Falling In Love With India’s Finest Aloo Parantha Every morning in the quiet, four o’clock murk of a village outside Dharamshala, a humble, slightly balding man begins to stir from his sleep. Potatoes are boiled. The dal of the day, chili chutney, and whole wheat dough are carefully prepared. Everything is loaded onto a scooter and he’s off. At seven o’clock Vikram has… Read More
Monthly Mood: Stop Everything makes me smile. Somehow I have my doubts that it would make you, the reader, smile, but I catch myself smiling to myself about the thick spider that dwells in my toilet paper roll with its monolithic size and very visible pincers. This delayed post regards the events between August 11th and September 11th,… Read More
Monthly Mood: Himachali Summer Photo Journey Photo journey from Dharamshala to Parvati Valley and back. A scroll-licious, delayed post due to website changes and meditations. After all, a photo is worth lots of words. Both locales are part of the northerly Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Photos from July and August, 2021. Dharamshala… July saw many a coconut-cream extraction. Artistic… Read More
Monthly Mood: When I Close My Eyes I See Bliss Balls Gracias a las Himalayas que me han dado tanto. Written in early July, website remodeling and a heavy meditation retreat have delayed publication of this post by two months. Thanks for your patience Jo. Monthly Mood: When I Close My Eyes I See Bliss Balls I thought I would have been in Parvati Valley for… Read More
Ghanan And Ivorian Lives Matter This chocolate flavored post is devoted to a decades-long crisis in West Africa: cocoa farming in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Few industries have so little regard for ethics and human rights. My fixation with the truth behind chocolate blossomed after I watched the Bitter Chocolate episode from Netflix’s Rotten docuseries. I can no longer hear… Read More
Monthly Mood: I Feel Love And Pain Life will always connect the dots if you choose the draw the lines yourself. Day 1221 11 June 2021 Himachal Pradesh, India Just like that, nearly half of 2021 is behind us, never to be had again. After a month of heavy lockdown mode, I am able to sit in my favorite working cafe. Writing… Read More
Himalayan Hailstorms Himalayan Hailstorms Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India Our morning ha ṭha sweat becomes a jokeHimachali fields collect ice pebbles I decide to read poemsAnd instead start to write one I wonder if I have a gluten sensitivity Almost sure that I do I feel so good todayAfter a week-long pregnancyFrom a loaf of bread that was freshThat… Read More
Poem From The Toilet Seat Poem From The Toilet Seat Concentrate not the citrusy, frozen kind from the supermarket Day 911 5 August 2020 Ganges River, India One-pointedness of the mind,they say. The rishis, sages,books by thosewho are more than less enlightened. Concentration. Meditationis concentration.Fixation on an objectto free oneself of thoughts. Use the breath,a beloved mantra, mala,to access God… Read More
Monthly Mood: We Are All So Lucky If you’re reading this right now, you are so lucky. You may not always think so, but think so! Did you drink clean, parasite-free water today? Is your electricity wired in a way that doesn’t threaten to blow up in flames at any given moment? Do you have your freedom of speech? Do you have… Read More
My Bliss Balls Receive A Blessing From The Moon + A Recipe Day 1089 01 February 2021 ಗೋಕರ್ಣ (Gokarna) Six months ago, I was battling the standard of life that comes with $3 Indian guesthouses. Urban limitations fought against my willpower to get my bliss balls on the market. I had Женя trudge home the cheapest mixer-grinder from the main market. The plug wouldn’t reach… Read More