Photo: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

We’re ripping out a page from the popular Notes from the Road series over at the Traveler’s Notebook and asking you to take a moment to sketch out something that probably crosses your mind now and again: A Personal Manifesto.

When I happened upon Gwen Bell’s, author of the Unconventional Guide to the Social Web, process the other day, I immediately became excited at the notion of going through my own.

Check out her guide on the myriad of ways to go about developing your own manifesto.

Here are a few highlights of possible road-map choices:

Vision Map

Yep, this means breaking out the magazines, scissors, and glue. Good magazines, with positive images, by the way. Cut out pictures of what you want in your life, whether that includes traveling the world or owning a yoga studio. Don’t forget to write yourself a little note about your beauty.

Put it all together in a systematic or wonderfully haphazard fashion on a big piece of cardboard, and hang it up on your wall. I also like Bell’s suggestion of scanning the map in order to have a travel-version.

Life List

Life list, bucket list, whatever you want to call it – just write down a 100 things you want to do before kicking well, you know, the bucket. I like the look of Maggie Mason’s (the inspiration for Bell’s list), and the idea of having mine sitting pretty on my computer and crossing through the ones I’ve completed. Oooh, I want to stop writing this post and go do it right now.

Digitized Goals

Photo: TinyFizzyPop

Bell provides a link to an online questionnaire, which can be helpful for those of us that need prompts. Or cut-offs. Plus, who are we kidding – haven’t most of us forgotten how to write in cursive anyway?

Microactions

To continue the tradition I began of stealing ideas from the Traveler’s Notebook, take a look at their new series, Micro Notes, in order to get primed for this one. I know I can sometimes be wordy in both writing and speech (have you noticed?), and often, the best way to get things done is to define them with brevity. Index cards, short lists, to the point=making things happen.

Finally, here’s one I’m adding to Bell’s list:

Visioning/Meditation On Your Goals

A former dance teacher of mine will freely tell you that without a doubt, “visioning” her future every single day has led to her dreams becoming a reality. After passing the bar exam, Vicki decided to chuck the lawyer-life and pursue her true passion, dance. Now, she along with her business and life partners throw one of the most consistently sold-out club nights in San Francisco, Non Stop Bhangra, and her dance troupe, Dholrhythms, performs up and down the Western Coast of US and Canada.

Vicki has had a daily routine of reciting and meditating on her dreams, and says that everything that has come to fruition began as a thought in this process. In other words, don’t forget the power of intention.

Since fall always feels like a good time for introspection, I’ll be working on my manifesto this weekend, and then will post some of my results and musings at my blog, Living Holistically. I’m hoping to see some of yours, even just bits and pieces, too.

Add parts of your manifesto to your personal blog, and then come back here and paste the link in the comments section below!

Apollo Belvedere / Photo: alun salt

“If life is a journey, then philosophy is like a compass. It helps us to find our way through the jungle of possibilities that life presents.”

With these words, Thomas Knierim articulates his reason for creating The Big View, a website with the goal of “rendering a bird’s eye perspective on various philosophical topics, hence, the name.” Topics as diverse as Space Time, Buddhism, and Greek Philosophy are all presented clearly…and more importantly, concisely.

I caught up with Thomas to discuss the site, the importance of cutting through noise on the web, and the growing realization that everything is connected.

The Interview

BNT: How has philosophy acted as a compass in your life?

THOMAS: I mentioned this because some people believe that philosophy is a boring academic pursuit or perhaps just mind acrobatics. This is a misconception. Philosophy deals with the big questions in life and these questions affect everyone. Philosophy informs us about our limitations and our possibilities.

Thomas Knierim, The Big View

In my case, it has provided me with insight into human nature and with good advice about which goals in life are worthy following. Most people seek happiness in external things, such as wealth, love affairs, lifestyle, adventures, etc., and they put an enormous amount of energy into these pursuits.

True happiness, however, is a state of mind, and as such it does not depend on external conditions. This sounds like a cliché, but it’s true.

Philosophy directs attention away from the external world to the inner world. It directs the attention towards the development of self-knowledge and perfection of mental qualities… which are difficult but worthy goals.

You currently live in Chiang Mai, Thailand. What effect has traveling and living in Southeast Asia had on your own Western worldview? On the other hand, what do you see are the pitfalls of only relying on Eastern ideas?

I am living in Thailand for 16 years, so the Buddhist worldview has shaped my own worldview. If you live in Thailand you are sort of forced to learn Buddhism, because you cannot really understand the Thai culture without understanding Buddhism.

There is also a notable Chinese influence, especially in Bangkok, where I lived before. To experience Asian culture first-hand is quite educating, as it sets things into perspective. Things that I once considered universally valid turned out to be just culturally conditioned. I found Eastern philosophies, especially Buddhism and Taoism, very deep and enriching.

