I love filling my water cans early in the morning over at the state park. I love listening to the sounds of the river: the tugs, the waves and the seagulls. I love the way the wind, channeled through the gorge, gently rocks the RV and flutters the window shades.

Oh, no. They warned me about this. They said, “As you become more advanced in your spiritual practice, you may find you attain certain, mysterious powers. Don’t get attached to these!” They didn’t tell me I’d inadvertently start killing people with my mind!!! I’m not claiming responsibility for Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett, but apparently I did kill David Carradine and Billy Mays…

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I moved across the river today, too many people on the Oregon side. Though it’s only about a mile as the crow flies, it’s 15 miles as the RV drives. Lot more room to stretch your legs on this side. I have such a tough life.

During creative periods of my life, whether working on an interesting project or - as I am currently doing - writing a book, I often wake up around 5 am with a powerful insight, new idea, or an answer to a problem that has troubled me. I wish I could take credit for these thoughts, but they seem to come out of nowhere - gifts from the Ethereal…

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Even though the I had read it was only a mile hike to a waterfall, because of two wrong turns, it turned into a six mile hike. What made it worse, is one of those wrong turns was very steep going up, and very steep coming back down (the kind of steep where you seriously consider scooching down on your butt like a bad dog on carpet).

In order to work on my book, I moved my house eastward 100 miles and am now boondocked right on the Columbia River. Very quiet, peaceful and distraction free.

I’m going to attempt my first urban boondocking experiment tonight…

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Today I went to one of my old haunts, the NW district, and worked on my book. I really enjoy sitting in a coffee shop and writing. Most people, I believe, have a book in them - they just don’t know how to go about getting it out.

Here’s what I do…

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I had never been to The Grotto before - never even heard of it before yesterday. As it turned out, it is place of retreat for friars and nuns of the Servite Order within the Catholic Church. Very peaceful place. I wasn’t struck dead by lightning or anything, which quite frankly kind of surprised me.

Seriously though, if you’re in the area, stop by. It’s a very peaceful place for reflection.

It’s been six years since I lived in Portland. Over the last couple of days I’ve noticed two big changes: There are definitely more people here and their driving has gotten worse.

When I arrived in Portland at the end of 2001, I had to constantly remind myself to “chill” my driving down. People were very polite drivers, actually letting you in when you flicked your turn signal on - something unheard of in South Florida.

Portland drivers are still some of the most polite city drivers that I’ve ever run across, but now, with more cars on the limited roads, there is definitely a lot more stress and tension in the “life” of the traffic. A symptom of population density.

Inevitable part of life I guess. Kind of says something about our future though: Peace, whether in a city or the world, is going to get harder and harder to achieve the more people we have (not that we’re all that great at getting along with each other right now).

I love Portland, Oregon. What I don’t like is not being able to stay in it - at least without paying through the nose or in an uncomfortable place. Even though I’m staying in a nice looking park, Jantzen Beach, it is very noisy with the railroad and airport nearby. Any other RV places in the area are either dumps or distant or very expensive…

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I’ve finished the first draft of the book I mentioned a bit back. Need to expand on some topics, create some illustrations and maybe a video or two. Haven’t decided on a title yet, “HDI Theory: A simple explanation for everything from the Big Bang to the Human Soul” - something like that.

Probably moving on to Portland tomorrow.

Jung defined synchronicity as meaningful coincidences. He also found that the more whole a patient became - “whole” as in psychologically accepting of their own nature - the more often synchronistic events would occur in their lives. Many spiritual seekers also find synchronicity prevalent in their lives, probably due to the relaxing of the ego. I have long suspected that, to quote myself, “the less there is of me, the more there is of Her.” “Her” being God/Spirit/Source…

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As you can see from some of the residents above, Newport is kind of a sleepy sea-side town. Pretty laid back. I like it.

I’ve got the Loner Archetype bad. Always have. Jung calls an archetype a “primitive mental image inherited from the earliest human ancestors.” …

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Yesterday, Quinzelle left a comment that struck me. She often leaves comments with great quotes from great writers, yesterday’s was from Thoreau. The part that resonated with me was “and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs.”

Sometimes, rarely, you meet people who “emit a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs.” Not in their scent, but in their attitude…

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With the exceptions of Hawaii, Alaska, and North Dakota, I think I’ve visited every state in the US. With that, I have to say that Oregon is my favorite, with Washington a close second.

As I walk the many paths I’ve been, through forests and mountains and ocean cliffs, I often think to myself, “What a lucky man I am to have lost the fear to live.”

Thanks to Rene’s comment the other day, the weather has started to become overcast. I love overcast days because they were made for photography. Overcast days produce a very subdued, soft light - perfect for portraits, nature, and whatever you call my kind of shots. Contrary to popular lore, it is very hard to take a good picture on a sunny day - you’re better off just putting on some shades, hitting the beach and working on your tan.

I love this part of the country, the Pacific Northwest. I’m currently in Crescent City, California where they have redwoods, crystal clear rivers and craggy cliffs overlooking the ocean.

Moving on again. Though I liked Mt. Shasta, I didn’t like the feel of Weed (where I was staying because of Internet access) which is just north of there. Nothing in particular - people were all nice - just didn’t feel right. Currently in “The Valley of the Rogue” state park in southern Oregon.

On California’s highways, all vehicles that are towing - semis, RV’s, cars hauling boats - are limited to 55 mph as opposed to everyone else who can drive 65 to 70. This creates an interesting dynamic. It’s almost as if the two groups are existing in two different universes while sharing the same space…

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In my meditations, I’ve been working on seeing the the ego clearly - as the illusion that it is. I’ve been practicing so much that it is starting to affect my dreams…

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