Head Wag

Garden of Love

2011-09-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

I had to do a performance on a Sunday night in May, solo! None of the musicians I regularly play with could do it with me so I was kinda stuck. Not being a "comping" player -- one who plays guitar or piano to hold down the fort, musically -- I would have to play to pre-recorded tracks. But what tunes? Necessity being the mother of invention, I wrote lyrics to a song I had in progress and produced the entire tune, then performed it live with just the lead vocals out of the mix so I could sing it on top of the tracks. I'm happy with the way it came out! Maybe needs a little solo in the middle to finish it off, but it's close to done -- (yaaaay, from someone who does not always finish things he starts).

Garden of Love (hosted by Reverbnation)

Flip Your Feet

2011-08-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

I see so many cyclists pedaling with their legs in a fixed, locked position, so that their ankles never move up and down, and their quads and hams are doing all the work. Pedaling this way this is guaranteeing that you'll only be able to crank at 80% of your potential.

Instead, free up your ankles to "flip" through the through the pedal stroke as well, flipping your toes down from the top on the downstrokes and pulling your toes back up from the bottom through the upstroke. You'll immediately see that you have a second set of pulleys on your legs to do the work of moving you down the road. This is what the crank was really designed for, this double-action of the ankle rotation combined with the larger leg rotation.

Once you get comfortable "flipping" your feet through the pedal stroke, you can then experiment with using different combinations of ankles and large muscles, depending on whether you need to press or rest, pull up or push down, or all you've got all at once. Try riding for a mile with just ankle flips, or taking that next hill with a focus on pulling back at the bottom of the stroke combined with ankle flips at the top. You'll end up with ever-stronger legs, a better workout, a more efficient pedal stroke, and more power in your technique. What's not to love about that?

Sprint with Your Hams

2011-08-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Since my bike commute is so short now, I have to make the most of it by riding it more aggressively, and that means charging all the hills and sprinting out of intersections.

I've found the best way to sprint is not to use the downstroke at all, but rather PULL UP with your legs, letting your large hamstring muscles do all the work. Stand up, grab the top bars, and pull, pull, pull! Not only will you really fly, you'll work your lesser-used hamstrings more AND have the added benefit of still being able to crank fast when you sit down from your sprint, when you can then go to your quadriceps to keep pedaling. Try it and see!

Eckhart Tolle 'Present Moment Reminders"

2010-03-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

Eckhart Tolle "Present Moment Reminders"

Eckhart Tolle's profound teachings on consciousness, awareness and being present in the moment are thankfully making it into the mainstream (and this is part of his teaching, too, that the rising of awareness itself -- our salvation -- is on the rise amongst humanity). I subscribed to a feed (@ eckharttolletv.com) through which he generates these brief "Present Moment Reminders", and will gather and add to them here to share with you.

What a simple and rich treasure it is to have brief teachings that you can carry in your throughts throughout the day to practice being in the present moment!

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It's all in you. If a book or any other teaching is powerful, how else do you feel it? There must be something in you that recognizes it because there are others to whom a spiritual book or teaching would be meaningless.

Change is absolutely necessary in this world, and the dissolution of many of the ego-based structures is necessary for humanity to survive. What's happening isn't 'dreadfully bad.' It needs to happen; the intelligence behind phenomena is doing it, so it's a good thing.

The challenge that many people are encountering at this time is actually that which will push them into a new state of consciousness; that is the possibility-the promise whenever you encounter a crisis, whether personal or collective. It's an opening into the new way of being, the new state of consciousness.

Suffering the consequences of unconsciousness is the fire that ultimately burns up the false ego, but that's the long, slow, painful way. The short cut is any spiritual teaching that cuts through the long way, the painful way of waking up.

Take responsibility for your state of consciousness Now. This is what the entire teaching really is about. What is my state of consciousness in this moment?

It's your state of consciousness in the present moment that determines what kind of world you create, because you are humanity. Humanity as an abstract doesn't exist; humanity is the 'human being.'

Is it possible for you to embrace uncertainty, and not demand that you should know what is going to happen to you in your life situation? To embrace uncertainty?

What grace to see that the very thing that looked so heavy in the world of form, the very thing that seemed to be limiting me on all sides, that very thing is the doorway into the formless and into who I am beyond form. What grace to see that ultimately they are one. Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. They are one.

