“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

This past week I went on a little trip to Geoje Island, which was about a two hour ride from my home in Busan. During the trip I made my way over to a few temples, here’s a few of the shots that I liked.

On this trip I was limited in the shots I wanted to take because I only brought along one of my lenses, which was a Nikon 55-200mm Zoom lens. Hope you like them.

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Hello and welcome to another installment of this week in pictures. Spring is finally here and  I couldn’t be happier. The last few day’s the weather in Busan has been really delightful.

It’s been warm enough to wear shorts and that really brings a big smile to my face. On wendsday it was election day here in Korea, so me and Ina took advantage by going on a nice little walk near Songdo Beach.

Here are a few of my favorite shots. Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

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“Travelling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.” - Lisa St. Aubin De Teran

Been Around The World

This existence is such an incredible mystery, one of the things that baffles me the most, is that some how many of us fail to acknowledge what a miracle this cosmic play really is. You would think that every moment were alive, would be enough to keep us in a state of constant amazement.

One of the reasons that we end up taking life for granted, is that we become insensitive to life. Because we live through memory, through our conditioning’s, we take life, which is dynamic in nature and turn it into something static. We try to make life certain, when uncertainty is it’s basis. We end up taking the color out of life.

The moment you become open to life, you begin to see what a wonderful planet we live on. Our home is a place of such amazing diversity. One of my favorite ways to experience and marvel at our planets creations, is through travel. Traveling can really awaken your child like wonder.

My Top Reasons To Travel

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

Below, are just a few of the reasons why I love to travel:

1. Self Discovery/Personal Growth: Without a doubt the number one reason why I love to travel and live abroad is because of the opportunity it gives me to grow as a human being. Through travel I first become aware of the spiritual dimension. Through travel I tested my assumptions, challenged my beliefs, overcame my fears, and broke free from many of my social conditioning’s.

Here are a few posts I wrote on how traveling can help you grow:

• How Traveling Can Help You Understand Me, Myself, and I
• Discovering Yourself Through Travel

2.Language: I find language and all the ways we as humans communicate fascinating. Being able to communicate with people from other cultures in their native tongue is such a rewarding experience. Obviously if you want to learn a language, the best way is to move there. Speaking only one language is terribly limiting, I would encourage everyone to at least pick up one other language. It really can open up a whole new world. Yes, it can be very difficult learning a new language, but with the right attitude and plan it can be done. My friend Benny has a great guide on Language Hacking (aff. link).

3. Street Food: Food is a huge part of any culture and if you want to try a country’s local food, street food is where it’s at. The best taco’s (besides my mother’s) I have eaten have not been in a nice sit down restaurant, but out of a tiny taco truck on the side of a bustling street. When eating street food be ready with the fact that eventually you will need to make an emergency trip to the bathroom. It’s always a good idea to carry some antacid tablets.

4. Sexy Foreign Woman: I love woman, no I am not a womanizer, I just think woman are one the universes greatest creations. I love the female energy, woman are generally more sensitive, more receptive, they are more in touch with their hearts. I think it’s safe to say that if woman ruled the world, we would live in a world where war did not exist, it would be a more loving society. I appreciate  and respect all the different woman of the world. Going to other countries I enjoy observing how the woman carry themselves. It’s great seeing the different hair styles, smiles, skin colors, eye colors, complexions, attitudes, body types, and fashion.

5. Beautiful Views: A beautiful view has the power to stop the movement of your mind, in that moment you are timeless, you sense how magnificent this planet is. One of my favorite views was from zip lining through the Costa Rican “Cloud” rain forest, it reminded me of what an incredibly rich, alive, and green planet we inhabit. Another scene that will forever be burned into my mind, is from when I was having a nice romantic dinner and had the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge as the backdrop. That evening felt magical, nothing beat’s a beautiful view and having someone special to enjoy it with.

6. Supermarkets: One of my favorite things Is to see what a country’s people eats and buys. You can learn a lot about a country by just roaming it’s supermarkets. I also love trying a country’s local candies and snack’s, but I will take a rain check on the Korean squid jerky. Man, they really love squid here.

7. Local Music: Music is the universal language, a good tune can make anyone move. I enjoy going into local bars around town to check out the live bands playing. It’s also a great way to meet new people.

8. Culture: I love observing the differences with how people live their day to day lives. I am fascinated by the the traditions, whether they are interesting, absurd, or annoying. There is much to be learned by observing a country’s traditions. Each country has it’s own set of positives and negatives and I love to experience them all.

