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Writer's pictureThomas Tittmann
Oct 85 min read

John Tittmann: On the Road of Healing: China & Tibet

Updated: Oct 13


On the road in TIBET (Sept. 2024)...


In his book “Eager to Love,” Richard Rohr says about our life:

"It’s a series of road trips…"


Though young in calendar years, John has wisdom beyond his years. As part of the C W Post band, he went to many corners of our shared world. So far, he's touched down in all continents except Africa and Antarctica. This current 3-week pilgrimage to China and Tibet was his second time in this ancient land. This time, he went with Linhai, his teacher, and fellow students to continue their studies of traditional Chinese medicine for healing…


For several months this year I worked with Linhai - as he used a combination of acupuncture and other treatments. The guy has an interesting history: lived in China for many years, plays guitar and surfs - once showed me his phone with a surf cam for a favorite break in Rockaway Beach. 


Looking for a song to express the heights of my admiration for who John is, I thought first of "Sitting on Top of the World: by Cream and others...But the lyrics weren't appropriate. That's when this one surfaced...




Happy Birthday, Son!


Posting this on the 36th anniversary of your current incarnation...10/8/88


After midnight on October 8, 1988, John was birthed with music, as Eileen released him into our world. I was keeping vigil in the waiting area at Mercy Medical Center as "Morning has Broken" was followed by "Here Comes the Sun" forever known as "Here Comes the SON"...


Fast Food at 10,000 Feet...Where's the BEEF?


While Chinese Buddhists are vegetarians, Tibetans value this animal in place of beef...


So, when you go into a mountain McDonald's in Lhasa, Tibet you'll be ordering a...


BIG YAK!



Father-Son Pilgrimage


Seeing the hot air balloons in the "On Top of the World" video recalled our father-son pilgrimage in the Summer of 2016 that included a visit to Richard Rohr's Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque for their annual Conspire Conference. Richard shown signing a book for John:



...and while in Albuquerque...a sunrise trip up, up and away...




A cable "car" lifted us higher...Turns out, this is nearly the same altitude as Mt. Emei in China - see further down.



"The SON also rises..."


Our hot air balloon ride brought us over the Rio Grande River...





We also passed by this roadside marker commemorating the person who introduced the yoga form I practice - Kundalini - to America - Yogi Bhajan.



Now, back to China... 


Old Man on the Mountain: Chops wood, Carries water 





And this from my first spiritual teacher: RAM DASS...from his "BE HERE NOW"...In 1972, it guided me onto a spiritual path for the first time in my life...



While there, Linhai, John and the others climbed a sacred mountain in China known as MOUNT EMEI. The trek to the summit is equivalent to climbing 100 Empire State Buildings. It took them 8 days as they stayed at monasteries along the road.


They were guided by dragons...above...and below...





A Qigong break:



...Then back to the path...



Linhai, party of 10...


Linhai is to John's right...










Then it's back on the road to Tibet...


"My bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."



The Child is the Father of the Man...


William Wordsworth used the expression, "The child is father of the man" in his famous 1802 poem, "My Heart Leaps Up," also known as "The Rainbow." This quote has made its way into popular culture. What does it mean? See "Source" link following the poem and "My Interpretation" below for my own take...


My Heart Leaps Up

--William Wordsworth

 

“My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety.”



My Interpretation...

Since childhood, John has offered his wisdom to Eileen and I, bringing much-needed inspirations to each of us. For my part, I experience this exchange as him parenting me...


This mutual interplay between generations is described in CSN&Y's "Teach your Children"...


The roles reverse with these lyrics:




and switch again...




Born to Wander...and Wonder...


John was born with a wanderlust for life's roads. When he was christened (with 30 weight oil), a fellow parishioner, Frank Barber gave Eileen and I a card that I've tried to reproduce below:


John's first "car"...


We lived in an apartment with no parking space for this favorite of John's. He first enjoyed it whenever we visited Eileen's brother Jim, his wife Deb and their two sons Mike and Glenn in their Massachusetts home. As soon as we arrived, he bounded from the car, headed straight for their big backyard, climbed in and exclaimed:


"This is what I came here for!"


Online photo...no original...



For his birthday this year, John's cousin Glenn sent him this cool article and video:





Say "CHEESE...STEAK!"


As soon as he got his driver's license, John and a fellow West Hempstead High School mate, got in his car and drove to the City of Brotherly Love for one of their famous Philly Cheese Steaks...



Later on, he bought an RV so he didn't have to leave home...he took it wherever he wanted to go. Like his Dad, he even did a cross-country trip. In my day, I did 4 in my 1965 VW Bus...On one, took my brother and fellow surfer Mike. On my last, when I relocated to Callie, my parents asked to go with me (part of a reconciliation). When I returned to New York two years later, three of my sisters (Julie, Mary & Cathy) road shotgun.


Music for Life's Road Trips...


Yusuf's memorable road trip ode begins with this important question...



As the tale unfolds notice how much baggage the traveler accumulates......


...until he has a moment of awakening and leaves his LOAD for a different ROAD...





Father Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest and prolific author. With Sounds True, he has released the six-part audio learning program, The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of Saint Francis, in which Richard explores the life and teachings of this beloved figure, and offers ways we can incorporate his wisdom into our lives. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Father Rohr and Tami Simon discuss the relevance of Saint Francis in today’s world, what he calls the “spirituality of subtraction,” Jesus’ teachings on nonduality, and what genuine contemplation might look like. (52 minutes) Link





Side Roads...


Inspired by this post, Eileen and I watched the "CARS" movie tonight. My brother Mike had sent us a copy as a gift. Thanks, Bro!


One of my favorite cars was a VW Bus named Fillmore and voiced by George Carlin.





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