Big Wave Mindfulness: Surfing For A Connection

Written by Maya Talisman Frost


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Clark had his first of many ride-of-your-life experiences that day. He couldn't believerepparttar power of it,repparttar 123085 magic,repparttar 123086 unimaginable thrill.

He went out to surf that incredible vortex every day. Alone. For fifteen years.

I'm guessing that his parents were either a) clueless about where he was, or b) powerless to prevent him from returning. He couldn't find anyone insane enough to join him.

He wasn't doing it forrepparttar 123087 attention, forrepparttar 123088 chicks, forrepparttar 123089 cameras, or forrepparttar 123090 money. He was out there getting pounded forrepparttar 123091 sake of that big ol' grin on his face andrepparttar 123092 unfathomable sense of connection to something larger than himself.

Clark was like some modern day ascetic, putting himself through tortuous rites and death defying acts of faith while living in seclusion. He became one withrepparttar 123093 water on a daily basis through rigorous attention and exhaustive exploration.

I am humbled. I envy him. And I can't stop thinking about how most of us will never have this all-consuming passion or such a magnificent opportunity to experience oneness with anything.

Jeff Clark may be crazy. He may be obsessed. But he is a man whose mindfulness has inspired and elevated him--and saved his skin on numerous occasions.

We should all be so lucky to discover such a wondrous wave.

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training in Portland, Oregon. Her work has inspired thinkers in over 90 countries. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, visit http://massageyourmind.com.


Kindness to Strangers

Written by Thomas Leo Ogren


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So we lived it up and went torepparttar steak house. It was a neat place, wooden walls, sawdust onrepparttar 123084 floor, big portions of food, and lots of customers. We had a wonderful meal, talking mostly about how lucky we were to have made it out so unscratched and how generous those silent cowboys had been. When I'd tried to give them 20 bucks for all their troubles, they'd flatly refused. At last, full and feeling much better, we got up to leave. When I went to pay,repparttar 123085 lady told us, "Your bill has already been paid." I asked her who had paid it and she said that an older couple sitting near us, who had already left, had paid it. "They said they really likedrepparttar 123086 way you two related to each other,"repparttar 123087 waitress told us. It's been almost ten years now, but that still remains one of my all time favorite restaurant meals. Great to see that kindness to strangers is still alive and well in Arizona.

Thomas Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, Ten Speed Press. Tom does consulting the Canadian and American Lung Associations. He has appeared on HGTV and The Discovery Channel. His book, Safe Sex in the Garden, was published in 2003. In 2004 Time Warner Books, What the Experts May NOT Tell You About: Growing the Perfect Lawn. His website: www.allergyfree-gardening.com


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