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I'm in the Philippines airport for a transfer flight and I go to buy a water and snickers. All I have is Taiwanese Dollars and the guy at the counter says "only US Dollar." I asked where I can convert the currency and a white middle aged man standing next to me just pays for it, referring to me as brother. He was a retired Marine, also heading to San Diego, and we chatted a bit. He reminded me of being simple and flexible like Gumby (the cartoon character). Pointing to the circular table we were by he said, "there is a small span of things you can control, the rest just let go." He emphasized the value of kindness through small acts. We also got into the nature of…

All you need is something out of nothing to change everything, into what the soul ever is, a dream. The dreamer’s job is to merge joyfully into that nothing, here and now, and death is the last and only vail in the way. Befriend death to dance with life. Such is the nature of yin and yang. With a calm compassion it yields into itself, and to all. It knows its inner substance so it knows peace, flowing balanced in dynamic ease. 'Be like water,' said Bruce Lee.

During a recent workshop titled happiness and success I asked, “How do you want your life to be remembered?” One yelled out, "I don't want to be remembered!" Another girl told her partner, “I want to live a simple life.” Her partner responded passionately, “People always say ‘I want to be simple’ but they don’t know what it means!” The girl’s eyes lit up with a thousand smiles and nodded in confession. He continued, “I also want to be simple and really want to know how.” Death is the best teacher on living simply so I followed with, “on your final breath what advice would you give yourself today?” People said things like, “Accept things as they are” and “follow your heart.” Then I asked them to write or draw something that expressed this feeling.…

To be human is to tell stories and the world draws meaning from the stories we tell ourselves. Daily experience is merely a set of narratives that makes it real and memorable. There is a feeling of comfort and connection that defines it for me. The aim of somatic studies and artwork is to be autonomous with the body and consciously explore our inner narratives through play and discovery. In this way, memory is not a fixed phenomenon, but one that develops and emerges through experience. With the emergent as partner, our images grow and reveal themselves in bountiful ways. How we mindfully engage the creative process is the work of art (McNiff). As a multi-sensory discipline, Expressive Arts (EXA) is based on the idea that perception is etched in…