The major trap, on the other hand, is to see Eastern ideas as silver bullets, or magical solutions. Westerners tend to either ignore Eastern ideas altogether or develop disproportionate reverence for them. I think it is always a bad idea to forgo critical analysis.

You also say “Most people with Internet access are familiar with the problem of information overload.” How does information overload affect a person’s ability to discern quality ideas and philosophical teachings from the noise?

The major challenge is probably not to get carried away. There is such an enormous amount of information out there and it is so easy to get lost. This is facilitated by the interactive nature of the Internet and its associativity brought about by the hyperlink.

It’s eerily similar to the way the human mind works. Just as you can get lost in a train of thought, you can get lost surfing web pages. I have observed this process in myself.

For example, when I start looking for a specific piece of information, I inevitably come across some link that sounds interesting. If I decide to follow that link and to dig deeper, I might end up watching a video or reading a page that has little or nothing to do with the initial quest.

Another problem is the sheer amount of information that is available on each topic, which forces us to learn how to select information by specificity, presentation and scope.

How did you decide what philosophies (and philosophers) to include on your site?

I simply chose the topics and philosophers that interested me. Some of the material about Greek philosophy goes back to the pre-Internet Bulletin-board era when I had more or less scholarly (probably less!) discussions with other people interested in ancient philosophy.

Buddha / Photo: dnc

In the physics section, I tried to put well-known science topics into a less rigid philosophical perspective. In the Buddhism section, I tried to create a straightforward introduction that is intelligible to Westerners without any background in Eastern thought.

I had studied Buddhism a few years earlier from a number of books that used complicated language and unfamiliar Pali and Sanskrit terms, so I wanted to avoid that as far as possible. In future, I’d like to add new section about formal logic, Indian philosophy and evolution theory, but unfortunately at this point I don’t have much free time.

I have to ask, since I’m sure it’s a question that has plagued many philosophy archives. In your opinion, why aren’t women philosophers better represented throughout history?

It is not all that surprising, because you could likewise ask why aren’t female politicians, artists, doctors or female scientists better represented throughout history, and the answer is the same.

Throughout the last few thousand years, the patriarchy has dominated human societies. Not every society was patriarchal of course, but the one that led up to present-day Western culture certainly was a patriarchy and a quite rigid one at that.

Women were simply not considered fit to exercise the named professions; they were given little opportunity, little attention, and little credit. They were rarely able to gain public recognition. You only need to look back 100 years in European history to recognize the grip of the patriarchy.

So the grounds for female artists, scientists, philosophers, etc. have been infertile for a really long time. Fortunately, this has changed.

“Everything is connected.” This theme applies to many great philosophies throughout history. Yet it also seems to be the unifying idea of our time: from string theory, to weather patterns, to foreign policy decisions. Do you think humans will fully understand and here’s the key apply this idea in our lifetime?

Yes, I think that people will at least develop an intuitive understanding of interconnectedness. Things have changed, especially due to advancing technology and globalization.

My kids are growing up in a world that is different from the world I grew up in. Today, there is the Internet, there is a global market, and there is an emerging global culture.

My kids are learning three native languages as they’re growing up. They are at home in Asia as well as in Europe. They eat Thai food, Japanese food, German food, whatever. Intuitively, they understand that they are connected to different cultures.

For them, interconnectedness and global thinking will be quite natural.

For more, visit The Big View.

What do you think the importance of “the big view”? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Photo: Randy Wick

Swept up in the notion that life is meant to be happily lived, many of us often struggle with what it means to be happy on any given day. Am I feeling good at this moment? Was I feeling better yesterday? Why can’t I get to that balanced state of bliss?

Ah, yes, the “balanced state of bliss.” What in the world could that possibly imply? Some sort of a delusion, at least on my part. After a better part of my childhood and 20s fraught with depressive tendencies, I feel a daily pull of that which remains, on some levels, an enigma. Which gives me full appreciation for something I recently read on the Happiness Project blog:

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned (through a decade of practice with Zen Buddhism) is that melancholy is perfectly normal – it’s neither happy nor unhappy – and it’s all right to walk slowly through it.

Sometimes, I feel with all the positive affirmations, law of attractions, and 2012s being thrown around, we are forced, in a way, to feel “happy” all of the time. Even when we don’t. It’s as if sadness, anger, and discomfort have become four letter words that we beat to a bloody pulp as if they were a rabid raccoon attacking our child.

Here at Matador, we’ve searched far and wide for the ingredients to happiness, best summed up in Carlo Alcos’ piece, 5 Key Ingredients in the Search for Happiness. He found that introspection, freedom, compassion, generosity, and contentment were all necessary aspects for happiness.

But can’t these just as easily be ingredients of melancholy? And is that necessarily a bad thing?

