Let's Pave Runyon Canyon!

That just doesn't even sound right, does it? Pave Runyon Canyon?? To make room for more parking??? I don't think so...

Apparently, the people living on Vista St. (which is one street over from the park entrance) are complaining and don't want people walking up their street to access the park. They commissioned councilman Tom La Bonge to build a parking lot in the park to curb the street traffic.

There's a massive campaign building to stop this parking lot from being built. Time is of the essence and what's needed is for us to barrage Councilman Jack Weiss with phone calls and emails telling him to STOP THE PARKING LOT IN RUNYON CANYON.

I sent my email off this morning. If you have a second, send an email or a phone call. The information is: councilmember.weiss@lacity.org 213-473-7005 ph 213-978-2250 fax Leave your full name and your zip code.

Let's show the city that we actually do care about what happens in our parks.

Spirit Revives My Soul!

As I turned on my computer this morning to send out my monthly music playlist, I saw the headline about how almost two thousand people were taken out in an instant in the Filipino landslide.

And my first reaction was this overwhelming sense of helplessness. I imagine that this feeling is the part of me that wants to single-handedly save the world.

Then I got an email from a friend showing pictures of how big corporations are screwing up nature---leaking nickel waste into rivers, making tire mountains and spillig oil in lakes, rivers and oceans.

I started to have a weak moment. I felt a little discouraged about everything happening in our government and all the so-called bad things and bad people in the world.

And then I was reminded of one of my favorite Martin Luther King Sermons called "Dr. King's Entrance into Civil Rights Movement." In my opinion, it's one of his most powerful, where he describes his process of taking on the leadership role in the civil rights movement, his weak moments, and how he ultimately overcame is own discouragement, and that all-too familiar feeling of weakness I described.

This is an excerpt of the last part of the speech, his redeeming moment (as you read the lines, just imagine his fiery voice delivering each line with grit and vigor):


"...Sometimes, I feel discouraged.

And I don't mind tellin' you this morning that sometimes I feel discouraged.

I felt discouraged in Chicago! As I moved through Mississippi and Georgia and Alabama, I feel discouraged.

Living everyday under the threat of death, I feel DISCOURAGED sometimes!

Living everyday under extensive criticisms---even from negroes---I feel discouraged sometimes!

Yeah, sometimes I feel discouraged!! And feel my work's in vain...

But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again!!!"


...the Holy Spirit revives my soul again. I love that line. It always comes back to what's inside of us. You never hear anybody say, those new shoes I bought revived my soul again. But I digress...

I went for a run in the rain this morning. It's one of the ways I connect with Spirit---being in nature. And as I ran, and took in the smell of the trees and grass, the feeling of my feet grazing the dirt, the cool rain drizzling against my cheeks, the sensation of my breath pumping and my heart beating. I slowly began to feel my soul charge up and revive.

I feel much more optimistic about everything in this moment. And as I'm readying for my day, my conscious intention is to use this day (and these precious moments) to add to the sustainability of peace, love, and freedom for all life on this planet in every way that I can.

Are You Seeking Or Are You Finding?

"As a result of your perpetual state of seeking, you cannot find," Siddhartha said to his monk friend, Govinda.

"How is that?" asked Govinda.

"When someone is seeking," said Siddhartha, "it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose."

This passage is from the novel Siddhartha, by Hermann Hess; a beautiful little book about a soul's long quest in search of the ultimate answer to the enigma of man's role on earth.

The Nation magazine recommends that this book "should be read slowly and with savor, preferably during the lonely hours of the night."

I read it a long time ago, and a student of mine gave me a new copy as a gift a few months ago. If you would like my copy, let me know and I'll gift it to you.

How to Succeed in the T-shirt Business?

So I'm thinking about going into the t-shirt business with my friend Chris. We want to sell my 'high vibe' t-shirts on a mass scale---of course in a sustainable way, using environmentally-friendly and sustainable methods of production.

Anyway, after doing the math (factoring in the hemp shirts, toxic-free dyes, distribution, warehousing, labor, printing, etc.), we calculated that in order to meet a $20 price point, we would end up paying people $1.50 to wear our shirts. We have to get costs down, or compromise on quality and sustainability.

We strongly believe that one shouldn't have to pay a lot of money to be environmentally-friendly, so we would like to keep the $20 price point. Any ideas???

Lapping It Up Feels So Good

Today was one of those really great days. I taught 2 yoga classes---for both, I had really great music (as I'm organizing and experimenting with my February playlist) and the people had really nice energy.

In between classes, I went circuit training at Pan Pacific park down by the Grove. My workout partner and I ran quickly and finished the entire workout (consisting of 3 laps with a set of jumping jacks, pull-ups, push-ups, sprints, jumping lunges, dips and handstands each lap) in about 35 minutes. It was hard, but I felt fantastic afterwards. I love working out outside, taking in the sunlight, and gulping in that fresh air.

I had some delicious food for lunch and dinner. Just finished drinking and eating a young coconut as a night snack. And now I'm all set to slip underneath my covers and drift off into dreamland. Gotta turn the computer off first.

By the way, I saw a funny comic strip yesterday. There was a boy with heavy bags under his eyes hunched over his computer. His concerned father, who was standing behind him, said: "You know Jimmy, you've been working on your stastics homework non-stop for days now. It may do you some good to get some sunlight and fresh air. Just go to sunlight-and-fresh-air.com. .....sign of the times.