Welcome to the present moment. Here. Now. The only moment there ever is.

There's no need to wait for the next moment or some other bit of information before you can become present, alert, still, and aware in the Now.

A transformation of consciousness is already happening at this moment. How do we know? Because you are here, listening, watching, sensing the power of presence within yourself.

An amazing realization is in the present moment there is only what is, but there are no problems. And if your attention remains in the Now, you no longer inhabit a world of problems. Challenges you may still face, but they come to you in the space of Now.

With whatever spontaneous action arises out of presence, an intelligence is then at work in the situation. Whatever the situation, that intelligence is far greater than the intelligence of the thinking mind.

There's a veil, a density of mind between you and the universe, and that is dissolving now in you. And that is the liberation, the arising of the new consciousness. It's not necessarily a spectacular event with drums and trumpets. It's a very still thing . . .

What people really want is to be fully themselves. They want the sense of aliveness, of being myself fully. But they want it through this, that, or the other. They don't realize that nothing can give it to you because you already have it. And not only do you have it, you are it, you are what you're looking for already. You don't know that because you're always looking somewhere else. You can only know that in the Now by aligning yourself with the Now and with the power that is there within you.

With whatever spontaneous action arises out of presence, an intelligence is then at work in the situation. Whatever the situation, that intelligence is far greater than the intelligence of the thinking mind.

Untouched by any happening or event is the eternal 'I amness' that underlies all the manifestations. You can look at the manifestations and recognize yourself, the one in every manifestation. You recognize the beingness, not through words but through stillness. And in that moment you recognize yourself in the other and the sense of separation goes away that was created by excessive thinking. And there is love.

I was going for a walk near Los Angeles and there was a collapsed building that had burned down 40 years ago. The roof was gone and trees were growing inside the building and it struck me as beautiful, wonderful to see how form returns to the formless. The city council had put up a sign which to me was a sacred sutra. The sign said: 'Danger, all structures are unstable.' To me, that was a holy sign. I said, 'thank you.'

It is a radical, revolutionary, amazing thing for a human being to discover in him or herself that dimension of consciousness where you can be aware of awareness. You become self-aware. To put it in other words, awareness consciousness becomes conscious of itself. No object in it.

Invite the opening to the new state of consciousness, instead of waiting for life to do it to you. We can voluntarily invite the opening into our lives through portals into the state of presence. All portals take you, of course, deep into Now. No matter what portal, you will end up in the Now.

Can you wake up out of thought into the aliveness, the alertness that you only have, that is inseparable from present moment? That is ultimately the meaning of now.

When you drop your expectations that a person, a situation, a place, or an object should fulfill you, it's easier to be present in this moment because you're no longer looking to the next one. Most people want to get what they want, whereas the secret is to want what you get at this moment.

Instead of creating expectations of what should or should not be happening, cooperate with the form that this moment takes. Bring a 'yes' to the isness, because it's pointless to argue if it already is. A greater intelligence is available to you when you no longer reject, deny, or 'don't want' what is.

If you are aligned with the moment, the kind of action that you take is qualitatively totally different from the kind of action that you take when you deny or dislike the present moment out of the feeling that you want to get somewhere better than this moment.

If you go into a forest with your mind only, you'll only notice the sounds and the mind will try to interpret them. You might think you're present; but you're not really, you're simply judging what you hear. But if you become aware of the silent dimension underneath the sounds and in between the sounds, then you become present because the moment you become aware of the silence, you also have become silent.

Obstacles come all the time. If you get upset that means the ego is back. When obstacles come if you're not upset and you're still present, you will look at whatever the obstacle is with a penetrating gaze of presence, which is stillness also. You look at whatever obstacle arises, you bring this penetrating stillness to it, and that is like a light that shines on it and dissolves the obstacle or shows you a way around it. That's the power of consciousness.

Some may do great things; others may do things that look less significant on the surface. Ultimately what you do is secondary. But how you do it is primary.

It is from that place of intense aliveness, spacious presence, that you can appreciate the aliveness in all things. It is more than just the sense perception of the chair or the perception of the table or the glass of water. Within the sense perceptions you can sense that there is more than what you are perceiving on the surface; that everything has a presence, an alive presence to it. When you touch that within you, then you don't have to wait for something to happen in your life to feel more alive.

