Where you live: Santa Fe, New Mexico
What you do as a vocation or avocation? I am a travel journalist, which means I travel around the world and then write and speak about the places I have been. Actually, I focus on the people and the cultures I encounter around the world. I think that learning from and connecting to others is good for the soul and good for world peace.
Your two favorite books: I am very picky about what I read. I want to learn, expand my universe, challenge ideas I have. I read non-fiction, and my two favorite books are almost always the last two I have read.
Your two favorite songs: Again, I don't have two favorites that come to mind. I like world music. Opera. Reggae. Classic rock. I learned from indigenous people that it is not good to count. So I try not to count--how many of this or that I have, which are my two or ten favorite songs or books or people. I like anything that makes me feel connected, alive, happy, thoughtful, moved.
Why you are interested in spirituality? I am not sure that I am "interested" in spirituality. It is part of my life. I am attracted to things that stir my soul, and try to interact with people in a way that lightens their load, makes them laugh, responds to the core of who they are, or stirs their souls.
I am the travel editor of Spirituality and Health magazine and the San Diego Jewish Journal. Sometimes, my husband Paul and I take people to destinations we love. We want them to see the sites, to be sure, but we want them to have a deep, moving, transformative experience. We take them to different spiritual and religious ceremonies.
But, beyond all of this, if you ask me what "spiritual "means, I would, quite honestly, have to answer this: "Spiritual is how you behave with other humans on a minute by minute basis. Do they feel better for having met you? Or do they feel criticized and diminished? You can follow important spiritual practices, but, ultimately, it's not just about your own connection to Source. It is about how you are with humans, in our human world. "
Your favorite quote: Whoops. Here we go again. I don't have favorites.
Your favorite web sites: Double whoops. I like so many people, places, sites, songs, quotes, books, that it is hard to choose.
Your hero? There are so many---Nelson Mandela, The Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bishop Tutu, John Lewis.......they all rise above divisiveness and teach brotherhood and connection. They also fight for what they believe in--the common good, and against racism, despotism and other isms.
A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? I am always learning how NOT to get embroiled, reactive, but, rather, how to take a deep breath and try to see the whole picture. I try to be respectful, even if I am angry. I try not to be led by my emotions. I practice a lot.......
A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" When I am comfortable, relaxed and l00 per cent in my own skin. When I am not in the past or the future, but fully present to what is going on around me. Then I am most certainly connected.
My website is: http://www.GlobalAdventure.us
I am also the editor of http://www.YourLifeisaTrip.com
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