Hi Friends - It’s been two weeks here at Diamond Mountain University and high time I told you what’s going on. In short, nothing. Rather, emptiness. That’s the operative word. Everyone around here is working to see it, or not see it, as the case may be. There’s an old debate about whether we can see something that doesn’t exist. The idea is that emptiness does exist, but it has no qualities of its own. It’s free of qualities. A qualityless quality. People spend their lives pursuing it and debating it. Most of the people here are doing just that. Some [View Full Entry]

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After 800 miles on the road, I arrived in Bowie (pronounced BOO’wee) to the sight of a man pissing in his front yard. I couldn’t help but look twice, upon which he waved, in a way that suggested I join him. Instead, I continued past broken down cars, decrepit buildings and closed businesses. Bowie looks a lot like other rural American towns slipping into economic oblivion. Granted, that is just a first impression and the town no doubt has a lot to love about it. Including being home to many dedicated servants of Diamond Mountain University, the 1000 acres of yurts [View Full Entry]

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I just got out of the hot tub. And I’m writing from my room where someone painted clouds on the light blue walls, the carpet is a southwest geometrical print and outside my window are displayed skulls, feathers, handpainted signs on slabwood and a prayer flag quoting the Bhagavad-Gita. There’s poetry stapled to the walls and tourists have written messages on rocks and glued them to the windowsill. Not bad for day one of what is to be a five week retreat in the Arizona desert. Okay, granted, I’m not actually IN Arizona, but I’m getting closer. I logged 550 miles [View Full Entry]

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I love a heavy snowfall. Not just because of the beauty of a thick white blanket, but because all the normal social rules take a holiday. For once, people loosen the buckles of their straitjackets and relate like the loving humans they really are. Despite the dire warnings issued on the TV news, the two feet of snow that hit Denver this week built more community than a month’s worth of ‘Holiday Festivals.’ It seems that when the mittens go on, the facades come off. Around here, we built community one snowshovel-full at a time. “Why are you shoveling way up [View Full Entry]

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It’s been a whirlwind of whacky these days. A lot of it revolves around the teacher training and my new roommate. I’ve mentioned Liyang before. She’s the office assistant to John Bentham the program manager and we sit next to each other when I am in the office. She recently needed a place to live and since I have a second bedroom that seems to get few visitors (yes, you) I offered it to her. Her aunt and 80-something granddad (armed with digital camera and cell phone) helped move her stuff, not allowing me to help. “So what do they think [View Full Entry]

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Welcome back "Mom's Romance" the serialized story of my mother's life with my dad. We return to our hero as she takes another step on her danger-filled journey to (cue tympany) "Meet the Parents!" (screams). Enjoy - John Italics)Mac has his arm around me. He is proud of me, and he knows I am making a wonderful first impression on his parents. He knows they will love me and want me to become part of their family. I step forward to accept their welcoming smiles and embraces.(End Italics) This is the daydream I hope will come true this weekend in the [View Full Entry]

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Sometimes I have to take a minute and acknowledge that I am in China. And all that means. Good and bad. Here are some short stories to give you an inkling. How it is - Helpfulness I’m standing stone silent in the elevator, that awkward quiet that two strangers make when stuffed in a small space together for a few long moments. I take a chance. After all, she’s a woman and will know something about what I am going to ask. “Excuse me” I say, “you know this place I buy this thing?” She gives me the look I [View Full Entry]

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Two weeks ago my uncle Fred died. Then my dog Tosha followed. And right after, Ray, a yoga teacher friend went as well. There’s been a whole lot of impermanence going on. Surprisingly, it was the loss of my dog that hit me hardest. The news came in an email and lucky for me, I was at home so I could let the tears flow in private. It signaled the closing of another chapter of my Alaska life. The message came from Sven and Laura who told me that it was time to help Tosha move to the next plane. She [View Full Entry]

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Now that my body hair is growing back, it is high time I told you the story of my close shave. Let me dash off this next entry. There is a certain anxiety one feels when a stranger is taking a straight razor across the back of one’s knees. But I knew going into this project that I would be walking into uncharted territory. It was a good opportunity to breathe. My first clue should have come when I was calling around the city trying to find a spa that one, had English-speaking receptionists, two accepted male clients and three, would [View Full Entry]

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It’s Dog Days in Delaware and I hear it’s been hot. All across the East Coast, of both continents. It’s been toasty warm here in Shanghai and I’ll use this occasion to pass on a few tips I have picked up from observing the locals. When both the heat and humidity reach the 90s, much of local life gets lived on the streets. Not that people don’t have air conditioning, but for those on a fixed income, electricity is one of the easiest places to save a few quai and the chances of catching a breeze are higher outside than in. [View Full Entry]

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