I need a place to post a pix, so here it is:

I work at a "transformational" business that expands our human potential, and the people I work with decided to produce a public event in a few months that involved singing... and damn! I have absolutely no experience singing and I even considered myself tone deaf. Now, I'm a pretty brave guy - I can speak to a thousand people without getting nervous and I've even firewalked over 40 feet of red hot coals... but the idea of singing just terrified me!

However, instead of coming up with an excuse for not participating - which is very tough when you're the CEO, I decided to take a few lessons with Katie Guthorn at the Voice Studio to see if I could somehow learn how to carry a tune and not embarrass myself.

I cannot express in the written word, how amazing the process of learning to sing was - over the course of just a few lessons - as taught by Katie... Here: let me demonstrate what I could do after just TWO lessons!

I recorded this on my iPhone this after just two lessons with Katie, using some dumb karaoke app. What's more, I discovered that singing is REALLY FUN, and I don't even CARE if it sounds good or not. Singing is learning how to "play" with your voice. It's like making love with speech. Never having sung is like never having made love! It's, it's.. damn, it just makes you want to quit your job and become a professional musician!

Finally, I found one interesting lasting effect of learning how to sing. When you sing, and bridge your falsetto with your lower "normal" voice, that usually creaky middle range resonates right in your "heart chakra". This is why great singers, like Sade and Sting, can elicit so much emotion with their songs - they sympathetically resonate in your heart. The lasting effect of learning how to sing, is that I have deepened my natural ability as a public speaker, so that my speaking voice can now also "resonate in the heart chakra" which has made more more compelling as a public speaker.

So I am willing to testify... you meet true teachers, like Katie, only once in a lifetime. She shares a deep wisdom & patience that truly actualizes human potential, and makes it possible for the most singing-impaired people, like I used to be, to become one of those wacky people happily singing in the car as they sit trapped alongside you in a traffic jam on the freeway... there's an amazing inner freedom available to you when you learn how to sing when you drive... so I am no longer a prisoner, of the fine white lines, of the white lines on the free, free way...

Have I shown you my home? Here are a few pix:

this is the living room

this is the meditation room

and here's the view

I love my home. It's the perfect place to write...

Hey everyone,

If you haven't heard from me, it's because I'm buried in projects and work right now. The winter chill of the recession is finally melting, and deals are beginning to happen and flow and manifest. One is launching next week... it's the most low tech deal I've ever done - a monetized online "personal growth" learning community called OneTantra.com. Please do drop by and check it out.



Anyway, do send me a note and let me know how you're doing! And I wish you some deal traction as well!

Moses

Cool, I just created flash quiz at Quibblo!

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

I just shot and cut this promo spot for our forthcoming OneTantra educational website and social network. Shot it on a consumer quality HD camcorder, but used Final Cut Pro, Color and film look processing to soften it up. And Motion for the end title. Let me know what you think!


Lauren for OneTantra.com from Mo Ma on Vimeo.

About those AIG Bonuses...

These Wall Street credit default swap gamblers... they're like the ne'er-do-well son-in-law who borrows $50,000 to start a restaurant, and then comes back and says he lost the money at the track, plus borrowed and lost $250,000 from the mob and they're gonna burn down the house with all of us in it in five minutes if we don't sign this TARP bill. So we fork over the money, and he shows up the following day in a nice new private jet he bought with the leftover money. Wow, isn't it shiny?

I think that if Obama went in and forced AIG to behave - convince their people re-invest their bonuses back into the company - it wouldn't be socialism... it would be acting like a venture capitalist. If a Silicon Valley VC was forced to inject $100 million into a failing startup to avoid an indemnification liability, you'd better believe that he'd get the CEO and managing team to toe the line... or he'd never have lunch near Sand Hill Road ever again! The government forked over so much money that it deserves the right to be angry, and should put some steel in it and read AIG's management the riot act.

Did you catch the Stewart vs Cramer smackdown?

It was hilarious. I think that Jon Stewart lives up to legacy of satirists like Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain. His body of work will likely withstand the test of time.

Man, that one line comment about Cramer beating dough-as-satirist on Martha Stewart's show... "Mr. Cramer, don’t you destroy enough dough on your own show?" was classic.

People understate the importance of satire in social commentary. In ancient times, you needed Aristophanes, Horace and Erasmus to speak truth to power via humor and satire, and sadly, the situation hasn't changed over the centuries. In 1599, the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a decree banning verse satire. Today, the kings of media will launch counter-offensives on their morning shows, like they NBC did everything in its arsenal.

Without breaking a sweat, all Stewart had to do was respond with more comedy, in this case, with the assistance of Dora The Explorer, a cartoon character who insinuates that Cramer is a pendejo. And in a clever twist, Stewart includes a self-referential feces throwing monkey in the skit, which is basically what a comedian attacking a serious business journalist really is, right? But you really can't fight that monkey without looking like one, so CNBC sent a contrite Kramer marching in as a sacrificial lamb, to appease the angry god of comedy.

