I'm from the UK, specifically Sheffield i.e. the Steel City! I'm 29, I'm a musician (composer pianist) as well as an administrator with the Home Office. I like running, am currently watching Better Call Saul, and love reading Stephen King, Ishiguro, and biographies of US Presidents! If there's a cat around me I like to be around it.

I'm a clean and tidy guy; what I take into a home I take out. I'm a non-smoker and non-drinker but don’t at all mind being around those who partake. I can also stay up as late as need be!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Why do you remember a place? For me I think the best answer is the people, because they 'ground' a place in your mind. You associate places with friendly faces. I also think 99% of people are willing to treat you with respect and trust; it's your part of the bargain to live up to that trust.

Once I've nicely settled down down somewhere I'd love to host people and give back the generosity I've seen as a surfer; to experience the OTHER side of CS. One day.

Interests

Music (Listening) - Classical, Contemporary Classical, Ragtime, Film Music.

My comfort food composer is James Horner, who can write such beautiful music. Favorite composer overall? Probably John Williams, for his concert music more than his film work, though both media push my buttons. In terms of "classical" music I like Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Britten, Janacek, Debussy, Lutoslawski, etc. (There are a lot of names, you see.) We'd have to talk about it, if you were so inclined.

Music (Other) - I really want a home studio to produce my work - it’s comingggg

Sport - I like to run and gym. I also watch snooker and the F1, with my dad if possible

Games - I used to play a mean Ratchet and Clank (PS2) and loved racing games! Plus Nitrome

TV - I like me some Star Trek, some British comedy, and I make sure to catch Doctor Who

Cooking - Nope, sorry, misled you. I can't really cook. I'd love to learn though.

• animals
• cats
• arts
• writing
• books
• concerts
• mardi gras
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• yoga
• running
• shopping
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• music
• piano
• sports
• martial arts
• parks
• snooker
• film
• stephen king
• john williams
• bill bryson
• james horner

Music, Movies, and Books

For books I'm a big fan of Stephen King, which is why it was very cool to go to his place in Bangor, Maine. If I read anything else it'll either be fiction, biographies or music books!

I read "Siddhartha" (1922) by Herman Hesse, on the recommendation of a CS host.

Movies vary. As a rule of thumb I avoid blockbusters and flashy spectacle. I watch many films JUST for the music; case in point, I only saw Memoirs of a Geisha and Minority Report for the John Williams scores. Aside from that, I recently opened a pot of fun when I watched five Studio Ghibli-directed movies in a week. My faves are Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away. Last December it was four Ingmar Bergman movies, all in a row. My faves are Wild Strawberries and Persona.

I listen to a lot of music since I study it every day. I'll add that 20th-century American concert music (usually orchestral music written for the concert hall) is my favorite genre. Billie Eilish rocks

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jokey answer: When I learn to cook I'll let you know how awesome my cooking is. Until then...

Serious answer: being a big brother to three sisters and having them NOT hate me.

OK, seriously serious answer is: conducting my own music in front of other people. I haven't done it much, and I should do it more. That's when a composer's -- my -- music becomes alive.

I've memorised pi to 840 decimal places and counting. (The number has been with me since I was twelve. 'Tis a good relationship.)

