Naked Words- a place to unclothe your Self

Guest blogger

2011-05-10T09:14:00.001-07:00

I have often thought of having guest writers create the occassional Naked Words Blog. Somehow this has never materialized, as I have only approached one person so far who has not shown much interest. I came across this excellent "guest writer" the other day thanks to Nude Woody. I hope that you enjoy what Brian Kraemer has to say and that it motivates you to share some comments on my page, Woody's or somewhere else in Naked cyberspace.

Please email me at tree4yew@gmail.com if you have any submissions that you would like to have conisidered for Naked Words as well. I am open to pretty much anything that sticks to the general idea of "unclothing yourself". Whether that be in the form of a Nude pictorial, a self-growth memoir, or something similar I look forward to reading it all!

Rising Sun Farm Adventure

2011-04-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Last August I spent a wonderful clothing optional month at Rising Sun Farm in River Falls, Wisconsin. I haven't had the chance to write about this experience until now. Thanks for your patience!

Summer life on the farm is enchanting to the seasonal visitor, and holds many natural delights. Among these are: Naked farming, community volleyball, naked bicycle rides, canuding, picking lush veggies, and socializing with many a kindhearted folk.

Not surprisingly, I intend to return to Rising Sun this July. I am really looking forward to it! I could not be doing this without the great support of my Loving wife Jen. I am so grateful to her, and Love her with my whole heart.

I could tell all about the details of the farm, but this article relays the experience there pretty darn well already! What I enjoy about being at Rising Sun Farm I think is pretty typical. You can't help but have a good time working out in the field Nude! It is a combination of a beautiful setting, gracious folk, and the freedom of being nude that makes for a wonderfully human experience. I don't really want to hold it up to anything more than that- a great place to experience what it really is like to be a human being. And what a wonderful thing to experience!!!

The Practice of Loving

2010-12-28T17:47:00.000-08:00

What is Loving?

In the wonderful book A General Theory of Love, Thomas Lewis writes how the practice of Loving is radically different from the state of "being in love".

Loving is limbically distinct from in love. Loving is mutuality; loving is synchronous attunement and modulation. As such, adult love depends critically upon knowing the other. In love demands only the brief acquaintance necessary to establish an emotional genre but does not demand that the book of the beloved's should be perused from preface to epilogue. Loving derives from intimacy, the prolonged and detailed surveillance of a foreign soul.

As the old expression goes "love is blind". Or perhaps, more truthfully, we are blind until we are in love. Life can blind us to the natural state of Love in our souls, and in our hearts. This brings to mind a famous quote by Marcel Proust.

Like everybody who is not in love, he thought one chose the person to be loved after endless deliberations and on the basis of particular qualities or advantages.

So why fall in Love? Why have this experience? Some would say that everything happens for a reason. In the case of Love I believe they would be correct. Being in love can fade away, but Loving does not need to. Deepak Chopra writes along these lines in The Path to Love.

Romance is a temporary state of the sacred. Relationship makes it permanent.

In this way, being in love is really just an overview, a summary, or a melody that guides us later through the practice of Loving. We all know what being in love is. It is all over movies, magazines, talk shows, etc.. What we are seeing dominate our culture today is really just this initial summary of love. Who reads the full novel?? We hear the initial melody, but skip the song. I think that it is definitely worth taking the time to hear the entire song. An excellent example of this is by listening to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Mozart.

If you just saw the Mozart video on YouTube, do you remember about the first 30 seconds of that from a happy childhood bedtime memory? Was that enough Love for you? Or did you want to experience the whole song??

The dominant culture tells us that "in love" is sexy, and that Loving isn't. It is now our wonderful task as Amorists (whether you are a monoamorist or a polyamorist) to make Loving sexy. Sacred relationships happen when everyday Loving is transformed into the "once in a lifetime" experience feel of being "in love". How do we "sexify" love everyday of our lives?!

There is more than one way to "sexify" one's daily love life, and I would love to hear how you sexify yours! Beautiful love stories often happen when unconditional love is made real. A fine example of this is Ram Dass's meeting with maharaj-ji (his "guru to-be"). I like how Ram Das comes to realize peace within himself when he understands that he is loved unconditionally. What a truly powerful and transformative Loving story this is!

* Above photo is of Maharaj-ji.

Naked You

2010-12-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

Who is the Naked You?

How do you transform yourself? Undress yourself? Lighten your psychological load? Lighten the toxic load on the planet? Swallow the red pill? It is truly wonderful to make the transformation from an inhibited sense of self to a Naked sense of self, even if it is simply experienced in your own bedroom, as Joanna Goddard writes here.

There are many ways to lighten ourselves, transform ourselves, and awaken to the Light and Energy within us! One of the most important ways for us at this time is to lighten our toxic load on the planet. If you know deeply and are so acutely aware that life on this planet will continue and be healthy for your children, and your children's children, and so on, isn't that an incredible weight lifted? What a sense of levity you feel! Floating above the earth in Joy and Abundance at the divine sense of connection with all life! How is this achieved?

Derrick Jensen writes that to be truly naked our industrial self must first die.

The socially constructed you died.
The civilized you died.
The manufactured, fabricated,
stamped, molded you died.
The victim died.
And who is left when that you dies?
You are left.
Animal you. Naked you.
Vulnerable (and invulnerable) you.
Mortal you. Survivor you.

"You are left." What is "you"? What is the Naked You? I think that he means the naked you that will defend her own life on this planet. Who will defend the environment, the ecology, and the humanity that we all need. How do we cherish the land? Cherish ourselves? Cherish each other and other living beings? I think that we have a lot to learn, and a long way to go.

I think what Derrick makes most clear with his words is that industrial life on this planet is over. Our industrial self can and should die. Our Naked Self is waiting to be born!

Here are some Derrick Jensen quotes set to music and photos in this video about the Naked You. I look forward to meeting the Naked You!

*Photo credit David Levine

Loving Yourself Today With Food!

2010-11-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Today I am Grateful for Nourishing Foods and the enriching sense of Well-being that comes from localizing Community. Fall is in the chilly air! As I rode my bike back from a morning meditation, I saw pumpkins strung along porches and doors left open for arriving guests. I thought to myself "Today I am not worried. Today I am free." I am super pleased to be writing this to share my Joy, Love and Inspiration with you!

It was on this ride I realized what I have to be Greatful for; Nourishment! (among many other things: Love, Community, Family, Friends, Shelter, and Abundance.) I think that overall it is the one Holiday that comes close to making Peace with the Earth. As I rode home, I suddenly knew that in comparison to this wonderful Thankfulness, and this great coming together of Communities, that Halloween has become in the Western world a shameful mockery of Gratitude and of Thankfulness. Instead of remembering and honoring the dead as latin American cultures do on The Day of the Dead we sacrifice our Beloved children to dead foods. How disgraceful, unloving, and un-nourishing! This single practice alone makes our Western culture look extremely silly and wasteful to outsiders!

Perhaps it would be useful, in order to be more totally Thankful today, if we begin to realize what not thankful is like. Let's use Halloween as an anti-thankful example. On Halloween, so called "Junk Food" is handed out. And isn't that a perfectly fitting description for the foods that fill children's pillow cases and plastic pumpkins each Fall? Is this is how we choose to "treat" our children? With junk, disguised as food? I've just discovered a link that claims Snickers and Candy Corn are in a tie for the most common "treat" handed out on Halloween. Let's look at what we are feeding our Children for Halloween (and over the following months where the candy still lingers).

Snickers Ingredients:milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skimmed milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavour), peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, skimmed milk, butter, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, lactose (a milk product), salt, egg whites and artificial flavour. (From Wikipedia)

Candy Corn Ingredients: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Confectioner’s Glaze, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Salt, Artificial Colors, (FDC Yellow 6 Lake, Red #40, Red 40 Lake, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue 1 Lake, Blue #1, Yellow 5 Lake), Egg Whites, Honey Glycerin, Mineral Oil, Carnauba Wax (From candy corn website)

As you may know, as per FDA food labeling requirements, ingredients are listed in descending order. This means that the ingredient listed first is the most abundant in the chosen product. In this case Sugar is first, so Sugar is most abundant in Candy Corn and Snickers.

