What would you like to hear about?

Hello to my dear readers,

Please let me know if there is a subject you want to hear more about.  And specifically, please be precise, because within the subject of Spiritual Astrology for instance, I can unpack a very precise topic.  The same may be true for Process-oriented Bodywork and Craniosacral Biodynamics.

So I look forward to hearing your comments if you’d like to see something posted.

I have resumed work in Virginia, having arrived back from a Western adventure.  However, things are a little different now that I am confident that I am moving to California for grad school in about a year.  And I plan to complete the posts about those adventures West soon, that is if and when I have the time and energy.

Thanks for reading!

Pendleton Oregon Day Two

Let’s see where we left off… Yes, we’d had breakfast at Stillman Park, then watched the grand round up parade and now we were on our way to the actual rodeo.

The Pendleton Roundup is a massive undertaking, and it is incredible to imagine it is entirely run by volunteers (they only need 1200 of them). This was Friday, which was my first day, and the third full day of the rodeo. A slight tangent:

Monday and Tuesday are a separate bull riding event held in the Happy Canyon grounds (more on this later). Then the Roundup gets under way from Wed through Saturday at the large Roundup grounds. Then Sunday rolls around, and by 11am, the town is empty and quiet.

Walking to the Roundup on both days, we took the river walk. There is a levee on the Umatilla river to ensure the town does not flood, and they put a six mile paved trail on it. Very serene.

Once heading under the main highway into the city, and then ascending on the other side, the only way I can describe what met my eyes briefly would be to say that there were so many people (cowboys, Native Indians, made up women, cowgirls) and booths and teepees, that my senses were overwhelmed! There were booths selling food from various countries, Indian crafts, jewelry, saddles and leather products, Western wear plus more. Then there was an extensive Indian village set up next to the rodeo grounds with about a hundred teepees. Many Indians from near and far reservations come to participate in living, dancing and competing for the best dressed. The place was packed!

We went through the Indian village and then into the back gates, so there was neither a line nor crowds. We purposely arrived early to scope out the food offerings. I had no idea what to expect, but there were dozens of options from pizza to Mexican and German food, plus the typical fries and burgers. Unfortunately, I never tried the fried bread, which my Dad described as similar to malasadas in Hawaii (almost like donut holes), but there were several booths just specializing in fried bread. We had delightful seats, sitting in a “box” which simply meant that we were closer to the rodeo ring, without being up against the barrier fences.

The rodeo started with a bang as riders showed expert horsemanship in racing out with flags – US, Canada, Oregon and another. Then we stood for the national anthem, which was emphasized by cannon fire. On Friday we watched bronco bareback riding, saddleback riding, bull riding, calf roping and Indian (bareback) racing. We had to leave early and we missed the barrel racing and the wild cow milking. It was a lot of fun for me, and my previous concern about seeing cruelty to animals was not a problem.

I am wrapping this up quickly as I know I have less time now that I’m back to work. However, it would certainly be worth attending a major rodeo simply to see the Indian races (it was bizarre and would take many words to describe) or the wild cow milking (equally if not more bizarre and very chaotic and entertaining) or barrel racing (in which cowgirls are the ones competing).

I would like to say more. Let me know if you want to hear more about Pendleton or its grandiose Roundup.

Soft retreat, Oregon 2012

This post is about what I have been up to for the past week.

I scheduled my trip to have a week of down time in quiet Pendleton Oregon. I did this for two reasons – one, to save money by avoiding a hostel or hotel somewhere else; and two, because I knew I would want some down time after a busy three weeks. Plus when I return to Virginia in two days, I will resume my fifty hour a week job. So this is the only free week I anticipate habing until February… Hence the title of the post.

Soft retreat? Why soft? Because I wanted some freedom to go out for lunch, to write some blog posts, to go one or two places with my step-mother, and to do a little work around her church. On top of this, she is not Buddhist, has never been around a full time retreatant and does not know any of the etiquette of a retreat or my reasons for doing one. That is why I did not lock myself in a room for a week with only Dharma texts as companions.

