In Search of ...

Expand Your Mind Through Travel Experiences

2017-02-06T04:39:00.000-08:00

I've been blessed to be able to travel and live in many exiting places, sometimes at very magical times. From 2003 - 2010 I was in Buenos Aires, a time when expats and travels were organically being pulled to Buenos Aires. i ws a moment in time, like the West bank of pairs at the turn of the 19th century, Greenwich Village, NYC in the 60s, and Prague in the 80s. Next came Mexico and then India, where I reside today. Friends see me traveling around the world and tell me "Your life is like a movie," so we decided to turn it into one. So we're going to launch a travel-adventure web series and we want you to participate for as little as $2 a month. I've been a vagabonder since 2014 when I met and befriended a Colombian photojournalist. She'd been traveling solo -- or rather backpacking (they're different things I was to discover) -- since the age of sixteen. When she and I traveled to northern Argentina, we traveled by bus, hitchhiked, and walked. It was amazing.

I've been in India now for four years and traveled a lot. I've seen some very cool places, and had some fun adventures, and now want to bring it to you, the viewer, in the form of a reality, adventure, historical and educational web series. I've posted photos and written about some of it on my Journey Through India blog. Goa on the edge of the arabian Sea, to the mountains of Munnar, and the Forests of Bandipur and the runins of Hampi, which you can view in my Collections on my G+ page.

In 2015 I met Jordan, just by chance while he and friends were having coffee at my daily lunch spot. I felt inclined to play host to my American countrymen while they were in town, and arranged to take them by motorcycle to Mysore. Jordan filmed the excursion.

On February 27th I turn 60 years old and I'm not slowing down. I wanted a life challenge, and found it. In August I and my merry band of friends will ride to Dehli by motorcycle, and then endure a week's long ride to the highest and most dangerous road on the planet -- the roof of the world in the Himalayas.

Here are some photos of the area, a ride that draws bikers from around the world to pilgrimage the enduring ride to the top of the world. It is only reachable three months a year, as they are impassable the rest of the year due to snow.

This will be part documentary, part reality show, part history and educational video, and part journalism log. In short, it will be fantastic, and you can vicariously tag along.

We're asking anyone that loves adventure, challenge, and living life to its fullest to become a patron of our web series for as little as $2 a month. That's only 20% of a pack a cigarettes! Come on, do it.

Don't you want to see if a 60 year old can endure the challenge of body, mind, and spirit to triumph over the elements? Sure you do.

https://www.patreon.com/expatinindia

The Space Between

2016-09-01T05:29:00.001-07:00

After months of relentless work, expectations, and stress, I yearned for that place that I seldom find. One can seek it out, but there is no actual path to get there; one must inadvertently stumble into it, and tonight I did.

After a few hours on my own, devoid of talk and company, it opened itself up to me and invited me in. It's a place you can only find when you're one with yourself, a place of the quiet mind; a space where you're aware of the reality around you yet unmolested by it. It's odd really, that I like people and yet at times avoid crowds, or avoid talk in the midst of a crowd. tonight was the latter.

The setting was loud, music blaring with unrelenting beats, and the high rumble of chatter. Yet in that moment, my mind was still, deeply aware of all that was going on around me, yet detached from it. My place of meditation.

We all have goals in life, that which we hope to achieve. In life, in relationships, and business. Most of us forget that while our efforts contribute to the outcome, we're not really in control of it. For some that makes us feel afraid, others empowered.

Success, for whatever that may entail, is a mixture of vision to set us on our course, passion to ignite our motivation, and a dose of magic -- the circumstances to bring it all together. Some may call that luck, But what is magic but that which occurs for reasons beyond our comprehension?

I had thought that I was on the cusp of the magic. Through a serious of serendipitous activities in the preceding months, in a flurry of encounters in the waning days of my recent trip to NYC, I found myself in the company of strangers; an investment group that expressed interest in -- and a unexpected clarity of -- my current project in development.

For the first time (in recent memory) I was confronted by people that seemed to get it. I didn't force it, or try to convince them of it, I merely explained it to the best of my ability and they got it,; they contributed expanded thoughts about it, and appeared ready to help bring it to fruition.

I didn't really have any feeling about it, either apprehension, fear or anything else. It appeared to have taken a life of its own, organically. It was a refreshing experience; it was occurring in the moment without an agenda.