Also these things in America, maybe we have some things in common here:
I had Thanksgiving dinner in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
I went to N'awlins for Mardi Gras.
I went to both Universal Studios theme parks, both East and West coasts.
I hiked ten miles in the Grand Canyon. (It was acceptable.)
I looked at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia for a solid fifteen minutes, then had a proper cheesesteak.
I shook Bernie Sanders's right hand in New Hampshire and was part of a Seattle rally for him which boasted 25,000+ people.
I went to the top of the Empire State Building. This achievement is particularly special because I know nobody else has done this.
I stood in the tiny room in Flagstaff, Arizona, where Tombaugh discovered Pluto.
I saw Paul McCartney's house in Tucson, Arizona.
I was manhandled by police once and spoke to four police officers on two separate days in Little Rock, AR, where I had my own house for a weekend, courtesy of Couchsurfing and a trusting host.
I tried to memorize the Gettysburg Address, right then and there, at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C.
I toured the Capitol Building in DC the day before Obama arrived to deliver his final State of the Union address.
I toured the Capitol Building in Iowa the day that nothing was happening.
I saw Historic Mission Control in Space Center Houston.
I saw where JFK was shot in Dallas, from the sixth floor of the then Texas Book Depository.
I happened upon the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.
I saw MLK Jr.'s childhood home and school in Atlanta, and walked the pews of the nearby church from which pulpit he preached as an unknown man.
I held an AK-47 in Amarillo.
I went to Rhode Island and Delaware... enough said.
I attended a swing dancing class in Providence RI (I don't dance).
I attended a yoga class in Baltimore - I'd never done yoga before. I ached for two days afterwards, which obviously meant I tried my best (the class was meant to be beginner; it was actually advanced).
I slept two nights in Boston's Public Garden and fell in love with my first Dunkin' Donuts... (it's closed up now)
I bought some "meth candy" in Albuquerque and scouted Breaking Bad locations.
I spent four days in Canada (Vancouver, Montreal) because I felt like it. Had some Poutine...
I straddled the Iowa/Nebraska border and, much later, went to Dyersville, IA, to check out the idyllic yet touristy Field of Dreams movie set.
I saw author Bill Bryson's childhood home and middle school in Des Moines.
I visited Scott Joplin's house in St. Louis, MO. As someone who frequently plays his rags, this was fun.
I took a wander through Colonial Williamsburg and hitchhiked by way of a nifty youtuber to Jamestown Settlement, i.e. the first English settled colony in North America, or, Pocahontas-land.
I rode an ATV in Spokane and, afterwards, petted a kangaroo. And one of the monkeys from Night At The Museum... I thought that was a joke at the time, but it wasn't.
I waded through snow in North Carolina. (OK, not ALL of these are amazing...)
I summoned enough courage to gaze into the abyss of Stephen King's front door in Maine.
I had pizza in Chicago and decided I preferred Empire pizza after all... 🍕
I had my first root beer in Milwaukee's famous Lakefront Brewery.
I was stopped by police near a toll bridge in Newport, RI... they thought I was going to commit suicide by jumping off said bridge.
I attended summer concerts at Tanglewood - John Williams was there to hear the world premiere of his new work for violin and orchestra, Markings.
I also attended a John Williams concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
I ALSO also attended an epic Hans Zimmer concert in Liverpool (UK, not US, sorry, but had to mention it)
I gave up buses for traveling the mountain states, instead hitching rides from gas stations and doing some old-fashioned thumbing. Way cheaper, and more daring.
I saw Neil Gaiman in Hartford CT -- spellbinding.
I've meditated (clothed) on a clothing-optional beach by Lake Tahoe.
I opted, however, for no clothes at America's largest nude beach, Blacks Beach in San Diego. It was fine, but I got sunburn.
I saw my first baseball game in Chicago; the Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers for a stunning home victory. And I think I followed at LEAST 20% of the rules. Go me!
I dragged a piano up the Laurel and Hardy Music Steps in Silver Lake, LA (OK, I didn't go that far...)
I ran up the Rocky Steps in Philly.
I did the whole Sunset Strip-Beverly Hills thing in Hollywood and didn't leave with so much as a facelift. (Or a hunger for my 15 minutes of fame. It's due soon...)
I went under the Hoover Dam and straddled the state line between Arizona and Nevada. I then went to the Las Vegas Strip and didn't gamble, was just creeped out by the copious Elvises.
I walked the Brooklyn and Golden Gate Bridges. (I preferred Mr. International Orange, tall and handsome that he was.)
I took my most American photo ever when some kids in Idaho proudly posed with their lemonade stand for me. Aww.
I've seen David Copperfield in Vegas -- there was a spaceship involved, and it was awesome.
I threw myself into contra dancing in Pocatello, ID.
I hiked and biked in Montana and felt young again. Went down a mine in Butte and stopped feeling so young.
In Savannah, GA, I stayed with a Brummie and bought British food from a British shop run by a young lady from London. Brits in the Deep South, unite!
And lastly, I've been up the Statue of Liberty.
**NB: One of the above is completely untrue.**

Teach, Learn, Share

The vast majority of CS experiences are great. Most of humanity, in fact, is actually decent.