And for those of you with retreat experience, you might be wondering why I am saying any of this. Well, I think that could be a valid concern, but in my case, I did not make any progress from a Dharmic perspective, so I think it is okay to bring different options of “retreat” to light. Had I made any progress, I would definitely be keeping my cards closer to my chest.

So what did I do all week? In addition to what I mentioned above, from time to time, I was extremely hard on myself. I wanted to complete more prostrations than my body was able to, so I berated myself for that “disappointing” result. If not prostrations, then I wanted to accumulate numbers of other mantras. But I was even able to be hard on myself in that department.

How was my “retreat” successful? Well I rested down at least an additional hour per day. I have kidneys whose subtle energy is a bit depleted, so the rest was vital and refreshing for my renals and adrenals. In addition, and you might start to wonder here, I laughed a lot. I don’t have a TV at home, so I eventually started watching the tube. And for short periods of time, it was just what I needed. Watching a silly show like the Big Bang Theory, I’d be rolling. It was actually quite remarkable. In addition, I did some self care on myself every day -usually BodyTalk.

And each day, I did some Dharma prayers. Next time, I need to drop any expectations around accumulations. I also had a few conversations with the I Ching. They would typically go like this: “I want to go for a walk and then find a nice restaurant for lunch.”

Its answer: “No go. If you push now, you will fail. Stay in the nest.”

Thankfully I would listen, and after having a little snack, I would fall asleep for a few hours -nearly everyday! So most importantly, I listened. To my body, to my intuition, to outer guidance, and after listening I chose to practice kindness to self to the best of my ability. So now I can return to work well rested and replenished at least a touch more.

So in reality, I had a quiet week, barely a retreat at all. The only I might still call it a retreat, is that on the first day I had an auspicious dream indicating that I should continue as planned. And then, last night I had three dreams, all about my birth process. I see this as a success. If my subconscious is working through my birth trauma, and I am ready to track that process through dream symbols, then this was a most successful week indeed.

Just remember, I would recommend finding a qualified teacher before attempting any kind of retreat. Get solid advice, ask all questions to clarify any doubt, and do some practice for a while to make sure you know your mind and its patterns. Then, maybe a few years into the process, you can join a group retreat to learn more about your state of mind, within a contained setting. Later on, if and when your teachers recommend it, then do a solitary retreat.

Thanks for reading.

Pendleton Oregon, Day One

I woke up very early in California to get to the airport by 6 am. Then the puddle jumper plane took 90 minutes to get to Pasco Washington. From there it was another two hours to Pendleton. Therefore I arrived a little shell shocked and needed a rest. Driving into town though, I saw booths along the streets, cars and large pick up trucks all over and many pedestrians milling about. We got lucky, arriving around 1 pm, as we were later than incoming traffic and we just had to drive slow because of all the pedestrians.

Thankfully the only plan we had for the first day was dinner at Cimmiyottis restaurant. This is a place you have to experience to believe. We ate there on “Tough enough to wear pink” night (they have this at the Roundup to support breast cancer treatments). Cimmiyotti’s has been around a while. In the past, I am certain it had a lively “parlor” atmosphere, if you catch my drift. Most of the walls either have old timey red wallpaper or, in the back, there is even a wall with velvet on it. You could just imagine the girls in gaudy dresses previously present. When we ate there, the women seemed well behaved, as they were mostly waitressing or seating new tables. This was Thursday night and thank goodness we had reservations as the line was out the door.

We had good entrees, good service and I had a nice local (San Francisco) ale. It was expensive but worth it to be able to walk around and see the place. Plus, because it was Roundup week, they had the back parking lot roped off and an additional bar set up outside. This was in addition to the live band which would start up a little later.

I was sort of in a fog with traveling, so it wasn’t until the following day that I realized how massive the Roundup was.

