When It Comes To Writing

When it comes to writing. Just write.

Many people & teachers have ideas about how you & I should write, but too much advice & trying to write how others think you should write, will (often) be unoriginal & foggy.

Clear the skies with your own style. Your own way of writing. Change the grammar, change the words. Create your own.

When we look back at the history of the English language, it’s always changing.

People & teachers will often try persuading you & I to write how everyone else is writing, because that’s the “right thing to do,” but that’s just conformity.

Language is always changing. Use your own words & your own style.

My Time At Doe Bay

Doe Bay is a resort on Orcas Island, to the West of Washington State. 

I spent 7 months there in 2021 as a workaway employee; (Workaway is a platform that offers volunteer & paid jobs & housing in many countries.)

I applied for a few different workaways & am super thankful that I received & accepted the role at Doe Bay. 

During the time leading up to this job I was looking forward to spending time on an island, away from the city life. This workaway did not disappoint. 

My housing was a single cabin, surrounded by about 5 other cabins, & a lot of trees, in nature. (On an island in nature too, so deep into nature, places I love.)

I had a couple days to settle in before getting to work, planting trees, whacking weeds, watering fields, & I helped daily with the Spa – cleaning the jacuzzi decks & testing & balancing the waters & chemicals. This may not sound like a lot, but there was always something to do, and I loved this type of work. After 5 months I also began cleaning cabins & continued with the Spa stuff, but I preferred the outdoor nature work.  

I sometimes fed worms to birds too, haha. & once a bird jumped into my cleaning bucket, true story. Started flopping around & so I dumped the bucket & sat next to the bird for like 10 seconds before it hopped away. 

Anyway, working this job was like a meditation for me. I loved planting trees – digging holes in the ground, learning about soils & good ways to plant trees. Connecting with nature, being all there. I really loved it, & I got paid too. 

Every week throughout the summer there were multiple music artists invited to the resort to perform for a few evenings. I enjoyed a range of talented artists, especially the performances by the bonfires. 

At night in the woods I could see a vast amount of stars. A beautiful sight.

In my free time I hiked serene trails, & I read & I wrote. (I’d been working on The 7 Psychedelic Meditations many months before Doe Bay, and I finished writing it & publishing it in my free time there.) 

This resort & entire island was & is a tranquil place. 

The staff was (& is) awesome too.

One of my favorite things about the resort is that sometimes a peacock would be walking around, & chillen. It was a cool, friendly, & beautiful being.     

Anyway, I really enjoyed my experience at Doe Bay & Orcas Island. I recommend both visiting Doe Bay, & if you’re interested in a workaway experience, to go for it.

Cheers to your journey & travels.

Meaning of Life?

“I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.”

—Joseph Campbell 

I personally do not know the meaning of life. 

Maybe it’s different for everyone? I don’t know.

But I do think, sometimes like Joseph Campbell, that people aren’t looking so much for the meaning of life, as they are looking for the experience of being alive.

What do you enjoy?

What makes you experience the fullness of life?

7 Meditations For Any Time & Place

Life is all sorts of things. 

There are a range of ways of life, and it is what it is. It’s alright.

Distractions surround us daily, and personally, meditating is a method I use to get focused & be empowered, and to journey well.

I wrote & published The 7 Psychedelic Meditations as a meditation guide for people who use psychedelics, but these meditations can be practiced by anyone in everyday life.

These meditations help me & others live beyond distractions, and into a more focused & strong & centered life.

Buy it today on Amazon, and let me know what you think! 

Enjoy 🙂

Simple Living Is Good Living

Da Vinci said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

It is.

Many people live their lives in unnecessary complications that cloud their lives & those around them. Some people think that their complications give their life meaning, when often their complications take away life’s meaning.

To each their own.

If living simply was easy, everyone would do it. It’s not easy to live simply & be happy & fulfilled – to not be comparing & competing, but to just be. & to be happy with what we have.

Abundance & gratitude often breed more abundance & gratitude.

A simple life may lose you some friends, but it will bring you peace.

Attention, Daydreaming, Focus

These three words have similarities & differences.

There are different ways & levels of attention, focus, concentration, and then there is daydreaming – which is a sort of focus within; a meditation.

There is not one right way of living for all people. There is a vast range of ways of living, just as there is a range of attention, focus, and also daydreaming. 

It is all okay.

Here’s a relative Henry David Thoreau quote:

“If a man does note keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

Listen to YOUR own drummer. 

Listen to the music YOU like. 

Read the books YOU enjoy. 

Do the activities YOU like.

This is not selfish. This is self care. 

Take care of yourself first, and if you need to care for others, then you can do so, but make sure you put your life jacket on first.

Attention, Daydreaming, Focus…oh the places you’ll go…

The Joy of Attention

“Don’t pay attention to other people’s minds. Look straight ahead, where nature is leading you, through the things that happen to you through your own actions.”

— Aurelius

We live in attention deficit societies.

We live in such attention deficit societies that good attention is almost frowned upon – or people are envious of people being able to pay attention. I know that sounds insane, but it’s real.

So don’t bother yourself with any dead minds who are ignorant & envious of people who are focused.

Keep your focus.

Keep your attention.

Live empowered.

Comparing, Thriving

We as humans often compare ourselves to each other – or to people of the past. But the thing we probably do most is compare ourselves to our immediate environments & those there.

Sometimes our environments become boxes and trap us in, and sometimes our environments provide freedom.

When we thrive & strive to improve ourselves, to live our best lives, helping others, we are living in more freedom.

When we are comparing ourselves with anger, hating, envious, offensive & defensive, we most likely stay in a box.

I have heard that winners focus on winning, and losers focus on winners.

You can be a winner & focus on other winners too, just don’t look into the sidelines or crowds too long or you may get lost in them, with them, and you don’t want that if you’re a leader, a person of influence; someone attaining their own freedom.

2024 With A Smile

“Everyone should smile. Life really isn’t that serious. We make it hard. The sun rises. The sun sets. We just tend to complicate the process.” 

Ram Dass

If you are like me & probably most people, you faced challenges & adversities in 2023, and it may have been depressing. It was for me at points of the year. Life happens to us all. The weather changes. 

Anyway, I am reminded today from Ram Dass to smile. Sometimes we overthink or live in a fog or may be afraid to act. 

The sun rises & sets as it does, and we humans sometimes go around thinking & overthinking things, worrying ourselves, complicating things, when simplicity is offered to us.

Sometimes reading Ram Dass quotes is like breath to my soul. 

I hope you have a wonderful 2024!