When they ultimately reversed course and passed, I was disappointed. Tonight I wondered why I had any emotion about it.

Many years ago when the words of Rolph Potts resonated with me -- through his book Vagabonding -- about the way of the traveler [arriving at a place with no predisposed expectations, but merely experiencing it for whatever it happened to be], tonight it comes full circle as I recognize that life, and any business endeavor subsequent to that adventure, is too just a moment in the experience.

So instead of disappointment, I can enjoy that experience: be happy for the moment, of that connect and interaction. And what will be will be.

The project I feel just as strongly about; in my bones energized that it is the right thing at the right time.

An idea whose time has come is a potent thing, and I have to remain resolute in that it will come to be, or that it won't. Nevertheless I feel the pull to pursue it with the passion I am committed to, and grind it out until it's time arrives.

Contemplating Technology and the ongoing Public Forum

2013-09-02T07:38:00.002-07:00

The rapid rise of technology is claimed by some to be inhibiting human interaction. Others claim that it contributes to the public journal and the broadcasting of it. What do you think, can both sides be correct?

I thought about this one day when I was compelled to stop and snap a photo that I wanted to share on my Facebook page.

So yesterday I sat and pondered this social dilemma to see what logic I could apply to it. Read the article here: http://www.brieaustin.com/2013/09/the-rapid-rise-of-technology-and-the-public-forum/

Racism Is Dead ...

2013-03-16T18:49:00.001-07:00

Well, at least in New York, for this weekend ... every one is green ... and white!

Today is the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, and the streets were filled with a mix of race and culture, but they were all green. Then, suddenly, it began to snow. But that didn't slow down the paraders or the spectators one bit.

The island of Manhattan [in New York City] is most likely (along with London) one of the two most culturally-diverse cities on the planet. And what is striking is that everyone, for the most part, coexists together without tension or incident. I guess its the liberal live-and-let-live ideology we inherited by the New York settlers; the Dutch.

Watching all those revelers today reminded me of how easy-going the intercultural relationship is in this city. Then again, my most Irish friend Jim can find, or instigate Irish spirit anywhere -- even in Mexico, where is currently living.

With all the strife, religious and others conflicts, it would be nice if we could take the joyful mood everyone seems to be in on St. Patty's Day and extend it all year around.

World peace? Sure, I'd I'll drink to that! And today, when drinking becomes a sport, I'm quite certain I could find lots of people to toast with me. But, first I'm about to eat some Irish Stew.

The New Middle Age

2012-09-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

I never thought much about birthdays growing up; they never resonated for me. It was always just a day that someone else -- my mother, my wife, my friends -- decided to have a party that I would attend and receive some presents. I never carried any emotion for me.

When I was attending Delaware Valley College, I recall that my roommate reacted to his 20th birthday as it were the worst day of the year, like he was one day closer to death; he was noticeably shaken by it.

My birthdays came and went without a flicker of interest on my part. Its a number, nothing more.

Suddenly I was approaching fifty, and for the first time in my life I wanted to have a party. I was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and had been there a few years. I decided that I wanted to invite all the people I'd met that I liked and felt a kinship with.

But the purpose of the party wasn't to indulge myself in a me day; it was to be a "them" day. It was going to be my way to say "Thank you for this life journey I'm on, and thank you to for all those that have and are contributing to the richness of that journey." It was the first birthday party for me that I had ever felt immersed in. i liked it so much that I did it again for my 52nd, albeit with a much smaller crowd: very close friends and my Argentine family (Sandra, Carlos, Recardo, Charley, Isaac, Migel, and Adela).

This year I'm fifty-five I am still young at heart, somewhat imature in natural, spantaneous and adventureous. But I also am for the first time feeling my age; the bones more fragile, the joints creak, and deep sound sleep no longer comes as easily as it once did.

The good news is that according to a new study, middle age in the modern world, they say, BEGINS at 55. Hoohoo!

In a recent article they notes that in a survey of 1,000 UK adults aged 50-plus, people said that they do not see themselves as elderly until they are nudging seventy. Previous studies -- according to the article -- pinpointed the start of middle age as early as thirty-six, and I would have to say that if I had been asked, that is what I would have said.