Day Two: We started as many Rounduppers do, with breakfast in Stillman Park. during Roundup week the local VFW post sets up enormous grills in the park and feeds an average of 4,000 people each morning! Zoicks! They flip the pancakes right there and plop them on your plate. Then they ask how you want your eggs and they put them on your plate. Finally coffee and ham round out the offerings. There is live music (they played many older songs as we went there on both days) as well.

Because this was Friday, it was the day of the big parade. By the way, let me interrupt myself for a moment. The Pendleton Roundup is the largest rodeo in the U.S. and it is second only to Calgary as one of the largest in North America. On Friday, the announced attendance was 16.5 K and then on Saturday, the place was sold out with almost 18 thousand in attendance. And everyone (except a few tourists like myself) is dolled up or wearing cowboy boots, cowboy hats, big belt buckles, jeans and button up long sleeve shirts. So you can imagine what a show it is. Okay, now back to my narrative.

Friday is the day of the parade. And it seems everyone shows up. Seriously. The parade traveled a couple miles, and every roadside space was occupied with lawn chairs, blankets, little tiny kiddie chairs (so cute!) or benches (there are hundreds of benches sponsored by local businesses which are all over Pendleton during the Roundup). And these seats came out early, as I guess people wanted front row seats! And when I say everyone shows up, I also mean in the parade.

The University of Oregon is at least four hours away, and Oregon State is even further, and yet there were horse drawn carts for both schools. (Oh, there are no vehicles allowed in the parade.) Plus various deans and both school Presidents rode by! Wow! Can anyone see UVa’s President riding a horse in a parade? Talk about coming down to earth?! Plus there were Senators, Judges, future hopeful politicians, the Mayor of Pendleton rode by, along with at least seven marching bands. There is an Indian reservation nearby, so each of those three tribes were represented (the Umatilla, the Cayuse and the Walla Walla peoples). There was the Pendleton Roundup court including the beautiful Queen and her four Princesses, plus there were Indian Princesses, all competent riders. There were many carts and carriages loaded up with people – each representing a different group or high school, etc. And they all threw candy so the kids were pleased! Finally, the Conferated Tribes of the Reservation have a large hotel and casino (the reservation employs 7,000 people) and of course they had a large wagon of Native American candy chuckers. 🙂 The parade lasted at least 90 minutes, and as you can imagine, it was followed by several city street cleaner trucks.

We took a little break, knowing it would be a long day, and then around 12:30 made our way to the Roundup grounds.

I will describe these in the next post.

Water quality on my trip

This is a frivolous post, but I’ve been considering its subject matter for a couple weeks now.

On the subject of tap water, I have been hearing some disturbing news that most filtration and cleaning processes do not get pharmaceutical chemicals, psychotropics, illegal drugs or added vitamins and minerals out before it comes out of the tap. I’m not sue if this is true or not, but if it is true, I would expect larger cities to have higher levels of these bizarre cocktails of undesired ingredients. Let’s see below to see if this theory holds any water. Ha!

This is a post about my subjective observations of the taste of tap water in all the various places I have been on this current trip.

On a scale from 0 to 10, where zero is gagging and heaving due to imbibing the water, and ten is “I’m in heavenly bliss with this ambrosial fluid,” we have a measurement tool for rating tap water. Note: I believe that one’s mineral intake needs and tastes change with different days, so this is an extremely fickle “experiment.” Obviously a ten is difficult to achieve, and we hope to god that no water gets a zero rating.

Tap water from various locations-

Honolulu water: out of the tap, ranking of 1.5, barely palatable; out of a water fountain, which probably had an additional filter on it, ranking goes up to 4.0, relatively good

Kona Hawaii water: 2.0, not good, kind of flat, can water be stale?

Hawi Hawaii water: 2.5, something is off – mineral content? in shower water seems very hard

Hilo Hawaii water: 3.0, becoming drinkable, certainly the best water out of a tap in the places I visited in Hawaii

Waikiki Hawaii water: 0.5, this was by far the worst tap water on my trip, full of chemicals like chlorine, maybe a 1.0 at best

Concord California water: something was funky, maybe a 1.5? strange new chemical mixture, not good, also had strange effects in the shower, hard water?

