I suppose my story centers around a profound curiosity about the world. Above all else, I am drawn to learning and experiencing the nature of humanity and the world. I want to leave the bulk of my story to the conversations that emerge from meeting people here! My current 'work' centers on engaging the questioning of assumptions around activism through a project called 'the emergence network' (emergencenetwork.org) and I'm currently floating in search of a new place to call home after a four month venture with a community in Southern Washington and a dozen years enmeshed in communities around sustainability and activism in Chico, CA.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I started using Couchsurfing back in 2012 when I began travelling around the US. I spent around a year and a half adventuring around the US -- hitchhiking, couchsurfing (through my travel companion's account), ridesharing on Craigslist and being brought into the lives of new friends through random encounters. My friend and I left our 'traditional' lives -- college, work, renting -- to explore a different way of living based on our bold assertion that the world is at its most beautiful when we live our lives as a gift. Rather than working for an income, we offered ourselves in service wherever we want and accepted whatever gifts of gratitude came our way.

I've been living this way for the last four years, moving on from travelling to mutual gift relationships with various farms and communities where I have lived and worked and been given shelter and food in return. So, you could say, my interest in Couchsurfing is not purely a matter of utility, but also a matter of values -- I want to participate as much as I can in the gift economy.

I hope my next steps lead me to a place I can share with other couchsurfers to show my gratitude for all the wonderful experiences of being hosted!

Interests

My primary interest is contemplation and conversation on a broad range of topics from philosophy, spirituality, psychology and anthropology to sociology, politics and economics to physics and ecology.

I love spending time in nature -- hiking, sit-spotting, exploring, climbing/scrambling, visiting parks, wildlife observing/identifying, etc. I'm also extremely curious about the more human aspects of nature connection in farming and animal husbandry, particularly exploring ways of integrating with ecosystems through indigenous knowledge, permaculture/polyculture, food forestry, beekeeping, etc. My greatest dream is to settle into a piece of land with a broad community and grow food and deep relationships with the land, animals and people I live with.

I spend a lot of time in pursuit of greater self-awareness, largely through the lens of 'non-dual' spirituality, namely by way of Advaita Vedanta teachers, particularly Mooji and Rupert Spira. Much of that time is spent watching videos or listening to audio recordings of satsangs and following the contemplative experience therein or in meditative self-inquiry. Although, I try to integrate these practices into my every day life rather than keeping them as a compartmentalized 'practice'.

I'm becoming more and more fascinated with travel and seeing the world through the many perspectives that such travel brings into my life. My hope is that I soon get to explore outside of America, particularly in Europe, India and South America.

My biggest interest is, perhaps, integrating all of these things into a rich life-experience and an 'activism' centered around visions of a world that works for everyone and engages all of our gifts and desires in enriching ways.

• animals
• wildlife
• design
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• politics
• technology
• traveling
• socializing
• painting
• hiking
• rock climbing
• anthropology
• ecology
• economics
• forestry
• physics
• psychology
• sociology
• software
• hitchhiking
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:

I'm a reader, so I'll just list my favorite subjects and authors at the moment.

Daniel Quinn (Ishmael trilogy)
Charles Eisenstein (Sacred Economics, Ascent of Humanity)
Ursula Le Guin (The Dispossessed, The Word for World is Forest)
Sri Nisargadatta (I am That)
Karl Marx (early works)
Erich Fromm (The Art of Loving, Escape from Freedom)
Transcendentalism (Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman)
Anarchism (Proudhon, Goldman, Kropotkin, Bookchin, Jensen/DGR)
Spirituality
Anthropology
Ecology
Physics

Movies:

I'm not sure I can pin down specific movies; I have a broad interest and am not particularly critical. You probably won't find me watching particularly pop-cultural movies, but that's not entirely a rule. Anything that exposes the complexities of the human spirit or archetypal journeys and struggles capture my attention. My favorite (and in my opinion best) movie of all time is American Beauty, if that says anything.

Music:

My favorite band is an 'art metal' band from the Pacific Northwest named Floater
'Conscious' Hip Hop (Blue Scholars, Common Market, Atmosphere, Immortal Technique)
Singer/Songwriters
60's Protest Rock
90's Alternative Rock
Classical
Most music prior to the 1980's
Currently exploring some Indie music (Edward Sharp, Andrew Bird, Nahko) and contemporary bluegrass/folk (Elephant Revival)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Between the Summer of 2012 and the Winter of 2013 I travelled around the United States.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversation: My greatest pleasure and gift is intense and inspiring conversation about life, philosophy, society, politics and spirituality.

Cooking: I'm a fantastic cook, and I'm especially good at making delicious food out of those things that have been sitting in your cupboard for years unused.

Handyman: I love fixing things and installing things - if you've got loose doorknobs or wobbly tables beware, they may mysteriously fix themselves before I Ieave.

Computers & Technology: I'm pretty intuitively savvy with computers and technology and knowledgeable up to the point of basic web design and computer software and hardware maintenance. I can mostly figure stuff out.

Cleaning: If I'm staying in a place for a while and I get the feeling that it won't be taken offensively, I tend to tidy kitchens and coffee tables.

Painting: While I'm not professional, I've painted enough rooms that I know how to make a paint job look clean and crisp, and I don't mind helping with a painting project.

Flooring: I've installed a few rooms of tongue-and-groove wood flooring and have gotten pretty decent at it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States