In a little nest in Manhattan, 16 floors up and facing the Hudson River..... watching a thunder and lightening storm....feeling very cozy and lucky to be with this electric city.....been here several days and have seen and experienced great music, a beautiful spring day, incredible food and yoga (Jivamutri and Dharma Mittra). Will be heading to San Diego tomorrow renewed......feeling quite blessed. I have now met Russell Simmons twice in the past 6 weeks....once in San Diego and yesterday in a yoga class.....strange serendipity.....like him, I am a vegan and a yogini (well he is technically a 'yogi')....these lifestyle practices are great blessings not only to ourselves, but the universe too:

New Year....new blog....here we go again...another attempt to write something.

Last year I successfully incorporated meditation into my daily life. I have been doing this practice of 'quieting my mind' 30-60 minutes per day. This year I want to log 365 hours of meditation(1hour/day) and next year 548 hours(1.5 hours/day) and then finally achieve meditating 2hours/day in 2 years. The health effects have been documented (lowering of blood pressure, stress, anxiety, better sleep) and I find that those who do meditate are phenomenally productive. My 'to do' list is exhaustive and I will be annoyed if I leave this experience/life without embracing/experiencing my desires and dreams. There may be something to the saying 'do less and achieve more.' So....off to meditate and then do the Swami stairs and thank the ocean......and a short jog,....then visit Tely and if I have time left over, a little piano practice and accounting....then my evening meditation.

Happy New Year and may everyone have boatloads of health, happiness, productivity, joy and humor....forever!

Found this quote from Rumi which I feel will be my mantra for the year:

"Let the beauty you love be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth."

If anyone desires contributing to an important cause, I would like to recommend ' Survivors of Torture, International.' This a group that is trying to help an incredible group of people who have somehow managed to survive insurmountable odds and are now seeking asylum in the United States. I work with them and over the past year almost all federal funding has vaporized. Any gift would be greatly appreciated and I can assure you that the recipients are cast from a mold that is incredible and miraculous in many ways. Contact me for information on volunteer opportunities. Physicians are desperately needed.

So much for writing everyday....just too busy and enthralled with' doing.' Miki Dora was brought to my attention by my yoga/surf teacher....he epitomizes commitment and passion for what he loves in life.....no holes barred.....

Earth and Moon from 114 Million Miles

" In the lower left portion of this image, the Earth can be seen, as well as the much smaller Moon to Earth's right. When MESSENGER took this image, a distance of 183 million kilometers (114 million miles) separated the spacecraft and Earth. To provide context for this distance, the average separation between the Earth and the Sun is about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles)."

Why can't people stop using plastic bags!!!!

Bbetween 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year and less than 1% are recycled. They choking and killing our ecosystems and many animals. It takes so little to carry and use canvas bags.....it feels good and is really important.

The Cats Eye nebulae....mind boggling....beautiful.........one of billions to trillions of celestial objects 'out there' spinning and floating around....we are so lucky to have the beginning of a peek at what is beyond.....that might be naive...maybe it is just a whiff of ...... that something....out there.....

Ever since I was around 10 (I distinctly recall thinking 'it is great to be 10 years old'...isn't that funny? ... especially as I am now over 50!!!!),...anyway.... I seem to go through periods when I just contemplate about our existence....I blow my puny mind into the insane universe and....'wow'.......impossible to fathom...I think, ...'omyg, there must be a Creator!'...I mean, there is no reason for anything 'to be.' And yet,.....there is so much out there....always gets my little head spinning......we have awareness and feelings....we really are....something....something....an entity...a collection of stardust molecules that is being....something.....crazy man, crazy!!!! I always end up here and flop down, roll my eyes and breathe....

......look at the following picture....it is a just tiny snipit of a part of our little (in cosmic terms) Milky Way Galaxy. I have a book at home that has a photo through the heart of the Milky Way (will try to scan and post it)....it is so dense with stars, there is little darkness....billions of them.. our 'little, truly puny, galaxy.' The creative force of all this, is incomprehensible...yet I am trying to comprehend it....because....my parents and grandparents did the work that allows me this precious time....the predators selected....we had a lot of luck and kept trying. Today, I don't have to forage and fight for survival 24/7...at least not now. Looking out to the universe is amazing.......reminds of how lucky and little...... I am......ommmmmmm.

It has been almost a month since the last post.....Not sure I'm cut out for this.... I guess this means I don't really want to write.....but, I do have a story to tell...it is not mine...someone else's.....anyway, will keep dreaming and trying...