Don't underestimate the power that is in presence. Even if seemingly nothing much is happening yet, there's enormous power that comes through you and flows into this world. Don't even try to understand what it wants; you can only ever get glimpses of what its ultimate purpose is. There's no single human being who knows intellectually what that ultimate purpose of that vast power is that wants to come into this world through you.

So really what it comes down to, it's God. Wherever you look, it's God appearing as this, that, that…and what you really love and appreciate in each form is the divine formless out of which each form comes. But to be able to sense that you have to sense it in yourself first. And that is seeing the beauty in everything, that's really what it means.

If you go into a forest with your mind only, you'll only notice the sounds and the mind will try to interpret them. You might think you're present; but you're not really, you're simply judging what you hear. But if you become aware of the silent dimension underneath the sounds and in between the sounds, then you become present because the moment you become aware of the silence, you also have become silent.

All that we perceive in this world is existence. Underneath existence is being, the formless, timeless dimension within yourself. The sense of lack in so many of us has to do with our inability to sense the being within us, the "I AM" within, the primordial sense of beingness.

Attention is the vital thing—and there is no tension in attention. It just happens to be a similar word. It's not concentration or straining. Attention has the openness of a young child not yet dominated by the conceptual mind.

Using your logic means to live in alignment with the universal intelligence. You cannot live in alignment with that if you resist life, if you resist what is, if you complain about life, or have a quarrel with the present moment.

What determines ultimately whether your life has meaning or not is whether the dimension of depth—the stillness, the spaciousness, the formless essence—whether you realize that within yourself. Or whether your life is consumed completely by the world of form, which includes the thinking mind…

Golf and Zen

2010-02-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

Last year I shot a one-under 71 at Santa Clara Muni. I was playing with my friend Tim Welch, who was really encouraging the whole time; he's always fun and easy to be with. I don't play that much golf (who has time?), though I practice occasionally. I only played 4 rounds last year but went to the practice area about 15 times. My other 3 rounds were in the 3- to 8-over range.

I think the way I practice is unusual, and this is what helps me score well. You see some guys on the practice range just hitting their drivers, over and over, really trying to pound it and seemingly trying to show others how far and hard they can hit. Either that or they're working out some serious personal issues.

But that's not going to help you score well on the course. It may not even help you drive well on the course.

The teachings of Eckhart Tolle, who is not a PGA pro or a touring player but rather a remarkable person who's published several works on awareness, presence, "enlightenment" and self-realization, are my main influences here. Tolle talks about being Here, Now. The more you are present, the less your mind can get in the way, and one's mind is really often in play in most golfer's heads, so much so that they can't golf through all that thinking and judging and worrying.

While you're hitting the mind says, "Left arm straight, coil back slowly, break wrists at halfway point, don't sway!, hurry back!, spank the ball on impact, follow through high!, you idiot, you're still slicing! etc., etc., etc. These are just a few of the many stored phrases that golfers play in their heads as they remind themselves what to do, and what not to do, while swinging. They might also be saying, "Remember the last time you played this hole and you shanked it into the trees on the right and it took you four more shots to get to the green, and then, oh yeah, three putts, you complete duffer? This is the worst/hardest hole on the course." Your mileage may vary, but the phenomenon of incessant mind-chatter should be familiar to just about anyone, golfer or no.

We have to quiet our minds. Our world depends on it. The first step is to recognize that your mind is doing this to you, and once you recognize this you've created a little bit of space around it to step back and observe it better. The one that's observing the mind is the real you.

Golf is a good place to start this practice of observing and quieting the mind, because the positive results are observable from the very first time you try it. Being right here, right now allows your body to take over the shot and relaxes you in a focused way. Even though you are focused and relaxed, somehow you don't lose accuracy, you don't lose power, you don't lose agility or flexibility, but you gain peacefulness. When you can become that peacefulness and watch yourself play golf from the inside, the fun really begins, and the shots begin to happen. This takes practice, and of course you should practice quieting your mind anyway. If you can practice calming yourself, quieting your mind, being here and now with the shot and letting go of the past (I never do well on this hole/I can't hit my driver) and the future (what if I dump this in the lake?/am I going to shoot another 95 today?), you will find that the golf begins to take care of itself, and you have a great time with it. Trust me: if you can train yourself to get to that stillness and deep concentration that comes with presence every time you step up to the golf ball, you'll have more than any technique or teacher or gear can offer. Practice that, and it will grow inside you. You will of course also see this growth benefit other aspects of your life as you stick with it.

