November 2016 Gujarat and Rajasthan, India “Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.” Mark Twain “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” C.S. Lewis “The ''kingdom of Heaven'' is a condition of the heart -not something that comes ''upon the earth'' or ''after death.''” Nietzsche How often are our experiences of the manifested world, both natural and man-made, an es... read more

October 6th2016 Lambri Mountain, Inner Seraj Valley, Himachal Pradesh The choices we make lead up to actual experiences. It is one thing to decide to climb a mountain. It is quite another to be on top of it. Herbert A. Simon Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. Theodore Roethke We are as the flute, and the music in us is from thee; we are as the mountain and the echo in us is from thee. Rumi It's early morning, 5am. The man has woken at his usual time and sits (zazen) for an hour. Usually he would then take his time over chai before his daily hatha yoga, but he knows the kid is next door keen to get ... read more

Sojha, Inner Seraj Valley, Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh INDIA Aug 15th 2016 If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade Tom Peters Where ever I am I always find myself looking out the window wishing I was somewhere else Angelina Jolie Mistakes are the portals of discovery James Joyce Keep passing the open windows Queen song (and used in Hotel New Hampshire... John Irving) Look. Tradies don't always get much attention in travel blogs. Well? Herein an attempt to amend all that disregard with a yarn about a man, a house, a mountain, a window, and a carpenter. All non-tradies take note to not take note. As mentioned two blogs back, I was in need of a window. I have a bedroom and one other spare room in this house in the mountains, ... read more

Sojha, Inner Seraj Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India August 2016 “Life consists of rare, isolated moments of the greatest significance, and innumerably many intervals, during which at best the silhouettes of those moments hover about us.” Nietzsche “So what is the essence? What matters.....what really, really matters..... is it giving love? Is it procreation? Is it knowledge, is it finding truth? The struggle to overcome, relief from pain? Is it stillness? The scraps of nirvana? Perhaps it's connection. Visceral connections and part of the journey together and touching soul. We.” Kate Richards: 'Madness' Awakening is Emptiness Awakening to Emptiness Ama Samy, Zen Master I arrive back in my leased house in the Himalayan foothills. It's been 7 months since I was last here. Meanwhile I have just again spent 3 mon... read more

Karnataka February 2016 “Madness can be a medicine for the modern world. (If).. you take it in moderation, it's beneficial. ..(Its) side affects can be temporary. They can be a boost to our psychological immune system to help fight the existential crises of normal life.” Script line:“Hannibal” TV series "Faith begins as an experiment and ends as an experience" Front sub-title, the movie 'Kumare' I was on a road trip through Karnataka, a state in the middle of India. Thirty-five years ago I traveled through Karnataka and stopped at Hampi, Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore. Hampi (the capital of a huge empire 2,500 years ago) was incredible for its lack of any development (one hesian screened chai shop is all I remember) temple ruins (within which we slept... a different one each night) and a huge... read more