How ironic that a comedian provides serious insightful reporting about the serious financial advisor who acts like a buffoon on his own show.

I was reading the news and came across this 13 year old kid who wow'ed a conference of Republican PAC. They trotted him out like a little ballerina and ooh'ed and aah'ed when he recited his lines. I'm sure there's a really happy stage mom today.

Then it occurred to me... the Republican team is turning out to be more like a TV comedy show than a political party. Yeah, I can see it now - a moosehunting milf as President, an Indian guy channeling Kenneth the Page as VP, Joe the Plumber serves as the Secretary of State, Ann Coulter as the brash and sassy BFF of the prez, and this 13 year old kid as the brains behind it all. It would be hilarious. The first episode would be about Uncle Rush inviting them all on his jet, only to discover he's insane and heading to the Dominican Republic for a stag party...

When I watched Jindal's speech, I had to ask myself... is this the best the Republican party can deliver? Wouldn't they want to put up somebody at least somewhat presidential to counter the charisma and RDF that Obama wields? Then I remember. Sarah Palin interviewed by Katie Couric. Right. At least Jindal is smart enough to quote a few Supreme Court decisions. He is the best the GOP can deliver.

As a way of wishing you a happy Chinese new year, I thought I'd take a crack at Chinese fortune telling. Below you will find my prediction for the year, based on my rudimentary understanding of feng shui.

Wishing you prosperity, joy, health and love!

Moses

-

Predictions for Ji Cho’u, Year of the Ox

According to feng shui theory, the Year 2009 will see a dry and hot year. Fire is the ruling star in 2009 [note: this is why I took a firewalking workshop] and the combination of the Earth element from the Ox means it is a year of productivity. Meaning that Fire energy in the Stars will power a strong productive Earthly Ox. Overall, the Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work, and success in an Ox year needs discipline. It is not the time for unruly behavior, partying and having fun. Well, unless you're a workaholic and work is fun.

The ox year will see a slow moving pace during the beginning of the year – and in general, anything you do will not bear results until autumn. However, every sector will pick up and should improve slowly. This is a spill over from the energy of the Rat year – i.e., the worst economic meltdown of our times! That's the feng shui energy of the world right now... the hardworking Ox is taking over from the mischievous Rat, and he must pull us out of the hole bored by the Rat, during its reign.

I'd like to add that any similarities to presidential administrations is entirely coincidental... however, it should be pointed out that Barack Obama was born in the year of the Ox, and George Bush was born in the year of the Dog. And you might have guessed this, but Dick Cheney was born in the year of the Snake!

Anyway, for us normal working folk, this means that hard work and patience will lead us to a better third quarter year period after some adversity at the onset of the year.

Remember the Ox is an Earth sign animal, and the element that is produced by Earth is Metal. Since autumn belongs to the metal element, the markets should be restored and and positive energy be sensed by the harvest of 2009. But now is the time to sow seeds and roll up our sleeves and work hard!

BUSINESS PREDICTIONS

Fire element businesses – like cosmetics, electrical, computers, restaurants, and airlines – should experience a decent return. However, in the stock market, do not attempt to speculate early in the year. You can possibly catch positive upswings from end of July till the end of the year 2009. Business "energy" should enjoy its most positive time between August and September. Invest cautiously and within your means!

Don't forget that this is a year of fire, so water element businesses will be in conflict with this year's ruling element. These include industries like insurance, shipping, etc. Lee Sing-tong, a third-generation feng shui master in Hong Kong, said China may suffer a water shortage in the next 12 months.

LOVE PREDICTIONS

This is not a good year for love. In the year of the Ox, in general, women will want to bask in luxury, while the men are stressed out about money, working around the clock, and generally in a foul mood. However, the Ox has a lot of base sexual energy (fire inside), so a very hot love affair is quite possible. Just don't expect or demand everlasting love... in fact, relationships have a tendency to turn cold, due to the stubbornness of the Ox.

Also, it is an excellent year for those who were born in the year of monkey – this is your time to shine. For those who were born in the year of pig, this is your ‘run-about’ year – so expect to travel a lot.

Finally, to remain in a state of grace and luck, you should follow these suggestions:

1. Be kind-hearted. Willingness to help others is most crucial to enhance one's personal luck. Get involved in a charity and you will feel that your luck improve.
2. Always say something nice to others and your luck will be better than before.
3. Put water features at the right locations i.e. the southwest and east of your house or office. The water should flow to the direction of your house as water symbolizes wealth.
4. Circulate the auspicious qi at South-East by putting an aquarium, water feature, fan or clock there. South-East is the best location for 2009. If the main door of your house is located at the South-East, open the door wide enough to welcome the auspicious qi. Nevertheless, do not put any rubbish bin at the South-East. Always keep the South-East sector clean.
5. Cleanliness is a must. Do an entire clear-up in your house and you will enjoy better luck right away. [Note: This is why I did a 3 day New Year's cleanup for my house.]
6. The worst sector is the North. Place a metal wind chime there.
7. Avoid any renovation at the North and East sectors of your house.
8. Always keep some money in your pocket or for you shamans... in your medicine bag.