So forget the lessons, the tips, the gadgets, the gear, and practice presence, peacefulness, being HERE, NOW. I hope you will discover what I have: that this is the true way to golf, and the true way to be.

Check out http://www.eckharttolle.com for access to his works and teachings. I highly recommend two of his books in audio format, which he reads, and which rendering adds greatly to the effectiveness of his supremely helpful and transformational message. Peace!

How to Pass a Cyclist

2009-08-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

For drivers of automobiles and for other cyclists: HOW TO PASS A CYCLIST!

I spend a lot of time on my bicycle in traffic, and since I don't (always) go as fast as a car I necessarily get passed by lots of cars. From my perspective, on the other side of that white line or squeezed over to the margin, I can tell that some drivers are nervous, anxious, impatient or even angry at my forcing them to steer carefully past me. Believe me, I'm anxious at that moment as well, though in a seasoned, been-there, done-that, here-we-go kinda way..

For those drivers who are nervous passing a bicycle in traffic: Thank you! That shows an appropriate appreciation for the sheer physics happening between your metal vehicle and my body during that exchange. If you follow these simple guidelines, we'll both get through it safely.

How to pass a cyclist? First of all: look ahead. Look waaay ahead. What's in your lane and what's in mine? If there's anything there that's not going as fast as you or me, don't pass. If you try to pass me while I'm passing another cyclist or going around a pedestrian, we're going to come together in a not-so-happy way. And don't underestimate my speed. We cyclists can often cruise on flat terrain at 25 mph or more. Wait until it's safe for everyone and everything involved.

Second, if it's clear, then go on by, but please give me as much space as you possibly can. Even if you're centered in "your" lane, if you pass me at 35 mph. with only three feet between us, that is a scary experience for me. Plus, one of us could blow a tire, or swerve slightly to avoid an obstacle in our paths, and close that three-foot margin in a deadly instant. Animals can run out, and there are always potholes and impediments on the road. So as much as you possibly can, give me a wide berth, even if it means going into the next lane to do so. Be sure to flash your lights at oncoming traffic if you go into their lane.
Also, pass peacefully. Don't suddenly hit the gas. This can be loud and scary to the cyclist and the fumes from "gunning it" are noxious.

Cyclists: All of the above, plus: Before passing, shout out "on your left" and observe the pass-ee before passing. Did they hear you and move over, or are they blissfully rocking to their iPod? (Rrrrrrrrrr) And look behind you first; It's not safe to pass if a car is passing YOU while you're passing another cyclist.

The Names of This Day

2009-08-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

From the Baha'i Writings, the names of this day ...

The Day of God
The Great Day
The Last Day
The Day of Days
The King of Days
The Day of Judgement
The Day of Reckoning
The Day of Severing
The Day of Sighing
The Day when the trumpet blast will be sounded
The Day wherein account shall be taken
The Day when the decree shall be accomplished
The Day for which the soul of every Prophet of God hath thirsted
The Day when the earth shall shine with the Light of her Lord
The Day which shall never be followed by night

The Names of God

2009-08-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

From the Baha'i Writings, the Names of God

God
The One
The Creator
The Eternal Truth
The Holy of Holies
The Ancient of Days
The Single
The Unseen
The Eternal
The Desire of the world
The Adored One
The Supreme Helper
The Imperishable
The Incomparable
The Great Being
The Divine Being
The Unchangeable Being
The Omnipotent
The Omniscient
The Unconditioned
The Unrestrained
The Inaccessible
The Unknowable
The Self-Subsisting
The Self-Sufficing
The Refuge
The Forgiving
The Pitier of the downtrodden
The Lord of Eternity
The Lord of Creation
The Lord of all being
The Lord of all mankind
The Lord of all worlds
The Lord of Revelations
The Lord of Grace Abounding
The Lord of All Favors
The King of the entire creation
The King of the seen and the unseen
The King of everlasting days
The Eternal King
The King of all men
The King of all kings
The King of all bounty
The King of Eternity
The Mystic Source
The Maker
The Causer of Causes
The Fashioner of the Universe
The Maker of earth and heaven
The Shaper of all the nations
The Governor of Nations
The Best-Beloved of the Nations
The Supreme Ordainer
The Ruler of the Universe
The Ruler of the Kingdoms of Creation
The Ruler of earth and heaven
The Ruler of this world and the world to come
The ruler of rulers
Thou Who rulest over all men
Thou Who rulest all things
The Ancient Being
The Infinite Essence
The Unknowable Essence
The Eternal Essence of Essences
The Source of all things
The Central Orb of the universe
The Author of All Manifestations
The Source of all Sources
The Fountain-Head of all Revelations
The Well-Spring of all Lights
The Possessor of the entire creation
Him with Whom no partners can be joined
Him to Whom none can compare
The Sovereign Protector of all Men
The Concealer of sins
The Protector of the entire creation
The Knower of the seen and the unseen
The Almighty

