CURRENT MISSION

To stretch my limits

ABOUT ME

I love travel and meeting new people, like everyone here. I am generally a quiet person, love silence, contemplation, and the full moon. I rarely encounter a dog without making a greeting. I have an affinity for the aesthetics of the Japanese garden, and also for the duende of flamenco. I have a propensity to daydream, and, as I've gotten older, I am learning to put my dreams down on paper, in the form of stories--right now, stories for children. I have worked with children, doing sand tray therapy (for more on this, go to sandtray.net--it was developed by a friend/student of Carl Jung's, by the name of Dora Kalff. It is like being present for a waking dream). I have often been inspired by my child clients, whose lives have been effected by the increasing disparity in wealth in the U.S. I am working on a story about a girl who is very poor who finds a magic coin. More on this if we meet.
I will fill this out more as time goes on--I am just getting started.

PHILOSOPHY

"We live in the vale of soul-making" -- John Keats

"That which is to give light must endure burning." Viktor Frankl

"Play is the exultation of the possible." Erik Erikson

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am new here, and about to start traveling. I have an extra room with a single bed in it (hoping to replace with a double, later, but I also have an air mattress). I won't be available to host until the end of August, 2014.
I will be in Spain from 5/27/2014 until 8/14/2014, in Granada to begin with, and plans to travel to Sevilla, Cordóba, Málaga, Barcelona, Madrid, and Galicia. Also hope to travel to France: Marseille, Nantes, Paris, and open to other places. Interested also in Italy and Switzerland.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None yet! Or at least, not on this site. I have hosted people in my home in Berkeley, but not through a site like this.

Interests

Writing, poetry, children's books, therapy of various kinds, authentic movement (google this if you aren't familiar), gazing out of windows, star hikes, museums, live music, flamenco, walks, hiking. Learning, in general.
Here in Berkeley I like to go on evening astronomy walks, birding, museums, music, dancing, or just stay home, spend time with friends, chat.

• dogs
• writing
• books
• poetry
• perfumes
• dancing
• flamenco
• gardening
• traveling
• magic
• music
• live music
• hiking
• adventure races
• astronomy
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: I've Heard the Mermaids Singing; Truly, Madly, Deeply; The Five Thousand Fingers of Doctor Z; The Secret Life of Walter Mitty; Groundhog Day; Amelie; An Angel at My Table; The Piano; Woody Allen's Alice, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Bullets over Broadway

TV: I generally dislike although there are more interesting shows coming out in the US nowadays, and I enjoy watching TV in Spanish, as it improves my comprehension.

Books: Too many to name. The Hobbit; The Odyssey; anything by Anton Bachelard; anything by Robert Hass, Janet Frame, Lorca, Jori Graham, Anne Carson, Jack Gilbert (poets); A Pattern Language (architecture); The Tao of Pooh; Jack Kornfield, Suzuki Roshi, Pema Chodron; Invisible Cities....I'll add more as time goes on.

Music: I love many kinds of music but I'm not good at remembering the names of what I love. I love classical music, flamenco, music from various places far from me.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I think its the little things in life that matter most to me, the moments when the ordinary becomes extraordinary, as if seen for the first time. I'm not an adventurer per se, do not jump out of airplanes or climb mountains. I enjoy daily life, every day. I am fairly Buddhistical in my outlook on life--I lived for a time in a Buddhist monastery, which was a deeply fulfilling experience, and I also did a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village in France. This was also a deeply sweet experience.

Teach, Learn, Share

I enjoy people who are similar to me and people who are different. Those who are like me, who enjoy quiet, contemplation, insight, I feel an affinity for. But I also enjoy those who are more outgoing, adventurous, extroverted. I find myself and deepen with those who are similar, and stretch the limits of who I am with those who are different.

I make a mean apple pie or fruit crisp; I specialize in salads; I love to read aloud and be read to; I am learning Spanish and enjoy practicing it; I'm also RSA certified in the teaching of English; I am good at seeing who someone is in their essence and am good at finding the right time and way to express this; I am also good at seeing the soul of a place or the potential in a garden; I am really good at laughing at jokes but not generally so funny myself; I will most likely make you feel very humorous.