I know only this...

Soon I will be back on the road heading towards Nevada. I have had much time to reflect and to see my most beautiful Jane. I am almost fully healed physically and am happy to report I am wearing sandals again. When you drop your arch you can't wear sandals for those of you wondering what sandals has to do with anything : ) I have found that the ability to look at the world through panoramic glasses can change your life! This is no joke if there was only one peace of advice I could give before I die it would be to breath (practice pranayama: google it if you need to : ) ) If there where two it would be the first one and to learn to see through panoramic glasses. Both of which can change your life and the ways you see your environment. So by this point some of you are saying what the hell is this guy talking about panoramic glasses, I will explain. Panoramic glasses are as simple as they sound : ) It is when you allow yourself to look at everything in your field of vision, just allow your eyes to open so that you see your normal field of view and your peripherals at the same time. Go ahead give it a try. Ok now we have all practiced panoramic viewing for our first time. Next time you feel upset, or you can't remember something, or even when you are just relaxing try putting on your panoramic glasses and see how you feel. For those of you who really want to feel great try putting the #1 and the #2 together. It will change your life! And change is ____ good : ) Lets all say it together Change is ____ good : ) Ahh we just started a little shift in consciousness. Ok enough preaching. I will be working my way to Burning Man soon. I will let you know as I continue on in my journey. I am sorry that we (the writers) have been slacking. The life we lead doesn't always allow for computer breaks.
Love Peace and Chicken Greece,
Dr. Avatar

Long ago I rambled questions about what I was to be
a writer a teacher a hollywood preacher, a doctor a lawyer the next tom sawyer.
But all along I would always know the answer to my rambling soul.
It was no doctor preacher or teacher that would guide me deeper and deeper.
It was something more then I care to admit the thing glowing as i sit.
upon a rock in a beautiful pond where I longed to be all along.
I wished for light upon my eyes not the kind you see on the first try
on and on it would go; until no longer i would know; the answer to my rambling soul.
because within me it would beat just as clearly I could see.
A prisoner of my conquered dreams left to question what is me.
I know only this and its what i'll say
when all roads have been traveled only god knows the way

Surfing with Blue Whales

Today was a day that was worth an entry all in itself, so here goes. I woke up for a little bit of a late breakfast up at the ranch house. All the guests of the b&b had already left for the day, and business was getting back to usual. Doug, Brian and I made plans to find and kill the deer with the gimp leg and turn it into jerky for our trip to Montana. Then we were going to finish putting up the tin on the wall of the barn, and then Brian and I were going to go surfing. After cruising around for an hour in the farms 4x4 gator drinking warm Coors light we accomplished only discovering that the deer had healed its leg, and deciding that we really no longer had a good reason to kill it for jerky. Besides, we still had the llama, which tastes delicious with some good seasoning. Then, we discovered that there were no tin snips with which to cut the tin for the barn siding, and that Brian would have to pick up a pair on our way to the surf spot, so we headed out. The spot we were headed for was a semi-secret cove a mile away from the most northwestern point of the United States, in Wanasuke Bay(probably misspelled, I'll look into it). From the white sandy beach you could look out over the water, which turned slowly from crystal clear sky blue to a deep dark ocean blue all the way to Canada. This was cool, because at least now I've seen Canada, even if I haven't gotten my passport stamped yet. We spent the better part of the day going back and forth between catching waves, and laying on the beach watching a young bald eagle swoop around the point. At one point, we noticed a large plume of water shooting upwards, and as we pointed and wondered, there was another plume, and a giant blue whale fin came gliding out of the water. It repeated this process for a few minutes, then disappeared once more to the depths, leaving us both with huge grins on our faces. We returned home to a farm feast of roast beef, mashed potatoes, peas, fresh steamed cabbage, and rice, with a couple of strawberry rhubarb pies that finished cooling as we finished eating. Brian and I forgot the tin snips, but it didn't matter because one of Doug's friends had come by to hang out for the afternoon, and had had a pair in his car, so we just made a bonfire and sat around it digesting for a few hours. Pretty damn much livin "the Good Life." Now, i am exhausted, and I am going to crawl into my hammock. Goodnight. oh, and pictures to come, sorry.