Looking Back

2009-04-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

I use a side-mirror on my bike. I imagine that it screams "loser!" to some others, but in fact it's now one of my most favorite pieces of add-on gear.

When I drive a car I'm constantly checking the mirrors, and this need to know what's going on around me while I move is just as important, if not more so, on the bike. Now that I've had a chance to use it for over a year, I don't like getting on any bike that doesn't have one and I'm amazed that I don't see more cyclists using a mirror.

A mirror tells you what's behind you; duhhh! But here are some specific things it does for me on the bike:

I can see what's going to pass me, how far back it is, and what it is, without turning my head or taking my eyes off the road in front of me too long.

I can see cyclists coming up on me in the bike lane so I can pull to the right to let them pass. "By the way, the proper way to pass another cyclist is to say "on your left" as you approach, so they know you're there and will make room or keep a straight line. Unfortunately, most cyclists I observe don't use this simple courtesy/safety measure. I'm going to write a "How to Pass a Cyclist" post to elaborate.

At night I can look down into the mirror and thereby cause my headlamp to shine back into the oncoming motorist's eyes, which is just another dynamic light I have going to show the oncoming car that I'm there. Hopefully they'll look up from their texting long enough to see that extra light flashing at them.

As with driving, it's still also a good idea to turn your head in many instances. But using a mirror on the bike guarantees you a safer ride.

Plastic Shame

2009-04-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Plastic is everywhere in our lives, and that which we carelessly toss away fragments, washes down storm drains and then flows out to our rivers, streams and bays to be eaten by unsuspecting creatures with catastrophic results. Ever hear about the pile of Pacific Ocean garbage, 3 times the size of Texas? Check out this video, produced by a friend for KCAL/CBS2 in LA (approx. 40 mins. -- worth it!). Reduce/reuse/recycle, please!
'Heal The Bay' - cbs2.com

Please Listen: Eckhart Tolle

2009-04-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

I cannot recommend highly enough two amazing works from Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now and A New Earth. Get the audio versions -- which he reads himself -- and play them on your iPod or laptop or in your car. You can drop in anywhere and even listen for just a few minutes. The lessons there are truly transformational, beautiful, powerful, life-changing. Completely compatible with faiths, if you've got one.
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=68921684350&h=z7Xr9&u=Np8kY&ref=mf

Killing our Friends

2008-11-24T15:35:00.000-08:00

Since I ride my bike a lot, I come across a lot of dead animals in the road -- "roadkill", a dismissive term if there ever was one. Earlier this year I got to the point where I couldn't pass by these carcasses of our fellow creatures anymore, so now I stop and bury them. I carry latex gloves in my bag or find a plastic bag on the ground nearby (sadly, these too are everywhere). I find a nice spot if I can, scoop out some dirt and leaves, pick up the critter by its tail, lay it in the hole, cover it with dirt and leaves and say a little benediction like, "Sorry, little buddy", then move on. Since I started doing this 8 months ago I've buried 26 animals: squirrels (lots of them), a possum, a jackrabbit, 2 rats, one deer (a beautiful two-point buck that I could only cover with boughs and leaves), one raven and two blue jays.

It was a blue jay that started this whole thing. One day as I habitually swerved around the dead blue jay in the bike lane I heard a bird singing in a tree directly adjacent to where the dead one lay, and noted that I'd never heard a bird singing there before (and I usually notice birdsong because it's something I really love). The next day riding in I saw the same dead blue jay and heard a bird singing there again! Well, that stopped me in my tracks. Had it been singing all that time, since the other one was killed? Was it singing for its mate, for its mother, for its child? I went back, found a bag, buried the dead jay and moved on. The next time I rode by that spot -- and every time since -- I've not heard a bird singing there.

