"Listen, listen, listen to my heart's song...I will never forget you, I will never forsake you..." Yogananda...WoW!! It's almost 2008!!! This profile is only partially updated since started as MySpace person! Just "going with the Flow", and "Letting It BE", that's me...Attended the 11th ANNUAL YOGA JOURNAL CONFERENCE AT ESTES PARK Colorado end of September/early October, 2006!! Maybe SEE you at the 12th in 2007? (CHECK IT OUT & everythingesle AT: www.yogajournal.com). Truly Awesome! OF Course, 2007 is Here NOW, and new Events await!! Love Museums (like the Bodyworks II show, thanks Stacy, for going with me, hope you are well & happy!), walks and hikes in nature, good films, theatre and plays, eating and sharing food and good company "Food Glorious Food!" ( from musical "Oliver"?), "talk story" (share life stories and listen to others life stories). Yoga. Singing to GOD. Poetry. Travel more. Take time to "smell the roses". Saw videos on life of Swedenborg, and one on Helen Keller, very inspiring! Safe sex, but open to experimentation, and new "twists" with right partner, or possibly partners?. Interestingly find my sexual desires have increased since my wonderful sister, Mary, died of cancer, on Dec 31, 2005. I think my heightened awareness of my own mortality has contributed to this immensely. Somehow think SEX is my way to numb the pain of loss, and celebrate life in the flesh again, after seeing how quickly it can all end and just desolve before my eyes, mind. Trying to find more outlets for this desire to merge with life, and of course, women, in particular. Re-exploring my own sexuality, sense of masculine/feminine energies. Love the archetype work of Carolyn Myss , for example. Desire to find my mission, before it's too late. What am I here to do/be, before I die? What is a truly fulfilled life, and how do I live one, and who can I share it with? Actually I do drink some, but prefer finer wines, beers, Kahlua, Baileys Irish cream, Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, etc. Been wanting to check out the Mead brewery tour in Boulder with someone. Good food, good company/companionship. Miss my dog a lot, sometimes I think I'll get another, if I can get out of apt living, and have more space, with a fenced yard, etc! Love to laugh, though I may sound like "the serious type" from all my interests. ( States I've lived in include: Ohio, California, Connecticut, Alabama, Oregon, Hawaii, Texas, and COLORADO!!) Think of George Harrison . He produced some very romatic love songs, like "Something", and serious stuff like" My Guitar Gently Weeps", but also produced Monthy Python movies !! I like Paul and Ringo , too, and glad they're still around. Paul seems to be getting even better with age, like I hope to too. John and George died too young, unfortunately. John Lennon's death still seems tragic, but he did leave such a lasting legacy of music, creativity, love, inspiration, and help making it OK to be a "stay at home" Dad! Much gratitude. I have a strong interest in what may be termed "spiritual" aspect of life, always have. I've lost a lot of loved ones to death already, and it makes me want to embrace being alive ever more strongly. My mother, Regina, died when I was 12 (back in Feb, 1964 right around the time the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan). My father, Frank, died in Jan, 1976, when I was 24, the whole bicentennial year trip back then, when I had become "disillusioned with the so-called counter culture" at the time and definately didn't fit into mainstream middle class American life anymore either! My in-laws, Pat and Ed, were like second parents to me, when I married Melodie, and really adopted me into their family. Pat died in Sept, 1996, and Ed in Jan, 1998. It was very hard on me too, besides my wife, of course, and hard on our marriage. I really didn't know how to be that supportive for her. I just gave her space, too much, as it turned out, and we just drifted apart. When I was young people didn't talk about death, it was very taboo. It was just "your mother's in heaven now, so, you got to go on living, keep doing well in school, play sports, and like that." None of my teachers, coaches, parish priests, father,or family members, etc. really talked about it at all. I had to just make my own peace with God about it on my own. I ended up becoming best friends with a guy named Jim Nickel, whose Dad had died about the same time as my mother had. We never talked it about it specifically, but it was our "unspoken bound". We remained best friends for a good 12 years, or so, until a while after he got married and had a child, and stop being a high school teacher to work for NSA security branch of the US government. I'm glad people like Elisabeth Kubler Ross came along and changed all that, at least some. My