So what is wrong with a little sugar in our diets?

In today's over-processed, sugar-crazed society, the average person consumes 154 pounds of sugar per year! That's 53 teaspoons of sugar per day! Now let's pretend that sugar actually has some benefits, eating one-half pound per day may not seem like such a bad idea. But the truth is that refined sugar has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. Not only does it completely lack nutritional value, it also robs the body of enzymes, minerals and vitamins, especially B-vitamins. Symptoms of B-vitamin deficiency include: fatigue, depression, anxiety, inability to concentrate, poor memory, insomnia, rapid/irregular heart beat, swollen/inflamed tongue, dry skin around the nose and cracking around the lips. Considering the amount of sugar consumed in this country, it's no surprise so many Americans suffer from symptoms of a B-vitamin deficiency. (from The Kitchen Transition by Lori Lapinksi)

So B-Vitamin deficiency... Doesn't sound like a Treat that I would like to pass on to the upcoming generation.. or any generation!

Lori goes on to explain more on the detriments of sugar in our diets:

Eating too much sugar also creates blood sugar imbalances in the body. When blood sugar drops too low (shortly after eating a high-sugar meal or snack) the fuel supply to the body is impaired, with adverse effects on mental function, physical energy and emotional stability. Symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can range anywhere from headaches, irritability and shaking when hungry to explosive anger, panic attacks, or crying easily for no apparent reason. Not only can sugar affect the quality of your day but it can also make you sick. Many studies have shown that sugar is very effective in weakening the immune system and is a source of fuel for feeding cancer and tumors.

Ok, so now it really hits home! At first I just didn't want children getting poor nutrition, but now I don't want them acting crazy either! That is asking a lot! Imagine- Healthy Children!

For me, the picture is clear. Celebrating Halloween by handing out industialized anti-nutritious "candy", carving silly faces in our food and letting it rot on our doorstep, on the one hand being extremely un-thankful. On the other side, eating nutritious pumpkins, and sharing the moment with one another, is a very Thankful thing to do, today or any other day!

Eat good Food today! Please, do it for the Earth, for the Moment, For You, For your Loved ones.. for Anything! Just love yourself today with some loving food!
Eat some Organic popcorn, dates, oranges, whatever tastes good to you and is a Traditional food that is Nourishing.

Workin in the Nude!

2010-10-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Ever think that you couldn't do a certain activity in the Nude? Well, turns out almost anything can be done comfortably in the Nude!

Check out a recent blog by Diary of a Nudist that shows people loving Nude work!

Just recently while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in Northern Washinton, I found that the best way to keep dry and warm while it was raining was to work Naked. The above photo is of me digging a trench around our tent, to keep our tent out of a puddle-under-tent situation! The physical effort of digging the trench warmed me up, and the mist on my skin easily evaporated and/or was wiped off with a towel once I got back in the tent. Besides the practicality of this, it was a a very pleasurable sensory rich experience!

A day for Earthly Reflection

2010-10-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

Well, hello Naked ones! It has been awhile, and I have been meaning to post for some time.. Hope that you are still around, I would love to hear all of your Naked words too!

Today is 101010, a great time to reflect on this planet earth and our role as humans. For me, this has been a long road... seeking confidence in living in "harmony" with the earth.. How does one live one's life this way?? Fall is an exciting, wonderful, and abundant time of year. It may seem awkward to reflect on the need to change.. perhaps this is more of a wintertime activity.. but since we're here, why not take some time to hear what one man has to say about playing a serious role in the future of our planet:

Check out this video series interview with Derrick Jensen.

I have found more and more that love starts with ourselves.. that the way we treat ourselves is reflected in our personal relationships, in our environment, in everything we come into contact with.. If I don't take time to care for myself, I am more likely to not take the time to care for you, or the environment.. Right?

One way that we can love ourselves and the planet is by opening up ourselves to Listening. Listen to ourselves, our planet, the land, the plants, the animals that are all around us.. Let go and feel whatever it is.. tension sadness, anger, joy...

"I would let go of all my tension with noisy, uninhibited sobs. I cried in a way that adults hardly ever cry, the heart filled with sorrow."- Catherine Millet

Perhaps it is through this process, in listening to our voice.. our true heartfelt voice that we find out life's direction.. our planet's direction.. and our local environment's direction.. If we can truly listen, and create community locally and globally, then all we have to do is keep going in that direction.. keep loving and listening and learning.. moving towards what we know must be..

"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking" -Buddhist proverb

If you must walk.. walk in the right direction.. and don't forget to take off all of your clothes, as well as your mental "clothing".. May you be Naked in all that you Do. May the soft Fall breezes bless the hair on your head, and the loving leaves of nature's garden brush along your bare backside.. whispering words of love, freedom, and divine protection..

*Sunset photo taken near Pirate's Cove, San Luis Obispo county

WNBR 2010 San Francisco!

2010-06-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

The ride gathered at Thomas Herman Plaza from 12-1 and we all started bicycling in a big circle in the plaza just after 1 o'clock. We then rode bikes leisurely through the city, mostly through tourist dense areas, allowing for hundreds and hundreds of camera and i-phone photo ops for tourists naturally expecting this kind of thing in San Francisco! There was an extended break at City Hall around 3 o'clock or so. It was great to enjoy the shade, and many Naked bikers bought ice cream from a street vendor with a rolling cooler/cart.

In one of the above photos of City Hall you might notice that as this throng of 30 or so Naked bikers descended with their rolling flesh cloud upon City Hall, a couple was happily having their wedding photos taken on the front steps! Since city hall was near where I was staying and I was already very sun-fried I headed home early, as the enthusiastic group biked on in the Nude.

I am feeling very grateful, having met some great folks in person for the first time, including Edward and Woody. I shared many fun chants along the ride with a Nude "family" for the day. Most of the usual WNBR chants were repeated throughout the ride: "Less Gas, More Ass!!", "Burn Fat, Not Oil!!" or sometimes a Nude biker would just yell to a motorist stalled at a stoplight "Get a bike!".

I would like to send out a big "Thank You" to my loving partner Jen! Thanks for your support, watching my "Smart Sharp" business stand at Farmers Market while I was gone, and helping with my share of family farm work! I love you!

In short, I had an incredibly good time at this year's World Naked Bike Ride. I especially enjoyed biking Naked along the tourist clutterd Embarcadero as I took in the views out onto the beautiful and sunny SF bay Nakedly honking, bell ringing, and chanting the whole way! I totally relished in the opportunity to feel the wind slide gracefully along my Naked body as it twisted and turned down the super steep and slowly snaking Lombard street. San Francisco is an awesome host city for the event and showed a great turnout by bay area riders too. What great crowds who cheered us on as we rode! Thank you to all that did!!

It might seem silly or "Hallmarky", but this was, for me a truly unforgettable experience! Perhaps the delight and relishment that I feel is a bit unusual and kinky in it's mathematical simplicity. For, why did I enjoy it so much? I think I really didn't know what to expect, but I did expect something, and that something was I guess relatively small in proportion to the enormity of the actual ride itself. Wow! What a thrill to have a group of us 100 or so riders (near the start) take off down the street, and get the vibrant and encouraging cheers from hundreds upon hundereds of wild eyed iphone wielding tourists!!

Not long before we rode up to City Hall, I recall a long street with tourists lining each sidewalk snapping photos and smiling, and a double decker bus paused in the middle of the street filled with excited tourists checking us out.. I wonder, what was that tour guide saying through the PA before and AFTER we rode by? What a difference huh? What I am most stoked about is that we could light up so many people's day and give them a story to tell upon their return home to someplace nestled deep in the corn country of Iowa or tucked away in the snow fields of a far away country that I've never even heard of...

Sex Toys in Rite Aid?

