Just getting back, I haven't commented on tsunami relief.  For myself, I find myself moved to give to various organizations.

I spent time in Madras in the early 90's, and particularly spent some time on the coast there, and made acquaintances there, so I am pulled to contribute in that direction. 

As an aside, one of the things I looked at when I was in Washington DC, were the various War Memorials.  While at the Vietnam Memorial, I simply couldn't get my head around the fact that twice as many people died in the that 4 hour window of the tsunami, then the number of americans that died in the Vietnam War.  The loss is truly unfathomable. 

At any rate, here is a link for organizations to donate to:
 
Donations listings.
 
If I am missing some invaluable links, please let me know, and I will add them asap. 

For a couple of years now, I've been reading blogs, and finally started one some months ago. 

One hope I have for Integral blogs, and other people's integral practices in general, is to use these tools to enhance virtual communities, and evaluations of various TYPES of practices, thoughts, etc..

A perfect example of this is the site Daily Kos.

Daily Kos is a perfect site to emulate for integrals, in many ways, as this site has hundreds of users, commentors, which bring the "news of the day", not only for national political news, but also for regional issues (various specialized posting authors).

One of the services I use from both Yahoo and Amazon, is their review service.  In the Yahoo case, it is for movies.   At Amazon, of course, it is for books. 

In the spirit of  The Wisdom of Crowds, I deeply value various reviewers, for their insight, their perspectives, and ultimately, their thumbs up/down. 

So, in keeping with this, check out local yahoo.  Now you can "review" your local meditation chapter!  Or your local gym, or your local diet practice, etc. 

Here's an example:

The keyword search is "meditation" for San Francisco, and these are the results. 

Notice that there aren't many reviews yet.  (Also notice that the Shambala Center doesn't let you review.  What's up with that??  Are they SCARED?  )

I'll attempt to post more on this in the future, as I think this is a very valuable discriminative function that anyone who is connected to the internet can perform.  I want to hear about the Shambala Center!  Is it good?  Is it bad?  What's the feedback?

People have tried to do this on a individual basis (thanks Sarlo), but the tools that are now available are just so much more powerful, and more important easy. 

So, this is the second time I have asked any readers here strongly for something.  The first was for KISI.  This time, please propagate information to all people you know (and they'll two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on..) about local yahoo.  Start rating and describing both teachers, practices and organizations.  (Also, if someone knows the same type of functionality on a "universal" level, let me know.)

Who are some incredible teachers?  Why?  What is an incredible practice?  Who's a teacher that you should "stay the hell away from?".

Let's get these party (reviews and descriptions) started, right? Let's get this party started QUICKLY - right?

Is New York the city to end all cities or what?

For the "pleasures of civilization" I can't think of a better place to go than New York.

We managed to be about a ten minute walk from Times Square, and spent New Year's day, trolling around Times Square.  Busy busy busy, that particular day!  Living in San Francisco, it can be just as busy around Union Square, but it is for very brief periods. 

Because we were limited in time, we only got to see Manhattan in the few days we were there. 

Like the Jefferson Memorial, I was pleasantly impressed and moved by the Statue of Liberty memorial.  I had thought I would be like "that's nice - ok, what's next?", but really, the Statue of Liberty is a structure of inspiring beauty.  Not only is the statue itself wonderful, but the view of all the areas of New York from there, are amazing as well. 

I have lots of pictures.  If anyone's curious, let me know, I'll post some! 

More to come...

Hello,

I have been away from the internet for awhile - have taken a two week vacation, which until today, meant limited access to the internet, so I haven't posted anything. 

I ended up going to both Washington DC and New York on my vacation - this was my first trip to the East Coast. 

I did all the typical tourists things - didn't have time for much more. 

A few highlights:

Washington DC - so much to see in the museums.  I particularly liked the Freer Gallery, with it's collection of Asian art from various periods. 

On the other end of the spectrum, I really liked the Wright Brothers exhibit, which gives a great sense of the "myth" of early 20th century america.  Smart, dedicated, intrepid adventurers and explorers, changing the nation and the world, just in time for the 20th century. 

President's Row -

We managed to walk through all of President's Row (Circle? Square?).  The Jefferson and Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument (closed for construction though, so only saw from the fence). the Roosevelt Memorial.  Of course, as part of this walking, took in the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam memorial.

I was continually impressed by the level of discourse of our more famous presidents.  Buffered about by the talking heads society that exists on tv today, it was quite a pleasant shock to see "in the flesh" as it were, some of the brilliant speeches by our presidents. 

Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, on religious freedom:

" Almighty God hath created the mind free…All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens…are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion…No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively."

I can't think of a better way of speaking about protecting diversity of religious practice. 

There's quite a lot more here.  I may post later on this.