I'm indebted to my new friend Kristine for reminding me of this wonderful writing from my main man, Leonard Cohen. I hope you enjoy it as well. - Barry

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During my short time in Bangkok, I was the guest of Mae Chee Sansanee at her monastery, Sathira-Dhammasathan. It is a center and learning community for peace and harmony, providing a variety of programs for people of all ages, genders, and walks of life. The monastery is an incredible garden paradise in the midst of bustling Bangkok, set on seven acres of trees, with lotus ponds, winding paths, and meditative nooks.

The teachings and humanitarian efforts of Venerable Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta are helping to break the cycle of violence in many communities. For more than 18 years, Mae Chee has been running several programs, starting with the Sai Samphan House for women who have suffered from domestic violence and unmarried pregnancy. Other programs include a kindergarten for children (including those at Sai Samphan House), a program for pregnant mothers in prison, and a prison visitation program for male prisoners who have committed violent crimes against women and children. She has recently founded a project that encourages couples and mothers-to-be to pay attention to their fetus' spiritual health by freeing their own minds of negative thoughts and emotions while they are pregnant. Recently Mae Chee Sanssanee has also been involved in tsunami relief.

You can read more about this remarkable woman and her center at www.sansanee.org

You can see a slideshow of some photos I took while I was there at my blog on myspace. Much more to come. ;-)

Here are a few photos from my first day in Thailand. These are selected images from the Grand Palace.


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Current Mood: lonely

You Are The Moon

You represent the unconscious side of life, what happens in dreams. You are capable of great genius - but also of great madness. Emotions tend to be primal for you, both your fears and your fantasies. Your intuition is always right, listening to it is the difficult part. Your fortune: You are about to embark on a very important journey - and a very difficult one. Some of your deepest dreams will be realized, as well as some of your deepest nightmares. Follow your creativity and visions; stay away from your weaknesses. You are taking a voyage to the center of yourself, and you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.

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Current Mood: confused

Driving home tonight, I was listening to the State of the Union address on public radio. Another radio station kept cutting in, creating a quite poignant juxtaposition - George the Terrorist trying to sell the same old lies, and Nirvana singing "Rape Me." Hmmmm......

Current Mood: discontent

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Current Mood: restless

Hello.

I'm still in Thailand and this is the first time I've had time to log on to the Internet. Its been a wonderful trip so far. I'm so in love with this country and the Thai people.

I just arrived in Chiang Mai last night and decided to rest today and catch up on the Internet mail from the last 20 days. For the past 17 days its been a whirlwind tour of monasteries in and around Bangkok and in Issan. I took a boat trip down the Mekong River, and for the past several days have been providing free food at a celebration of the life of Ajaan Cha at Wat Pah Pong near Ubon. I've met so many incredible people and seen such marvelous places - and I've taken over 3000 photos so far. ;-)

I was a part of a group of Dharma practitioners, travelling with three highly respected monks, and it was so effortless being here because other people were making all the arrangements and communicating in Thai where I could not. But now I am on my own. No one to speak Thai for me. But I suspect I'll get along fine. Everyone is very friendly and helpful - and I'm improving my pantomime skills. ;-)

While in Chiang Mai, I hope to visit some spas and get a lot of massage and maybe take a massage class if I can fit it in. After Chiang Mai, I'll stop in Phitsanulok and Sukhothai before returning to Bangkok for a few days, and then I head back to California.

I miss my cat, Sukha. Its quite odd not to have cat energy around me. I've seen lots of dogs but not many cats.

I hope all my friends are well. I look forward to sharing my adventures when I return.

Current Mood: happy

What mental defect is it
that allows one to think
that it is ethical
and just
to kill people
who kill people?

A society that has sanctified rituals to commit the very crime it purports to punish is
sick.

Current Mood: distressed

I am thankful today to be in good health, despite the challenges of cancer I am facing. I am certain that this journey will lead to new discoveries and insights. As always, I choose the unorthodox, less travelled route. I am curious what it will reveal.

