A big hug and peace and love to you also!! Please, keep releasing your creativity, it gives others the courage to express theirs. (like me?)

I bow to both your wisdom and compassion, as well as your creativity! (and beauty) One of the hardest lessons I've had to overcome is the Southern Baptist lesson my Dad passed on, that we are all born "bad" and sinful, inherently imperfect. What I've loved, always, about embracing my breath, (which both yoga and Buddhism advise), is the assumption that we are inherently GOOD, and already Buddha's. I often appeal to Kwan Yin, and Avalokiteshvara (sp?) she/he who hears the cries of the world. Katarina the light shines so brightly through you - I humbly offer my Namaste' while enjoying the warmth you light gives to the world. Bows, gratitude and peace.

I saw nothing but beauty, peace, and a lot of practice. How inspiring. May your daughter feel as comfortable in her body as you've worked so hard fo feel in yours. I bow in respect to your practice and your compassionate presence. Namaste'.

Thanks for sharing - awesome! What a guy!!!

Thanks for the nebulizer tip, and I will definitely be reading everything on your blog!! Bows (I'm Buddhist, so it's a way of conveying respect i.e. I bow in respect to your journey, not "bows" like, put a bow on that present for me, will ya honey?) ) to you for reaching out to help others. Peace!

Hi,
I found your blog via Cystic fibrosis Fatboy. I have a son who is 13, and has a rare, genetic condition called Ataxia-Telangiectasia. (www.atcp.org) It's a neurodegenerative condition, and the most common explanation of what it's like is having ALS, CF, and AIDS all wrapped up in one precious human boy. Anyway, his immune deficiencies are a lack of IgA, and IgE. He has frequent pneumonias, pulmonary infections and the most thick, tenacious mucous I've ever encountered. We have a Hill-Rom vest, and he's on multiple nebs, including Tobi and now hypersal. His pulmonologist is having us try hypersal because the insurance company won't approve Pulmozyme twice a day, which is what he's prefer. I'm trying to explore this, and learn more about CF at the same time. Any advice about how to make things better (like what is the best, fastest neb machine? the one we have is awful) would be deeply appreciated. Now I'm going to start reading - thanks,
Janet
P.S. I was told when he was diagnosed at about 3 yrs of age that he would be in a wheelchair by the age of 10 (which happened) and he would probably die in his teens. I'm fighting that second prediction with everything I've got!!! Peace.....

I listened to both parts of this interview, and wonder if Lama Surya Das is always that intense and fast in his speaking? It felt like my brain was getting hammered, not in a bad way, it was just hard to keep up for me. I was fascinated by the interview, and by his willingness to be open to new technologies. In addition to teenagers and aging Baby Boomers, there are people like me who have chronic physical illnesses that make it difficult to leave the house (I have to plug Toni Bernhard's book, "How To Be Sick" here - it's fantastic!!). In my case it's more that I'm never sure how I'll feel day to day, so my internet Sangha on Tricycle is about the best it gets. I've always wondered about Lama Surya Das and hope I can keep listening to the interviews so as to digest them more fully. Thanks Vince, and everyone at Buddhist Geeks. Bows to all of you, and to the Lama himself. Peace!

I'm a continuously beginning Buddhist and in my late 40's. I identified with everything that Vince and Sumi talked about! I live near Philadelphia, but have had a real ambivalence about joining a specific community whether Shambhala or Zen, or something else. The fact that two members of my family (husband and son) are disabled and many Buddhist meeting centers are not handicapped accessible (what's that all about by the way?!) has been a big part of the problem. Sumi is so right about the Sangha not being developed as an issue. I grew up in the Methodist church and then became Episcopalian and community was huge in both churches. They had groups for reaching out to visitors so they felt welcome, and etc. I've received empathetic responses from members of the non-accessible centers, but that doesn't get our family inside and participating. Even though I'm on the cusp of "Baby Boomer Buddhhist" (born in 1962) my older sisters fit more into that group, and I'm actually burned out on all the Baby Boomer focus that is so prevalent in the U.S. It feels like I'm part of a lost generation - between Baby Boomers and Gen X! (maybe that's why I have so much trouble "fitting in")