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first of all, a little meteorological information; byron bay has the highest rainfall of all australia - so everything is unexpectedly GREEN!

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in december we played at the UPLIFT festival - an international gathering promoted by the UPLIFT community...well worth checking out

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many teachers came from all over the world - here's the great patch adams (http://bit.ly/1zh5cRm) making sure everybody has a laugh and forgets their troubles!
also, among those seated are scarlett lewis (http://bit.ly/15Lglj8), joan borysenko (http://amzn.to/1v9siLx), mac macartney (http://bit.ly/18yHUOj), bruce lipton (http://bit.ly/1ChkWYl), satish kumar (http://bit.ly/1Es2z3I), grandmother agnes baker-pilgrim (http://bit.ly/1y9HhAK), bhavani & bharatmitra (festival creators), aruna viswanathan (http://bit.ly/1yDVlRK), lissa rankin (http://bit.ly/1CCNM3T), and charles eisenstein (http://bit.ly/1yQC2cN).
if you have some time to investigate these amazing people, i can recommend it - there are some amazing human being in this photo

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the festival was graced by the presence of many indigenous elders. here's grandmother agnes baker-pilgrim - 90 years young, from the takelma people in the usa.(grandmother has an awesome sense of humour)

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also with us were the gyuto monks of tibet - they lifted us to higher ground with their powerful, timeless chanting

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bundjalung aboriginal peace activist, freedom fighter and didge master lewis walker on stage. also present were the elders of the kogi people from colombia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogi_) people, but no pix unfortunately.

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the great israeli band, sheva - reunited especially for the festival - rocked the house

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we dived in to some cosmic mantra!

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rockin' the festival finale - with sheva, lewis on didge, and mark eliyahu on traditional israeli instrument, the kamanche
'...be a light unto yourself...!''

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we have begun work on the new album - songs for the sangha - deva is happy - i hope you, too!

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we asked sheva member udi benknaan to record with us. we have a beautiful sufi chant and his lyre created the perfect vibe, weeping and longing for peace, love and understanding between all races, nations and cultures

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tibetan blessing beneath a tree

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tibetan flags in the pristine grounds of the crystal castle...scene of our free concert last year

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a very beautiful visitor - australia is full of amazing creatures

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she even has wings! so she flew away.

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sunrise from our deck - photo by Manose

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we played a benefit concert in brisbane to raise money for an organisation called TCV (tibetan children's villages - http://www.tcv.org.in). here we are before the concert with promoter and dear friend, chris hooper
and the great tibetan singer and musician tenzin cheogyal and his wife, brunwin

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i have a reputation among our musician friends for refusing to make set lists. i learnt in my days playing for osho that the most magical musical moments come in flashes of spontanaity - but here's an exception to the rule; a set list for the tibetan concert in brisbane (whether we stuck to the list or not is another question!)

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our recording engineer, concert sound tech and osho brother down under, kamal engels

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we were honoured to sing at the beach wedding of aboriginal elder uncle bob randall and his bride, barbara

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we've been friends for a while and it was so sweet to witness such beautiful spirits celebrating their love for each other. bob is one of the most beautiful men i've ever met

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the happy couple surrounded by friends and well-wishers after the ceremony

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we played a beautiful song bob had written called 'kanyini'
learn more about this courageous man @:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAOcfkcGDKA

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a hug for deva

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we got all dressed up for photo session (!) with amazing local photographer, arterium

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this pic was taken on new years day 2105 (7 am) following a massive storm the night before. all surrounding roads were closed due to flooding - but it was an early morning paradise as we made our way though the fields...

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a new year begins - first light 2015

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new years day selfie

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the kukuburra - australia's famous laughing bird, on the look out for breakfast

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yoga in the garden to welcome the new day - the new year - the new moment -

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happy new year everyone - see you soon!