Suddenly my life exploded. Within one month of returning to San Francisco in May, I sat a 5-day silent meditation retreat, bought a home, and moved…in addition to working with my business clients, meeting friends, celebrating birthdays, returning to yoga, and dancing...
It's a whole new day. I cut further south to cross the Sierras on a more reliable road and return to the land of trees. In arid lands, they call this a tree: In lands abundant with water, we call this a tree: The transition between the two today is marked by a valley...
People will tell you that the desert is alive--the biological life of the "crust", the reptiles birds insects, the essential scrub and cacti. That's true, and I appreciate the biodiversity, but Death Valley didn't get its name from being abundant with life. It's a...
Returning home feels better than ever! (Except that maybe it always feels this good.) It's a joy and a relief--a smooth season with no emergencies and a return to the sweet sanctuary of home. I buy blueberries and strawberries, cook quinoa and kale, reunite...
I didn't know how much I needed this thing called home, but I steeped myself in it, gratefully, joyfully, gluttonously. Home is a place of refuge, and I was ready to take shelter. In May, it felt like the years of travel had suddenly caught up with me. That, and a...
Exploring the world alone one night towards the end of Burning Man, I climbed a modern Incan temple made of laser-cut steel, sat atop it in the curling branches of a tree, and looked out at the world with satisfaction. I was feeling very whole and solid, unlike years...
When I first went to Burning Man in 2004, I went as a spectator. A group of friends from San Francisco, we were John Cougar Melon-Camp. We played John Cougar music and handed out slices of melon on hot days, but I did little else for the community. Mostly I traveled...
Early one morning, I was roaming with a friend, and we came upon a piano. Remember, we're in the desert...and there's a piano on the corner. Surreal. We hopped off our bikes and tapped a few keys, finally managing to produce Heart and Soul. We're hacks, at best. A guy...
What do you find in Black Rock City? Everything--absolutely everything--but especially art, people, and music. Those are big broad categories, and it's nearly impossible to capture the myriad forms they take. Every single person who comes is free to create whatever...
Burning Man may be the greatest party on the planet. I'm sure there are other events to rival its Bacchanalian revelry, but Burning Man is unique in part because it is created by its participants. This brings a sense of community, ownership, creativity, and...
Winston Churchill stayed in bed until 11am everyday and then started drinking whisky, which he continued through the rest of the day. President Obama sticks around until almost 9am in order to send his kids off to school. Philip Roth's bookshelves are alphabetical by...
What to do after two months of guiding in Nepal? Something radically different. I landed in San Francisco long enough to change clothes and bags and head off with friends to a festival in the Santa Cruz mountains. Fire Drums is a weekend of workshops and practice for...