Technique
“People who achieve a sustained experience of higher consciousness do not do so by being passionate believers; they do so by being competent technicians.”
The essence of mastery
“Skill, not talent, is the essence of mastery. It is the redemption of our deficits, rather than the exercise of our gifts, that determines the functional limitations of our realization.”
Philippines Images
The Philippines: one of Asia’s most overlooked and underrated destinations. Images from a weeklong press trip focusing on the Visayan island of Bohol.
On being awake…
“When you are awake, simply be awake. The less you think about it, the better.”
The changed and the unchanged
“Few things are rarer now on Earth than places to which a traveler arrives without seeing his own expectations and desires already packaged and sold back to him.”
“Along a knife’s edge” reprinted in Action Asia
Action Asia has run a slightly updated version of my Japan trekking piece on the infamous Daikiretto. There’s some new photos, and as usual the layout looks great. You can check it out, as always, under the published tab.
Grand Prize Winner in Seventh Annual Solas Awards
My essay, Into the Hills, has just won the Grand Prize in the Seventh Annual Solas Awards for best travel writing, and will be published by Travelers’ Tales later this year. With a strong field of excellent competitors, I’m incredibly honored and proud that my story was selected.
Covering a trip into Calcutta, Darjeeling, and the remote hill country of west Sikkim, Into the Hills represents an encounter with life and myself as important as any I have ever had.
Sincere thanks to all my friends and readers who offered feedback and perspective on the piece along the way!
