CURRENT MISSION

Make it easy for people to Lighten Up, Rather than TightenUp!

ABOUT ME

I'm a clinical hypnotherapist who's taught meditation and guided imagery for 40+ years. I play a number of instruments, am a Cantor in the Jewish renewal movement, and do occasional voice overs.

My "semi-retirement" career: Wedding Officiant!

I produced and hosted a radio show in Los Angeles for 8 years, called the MasterMind Hour... dedicated to practicing MindSkills such as meditation and self-hypnosis as a community on the air.

Early History and Couch-surfing Roots, pre-Internet:

Born in Staten Island in the early 50's, I instantly felt the wanderlust and convinced my folks to start moving !
(I was 2 weeks old, and a force to be reckoned with!)

After flirting with Lancaster and Philadelphia PA, and Savannah Georgia, and gaining a younger brother along the way, my clan settled in Chicago long enough for me to finish grade school.

Off to upstate NY for high school. My criteria for all my extra-curricular activities was simple: did they sponsor any trips OUT of Albany at any time during the year at all????
Good.. I'm In!
LOTS of couch-surfing experience, from a chicken farm on Wappinger's Falls, where the farmer kept a very watchful eye on the farmer's daughter with all the teenage testosterone under his roof, to riding the milk-train to Montreal inventing Time magazines quotes to attribute to Charles Degaulle for the International debates at McGill University.
Even performing a weekend at Cafe La Mama in NYC with the drama group.....
Staying on the couch of a 60's one-hit wonder recording artist in the East Village.!

If it left town, I was there....

College in NYC in the late 60's early 70's.... Managing the University's coffeehouse and bringing in folksingers from as far as South Dakota and putting them up in my living room for the weekend, surrounded by drum kits, bagpipes, electric pianos, and pedal steel guitars...

Off to Marblehead Massachusetts as the Youth Director of the Jewish Community Center then (Still finding time to run a coffehouse program... but now the entertainment went beyond music and poetry to include a hypnotist... and Laurie Cabot, the Salem witch (from nearby Salem, where else!?!) and we all were finding out there was more to life than news, weather and sports.....

Off to California for Grad school, and serving my friends and family back home as their Western outpost.... complete with living room couch, of course!

Looked around.. after a year of never having to shovel snow except when I traveled to Mammoth...
Started thinking this might not be a difficult place to stay for a few extra years...
That was 1975.
I'm still here in Southern CA.

After grad school, took a few years to play music professionally... making sure I would never end up on a rocking chair in Marin County in my 80's, moaning about all the fun I could have had back in my youth.

PHILOSOPHY

It's the Gentleness in Living
That Makes It All Worthwhile
It's the Tenderness in Giving
That Keeps us From Going Wild.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Surfing, and offering a place to stay.

Non-smoker.
(I earn part of my living helping people get of cigarettes, just as I did, using hypnotherapy)

I would be willing to help create a fund-raiser to benefit CS featuring a variety show with magicians, mentalists, and my comedy Hypnotist show... as i have done for other worthwhile organizations...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've couchsurfed in Leipzig with artists and musicians a third my age I met in Park Guell in Barcelona.... and ended up fronting a blues band a 2am in a popular tavern, singing classic Sam Cooke songs like "Bring It on home to Me" Not bad for someone who doesn't speak a word of German!

I produce a series of monthly house concerts in my home, featuring world music artists such as Rebbe Soul, Yuval Ron, Freebo, and Incendio., and house and feed those from out of town.
We are working on webcasting them live starting next month, and involving the web audience in the events through chat, and maybe even Skype during the intermissions!

Last weekend, I put up an entire kirtan band called The Shakti Tribe here in my home: all 7 of their traveling entourage including managers, filling the guest room, sleeper-couch, downstairs couches, and air mattresses in every room of the house!

It was GREAT! and they did a terrific concert!

July 2011 Update: I have now Couchsurfed "officially" through this site 8 times (and 1 upcoming trip this month), hosted three times, had 3 traveling CS'rs enjoy the concerts I produce in my home, enrolled 2 new CS'rs, and arranged for other CS'rs to stay at my friends' homes when my home was unavailable.
I can unequivocally recommend this site to others, and enthusiastically recommend the community itself to all ages, travelers, and hosts. Feel free to call or write me if you have any reservations about the process, or questions about any of the folks I've stayed with or hosted!

Interests

House Concerts: producing and attending
Music: I play a number of instruments, and sing
Hiking.
Travel.
Friends and Family.

• poetry
• singing
• concerts
• festivals
• running
• meditation
• drinking
• news
• traveling
• music
• blues
• world music
• hiking
• surfing
• sports

Music, Movies, and Books

Yes.

States I've visited:

visited 48 states (90%)Create your own visited map of The United States or Like this? try: Eddie the DJ

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Laying in a field in upstate NY at 3am holding hands with 100's of people singing for hours in 50+ part harmony while watching the Aurora Borealis.
A remarkable shift in energy from the scene before.... bluegrass jams, racuous Celidh singing at dozens of campfires, laughing,drinking, and telling stories.... Then a few observant souls noticed the start of something BIG.... and everyone turned off the lights, the noise, and joined in one remarkable union, adding a soundtrack to one of nature's greatest displays....
The Fox Hollow Folk Festival, 1970

Teach, Learn, Share

Self-hypnosis, Guided Imagery, Guided Mediation.
Comedy Stage Hypnotist available for fund-raising activities

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, Music,Singing and playing stringed instruments

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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