On the Eve of the Presidential Inauguration

When George W. Bush was first elected, I was really quite dismayed because Bush seemed pretty incompetent to me. My litmus test while watching presidential debates is to ask myself - 'Now, if the Board of Directors asked me for my opinion of that candidate as the CEO of their company... what would I say?' Honestly, I'd have to size up Bush as nothing more than a rich man's spoiled son, thin on skills, stacking up a sizeable list of business failures, but still petulantly demanding the presidency as a birthright. More ominously, my gut instinct was that he was not only incompetent, but an alcoholic with something to prove... and willing to bankrupt the company to prove it. 'Run like hell' would be my advice to the Board.

After the election, a knowledgeable Republican friend of mine said to me, "You know what your problem is? You liberals don't stand for anything. That's why you can't win an election." Yeah buddy? And your momma! That's what I thought to myself. What I came up with as a retort was to boldly predict to my pal that by the time Bush left office, even he would sing a different tune. Based on my little gedanken CEO test, I predicted that Bush would make a fine mess of things.

And for eight long years - leading to a case of clinical outrage fatigue - I had to watch my prediction slowly come true. Our man Bush, like a cocaine snorting bull in a china shop, inexorably made a truly fine mess of things. What a legacy! From Bush's Folly in Iraq, to the Katrina debacle, to outing a valuable CIA covert asset out of spite, to losing a PR war against terrorism with the Abu Ghraib fiasco, to a near meltdown of our financial infrastructure... I mean, seriously, if the likes of Alberto Gonzales and Scott McClellan have written tell-all's to disavow and distance themselves from Bush... this has gotta be an absolute masterpiece of pure fuck-up. I mean, just about the only underling from Bush's administration not writing a tell-all is Michael Connell.

Anyway, tonight, on the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration, I am happy to report that not only does my Republican pal finally admit that I was right about Bush... but he's now miraculously an Obama supporter. What's more, I can now see that he was also right eight years ago. We liberals had lost our way, we forgot what we stood for, and as a consequence, we have had to wander lost in the wilderness for eight long years. But now we do. Now we know that we stand for all the things that are good in the world - things like truth, justice, equality, and liberty. Now we know that we stand for the rights provided in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Now we know that we stand for building a better world.

So now, older and wiser, I would like to make another prediction - this time about Barack Obama. I predict that he may stumble, but he'll never fall - and that he will grow and mature and slowly transform himself into one of the greatest Presidents of all time. Why do I say this? Because of my CEO test - if a Board of Directors asked me for my opinion of Obama as CEO, I'd immediately say 'YES! whatever it takes, hire this man... he will bring your company to greatness.'

My take on Obama was that instead of being a rich man's spoiled son like Bush, Obama is, well, let me put it this way - Obama is to America what Steve Jobs is to Apple. Obama is absolutely brilliant as an innovator. He's totally cool and is pals with movie stars. He's focused pragmatically on results and revenue growth. He thinks different. Yes, like Jobs, Barack Obama has a reality distortion field, but he'll use it to revive the market cap of the U.S of A. But most importantly, like Steve Jobs, Barack Obama is bringing the power of the government to the rest of us.

So instead of John Hodgman and Justin Long in those cute Apple ads, we can use John McCain as PC and Barack Obama as Mac. Oh, and Bush is Vista. This sort of fits because under Bush and Cheney, the goal was for America to be all powerful and feared, like you-know-who. With Obama, our government is suddenly Redesigned. Reengineered, Re-everythinged. Even his Cabinet is like a nano-chromatic rainbow gathering, they're the best iPods ever! And reminiscent of the iPhone's debut, Obama's inauguration draws a crowd of millions, all giddy as Mac fans talking about multi-touch and GPS and hey, have you checked out the App Store lately? That's right! Say hello to iGovernment! Check out my cool new iBama! America is cool again!

All I can say is... our stock price is going up, baby, up!

I was in a state of absolute bliss today, riding my bike along a quiet country road. The first warm day of the year. It was a perfect day, with the air crisp and clear. And a couple of miles into it, it hits. I am suddenly in this exquisite and delicious state of consciousness – a sense of profound freedom and sheer joy that is produced when my butt hits the saddle of my Kestrel road bike. It's a state of bike saddle satori, when everything in the world feels just right. And even if it isn't, that's just right too. It's all about letting yourself go, full tilt boogie. It's programming that's deep in my genes that's screaming at me... come on, man... don't ever wear a suit... don't ever give into the rat race... don't ever let yourself do anything that isn't an adventure.... just put your butt in that saddle, let go and fly away!

The feeling is so special and overwhelming, that I am compelled to analyze it. But now that I'm home and sitting at the computer, what else can I do? So here I am, poking at it and dissecting it. So how did it happen? What did it feel like exactly? What does it mean? How was it different from all the other times I've biked?

