“I am so glad to salute the brave, reckless gods in another man. So glad to meet a man who will abide by his very self… If only people would meet in their very selves, without wanting to put some idea over one another, or some ideal. Damn all ideas and all ideals. Damn all the false stress, and the pins.I am I. Here am I. Where are you?” - D.H. Lawrence
I am not enlightened, nor do I have any special powers or mystical attainments. I have played the role of expert in the past (teaching English in South Korea, teaching three year-olds how to skateboard, teaching single men how to meet and keep the woman of their dreams) but at my core, I claim no authority over life's great mysteries. I'm a student first, and a student of all the unfathomable and unending intricacies of this world of mind and matter.
I'm willing to talk about anything or explore anything without hiding behind a sense of taboo or secrecy. And, with a great respect, I may at times assume that the readers of this website are mature enough to handle some of the straight-forward facts of life, as well as the perhaps not so factual opinions of my crazy mind.
I am interested in spiritual awakening, travel, and all kinds of artistic expression (including: painting, music, dance, poetry, skateboarding, fashion, writing, yelling, chewing with your mouth open, public speaking, politics, cooking, architecture and so forth.) My current life project revolves around the complete mastery of meditation, with that being the main topic of this website.
My spiritual practice follows primarily from the teachings of the Buddha (the Buddha-Dhamma), particularly the Theravada tradition and the practice of Vipassana-Bhavana (Insight Meditation) which I've been practicing for a few years. However, my teachers have varied far and wide throughout the many years of my personal evolution, and would be such a large list that it'd be impossible to compile here. Let's just say, I like it all, and my mind is usually more bent toward synthesis than sectarianism.
You may also notice that I like exploring cultures, and I like to travel. Having already visited 19 countries across the globe and many of the 50 United States, my current pilgrimage to India and Nepal will be the next chapter in this story.
I appreciate a love for truth and honesty, for the desire to peel back layers of appearance and discover who and what we really are. I prefer the company of fellow adventurers who openly share what they know and what they experience in order to help each go deeper into their own journey.
I write with the hope that I may entertain, inspire, delight, inform, stir things up a little, and generally give something back to the many wonderful people who have supported me and continue to support me on my journey.
I received a BS degree in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, and spent most of my life living in California. I've held jobs doing everything from living on an organic farm and selling fruits and vegetables, to environmental chemist, to working personally with hundreds of men as a life coach and mentor, to sales and marketing, to video editor and director of photography, to fire prevention and maintenance. And when not working, I enjoy creating art, playing guitar, or swimming in a creek or ocean.
Enjoy yourself, and don't hesitate to contact me.
Live fully, and love fully.
- Daniel Johnson