I used to be unsure about this -- a while back, I was implicitly contemptuous of people in general -- but then travel and self-development work happened. When you use (really use) your eyes and ears and think critically about your experiences, without your own ego getting in the way, the world and its people begin to open up to you. Even bad experiences become excellent spiritual practices (rising up out of the muck strengthens your character like nobody's business) and only serve to highlight the good stuff, which is almost everything else.

"Feel, Don't Think"

--1--

This doesn't mean to stop thinking altogether -- that would be pretty funny. Instead, "Feel, Don't Think" means to stop the majority of our thinking, which is *compulsive, generally useless thinking* -- this only serves to clog up the mind.

Instead, simply become aware of your sense perceptions and your surroundings. Feel the air against your skin. Listen to the cars passing by. Smell the cut grass. Watch the clouds in the sky. Don't think (intellectualize) about these things, because if you do, I don't think you can truly engage with the reality around you. You need to stem the part of your brain that chatters, seemingly without end, and which keeps the sensory awareness -- the immersion into present reality -- from happening.

Do trees worry what people think of them, or check their iPhones every two minutes?
Do clouds hold grudges?
Are they "bored"?

To find some kind of ultimate peace or happiness in this life, I think I have to live by this philosophy. By "feeling" instead of "thinking", I find peace, and a deep sense of inner security, unencumbered by the things compulsive thinking brings; for example, the need to be appreciated *externally*. This is the ego wanting to be loved, and it can do terrible things in its quest to be loved. It fills our minds with all sorts of nonsense (hurt her, he will love you for it... your friend is a threat, the group loves him more than you, insult him, insult him now, and they will respect you for it... he is from a different culture, I have to play a role in order for him to respect me, I can't just be myself...) and it confuses us deeply. I must put an end to this kind of thinking for myself -- who wants to live a confused and often contradictory life?

The kind of radiating calmness I strive for does not come from without, but from within. After all, every negative emotion -- every bit of anger, fear, and emotional pain -- is sparked *inside* ourselves by our ego. They originate in our mind. Nothing more, nothing less. The outside situation doesn't matter, it is how our mind responds that determines our level of happiness... or pain. The ego, and its primal desires to indulge these negative emotions, should be diminished.

--2--

So, how might this diminishment of the ego (the primal, negative, manipulative, compulsive, false part of the mind) be accomplished?

You don't need to change position whatsoever for this, though it helps if the body is upright (not stretched out on a bed, or whatever).

First step, answer this: What are you thinking right now? Become aware of your current thought, or stream of thoughts. Take the whole thing, and... toss it aside. (This may take a moment to do.) Let it float to the bottom of the mind's ocean. You won't miss the thought, and it may not be gone forever anyway -- it will probably be back in a few seconds. For now, let the mind go blank as you read this. Take a moment to become aware of this strange "blankness". There is now a space between two thoughts; the last one you discarded, and the next one. *Hold the space* as long as you possibly can; more than five seconds is probably a pretty good score. You may close your eyes if you want.

How did you do? That may have been your very first conscious meditation -- most meditations people do are unconscious, like in trying to get to sleep. You didn't say 'om' or sit with your legs in an uncomfortable position, so, was it really a "meditation"? I assure you that it was. If you are aware and alert, but not thinking at all -- and that describes the state you just reached -- that's almost a definition of meditation. (Meditation may involve thinking, of course, but the thoughts are always contemplative and nuanced as opposed to being shallow and compulsive.)

--3--

For the next step, it works best if you close your eyes. Read as much of the text as you want before you do.

Clear your mind of thoughts, as before -- pick up the current stream and toss it aside. Now, *feel your body with your mind*. Your body is alive, and present -- feel it take up space and exist. Without opening your eyes and looking at your hands, feel them, and know that they are there. What are they touching? Feel your lungs fill with air, and become conscious of your breaths. What are your feet doing? Feel the toes without wriggling them. Feel your joints, do they ache at all? How about your neck? Continue this process for as long as you want, or are able.

[Just to note, as per the philosophy, the more you focus on "feeling", the less "thinking" you'll be doing, and once you're done with this exercise you'll feel happier and more peaceful than before. (Assuming that's what you want, of course -- the ego might be much more comfortable feeling negative emotions than positive ones, so it could be uncomfortable for some to feel this way, even wrong.)]