Berkeley California water: similar to SFO airport water, drinkable but 2.5 at best

Pendleton Oregon water: compared to what I have encountered up to this point, this small quiet country town has delicious water, I’d give it a 5.0 or 6.0, however, probably as a testament to one’s changing tastes and needs, some days I do not like the taste (but at least it is always palatable)

One of the reasons I think about this subject is because I was raised on well water, living at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia. Therefore most any other tap water I encounter is of lesser quality. And god forbid you drink the tap water in Virginia Beach (or Waikiki), you might end up getting hooked on a mystery drug. 🙂

California Day Seven, Mt. Diablo

My last full day in California, on this trip. I still had my rental car, so I decided on an easy seeming day trip to Mt Diablo, which was close by Concord. After having spent twelve days in Hawaii, and then having visited the Muir Woods the day before, I was not expecting to be blown away. From the distance, anywhere in Concord, Pleasant Hill or Walnut Creek, one can see Mt Diablo, so its presence was quite noticeable as I came back to Concord each evening. And actually I was pleasantly surprised and quite content to have made it my day trip.

The drive up to the summit is moderately spectacular. The mountain is 3800 ft high, so not massive, but it is rising out of a near sea level plain, so the drive to the summit took two hours (I followed the slow speed limits). On the way up, I stopped at least half a dozen times, because mysterious vistas would jump out as I rounded the next bend. The mountain is very dry in September, but there is a beauty in its desert-like landscape. Plus there are more plants than you would expect from a distance. The road is incredibly winding and filled with curves, so make sure the driver is focused and alert.

Getting to the top is interesting too. There is a nice visitor center tucked under an observation deck. You will be surprised how the visitor center’s exhibits keep going. The observation deck provides some phenomenal views of the Bay Area. It was hazy, so I could not see San Francisco, but I saw Napa Valley to the north, plus you are able to have a broad 360 degree view of everything. Pretty awesome! There is also a little store in the visitor center, open from 10 to 4. So you can buy snacks and extra water if need be. It would probably be best though to bring a picnic and lots of fluids (it is very dry).

Then I sat for a little while, as is my habit when I am on a mountain top. I wanted to see what the Native Americans felt when they were up there just 100 years ago. I didn’t experience anything out of the ordinary, but I did see lots of vultures and crows. They congregated around an emergency tower. Next I opted to go for a hike.

I hiked down from the summit toward where the north and south gate roads came together. I did not have a lot of water, so I just hiked a couple miles down, and then enjoyed the hike back up. When hiking, at least in the summer, be careful as there were many small lizards on the trail, which are camouflaged and difficult to see. Plus you may see some insects with bizarre coloring. I was particularly impressed when I came across a black and white grasshopper. How fascinating!!

The park woman in the gift shop told me the best time to come up there is the late spring when the wildflowers come out. I will have to take her advice! The trail map showed a hike near some falls, but I’m assuming that would be in a wetter season. Actually there were many trails up and around the mountain which I will have to explore in the future.

Vagus System Meditation

First I want to start with a tiny disclaimer. If you suspect you have a health problem, speak with a licensed health care practitioner before exploring any suggestions in this blog. Thank you.

Before I get into the actual meditation or practice as it were, what is the Vagus system? The Vagus nerve is one of the lower cranial nerves, branching out from the medulla and enervating many systems in the trunk of the human body.

Why is the Vagus nerve important? In all of my (limited) work with Cranial Sacral Therapy, Visceral Manipulation, Reiki Energetic Healing and other modalities, I have yet to encounter one body system which plays such an important role, as the Vagus system does. Primarily the Vagus nerve transmits the messages from the brain to the body (and just as crucially body to brain) regarding whether or not the organism is in fight or flight or freeze mode or in rest and digest mode. These “modes” refer to the state of mental alertness and arousal, with regard to perceived threats or safety.