Well, I think the most important factor was that it was the first warm day, after months and months of cold weather, the flu and a global travel schedule that kept me on a different kind of road. I've been traveling extensively for work, and just haven't been able to log the miles that I need on my bike. Then... add a case of dysentery from Cairo, and a misbegottten ride during the coldest day in December that almost gave me frostbite, and suddenly, you can see how that first warm day can bring it all back. It was almost 70˚F today, but still, unwilling to trust the sun, I started out with a windbreaker. It wasn't long before the windbreaker came off and I was flying down hills in sheer joy... like I was thirteen again.

But it's more than that. This ride has kindled the oddest emotions within. I had a distinct feeling of... What? Nostalgia? And it's blended with... romance! Yeah, that's it. It's as if I had forgotten how much I missed biking, and suddenly I realized that I'm in love with biking as if this sports activity were a person. Now throw in a dash of endorphins earned by breaking through the wall, and what resulted was like meeting an old flame again after twenty years and all these uncontrollable feelings gush out and next thing I know I'm on a plane to Paris. But in this case, here I am, flying down a hill at 30 mph, iPod playing my favorite workout tunes, the wind rushing against my face. Every cell is crying out – I am deeply and madly in love with biking. At this very moment, butt off the saddle and pumping up a hill, feet locked into the clipless pedals, not a care in the world... I am in love with life. And the most concrete feeling is the wind in my face. It's fresh and clean and, I guess, full of negative ions because I'm riding next to a lake. But why? Why is this wind on my cheek is making me so emotional?

This joy of being alive, which has mixed with neuroadrenaline and memories of childhood, now has a component of sadness in it. Then inexplicably, I remember my father, who passed away long ago. So when I get home, I remember something. You see, my father was an explorer, and a book was published in the 1940s about an expedition he was on... it was called The Marching Wind. As soon as I get home, before I get into the shower, I go to the bookcase where I keep the book, and I open up the very last page of the book. And there it is... it reads – "Solomon and I whiled away the time talking about Amne Machin and our friends. Oddly enough, the thing that he remembered most was those days when we had a steady marching wind on the cheek." [Note: Solomon was my dad. The book is back in print, amazingly, and you can get it at Amazon.]

Ah, so that's it. In a simple bike ride, my entire life is recalled and folded back onto itself. For some reason, I can see the entire macrocosm of the universe, spinning on the rims of my bike. It all makes sense, this profusion of emotions. It all fits and provides the perfect conclusion to the perfect ride.

Anyway, that's what it felt like. Today.

I dunno why, but here's my astrological reading:


Valid during several days: This is a time of high energy and independent initiative. You feel very self-confident and capable of tackling almost anything within reason. It is a good time to start a project, and most activities that you take up now should have a successful outcome. However, you must take some positive action in order to get the most out of this influence.

You are unusually clear now about what you intend to do in any situation. Your will is strong, and you aim at achieving certain very definite goals. You can act decisively and with conviction. Under an influence like this you can convince other people of your point of view and get them to follow your lead. In fact, this is an unusually good time for working with other people because you can get others to identify their interests with yours. Everything you do is aimed at enlarging your sphere of interests. You do not act out of petty motives, always having high-minded and high- level goals in mind. Others will respect your obvious integrity, which will make them more willing to help you.

Professional success is likely at this time, because of your excellent sense of timing and your ability to take advantage of every opportunity that comes along. You should be able to advance yourself without alienating others. They will recognize that your success is well deserved.

At a Firewalk Workshop

I’m writing this in a state of absolute and radical bliss. How did I get here? Well, I just walked over forty feet of red hot coals, without getting burned, and the experience... let’s just say that the experience was nothing short of amazing. My brain is literally flooded with endorphins right now, and I am in a profound state of peace – everything feels like it clicks, I’m in love with life, colors even look more saturated than normal. I can attest that the psycho-spiritual state you enter when you confront and overcome such a deeply rooted fear is indescribable. In fact, I’m writing all of this to make this state more concrete, so I can remember and cherish it.

But maybe I should start at the beginning, so I don’t sound like a complete loon. Earlier this week, I arrived at this “certification workshop” to become a firewalk instructor. Normally, someone would attend in a public firewalk event just to look, maybe try it once to see for themselves that it’s possible to walk over fire, and finally, after some mental preparation, take some sort of initiation or workshop, after rationally weighing the costs and benefits of what they were getting into. Not me. I decided to jump in at the deep end … signing up for the advanced instructor’s certification course with absolutely no preparation and never having seen a firewalk in person. Talk about taking the leap!

So here I am, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, in this rustic little town called Twain Harte. I’m sitting in a backjack on the floor of the clubhouse of the Lazy Z Ranch, which is adorned with the biggest moose head I’ve ever seen. Must have been eight or ten feet tall when he was alive, an impressive animal. During the summer, the Lazy Z is some sort of dude ranch, or maybe a hunting lodge. But during the off season, it becomes the opposite of a dude ranch – sort of a bliss farm, when it hosts a number of firewalk workshops. For me, it’s a new age summer camp – only it’s winter, and instead of relay races and archery, we’re learning how to break arrows, walk on broken glass, and walk on fire. Well, it isn’t all new age machismo... there’s the vegetarian food, and the morning yoga and tai chi session.