2010-05-27T16:21:00.001-07:00

I saw this fine "mini plunger" made by "helping hand" while shopping at Rite Aid today, looking for a shower drain. This was after walking around lost in the maze of aisles selling practically every household convenience (I am not in Rite Aid very often, if at all). I am sure that Wal Mart would dwarf this store... Why are sex toys not available at Wal Mart or AMPM or Rite Aid or Safeway?? Just another example of our "sex negative" culture?

The word that comes to mind is "stigma". There is a "stigma" around this thing called sexual pleasure! From Merriam Webster a Stigma is "1- A scar left by a hot iron, brand. 2- A mark of shame or discredit, stain." I think that there needs to be a stigma around denying ourselves pleasure!! What is this martyrdom? Puritanical "wisdom"?? OK.. so it just plain don't make no sense! Obviously the word "stigma" implies that there is some healing and/or acceptance/"moving on" that needs to occur around the issue at hand. We must find a way to heal as individuals, and as a society!

The experience at Rite Aid today just makes me all the more aware of the buried sexuality in mainstream culture- as in 6 feet under buried. It's as if sexuality in the magazines, movies, etc is merely the headstone for this burial site, advertising the sweet bliss that lies just below our planted feet.

If you have not done so already, what are you waiting for! Be sure to read Sex for One by Betty Dodson, and embrace the sexual side of our human nature!! Love yourself today!

Time for Sun!

2010-05-05T11:30:00.001-07:00

Spring is Here! If you have an indoor job like most people, you need to start making the effort to get out and get a little tan now! Don't wait until that vacation to the Bahamas in the middle of summer to be burnt to a crisp. A little sun at a time, several times a week is best.

If you have time listen in on the Naturist Living Show, they have a special episode just about vitamin D and sunshine. In the episode, they interview Dr. Holick author of The UV Advantage. Either by listening to the show or reading his book, or both, you can get a good idea as to what a safe level of sun exposure is for you. You will also learn how much your body has evolved to use the sun to create vitamin D within the body, and how much your body uses this essential vitamin!

Naked Nutrition

2010-04-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

What do we eat and where does it come from? How does what we eat affect the lives we live? How does this eating affect the moods and behaviors we carry around with us wherever we go? For several years I have been interested in eating as healthy as possible, and from what I have found, this means eating in a way congruent with those that came before me, way before me.

Mainstream food seems to have gone largely downhill in this last century. By this I mean, the food readily available to us in the supermarkets contains much less nutrition and energy in it than it would have contained 100, 50, or even 5 years ago. In many ways we have simply convenientized ourselves out of healthy habits; such as exercising daily, eating whole foods, getting restful sleep, and working a reasonable number of hours in a day.

The pure naked truth about nutrition and our life on this planet, explained far better than I could do is presented here in a wonderful two hour lecture by Paul Chek. I'm sure this has been said before, but check him out! I would say no more if I were concerned about building him up too much, but I don't think that this is really possible. He truly has an amazing ability and a genius level insight into the problems of the world, the environment, and in particular human nutrition. He somehow ties practically everything in the world together and makes it all come back to yin and yang, to dirt and sun, and to how you eat everyday! Amazing!

Some of the books he mentions in his talk can be found here. They can also be found on Amazon or elsewhere. The books I show in the photo above are Weston Price's Book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Nourisihing Traditions by Sally Fallon, and several copies of Wise Traditions published by the Weston Price Foundation. The first book is a textbook style writing about Weston Price's study of indigenous cultures around the world. The second book is a great cookbook of age old recipes and nourishing nutritional practices. The journals are a quarterly publication that shares information on "nutrition, farming and the healing arts". These are all excellent resources for getting your body and your life into healthy Naked shape!

A great deal more information on how to eat a traditional diet can be found through this link to the Weston Price Foundation.

World Naked Bike Ride!

2010-03-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

The World Naked Bike Ride in San Francisco is only 2 1/2 months away! I am definitely looking forward to my first Naked bike ride! Hope you all can find a place near you to do the same!

If you are interested in joining the World Naked Bike ride in Northern California, check out the group event on Facebook!

Here are some cool Naked biking photos to hold you over until mid June!

Naked Biking Photos 1 and 2. Thanks go out to Diary of a Nudist for posting some great Naked photos!

Wanna Check out the route?!

Orr Hot Springs- a beautiful and relaxing place...

2010-02-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

Where will you find me on a lazy summer afternoon? Well if I have anything to say about it I will definitely be at Orr Hot Springs! This place is simply a delightful natural splendor, maintained impeccably by local staff. Wow... Go. Have fun. Need I say more?

If you haven't run out the door already to go there, here is a little bit more about my experience there. The tiny little Orr Hot Springs is located about 12 miles outside of Ukiah, CA on a smidgen of an old country road, that winds beautifully up along some oak speckled ridges. Parking is located across the creek from the resort ( a nice sound barrier, huh?). A beautiful walking path carries you alongside the small creek and up through the resort gates. Once inside you are introduced to a beautiful facility, complete with an: indoor lounge area, common kitchen, cabins, public cool pool, public sauna, steam room, warm pools, public showers, and private warm baths. All of these bathing areas are fed by local mineral springs! The water is very rich in minerals and wonderfully warm!

Photos by Eric Cinowalt and Paul Trichel. You can see more of Paul's great photography at his website.

BRUNO

2010-02-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

While this film will probably never make any kind of Naturist film compilation list, it gave this Naturist a few hours of laughter sprinkled heavily with Nudity. This Nudity was pretty overtly sexualized and was used for comedic effect. But still.. how can you not like this movie?!! I can see how some people definitely would NOT like it... but at the same time.. what is not to like? The film attempts to shove all the things that people don't want to look at publicly right in their faces. Cheap immigrant labor, anal sex, blatant sexuality, swingers, religious fanatics, rednecks and anti-gay sentiment. I guess Bruno is just a way to sort of laugh at it all.. neither disregarding real efforts for positive change, nor encouraging movement in the negative "hate" direction.

This film surely relies heavily on juxtaposition.. For example, two guys handcuffed naked together running down the street just happening to run into an anti-gay march?? What an interesting use of that comedic kind of suspension of disbelief, squeezed into an otherwise "reality-tv" styled movie... This would be like having a group of World Naked Bike Riders just happening through some sort of Amish Sunday luncheon out in the farming country! THAT is a movie I would like to see!

There certainly were an endless number of comical moments in this movie.. One of my favorites has to be the Karate training session... I mean come on! This situation is so ridiculous! A homophobic Karate instructor teaches a supposedly straight guy to defend himself against the onslaught of dueling dildos?? The best quality of this movie is perhaps Sacha Baron Cohen' incredible ability not to burst out laughing. I think this is quite an incredible feat.. Really, could you keep a straight face saying "What if I came at you with two dildos?"? I certainly could not!

Then again, what would BRUNO be without the other actors in there keeping the sense of reality together? Like the Karate instructor dispatching the dildo attacker in a very straightforward no nonsense everyday sort of way. His face is so straight and his manner so calm, it's as if he is attacked everyday on the way to work by a dildo wielding gay man, who he simply kicks out of his way and steps over at the entrance to his office!! Overall, this movie should be given five stars (out of five), just for it's utter ridiculousness if nothing else!

If there is any kind of "victory" for Nudism at all out of this film, it is that there are no apologies of any kind for Nakedness. Nudity "just is". It is regarded as nothing out of the ordinary.. in this same way it is a victory for sex positive lifestyles as well.. GO BRUNO!!! On the other hand, it is just this kind of film that ends up being pure canon fodder. Nothing else. I'm sure the anit-gay and anti-nudity folks of the world out there are declaring this film a "victory" as well. It would be perfect to demonstrate the "utter tastelessness" of anything they don't like.. and use this to highlight the unprobed fears in the hearts of many I'm sure.. Sigh... oh well.. Back to the task of educating others!!

At Once Newly Naked

2010-01-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

Naked Words now being one year old, it seems like a good time to tell about how I got into Naturism and Nudism. (Above are a few photos from the Feather River. To show how big that pool is, I am just a little dot down at the far end. A perfect dipping spot!)