sister, Mary, had some very wonderful Hospice people that helped my whole family cope with the sorrow of losing her( even in Alabama, which I know some people put the South down, but I've met some of the kindest, most loving people down South. You don't have to be a Rocket Scientist to be a good person. Give me a kind hearted Redneck over a cold hearted Intellectual anyday of the week!) " Get'er done!" if you know what I mean. May want to do Hospice work myself, even as a volunteer. Also have studied massage at the Colorado Free School and Denver School of Massage, Cortiva of Colorado, and DO want to complete training to become licensed massage therapist. Currently enrolled at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy. Want to work/play at writing again and do photography again. Done both some in my past. Had some of my poetry published. I like being involved in renewable energy products with Real Goods/Gaiam, and promoting an interest in health, fitness, yoga, conscious more ecological living with my job, but sometimes get tired of the phones, and the "business" side of it all. Recently (May 19, 2006) saw George Carlin live, and he had me laughing my ass off, and pondering all the absurdities and intensities of 21st Century living! Great show here in Denver! Attended Anusara Yoga workshop with John Friend May 20-21 (2006) which was totally awesome. I like blending the Sacred and the Profane somehow. Think Heinrich Zimmer wrote a book about that a long time again, maybe in the 60's or 70's. Not THAT long ago. Really like Kirtan singing,(singing to GOD), had some opportunities to do that more with Krishan Das visiting Boulder. Also kirtan festivals in Boulder (CO)- Thanks Jill Clements and Scott Medina! (Blessings to your upcoming marriage!), and Santala, with Benjy and Heather from the Anusara community (Spring 2006). From attending the Boulder Kirtan Festival in 2007 found myself especially connecting to the lovely, Hebrew chanting of couple , call themselves Temple. It's good to sing to GOD. Did Sufi dancing back in the 70's, might be fun to try that again too. I remember my "psychedelic" days dancing on tables, and all that stuff. Now that I'm "blogging" so much, have really cut down on the porn watching, that's a "good thing", right? Of course, have been a sports fan most of my life, like the Cleveland Browns winning the NFL Championship way back in 1964 with my heros then Jim Brown, Frank Ryan, and Gary Collins! Beating the Baltimore Colts & Johnny Unitas, 27-0! John Elway become my "instant favorite" when he refused to play in Baltimore, and came to Denver (my "adopted" hometown since 1979), and lead the Broncos to 5 Super Bowls! Of course, the Browns went to Baltimore, and did win a SuperBowl as the Ravens. Shame, shame, shame. The Cleveland Indians made it to two World Series (1995 & 1997), but alas lost both, to Atlanta, and Florida! Life goes on, there's more to it then sports (what he'd say?!!) GO CAVS!! & King James!! YES, Got past the Pistons! But not the San Antonio Spurs. Congrats to the new dominating Champions of the NBA, a la the Lakers and Bulls under Coach Jackson.
I'd like to meet:
WELCOME, Welcome, Welcome!!LOVE to hear from any and all former friends and associates. PLEASE feel free to contact me, love to know where we all ended up , after all these years!"I keep my friends eternally...some are with me now, some can't be found" Neil Young (and me2!) Also very much Welcome NEW FRIENDS!(thanks, Jenifer, for "turning me on" to this site.), to explore new dimensions in what I feel is the pivotal point in Human life on this planet, happening right now, right here, in this new Millenium, also in my own life. Can we even make another 100 years of sustainable human life, with our over consumption and self centered life styles? Survival is not enough, want to CELEBRATE, sing, dance, create music, art, make an art of my own living and loving. Let go my past (honoring it with love), but open to new beginnings. "Embrace the Whole Catastrophe". So, "Who Are You?" "Who are we underneath all this electronic media, and modern life of plastics, steel, glass, and "sound bytes/bites"?"