Am 65. Don't believe in aging. Vegetarian and sometimes vegan. Meditate and do yoga daily. Live in Fairfield, Iowa (the capitol for Transcendental Meditation in North America) half the year. The other half I'm either in Flagstaff, Arizona or out of the country. Just bought a house in Mexico, and will apply for citizenship. I love, love to travel. My biggest desires: to get enlightened, be a master of yoga and Pilates; to be great at guitar, to be fluent in Spanish, French, and Hindi. Navajo, too? To travel the world, and to be a great Salsa dancer. I'm a tree hugger . . . really. I love to camp, and love the mountains around Flagstaff and Sedona. As for Couch Surfing: I enjoy staying places that are drama and substance-free. No judgements, it's just not my thing.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on Couchsurfing because I like to meet new, interesting people.

Interests

Transcendental Meditation; enlightenment (while having fun); yoga; guitar; dance (usually Latin); nanchakus, and Spanish. I love to be outside (hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is definitely on my list), to travel, and meet positive people. I am passionate about financial independence, and helping others to get there -- in order that we have time to focus on helping ourselves, helping others, and improving the world.

• writing
• books
• poetry
• concerts
• dancing
• dining
• raw food
• vegetarian
• vegan
• yoga
• meditation
• traveling
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• business
• teaching
• languages
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite music is: the best music of every genre. In classical: Beethoven mostly. Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughn, Freddie King. Rock: Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Indian ragas. Mexican rancheras and mariachi. Eclectic world music. Dance music.

Movies . . . I don't enjoy violent movies. I'm a romantic. I loved Avatar. I don't go to the movies much. I'd rather do it than watch other people do it.

Books . . . the book I'm currently writing, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, Tony Robbins stuff, self improvement stuff.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I left home at 16 and traveled around the world, most of the time alone: east and west Europe, the Soviet Union on the trans-Siberian railway, Japan, Hawaii, and home.

Being at my spiritual teacher's funeral in Allahabad, India.

A six-month meditation course in Thailand.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've taught English as a Second Language, Transcendental Meditation, and karate. I've traveled, worked on a Mexican construction crew in Mexico, been financially independent, lost everything, gotten there again. I've learned a ton about life , been deeply in love, done technical writing, business writing, poetry, and am currently writing a novel. I ran a Christmas tree lot in Dana Point, California, been a hippie, been a straight, stayed in exquisite resorts, slept under bridges, hopped a freight train, juice fasted for 67 days (boy, was that dumb), and made lots of wonderful friends along the way. I'm happy to share anything I know.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm super passionate about getting people financially independent so they can improve the world. I'm decent as a DIY raw food chef. I've been to 28 countries. I love languages and enjoy helping people with ESL. I love to help and encourage people to write, and to get on the road to enlightenment. I've spent a lot of time around meditation, yoga, stapatya veda (house design), ayurveda, and a few other crazy things.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, Thailand, United States