The workshop I’ve signed up for is taught by Peggy Dylan, who pretty much invented the art of modern firewalk in the 1980s. She’s a living legend in the New Age biz, having founded one of the leading educational resources for learning firewalk, Sundoor. Peggy and her legion of instructors have led hundreds of thousands of people through firewalks all over the globe, she’s appeared on shows like Good Morning America, and the school taught pretty much everyone in the firewalk business... like, for example, Tony Robbins. Soft spoken and unassuming, Peggy seemed at first like a suburban housewife, but twenty minutes into the first day of the workshop, it was clear that she was both a major figure in the personal transformation business, as well as a remarkable human being of extraordinary clarity, wisdom and depth.

So here I am, sitting in a half lotus, listening to her talk about the history of firewalk. She’s an adept speaker, easily switching from ethnographic studies by anthropologists to Mayan mythology to the neurophysiology of emotion. But everyone listening has something else in mind... yep, we’re pretty much scared stiff. You know, it doesn’t help when she tells us that the coals have been measured to be anywhere between 900 and 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The only thing we can think is “what? with our bare feet?” Intuitively, Peggy gauges the tension in the room and reminds everyone to breathe. She continues to explain that it’s all about num (pronounced “noom”) – a word from the Kalahari Kung language similar to qi in Chinese and baraka in Arabic. If we can only “raise our num”, then it will protect us from that scorching heat. She then talks about how firewalking has been around for four thousand years, from Eastern Orthodox Christians in parts of Greece and Bulgaria during some religious feasts, to fakirs in India who live by begging and performance of extraordinary feats of physical endurance, to the Kung bushmen in the African Kalahari desert who use fire in their healing ceremonies, to young girls in Bali in a ceremony called Sanghyang Dedari – in which the girls are said to be possessed by beneficent spirits, to the Yamabushi sect in Japan – practitioners of Shugendo - an interesting mix of shamanism, Taoism and Buddhism, to Vikings who used to walk over red hot chains, to Hawaiian shamans who walk over molten lava. It’s one of the most prevalent phenomena throughout the world, and now it’s arrived in America and taught by motivational speakers!


[This is me, walking on fire.]

Suddenly, she changes the subject and brings out an arrow. It’s an arrow from your typical archery set, with a metal tip and plastic feathers. Asking us to watch carefully, she places the nock of the arrow in a board held by an assistant, and the sharp point of the arrow in the hollow of her throat, or in medical terms, “the last place you’d ever want to put the tip of an arrow”. She breathes, and then steps forward and the arrow shatters. Whoa, now that’s impressive. I’ve seen something similar done by qigong masters, but Peggy claims that just about any average person, with the right intention and focus, after “building up a little num”, can break the arrow. She then offers to let us try, and we do. And you know, once I get past the fear of being the first participant to die in her workshop of a skewered throat, I go for it, and bam! the arrow shatters and I get this blast of energy. It’s more than just adrenaline, I actually feel that num rising. The entire room feels the num rising.

Next, she brings out the steel rebar and... and... okay, let’s get something straight here. I’m not going to spoil the ending for you, just in case you take this workshop or do this work. Let’s just say that she brings out a length of steel rebar and does something with it and her trachea that seems to defy the laws of physics, or at least common sense. Once the rest of us are bending rebar, the energy is at a fever pitch, and Peggy starts giving us instructions for the firewalk. “Tell the truth about your fear! Walk like someone with a purpose! Keep your focus, keep that num flowing!” With those words, we walk down to the blazing remains of a third of a cord of wood, just down the hill.

Man, I gotta tell ya... standing in front of those red hot coals is one of those moments you’ll remember forever. It’s like an a guy with fear of heights, standing on a rooftop and looking over. Another moment you’ll never forget is the second you reach the other side. The fear is transformed into this amazing explosion of joy the moment you complete the walk, when something inside of you realizes that anything is possible.

Anything is possible. That was my goal, to teach my subconscious that anything is possible. The difference between a common and an uncommon life is courage and vision. What keeps us from doing the impossible, is simply the acceptance that the impossible is actually impossible. If every human being believed that flight is impossible, then the possibility of flight would not exist. You need to push beyond your limits, to see that the thing that stop us from achieving our goals is actually within ourselves. Like the idea that you can’t break an arrow with your throat, or you can’t walk on broken glass without getting cut, or you can’t walk on fire. And so, I took this workshop as a way to teach my deeper self how to transcend my deepest fears – the ones buried in my medulla oblongata, the deeply held limitations lodged deeply within my primal subconscious. I took this workshop to understand the technology of human miracles and to program and encode the fundamental blueprint of breakthrough into my body, into my bones, into my genes.