9. People: I love connecting with interesting people. In traveling, many times you will have an adventurous attitude and usually will be more outgoing. In my travels I have met some amazing people, who in some way shape or form, helped me grow as a person. When traveling don’t be afraid of connecting with people who appear to be different than you. Just remember, you can relate to anyone, because after all, you are a human being.

Travel is a way of life, a way of being, and a way of experiencing. Freedom from the known is the mantra of my blog and traveling is one of the easiest way’s to step into the land of the unknown. These were just a few of my reasons for traveling, what are yours?

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(video from my recent trip to Thailand)

 “One kind word can warm three winter months.” -Japanese Proverb

Seeing a new part of the world, and experiencing all it has to offer is one of the greatest sources of excitement for me.

In my latest adventure, me and my lovely girlfriend Ina visited my best friend from high school, Charley, in the land of ramen, sushi, and the rising sun. Sapporo, Japan would be the start of our Japanese journey.

Ina and I arrived at the New Chitose Airport around 3:00 p.m. and quickly made our way over to the JR train ticket counter. We purchased two train tickets to Sapporo Station for around 2200 Yen. The trip into Sapporo took 45 minutes. When we arrived we quickly scanned all the signs pointing us to “Stellar Place,” as my friend Charley, his girlfriend Maki, and brother Andrew eagerly awaited our arrival in-front of Starbucks.

As soon as I saw Charley, it felt like old times. He’s one of my few friends who it doesn’t matter how long it was since I last saw him, we quickly pick up where we left off. After doing a quick round of girlfriend introductions, we made our way to a taxi. I was really impressed with Charley’s level of Japanese. He said a few incomprehensible sounds to the driver, used several hand gestures, and a few minutes later we were in front of our hotel. Good job Charley! I actually didn’t know how good his Japanese was, but it got the job done, and later on I would find that my boy has indeed been practicing.

Our hotel room was really nice. It had two levels and a nice view of the city. We dropped off our bags and quickly made it over to our first Japanese pub for dinner and drinks. The place was unique. It was four stories tall with the hallways lined up with cozy little private cubicles. We placed our shoes in little lockers which had big wooden keys that reminded me of my old elementary school bathroom passes. Then it was chow time.

The food was delicious, my favorite was the yakitori made from several bite-sized pieces of chicken meat, skewered on a bamboo skewer and grilled, usually over charcoal. We also had all-you-can-drink for the time slot we reserved, so the big group we were with did their best to get their moneys worth. Many of you beer drinkers out there are familiar with one of Japans most popular exports, Sapporo Beer. I had a few, they tasted like..umm…beer. It was good times all around.

After dinner we made our way over to a Karaoke bar. If you have ever been to South Korea or Japan, you quickly realized how much they love to Karaoke. It’s one of their favorite social past times. I’m a terrible singer, but when In Rome you do as the Romans. I had two songs in me. First, I apologize to Montel Jordan for breaking his promise never to come wack on the old school track. Next was my awful attempt at Blink 182′s, “All The Small Things.” After that, I was done with the mic. Charley and Andrew kept us going with some classics that all of us could sing along to with them.

We were fortunate to have made it on the last weekend of the yearly Snow Festival. After Karaoke we went to check out the hundreds of amazing snow sculptures that spring up in Odori Park, the grounds at Tsudome, and the main street in Susukino. Ina had never seen so much snow in her life and also had never been as cold, so it was bitter sweet for her. Me being raised in Colorado felt right at home. It was a good first day in Sapporo.

The following morning, we did a little shopping and walking around the city. It was my first opportunity to try Sapporo ramen. The ramen in Sapporo, which is almost as famous as the beer, was soooo delicious. If you ever go to Sapporo, you need to make your way to the Ramen Alley in Susukino. In Ramen Alley you will find 17 traditional ramen shops crammed into a small walk way four tourists wide. It can be tough trying to decide which one to enter. The bowl I got had a soy-sauce based broth with savory ramen noodles, a big piece of pork and some good veggies added for good measure. It was a meal which satisfied my belly, unlike the Cup Noodles I pop in the microwave back home.

We then packed up our bags into Charley’s car, a cute little Nissan Cube, and started our journey to the Ski Resort of Furano. Mother nature, however, had other plans. We quickly found ourselves in a serious blizzard and had to cancel our plans to Furano. We spent the night in a little town, who’s name I don’t remember as my Japanese is non existent.