Although seven out of ten early 50-somethings quizzed for the survey defined themselves as middle-aged, the average age perceived at which life began was fifty-four . One in five thought middle age becagan at sixty, and one in five also thought middle age was a state of mind.

Be that as it may, my bones and joints confirm that middle age is in fact a state of age, not a state of mind.

Sudden Life Shifts

2012-09-20T04:28:00.001-07:00

Life is an odd thing with no warning of when it may shift beneath your feet and take you in a direction you never expected. I was in Denver visiting with my sister and family this past spring. So while there I contacted the Office of Tourism to see if they could assist me with contacts for potential stories. They did, and while the places I went to review were all interesting, it was the stories of the people behind them that was more so.

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My! To be more accurate, 43 African Lions, 14 Mountain Lions, 70 Tigers, 87 Bears, 28 Wolves, as well as many other species; all of them carnivorous -- with the exception of a single porcupine and a camel: a total of 290 animals.

My first stop was to an Animal Sanctuary that was founded by a 19-year boy simply because he wanted to rescue one big cat that he witnessed being abused in a zoo. It led to a life-long pursuit and he has created what has become the largest carnivorous animal sanctuary in the country. Read about A Mile Into The Wild.

Aside from various clubs, a stop in Black Hawk, and other sightseeing, I also was invited to a private tour of the Molly Brown House Museum. Everything I thought I needed to know about Molly I saw in the 1997 film. But no. She was actually a compelling character and fascinating woman, making the stop A Hidden Treasure in Denver.

The Smallest Meditator

2012-09-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

The Religious-Science Impassse

2012-09-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

Recently arriving in Bangalore India for a six-month stay, I’ve enjoyed the daily reading of The Speaking Tree column; prompting me to return to my own thoughts on religion and being.

Coming from a mixed-religion household, my mother was a Protestant, (of English, Scottish and Cherokee heritage), and my father was a Jew (of an Irish Catholic father, and a Russian Jewish mother), i’m not quite sure if that makes me -- religiously speaking -- more confused, or less.

The Swami Kryanada previously (aug 31) talked about science and religion: the former providing advances in science, creature comforts, and knowledge: we now know the world is not flat; that Earth is not the center of the Universe; that there are untold galaxies, while the latter promising the path to enlightenment. Those that believe in science see truth as what can be proven, while those that believe in religion see truth as that which has been divinely written. Both are often inflexible.

Just as there is conflicting belief of whether we are physical beings (searching for spirituality to enter heaven) or spiritual beings (in a physical experience), so too is science pitted against religion.

Christian leaders refuse to acknowledge that man has walked the Earth for 10s of millions of years, rather than thousands, in direct conflict with the bible, while scientists refuse to acknowledge that even though Darwin has shown us evolution, they have not found the “missing link” to disprove intelligent.

Science is devoid of hope; religion is devoid of open mindedness and change. Science seeks truth, while religion claims to be truth.

Religious belief requires submission to an idea of something larger than oneself. However, all too often religious leaders exploit that belief; while followers use it as a crutch to escape responsibility for their own actions, and the subsequent outcomes in their lives. If things go well, God is great; if they don’t, well you didn’t believe hard enough, or live righteous enough.

Interestingly, most of the religions around the globe are rooted in similar themes, similar stories, virtues and teachings. Yet extremists can’t seem to get beyond my God is better than your God; my way is the only way. Whether its the Taliban beheading people in Afghanistan, Hindu extremists roughing up students in Mangalore, or Christians trying to impose their will through politics, nothing on Earth has pitted man against man, or brought more death and despair to the human race than conflicting religious ideologies.

So until we can heed the words of Lao Tzu, who suggested that we “live our religion, rather than worrying about how to spread it or convincing others that we’re right,” we’ll never find the path to enlightenment that all religions claim to provide.

Joy in the Moments

2012-08-21T06:02:00.004-07:00

Jesus said that "It's pointless for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his very self," and the Buddha whimsically pointed out that "seeking happiness in one's material desires is as absurd as suffering because a banana tree will not bear mango."

In the book by Rolf Potts, Vagabonding; An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, he notes -- in response to the above -- that "Despite several millennia of such warnings, however, there is still and overwhelming social compulsion -- and insanity of consensus, if you will -- to get rich from life rather than live richly; to "do well" in the world instead of of living well."