About a year and a half ago, I began to search for activities and interests that were not consumer oriented. I didn't want to keep buying more stuff. At the time it seemed that one interest in my life after another was just various ways of accumulating material items. I have been into: four wheel drive trucks, knife sharpening, CB radios, rock climbing, skimboarding, music (CDS), good books, baseball, football, tennis, badminton, swimming gear, movies and more... It all amounts to plenty of stuff... for a multitude of activities I rarely take part in..

So, I started searching around the internet for something that was not consumerist.. somehow I ended up coming across Nudism and Naturism.. and started reading all I could about them.. First on the Naturist Society page, and then Wikipedia, and others. I quickly learned that there were different types of Nudists: mainly a) the authentic ones and b) the ones into "kiddie porn" or really more there for the sexualized aspects than anything else. I also learned, to my great astonishment, that I could not simply walk around Nude whenever and wherever I wanted!!! It was a great shock to me, and still is, that any law could ever be passed to prohibit or regulate being Naked. It blew my mind and still does every once in a while.

It was the middle of Winter. So I cranked up the heat, and threw off my clothes! I threw a towel down on my computer chair and surfed away learning all I could about being Naked! I came across some incredible web sites and blogs. Many of which I still read. Some of the first awesome blogs that I was lucky enough to find were Diary of a Nudist and Naked Jen. These two blogs really propelled me headlong into the world of Nudism. I was invigorated and nourished by their healthy and informative postings. Not soon after finding these blogs, I was inspired to create my own Nude blog, and Naked Words was born!

So now you know how I got into this whole Nudity thing! After my first full year I am still stoked with it and always look forward to getting Nude, because Nude activities are always incredible!

Naked Words is One Year Old!!

2009-12-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

Naked Words has been around for a full year now! Wow! Thanks to all for following along, offering suggestions, hints, tips, thankfulness, joy, pleasure, enjoyment, wonder, appreciations, love, and gratitude for this blog being here. I have totally enjoyed writing each word here and publishing each Naturist photo too. For me it has been a time to meditate upon and deepen the Nude experiences I've had in Nature.

Enjoy the peace, silence, and darkness this part of the year has to offer. Take plenty of time to rest, reflect, and go inside. Honor the ones near and far that you deeply cherish and love. Celebrate and be Newd! Have a Super Newd Year from Jen and I!

Guided by Peace

2009-12-12T05:43:00.000-08:00

How come every year I seem to stay in a "summer" mindset right up until the Winter Solstice? I'm pretty sure it is directly related to the fact that I grew up in Southern California, where we have no seasons- only rain, or no rain. Living in Northern California now isn't that much different, except it's a wee bit colder! In other words, I haven't gotten into any Nude winter activities yet. I still am dreaming about the swimming holes of the past summer and longing for some warm summer rays that somehow do not seem very far back in my past.

One little dipping spot that seems to capture that longing for summer for me was found along the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin river. Although probably flanked by snow right now, I still envision it in my head as the warm sunny place where I dipped in a cool flowing pool as a respite from the summer heat.

On the one hand this pool of the San Joaquin was a nice place to beat the hot weather. But on the other hand it was a magical connection to an aqua spiritual flow. What makes us come back to places again and again? Why are they so special to us? What makes the bond.. the emotional connective glue inside us.. what is it? Some might call it a connection with an "infinite intelligence"... or it could just be called a joyous all knowing moment! Whatever "It" is... it is surely a peaceful guiding force within me, and I am very thankful for it/me.

Here some sustaining words from Science of Mind magazine. Enjoy!

Floating on a stream of unconditional thankfulness, I love the world around me and in me. Life is good, and I eat it up, speak it out, and rest in a nest of love.

Acorns are fun to gather Nude!

2009-11-22T15:49:00.000-08:00

For many years I have searched out ways to live more lightly on this planet. Ultimately there is not much of a lighter way to live than the way of our predecessors in North America. Native Americans relied on what could be found out in Nature, and although they cared for the land in many ways they left it relatively intact. They simply didn't have the means and techniques (as we do today) to so fully destroy the landscape. Living for thousands of years effectively "the same way" was in balance with the changes of plant and animal species. These various "beings" coexisted and coevolved over many, many, many human generations.

I have learned that to return to such an idyllic way of existence is a long educational road: spiritually, emotionally, culturally, and technically. I was raised basically "backward" in an environmental sense, to consume, consume, consume. "Get what you can"- don't worry about the other guy in other words. I believe we as local and global communities need to make the slow gradual change back to how things once were, in minor if not major ways. I think we need to act today, in honor of the 20th generation from now...

With the heavy weight of the last two paragraphs thrown over our spiritual shoulders, lets talk about picking acorns Naked!! For this is what the Native American all over California did historically, for thousands of years, on the very soil you walk on and drive over.

Basically, picking acorns is pretty easy (and fun!). All you need to do is find some bountiful group of acorns underneath a big ol' oak tree, and crouch or lay around it for hours putting all the acorns into a bucket/box/bag/whatever! All the different varieties of acorns will work. And none of the varieties I know of are toxic. They are not toxic, but you will have to leach them with water before you eat them.

Some basics: 1.) Get the acorns in the Fall before the first few rains hit and they start to sprout. 2.) Let them dry slowly indoors over a period of a few months. 3.) Shell them by hitting with a blunt hard object: hammer, rock, etc. 4.) Grind the acorn nut itself into a coarse flour/meal. 5.) Leach this flour/meal. Put in a court jar with water in your fridge. Remove water and add new each day for a week or two or until the bitterness goes away or is tolerable. 6.) Cook up the goods! You can use in many different things: breads, cookies, stews and much more!

At a recent acorn workshop Jen and I came across a very useful book (with plenty of photos) called It Will Live Forever that can guide you through the process of acorn collection, processing, and eating!

I wish you all a beautiful Thanksgiving. I am very thankful to you, my readers. You inspire me to keep getting Naked in all kinds of new ways! Thank you very much! I love you! Stay Nude!

Here is a parting poem from Emerson titled Thanksgiving:

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends

Naked of Mind

2009-10-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you all a tiny taste of Tibetan Buddhism. I have been reading a bit of it lately, and have found it wonderful in it's crystal clear wisdom, guidance, and truth. One of the great authors I have been reading is Lama Surya Das. He is a western author who has spent much time learning the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhist masters. Lama Surya Das writes in Awakening the Buddha Within:

What is meant by Big Mind is the essential nature of mind itself. This is our true nature- the pure boundless awareness that is at the heart, and part, of us all. The Buddha described it as still, clear, lucid, empty, profound, simple (uncomplicated), and at peace. It's not really what we think of as our mind at all. It is the luminous, most fundamental clear light nature of our ground of being.... This is raw, naked awareness, not something we've learned or fabricated.

Surya Das makes a distinction between Big Mind and Small Mind. He also refers to Small Mind as "monkey mind". It is the part of our mind that is deluded, clouded, unclear. It is what fools us, tricks us, and befuddles us.

I would love to hear any comments or "naked thoughts" from any and/or all of you! That is what this blog is all about- being naked in every sense of the word! I did a search on the internet yesterday for Naked Words, and came up with a plethora of porn links. Not that there is anything wrong with porn, but they are clogging the search engine so much that a blog of that name doesn't even remotely show up! I hope to reclaim the word naked in the name of truth, clarity, and nudity! This may take some work, but I've got time (at this point anyway)!

Pirate's Cove

2009-10-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

Jen and I just made a trip down to So Cal, and stopped off at Pirate's Cove on our way there. It was a beautiful day, and once we were there a little while and had to leave to beat the traffic in LA, I really wanted to stay the rest of the day! It was really gorgeous and warm! As we were getting in our vehicle a man just getting there asked us if they had the volleyball net setup yet! This just sounded so awesome, we really considered staying... but ended up getting on our way. I was bummed too because Jen actually thought the weather was warm enough she would consider going nude at the beach! This could have been an awesome first time social nude experience for her. I'm sure she'll try social nudity when it's right for her. The possibility of it happening just really excited me, and I really look forward to future outings like this with her!