? Someone to enjoy and celebrate the beauty & wonder of life with creatively, spontaneously! Share with someone who respects life and themselves, reasonable fit. I do yoga regularly at least 2x/week, sometimes more. Enjoy photography, but don't do it as much anymore, would like to do more again. Find some one to do photography with. Enjoyed participating in the Real Goods Solfest in Hopland, CA. in August. Gone couple times, 2003 and 2006. PLEASE Check Out: www.solarliving.org . (random aside note:I change my facial hair status from time to time. Sometimes a beard, maybe a moustache. Mostly clean shaven these days though, since, my beard has grayed so much!) Someone to share my life with more, celebrate the JOY of JUST BEING ALIVE with more. Someone who wants their whole life to be their Song to GOD! That old saying "Life is God's gift to you. You are your gift back to GOD." To be with someone to help me express the Love I have for life itself more completely, wholly, and happily. Someone who ACCEPTS me for who I AM, not wants to make me over. Someone I will accept back for who they are, and enjoy who they are, and not judge them, or try to change them either. Someone that I can grow with mutually, and encourage their own personal growth with. Of course, I want to meet GOD, but I believe I already have & am continuing to have little "glimpses" here and there of tHAT Great Divine Self/ Beauty within all living beings, and that God is winking back at me through the millions of little moments of ... AH SO...if you know what I mean. OPEN to meeting even more people who will help unlock the "jewel within my heart"! Of course, I would like to meet some so-called celebrities, like Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffet, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, the Dali Lama ( in more than just a public talk), or maybe, Deepak Chopra, or get to know John Friend of Anusara yoga more personally, but why be so "greedy" for these new "experiences"? Trungpa used to call it "spiritual materialism", always hungering for that "next fix/spiritual high" outside oneself. What could these encounters possible change , but maybe they could transform, or inspire, who I am somehow. I know some of my previous encounters have definately done so. Can/could it still happen? Isn't everyone a miracle waiting to transform, or be transformed? Is that fair though to these fellow beings to somehow expect, if I met one of them face to face they would change me essentially, or make me somehow more whole? Is that fair to expect that of anyone, really? ENJOy being the MIRACLE you already ARE! No other ingredients needed, or necessary. "Through INNOCENT EYES All Is Divine." Frederico Fellini
Music:
"What IS the SOUL of a MAN? ....Nothing but a Burning Light!" old Blues song, can someone please tell me who wrote it? Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffet, Steely Dan, BB King, Van Morrison, Eric Burdon, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Led Zepplin, Bruce Cockburn, Bruce Springsteen,Peter Gabriel, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Sting, John Fogerty, Dire Straits ( now mostly just Mark Knopfler), Talking Heads, Donovan, the WHO, Willie Nelson, Chris Isaak, Elvis!, Dave Matthews Band, Frank Sinatra, Enya, Clannad, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Robin Trower,Lou Reed, Roxy Music, Gerry Rafferty, Marvin Gaye, John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, Eddie Money, Randy Newman,the Moody Blues,Dan Fogelberg,Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Buffy St Marie, Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics, Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, CSNY, Iron Butterfly, Buffalo Springfield, Carlos Nakai,Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Warren Zevon, the Byrds, King Crimson, Emerson,Lake,and Palmer, Jennifer Warnes, the Travelling Wilburys, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo (all as "solo artists"), Peter, Paul, and Mary, Judy Collins, Phil Ochs,Tears for Fears, Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Presley, Gladys Knight, Alan Parsons Project, Dion, Sade, Miles Davis, Phahroah Saunders, Dave Mason, Steve Windwood, Traffic,the Association, Guess Who, Todd Rungren, Chicago, Mike and the Mechanics, Blood Sweat and Tears, John McLaughlin,Joe Cocker, Robbie Robertson and the Band, Johnny Rivers, Ian Anderson, Bob Seger, Jackson Browne, James Brown, Manhatten Transfer, Don McLean, Jim Croce, Steve Forbert, The Kinks and Ray Davies, Tchiakovsky, Beethoven, Bonnie Raitt, songs like "Ave Marie" and "Amazing Grace", Cat Stevens, the Yardbirds, Cream, Jim Morrison and the Doors, Janis Jolin, BLUES, Paul Simon (and Garfunkel), Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Burl Ives, Leon Redbone, Taj Mahal, Carol King, Stevie Wonder, Loreen McKenna , Sarah McLaughlin, Krishna Das, Carlos Santana, U2, Roger McGuinn,Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Iron Butterfly, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Leonard Cohen, Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors, Yanni, James Galway, the Celtic Women, Aretha Franklin, Arlo Guthrie, Hound Dog Taylor, Sacred kirtan and chanting, Paul Winter, John Denver, Aztec Two Step, Earth Wind & Fire, Gregorian chant, Kitaro, the Blues Brothers, Rod McKuen, the Kingston Trio, and lots more (long day, mind going blank) entering the Void! (I'm a big fan of the Void personally....) "...as we sail into the mystic...when that fog horn whistle blows I can hear it, but I don't have to fear it. I want to rock your gypsy soul, just like way back in the days of old, and together we will flow into the mystic..." Van Morrison
