Category: Where the Heart Meets the Road - Blog
The Heart of Time Travel
Posted Jan. 24, 2012My mother came to stay with me over the holidays. Our visit wasn't always easy but it turned into one of those times in which I'm grateful to have tools and support that allow conflict to be an opportunity for ... Read more
Stranger Connection and our Windows of Tolerance
Posted Nov. 28, 2011As I wrote several posts ago, I often get very inspired when trail running or hiking. Ideas come to me that I get excited about, but the excitement doesn't often carry into my day-to-day life. About a month ago I ... Read more
Into and Through (and Help)
Posted Oct. 25, 2011Last weekend thoughts of death surprised me at the beginning of a workshop I was facilitating. I was explaining the opening-round process to the participants, part of which involves passing around a red bag (a magic red bag) full of ... Read more
A Vulnerable Deal of a Lifetime
Posted Sept. 10, 2011I'm celebrating the release of my cd Baby Steps, Giant Leaps. Thank you Little Bear Studios for your patient support and endurance (an ounce of practice is worth a pound of recording). There are nine original songs on my cd ... Read more
Play in the Connection
Posted Aug. 02, 2011Eighteen youth and eight adults came together outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina for this year's Play in the Wild! International Youth Intensive. There was one youth from Wales, one from Australia, four from Quebec, and the remaining twelve from ... Read more
Full Embrace at the Wheel
Posted June 07, 2011When I run through trees on rocky, rooted trails, over creeks, up and down canyons and mountainsides, with birdsong soundtrack, lungs pumping, inhaling Mother Nature's exhale, happiness happens and inspiration comes alive. I get insights and revelations and creative ideas. ... Read more
Birthday Blog - Baby Steps and Giant Leaps
Posted April 12, 2011It's 5:53am, 05:53 on April 13, 2011. This means that, unless there's been a colossal misunderstanding or cosmic practical joke still waiting for the punch line, I turned 40 thirty-three minutes ago (thirty-six minutes ago actually as it took me ... Read more
Hands Up, Smiles Down
Posted March 31, 2011(Continued from last post) We gathered again the following week with the same eight students, their teacher, and the school principal. A Restorative Circle (RC) is meant to be non-hierarchical, so, as much as possible, titles and roles are left ... Read more
Circle Celebration
Posted March 15, 2011There are eight sixth-grade students, their teacher, and the school principal here in the conflict room with two of us facilitators and two high school student leaders. We've come together for a Restorative Circle (RC). I'm celebrating before we've even ... Read more
Meat, Juice, and Authenticity
Posted March 03, 2011
My last blog post, Making It?, didn't feel complete to me when I posted it, but I posted it anyway. I'm trying to post more regularly, trying to free myself to write more and worry less about getting the ...
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Making It?
Posted Feb. 16, 2011
When I was in Nelson, BC over the holidays, I bumped into an old friend who I hadn't seen for a couple of years. He told me he'd heard that my former wife Melody and I were no long ...
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Extending Roots
Posted Feb. 01, 2011
In my last blog I wrote that my roots were flapping in the wind. After a three-week visit in Nelson over the holidays, I now realize that is not altogether true. I have patient, flexible roots in Nelson and ... Read more
Rambling Rosa and Her Sidekick Trainer
Posted Dec. 06, 2010
En route to the Okanagan, Rosa climbs up the Coquihalla Highway, her headlights not as bright or straight as they could be, her modest engine pushing itself to go 45 or 50 km/hour up the pass. The snow is ...
