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 It's been a while since my last entry. If I get this right, I have been in Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, London, Zurich, Milan, Hastings, and who knows where else since then. The picture on the right is from Zurich airport, which apparently has the longest business lounge airport bar in the world (it was indeed pretty long). My friend Brett once recorded a song with an Artist named John Fournier called "Drinking in Airports", which kind of stuck with me ;-)
Have been collecting my boarding passes and it's turned into a cute little book. Have to figure out how I can use it somehow... In the least, I might scan them and then we shall see. Maybe I will use them for my Once-Around-The-World Party invite. That's right, Once-Around-The-World. I guess that other people have done this before, and some in 80 days, but for me it's a first. I thought I would return to LA after finishing my project in London this week, be there for a few weeks and then think about going to India for a vacation and to visit my cousin who is over there at the moment, but things turned out a bit different...
Looks like I will be going to Chennai (Madras) end of this week as soon as I am done here in London, and no, not (just) on vacation, but to work on a project over there... Of course, not having been home in the last three months (wherever that place was again), I will travel there with all my winter clothes that brought me through the cold months in Europe. There, I am told, it will be about 40 degrees Celcius and 85-90% Humidity. Think I won't need my jackets... Then it's on to LA to exchange clothes, catch my breath and all that good stuff. At that point, I will have actually gone around the world once this year having started in LA in February - thus the party.
After that it's back to India until the end of July and then... we shall see... Don't have a plan yet, but am sure I will have one eventually, even if no plan ever survives initial contact ;-)
How appropriate, though, that my mystic tour 2006 would actually lead me to India. What better place. Had hoped to be there this January to study with my Yoga teacher's teacher. Then I had hoped to go there to visit Auroville, where my cousin is currently working on a project, but that, too, did not go as planned. Now I am going there for a whole set of different reasons, but I still hope that I will have the chance to study some Yoga, see Auroville, check out the Theosophical Society, and maybe a couple of Ashrams and magnificient sages... Ahhhh.... mystical it is indeed ;-)
On that note, here a collage with more pictures taken for a picture contest a friend of mine is holding. Of course, the topic is "toilets".... The ones below are from Frankfurt and London (Camden Town):
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One of the things I love most about traveling and being at the whim of a project schedule is that it forces one to be "home", "centered", "at peace" with whatever is happening in one's environment. The more the world around is fluctuating, moving, changing, the more one needs to focus internally in order to find stability. Having one's sight set inward, sooner or later one encounters the observer behind the ego, that something that looks through one's eyes, is behind all thought, and calmly observes all that is happening without attachment, desire, or any other false connection to the world around.
As the landscape changes and events and people come and go, it is helpful to focus on staying and living in the flow, appreciating all that is happening no matter if ego finds it pleasant or not, loving all who are around, the strangers on the street, the special ones one has to sometimes leave behind.
 Here also some more pictures from my travels... After Brussels, a short stunt in Cologne (had some "Himmel and Aed" - lovely blood sausage with mashed potatoes - a local specialty), it was back to London (had some pig's head, ear and cheek there, which was delicious), then on to Munich (where I had the Bavarian version of blood sausage, apples and potatoes as well as some delicious tounge - and a most magnificient restaurant experience with a Tarot card reader, a masseuse and a delightful show), and from there to Rome (some more tripe, pizza, of course, and some oxtail), and back to London (more pig's head - couldn't help myself, and more Japanese delights such as pickled octopus and grilled smelt).
This weekend, it will be on to Berlin, then Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Zurich before I finish my project here in London. Lots to look forward to ;-)
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 The last location on my tour was Brussels. Did not get to see much of it, though. For the most part, I was working either in the office or the hotel room. Did get a chance to have some interesting foods, though. While Spain had been about Pulpo, Tripe, Entrails, Belgium provided me with Mussels, Cow Diaphragm, and Cuckoo! Did not even know you could eat Cuckoo, but apparently it's a specialty in some areas of Belgium. It was quite delicious I have to say, more tender but a bit like chicken (which I am not too fond of after having seen too many films about how they are typically kept and processed). On of the things I liked about Brussels was the apparent mix of old and new architecture. Especially in the area where I was staying, new glass and steel constructions were shooting out of the ground right next to beautiful old buildings. The office I worked in, e.g. was from the 17th century and had original wood carvings, heavy wooden doors, a sale d'arms and tile work that was just delectable.