Movies:
TOTAL MOVIE LOVER! Glad Gaiam owns the "SpirituaL Cinema Circle" now too! Another reason I love where I work! Movie/DVD,"Illusion", with Kirk Douglas really touched my heart. Since love movies so much,almost too many to mention, but will mention a few. Citizen Kane, Casablanca, the Wizard of OZ, Fantasia, La Strada, It's A Wonderful Life, Braveheart, Gladiator, Outlaw Josey Wales, Ikuru, 2001:Space Odyssey, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (got to see Ken Kesey once in Boulder at Chatauqua Park Auditorium),The Big Sleep, Children Of Paradise ( a French film), Chinatown, LA Confidential, Cinema Paradiso, Dersu Uzula, Network, Wild Strawberries, East of Eden, From Here To Eternity, The Indiana Jones trilogy, Back To The Future trilogy, The Shawshank Redemption, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, The Green Mile, Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon , Bronco Billy, Gone with the Wind, China Seas (Clark Gable & Jean Harlow!), A Man For All Seasons, Forrest Gump, Grapes Of Wrath, Raging Bull, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Secondhand Lions, Easy Rider, The Natural, Harold and Maude, King of Hearts, the Miracle Worker, The Last Samurai, Syriana, Cool Hand Luke,the Misfits, Lost Horizon , The Gods Must Be Crazy I & II, the Bell Book & Candle, Vertigo, Dances with Wolves, Jeremiah Johnson, Babe (those little pig movies w/talking animals!), the original King Kong, Son of King Kong, the Japanese Godzilla movies ( and tv satire show" Mystery Theatre 3000"), the older Wolfman movies with Lon Chaney, Jr. , Young Frankenstein, the first Star Wars (lost interest after the first 3 ), China Syndrome, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Masked & Anonymous, Tuesdays With Morrie, Night On Earth, Lolita, Gigi, DR Strangelove, Blade Runner, Finding NEVERLAND, Pirates of the Caribbean, some Disney And Pixar movies like Beauty and the the Beast, The Lion King, Snow White and the 7 Drawfs, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Monsters INC!, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and others, and many, many more, too many to list right now! Recently saw "The Motorcycle Diaries", really enjoyed that, it ignited my "youthful indignation" over the injustice of the world, the unfairness of life, which even at being over 50, is not that far from the exterior/interior surface of my life. I feel that aging is like those nesting dolls. Every decade/year contains the previous, like shells of an egg, hopefully one that is awakening! "Beauty is Truth, and Truth is Beauty, this is all and all one needs to know." Keats, right? Also finally saw that old movie from 1972, called "Brother Sun, Sister Moon", about St Francis and St Claire, who founded the Franciscan order (and had the music sung by Donovan, another of my favorites, as I mentioned before about my dog I believe? (my basset hound, Gertie Hazel) I used to sing "Hurdy Grudy Man/Girl to her a lot while rubbing her tummy!) I did some meditating like Jesus on that one (just spontaneous tears flowing down my face). Enjoy a well done sci-fi, or horror movie from time to time, but tend to prefer lighter fair. Romantic comedies can be all right, but have to be well done to really connect with. Of couse, a really good detective, or murder/mystery movie is probably my favorite. Take like "The Postman Always Rings Twice", both the original w/Lana Turner and James Garfield, and the remake with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. Sizzling stuff! Couple women I met this year both thought I looked liked the actor , Richard Dryfuss ,one when he was in "Mr Holland's Opus", and another, from when he was in , "Always", interesting, huh? (both movies, by the way, I really did enjoy when I saw them, imagine I still would...)Wim Wenders "Wings Of Desire", and the American remake with Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan. I enjoy comedies alot too, like Office Space, the Big Lebowski, KingPin, Something About Mary, Napolean Dynamite, Galaxy Quest, Caddy Shack, Groundhog Day, Dumb and Dumber, all those great Monthy Python movies ,like "the Holy Grail", and "the Life of Brian"...but of course, Peter Sellers and the movies he was in, like "Being There" and "the Magic Christian", and all those "Pink Panther " movies...also, being from Cleveland, and an old Indians baseball fan, "Major League" for a light comedy I can still laugh to!... and a variety of ones too numerous to list here, I can just laugh and enjoy laughing...
