April 2023

Still jet-lagged after almost 2 weeks back from my month-long sojourn in the Philippines. When I was younger, I would go to work the next day after returning from a long trip. But I should not complain because it was really a “fun” visit to my country, a combination of vacation, work and just simple indulgence, I do not know which.

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Excerpt from “Of Fire and Water”

Excerpt from the Introduction to my book “Of Fire and Water” (forthcoming from Tambuli Media):

In recent years the Philippines, like the US, has been undergoing a transformation of sorts as eastern culture is becoming a part of the mainstream. Martial art of different styles, yoga, massage, acupuncture, meditation, even fengshui and astrology and a few others, are becoming more prominent. There are now healing centers operating under the law regulating them. Likewise there has been a conscious effort by some groups to revive and promote old indigenous traditions and arts and to adopt Asian culture. At some events you’ll see young men and women wearing indigenous clothes and playing indigenous music on indigenous instruments or doing Tai chi chuan and other Asian martial arts.

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February 2023

It has been a while since I visited my country because of Covid. Somehow, while we were virtually quarantined, I did a lot of reading, writing and practices. I even went to the gym on a regular basis. I concentrated on internal work: meditation, Qigong, alchemy. I also managed to have my poetry book “Ascension and Return” published and work on a book of essays “Of Fire and Water” is going on. It has been a very productive and creative time. I guess isolation can do that to you, if you do not go crazy.

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