Not Me

Trippers and askers surround me,

 

People I meet…the effect upon me of my early life…of the ward and city I live in…of the nation,

 

The latest news…discoveries, inventions, societies…authors old and new,

 

My dinner, dress, associates, looks, business, compliments, dues,

 

The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,

 

The sickness of one of my folks – or of myself…or ill-doing…or loss or lack of money…or depressions or exaltations,

 

They come to me days and nights and go from me again,

 

But they are not the Me myself.

 

~Walt Whitman

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ASHTANGA YOGA IN CHIANG MAI — 21ST DECEMBER 2014 TO 9TH JANUARY 2015

If you’re in Chiang Mai, Thailand over the holidays, go study Ashtanga with Liz Derow!

Share Your Gifts

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A gift isn’t fully realised until it is given away, then. Those who will not acknowledge gratitude or who refuse to labor in its service neither free their gifts nor really come to possess them.

~ Lewis Hyde, The Gift

 

Photo credit from National Geographic

Richard Freeman on Yoga and Ambition

Here’s a short interview my friend Waylon at Elephant Journal did recently at the Yoga Journal Conference in Colorado with Richard Freeman about the trap of ambition in the path of yoga.

 

Chihuly at the Denver Botanical Gardens

If you are in Denver anytime in the next few months, do yourself a favour and go see this extraordinary art exhibit by master glass blower Dale Chihuly.

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A Fantastic Resource for Learning Meditation (from Thailand)

Here in Phuket we are in the midst of an incredible retreat by luminary meditation teacher, scholar, Tibetan translator Alan Wallace. He graciously offers his teachings for free, so if you’d like to join us via podcast, go here and subscribe.

Use TP PHuket

May all beings benefit!

The Best (and Cheapest) Massage in Bangkok

A dear friend showed me this place years ago and I have been a fan ever since. You may know of the famous Wat Po massage school that trains many Thai massage therapists at their main school near the river. But fewer know about their satellite location in Sukhumvit–soi 39. Simple, clean, extremely efficient, the therapists are expert at their trade–I’ve never had a bad experience. Foot massage and “scrubbing” are on the ground floor, with upper levels reserved for full 1.5 or 2 hour Traditional Thai Massage. The rooms are pleasantly dark and airy, sparkly clean and calm. I have been known to book a taxi directly here from the airport on arrival in Bangkok. I can guarantee you will not walk out of here frazzled. The place is packed on Saturday afternoons, so book ahead.

Wat Po Massage Bangkok

Mon-Thu 09:00-24:30(L.O.22:30), Fri-Sun 10:30-01:00(L.O.23:00)

2 hour traditional Thai Massage: THB 300

1 hour foot Massage: THB 250

TEL: 02-261-0567

Expect the Unexpected

You can never really count on things going the way you think they will, but here in Crestone, you can pretty much assume things will not go the way you think. After tending my garden for several weeks this summer, here’s what August weather can look like around here:

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It definitely keeps you on your toes!

The Best Remedy I Know

Nature's Remedy

If ever the pace of life get’s you down, hurry up and take one of these…a walk in the wilderness. Nothing has the ability to renew my body and calm my mind and remind me of the preciousness of this human birth like a day in the mountains. Works every time.

A View As Vast As Space

sand dunes

“Although my view is as vast as space, when comes to the nature of actions and their consequences, I am extremely precise, like little particles of flour.” (Or sand.)

~Guru Rinpoche