Television:
Watch PBS mostly, (check out show called "Beyond Theology"!) since don't currently have cable TV. But YES, I do watch "GHOST Whisperer", I confess! It's better than I thought it would be. The new Jeff Goldblum detective show, "Raines" IS PRETTY COOL TOO! Though I think it went off the air right away, haven't seen it for quite awhile, too bad. Still a huge detective show fan, like MONK, and that newer one called , LIFE. Enjoy some of the Frontline shows. Bill Moyers' "On Faith and Reason" is really good series! Very diverse. Of course, enjoy Bill Moyer's "Journal" often as well. Enjoyed on PBS, "How Art Made The World". Like shows on world art in general, if well made. PBS usually does it right. Especially like the Music shows like "NO Direction Home" about Bob Dylan, by Martin Scorcese, or the 6 part Blues specials he did with different directors. Love the Celtic Women shows. Big Bruce Springsteen fan, as well. Love the live shows of his have seen. Also watch some of the inspirational shows that Wayne Dyer does, or others like him. Love the travel shows, like the ones Rick Steves does, or Lonely Planet. Longtime big fan of Bill Moyers stuff in general. Loved his "Power Of Myth" with Joseph Campbell, and other specials he has done on the Men's Movement, poetry, alternative healing, and of course he started the news show "NOW", which has a new , younger host currently. Well don't have cable, but when did really liked the tv detective/comedy show, MONK. Now I watch it on DVD (thank GOD for Netflix and Blockbuster!!)Also enjoyed The Chris Isaak Show when it was on Showtime.I do enjoy sports, so, will watch baseball, football, hockey, basketball, but not as much as did when was younger. Lately I just like watching dvds on my tv mostly. Do enjoy comedy from guys like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Ernie Kovacs, Lenny Bruce, Gene Wilder, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Buck Henry , Albert Brooks, Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Billy Crystal, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Will Farrell, Owen Wilson. Grew up on Johnny Carson, (some of these guys are better known for movies than TV, but love comedy)up to the present,including Dave Chappell ( "keeping it real"). Sometimes I have had cable, but mostly I haven't over the years. I really like that show "My Name Is Earl" with Jason Lee, Jaime Pressley, and an all round good supporting cast, don't know all the actors, actresses names...but it's hilarious. I love the way this guy,Earl, is trying to "get his life right" and "clean up all his bad karma". Do "that whole Robin Hood, Batman, Jesus thing" like his ex-wife, Joy says. It's so American and funny, but delves into the deep issues of what karma is all about, in such a light, playful, and gentle, and down-to-earth "real way", it's GREAT! There's a lot of truth in the various stories,and Earl learns along the way, but it's so damn funny! I love it, how it all unfolds. Kinda like real life does somehow someway! Also have gotten into some Reality TV shows, in particular "INXS: Rock Star", and "Last Comic Standing", and in both the guys I were "rooting for" couple times, ended up WINNING! Do sometimes watch The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad. DO enjoy cartoon satire very much of our American way of life! Being a Colorado person, must admit, I do sometimes watch South Park, as well. If I'm up late, I sometimes watch the Craig Ferguson Late Late Show after Letterman, I think he's pretty funny, and like the humorous ways he interviews people. Also watch Joel Osteen Ministries, and use to watch Robert Schuller and his Crystal Cathedral programs. "FIND a HURT, and HEAL IT. Find a NEED, and FILL IT." Inspiration comes from everywhere! GOD IS GREAT! Old TV shows used to like, where ones like "Quantum Leap", and "Highway To Heaven", too. Also one on HBO called "Dream ON". As a kid, was a big "The Fugutive" fan. Also of "Outer Limits", and "The Twilight Zone." Of course, there was "the Ed Sullivan Show", and "Wonderful World of Disney" growing up, and all those old westerns, like "Wagon Train", "Maverick", etc., and detective shows like "Columbo" and "Rockford Files"... Really liked the old Jackie Gleason show as a kid, and Frank Fontaine, the singer, "Hello Joe, Hello Mr Dunaheee", and loved those June Taylor dancers. WoW! Not to forget, Rocky and Bullwinkle and the Three Stooges, for