The gorgeous weather taunted me the rest of the drive down the coast. I even got out of the truck to look for the trail down to the Nude section of Gaviota state beach, but to no avail. All I found were some unused sketchy routes down to rocky patches of shoreline. I think the Nude section was probably further South at a well used turnout off of 101. More research required before my next visit.

Pirate's Cove is really a sweet beach. I highly recommend it to anyone who plans to be in the area! It is located near my hometown of San Luis Obispo. The beach itself is sandwiched between two beaches I spent the summers at growing up: Avila beach, and Shell Beach. I wasn't raised as a Nudist, so I spent my summers in soggy boardshorts. Nevertheless, I have spent so many happy days at these beaches body surfing and skimboarding and sunbathing, I feel an incredible bond with these beautiful pieces of seashore.

Oh yeah, I tried catching a few waves (as you can see in one of the photos above). The waves ended up swelling up all the way until they finally broke right on the sand. No riding possibility really at this point. The beaches are always changing and shifting, so hopefully there will be rideable waves there sometime soon!

Back from the Trail!

2009-10-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

After six months and 2,400 miles my wife Jen and I are back from hiking the Pacific Crest Trail! We would have kept going to the Canadian border another 260 miles away, but there was just too much snow ahead, plus I had a staph infection on my wrist that needed to be rested and babied for a good week or more. We were also running out of money, so ending early wasn't all that frustrating. My in-laws graciously came to pick us up in Seattle and took us around to visit trail buddies for a few days before finally taking us back home to California.

On our way back, we had fun at Fish Brewing's brewpub in Olympia, WA. Lots of great food (including delicious fish tacos!), sweet ales, and nice locals! On the way out Jen filled up our Growler (a german styled glass 1/2 gallon jug with a "flippie" lid) at the bar with some organic IPA. As usual, plenty of compliments were given about the coolness of the Growler. This was the first time though someone asked us if we were hiking the PCT in the nude! She was quick to say that her husband had hiked some of the trail happily sans clothing. The local thought hiking naked was the only way to go! Woo Hoo!!

We are at a bit of a loss of what to do now.. It seems the easiest thing to do would be to just keep hiking. I'm sure we would go and hike the Florida trail this winter if we had the funds to do it. Instead, we are back in Ukiah looking for interesting work. We hope to find work somewhere new (to us) either around the country or around the world. We are looking at volunteering with the peace corp, seasonal forestry jobs, and seasonal organic farm internship positions. One of the organic farms is a nudist farm, Rising Sun Farm, that could be really cool!

"being naked is political"

2009-09-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

What is it we are trying to learn from nude blogging? Where are we going? What is it that ultimately, in the long run, that we bloggers wish to communicate to our readers? This is a good but challenging question that I posed to another nudist blogger known simply as Naked Jen. Here is her response:

being naked is political. so if you're going to do it, do it for the right reasons.

not to offend someone else.
not to get attention or to be provocative.
not out of shame.

do it to celebrate your beautiful body.

It isn't about shock. It's actually about awe! It's about the wonder that is our body, that it is unique and ours alone. And that is should be celebrated and not always covered.

Being naked is political. Just think about that for a second. Being naked is not only a fashion statement, it is a political statement! When we think we are being plainly ourselves, when we are bared to the world, not covered up, when we are at our most vulnerable, most alive, most sane, most omniscient, wonderful, incredible, viable, potent, flexible, and unimaginably free, that is when we are seen as a statement to the world. That is when we are seen as defending or threatening the world as it stands, because we are as the spring flowers, new, beautiful, and strange, always awaiting interpretation, and always redifining beauty and truth with the shifting of our bodies, and our selves. We define as we go, without realizing it, without seeing that we are a part of that whole, an integral little niche filler in the big grand eco-sphere of existence.

Nothing is anything less than sacred. Hidden well below our vision, in our day to day activities, each and every little one of them, is the possibility for transformation. We transform ourselves as we view others, bare ourselves to others, and step simply out of our own dark shadow into the light of day. When the secrets of self transformation are all known then we are enlightened. We are naked to ourselves, and we shine light onto the world. The power of nudity is incredible. It is amaqing to realize that this power extends into the realm of politics. In this realm, we too have an incredible voice, waiting to be heard.

You can visit her amazingly inspirational Nudist blog. Thank you Naked Jen for your beautiful and wise words!

Come ALIVE!

2009-09-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

What is it? Where is it that we go to cover up (in every sense of the word)? There must be a singular spot, a one location, a hot spot, a central hub, where all the hidings hang out. This place where all truth goes to be concealed, where all nudity goes to keep from being revealed, this place where we can lay all our fears to rest.. we can let any worries we have about being exposed all fall away into the deep deep darkness of unexposure.. of blank film in the can.. of blank movie theatre screens in the early am, before anything is ever shown. How deep, how deep does this place go? How far will we let ourselves fall into this sweet deep numb blind false temporary comfort?

Like the cycle of night and day our mind must go into the light as well as into the dark. We use the dark to rest our weary minds, we use the light to show our wonderful selves. For the mind to rest in the night, the dark is a good thing... but for the mind (or the body) to stay for a lifetime huddled in this chilly lonely massless dark is a simple failure of the mind to come alive.

Come alive! Come ALIVE in spirit and mind and body!!! Each second, each precious mental step, each physical breath is the gift of this world. Life as we know it. Microcosm. Gifts from the drops of rain on your window are the clarity of mind that is needed. Shafts of light from the sun strong up the mental foundation of everyday happiness. Nature bares herself in the nude each day for us. She is not huddled in the dark, but embraces and thrives on the light. We are born of the light. We are by nature sun worshippers. We thrive on the sun as nature does, we grow from golden rays, from cloudless days, from all the ways that light finds us!

Some thoughts on They Whisper

2009-09-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, the border feels as if it is almost in sight! We leave today from Elk Lake Resort outside of Bend. This next bit is a long push up to Timberline lodge, 150 miles away. Then it is only a couple days to the Columbia River from there!

Have been reading They Whisper by Robert Olen Butler. Wow. I would love to hear thoughts on this book if anyone out there reads this one! It seems quite deep, complicated, and powerful! It taps deeply into the issues of writing, life, love, and more?

I have almost finished the book, about five pages left. I am wondering what it will ultimately say about these things.. but I wonder what I would think of them as well, this book having come this far, and brought them so thoroughly to the surface, already a remarkable achievement. The book already has shown, more clearly than I have seen anywhere else, what love is and what love is not. Wow! The words take us quite clearly, on a well defined path, from point A to point B, again and again, showing us what life is with love, and what it is whithout it. This is amazingly clear. The writing is very poetic, in the sense that you feel very strongly when you read it that you are expereincing a deeply felt life, a strong character connection. Then, as you put the book down, and try to tell someone about what you read, it feels slippery, like you can't hold onto the expereince, can't quite describe exactly what it was you were experiencing. It feels very intimate because of this. Like poetry and mediation, and now literature, you feel as if you are the only one experiencing this moment, and no one else can really know whats going on for you at the moment.

How do we share the feeling that we cannot share? Perhaps this is the most innate, deep, and wonderful sense of ourselves. I get the sense that we are, as the saying goes, all unique, just like everyone else. But there is much more than this here. It goes into the nature of religious expereince. It mentions catholocism, buddhism, and just plain expereince of nature as all ways of dealing with the world. It is hard to determine at this point exactly what the writing is arguing for. The overdone sensuality is certainly there to bring the issues of the flesh to the surface, but does it do more than merely bring the issue up? Does it argue for a certain conviction, a certain way of seeing things?