So when you’re made it to the other side… or in my case a half dozen times… you start asking yourself, “how the heck does this work?” I mean, I used to be a physicist – and one trained at Caltech, so I know all the theories – heat conductivity rates for ash versus water, the Leidenfrost effect, what have you... well, all I can say is that about half the class suffered burns as we pushed our limits, so it's definitely not a trick. In fact, one famous physicist a decade ago set out to prove that it was a trick, but ended up burning his feet quite badly.

My guess is that the answer isn’t black or white. My guess is that all of the physics are actually right, to an extent. But when you watch a Hawaiian shaman walk across molten lava, it’s hard to believe that it’s just a trick. I believe that firewalking is a skill, a skill for entering an altered state of consciousness. And as a skill, beginners are not as good at it as advanced practitioners. It requires an expert firewalker to walk on hot glowing metal, just like it requires an expert martial artist to break a dozen bricks or boards. So a beginner’s firewalk is explainable by physicists, but not the expert firewalk.

Anyway, back to the workshop. This was only the first evening. Over the rest of the weeklong process, we confronted a series of escalating challenges, from breaking arrows and bending steel rebar with our throats, to breaking boards and walking over about 15 feet broken glass, to a series of firewalks. For me, breaking boards held great meaning. I’ve studied martial arts for about thirty years, and one of my teacher’s teacher was Bruce Lee. He once said this great line in his film Enter the Dragon... “Boards don’t hit back.” Anyway, when I shifted broadened my study of arts like Wing Chun to internal systems like Tai Chi Ch’uan and qigong, the practice of board and brick breaking was discouraged because it “inhibited” qi flow. I can remember my teacher admonishing me, “Breaking boards is stupid. And your qi gets blocked. Will cause problems later.”

And so, it was with great relish that I broke my first board. It was like… coming home. The entire room felt the energy as we all took turns breaking pine boards like karate teachers at a karate convention. You just breathe, and visual that the board is made of peanut brickle, not wood. And it breaks pretty easily, yielding a delicious sense of accomplishment. I'll definitely put arrow breaking and board breaking in my innovation workshops in the future.

Walking on broken glass deserves a special discussion. Instead of lifting the energy, it’s a meditation. The simple truth is that it looks dangerous, but if you approach it with the right mindset, not only is it possible, but it’s an amazing meditative experience as well. The reality is that our feet, through millions of years of evolution, are pretty good at avoiding and withstanding cuts. When you do the glass walk, you simply place your foot on some glass... and feel. If you feel something sharp, you don’t put your weight on it. You lift it and place it somewhere else that isn’t sharp. If it feels safe, you put on your weight on it, and move onto your next foot. Once you take a couple of steps into the bed of broken glass and shards, this amazing wave of focus quietly overtakes you.

For me, the glass walk felt like an episode of Kung Fu... you know, the David Carradine television show from the 70s? I could hear, in my mind’s ear, a small boy asking the blind abbot, “Master, how is it that you can walk over broken glass?” And the master replies, “Ah, grasshopper, how is it that you cannot?” Like walking on rice paper and leaving no mark, walking on glass requires great sensitivity and concentration. And you have to teach yourself to trust your intuition. Walking on broken glass is so good for creating mindfulness that one of Peggy’s students built a 30 foot glasswalk in his home and walks it every morning as a meditation. It occurred to me that I mountain bike for the same reason – it requires focus, because the instant you lose focus, you fall off and hurt yourself. Gravity is a wise and effective teacher.


[This is me, walking over a bed of broken glass.]

After my first walk, for some reason, I realized that I run my business like I do a glass walk. I put some energy into a particular product or market, and then I feel it. The better I can be in tune to make adjustments, the easier it is to avoid getting cut. And I do it slowly, one step at a time, with what may seem like infinite patience. Several months ago, I felt the U.S. economy weaken and we began to focus on international sales ahead of the competition. As a result, I was keynoting at a major global conference ahead of the competition and grabbed the limelight just as our domestic accounts started announcing cutbacks and layoffs. All you can do is focus, place, feel, adjust, move forward. One step at a time – with grace and ease and perfect mindfulness.

Back to firewalking. One evening during the workshop, we were instructed to spend some time alone with fire, and I realized that it was – for me – the missing fifth element. Many years ago, an acupuncturist told me that I had an excess of water energy, and that it would be good for me to live in the desert, because I needed more fire energy. I realized that I deeply enjoyed my relationship with other elements, like air, water, earth and metal. In my qigong practice, I regularly do qigong at the ocean. Usually, when I start, a stiff ocean wind will begin, and I meditate as the air heals and cleanses me. And once I get in a hot tub, I can’t help but allow the water to nourish and heal me. And don’t get me started around metal! Technology is metal energy, and I’ve learned how to relate to it and use it and create miracles with it. But fire… I simply haven’t had much of a relationship with fire. And then it dawned on me that our civilization, since the Industrial Revolution, has lost connection to fire. Fire used to keep us warm, protect us from the dark or night, taught us how to cook… Human beings used to gather around the fire to share stories and relate the details of the hunt and comfort us through a long chilly night. But when we moved into cities, we lost our connection to fire. So during this week, I learned how to draw energy from fire as a qigong practice, to balance and heal.