At our hotel, we decided it was best if we just skipped out on Furano and went to Charley’s home in Rubeshibe. Rubeshibe is a small town of about 8,000 people and much colder than Saporro. As Ina said, “how do people even live here?” I began to ponder her question. I had about 5 layers of clothes on and was still freezing. Once in Charley’s home it took about an hour before his trusty heater got us to a comfortable temperature.

The next nine days we went snowboarding, ate ton’s of delicious food, went to a Japanese style spa, played basketball with Charleys high-school students, and ate more ice cream (Ina loves ice cream) than we could shake a stick at.

All in all Japan was awesome. What made it awesome? In short, the people are what made Japan amazing. This was the first time I took an extended trip with a girlfriend to meet a friend in another country.

Being able to visit an old dear friend halfway across the world was a great traveling experience. While meeting new people on a trip is usually on my agenda, it was nice to see some familiar faces in unfamiliar places. Having my best friend as tour guide was definitely a plus, as it allowed us to see a side of Japan that most tourists never get to experience.

So for any of you fellow travelers out there, if you are fortunate to have any close friends scattered around the world, don’t forget to keep in touch. You never know when you may be able to pay them a visit.

If your’e planning on visiting and staying with a friend in a foreign country, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Be easy: It’s not easy hosting friends. It takes a lot of time, energy, and money. Do whatever you can to make it easy on them and not become a burden.

2. Don’t have unrealistic expectations: Your’e a guest, so go with the flow and take it all in. Communicate beforehand about what your plans are and get on the same page as your friends. Having as many details sorted out before you leave will only make things easier.

3.  Show your appreciation: Bring a small gift. We brought Korean couples-style cow pajamas for Charley and Maki. I think Maki was more excited about the gift than Charley, although he did comment on how comfy they were. I thought they looked adorable together.

4. Be flexible: Things happen, so be ready to adjust your plans accordingly. As long as you have a good attitude things will work themselves out.

5. Be clean: As a guest in someone else’s home, don’t be a slob. Clean up after yourself and do your part to keep things clean.

6. Don’t be cheap: Your’e on vacation and seeing an old friend, so do as many things as you can. Budget accordingly.

Here is a video and a few pictures from our trip, hope you enjoy.

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“Don’t frown because you never know whos falling in love with your smile.” 

When living and traveling abroad meeting and getting to know new people is major part of the adventure. At first glance for some of us this may seem like an intimidating endeavor. Especially if you can’t speak the same language and the culture happens to be radically different than what you are accustomed to. Learning to speak another language as many of us know also takes is a significant amount of time and energy.

Fortunately communicating with other human beings is not restricted to the verbal domain. Body language is a universal language that crosses geographical and cultural boundaries.

Whenever you want to make new friends in a foreign land, the easiest way to show that you are open and ready to connect is with a warm genuine smile.

Recently a very special woman has come into my life and one of the main reasons that I even wanted to approach her was because of her inviting smile. She can light up the whole room.

A nice gentle smile conveys a person who is centered and relaxed in her own skin. I can’t even count how many times I have started conversations with strangers on public transportation all because of a sincere smile. They have the power to remove your initial feelings of hesitation to meeting complete strangers.

Touching Others With Your Heartfelt Smile

Nothing shows our humaneness more than a heartfelt smile. The heart knows no boundaries and when you are able to convey your hearts feelings through your smile, you will literally touch the people around you.

The smile is a great way of sharing your inner experience, of sharing your life with others.

Learning to focus your attention to the hear and now, thereby making contact with your intrinsic nature, the feeling of being naturally yourself will arise within you and you will find yourself smiling a lot. When you feel happy, relaxed, and in the moment you will feel a deep sense of connectedness with the whole world. You will smile for no reason. A forced smile is superficial and no one appreciates it.

A heartfelt smile can really go a long way, so please do your part to brighten up someones life. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Join the conversation in the comments below, let me know any of your own personal insights.

“Not all lucid dreams are useful but they all have a sense of wonder about them. If you must sleep through a third of your life, why should you sleep through your dreams, too?” – Stephen LaBerge

(disclaimer: before taking any new supplements please consult your doctor)

Toto, I’ve a Feeling We’re Not In Kansas Anymore

“Dreams are today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions.” - Edgar Cayce

As many of you know, I am a big fan of lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming truly is one of the most amazing experiences that one can have. They literally have the power to change your perspective on life and yourself. It truly is something that everyone should experience and you wont understand the significance of it unless you experience it for your self.

