On a personal note

“When I planted my pain in the field of patience, it bore the fruit of happiness.” Kahlil Gibran

I have been largely reclusive, only connecting with Ellen and my dearly beloved 6am morning students. I am sorry I have not kept up with old friendships, but all my psychic energy is going inwards and away from social engagements.

After two days of open heart surgery and anesthesia that went sideways (May 6&7, 2024) the experience of crossing over into death’s waiting room, and then coming back again, is bound to change a person. I highly recommend the experience, especially the coming back part.

The recovery was gruesome. So I applied the principles of yoga, morning sadhana and the specific breathing practices that we do. Increasing lung volume and heart space, focusing into the heart spaces, tapping, humming, mindfulness and mantras proved to be excellent medicine. I got off the pharmaceuticals in record time, thank god. My heart grew strong with all that extra blood, attention and life force focused on it. I have been practicing breath meditation, as if my life depended on it. I go to the gym everyday for a hybrid yoga cardio, breathio strechio, lifting fun and games. The key to the gym has been frequency. (And having fun.) Frequency turns into a habit and habit is the ultimate guide of our life’s trajectory. What we do is who we become.

I’ve spent a lot of time in nature. I walk my dog Rumi, twice a day. The days are full. Up at 3:30am and in bed by 8pm. Weird huh? I love the early morning when the world is asleep and everything is still and quiet. The “Brahma Mahoorta,” the yogis called it.

2025 has been “The Big Year” for Left Right practices and the year is not over. This year, I began practicing Left Right Breath every hour, at the top of the hour, everyday. Every hour practice became the natural next stage after many years of a personal morning practice plus leading a 6am broadcast. Each class we give thanks and start focusing Left and Right, testing, experimenting, and witnessing the infinite complexity of the world inside our bodies. We discovered many things that to my knowledge have never been discussed or talked about. The not-so-secret secret to breath, mindfulness, meditation is Frequency. Put all your attention into one thing, every day, many times at day and it quickly evolves.

I started playing the piano in March and spend an hour or two every day lost in rapture. It has been a source of great joy. Bach, Beethoven, Clementi, Pachelbel and John Williams are my favorites. My piano teacher, Lisa LaRochelle has been so gracious and knowledgeable and very patient helping me learn how to read music. At 67 years mature, reading music is a bit overwhelming. Again, the not-so-secret secret is Frequency of practice. Jerry Garcia supposedly slept with his guitar on his belly; his fingers working the frets even at night.

At 10am, 11am, noon, 1pm, and 2pm, five times a day, we say “thank you,” and send loving kindness to 5 different people. It is a most excellent practice. Do this practice for one day and you will feel happy. Do it for a week and the practice grows stronger. Do it for a month and it becomes joyous. Do it for 10 months… The unconscious mind starts to change the deep habit patterns of our thoughts. Our thoughts are the room that we live in, our whole life. Let’s live in a joyful loving room and become beacons of light in a world growing darker.

Again, my apologies to old friends that I have fallen out of contact with.