In fact, during the event, some light was shed on the potential of firewalk for healing. Remember I was telling you about photo night? It’s the one night that photos are encouraged. And sure enough, the instant the flashes starting happening, I lost focus and zap! (When you get a blister, Peggy calls it a fire kiss.) So the next day, when the questions turn to the subject of burns, Peggy hands out a reflexology chart. She explains that the energy that protects our feet, like an electromagnetic field, is stronger at certain points and weaker at others. She invited us to examine our blisters and burns in this context.

What you have to know is that a few weeks before this workshop, I was in Cairo, Egypt to see the pyramids, and picked up a case of amoebic dysentery. I was floored by that little protozoa for a couple of weeks, as it tried to turn me into a mummy – slowly dehydrating me and attacking my intestines. No wonder they call it the Pharoah’s Revenge. I eventually needed some antibiotics to kill this bug, but my energy was depleted, especially around my intestines and solar plexus. And sure enough, my one blister correlated to the reflexology point for the intestinal system and solar plexus. It wasn’t just me, the other students were saying this was true for them as well. I then realized that firewalking is similar to moxabustion, the Chinese art of healing with heat. What’s more, the blister is actually part of the healing process, providing a means for releasing the “bad qi” and absorbing the heat of the fire into the meridians.

Anyway, back to the firewalk. After the photo shoot walk and the private time walk, Peggy provides a true challenge. Don’t get me wrong, every firewalk is a fresh challenge, but the Sundoor school does know how to up the stakes. Again, I don’t want to spoil the surprise for anyone who is planning to take a Sundoor workshop… so stop reading now if you intend to take one of Peggy’s workshops someday. For everyone else, I’ll simply let the cat out of the bag, and tell you that the “graduation” ceremony for instructors is a forty foot firewalk. By midweek, I’d gotten my fire legs – sort of like sea legs, but on a fire – by walking over a normal firepit of about ten or twelve feet over twenty or so times. But a forty foot bed of red hot coals is another matter entirely.

There are only a couple of times I remember being that anxious. One particularly memorable instance was when I foolishly agreed to go biking with a professional mountain biker. It isn’t until you ride with a pro that you realize just how chickenshit you really are and just how insane he is. Anyway, he takes me on this trail that consists of several hair-raising cascades of loose rocks that you have to ride at full speed to keep from falling, which ended with cliffs that you have to brake hard or you go over. And die. I found that the only thing you could do while flying down these hills at 30-40 mph was scream in joy. Anyway, standing at the top of that particular mountain and looking down was roughly equivalent to a forty foot firewalk.

I was at the Sundance Film Festival once – I’m trying to break into the film business as a director – and I heading for this posh Hollywood party one night. It’s very cold in Park City, and I was slogging my way through three feet of snow toward the front door, when a limo parks in front of me and an actress pops out in nothing but an LBD… that’s a little black dress. So I ask her how the hell she can handle the freezing cold in that sliver of a dress, delicious as it may be, and she looks at me with perfect focus as she points her forefingers at her temples and chants to me, “Mind over matter. Mind over matter!”

Yep, that first step over into the forty foot fire walk required true faith and drew every bit of potential out of me for mind over matter. All the adrenaline channels into num, and then I walk. It’s funny... you just walk. During those moments, there is nothing but walking. Even if you get burned, you can’t imagine jumping off your track, because there is nothing but the goal, the destination, the end of the walk. There isn’t any fire anymore. No fire. No worry. No thoughts about the physics. No you. And suddenly, you’re there. Once you arrive at the end of the walk, once you step off the firepit… you know in your bones that anything is possible. Really. Annnnnnything.

=

I’m indebted to the Peggy Dylan and her team of instructors, as well as my terrific team mates who are the Class of 2008 Sundoor Firewalk Instructors, for their support and energy in what has been one of the greatest inner adventures of my life.

I was inspired by Calvin Trillin's new book "Deciding the Next Decider: The 2008 Presidential Race in Rhyme", and when I saw yet another story about Sarah Palin having spent an additional $30k in clothing, I wrote this reader response spontaneously...

It's sung to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies!

Mo

NY Times trackback

=

Hey, what do you expect, the Wasilla hillbillies just moved into town!

Come and listen to a story about a lady named Sarah
Comin' from Wasilla, a pitbull with mascara
Then one day she was shootin' at a bear
And John McCain came callin' and with an offer to declare

A vice presidential offer, that is, yessirree!

Well the first thing you know Sarah lands a right hook
But her handlers tell her "We gotta change your look"
Nieman Marcus is the place you ought to shop
So they loaded up the truck with a hundred k to drop.

Dollars, that is. Armani jackets, killer boots!

Well now its time to say good bye to Sarah and her kin.
And they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin in.
She's heading back to Wasilla, just a little dismayed
She didn't do so well, no matter how she prayed

Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson. Troopergate!

