Everything. Especially nature, silence, music, symbolism, poetry, patterns, artwork, photography, words, numbers, colors, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, sensations, bodies, kisses, intimacy, breath, animals, children, trust, friendship, laughter, communication, truth, discipline, patience, love, and the incredible power of the imagination. And if anyone thinks this list is stupid and idealistic, I'll serve them up a flying ninja-kick to the head. ;P
You. Especially if you pay close attention to ambient sounds. Or if you have a kumquat tree in your backyard.
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Elizabeth & the Catapult
Me'Shell Ndegeocello
Doudou Ndiaye Rose
Death Cab for Cutie
Milton Nascimento
Terence Blanchard
Vinicius Cantuaria
Cassandra Wilson
Chocolate Genius
Kurt Rosenwinkel
Ornette Coleman
Hermeto Pascoal
Blonde Redhead
Martha Argerich
Toru Takemistu
Emiliana Torrini
Herbie Hancock
Caetano Veloso
Nine Inch Nails
Henri Dutilleux
Sufjan Stevens
Wayne Shorter
Busta Rhymes
Lionel Loueke
Brad Mehldau
Robert Wyatt
Rokia Traore
Danilo Perez
Nina Simone
Joni Mitchell
Damien Rice
Mark Turner
Ryan Adams
Eric Harland
Keith Jarrett
Craig Street
Aphex Twin
Aya Nishina
Jeff Buckley
Iron & Wine
Lizz Wright
Miles Davis
Shearwater
Bela Bartok
Nick Drake
DJ Shadow
Radiohead
Ben Street
The Roots
Salif Keita
Joe Henry
Ran Blake
Bill Frisell
Sigur Ros
Arvo Part
Talk Talk
Jon Brion
D'Angelo
Paul Bley
Debussy
J.S. Bach
Jay Dee
Q-Tip
Bjork
Sting
Bilal
MIA
Into the Wild
Trois Couleurs: Bleu
Trois Couleurs: Rouge
Pan's Labyrinth
Baraka
Half Nelson
Le Samourai
The Host
The Shawshank Redemption
The Sea Inside
Coming to America
Gandhi
25th Hour
City of God
The Graduate
Kama Sutra
Amelie
Broken Flowers
Spirited Away
Hotel Rwanda
Chocolat
Shrek
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Lost in Translation
The Big Lebowski
Office Space
Winged Migration
Water
Talk to Her
The English Patient...
"Little, Big"
"The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll"
"Blindness"
"Oryx and Crake"
"Narcissus and Goldmund"
"One Hundred Years of Solitude"
"The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle"
"Midnight's Children"
"My Name is Red"
"if on a winter's night a traveler..."
"The Magus"
"Lolita"
Jorge Luis Borges' "Collected Fictions"
Alice Munro's short stories
Pablo Neruda's poetry
"Letters to a Young Poet"
Gandhi, Mark Hollis, John Crowley, Sean Penn, M.C. Escher, Keith Jarrett, Pablo Neruda, Danilo Perez, Mark Wahl, Murl Allen Sanders.