Three hours north of Manila is Estipona, Pura, Tarlac, Philippines: The farm has 1300 ylang-ylang trees. It processes essential oilat one of the buildings. When I am not in Manila, that’s where I often stay when I am in the country. There are mangos and coconutsand other fruit trees in the compound. A section of the farm is devoted to breeding native wild boars. Another section raises rice. It is a good place to visit.
Dr. Jose Santiago Laraya, my martial arts brother, and I in Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Dr. Joe, as he is often called, and I studied with the same martial arts masters over the years. He is a martial arts teacher and veterinarian in HK.
Scenes from Delphi, the Oracle of Apollo,, about 3 hours drive from Athens. I climbed Mt Parnassus with my granddaughters Ava, 18, and Isabel, 21. Midway to the top, I could not go any further and told them to go ahead. I sat under a pine tree and did some Qigong. It was June 21, Summer Solstice, and there were groups of women doing rituals and chanting. The sacred place was originally a place for the Goddess. The omphalus signifies the navel, or the center of the earth, in mythology. It’s shaped like the pineal gland and is associated with mystical powers.
