CURRENT MISSION

Finish this silly book of mine so I can get on with saving the world

ABOUT ME

After my six month road trip I landed in NOLA. Weird!!

Before that I had a lease end, withdrew from grad school, stopped looking for a job, sold all of my earthly possessions and packed up my car to travel the U.S. for some indefinite period of time. It was a mental un-breakdown. Mental duct tape? I Macguyver'd dat ish.

I am a writer and philosopher. I have trouble seeing or thinking about anything except through a philosophical lens. I am compassionate (as opposed to sentimental), deeply concerned with personal ethics (as opposed to laws) and believe that if there are seven billion people on the planet, it means there are also seven billion religions (ideally, I'd like to study them all). I believe that if there is such a thing as enlightenment, it can only be achieved by enlightening the world (as opposed to the individual).

I am interested in everything, especially in the connections between things that others often miss. I see everything from the "other" side, the angles that no one else considered. If I had to put a label on my own personal religion, it would be something like "perspectivism" the tenets of which can be summed up as "you can never truly know a thing until you know it from every possible perspective."

None of this can possibly suffice to give an accurate impression. It is in fact probably more a description of how I experience my brain working internally than a description of how I appear to others.

To others, I think I come across as a strange combination of brooding intellectual and fun-loving socialite. (I like to drink and dance and sing karaoke.) It works, somehow.

PHILOSOPHY

Variety. The "middle path" prescribed by the Buddha is found by averaging all possible extremes, and in fact that was his method.

In all other respects, my philosophy is original and unique, detailed and extensive. I would love to share it with you.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am a professional mind-blower and perspective-widener. I offer fascinating conversation about any subject.

Just check my numbers. I participate :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have this sweet orange bracelet... (update: lost!) (update: FOUND!!) (update: BUSTED! :_( )

Here's a tip I concocted my very own self: So you know how when you're traveling extensively you need a lot of temporary phone numbers? Save the contacts with an exclamation point in front. This kicks them all to the top of the "alphabet" as well as keeps them all in one place. Also makes it easier to find them when you want to clear out and delete later.

Interests

Reading (research) and writing are my main occupations. I write on everything from religion to quantum physics, economics to ecology, anthropology to neuroscience, and so on. The gravitational center of my interests is in the philosophy of language, and how all these seemingly disparate things connect through words. I love intellectual conversation on any subject.

I am very aesthetically oriented. I'm somewhat obsessed with sensory candy both visual (art, architecture, movies, etc.) and auditory (music).

I am also very kinesthetic. I have done martial arts, dance, and gymnastics in one capacity or another for my entire life. I've played a ton of Frisbee as well.

I play pool, love good beer, whiskey and wine, and love learning or experiencing anything I have not before.

• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• architecture
• dancing
• ethics
• wine
• beer
• drinking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• billiards
• music
• karaoke
• martial arts
• gymnastics
• anthropology
• ecology
• economics
• neuroscience
• philosophy
• physics
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

I've seen over 3000 movies, have 40,000 songs on my itunes, and have read countless books in every genre. See "personal philosophy," it's all about variety.

What's your favorite?

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

1. Hanging a two-person swing from a tree (from a 30 foot high branch) in Borghese Park, Rome, Italy. This two day project was spent amidst the baffled stares of the locals, and culminated with a swarm of Italian children coming to play once they finally figured out what the crazy Americans were doing.

2. Living with a family for a week in Tacuati, Paraguay. It was a 13 hour bus ride down mostly dirt roads from the nearest airport. The happiest people in the world are those who have nothing but each other.

So much more...

Teach, Learn, Share

I can tell you the story of the world, of humanity, and reality, in a way you've never conceived before. I've spent my life untangling the things we're taught in school, and making all the puzzle pieces fit. Lo and behold, it coheres!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Paraguay, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States

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