Cirque du Malaise

This is what I call triple synchronicity:

1. I decided that yoga is out, and walking is in...
2. right on the cusp of starting a new creative project called Walking in this World, which is all about walking as a means of tapping into the source,
3. and then all of a sudden, in my dharma class, we're practicing walking meditation.

I got to Spirit Rock early on Wednesday, so I went on a walk up the hill. So did these other people. I'm pretty sure they were all actively involved in a retreat and doing a specific walking meditation. Ever the consummate journalist, I exploited their private moment by stealing their souls a little bit.

I really love walking. Here's my favorite Steven Wright quote:

"You can walk anywhere, if you have the time."

But I'm not yet a fan of walking meditation. The concept of walking and not thinking is an oxymoron to me. Walking is my numero uno way to clear my head. In other words, to think. I love to walk and think. I come up with some of my best ideas while walking. Walking-and-Thinking is a close, close relative to Talking Out Loud to Myself, which is another favorite "creative" tactic.

My besties and I started Walking in this World this week. It's Julia Cameron's follow-up to The Artist's Way, and it's another 12-week program wherein I'll be dating myself and talking about it ad nauseum. This particular book puts an emphasis on walking as a way to clear your head and tap into your creativity. So, I'll be experiencing the two polar ends of walking:

1. Walking and trying not to think, while I'm in my Buddhist practice
2. Walking and thinking, while I'm in my artist practice.

Speaking of walking, last Sunday I took a great Plant Walk with my friend and creative collaborator Caylie See of Acupuncture Kitchen. I wrote an examiner.com article about it afterward, which has a link to a slideshow full of sweet pictures of edible and medicinal Bay Area plants.

Here's a bonus:

The latest installment in my Wildlife of Marin series, filmed at Spirit Rock on Wednesday. I'm just getting the hang of embedding video, so you may have to reload the page to get it to start from its riveting beginning.

As you can see, this turkey was doing its best to make me its bitch, with complete disregard to the other girl turkeys around.