To be human is to feel all the emotions available on the spectrum. I sometimes want to cry out that to accept where you are right at this moment is to be free. The problem comes in when those emotions, whether happiness or sadness, take over. Then we are no longer who we are – we have instead become the emotion.

The Absolute End of Happiness

Photo: | spoon |

Within the context of feeling happiness is necessary all of the time comes the idea that death is looming to take life, happiness, and – as Ian MacKenzie recently explored with filmmaker Patrick Shen – meaning away.

We all only have a set amount of time here, and we best power-pack it full of smiles, giggles, and moments of perfection.

A recent post over at the New York Times contemplates these beliefs around life (and death). Author Todd May explores our fear of death, as it “extinguishes” the light of our future, which we are programmed as humans to be constantly striving for.

But May argues for the validity and awareness of death in truly living life:

It is equally true that a life without limits would lose the beauty of its moments…this is the paradox death imposes upon us: it grants us the possibility of a meaningful life even as it takes it away.

He continues, “we cannot live forever, to be sure, but neither would we want to,” and I believe the same is true for happiness. Would I want to be happy forever? No, because then I could not truly understand what it means to be happy.

And though I believe fully in shooting for a middle-ground, and understand how important this is for the sake of mental health, I also revel in the ups and downs that the universe hands me (or I hand myself?) as a way to feel fully alive.

We can’t get rid of death (well, according to most, though Jason Silva disagrees), and by the same token, we can’t get rid of melancholy. The question is, why do we continue to fight so hard against both?

Do you think sadness or melancholy should be avoided at all costs? Share your thoughts below.

Photo: Dave Watts

Peshawar, Pakistan. Those two words have a very different meaning today than they did 10 years ago.

One of the beautiful things about travel is that it exposes you to a place at a specific time, perhaps a place and a time you do not realize has any meaning until years later.

I was in Peshawar, Pakistan 10 years ago as a tourist, and today when I see those two words in a dateline, I have to stop and contemplate them. The place is real to me – not just a place where atrocities occur to nameless, faceless people.

I was never meant to be in Pakistan. It was not on my list. I did not have an itinerary. I wanted to go to India, but the consulate in Kazakhstan would not allow me to have a visa. I remember the rakish look on the face of the impossibly young staff member as he told me he would not grant me a visa, and in the same breath that he was late for a lunch appointment.

He left the office and I stood alone in his wake wondering if I could sort my way through his collection of stamps to fake myself a 30-day visa. But then I shrugged it off. Fine, I’ll see what other country is available. I’m not ready to go to Indonesia.

Pakistan? Close enough. When is the next flight to Islamabad?

Finding The Way In

The train ride from Islamabad to Peshawar in mid-July was not exceptional. It was one of those ancient trains that wobble along the rails without air conditioning or padded seating.

Photo: Larsa

The farmland outside the windows did not inspire. I felt relieved that it was not hotter and there were no chickens in my car.

Peshawar was odd, though, no question. The place had a presence that set it apart from Islamabad or the high country. The kind of place it was easy to hear footsteps behind you in an empty alley.

I had never heard of the Taliban. It would be years before I even had a conception of who the Taliban were, but something was not quite right with the place, you could feel it. Like a chill up the spine, though the feeling passed as the quest-like nature of the visit took hold.

An Act Of Kindness

Foreigners came to Peshawar, at least at that time, for one reason: to see the Khyber Pass.

This was the legendary pass crossed by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Humayun and Tamerlane. I was bound to join them. There were only a few companies that specialized in transportation there. I spent two days trying to arrange a Land Cruiser and then a truck to the area. I begged, I pleaded, I shouted, I cajoled. It was all for no gain.

As with many agenda items in Central Asia, timing is everything. I could not get there. I would never see the pass. I shared a bus ride back into town with an eager Pakistani who was so excited by my presence that he insisted on paying my bus fare.

This was an outrage, I thought. Not only have I been shut out from visiting one of the wonders of the world, but this impoverished person is trying to pay my way.

Once again, I pleaded, I shouted and cajoled. Once again I was defeated. He paid my way and shook my hand as he exited the bus.

This minuscule event is something that has never repeated itself in any of my travels, and this is what I took away from Peshawar, Pakistan.

Not a bomb or a bullet. Not a conquering hero, but a small act of human kindness.

Have you been affected by generosity during your travels? Share your thoughts below.

If you grew up in the 90’s, it’s likely your after school hours consisted of the following: Saved By The Bell, Full House, and Family Matters. But there was one show that transcended the corny sitcom genre and was actually clever and consistently funny – The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

The success of the show was largely the result of Will Smith’s comedic timing and aw-shucks likability. It wasn’t a surprise then when Will made the leap to the big screen, all the while continuing to release non-offensive rap albums, and befriend all of Hollywood.

These days, while many of the top names have dropped off the A-List, Will Smith remains the world’s most bankable star.

