GREETINGS TO ALL! NAMASTE! PRIVET! SHALOM! A SALAAM ALLEYKUM! CIAO! SALUT! OLA! PACE A BENE!
I was born in Bulgaria in the family of teachers. After Highschool I had to be two years in the military service where at age 19 I had a deep experience of Self-Realization and political awareness of the so called communist totalitarian state. Later I read some of the important spiritual and pacifist writings of L.N.Tolstoy and M.K.Gandhi and was a convinced pacifist and conscientious objector. Also from early age I had learned and practiced the Ancient Indian Spiritual Tradition and Philosophy of Yoga. For a period of about eight months after my discharge from the military I lived and worked in the North of the Russian Federation - then the Soviet Union. Then I returned to Bulgaria and about two years later, in the end of November 1979, just before turning 23, I escaped on top of the modern day Orient Express into Turkey. After 11 months as a stateless emigrant in Istanbul and Rome I arrived in New York City as a refugee. On the 21st of September 1987 in a District Court in Los Angeles, California, I was naturalized as a United States of America Citizen as a pacifist and conscientious objector in a special sworn ceremony for similar cases of immigrants. The following Spring in 1988 I changed my original Bulgarian name to Arthur Bogomil Burton and took my first U.S. passport. I have also a Bulgarian passport and World Citizen Passport (NGO), based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Since the beginning of 1992 I have WALKED with big groups and alone over 40 thousand km. (25 thousand miles) on the six continents as a PEACE WALKER, PILGRIM, Mother Earth AND ENVIRONMENT ACTIVIST AND ALSO HUMAN RIGHTS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND NUCLEAR-FREE WORLD ACTIVIST. I WALK WITH TWO PEACE FLAGS - THE Earth Flag AND THE World Citizen Flag. I live the spiritual life of Satya Yogi and Satyagrahi, have never been married in this Birth, have never had any alcohol or smoked any substance and since age of 20 have been strict vegetarian and now mainly RAW-VEGAN. AS A PEACEMAKER AND PEACE ACTIVIST I HAVE DONE INTERFAITH WORK AMONG THE MAJOR RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES AND TRADITIONS IN THE Americas, IN New Zealand, India, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa and Russia and Japan as well as other countries. I HAVE WALKED PILGRIMAGES THROUGH THE MAIN CENTERS, TEMPLES, CHURCHES AND HOLY SITES OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR RELIGIONS, SPIRITUAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEMS AND TRADITIONS AS WELL AS ESOTERIC AND MONASTIC DISCIPLINES. MY SPIRIT WALK IS AN INNER PRAYER, MEDITATION AND Tapasya (Sanskrit: Penance) FOR OVERALL WORLD PEACE; PEACE, UNDERSTANDING AND COEXISTENCE BETWEEN RACES, NATIONS AND ETHNIC AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND THE MOST IMPORTANT INNER PEACE OF ALL BEINGS ON THE PLANET, Mother Earth. I AM WALKING AS A PILGRIM AND YOGI-SADHU, TOTALLY ON FAITH AND THE LOVING-KINDNESS AND THE SUPPORT OF ALL WHOM I MEET ON THE WAY.
MAY ALL BEINGS BE HEALTHY IN THEIR BODIES, HAPPY IN THEIR HEARTS AND MINDS, HOLY IN THEIR SOULS AND SPIRIT AND MAY THE SPIRIT OF THE INFINITE ONENESS OF ALL LIFE LEAD US ALL FROM DELUSION AND IGNORANCE TO TRUTH AND WISDOM, FROM DARKNESS AND DIVISION TO LIGHT AND UNITY AND FROM SUFFERING AND DEATH TO BLISS AND IMMORTALITY!
AUM HUM AMIN AMEN AMANI A-SHE ALOHA A-HO, MITAQUYE OYASIN ALLELUIA ...
AUM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI SHALOM SALAAM MIR PACE PAZ PAIX FRIEDEN HEYWA POKOJ RANGIMARIE ...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

MY SPIRIT WALK IS AN INNER PRAYER, MEDITATION AND Tapasya (Sanskrit: Penance) FOR OVERALL WORLD PEACE; PEACE, UNDERSTANDING AND COEXISTENCE BETWEEN RACES, NATIONS AND ETHNIC AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND THE MOST IMPORTANT INNER PEACE OF ALL BEINGS ON THE PLANET, Mother Earth. I AM WALKING AS A PILGRIM AND YOGI-SADHU, TOTALLY ON FAITH AND THE LOVING-KINDNESS AND THE SUPPORT OF ALL WHOM I MEET ON THE WAY.

