CURRENT MISSION

In walking, just to walk; in sitting, just to sit; to create good vibrations everywhere I go and to share this One Mind of compassion with everyone I meet.

ABOUT ME

I'm a software engineer currently living in Seattle, WA. I'm originally from Tennessee but my religious/political views are very liberal. I'm an easy going fellow who enjoys just taking it slow and relaxing most of the time.

PHILOSOPHY

My philosophy is compassion. My religion is love. As I've mentioned in my interests section, I am very much interested in Zen. Zen is the center that my life revolves around right now. I believe in relaxing and being awake in the present moment, being kind and respectful to others, and living in harmony with nature.

Buddha said: "I consider the positions of kings and rulers as that of dust motes. I observe treasures of gold and gems as so many bricks and pebbles. I look upon the finest silken robes as tattered rags. I see myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds of fruit, and the greatest lake in India as a drop of oil on my foot. I perceive the teachings of the world to be the illusion of magicians. I discern the highest conception of emancipation as a golden brocade in a dream, and view the holy path of the illuminated ones as flowers appearing in one's eyes. I see meditation as a pillar of a mountain, Nirvana as a nightmare of daytime. I look upon the judgment of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of a dragon, and the rise and fall of beliefs as but traces left by the four seasons."

---

Center of all centers, core of cores,
almond self-enclosed, and growing sweet--
all this universe, to the furthest stars
all beyond them, is your flesh, your fruit.

Now you feel how nothing clings to you;
your vast shell reaches into endless space,
and there the rich, thick fluids rise and flow.
Illuminated in your infinite peace,

A billion stars go spinning through the night,
blazing high above your head.
But in you is the presence that
will be, when all the stars are dead.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

---

This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,
Sails the unshadowed main,—
The venturous bark that flings
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,
And coral reefs lie bare,
Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair.

Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl;
Wrecked is the ship of pearl!
And every chambered cell,
Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,
As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,
Before thee lies revealed,—
Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!

Year after year beheld the silent toil
That spread his lustrous coil;
Still, as the spiral grew,
He left the past year’s dwelling for the new,
Stole with soft step its shining archway through,
Built up its idle door,
Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more.

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,
Child of the wandering sea,
Cast from her lap, forlorn!
From thy dead lips a clearer note is born
Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn!
While on mine ear it rings,
Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:—

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!

- The Chambered Nautilus, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Providing a safe and comfortable space where all your needs are met.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Doing a lot, a lot of hosting lately. I've met only, kind and amazing people with interesting stories to share that I will never forget. I'm so glad that I started doing this and hope to participate in this community for a long time to come.

Interests

I'm very interested in eastern philosophy these days. My main areas of interest are Zen, Taoism, and Advaita Vedanta. I've been studying Zen Buddhism for several years now. I'm also interested in music, travel, other languages and cultures, food, physics, math, living in harmony with nature, and making real and meaningful connections with other human beings.

• arts
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• meditation
• walking
• flowers
• traveling
• music
• buddhist
• engineering
• languages
• mathematics
• physics
• religion
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite movies are The Fountain by Darren Arronofsky, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Big Lebowski. My favorite bands are probably Pink Floyd, Elephant Revival, Fleet Foxes, Rebelution, and Radiohead, but there are many many more; and far too many books to mention. Lately I'm reading a lot stuff about Zen and other eastern philosophies.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam with dolphins in Honduras

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a software engineer. I know a lot about computers and computer programming. I know a few things about physics and mathematics, different cultures, and the environment. I'm very knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to psychedelic medicines; the physical and psychological benefits these provide, and how to take them in the right spirit and setting; for learning about yourself and your connection to others and to mother nature. I know very little about how to play music but I want to learn more. I've been studying Zen, Taoism, and Vedanta for several years now; so I can definitely tell you a thing or two about these Eastern philosophies.