Each self is a labyrinth of nuance and complexity.
Awakening Catfish - I have envisioned this graphic and had it professionally designed by my niece, Hannah Marie Hollingsworth. My last name in Russian means "son of a catfish." Catfish are non-violent bottom-feeders, who sustain themselves on the debris of life. To me this symbol - of a catfish awakening - represents a personal evolution; an evolution of self that is made of non-self, of a self that is learning to identify with non-self, of a self that is learning to be one with this universe.
CrossFit is one of my passions.
My 3rd German shepherd.
My favorite Pittsburgh statue. I think of it as an encounter. An encounter is a progression from first seeing the other as a savage to eventually seeing them as your self.
I like to remember where we came from ...
Grew up working out with kettlebells (it's a Russian exercise invention, you know)
You don't have to be a Buddhist to be a buddhist.
What better than a leaf to decorate a pocket?
I like Pittsburgh, its backstreets, its pot-holes, its unassuming charm.
Before I write, I read.
And when I write, I re-read.
Winter-conditioning.
with Wim Hof, the "Dutch Iceman," in Melbourne, Australia
I like downhill skiing. And I like interviewing folks on a ski lift.
A personal factoid: since 1993 till 2013 I had a pony tail. I'll probably grow another one when/if I retire.