Interests

I live the spiritual life of Satya Yogi and Satyagrahi, have never been married in this Birth, have never had any alcohol or smoked any substance and since age of 20 have been strict vegetarian and now mainly RAW-VEGAN. AS A PEACEMAKER AND PEACE ACTIVIST I HAVE DONE INTERFAITH WORK AMONG THE MAJOR RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES AND TRADITIONS IN THE Americas, IN New Zealand, India, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa and Russia and Japan as well as other countries. I HAVE WALKED PILGRIMAGES THROUGH THE MAIN CENTERS, TEMPLES, CHURCHES AND HOLY SITES OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR RELIGIONS, SPIRITUAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEMS AND TRADITIONS AS WELL AS ESOTERIC AND MONASTIC DISCIPLINES.

• folklore
• environment
• human rights
• dining
• vegetarian
• vegan
• yoga
• meditation
• walking
• origami
• magic
• business
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

I ENJOY MUSIC FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT FOLK TRADITIONS ON ALL CONTINENTS AND FROM ALL PERIODS SINCE ANCIENT TIMES. PRIORITY IS ON CLASSICAL MUSIC FROM ALL TIMES AND ALL GREAT MUSICIANS; OPERA, CHORAL AND BALLET MUSIC FROM ALL LANGUAGES AND TIMES. ALSO BEAUTIFUL INSPIRATIONAL, MEDITATION AND MANTRA MUSIC AND CHANTING FROM ALL LANDS AND TIMES. GREAT PIECES OF MUSIC, SONGS AND MELODIES AND MOVIE SCORES FROM ALL GREAT CINEMATIC TRADITIONS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE ART OF FILM.

I READ ALL THE GOOD WRITINGS IN WORLD SCRIPTURES AND EPICS; SPIRITUALITY, PHILOSOPHY, POETRY, PSYCHOLOGY, STORY TELLING AND CLASSICS; WISDOM, WIT AND HUMOR QUOTATIONS; WORLD HISTORY AND POLITICS FROM ALL PERIODS; BIOGRAPHIES AND AUTOBIOGRAPHIES; GOOD ESSAYS ON ALL SUBJECTS AND ON NATURE AND WORLD TRAVEL.

MAINLY SERIOUS AND PROFOUND REALISTIC FILMS FROM ALL OF THE WORLD CINEMATIC TRADITIONS AND GREAT FILM DIRECTORS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE ART FORM OF FILMS AND MOVIES.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Since the beginning of 1992 I have WALKED with big groups and alone over 40 thousand km. (25 thousand miles) on the six continents as a PEACE WALKER, PILGRIM, Mother Earth AND ENVIRONMENT ACTIVIST AND ALSO HUMAN RIGHTS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND NUCLEAR-FREE WORLD ACTIVIST. I WALK WITH TWO PEACE FLAGS - THE Earth Flag AND THE World Citizen Flag.

Teach, Learn, Share

I ALWAYS LEARN FROM ALL PLACES AND ALL PEOPLE ON THE WAY WHEN I WALK. USUALLY I DO NOT TEACH OR PREACH BUT AM ALWAYS WILLING TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION AND SHARE ABOUT ALL THE EXPERIENCES FROM ALL THE PREVIOUS WALKS AND JOURNEYS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
WITH YOUNG PEOPLE I GLADLY SHARE AND ANSWER ALL THEIR QUESTIONS AND THEY OFTEN WANT TO TAKE PHOTOS TOGETHER AS I AM WALKING WITH THE TWO FLAGS. FOR THE FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN I OFTEN FOLD THE Origami Peace Crane AND MIGHT SHOW THE CHILDREN A TRICK WITH A SINGLE STRING AND SOME MATHEMATICAL MAGIC WITH STRIPS OF PAPER.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I CAN SHARE WITH ANYONE AND ALL HOSTS ON EACH JOURNEY THE WHOLE WORLD AND EVEN THE GREAT BEYOND AS I HAVE EXPERIENCED IT WALKING AS A PRAYER, MEDITATION AND AUSTERE PENANCE BECAUSE war and militarism have become big business as usual...

ALSO WITH THE HOSTS I CAN HELP IN PREPARING VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN FOOD, CLEANING AFTER THE MEALS AND WATCHING IMPORTANT VIDEOS.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, India, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Turkey, United States