Took the picture from the veranda of my friend's home on the Blood Indian reservation.....was amazing to watch this family grow up and fly away.... no idle time...devoted parents .....

One of my favorite contemporary authors is Sherman Alexie...this article (by him), about his work is disheartening, but gets to our real world and the many thieves within.

I would love to post one of his poems and a picture, but he has strictly forbid this (I am proud to say I actually contacted his publisher).....it is kind of sad because it limits outreach.....but, like most of us with First Nations background, there is a subtle element of anger at the 'other world' and many of us feel like we'll go down dying defending our work, family, passions. He is an amazing writer, so check out his work. He can weave beauty and humor into chaos... I like/love everything he's written except for a couple of poems which seem silly. A good place to start is to read the stories in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Fistfight in Heaven.'

In a few hours I will be doing a history and physical examination on a victim of torture. These experiences are so so intense and tragic, I have a difficult time doing them...I really have to prepare myself mentally....I am, however, honored to help because these are true 'survivors' who have character and strength of which I can only dream. My work is legal and feels ethically 'correct' because this work makes a constructive difference in the lives of individuals who might actually 'survive' and through that survival make our world a better place...they inspire me to keep trying and fighting for truth and righteousness...this work is possibly some of the most meaningful work I have ever done.....these 'victims' are amazing people....there really are no words to describe them.....incomprehensible survivors...their stories are amazing I may post them annoymously....they remind me of the fact that we live blessed lives compared to theirs....this work helps me never forget. If you want to help them at all, here is a link to the group that supports them: Survivors of Torture, International.

New Adventure....my blog.

Decided to try and become a better writer. Someone posted somewhere, that one of the very best ways to become a better writer is to write a blog. So, here we go. I think I will use this space to express my impressions of this world...news, politics, veganism, civil rights, animals, yoga, astronomy, dressage, literature, IT and rez life.

Currently in very dark doldrums. I swear, these must be chemical, although I know they were triggered by disappointment.....meaningless, clandestine operations 'behind the scenes,' that I have been told (without specifics) are the result of my intensity or 'attitude' or .... something else. Arrrhhh.....trying to please others but not insult myself is so difficult! Am angry at myself for letting this BS 'get to me.' In the grand scheme of things it is truly stupid to allow minuscule crap that pollutes the brains of us minuscule people to 'get to any of us!' But, even though I can consciously acknowledge the insane miracle of being alive with a tiny touch of consciousness, I remain dark, angry and hurt. I guess I will just have to wait this out...eventually the clouds will break and it will be sunny again - 'I hope.'

Anyway, this song is getting me 'a little' rocking and rolling in spite of my dark mood:

I am struggling with even letting my consciousness drift towards acknowledging the horror of what is going on in the fragile ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico. The CEO of BP, Tony Hayward wants his life back? I hope he never gets it back....I hope Obama loses his life too....unless he can clean up this mess he allowed to occur and gets this tragic oil leak to stop!!!

For a little satiric/comic relief....

"A careful analysis by Daily Brief labs indicates that releasing the hot air trapped inside Hayward would cause an immediate collapse of the well, staunching the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. A small nuclear "bunker buster" should be sufficient to penetrate the dense, protective bone matter surrounding the target."

Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2010/06/04/quote-of-the-week-take-it-away-bp-ceo-tony-hayward#ixzz0pv35IDZ7

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Texas Removes Thomas Jefferson from teaching standard.

The Texas Board of Education......."decided to drop Jefferson from a world history section devoted to great political thinkers. ..... By dropping mention of revolution, and substituting figures such as Aquinas and Calvin for Jefferson, Texas Freedom Network argues, the board had chosen to embrace religious teachings over those of Jefferson, the man who coined the phrase "separation between church and state."

....I pity the students....I find this pretty shocking, but not unexpected from the bitter South.

"A driver who ran over and killed a mother duck walking her 12 ducklings across a Massachusetts mall parking lot has been sentenced to a year of probation."

I applaud the judge and the state of Massachusetts for taking the time to publicly admonish this monster......

To temper my disgust for that event, I easily found the following story that is comforting, inspiring and 'right on!' I have some renewed faith in humans....even bankers and loan officers!

Parade Leads Ducklings to Safety

Was fortunate enough to be at this incredible concert......if you have a chance to go....do it!

Teddy Kennedy.....rest in peace......

Obama is starting to dismantle the 'military-industrial complex'..... finally some integrity for the citizens of this country that have unnecessarily funded projects like the F-22.....for years.