helping me get through my childhood! How can I forget "The Smothers Brothers Show"! Great stuff, at the time. Big fan of the X-Files, of course during the 90's...and does anybody still remember "The Dobie Gillis Show" ?? With Bob Denver as Maynard G Krebs! "WORRRRKKK!" (Wow, I've watched way too much TV in my life!) Does anyone remember "My Favorite Martian" with Ray Walston and Bill Bixby?? (Bill's pre-Hulk days on TV!)And what about all those Mini-series for TV?? Like "Lonesome Dove", "Into the West", "Gulliver Travels", or "The Thornbirds" ? Or way back to "ROOTS", or on PBS Bergman's "Scenes from A Marriage". HEY, let's not forget RADIO! Like Garrison Keillor's "Prairie HOME Companion", a true American classic!! Or listening to sporting events on the radio, like baseball games, football games, hockey, or basketball, etc. Something special & exciting about listening to a game this way...Yes, the Media has definately influenced my life!! ( Marshall McLuhan, not withstanding!)
Books:
Poetry of Rumi and Hafiz. Recently listened to Robert Thurman on the Wisdom Jewel Tree of Tibet. Fantastic stuff! (I'm definately a "books on tape" kinda guy). Enjoy book about Mid Life Choices from David Whyte from Sounds True been listening to. Classic "Saviours of God" by Nikos Kazantakis ( he wrote "Zorba the Greek", and "The Last Temptation of Christ" also.) Recently read "Anam Cara: Celtic Wisdom", and finishing up "Broken Open". Thanks, Amy, for sharing these books with me to help in my healing from my sister, Mary's, death. Also really liked "The 5 People You Meet IN Heaven". My sister , Mary gave me that, as a birthday present back in October, 2004. Also liked the movie version, with Jon Voight in it. Think it was one of those Hallmark specials for TV, or maybe it was just a major network production, but it was well done. Remember "What is essential to life, is invisible to the eye." from The Little Prince! "ANYWAY: The Paradoxical Commandments" by Kent M. Keith (given to me by an old friend, Dan). Solar Living Source Book 30th Anniversary edition (came out August 2007!). I like listening to recorded programs (books on tape), and CD, or DVD on a lot of topics from Nightingale Conant, Sounds True, Gaiam/Living Arts, and other sources. So, I sometimes listen to books on tape more than I read them. Recently now , "The Little Book of Bleeps: Ponder These For Awhile!" quotations from the movie, like "Asking yourself these deeper questions opens up new ways of being in the world. It brings in a breath of fresh air. It makes life more joyful. The real trick to life is not to be in the know, but be in the mystery." Fred Alan Wolf, PhD....I also liked reading Franny and Zooey back in high school. Remember, "The fat lady is Christ!", as Seymour told them. I try to remember that in doing my customer service work as a selfless service/seva/karma yoga. CHECK OUT: Lester Brown's ECO-ECONOMY and PLAN B books.Have enjoyed writings & programs of Meher Baba, Ram Dass, Earl Nightingale, Napolean Hill, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Stuart Wilde, Denis Waitley, Tony Robbins, Mike Wickett, Krishnamurti, Andrew Harvey, Huston Smith, John David's Whole Brain training, Jacob Bronowski's "The Ascent of Man" (actually was a PBS TV series narrated by Anthony Hopkins!)did have a companion book though!, Jed & Carlin Diamond,Nasrudin, Attar, Hermann Hesse, Dick Sutphen, Louise L Hay, Sondra Ray, Pema Chodron, Lama Surya Das, Tara Brach, Alan Watts, Wilhelm Reich, Ken Keyes, Ken Cohen, Ken Wilber, Matthew Fox, Emmett Fox, Shakti Gawain, Brother Charles, Stephen Covey, Robert Allen, Robert Johnson, James & Dorothy Fadiman, Deepak Chopra, Og Magdino,Don Miquel Ruiz, Thich Nhat Hanh, James Finley, Stan Grof, Claudio Naranjo, Shiva Rea, RD Laing, Jules Verne, HG Wells, Fritz Perls, Carl Rogers, Wayne Dyer, Coach John Wooden, Meister Eichart, Lex Hixon, Thomas Merton, amongst others...always looking for a deeper connection to Inter Being-ness, while still in this life form! I do like Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" too. Had the "Work is love made visible" part read at my wedding, with some Rumi quotes like "there are communions between us that will never be known by anyone..." Really liked Jack London's "Call Of The Wild" as a young boy. The dog I had,we got a couple months before my mother died, Trojan, was my first "soulmate" dog companion during my teenage years. He "ran away from home" shortly after I left Cleveland to "go away to college" at the Univ of Dayton. I don't know if he went looking for me, or what, but after a month, or so, of being away at college I hitch-hiked back home to visit, and my brother told me he was gone , that they let him out one night and he didn't come back that night, or in the morning, they looked over the whole neighborhood and never found him. Of course, loved Sherlock Holmes books, stories from when I first read them at about age 10. Biographies of people like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Geronimo, I really liked too, growing up. Have always felt a strong connection to the the Native American Indian culture. Also like reading plays sometimes, besides attending live theatre, or seeing it on TV. Of course, Shakespeare, or Tennessee Williams, or even have seen so-called "modern or experimental" theatre from time to time. But of course, Dr Seuss! "OH the Place You Will Go!" and so many more!
Heroes:
Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Rumi, Lao Tse, St Francis, Thich Nhat Hanh, Sir Thomas Moore (spell?), the Dali Lama, Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Robert F Kennedy, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King JR, Vincent Van Gogh, Thomas Jefferson, Michelangelo, Monet,Leonardo Da Vinci, Gallileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Ted Turner, Copernicus, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, Jonas Salk, Thomas Edison, John Glenn, Christopher Reeve, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Louis Pasteur, William Blake, Alexander Graham Bell, Helen Keller, Victor Frankl, Jesse Owens, Lance Armstrong, Cal Ripken, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Jim Brown, John Elway, Madame Curie, Ram Dass, Bob Dylan (he once said "Art/music was the perpetual motion of illusion." WoW!), Bruce Springsteen, Franlin D Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein,and lots of everyday heroes, like some doctors, nurses, emts, firemen, policemen, teachers, people like that. I just can't help it, I always root for the underdog, and the triumph of the Human Spirit against adversity. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio afterall, and my mother died when I was 12 years old, I've identified with the "underdogs of the world" early on, and to this very day . So, I believe in all the "unsung heros", the caregivers of this world that help hold it all together. All the artists and musicians who enliven us with their art, awakening our hearts, minds, eyes, ears, senses to the beauty that is all around us! The scientists and researchers who find cures for illness, and help heal the many afflictions of our bodies, minds, heats, souls. The true spiritually awakened beings who with a touch, a glance, a word, a gesture, can bring new vision and empower us! My mother, Regina, and sister, Mary, who both taught me so much about the beauty of life, and Living It Well, no matter what happens to you,with humor, grace, and love. All those people who make the world more BEAUTIFUL with their being here. I do admire many talented actors and actresses, and musicains, and atheletes, but not always. Some may be specially gifted in one area of life, but not be very well rounded people over all, and really get "worshipped" in our culture beyond their actual contribution to the betterment of the human condition overall. Though I have often been inspired by great athletic performances, especially when I was a younger man. Even most recently by the amazing RED Sox comeback against the Yankees, when they were down 3 games to zero, and came back and won 4 straight, then swept the Cardinals in the World Series, winning 8 huge games in a row! I admire that quality of a TEAM accomplishing something like that. I feel it gives hope for humanity on a larger scale, that if we can learn to work better as teams to create SOLUTIONS for all the world's problems, just "Imagine" what we could create? The older I get though the less I have actors or sports figures as heros, or musicians. I practically worshipped the Beatles and Rolling Stones as a teenager! I still appreciate them and their music, but not as big as some other folks I've become more aware of as I have aged, like RUMI. "Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, come join us, no matter how many times you have fallen, or broken your vows..."