It's intense and humbling to pick up a dead body. It's a powerful feeling to have a close encounter with a dead creature, to heft it and carry it and consign it to the earth. I don't think that the drivers who've killed these animals are always aware that they've killed or even HIT something -- a squirrel is nothing compared to an SUV doing 45 mph -- and I'm always hoping but not entirely certain that these critters die right after impact. Sometimes their expressions are anquished or strained, and sometimes what's left of them is just too gruesome to describe here. The one day I buried a beautiful black squirrel I noticed that its fur was very much like my pug Frodo's fur, and I had to sit on the side of the road and cry for a bit.

Yoga and Stretching

2008-11-23T21:55:00.001-08:00

It feels great to stretch. Most of us forget both how good it really feels and that we should do it more often. How odd that something so pleasurable (which for that reason alone should appeal to a sensory hedonist like me!) should continually slip my mind. And here are even more reasons to stretch frequently: Yoga requires no equipment, no specific location, no time frame, no advance preparation. Yoga takes you wherever and however you are, and shows you where you're tight, blocked, hurt. Yoga takes you out of your mind and back into your body; it tells you how you are. While you're stretching it finds your compromises, your pain, your rigidity, your resistance. As it shows you these things with grace, you can make the choice to meet them and push through them, or not.

It's difficult to hold a negative thought or emotion when you're stretching. It's as if your body is releasing negativity and unbinding your mind as you release the physical tension. Of course the two are related: Stress is negative emotion trapped in your physical form.

The NYTimes recently came out with an article warning those who are warming up before physical activity NOT to do static stretches, but instead run a bit to warm up, then actively stretch and lunge and kick and extend, all the while continuing to move. Static stretching, it turns out, is better for relaxing and post-exercise, but can actually have the opposite effect for those gearing up for strenuous activity.

Tales of Airport Security

2008-11-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

(title for this was stolen from Harry Shearer's excellent radio program and podcast, "Le Show" on KCRW -- highly recommended!)

Today (July 30, 2008) at the airport, after clearing security and waiting for my plane just across from the security scanners I watched as the TSA crew pulled a man aside to go through his carry-on luggage. He was tall and wore glasses, and he also had a large manicured beard and black curly hair; he had the appearance of a kindly Muslim professor. The TSA agent was oddly boisterous and trying to be funny to cover his own obvious discomfort with the situation. The man indicated that he'd been through this routine before and the agent repeated this, laughing loudly and awkwardly. I tried not to watch so as not to make the passenger uncomfortable but I had to steal glances at him because I was touched both by his situation and his gentle nobility while enduring it. His wife stood quietly by and waited, and I felt extremely sorry for her, too.

I couldn't help thinking while I was watching this whole thing, "What are we doing"? This man clearly was no threat to anyone, and yet his looks matched what we're surely profiling: middle-eastern-looking men. But were the TSA agents just doing this to look busy, or did they have an imperative to check a few folks every hour, or perhaps did they see something in him or his luggage that I didn't see? I don't feel any more secure, that's for sure.

2008 Bike Commute Update

2008-11-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

16 more rides into work this year and I'll have 3,000 bike-commute miles for 2008! Last year I managed 1,750, and I did just over 1,600 the year before. This year I decided to just go whole-hog and ride in every day possible. Now every day that I drive in ('cause sometimes I have to have the car mid-day for an appointment or be somewhere fast after work) I notice how awful it is to drive -- compared to riding a bike -- and I feel sorry for those that have to drive every day. My car-commute's only 20 minutes, and that's in the fast lane (in a Prius with car-pool-lane stickers).

Riding so much has really changed me, reduced my stress, raised my awareness about our environment, made me fitter, brought me closer to the earth, given me more time to breathe and sweat and meditate.

I read somewhere that the average American spends 10 minute outdoors. If that's true, it's pathetic. I know how much being outdoors has changed me, soothed me, awakened me, taught me, centered me. Seeing the world around you at bike-speed is more "human" and allows you to notice the world in ways you can't possibly manage inside a car.

I'll flesh some of these ideas out in later posts. Do you ride to work, or have you thought about trying it? I'd love to hear from others who are trying this, about their challenges and observations.