Why are these modes of alertness important? Well, if we are in fight or flight mode, then our heart is pumping a bit faster and our outer (limb) muscles are receiving the lion’s share of vital oxygenated blood, because we to be ready to fight the sabertooth tiger or be able to run away. And as a result, if our body is (consciously or not) in hyper-vigilant mode, then we will not use the outer cortices of our brain as efficiently as we could otherwise, and we will not properly digest our food. Wowsers!! Right?

The Vagus nerve plays a role in the following, and this list is not exhaustive, heart rate, breath rate, gut function, adrenal / kidney activity, eye function, ear function, throat / upper digestion function, skin tone and more. What a list! Therefore if there is a way we can regulate our Vagus system, to help it to relax in this rat-race culture, why wouldn’t we want to try it? Or we could just sit around being hyper-vigilant for no apparent reason (there are reasons, we just might not realize it, which is the subject for another post). And as I mentioned, if we are in alert mode, then the reactive, instinctive, fight-or-flight centers of the brain will get the necessary blood flow. This means that the outer cortices will be used sparingly, which constricts our creative processes. In other words, we can think clearer about certain subjects if we are relaxed and digesting with ease.

Now on to the meditation. Several things one must read, and contemplate, and understand first and foremost. I am emphasizing this for a reason. I am a student of Zapchen Somatics and Therefore a student of Julie Henderson, PhD. She is the creator of this phenomenal modality. Within Zapchen, there are certain ground rules which we learn first. And these are vital.

Zapchen is a modality which can in itself start to relax the Vagus system. If you can, I would recommend finding a Zapchen teacher to work with. Personally I have been given permission to work with individuals, but I am by no means a Zapchen teacher. Anyway, in Zapchen work we learn these guidelines first.

If something is uncomfortable, don’t do it. Period. If you must do it, express your objections first – either complain or moan and groan or find someone around whom you can discharge.

If you notice your body tightening up to continue doing an exercise, stop immediately. This is a message from your body that you have had enough. This also includes your breathing. If you are breathing shallowly or too heavy to do an exercise, then stop!

And finally, you need to know your limits.. Don’t push too hard early on. Less is better than more, always do less rather than toughing it out. And if you get light headed or taste metal, then absolutely stop as you might be dehydrated.

The meditation: sit comfortably. Or you can lie down, but there is a good chance that early on you will fall asleep. Notice your breathing, is it shallow or deep? No judgment, but is there anywhere that your diaphragm is adhesed? Nothing wrong if it is a little tight somewhere.

Remember less is better than more. If you want to rest, then by all means give your body what it needs.

First, hum into your mouth and nasal passages, get used to humming into your body. Use a comfortable, easy tone. Then hum into your pineal gland (behind the center of your eye brows). Just a little, don’t over stimulate anything. Next, hum into your pituitary gland, behind the center of your eyes. Then, if this is still comfortable, resting when it feels appropriate, hum into your brain stem (this must be comfortable, if not, stop immediately and rest). The brain stem is located inside of the back and base of your skull.

If you have rested and are still awake, you can continue by humming into your thyroid gland. This is just above where your collar bones come together, below the Adam’s apple. Next we will hum into the thymus gland, which basically sits above the heart. This is an important gland for the immune system. Now rest for a few minutes, come back if you want to.

When you are ready, hum into your kidneys. For some people, you can actually feel them ache if you lead a hectic, caffeinated life. You hum into one at a time or together. This will also include the adrenal glands which are sitting on top of each kidney. Finally, if this still comfortable, hum into your reproductive glands and organs (ovaries in women, prostate in men). Then go take a twenty minute nap! I would only do this humming meditation once a week or less. We do not want to “over-treat” any organ or endocrine gland.

I hope this is beneficial.

California, Muir Woods

Day six in California. I chose to rent a car because, while the BART is a great form of public transportation, it is limited in destinations. I wanted to have options. And actually once I started driving around the Bay Area, I was much more comfortable.

On this day I opted to go visit the redwoods north of San Francisco at the Muir Woods National Monument. The drive out there was fun and a treat. Fog hung low over the Bay, not enough to make things dangerous, but enough to give me a relaxed mellow flavor. The road up to the park was a trip – I thought I had been on some curvy roads previously… Yeah, not until I had gotten to California!

