CURRENT MISSION

To benefit all I meet on my motorcycle tours...and dance and meditate with as many people as I can.
On my future tombstone: "He made everyone on earth smile for one minute." Impossible? Maybe, but I am giving it my best shot! However, my sentence is slowly changing. Now, I think it might be something like: "Every living creature felt at ease in his presence."

ABOUT ME

My friends would say that I am kind, helpful, fun, talented, spontaneous, a good listener, playful, and on a spiritual path of peace. I'm a very young 54; my daughter has often invited me to be with her and her friends. My Life Vow is to do my best to make everyone on the face of the Earth smile for one minute. May not make it, but I'm sure trying! Often, when I visit with families, I have trouble visiting with the adults once the children find out what I can do. Almost all kids adopt me into their inner circle. (How truly blessed am I?!!) They can tell that I hold no harmful thoughts in my heart or mind for them or any living being.

I live simply and do my best to trust that the Universe will supply for my needs, but I also strive to make the life situations of others easier, and to give back to society. I twist balloons, teach ballroom and social dancing, teach meditation, counsel others as needed, pick up trash along the roads, clean gutters and just about anything else that presents itself as mine to do. Most of the time, I don't charge for anything I do, though will accept tips occasionally. Generally, I am a fairly decent writer, although I fear that I'm not giving much of an example here. :-)

My transportation at the moment is a beautiful 1995 Goldwing 1500SE motorcycle( recently acquired after the sad accident of my last bike: a gifted-by-a-stranger 1985 Honda Goldwing Aspencade) with which I pull a camper/trailer. Tried the rat race but decided I'm not competitive enough to stay in it. Life is too short to race to the end.

I had an intense spiritual awakening in 2003 and am now in the continual process of integration. Not always a pleasant task! However, once the genie has been let out of the bottle, stuffing it back in would be foolish.

I sometimes travel with my girlfriend (now an ex-girlfriend, though few could tell it by how we interact.) We are/were an unconventional, biracial couple. She is considerably younger than I. She is highly intelligent, successful, and with a deep understanding of business, physical and psychological topics. She is truly a blessing to me, even as a platonic friend, and to all she comes in contact with.

PHILOSOPHY

I agree with the Dalai Lama, "My religion is Kindness."

My personal philosophy is that if anything is infinite, then everything must be It. Thus, God isn't "out there", It is everyone and everything. This being so, to intentionally harm another is to intentionally harm God. Doesn't make sense to me.

I follow a lot of the Buddhist methods for finding truth and for living life in peace, and have published a book on Beginning Buddhism on Kindle. Life is just too short to get too worked up about the negatives. (Of course, there are times in everyone's life when that statement is more mental than heart-known. I include myself in that observation.) "Life is exactly as serious as we choose for it to be." ~ from my latest book 'Life Is Recess; The Games We Play"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I strive to bring a greater degree of happiness, peace and love to the world. When I twist balloons for children, I try to impart my knowing of just how perfect they are. I also teach a form of dance lesson I call, "Dance2Life" in which I teach how to take the lessons of dance into daily life to create a more joyful life experience. I offer a very inexpensive book on social dancing on Kindle entitled, 'YES! You CAN Ballroom Dance'

I also volunteer my time counseling others (though I accept gratitude offerings) in person and through electronic means. I know that you are perfect, and can actually prove it. One hangup people have with the idea of perfection is that they think perfection is a static or dead state. Not so! A kitten is a perfect cat; it just hasn't finished growing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've been using couchsurfing.org during a trip which began after a month in a Buddhist monastery in August '12, where I found out about the site. However, I have been couch-surfing often throughout my life this time through. Tent camping, staying in RVs, house-sitting, wherever the Universe seems to tell me to be. I ran away from an abusive home when I was 13 (or 15, according to my mother) and have been traveling a great deal of the time since. In fact, my middle initial, combined with my last name, spells, "WAnders" and my mom's maiden name is Miles (truth) so I credit my mother for setting me up for this nomadic lifestyle. ;-)

Interests

I enjoy meditating, riding my motorcycle, reading meaningful books, writing meaningful books, dancing, drawing, playing harmonica (Blues), helping others find peace, wandering in nature--I'm more in tune with forests than water... although I do enjoy cruises and have hired out as a dance host on 3 occasions. You know, naming my interests has always been a bit problematic for me. I am interested in whatever is before me. I often tell people that if they want to get me a gift and don't know what to get, sign me up for a class. I don't care what the class is for, I'll attend.

Music, Movies, and Books

I recently watched a movie entitled, 'Black Whole' in which the originator of the Unified Field Theory discusses how his theory and spirituality are linked. Wonderful!

Books:
'Stumbling on Happiness' By Daniel Gilbert
'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle
'When You're Falling, Dive'
'The Art of Happiness' by HH the Dali Lama
'Excuses Begone!' by Dr. Wayne Dyer
'Power Vs Force' by David R. Hawkins
'The Four Agreements' by Don Miguel Ruiz
WAY too many to list here!

TV: House, Falling Skies, Haven, The Flash, Eureka. :-)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The number one thing was when I Awoke to my True Nature. The peace and joy that came from that left me in bliss for a couple years.

I get to watch the faces of the children and adults I make balloons for; nothing in the relative world can be finer that that!

One amazing trip...When I drove my little Celica to the Pacific Northwest. While driving through the Cascades in late May of '03 with the sound of a single piano playing on the stereo. The shear beauty of the waterfalls every few feet, the incredible vistas of snow-covered mountains and tree-filled valleys, the sounds of the mountains singing...I was weeping so hard at points from the awesome beauty that it took me 6 hours to drive a 1.5 hour stretch of roadway.

Teach, Learn, Share

As I've mentioned throughout this profile, I teach ballroom and partner dance, do counseling, and teach meditation. I also have a fairly eclectic skill set and, having been a trained teacher, can teach anything I know. If I have a skill you are interested in and you have one that I'm interested in, I'll be happy to teach you mine if you'll teach me yours! You can find me on YouTube: search Yogi Kai, or on Facebook as Yogi Kai.

I love learning, especially about other cultures and religions. I am pretty adventurous when it comes to food, though I am a pescetarian. How we've come to believe we know who we are and how the world works is fascinating to me.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good company, gentle energy, a listening ear, and a dance lesson if desired...there's much more I offer, but each interaction is independent and unique.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States