CURRENT MISSION

Seeing, learning and experiencing more. Right now: finding out where to spend the next few months..:)

ABOUT ME

It's been said that you need a lifetime to really get to know someone. I'll try to keep this short, though...
I am: very sociable (mostly, anyway), philosophical (when in the right mood), creative and energetic (when I'm not too lazy). When it comes to culture and religion, I'm a tolerant, openminded and curious agnostic - and resarcher. The last seven years I've been living in a big co-op called the Embassy, presently together with nine good friends and two cats.
I don't play any musical instruments, which is kind of sad because most people seem to think I do :)

PHILOSOPHY

Make the best out of it! This is partly a reminder that most situations aren't too bad, and that you can usually change them if they are. It also sums up my perception of "the meaning of life", in accordance with what makes life worth living (for me!). This should not be mistaken for an ideal of total egotism, though - in some ways I'm quite self-centered when it comes to "living my life", but I don't think my life would feel meaningful without also meaning something to others - which is part of the essence of both love, friendships and respect. (Besides, one of the nicest things in life is putting a smile on other people's faces - something about how happiness is multiplied when shared with others.)
Anyway, the main goal of my life is leading a happy, fullfilling and meaningful life that will let me die without too many regrets when looking back at it. For me, a meningful life includes love, excitement, learning/experiencing/personal development, using my abilities in a constructive way and contributing to the world/people around me in a positive way :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

People frequently crash on my couch and have done so for years (although I haven't called it couchsurfing till recently). My flatmates generally share this "open house" philosophy of hospitability, to the extent that we were acutally robbed three times before we agreed on locking the front door. I've always preferred staying with friends when travelling, so I like the idea of an international couchsurfing forum. I try to respond to all requests, but nowadays I spend most of the year away from my apartment and hometown, on archaeological digs and travelling..

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've only surfed one couch using this forum, but that was a very positive experience: the guy I stayed with was very hospitable and helpful although he had lots of work to do. Great chap - happy to have met him!
I've only had one person staying with me using CS, but he and his girlfriend were looking for a semipermanent place to stay more than a couch. Fortunately, I was on my way to Stavanger to start my work-season, so he ended up renting my room for four months!:)

Interests

Nature-experiences, skiing, music/concerts, climbing, total relaxation, enjoyment and fun, travelling, reading, partying, board and strategy games, writing (all kinds of stuff), hanging out with friends/making new ones, improvised cooking, finding new favorite cafes, pubs and cities to go to, learing more (in particular about historical and contemporary cultures/religions).
Other interests: anything i can analyze, discuss and understand/have opinions about, like environmental issues, politics, important events/developments, plus (of course) my professional subjects, (sub-)cultures and society in general.

• cats
• culture
• writing
• perfumes
• concerts
• dancing
• cooking
• partying
• pub crawls
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• magic
• music
• skiing
• buddhist
• rock climbing
• history
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite films
Apocalypse Now, Fight club, The goddess of '67, the Doors, Matrix, Snatch, the Crow, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars (old trilogy), Alien-trilogy, 5th Element +++
Music
Smashing Pumpkins, the Doors, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Nick Cave, Portishead, Mazzy Star, Dinosaur Jr., System of a Down, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Cash, Shpongle, Biosphere, Röyksopp, Ramones, the Residents +++
Some favorite books:
I really like "magic realism" like La sombre de viento (Carlo Ruiz Zafon) and Mengele Zoo (Gert Nygårdshaug), and I've got a big fascination with the beat and hippie culture's literary influences. Island (Aldous Huxley), On the Road/Dharma Bums (Jack Kerouac) and der Steppenwulf (Hermann Hesse) should be mentioned. I'm a sucker for fantasy and sci-fi literature, so authors like JRR Tolkien, Peter F. Hamilton, Stephen Donaldson and George R.R. Martin rate highly on my list.
Most recent discovery: John Steinbeck. Wonderful author!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Northern lights (multicoloured, dancing and covering the ENTIRE sky), seen from a frosty mountain we had to get down from in the dark after my friend broke his leg...
The Varanasi sunrise over the silver plains on the far side of the Ganges, accompanied by the endless, timeless chanting all along the riverside...
The Alhambra!(Granada, Spain)The decorations inside the palace almost set me into a trance!

Teach, Learn, Share

I am - and will forever be - a student of religion, history and culture. I think religion is a vital clue to understanding how human individuals and societies work, being way of viewing and dealing with the world and its problems. I've specialized in Norse (pre-christian) paganism and magic, nature religions and shamanism (especially circumpolar/saami), East-Asian religions (especially buddhism) and also a lot of contemporary/new religious movements and trends in the west.