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Restoring the Circle: A New and Old Approach to Conflict
Posted Oct. 18, 2010
I've been learning about Restorative Circles (RC's), and I'm very excited about how they support people to work with conflict in a way that leads to more compassion, accountability, collaboration, creativity, and connection. An RC (as developed by ... Read more
It's 3 am--Power to the Peaceful
Posted Aug. 14, 2010It's three am on the last day of Play in the Wild, and I'm helping the Play in the Wild leaders write personal appreciations for each certificate of completion for the youth who have attended this year's Play in the ... Read more
Singing For My Support
Posted July 14, 2010Like many people I have long struggled with intense nervousness when singing by myself in front of others. My heart rate increases, a current of energy pulses through my chest, and my face quivers uncontrollably, all of which makes for ... Read more
The Freedom to Digest
Posted June 29, 2010"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." ~ Rumi
"What the hell am I doing here?" This thought crosses my mind more ... Read more
Waves of Indifference
Posted June 15, 2010Last night I went busking in downtown Vancouver on Granville, a more exposed location than last week's spot. In fact, I was set up such that, when larger crowds passed, people had to walk around me. No trying to be ... Read more
Freedom Training
Posted June 08, 2010I'm walking through downtown Vancouver-Robson St, Burrard St, Granville St-streams of traffic and crowds of unfamiliar faces. It's eight o'clock on a Friday night and the last of the daylight is filtering through clouds and polishing skyscraper glass. My guitar ... Read more
The Unknown Dream
Posted June 02, 2010Not long ago I came to a deep understanding that I can't be free while at the same time avoiding my fears. It's not that I saw this as a groundbreaking insight; I just had an appreciation that this insight ... Read more
The Joy Of Separation
Posted May 12, 2010It has been a year since Melody and I ended our time together as a married couple, and I continue to learn and grow from our experience. More and more I can see and embrace each part of what Melody ... Read more
Save Our Planet. It's the only one with chocolate
Posted April 21, 2010My birthday celebrations and healing odyssey are coming to a close. Today I head back to Vancouver. I finished my incredible visit last night playing a few of my songs at an open mic, my nervousness comfortably beside me, my ... Read more
The Freedom To Love
Posted April 16, 2010Last night I looked my mom in the eyes and told her I loved her. It seemed like this might have been difficult for her to take in as she responded by hugging me and being playful and humourous. Gently ... Read more
My New Name and True Self
Posted April 11, 2010I've got some big news! As part of my birthday celebrations, I've decided to change my name. I'm in Nelson BC and I'm riding the new-identity wave: This is a town where anyone can find his true self and change ... Read more
Pounding The Spiral of Healing
Posted April 07, 2010I've got a tennis racket in my hands, and I'm using it to try and destroy a pile of cushions. With every last ounce of my rage I'm pounding the daylights out of these cushions. At any moment I expect ... Read more
Approaching Energy
Posted March 24, 2010I'm absolutely delighted about my NVC workshop in Gibsons last Saturday. I decided not to wear a skin-tight aerodynamic body-suit but had a blast anyway. We mingled; we danced; we argued--role-play arguing; we connected; we feasted (thank you for the ... Read more
Shadow Collection: A Joyous Unraveling
Posted March 17, 2010Fly in the face
This is the not a race
Your perfect self is patient
And waiting for
You to embrace
Fear as a friend
And your shadow collection
It's worth more then you know
Did you ... Read more
Wonderful Trouble
Posted March 10, 2010Wonderful trouble
We're at it again
Find a place of surrender
Where the healing begins
If you're looking for wisdom
Don't start at the end
Find a graceful question
Let the mystery befriend you
And pace yourself
You've got a ...
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Going for Gold
Posted March 02, 2010The regular Olympics are over but I'm still going for the gold, aiming to set some personal bests, shooting for some world records. I have two new workshop dates confirmed and, after my not-quite-top-secret Own the Workshop Podium training program ... Read more
The Fear of Love
Posted Feb. 18, 2010"There isn't anything in this world but mad love. Not in this world. No tame love, calm love, mild love, no so-so love. And, of course, no reasonable love. Also, there are a hundred paths through this world that are ... Read more
Stretching the Spirit
Posted Feb. 10, 2010Yesterday I sat and ate my lunch in the miraculous sun in a park near the Original Yin Gym. It's a popular place for dog owners because there is a large field for dogs to run and chase balls and ... Read more
Just Be With
Posted Feb. 01, 2010
There is nothing
Quite like
Right
Now
Meeting you with
Undefended Heart
There is no future
In waiting
For someone else
to be someone else
Now is when I step outside
My story
I ...
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Rocking the Spine
Posted Jan. 25, 2010Here is a stretch/exercise I do which has helped me a great deal with headaches, digestive problems, tight muscles, and fatigue. Not everything works for everyone, but I would be surprised if you don't feel better after trying this stretch.
... Read moreA Second Chance & Fierce Compassion
Posted Jan. 20, 2010I'm in my eighth week now at Original Yin Qi Gong Gym and I haven't felt this good in a long time. There are still things that I'm unsure about, but there are many, many things I am grateful for. ... Read more
The Exquisite Risk
Posted Jan. 13, 2010The Exquisite Risk: Daring To Live An Authentic Life, written by Mark Nepo, is a book that I am reading for the second time and can easily imagine picking up again and again for the rest of my ... Read more
Questions of Solitude
Posted Jan. 08, 2010Many blog posts ago I mentioned that I would write about some of the people I have met on my Road to Compassion. I have been spending more time alone lately, so I will begin with a woman I met ... Read more
A Lesson In Pain
Posted Jan. 01, 2010"When we allow ourselves to compassionately be with the fullness of our pain, connected to the beauty of life in the pain, we become vehicles for spirit and not obstructions to it." - Robert Gonzales
A Lesson In ... Read more
Free Range Chicken Torture Chamber
Posted Dec. 16, 2009"Big chest. Big chest. Big che-est!"