What does that mean? Living richly begins with being in the moment; seeing the things around you, and taking joy in the everyday air, sun, people, colors, aromas and energy of life. Potts again provides insight: "Seeing" is somewhat of a spiritual exercise: a process not of seeking interesting surroundings, but of being continually interested in whatever surrounds you."

I'm now beginning my third week in India (which I'm tracking on my Travel log of India on my Website and my India Reflections on blogger). Each day as I walk towards my friends office I pass a 3-year old girl. She sits there as her mother and grandmother iron the laundry. And everyday the little girl waves to me with a smile "hi, hi, hi" she says, and then "bye, bye, bye." In that simple moment my joy level rises because i don't hurry past thinking of where I need to be. I rather enjoy each step of that mini adventure to and from the office. I often take a different way home each night.

Yesterday, I woke up and went to my favorite local cafe, and felt intensive, internal joy for no reason whatsoever -- I was happy just to be alive, in that moment; grateful for another day to see whatever comes my way.

Surely to the busy hard-working people out there chasing time and money to keep current with their monthly overhead, this might all seem a bit trite: nice in theory, but light on practicality.

However, as succinctly stated by Mr. Potts yet again, "The more we associate experience with cash value, the more we think that money is what we need to live. And the more we associate money with life, the more we convince ourselves that we're too poor to buy our freedom."

Work is a necessity to earn, but you can choose to what degree you need to earn by what you hold most valuable in life.

I've Been Distracted

2012-08-18T07:23:00.002-07:00

Arriving in Bangalore India two weeks ago, I've been running around setting up my office operations and try to stay up to date. But I promise I will start posting more insightful and regular post soon.

Rough Days

2012-08-17T04:42:00.003-07:00

Yeah, sometimes it just like that.

Running A Business

Posted By Brie Austin In Category: Business , Insights

Running a business is like riding on a roller coaster. Although it is fun and exciting, there will be times when you’ll be scared and feel powerless. During the bad times there isn’t much you can do, other than to keep on pushing forward.

So in that spirit, here are 101 quotes that will motivate you to push forward.

Continue here

Routinely Inspiring

2011-12-09T15:58:00.001-08:00

Do routines suck the life out of our creativity and limit our sphere of experience, or provide a stable balance to it?

As a creature of habit I fall into routines rather easily. I might frequent the same cafe for months; arriving at the same time of day, sitting in the same seat, ordering the same food and/or drinks from my own narrow list of options.

Certainly routines can quickly become ruts if you're not careful; a trip to Buenos Aires turned into a six-year stay, where you could find me every day on the corner of Juncal and Uruguay eating a Tarta de Pollo (jamon y queso, o berenjena), coffee and medialunas. Still, I find routines add a sense of stability to my unstable life.

Is that an illusion? Does it matter? No matter what’s going on in my life, no matter what is up in the air, once a day, week or month I know what to expect when I walk into that cafe; or bar to unwind with a Margarita, or park bench for a cigar.

When I first became columnist back in 2000, I started writing my column late a night when the cafe (or diner) was quiet. I’d often have dinner and unending cups of coffee. Through trial and error I’ve attempted to write in many different types of places, including the quiet of my own room. But I found that my mind was more active in public spaces; where I could be aware of the people around me yet disconnected from them.

Over the years I've settled in to a routine at the cafes, regardless of whether its later afternoon or late night. In fact I'm writing this post at a Starbucks in Mexico, while taking a break from working on my book “The Last Woman and Me.”

The WInds of Change

2011-12-09T15:35:00.003-08:00

Though nothing is cemented yet, I feel elements of my hopes and dreams gathering -- like moisture in a distant summer storm picking up momentum.

The direction of this momentum remains unclear, but that's OK. The sense of the possible is a force unto itself that at times uses you as the vessel for it to manifest itself.

Signs

2011-12-09T15:35:00.001-08:00

Life is a funny thing, with no rule book or sign posts. So we stumble along searching for where we're supposed to be, sometimes hoping the road will lead to where we want to be. But does our subconscious lead us to where we should be despite where we could be? Are we secretly the authors of our own destiny? Is the current we often struggle to resist that of our own internal voice, which knows where to take us?