Lucid dreaming is the experience of becoming self aware in the dream state, and then being able to maneuver and manipulate the dream-scape consciously. The movie “Inception” introduced the masses to lucid dreaming.

If you are new to lucid dreaming check out my introductory post which will teach you some of the main ways of inducing and navigating this fascinating world: How To Lucid Dream Easy

Recently I have begun taking several natural supplements to increase the frequency and vividness of my dreams. At first I was quite skeptical as to whether they would really be effective or not. I am now happy to report that they have indeed worked beyond my wildest dreams .

I have been lucid dreaming for many years now and believed I had experienced what it was to have an extremely vivid dream. With the aid of these supplements the intensity, length, and vividness has been ten fold. My ability to think in the dream has dramatically improved as well. Just the other night I had a dream which lasted nearly two hours and maintained clarity of thought throughout the whole dream. I consciously went directly into the dream and consciously brought myself out of it.

Several of the following supplements I will recommend will:

• Even if you are not successful in inducing a lucid dream they will dramatically enhance your dream recall.
• Increase the intensity and length of your dreams beyond anything you may have ever experienced.
• Help you become more self-aware while dreaming therefore allow you to explore your dream world in a meaningful way.

Please keep in mind that these supplements are meant to be just an aid to lucid dreaming. If you are serious about lucid dreaming you should learn as much as you can about inducing them all on your own.

Powerful Lucid Dreaming Supplements:

1. Galantamine:  It is an alkaloid that is obtained synthetically or from the bulbs and flowers of Galanthus Caucasicus (Caucasian snowdrop, Voronov’s snowdrop) and Lycoris radiata (Red Spider Lily). It  is commonly used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and various other memory impairments.

Galantamine is a cholinesterase inhibitor that increases the levels of active acetylcholine levels in the brain. Decreased levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine have been correlated with memory deficits. Galantamine effectively utilizes acetylcholine in the brain to maintain healthy levels critical to memory and normal cognitive functioning.

It was suggested by Duvoisin in 1983 that the mysterious magical herb moly that appears in Homer’s Odyssey is actually snowdrop.

Galantamine has a half life of 48 hours, so you should not take it more than a few times a week as you will develop a tolerance and reduce it’s effectiveness in inducing lucid dreams.

2. Choline: is a water-soluble essential nutrient. It is usually grouped within the B-complex vitamins. Choline must be consumed through the diet in order for the body to remain healthy. It is used in the synthesis of the constructional components in the body’s cell membranes.

How do I use it? Not without Galantamine. Alone, Choline does nothing in terms of dream recall and vividness. All it does is the same thing it does everyday: help make acetylcholine. But when combined with Galantamine, it intensifies the actions of Galantamine.

3. Alpha GPC: Alpha-GPC is a chemical released when a fatty acid found in soy and other plants breaks down. It is used as medicine. Alpha-GPC is also used for improving memory, thinking skills, and learning. I have found that the main benefit has been in increasing the time that I remain self aware while in my dreams.

The Tri-fecta combination: Galantamine used with choline bitartrate and Alpha-GPC can dramatically increase one’s odds of becoming lucid and increase memory consolidation during dreaming. I have had my most vivid and longest dreams using this combination.

How I use them to induce a high level lucid dream: I mainly use 4-8 mg of galantamine and 500 mg of choline as the main trigger supplement and then will alternate on each lucid dream attempt by adding ALPA GPC (300 mg), Yohimbine (0.50 mg), or Mucuna pruriens (100 mg) to the mix. By always trying a different combination it keeps my body guessing and reduces the chances of building tolerance.

My preferred method: I set my alarm 4-5 hours into my normal 7 hour sleep cycle. When my alarm goes off I take the supplements and then get up to use the bathroom. I will then read in bed for 20-30 minutes or read a script several times on the type of dream that I want to have.  Then I will do a progressive relaxation excerice and attempt to do the “WILD”  technique. Wild stands for  Wake Induced Lucid Dreams. These techniques are unique in that they involve entering the dream state directly from waking consciousness while still maintaining consciousness and stepping directly into the dream world.

Where to get the supplements: I am currently living in South Korea, so I have been ordering my supplements through iherb.com. The prices are some of the best I have seen and their international service has been awesome. I have received my packages in about 8 days without any problems.