I just have to say that this place is / was one of the most serene, soothing locations I have ever been to. I suspect it has to do with the old growth forest – some of the redwoods are suspected to be at least one thousand years old. Wow!!

I went by myself, which might not be the smartest thing for hiking, but I am experienced (famous last words right?) and the place was busy enough that even on the side trails I passed people every twenty minutes or so. Just walking the boardwalks was amazing. Plus I must have encountered at least two dozen different nationalities – Koreans, Japanese, many different European languages, etc. I was very happy to see that ( I think they mostly came up on tour buses).

I would recommend starting out early – parking was crazy as I was leaving in the early afternoon. But getting there early meant it was very chilly. I had been prepared, bringing many layers, but I had to use them all until I started hiking uphill. When they say that the redwoods do not allow a lot of light to hit the forest floor, they aren’t kidding.

By 11am though, spokes of sunlight started poking through, especially on the hillside trails, and the fog quickly burned off. I had not been having the easiest visit up to this point, but any worries or concerns evaporated among these peaceful giants.

I hiked several side trails, for a few hours, including both sides of the board walk, so I might have done 7 to 8 miles total. I would recommend getting a trail map though as several trails were closed due to slides. So if you plan to hike, it will come in handy.

I wanted to hike to a point where I heard you could also see the Pacific Ocean. I did not get there though, because one of the trails was closed and I got turned around trying to climb another trail. Fortunately I feel extremely comfortable in the woods – my intuition and creative juices really start flowing – so it was no problem finding my way back down to the boardwalks.

I do not have a way of getting my camera’s pics on here yet, so I will add those in a later post.

I returned to Concord via the Golden Gate bridge. I was feeling kind of tired from hiking so I just drove through. I did not get out of my car until I happened on Fisherman’s Wharf (another place I’d recommend getting to early because parking was a bear). I just walked along the pier for a while. I saw the old Maritime ship and the view of the Bay from the water was something special! What with the fog having lifted.

There are $5 and $6 tolls to use the bridges around the Bay, so I could see those fees adding up quick. This is another reason I don’t plan to live in the city. But I definitely intend to visit the Muir Woods often and hike every available trail. I will need to find a hiking buddy though if I want to do any overnights!

In Concord, I was pleasantly surprised to find an entire shopping center in Spanish (owned by Hispanics). I ate what I think was shredded pork on a panini sandwich – nice and spicy, before heading to where I was staying. They treated me very well, which is a trait I love about most Latinos – they have kind hearts if you are open to that sort of thing. 🙂

Thanks for reading.

California Day Five, a fine school

Monday rolled around and it was time to visit JFK University in the small suburb town of Pleasant Hill. If you have not read my earlier post about my California leg of this trip, go back and do so. With that as context, I continue.

I was not expecting anything spectacular considering my top choice for schools let me down so hard a few days earlier. But I had made appointments and I was determined to see what they had to offer.

When I arrived, the admissions person with whom I had an appointment had to leave early, so I spoke with someone less than informed about my specific program (counseling psychology with a somatic focus). Not the best start, but then it rapidly improved. I attended an info session with three other students and learned a lot about the program and the school. The professor giving the session was obviously a therapist as he was patient, listened well and was quite organized. I was pleased.

Then I got to speak with a professor who teaches in the somatic section and I got many more questions answered. I learned there are only three schools offering (and accredited) what I want. I already visited the first and I am not that interested in Naropa. Therefore my choices were a bit limited. Actually, she teaches for both CIIS and JFK so she was able to confirm my perspective on CIIS.

In actuality, JFK did not need to be spectacular. I found them (Profs, fellow students, staff members) to be approachable and I felt that my experience was honored. Plus they were organized and cohesive.

I learned that many of their students have jobs and / or families and I appreciate the ample life experience students will bring to the table as it were. The school does the quarter system, four eleven week sections, so my year will be full. But that also means there are four shorter vacations, which will be useful.