From a Buddhist perspective, is the main character too attached to these women? Too attached to his own craving or desire? He certainly identifies very heavily with his desire. That is his religion. Or is it truth that is his religion? Is his own personal truth simply that he loves women, that is what drives him, gives him life, fills out his senses, draws him closer to his own personal sense of God? Or, alternately, is he in his own personal hell? I don't really think so.... except, when he is denied enjoyment of the pleasures of women. Then, he is in his own personalized hell. This is the tricky grey area of religion and of life. In the Buddhist tradition, it is the challenge of the rose. To enjoy the beauty of the flower, but not to be cut by the thorns. To not grasp the thorny stem too tightly, to not hang on. To be able to let go is divine.

Writing itself is incredible. Life is incredible, and this is certainly a great boook to read!

to Fig or Not to Fig?

2009-08-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the latest article in the New York Times called When Do They Need A Fig Leaf??. Here is a link if you haven't seen it yet. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/garden/16nudity.html?_r=2

It sure bring up a lot of the intense emotional duality that exists on the subject of children being nude. This article brings out a fairly broad spectrum of entrenched beliefs. Wow.. it makes me wonder how do we get past this? It also makes me think that this is all just a silly preoccupation. Like we could be solving world peace or global warming or helping others towards enlightenment you know?

Perhaps the real solution is to see it for what it is, rather than get enraged that my viepoint doesn't match that of someone else. All it really is is that they have "hang ups" as the article says. Some people just frankly are VERY uncomfortable with naked children around.

Here is a link to the letters to the editor too. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/garden/23letters-NUDEORNOT_LETTERS.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Up to Ashland

2009-08-22T15:00:00.001-07:00

Typing fast on the Ashland library computers now- fifteen minute time limit for guests, ouch! This town is wonderful. We love the quasi hippy/enviro culture that is somewhat pervasive here. We are really liking the Co-op and hostel- both are super gems for anywhere, not just on the PCT. We may head up to a little skinny dippin spot up from the park called the Fairy ponds. This could be nice and relaxing- it has been up to 100 degrees here, but has cooled off to the high 80s or low 90s.

Last skinny dip was the day before we got to Seiad Valley. Freeeeeezing cold stream.!!! Beautiful, clear, water in a nice constrained little channel. We have been dipping in the creeks every few days to keep the body-dirt sopmewhat reduced. It has been a delightful alternative to showers. It is so much easier to dip into a creek. Don't need to worry about bumping your legs and arms into the walls of a shower... Don't have to wait for minutes as a low flow showerhead slowly gives up enough water to drain the dirt off of your legs...

Until next time... Be Nude.. Feel Loved.. and Be Well.. Take Care!

Aloha Lake and Feather River

2009-08-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I blogged last. No computer access; we've been hiking too much! Lazing in Bishop, healing our bodies was a great chance to catch up on blogs though.

Hiking out of Echo Lake was really beautiful. It was sunny, warm, and boats zoomed cooly across the lake. We soon ascended away from the lake, reaching Aloha lake (as seen in the top photo) in the early afternoon. I had been told there was great swimming here, so I went down to a big rock that dipped deep down into the lake and stripped off my sweaty hiking attire. I found a wonderful little rock island to swim out to, just about 150 feet from shore. Here I sunbathed and dried out for a good half hour. I felt like I could laze here all day! The rock curved perfectly to my back. The water was just cool enough to be very refreshing. The sun was hot, the air still but not stuffy. A beautiful day!

Another awesome skinny dip, perhaps the best so far on the whole trail, was at the middle fork of the Feather River, where the river passes under a very high and long foot bridge. This was just a delightful magical swimming spot in a deep narrow constrained (rock lined) channel far beneath a long narrow foot bridge. The water here was really very warm, but too cool to just sit there; nice and fun and refreshing! Jen and I swam, cleaned off, and just played around in the water for several hours. It was great for her to have one of her first nude swims on the trail! I think we both had a wonderful time and would love to hike back to this spot. It would be worth the 37 mile hike from Belden, CA!

Belden to Etna- fast forward!

2009-08-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

We are in Etna! Wow, what a rush. It was only a few days back that we passed the half way point South of Chester, CA. Had a little sense of being fast forwarded, since we hitch hiked around the Old Station Burney complex fire, about 180 trail miles! Now we have only a hundred miles or so to the Oregon border and little over 1,000 miles of trail left till Canada! The hike is going excellently well. Since we've dropped out of the Sierras the streams and lakes have become much warmer. Whenever we have time we stop and bath our dusty tired bodies.

The photo of Jen (Lionheart) with a very large sugar pine cone was taken just outside of Belden, CA. What a great find! Not long after this great cone find, we hit a sweet little cold bathing spot. This pool was very cold. I couldn't stay in for long and relished sunbathing on the warm rocks for a good while.

The Feather River photo was taken near Belden as well. It was along this stretch of river that I got to skinny dip for several days, as it was right across the road from where we were staying! The water was almost too warm, but still refreshing when the day got well into the 90's and beyond. Our small river section had a delightful little beach where we could lay out. The water was deep and mostly slow moving in long pools.

Have been reading about Buddha and Buddhism for the last week. The book Awakening the Buddha Within has been very captivating so far, and I'm nearly half way through the book. Surya Das really challenges a lot of the common "western" misconceptions about Buddhism. For example, I had long believed that all Buddhists believed that life was suffering, painful, miserable.. not worth living. This was after reading a translation of the first noble truth "Life is suffering." Surya Das gives several alternate translations, such as "frustrating" or "difficult". The way he described it made much more sense to me.

Ok, I can agree life can sometimes be frustrating or difficult... but I just couldn't swallow that all life was about is suffering! There are so many beautiful wonderful and joyous moments to life! He talks about how much Buddhism really focuses on the positive joyous moments.. and of course enlightenment itself! I have a very different improved perspective now, thanks to Surya Das. I look forward to reading more about Buddhism; if any of you readers have anythng to reccomend related to Buddhism please leave me a message!

More happy trails

2009-06-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

Just so many beautiful pictures to share! This is only the start of the Sierras! We keep hitting these beautiful and cold streams. It is just amazing. I can hardly resist to dip into each one! Jen agrees that they are cold and so far hasn't taken me up on the invitation for a dip into the streams. I hope she will pop in at least once before the summer is out- it is an awesome experience!

We have ran into a few skinny dippers along the way. First, there was a hiking pair that highly recommended a high elevation lake to us. Their hair was wet as they hiked off, leaving us to explore the lake they said was "warm". I hesitated to go in the shallow lake up at timberline. But, finally I splashed in all the way, quickly retreating to the shore, shivering and red all over. It was still fun!

The other occasion we had to run into a skinny dipper was just down from Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT at 13,200 ft. This guy had just submerged himself into the cool blue lake in the above photo. What a fun time for a PCT hiker!

The most fun I have had so far has been all within a 24 hour period. The first element was a great stay at Tyndall Creek. A skinny dip here was so incredible. The rock just moves the water around in all these refreshing looking interesting ways. Next morning we headed up and over Forester Pass. This was so fun. We got a big adrenaline rush from the fear factor of crossing over ice chute drop-offs, and we had a fun thrill glassading (aka sliding on our butts!) down the back side of the pass.

Summit of Mt Whitney

2009-06-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

The summit of Mt Whitney was an incredible "breathtaking" experience. You get to the top of the world, and you can see down the Owens Valley, up to the White Mountains, all around you to various high points in the Sierra, and down to the lakes you've hiked past on your way up!

It was pretty cold, lots of people, and I was feeling a bit ill from the elevation on the way up- otherwise I would have loved to have made the summit in the nude. Oh well, it was incredible nonetheless, and I'm sure there are many more nude summits in my future.

It was a real shining moment for my partner Jen. She has come from having no energy under the influence of a cancerous thyroid to having the strength and will to climb to the top of the United States and beyond! Congrats to her, I am so happy for her and her super achievement in the mountains.

If any of you get a chance, hike up Mt Whitney! It is a real pleasure- just take your time, and be acclimated if possible.

Naked Hiker Day!

2009-06-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Naked Hiker Day was a blast! I hiked from about nine in the morning to four in the afternoon completely in the nude! What an awesome day! It was sunny, sunny, sunny! Up at elevations of 9,000 and 10,000 ft the air temperature stayed very comfortable.