But she'll be back soon now, you betcha!

I'm hoping that the following article brings some hope to my Republican friends, who are lamenting the lead that Obama enjoys over McCain. One even said, "the market hates Democrats"... to this, I reply:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/14/opinion/20081014_OPCHART.html

As of Friday, a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the Great Depression. Invested under Democratic presidents only, $10,000 would have grown to $300,671 at a compound rate of 8.9 percent over nearly 40 years.

I believe that since Obama, like Clinton before him, will be saddled with a massive deficit from a Bush, he will be forced to maintain a position of strict fiscal conservativeness. This, paired with his natural statesmanship, will bring allies into the Iraq reconstruction, so we ease our way out of Iraq as quickly as possible. Once we stop spending so much money on this Iraq quagmire, and start investing in new technology and the middle class again... I think America's prospects are pretty darn good.

Also, one more thing makes me like Obama... while riding the elevator the other day, I met a Latina housekeeper accompanied by her young son because she couldn't afford a babysitter. I quipped to the boy, "Hey kid, when you grow up, don't forget how hard your mom worked to raise you." She added with a smile, "Yeah, you can grow up to be President." The kid adds, "Like Obama, right Mom?" This almost brought a tear to my eye, because he said it with hope... and without an ounce of cynicism.

Barack Obama is not just a candidate, but a symbol, of hope and the future.

Back from Burning Man!

Yeah, I admit it... Burning Man was better last year. Between the oppressive heat wave one day, followed by a white out sandstorm the following day (that threatened the burning of the man and caused the cancellation of the fire dancers), I really didn't get out much. Plus, although a record crowd of 49,599 were in attendance, they increased the size of the event real estate, which I think had an effect of missing critical mass. The Esplanade definitely quieter.

But it was fun nevertheless. Anyway, here's a pix I took at sunrise, after a night of partying:

Here's a plug for a pal...

Dr. Randy Sugawara has been developed a new kind of therapeutic process for individuals who seek to regain control of their personal destiny, to reduce stress, to find renewed hope of change for a happier, healthier, and most importantly, more sober life. His process, called Qi Recovery merges integrative holistic healing approaches with more established psychotherapeutic practice - basically he's using qigong to embed a greater sense of calmness and spirituality to chemical dependency treatment. He has created an innovative set of exercises developed to help mitigate specific substance abuses.

You can find out more at www.qirecovery.com.

Hey,

You wanna see something beautiful?

Here, you can buy my book of poetry here:

This is kind of amazing, how Tom Cruise behaves here...

Hey peeps,

I went to Burning Man Decompression today and had a lovely time. It's a nice reminder of the event, but at the same time, illustrates how different BM is from the rest of our lives. I took a few photos:


Anyway, it was fun to hang out and see a few friends.

I was trying to write some thoughts about Burning Man, but I just couldn't come up with anything better than the essay I wrote the after the first year. Instead, let me share this with you, my gift to Burning Man:

Dharma Wheels - a Buddhist biking sangha!

This last weekend, I participated in the DharmaWheels century ride, a beautiful 145 mile bike ride through the Northern California countryside. It's a very special event, in which spiritually inclined bikers ride from temple to temple, on what is called a "Buddhist biking pilgrimage".

Around 7:30 am on Saturday, about a hundred of us started out at the Spirit Rock temple in Woodacre, and rode to the Sae Taw Win Dharma Center in Petaluma for lunch and a lecture, and of course, more riding that afternoon. That evening, when we camped between riding days, I had this amazing experience... we were sitting in the open air, under the night stars, after a long ride... with only candlelight to illuminate a saffron-robed monk explaining the finer points of the dharma. At that moment, it occurred to me that this was exactly how the Buddha would lecture, under the stars and with only a candle or lantern for light. For some reason, I could clearly feel a kind of connection through time, that spanned 2500 years, all the way to Shakyamuni Buddha lecturing under a Bodhi tree. Anyway, the next day, we pedaled along the Russian River up to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah for a truly delicious vegetarian lunch... and ended up at the Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley for a closing ceremony.

I was far too busy pedaling to photograph much of what happened, but I did manage to capture a few glimpses of what transpired via video, which I'll share with you here (please note that this isn't one of my "grand directorial" efforts, just using the video feature on my digital camera to record a few interesting memories):

So... a great big thanks to everyone who made this weekend possible!!!

And if you would like more info about this delightful (and honestly, somewhat challenging event), please check out DharmaWheels.org.

Here's a photo of me directing, which is pretty much my favorite pastime these days.



I was directing a shoot for TantraTV, which will be an online educational kinda thing that will launch later this year. Hey, you wanna see the trailer from the shoot? Here you go... just don't spread it around. All the really cool tantra teachers are participating in this!

Well, that's it for now...

Hey gang,

Here's a self-portrait of myself as a South Park character.

Pretty funny, huh?

Anyway, you can do the same using these tools:
http://www.sp-studio.de/
and http://southparkstudios.com/

In fact, make one of yourself and send it to me!