Post Summit

Sorry everyone, that it has been so long since the last post. I ended up spending an entire week up at Horning's Hideout, dancing and recycling and making friends. Right now, I am at the Hoh Humm Bed and Breakfast Ranch somewhere in the middle of coastal Washington. In the last week now, I've seen Yonder play 9 hours, including a 22 musician super jam, I've helped sort the recycling and trash for some 2000 hippies, I've gotten laid, I've built a barn door, and I've finally learned how to slaughter an animal and turn it into meat and supplies, all without a dollar in my pocket. Pretty much just L-I-V-I-N! Horning's Hideout, for those of you that don't know, is maybe the coolest concert venue in the country. And you guys know how much I love Red Rocks. I heard Bob Horning called "the last great American Man," and he decided to turn his families land into a sort of outdoor paradise. I think the property is somewhere around 100 acres of Oregon forest, 25 minutes west of Portland. There are lakes, streams, what is soon to be the largest Frisbee-golf course in the country, and 88 peacocks wandering around peacocking at you. There is also a big, bad-ass stage that was built entirely of logs harvested from the property and probably 50 perfect campsites cleaned out. You owe it to yourself to go out and see this place, whoever you are. A quick note to all you Colorado folk, there is a Swedish string band coming through in the next few weeks called the Abalone Dots, find out where they are playing and go see them, they are incredible, and beautiful. Anyway, the "plan" right now is to hang out up here at the ranch until Monday or Tuesday when we will be heading for Portland for a night, then Montana to go hop on the festival circuit for a few weeks, including a two night Dark Star show at some clothing-optional hot springs at the mouth of Glacier National Park. Sounds interesting, right? After that, maybe I'll actually make it up into Canada, or maybe just head back to Colorado for a minute for the Yonder Red Rocks show, and then Burning Man, and then...(?) Sorry also that this post feels so disjunctive. I have finally really gotten into the moment, and have been living here perpetually for the last few weeks, and its cool, but my concept of time has been completely thrown off-kilter. Being out at the ranch doesn't help either (or maybe it does) because time just generally seems to move slower out here. Once you get the chores done for the day, there is really nothing to do but find ways to entertain yourself. Thanks again to everyone that reads this, and enjoy your summers. Go have yourself an adventure and remember, "What the hell kind of an adventure is a straight line?"

Exploration... Internal or External?

It has been some time since I have posted. I have been spending a lot of time contemplating my journey. Questions like; am I on the right path; am I doing this for the correct reasons; The answer is always yes and no. I have found myself in the midst of a very real question, one that man has been asking himself whether he knows it or not for all eternity. "Is it the path of inner exploration that truly defines our understanding of the outside world, or is it the exploration of the outside world that truly defines our understanding of the inside world?".
I have been spending hours in meditation and asana practice and have been truly listening to my body. I am still here in Massachusetts after almost three weeks. I was supposed to be in Canada five days after I arrived here, which brings me to the question of why I am still here. I arrived here with the utmost intention on leaving and yet am still here.
When I left Colorado to begin this journey I left with a bum foot and a very cheap poorly made backpack. I had grand plans of how I would live off only what the forest provided. I would fully remove myself from a system that in most ways is built of sweat and debt. Instead I found myself living off of others charity, this was not the plan and a partial reason for my decision to leave home. I am now around 6000 miles in to my journey and it brings me back to the Berkshires.
A little history of the Berkshires, it was the spiritual practicing grounds for the Mohican Indians, then after steeling there land it became the spiritual practicing grounds for the Jesuit monks, then after a fire and to big of a debt for the Jesuits to pay it was bought by Amrit Dasai one of the spiritual leaders of the 20th century. The point I am trying to make is that this land has been the conduit of spiritual practice since man lived on it. There are lightning storms here that you would think only exist on a movie set, and a energy that runs through it that can't be explained. I am now here again and finding my spiritual practice, the thing I hold most important over any travel destination or any person. So yet again I repeat the question "Is it the path of inner exploration that truly defines our understanding of the outside world, or is it the exploration of the outside world that truly defines our understanding of the inside world?"
I have chosen to spend some time here rooting into the ground and reentering myself. This is not a choice that I came to easily. I had to look at the signs that are constantly being put in my path. I have a foot that I can barely walk on and as a result am having touble in my lower back from over compinsation. I am barely able to support my backpack and am being offered many oppurtunities here to grow my practice and to teach others what I have learned so far. I feel that this is truly the best choice for me at the current time. I leave the question that I have said twice already to each of you who read this and would love to hear your responses through comment.
"Is it the path of inner exploration that truly defines our understanding of the outside world, or is it the exploration of the outside world that truly defines our understanding of the inside world?"
I ask this question with open ears to anything anyone has to say. I will write more soon as my journey progresses.