This weekend I am in Cologne visiting my brother and then it's on to London. Originally, I was supposed to be in Vienna, which I had very much looked forward to as I love that city, but more urgent needs are calling me to good ole London. Do look forward to being there again, though. In the last year, I have made it home a bit, and I look forward to stopping by some of my favorite places there...
Six Sigma for your Life is off and running and the course starts Monday. We have a pile of people this time around and I look forward to finding out how the results on their stress levels will look in six weeks. If last year's prototype run was any indication, the course should definitely affect the quality of their lives, something dear to my heart ;-)
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Madrid it was for the last week and a half: Had some delicious foods and drinks, learned a bit of Spanish, enjoyed the relative occasional notsocoldness, took a tourist bus tour (above image being the result), saw impressive art at the Prado (Goya, Rembrandt, Rubens, Tizian, Velasquez, El Greco), and spent the rest of it working in the office or my hotel room...
Six Sigma for Your Life is in full gear. Had a great response to my invitation and the machine is in full gear. Look forward to it starting in the next couple of weeks.
Tomorrow it's on to Germany and from there to Brussels on Sunday... (map of tour)
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 Fortune is something funny. One of my numerology readings last year told me that I was not going to travel much in 2006. Another reading told me that I would be traveling more than usual.... Hmmm.... Seems like the latter might be happening - at least for now.
Am sitting in a hotel room in Amsterdam at the moment, the first stop on a tour continuing to Madrid, Brussels, Vienna, Rome, Frankfurt, Zurich, London, and a couple-two-three other places in-between. The full schedule is not finalized, so there might still be some more adventures in stock. We shall see...
For now, I am definitely enjoying Amsterdam and the local specialties. I promised my friend to take at least one picture in each location, so to the right my sunset in Amsterdam picture (haven't seen much daylight, it's cold, it's raining, and I have been working most of the time).
 Apart from my travels and the project I am involved with here (ever wondered how movies end up in movie theatres all over the world?), I am also trying to continue working on all my other lovely projects. One that is going in full force and that I am quite excited about is Six Sigma for Your Life, an email delivered course for busy professionals that improves the quality of life. After a first successful trial run last summer (my brother's stress evaluation showed that all participants for whom we had complete data sets actually showed an improvement in stress coping capabilities and consequently an improvement in the quality of their lives), we are relaunching it this March with a new and rewritten version. I have agreed to let people take it for free one more time in exchange for providing some feedback and help with my brother's PhD research by filling out a stress assessment prior to and after the program, so use this unique opportunity and sign up to improve the Quality of Your Life for FREE!
Okay, that's it. On to other things ;-) Next picture will be from Madrid. Look forward to being there as of next week... hopefully, it's a bit warmer there (California has spoiled me).
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May your year be filled with love, creativity and joy! May it be wondrous and full of adventures! May this be the best year of your life so far and the worst of your life to come!
 Wishing you a most delightful 2006!
In philipworld, 2006 has already started with quite some movement and adventures in the planning. Just returned to LA from a two month trip to London and Germany a couple of days before the new year, then spent New Year's eve at a most lovely wedding near Palm Springs, and am now getting ready to leave to Europe again for another crazy all-across-the-continent project. I seem to like it that way, or at least I keep attracting these kinds of opportunities... In any case, I am looking forward to 2006. I am planning on finishing my Masters in Transformational Psychology (and on publishing my thesis as a book called "Who is creating your reality?"), am fully launching Six Sigma for Your Life this spring, there are already some exciting possibilities for the Center for Conscious Creativity, and the sun is shining in my favorite office in the littlehouse garden... So far, so good... Will keep you posted!
smiles
philip
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 No rest for the wicked, the traveling continues.... Am back in London for another project in the glittery world of entertainment. This time it's about theatrical film distribution. It is quite fun to see behind the curtains of this business and how Hollywood's magic makes it all the way into the living rooms and movie theaters of the world. Now all that is needed is some decent content ;-)
Consultant by day, I am writing the thesis for my Masters in Transformational Psychology at nights. Hotel rooms can be rather helpful for focusing (although it is tough to resist the enticing world of London's Soho right outside my window). My thesis will serve as the foundation for a book I am hoping to write next year, but no promises ;-) Am learning to not overcommit myself, which I think is a good lesson... If you are interested in what I am up to, you can read an abstract of the thesis if you read on...
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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
-- Margaret Mead |
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