Hiking along the cool drafts of breeze felt wonderful all along my totally exposed body. The warm rays of the sun were free to hit along skin rarely exposed to the sun, creating wonderful large amounts of vitamin D reserves for the winter!

Lunch was had at a small sandy ridge. The wind that was light and playful throughout the day settled down completely during lunchtime and the warm air just hung out. It felt just like the beach, out there on the sand engulfed in toasty warm lazy air!

We hiked on carrying only about a liter of water, since the supply is so ample throughout the Sierra. When we needed water we journeyed over to a beautiful meadow to draw water from a small stream that ran silently through it.

The day ended with lively conversations around a campfire at beautiful Chicken Spring Lake. This is also where we saw our first marmot on the trail. In the days following we have seen dozens of them, playfully dotting the upper elevation meadows and rockscapes.

First week in the Sierra

2009-06-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

Wow. First week in the Sierras was incredible! I've grown up hiking in Southern California: the San Gabriels, the Lost Padres, and the San Bernardinos. What a difference the Sierras are! They are more like a hiker's Disneyland than the comparable Wasteland that I'm used to. I love the forests of Southern California, and I really enjoyed hiking there because I grew up there. But, as far as face value scenic quality the difference is huge, and the magical quality of the Sierras is stupendous.

There is no shortage of beautifully inviting lakes and streams. These turn out to be terribly ice cold, and can only be tolerated by me on the warmest of sunny days. They are so beautiful though, I hope to become acclimated to the cold water!

During our first week we: climbed up over the highest point on the PCT- Forester pass, summited the highest point in the contiguous United States- Mt Whitney, and hiked on the most important day of the year- Naked Hiker Day!!! I'll do another blog just about Naked Hiker Day soon!

Vegas is a hit!

2009-06-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Jen and I took a little side trip from the trail- a two night stay in Las Vegas! Wow, we had plenty of fun the whole time we were there. Highlights include: Zumanity show by Cique du Soleil, show by Blue Man Group, gambling at Hooters, free beers at Pour 24, and the fountain show at the Bellagio.

Most of all I have to say Zumanity stood out. I would love to go see it again immediately! The show included all kinds of sexual fantasies along with amazing gymnastics/acrobatics and some great humor thrown in too! I would say the show was relatively pretty liberal about nudity. They did not show the genital areas, but everything else was fair game. Maybe half or so of the performers wore some type of simulated skin suit. Maybe this was to help with the acrobatics, or their comfort level with nudity. The fantasies were directed to both male, female, gay, and straight. How evenly balanced between these I can't say.. but they seemed to give a good attempt at not just appealing to the standard straight male psyche. I was really stoked with this performance! I think it is a pretty positive force in the world of Vegas shows. This may be the only experience people have with real naked people standing in front of them for a 1 1/2 hour period!
For me this show was truly incredible.. and perhaps transcendental of Las Vegas? It did not just provide a tantalizing or teasing kind of experience. It actually felt truly fulfilling! It seemed that the performers and the show/script combined to create a wonderful giving experience. I got the feeling the cast was giving to me, they were sharing genuinely with me, and that they wanted me to really enjoy myself. What an incredible feeling! If you can do so, go see this show!

Blue Man Group was very funny, and the music was sweet! Where do they come up with that stuff? It is totally wonderful, wacky, and very talented. They can get a little messy when you sit in the front row, so we had to don plastic suits!

Hooters was a treat. They gave us some free slot play, and Jen ended up winning some pretty good cash! We got free drinks, and or course some tantalizing eye candy too (for better or worse- this type of boob display is kind of like caffeine.. a big up and then a down later.. not really healthy.. but an all too frequent addiction for some I'm sure...)!

We were given some coupons for free drinks at Pour 24. This place was at the hotel we were staying at; New York New York. It had the most amazing bar! It was made up of these thin cross sections of blue geode! Incredibly beautiful. This is my most favorite bar ever! Oh yeah, the beer was good too. Got to try Dogfish head 90 minute IPA, and Stone Ruination IPA, both on tap.

This was the first time Jen and I had seen the fountain at the Bellagio; it was spectacular! We watched it several times. The whole light and fountain show is set to this beautiful opera music.. Wow.. a must see!

A successful little hike

2009-06-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Went for a little five mile hike up the North Fork of Bishop Creek today. It was amazingly beautiful. There was practically no one up there and we were free to walk around at a leisurely pace, checking out plants, and animals, and taking plenty of photos along the way.

It was the most exercise Jen and I have had in the few weeks since we've come off the trail. Our bodies feel very rested after the time off. Today was a great success, since Jen went almost completely free of back pain on the two hour hike.

The running water was so clear and beautiful I had to get in for a dip! It was near freezing so I decided to not dunk myself after all. I got out and my feet felt like ice! It was worth it though, that stream was so wonderful and beautiful, I was glad to experience it close up!

We are all nude!

2009-05-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

We are all nude. Even if we do not think of ourselves as nudists, we still have a nude place inside ourselves to connect with. The things most folks do in the nude are: shower/bathe, have sex, and run around nude when they were little. This is what is so great about nudity, you can't escape it! I'm sure this nude side is very different for everyone.

First off, you were a naked little kid way back when. That "innocent" time as people say (I guess that makes us guilty now!) before we grew up into adults. I don't really buy this whole innocence to guiltiness transition; I'm sorry, I just don't. To me it is an Adam and Eve type thing imposed on us by society. I don't believe in the destruction of our innocence. Our innocence is our birthright, we must claim this important part of ourselves!! I don't believe that we have been banished from the Garden of Eden. I believe that the Garden of Eden is to be found on earth! Paradise and innocence still exist on earth, therefore they can be proliferated more and more until that is all there is; pure happiness. Enjoy your body freedom as you did when you were a child. Be totally carefree about nakedness. Think it strange that all "the adults" are wearing clothes out in the hot sun.

Secondly, we all have sex in the nude. Of course there maybe exceptions, but these are the kinds of quickies you read about in erotic stories: sex in the changing room, sex in the airplane restroom, or sex on the boss's desk. These wonderful moments in sexual adventuring aside, mostly sex is had fully in the nude. It is totally acceptable socially to be nude while having sex. There is no confusion here. It is even fairly acceptable to lounge after sex in the nude. What a great time to enjoy the sensuality of the human body, and be free of the constrictions of clothing! Lounge, play, be free!

*On a quick side note, one of the most common misconceptions about Nudism is that it is all about sex. For most people sex appeal means more skin. I think most Nudists though would agree that a bikini clad woman conjures up more sexual ideas than a nude woman. The idea being that dressing one's self up like a Christmas gift makes the viewer want to open the gift and see what is inside. In other words, covering up certain areas of the body creates mystery, intrigue, and desire around that area. Exposing all areas of the body is the natural state of being, and when this is somehow blocked (with clothing) the mind tries to connect a reason to the covered area. But, there is no reason... Only that society is in the habit of clothing acceptance, and nudity rejection. There is simply no need physiologically, psychologically, or even socially for clothing to cover our bodies at all times.*

Thirdly, we shower and/or bathe in the nude. Have you ever tried taking a shower with a soggy pair of shorts on? No, probably not, but most of you have probably worn some soggy suit into a swimming pool or public beach. Isn't it great to be totally nude in the shower? This may be the only time in the day that we are not constricted (by clothing) in our movements. Enjoy IT! Take long showers, take luxuriant bathes, and linger long after in the nude as you dry off. This is your time to bond with your beautiful body. It is a time to be quiet but full of soulful energy. A time to relax, and recharge the self. Take in all the peacefulness and body acceptance you need or want. Enjoy this body, this self, this life; it is yours waiting to be lived through completely, fully, and magically.

