky, and his lava flow captures are stunning.

We are lucky to have his work as a memory of the 2018 flow hanging in the Lotus House.

Sammy Kimura

My hope is that my paintings capture someone’s or something’s character or spirit in a way that’s either lovely or moving or that it at least stops someone’s racing brain for a moment when they look at it. I think I put a franticness into my work, and whether that is coming from someplace in me or it’s how I see people I don’t know – I paint with loose brushstrokes, calling to mind my favorite figurative artists or impressionist artists and seeing what I can produce with my particular amalgamation of years of practice and years of doubt and irritation at art itself. Perhaps emotion is what I most strive for and I think that is what the people that purchase my art get.

Co-Founder

Christine Marie Mason

Founder of New Earth and Sundari Farms. Christine has been teaching, studying and writing on yoga and consciousness since 2000, with an emphasis on bringing yoga into daily life and human systems. Her books include Indivisible, Bending the Bow, The Invitation, Love in the Face of Everything and the upcoming 9 Gifts. She’s the founder of Rosebud Woman, an intimate wellness line, and the host of the rose woman, a podcast on waking up. She’s a Phd candidate in Philosophy and Religion, with a focus in consciousness and cosmology, at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Yoga and Consciousness Studies: Christine’s primary teacher is Mark Whitwell. She has completed teacher training with Rod Stryker (ParaYoga Level 1 & 2), Maya Yoga (500 hours), Baron Baptiste (Baptiste Power Yoga – Level 1) and continued training with other senior teachers, including a Thai massage certification, Love and Ecstasy Training, and Yoga Anatomy coursework. She’s YACEP and YA E-RYT certified. She is a Vipassana practitioner, and a student of non-dual tantra. She holds a certificate in the practices and philosophy of yoga from the Mattamayura Institute.  She is trained in ZEGG forum facilitation, and is a second year student in Thomas Huebl’s Timeless Wisdom Training program in collective, energetic and subtle healing. She is a devotional singer, an enthusiastic adventurer, and a science nerd who studies plant medicine, cryptocurrency and biohacking. Her social service work is focused on yoga in action: women’s equity, restorative justice and internet freedom.

Her paintings are tucked all around the property.