I'm lying supine on a modified gym machine, arms splayed out to either side, legs held in a bent position by a sling and pillows. No, I'm not involved in some kinky, sexual adventure. ... Read more
Wanted: Eric Bowers, Fashion Criminal.
Posted Dec. 05, 2009"Hi there, what's your name?" The policeman asked me with a friendly tone after getting out of his car and walking over to me.
I had seen him drive by as I was jogging along on the sidewalk. When he ... Read more
Busy Being Born
Posted Nov. 30, 2009Bob Dylan once wrote in a song, "That he not busy being born is busy dying." After considering that line for some time, I decided to explore what it means to be busy being born.
Imagine contemplating leaving the comfort, ... Read more
Letting Go of Stuff
Posted Nov. 26, 2009"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone." -Thoreau
One of the last things I did before leaving Nelson was give away most of my belongings, another result of my shamanic ... Read more
I Don't Know
Posted Nov. 22, 2009Relax into the Mystery. Trust the Unknown, it will see you through.
The ground here in Prince George is covered in snow and the sky is a blanket of cloud. Almost-white on white. Only days ago I was in southern ... Read more
The Sacred in Southern Ontario
Posted Nov. 11, 2009I've been attached to finding beauty, truth, and spirit in the community of Nelson and in the outdoors of BC. However, I'm very happy to report that I am also finding this sacred trio during my visit to Southern Ontario. ... Read more
Returning From Haida Gwaii
Posted Nov. 09, 2009I slot myself into the airplane seat, knees pressed against the seat in front of me. Tight as usual, although not quite so tight as to be uncomfortable. My heart goes out to travellers with legs longer than mine. The ... Read more
The Unknown: Liminal and Leaving
Posted Oct. 29, 2009"The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to
your adventure."
~ Joseph Campbell
Nelson is a difficult town for me to leave behind. In so many ways Nelson embodies ... Read more
Genies, Football Coaches, and Dance Teachers
Posted Sept. 09, 2009Click here for photos
As I drove from my last and very wonderful workshop in Vernon home to Nelson, I looked back on the trip I had taken around the province and began to think of ...
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The North Country
Posted Aug. 21, 2009Please see latest RTC photos here.
I step out from the relative shelter of the grassy enclave onto the beach and into the roaring, fiercely exuberant wind. "There you are!" bellows the wind. "I was ... Read more
Creamy Tsunami, Blood Social, and Spiritual Compost
Posted July 22, 2009See new photos here.
Prior to leaving on my Road to Compassion journey, over the span of about two years, I had maintained what I consider to be a very healthy diet. My diet had been ...
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Uncomfortable, Grateful, and Swapping Surfboards
Posted July 02, 2009[Please see trip pictures here]
The last book I read before my trip preparations crowded out my recreational reading was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. After a very painful divorce, Gilbert took ...
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Adventure Writing, Rosa, and the Magic of Melody
Posted June 17, 2009I'm at the end of a side road off the highway just north of Cranbrook. I'm sitting in my new office - the passenger seat of my new van (her name is New Leaf Rosa, but I call her Rosa ... Read more
Vans, Guerillas, And All Points In Between
Posted May 28, 2009There are just over two weeks until The Road To Compassion begins. When I look at the number of things that I need to do and measure them against the time remaining until departure... I'm not sure it all triangulates. ... Read more
More Workshops Confirmed
Posted May 03, 2009There are now workshops confirmed for Creston, Invermere, Jasper, and Smithers, and an evening presentation is confirmed for Golden. My heartfelt thanks to those who have agreed to help organize and promote a workshop or presentation - Louise n'ha ... Read more
First Workshop Date Confirmed!
Posted April 04, 2009I'm thrilled to write that our first workshop date has been confirmed! We will be giving a one-day workshop in Smithers on Sunday, July 19. Tamara Macleod, who lives just outside Smithers, has enthusiastically taken on the organizer/promoter role for ... Read more
The North Country
Posted March 04, 2009Several years ago I worked in the north as an expedition river guide. Three other guides and I would each take a raft loaded with clients, camping gear, and food and float down the Tatshenshini or Alsek river for up ... Read more