I am still planning to apply to CIIS, but I’m not sure why. JFK practically told me I was in if I write a quality personal statement. But I keep hearing great things about the projects and faculty of CIIS. Maybe I want to give them another chance (to help me feel supported or comfortable at their school). Time will tell. At present tough, there is a very good chance I am heading out to Ca for graduate school in a year. And I’d say I will probably be at JFK.

California Day Four

As I mentioned, day two and three were restful days. My big events on those days included laundry and going for a few mile stroll through Concord Ca. So yeah, I will resume this narrative with day four.

Oh, by the way, I should mention this for any readers from conservative areas: personally I have neither fear nor problems doing this, but I encountered some questionable responses. I did not want to stay in a Hostel. This was due to having very limited personal space, and being forced to sleep in a room with half a dozen men, potentially snoring away… Not easy right? So I put an ad on Craigslist saying I would pay fifty a night for a guest room or studio apartment. I got a response from a grandmother who said that she and her husband had never done anything like this before but they looked me up and thought it might work… And it did! I had my private space, and I could take a day off without having six other guys know how long I lay in bed. That is why I stayed in Concord, which is a sleepy suburb of San Francisco / Oakland. Plus I made some new friends in the process.

Since putting up this ad, I have heard of two resources which might also be good for this kind of thing. One is Air B & B and the other is couch surfing. Although with couch surfing, it does not seem likely to have much personal space / time either.

Back to Day Four. This day was spent in Berkeley California. I was never considering it for grad school, because if I wanted something more traditional, I could choose from hundreds of schools closer to Virginia. Instead I was visiting UCB (a.k.a. Cal) because I had a friend who is doing his post doc work there, and to give me a sense of perspective with regard to the smaller schools I am interested in.

Yes, Berkeley does have one of the country’s best Buddhist programs, but again, so does UVa. So I toured the campus with my friend, getting insider commentary on the PhD program and its selective processes. The campus was very refreshing. Walking in, we passed through some redwood trees which always feel ancient to me. Plus there were some enormous eucalyptus groves as well.

The architecture at Berkeley seemed to be a random mixture – we even spotted some concrete buildings one might expect to find in Moscow or East Berlin. It seemed to depend on how well off that particular department was as to whether it had a contemporary building. I was happy to hear that Berkeley’s main focus was on keeping professors’ salaries at competitive rates (rather than spending the money on aesthetic maintenance). Although it did lead to a few buildings seeming to need a good scrubbing.

We spent a bit of time in the football field sized East Asian Library. At three floors, that was A LOT of books in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Tibetan! I certainly was happy to see that program doing so well.

We walked around Berkeley’s popular student area full of shops and restaurants. At UVa, this area is called “the Corner.” At Berkeley, it seemed to be a little more integrated with the town, but definitely felt younger at heart. There were a couple of huge music stores with an entire basement dedicated to old records. In one, a contemporaneous hip hop show started up, so that was a little noisy for browsing and we left to check out other stores.

Returning to campus, we did the famous Berkeley Bell Tower, otherwise known as the Campanile or Sather Tower. This was definitely the highlight of the day. For me, I had primarily seen the Bay during periods of fog and haze, so getting a vast view on a clear day was special. I have a mild fear of heights, but the tower is entirely closed in with bars of steel, so I never felt uncomfortable. The Sather Tower is the third highest free standing bell tower in the world, so the view was impressive. We could see the Golden Gate bridge to the due west. But we also saw downtown Oakland, the north bay, the SF downtown skyline and the Cal stadium and hills to the East. I highly recommend the trip up there.

Then my friend dropped me off at a dinner I had heard about, which an acquaintance had invited me to. So basically I was with strangers, but some of them were Buddhist practitioners (one was an older Tibetan Rinpoche) so I felt welcome. Actually there were great conversations as many of the guests were artists or professors, authors or other erudites. It was also nice to practice speaking Tibetan. Therefore this day wrapped up late, but it was enjoyable and I learned a lot.