So how did you do on that one? More to the point, how do you feel? Have thoughts rushed back in, or are they holding back for the moment?

(Thoughts like: I should send the email, I feel a bit hungry, I should check Facebook now, I wonder what's for dinner, Why can't I earn the money he/she does?? etc. etc.)

I hope you feel calm, at any rate. Try the last exercise now if you want, or save it for later.

--4--

Discard the thoughts that may have come back in (really focus on keeping the mind blank -- this is the last exercise) and close your eyes. Consider this: What emotions are you feeling right now? Or what emotions have you been feeling today?

Anger, fear, bitterness, boredom, frustration, bewilderment?
Happiness, joy, love, excitement, simple contentment?

Look deep within yourself -- there will probably be a few emotions churning around in there. Identify them. This requires focus, and a lack of compulsive, mindless thinking.

(what shall I watch on Netflix?? my friend said, oh wait, I think, I think the plants need watering, I'll do that in a bit, anyway, Netflix...).

That kind of thinking can come later. Right now is, first and foremost, about feeling the emotions inside of you. Become aware of them, and... *let them go*. Just like with the thoughts. Toss the emotions aside -- they are likely to be mildly negative anyway. You won't miss them for a minute or two. The space in your body must be allowed to breathe, like the space between thoughts in your mind. You should start to feel lighter, like a weight has been lifted from you. This is the accumulated emotional weight of the day, and possibly several days before. Let any build-up of anger go. Feel no fear, not for the future, not from other people -- none. Feel safe and secure in your own body. Your mind is now connected to the body, and you should feel whole.

Well done -- I want to see you smile. Forget the hardships of the past, if you can, and forget the unknown future -- you are living in the present moment. Right here, right now. Keep that feeling of being "whole" as long as you can. Keep out the thoughts threatening to break into your mind. Keep out the negative emotions craving the warm space of your body. All you should feel is a calmness, a peace, a lightness of being. Your mind and body are currently untroubled by the common, petty concerns that your ego loves to burden you with.

Keep the state going as long as you can.

If you were to be enlightened, this state of radiant calmness and inner security is brought with you regardless of any situation life throws in your general direction. It can't be gotten rid of, because the mind recognises that life is much easier to get through with it firmly in place.

So, try doing these exercises for five minutes every day. The mind (sans ego) is a beautiful instrument, and it doesn't deserve all the stress heaped upon it day after day, which is entirely self-made. This is one way to let go and reduce the stress level, though of course it's much more than that -- for me, it constitutes an entire life philosophy. It's very important to embody this freedom from compulsive thought, and to enhance your awareness of sense perceptions. Otherwise, a whole life may be lived without truly knowing happiness, peace, and, ultimately, one's own mind.

On a last note, I don't actually *think* the words "feel, don't think" in order to remind myself of the philosophy; that honour goes to this phrase: "Consciousness, Not Situation". As soon as I think those words, I'm reminded of everything "Feel, Don't Think" stands for, but the first phrase has real, practical value for me. Whatever the situation may be -- you're annoyed with a friend, you resent yourself for biting your nails, you're angry that it will rain and you don't have a coat, you're afraid of what tomorrow may bring, you're afraid of meeting a new co-worker, you're about to go onstage to perform, and so on -- your *consciousness* (your awareness of, or alertness to, your thoughts, your emotions, your surroundings and sense perceptions) is the absolute overriding consideration at all times. Only when you are alert to all these things should you fully concentrate on the situation at hand. Otherwise, you're being dragged across the coals by negative emotions, an incessantly chatty ego, and all the baggage that comes with it.

And who can concentrate on anything, or feel truly at peace with the present, with all of that festering in their body?

We only live in the present moment. We don't live in the past, never have... and the future is now.

Enjoy it.

"Most people are like a falling leaf, which is blown and turns around through the air, and wavers, and tumbles to the ground. But others, a few, are like stars — they go on a fixed course; no wind reaches them; in themselves they have their law and their course." - from "Siddhartha" (1922), by Herman Hesse.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm a very practiced listener. I can write you a theme/play piano/trumpet if you have em! I can teach you pi to far, far too many places, tell you some Sheffield dialect (Orreight mi ol!) and stay up late discussing whatever you might like :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Macao, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United Kingdom