** Use this discount code:  PUZ602 to receive $5 dollars off on your first purchase.

Other Supplements To Experiment With

Yohimbine: is an alkaloid with stimulant and aphrodisiac effects found naturally in Pausinystalia yohimbe.  Yohimbine has been used as both an over-the-counter dietary supplement in herbal extract form and prescription medicine in pure form for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Take less than 1mg with Galantamine just before entering REM sleep.

5-HTP : is a naturally occurring amino acid and chemical precursor as well as metabolic intermediate in the bio-synthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin from tryptophan. As a dietary supplement it has been used as an antidepressant, appetite suppressant, and sleep aid.

5-HTP is a valuable aid in lucid dreaming because it suppresses REM sleep in the first half of the night helping you get quality deep sleep. Due to the REM-rebound effect, you will experience vivid dreams after 5-6 hours of sleep when used in conjunction with the supplements I mention above.

Featured Lucid Dreaming Book

This is the book that introduced me to many of the supplements that will assist you in lucid dreaming. The book is very well written and gives you in scientific detail why and how these supplements are effective in producing vivid dreams. I suggest reading this book by Thomas Yuschak called Advanced Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Supplements.

Hope you enjoyed my post, happy dreams

If you have any personal insights you would like to add, please join the conversation below and leave your comments.

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“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” - Mother Teresa

Its Time To Spread A Little Love

Let me ask you a question, how do you feel when a stranger stares at you? Are you at ease or do you feel uncomfortable?

Currently I am living in Busan, South Korea, where I can run around all day and not see another foreigner. I stick out like a sore thumb. Being in an environment where everyone is constantly staring at you as if you are an exotic species, you quickly learn to not let it bother you.

I meditate a lot so I am always trying to live my day to day life from a very meditative and mindful state. This is to try and live from the deepest part of my inner being, the part that remains totally unfazed with the outside world. I can be in a totally crammed subway, yet feel completely at ease, even If I have someone breathing down my neck, inside I am 100 feet away.

“Our task must be to free ourselves…by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” - Albert Einstein

Its like being in the world, but not of it, just a witness to the miracle that is our planet. Living from this space one feels an overwhelming sense of love, of oneness, and consequently you feel it overflow and exit through your eyes.

Spread Love: It’s All In The Eyes

Next time you find your self on the subway or any other public place, try and find that place inside you that is utterly still, and from that place look out into the world. Feel the love inside, don’t think, just feel, feel the boundaries between you and the world melt.

Look at someone simply, which is to not let your thoughts come between that which you are observing, otherwise you are only seeing an image your mind constructed and not the thing you are seeing. You are seeing something conceptually, not actually. You are not making contact with it, when you are seeing something simply you are making a direct connection with it.

This is seeing in a loving way, you can observe this within yourself. Anytime you see a beautiful flower, a bird dancing on a branch, or a beautiful sunset, you are doing it in a loving way. The energy and quality of your look is different.

Today when I was sitting on the subway I caught an older gentleman starring at me, I starred back because I welcomed it. I looked at him simply and just smiled, he smiled back…we kept looking and right when he felt my look was penetrating him, he blushed then looked away and broke contact.

The Doorways To Our Souls

Our eyes are really doorways to our souls, this is why its rude to stare at people, they feel like you are invading their space, their privacy, that you are trying to take a peek at their deepest darkest secrets. But since I am trying to be open to the world, I welcome it. When you make a connection with someone through the eyes it’s as if you merge into each other, but it happens so quick that many of us just brush it off.

This also doesn’t have to turn into an awkward experience, just look out into the world in a loving way. You can make a tiny connection with a random stranger on the street in a split second. Just spreading a little love. You will immediately know the people who where open and receptive to it. You can tell right away when someone is getting uncomfortable, so just look away. If they welcome it, send your silent love and intention through your eyes, all this can happen in less than a second. If you don’t do this already, just try it, I would love to hear about your experience in the comments.

Just learn to constantly be In a state of observation. You will see that if you know how to look, a persons eyes can tell you a lot about them and the way they are feeling.

Just want to thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope you found it insightful and that it inspires you to spread a little love.

(editors note: originally posted on 07/14/2010)

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Happy friday everyone, hope it’s been a good week for you so far. Things are great on my end, been staying really busy with improving my Korean and just started to study Portuguese and Italian as well. I also have a Salsa dance performance coming up at the end of the month, so I haven’t had much time for blogging lately.

January and February should be quiet months for me, so I plan on posting more frequently for you guys.

Without further ado, here is the next installment of “this week in pictures”.