I am thankful for the people I've touched and have been touched by. I am grateful and full of love for my teachers, my students, my friends, my lovers, and even the adversaries who've challenged me in various ways. I am thankful for the many cats who've walked beside me in this life and have kept me sane, offering their unique feline wisdom and comfort to help me on my way.

I am grateful and appreciative of my many online friends and acquaintances. Its such a large and diverse group and each of you adds something special to my life. I hope I am able to contribute in some meaningful way to yours as well. I wish I had the time and energy to have more personal conversations with each of you but I look forward to seeing our friendship unfold. Thank you for being my friend.

I am thankful to soon have a new home, surrounded by the healing energies of redwoods and pines and refreshed by the nearness of clear coastal air. I am grateful for the change and am open to the opportunities that change and uncertainty provides.

I am thankful to be who I have become and who I am becoming. I am thankful for my art, which allows me to explore this life with grace and a continual sense of wonder. I am grateful for this life, with its boundless beauty and its fragile pain. I am thankful for the glimpses where I have the presence of mind and spirit to see how it is. Its like this. Thank you!

With hugs & metta,
Kondañña (Barry)

Current Mood: grateful

I have a new home!!!

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Current Mood: ecstatic

Spending a week at Heartwood was balm for my spirit and body. As I get older, I've come to really appreciate community - and Heartwood is such an incredibly supportive and loving community.

It was a small class that I taught, so I enjoyed the intimacy of a week with eight diverse and wonderful individuals. I was struggling with some painful sciatica from an old dancer injury that decided to act up, but I did my best and left feeling better at the end of the week.

Then yesterday I took a diversion to visit Arcata and Trinity County, spending a day with an old friend and model I hadn't seen in many years. This feels like a time I need to reconnect with the people who have been and are important in my life.

And its good to be home. Its always hard for me to leave my cat Sukha behind.

By the way, if you get a chance to pick up this month's Massage & Bodywork magazine, there's an article I wrote about Healing with Sound that I think will be interesting to many people.

Current Mood: content

What a month its been! I was diagnosed with colon cancer, which, being that I am in such good health, came as a total surprise. I have been trying to learn as much about cancer as I can as quickly as I can so as to make intelligent decisions. The standard treatment is radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy, none of which I really want to do, so I'm looking into complementary and alternative therapies and making changes to my diet and lifestyle.

To further complicate the situation, my landlady, worried that I may be hospitalized and unable to pay my rent, decided to evict me from my beautiful country home. Naturally, this couldn't have come at a worse time for me. But, I have faith that everything will work out and I am trying to maintain a sense of humor about it all.

Today, I'm heading out of town. I'm teaching a 7-day residential class in Thai Massage, but at the same time it is a vacation for me, an opportunity to get out of my routine and relax into a different, and healing, environment. I'll be out on a secluded mountain in Humbolt County and so I won't be on myspace or livejournal for awhile. I'll be back at the beginning of October.

Any reiki or other healing energies or prayers you want to direct my way are certainly appreciated. Blessings to my many friends.

Current Mood: stressed

I just found this growing in my backyard. Hmmm, what's in the water?

( THINKING ABOUT FOOD )

Current Mood: hungry

Take the quiz: "What kind of eyes do you have? (with pictures)"

Brown
You have brown eyes. Brown is the color of the earth. Your eyes symbolize your comforting and fostering nature. You are stable, grounding, sophisticated, considerate, conventional and orderly. People may consider you to be cozy or warm. People feel safe when they are with you. Some words to describe you: reliability, elegance, security, healing, homey, grounding, foundation, and earthly.

Take the quiz: "What animal-spirit lives inside of you?"

Wolf
Inside of you, the spirit of the wolf is sleeping. The wolf is a lonesome traveler in the lonely prairies, the deep woods and the never-ending deserts of ice and snow of the Rocky Mountains, Alaska,the North pole and so on... The wolf is fine with being on his own and managing his days. So are you. But be aware that wolves also live in groups often, to support each other and to defend against their enemies with greater success.

Current Mood: cranky

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Current Mood: curious