Imagine finding two books. One on sumo wrestling and one on whatever subject interests you most. Which book would you pick up? The one that tells you things you already know or the one that introduces you to a whole new art, perspective or outlook. 

It may be that what we are drawn to is that which we already know at some level and most of the “learning “ we do isn’t learning at all but a verification or legitimization of that which we already know.

And then maybe you the reader are one of the people that would pick up the book on sumo wrestling because you know absolutely nothing about it and this is the chance to learn.

I had a nephew by marriage that was only one year younger than I. One summer as teenagers we hung out together.  We used to spend the weekends on my brother-in-law’s boat at Marina Del Ray and go to lunch at Tom’s Hamburger Joint. 

I’ll always remember the clean white towel that Tom had on the grille to wipe his spatula after flipping the burgers. We would sit at his bar and watch him work. Then he would chat with us between customers. We had all summer.  

Once John and I hitchhiked from San Francisco to Los Angeles, just for the fun of it. Lots of great stories were created as we stood on the on ramps to the 101 reading the graffiti left by those who went before us. It took us four days. There was much we shared that summer but much we just could not communicate.

When John died at an early age I asked myself if I did everything I could to help him. If he would have been able to know what I know would it have changed his life? What would it have taken for him to see what I see? Understand what I understand?

Its not enough to tell people what you know. In fact that approach is often doomed to failure. It seems we are all more inclined to believe that which we already know rather than that which is new to us. To share the knowing we have accumulated is difficult. Yet it still drives many of us to write and to share and to help each other. Sometimes with dire consequences rooted in misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

Therefore I want to assure you, before you read any further, that “everything we say may be wrong”. The thoughts and ideas expressed here are ones that work for us. We are sharing them in the hope that those who will find that these words help to confirm or legitimize their own knowing will appreciate them. Maybe no one will read these pages. Maybe somebody will find a seed somewhere in our writings that will help them back on their path a little sooner.

If you are one of these and would like to contribute a little to make our work possible you can send us a couple of dollars through PayPal. This will help us to spend more time developing these pages.