What’s the secret? Apparently, it’s that he’s “willing to die on a treadmill.” See what I mean by watching below.

You have to hand it to Will. His obsessive drive has certainly served him well, and offers a number of takeaway truths for any wisdom seeker.

Feature photo: Andrew Eccles/JBGPhoto.com

What do you think of Will’s wisdom? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Photo: digitalbob8

Drugs certainly hold the possibility of being mind-expanders, at least for some people.

And many travelers have had the opportunity to partake in an illegal drug or two while visiting spiritually-enhancing areas, which also hold the potential of many years in an extremely scary foreign prison if caught.

But this guy goes above and beyond what few have done, or would ever contemplate doing. The British man, ‘Mr. A’ is reported to have taken 40,000 ecstasy pills over a nine-year period. The previously heaviest lifetime intake was 2,000.

Whoa.

Can’t imagine that was good for the brain, body, or spirit. According to doctors from London University, it wasn’t. The man stopped taking pills seven years ago, but still suffers from:

…severe physical and mental health side-effects, including extreme memory problems, paranoia, hallucinations and depression. He also suffers from painful muscle rigidity around his neck and jaw which often prevents him from opening his mouth.

And it seems like many of the symptoms are permanent. His short-term memory loss, including “the time, the day, what was in his supermarket trolley,” makes living life on a day-to-day basis a frighteningly hard task.

The Dark Side

Photo: azrainman

I think that most who have taken ecstasy, ranging from just once to more times than they would like to count, can still agree that 40,000 is a bit over the limit and would naturally cause trauma to the brain. But I’m a bit more interested in the why of choosing to ingest that massive amount.

Some people might just call this man crazy, off, mentally-deranged. Yet, something in me wonders if this is just an extreme example of what is happening for people all over the world.

A lack of connection – be it to community, self, or the spirit – pushes us, consciously or unconsciously, to search for that connection. For some, this can be a very positive experience, and as Jennifer Blair writes, can lead us to our soul place:

A soul place is an island, a building, a city, or a natural vista that speaks to you in a language unheard. It opens up a space within that you didn’t realize was closed.

For others, the drive may be toward darkness. From a traveler’s perspective, dark tourism, or “the practice of visiting sites related to death and suffering,” can put you face to face with the underbelly of humanity: genocide, natural disasters, terrorism, slavery, the effects of drugs on a community. These are the ugly parts of history that on certain levels, we all share.

And there are many things out there that can make us spiral further into the darkness, including drugs, alcohol, work, sex, TV – the list goes on. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but it is when we come to depend on them to catch a glimpse of connection that we disconnect from that which we are searching for.

The key, according to many who are spiritually-inclined, is that we must fully and deeply look at our shadow, lest it take over. By shining a light on the darkness that is within each of us, it is no longer dark.

So I wonder, for this man and his 40,000 ecstasy pills (who has since dropped out of his doctor’s care), what shadow was he running from?

What do you think is behind this man’s ecstasy binge? Share your thoughts below.

Tibetan sings a tune / Photo: wonderlane

To kick things off, I thought I’d share a new list of the Top 50 Travel Blogs, with BNT coming in at #2. Whooo!

Steph over at Twenty Something Travel writes the thoughtful Why Travel Won’t Solve All Your Problems. This is a reality many travelers only realize after they’ve been on the road for some time (and maybe that’s the way it has to be).

A few more lists: the Independent Traveler celebrates 5 Reasons For Travelers To Give Thanks, AC360 blog shares 28 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Traveling, and if you’re thinking of settling for a time, check out 11 Incredible Homes From Around the World.

One more list: Gadling offers up 5 Ways To Thwart Homesickness.

This just in (circa 2005): the future belongs to the Right Brain. (Take that, Left!) A classic Wired article Revenge of the Right Brain explains why.

So you think you’ve become enlightened. Not so fast. Tom Stine shares his own view on what it’s like To Be Half Awake And Half Asleep.

Lastly, when planning your next trip, you may want to read Where Americans die abroad. Then again, the numbers are so low, it’s hardly worth considering (except Mexico… seriously 126 deaths?)

Enjoy your weekend!

As you go to or home from work today, possibly dealing with rain or very cold temperatures, trying to protect yourself from the swine flu or thoughts of the looming end of the world, think about what a little laughter can do.

The video starts off a bit slow, but give it a minute:

I love how the annoyed faces can’t help but start to smile. Hopefully it’ll do the same for you. Happy Friday!

What are some other ways to get people smiling? Share your thoughts below!

Feature photo: adobemac

Community Connection

Need some more laughter to take you into the weekend? You can’t help but bust a gut when you read Tom Gates’ piece, The Five Worst Pizzas In the World. And maybe it’s time to be reminded of why Southwest Airlines is Still Cool After All These Years. For more great travel videos, check out the brand spankin’ new MatadorTV.