Spirit Quests

One of the ways I seek discernment is to enlist the insights of psychic mediums. Never taking their words as “absolute truth,” I would glean messages that spoke to my experience and inner spirit. In this way, my intuition was connecting to a transcendent Spirit. This process would often serve as a guide along my life journey.

This process took me on a personal and transformative year-long journey that began in June 2022 and continues to this moment.

I share this story for a variety of reasons: (1) As a part of my transformative process, (2) to encourage others to seek to connect with an inner process and transcendent presence, (3) to offer my experience as a portal into psychic and mediumship phenomenon for those who have not had this experience.

Along with a friend, Elaine created this video for a panel discussion on the intergenerational effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was held on April 11th.

CLICK HERE FOR ELAINE’S VIDEO

All images are original artwork and photography by Elaine Chan-Scherer and from Elaine's family archives. Music copyright Dionne Kohler "Beloved," 2024, "The Sun Rose," 2019, www.spiralmuse.band.

The full program, “What’s Your Real Name?”, can be seen from the link below. It was held on April 11th at the Clarion Performing Arts Center in Chinatown, SF. It featured an exciting intergenerational discussion about the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the historical political, and social context of our times which contributed to the formation of our identities.

CREATED IN 2019, “DEAR —” IS A LIVING ARCHIVE OF LETTERS & A CHAPBOOK ADDRESSING THEMES OF JUSTICE, ART-MAKING, AND INTERGENERATIONAL HEALING. GROUNDED IN EXPERIENCES OF THE WWII-ERA INCARCERATION OF THE JAPANESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY, “DEAR—” IS CURATED BY BRYNN SAITO IN COLLABORATION WITH DENSHO.

Densho, a Seattle-based grassroots organization, is dedicated to preserving, educating, and sharing the story of World War II-era incarceration of Japanese Americans in order to deepen understandings of American history and inspire action for equity. “Dear—” was also produced with the support of the Santa Fe Art Institute and the College of Arts and Humanities at California State University, Fresno.

Brynn Saito (she/her), MA, MFA, is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Under a Future Sky (Red Hen Press, 2023). A 2023 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellow, Brynn is the winner of the Benjamin Saltman Award and a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. Brynn also co-authored with Traci Brimhall the poetry chapbook, Bright Power, Dark Peace (Diode Editions, 2016). She teaches in the Creative Writing program at California State University, Fresno, located on the traditional lands of the Yokuts and Mono peoples. Brynn is coediting with Brandon Shimoda an anthology of poetry written by descendants of the Japanese American/Nikkei incarceration, forthcoming in 2025 from Haymarket Books.

As an architect, graphic designer, modeler, storyteller, webmaster, and builder, I bring to life the mythic world of Cyclops. In plays, graphic novels, and architectural designs, an inner reality quite different from what we see takes shape in his presentation, The Shaman’s Doorway.

Framed as guided imagery, a story unfolds suggesting a way out of our present psychological and environmental deception––a tale that calls us back to hunter-gatherer basics, engagement with plant pharmacology, and the re-invention of Family to reconnect the circuit in our brain designed for play.

Presented as Fluxus Art, twelve video clips create a narrative that centers on expanding consciousness through family, education, and psychedelics. They describe a personal path of liberation that illustrates the pitfalls of political leadership and the possibility of a type of liberation that does not require leaders.

Don’s most recent piece is on “Futuristic Architectual Hospitality.” - CLICK HERE!