"Though I may not have traveled as far and wide as some, my journey has been my own"

Rocky Mountain High

Gunnison County is an amazing place. It is also a place where even the most thought out plans change in the blink of an eye, so hold onto your hat when you get here. My plan was to roll through Gunnison, see part of my family, then head up to Crested Butte to see the rest of it. I was planning on blowing in on a breeze, giving the few that mean the most to me a good hug, then riding the wind back down to Gunni for the evening. The next morning I was going to head out of town toward Grand Junction where I was going to hop on a freight train through the Rocky Mountains and the desert out to the coast, where my thumb would get me the rest of the way to Portland. Now, when I say hold on to your hat coming to Gunnison, you had better hold on to your face when you roll into Crested Butte, especially if you have any gypsy in you. I should have known what was coming when it took me longer to find a ride out of Gunnison than it had to find a ride all the way there from Denver. Much love to Carol for the smooth sailing all the way to Monarch pass. But like I said, I got to Gunni, and life just moves slower. So slow in fact, that I had to end up taking the free bus up to the Butte because my thumb just wasn't cutting it anymore. A few hours later, the tribe had been assembled, and we headed to the bar for "just one drink." Famous last words, I know. So after a beautiful CB sunrise, I headed back down to Gunnison to see the people I had missed by not making it back the night before. My ride was in the "Pimpin Purple Pirate Party Palace with advanced Powers of Police Protection." The lovely captain Jessica, and her badass dog Jackson had just gotten back into town in their sweet new gypsy van, and were heading out to the lake before finding somewhere "permanent" to park their new home. I was going to spend one more night in Gunnison, and then continue on to Grand Junction on Sunday instead. It is now Tuesday, and I am still here. Maybe I just got "Gunnied" or something, but I woke up Sunday morning having had strange dreams, decided not to listen to them, and hit the road. I didn't even make it to the hitching post before I started getting bad vibes, and after a half an hour with my thumb out, I decided to listen to my gut. I had found a ride the night before in the Butte that was leaving for Portland on Wednesday, and had decided not to take it because i didn't want to spend that long in town. As it turned out, my "little sister" had thrown her back out that day at work, and needed a nurse to take care of her for the next couple, so it's a good thing I stayed. I am getting in a car headed for the Summit tomorrow, so that is great, and then I think I'll head north into British Colombia, maybe Alaska, maybe somewhere else, I'm kind of over trying to make predictions, so we'll all just kind of find out together...

somewhere 'round 10k miles so far...

Well, I made it back to Colorado. I will be in Denver for about 8 hours, which I will spend sleeping, and then back straight onto the road towards Gunnison and then Portland, OR. The drive cross-country went totally smooth, with the exception of a speeding ticket in smelly Ohio (the whole midwest is so totally worthless...) Not much else to report on yet, but i felt like updating. We did pick up a hitchhiker along the way, which was cool. I think he was a little bit of a wingnut, or maybe just not all there in the head, but he was friendly enough, so right on. We dropped him off in Lincoln, NE, another totally worthless place, and made it the rest of the way from Indiana. The good 'ol bible belt, choking the country to death with "good" intentions. That's all for now, but there is much much more to come...
In a nomadic lifestyle, the nomad is sustained by his travels.
He is an expert at adaptation and tends to carry everything he needs
with him, always.

The nomadic life is a constant search, relentlessly seeking the best
experience. A strange appeal of this, however, deals with confronting
something we all meet at some time: death.
Throughout human history, the owl has been recognized as a symbol of
dread, knowledge, wisdom and death. Our Nomad has come to a point
in his journey in which he is face to face with the owl.
Is he there to gain wisdom? Is he about to die?
Just another affair in the quest for the best life...we all have them,
some of us just don't see them.
What is your inner nomad seeking? Find it. that was in an e-mail i just got about one of Icelantic's new badass ski's, thought it was fitting. if you ski, check these out, they are FUCKING SICK!!!!!

Some thoughts on love and life...

It's strange, the way things work out sometimes. The things you think are so important one day are nothing but memories the next, and doors you thought closed long ago come swinging open out of nowhere and smack you right in the face. After another week in New York, I am finally heading back west. I spent the 4th of July on top of a roof watching the sunset and the fireworks with my best friend. The city rolled out from us in every direction, and you could feel the life teeming through it, shooting electricity through the cool summer night. I made more friends in central park, some awesome travelers that were about a decade further into their journeys. There is a little bit of New York in my blood now, I think maybe there always has been, and the city will always own a little piece of my soul. Just like the madness of civilization makes me yearn for wide open, quiet places, sometimes the quiet makes me yearn for a little chaos. The mountains are calling to me now though, and I will run to them in the morning. The more I travel and live, the more I see the beauty in every person. We are all just humans, trying to find happiness, and if you smile back at the person flipping you off, you make the world a better place, in your own little way. If everyone that reads this could please do me one little favor and smile at the next stranger they see, it would be awesome. I love my life, and I hope you all love yours just as much.

Your eyes shine like the sun
Peeking out from stormy skies
The memory of your kiss
lightens my heart and my path
Shining in the dark like the North Star.
I love you so much.