--Bay area native. Lover of Redwoods! Explorer-traveler-wanderer with a deep sense of place and connection to the Bay Area. Love hiking in the open spaces around the bay.
--Integrated mind, body, heart, and soul. Balanced and well-rounded.
--Being in the present moment is a high priority of mine. Mindfulness practice is therefore an ongoing commitment.
--I pause to appreciate the beauty in life and to stay in touch with my inner world/needs/deepest desires.
--I enjoy alone time and also appreciate time with friends and family.
--Lived and worked in Berkeley from 2001-2012, running my own massage therapy practice since 2002. Thai Massage, Shiatsu and Deep Tissue are my bread and butter. Feel fortunate to be doing work I love.
--Also on the path of becoming a psychotherapist, which feels like my true calling. Still have a few more years of internship to complete my training and get my MFT license.
--Recently bought a house in North Oakland, so a chunk of my time is currently going into getting settled in my new digs.
--In the first half of 2012, I needed a break after grad school, so I spent 6 weeks traveling in Burma, 3 weeks exploring islands in southern Thailand, and 2 weeks in London.
--Other destinations in the past few years include: Ecuador, Panama, and Cuba. Se habla espanol.
--While I love to travel, and have spent multiple years journeying on the wide open road, I also love being rooted. I'm a "rooted wanderer," a term I coined many years ago to explain myself to myself! :)
--Love photography (especially taking portraits), engaging with people from other cultures, wilderness backpacking, climbing volcanoes, hiking in the redwoods regularly, biking, swimming, and yoga.
--I live for plunging under huge waterfalls and into snowfed, alpine lakes and rivers. Brrrr!
--Immersed myself in Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation while traveling in South and South East Asia in my mid-20s. After my first silent 10-day meditation retreat in India, I knew my life would never be the same.
--I'm easy going, a good listener, patient, grounded, considerate, and reliable.
--I was fortunate to be close to my grandparents growing up and they continue to have a profound impact on me even though they passed away over 10 years ago.

Getting settled in my new house. Evolving, learning, soaking it all in and appreciating it. Helping people feel at ease in their body. Loving. Exploring and adventuring. Cultivating relationships. Savoring food. Laughing as much as possible. Spending quality time with friends and family. Being outdoors, being still, being present as much as possible, exercising, curling up with a good book, enjoying it. Always striving for a healthy balance. Breathing. Connecting with the natural world. Being awestruck by and grateful for the beauty of natural places.

listening to others and to myself, being kind and considerate, being supportive and nurturing to those I love, following my heart and gut instincts, eating slowly, the three R's, geography, map reading, traveling, photographing people and landscapes, appreciating good food, being on time, parallel parking, collecting books, making Mulligatawny soup, making lists, keeping my commitments, being a brother/son/uncle/friend, taking risks, trespassing (occasionally, when it's simply irresistible) climbing practically anything (I was the kid in elementary school who shimmied up the 15 foot pole to get onto the roof to get the kickball down so we could continue playing), paying bills on time, being organized and paying attention to details, being playful, massage, embracing the unknown, pausing, appreciating natural beauty, staying grounded in the midst of challenges, staying healthy, devouring desserts (in moderation, of course!), and being honest about how I feel.

Honestly, I'm not sure, but perhaps my hazel green eyes.

I enjoy a wide variety of tunes: latin, afro-cuban, funk, jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, reggae, classic rock, hip hop, etc. Not too crazy about country music or gangster rap.

Favorite food: Thai, sushi, Indian, Italian, and Turkish/Middle Eastern round out my top 5.

Movies: Il Postino, Mala Educacion (I love all of Pedro Almodovar's films), Last King of Scotland, Crash, Lost in Translation, A Beautiful Mind, Motorcycle Diaries, Babel, Where the Green Grasshoppers Dream, Hotel Rwanda, Pelle the Conqueror, The Lives of Others, Barton Fink, Sideways, Asfalto, V for Vendetta, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, etc.

Books... that might take a while. How about favorite authors/poets: Gary Snyder, Wendell Berry, Joanna Macy, David Orr, Cormac Macarthy, Basho, Rumi, Rilke, David Whyte, Rollo May, Irving Yalom, Hermann Hesse, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield for starters.

1) Feeling a deep sense of interconnection with life and the Earth
2) Genuine friends and a loving family
3) Moments of intentional stillness and silence
4) Awareness, inner freedom, balance, and yoga
5) Exercise and adventure under blue skies
6) Independent travel

--food, my next meal, whether I have enough chocolate in my pantry. i'm not kidding.
--where to go hiking next
--my psychotherapy practice that i am in the process of creating
--how to strike a healthy balance between doing and being
--how to survive and thrive in the midst of the economic, social, and ecological crises we face
--how i can contribute to making the world a better place for everyone
--how to stay connected to nature and healthy in mind, body, and spirit while living in an urban zone
--how to maximize contentment and joy for others and myself.
--balance

out with friends for dinner or lounging at home on my couch with a good book or watching a movie.

Let's save that for later!

you're looking for a high quality, genuine, down-to-earth, sensual, fun, solid, dependable, and sweet guy. If you're genuine, kind, honest, loving, affectionate/warm, a good communicator, mentally/emotionally stable & available, financially responsible, adventurous, love to travel, love being active in the outdoors, are flexible and easy going about most things, care about the planet, appreciate food, have a good sense of humor, and are looking for a deep and lasting connection.