I know that Nudists and non-nudists read this blog occasionally. I am very curious to read what both think about going nude, and our reservations about not doing so more often. What is it that stops us from keeping the clothes off after the shower? What is it that prompts us to throw off our clothes and walk around the house/yard naked? What do we need to hear to know that it is OK? What kinds of word associations do you make with being naked? For me I think of: craziness (good craziness), wild, freedom, fun, and sensuality.

I look forward to hearing from you. How you view your naked body is the foundation for your self image. Love your body TODAY! Cherish your right to live this wonderful life free of clothing (if even for a little while)! Love to all of you; Be Well.

Mt. Baden-Powell summit

2009-05-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

A month into our Pacifc Crest Trail adventure and I have hardly hiked in the nude at all. I have found that nudity is much more enjoyable if not laboring under a heavy sweaty pack. This doesn't even really feel nude anyway, 20-30 pounds hanging over me? I guess technically I would be nude though, and maybe I will start hiking more in the nude while wearing the pack, once I change out some of the gear and make it a little lighter. For now, I think I am definitely going to do all the summits nude! I love the experience of dropping the pack by the trail, and running up to the peak naked! Baden-Powell had incredible views that a camera will never do justice. The air was just too smoggy/hazy. The eyes cut through a lot more haze than the camera does and we could see far in all directions. The mountain dropped off dramatically down to canyons far below. We could see the High Desert off in the distance.

The 9,407 ft summit was incredible. There were only little pockets of snow left on the trail to play in on the way up. The air was clear and much cooler than down below! There were amazing old pine trees, all gnarled and twisted like life sized bonsais. The trail was really well maintained in this section, so no need to get a scraped up from plants growing into the trail. There wasn't much that would grow up here anyway, but these old pine trees. The best part was no one was around but Jen and I, so I quickly ditched my clothes and hiked up to the summit! I made a little flag out of a trekking pole and my kilt to wave above the peak. Jen and I took photos of us on top. I signed the trail registry as Jen hunted around for some more photo ops. When we decided to head back down to our packs there was still no on coming up the trail, so I continued back down in the nude! It was a very happy exciting reward after the long challenging climb.

After the summit we hiked on a few more miles to Little Jimmy spring. Probably the most visually appealing water so far! We drank heartily without filtering it; it tasted superb.

Deep Creek Wow!

2009-05-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

Wow. This is the stuff. Deep Creek Hot Springs was the most incredible reward for the forty mile hike from Big Bear! Jen and I stayed a day and a half, never wanting to leave the whole time. We kept coming up with ideas about how we could stay longer, but of course of pre-planned food rations limited us to the day and a half stay, which was incredible! I basked in the sun as much as my skin would allow, and dipped in all the pools for hour after hour. Jen joined me for many of my dips in the pools. She also enjoyed the wonderful shade area under some broadleaf trees across from the hot pool. This was such a great resource during the intense heat of midday. I was totally nude in the pools and sometimes walking back to camp. I mostly wore my kilt when not in the pools though, cause this seemed to be the norm. Jen went in with her hikers swimsuit (panties and sports bra) most of the time. She did take nude dips with me in the top hot pool each morning though, when it was quiet and few people were up.

There are easier hikes into Deep Creek. There are two hikes in from nearby trailheads, one is 2.5 miles long and the other is 6 miles long. The 6 miler has free parking on a road that leads up to Lake Arrowhead. The 2.5 miler starts at a parking lot closer to Apple Valley, and it cost a few bucks to park there, and a few more to leave your car overnight.

There is supposedly no camping at Deep Creek, but it is hard to resist doing so. There are signs saying clearly "NO CAMPING", and we have heard that there is technically no camping for 1 mile around deep creek. Well, upon getting there this seems a little unrealistic. Most folks who want to camp go about 200-300 yards away and camp under some small oak trees for cover. On one of the days a Sherif helicopter did fly over camp and then circle the hot springs 4-5 times before buzzing off down the canyon. No one ever came by and issued tickets or anything like that. That was our only encounter with any law enforcement during our entire one and a half day stay. I have heard talk though of rangers giving people tickets for camping in the past. It sounds like the camping started being regulated back in the 60's when a bunch of folks decided to create a little community our here. I guess the place was just too crowded and they started to discourage camping.

This place is incredible. It is a must see for nudists, non-nudists, anyone! The river bends at the hot springs into a large deep cool pool. Next to the cool pool are big boulders where nudists sun themselves in the middle of the day. There is a small beach on the North side of the cool pool, this is great for laying out on and chatting with people coming in off the 2.5 mile trail from the High Desert. About fifteen feet up along the bank from the cool pool is the top hot pool. This is the nicest and second hottest pool. It is made by a rock boulder on one side and large cobbles cemented together on the other. It could fit 4-5 people easily. There is a hot little waterfall filling the pool constantly with hot water that comes straight out of the ground. A 1 1/2 inch pipe coming out of this top pool pours down over a ten foot drop into the cool pool. It is shallow where the water hits the cool pool, right over a nice boulder for sitting on and receiving an incredible water massage!

The top pool has an offshoot down along the boulders to a medium warm pool. This pool is overlooking the cool pool, from about 8-10 feet above. This pool is created almost entirely out of rock boulder. It is sort of an inverted cone shape, with the bottom almost coming to a blunt point. This pool has had 8 people in it and it didn't even seem full! There is one more pool down next to the cool pool on the South bank. This is the hottest pool, it is very shallow, maybe a couple of feet deep or so.

The crowd at Deep Creel when we were there was fairly mixed. Nudists and non-nudists hung out casually enjoying the wonderful hot springs. Most people in the nude were people who came there regularly (like each week) or who had been there several times before. Some of the hikers went nude or top free, but some chose clothed dipping. It was a typical mix there I suppose. Everyone was really nice, and no weird vibes. I'd say that is pretty good for a place out in the middle of nowhere with no one really regulating it! I asked a regular if there were any groups or organizations that worked to maintain this place. He said there were not. I was surprised to hear no nudist group had signed up to take care of this incredible spot.

Big Bear Zero

2009-05-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Right now I am enjoying a zero day at the Big Bear Hostel. It feels great to be off the feet for an entire day. The bones in my feet were getting jarred. They might be getting back closer to normal feeling now (stopped vibrating all the time). This hostel is the sweetest! Lots of great PCT hikers around. Lots of socializing, feasting, and kickin back.

I had a first little skinny dip a few days ago in Whitewater creek (little ways north of Palm Springs). The weather peaked up into the 100s in the middle of the day. We hit this lonely six foot wide creek out in the middle of a 20 mile hike through the desert. What an awesome find!!! The water actually felt cold at first, but after a few seconds it felt perfectly comfortable (sixtyish). So completely refreshing, ahhh... The water was only about a foot or two deep and it was running fast! To dunk myself entirely I had to lay down on the bottom of the creek bed and hold fast to a big huge rock to keep from being pulled away with the current.

I am really looking forward to Deep Creek in a few days. There should be plenty of skinny dipping there at the hot springs out in the woods. Can't wait to update soon!

The Trail and Nudity

2009-04-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

Jen and I have been jammin down the Pacific Crest Trail, covering over 100 miles in our first week. This is the longest hike I've ever been on, and it's only just begun! The hike has been going really well though. I strained the top of my right foot and have been hobbling with a trekking pole over the last 40 miles or so, but somehow the experience in total is a supreme one. We have been hiking with a few other hikers the last couple of days: Nina, and Jason. Jason is from the same town Jen and I are from, Arcata. So we can talk and share fond memories of different food places as we hike. Nina is from Hawaii. Just the other night she gave us an awesome little yoga instruction session after a long 25 mile hike. We look forward to hiking with them as long as we can. It works out great sharing information, gear, and keeping each other's spirits high.

Right now we are staying at Warner Springs Ranch (somewhere in So Cal). This place is fairly nice, but not so nudist friendly. They have a wonderful extra large hot mineral springs pool, which is super delightful. Unfortunately nudity is not welcome here! I went in the pool last night in a pair of boxers (ultralight backpacking doesn't afford me a swimsuit). What a ridiculous tradition, the wearing of clothing in the pool! After the swim I took a warm shower next to the pool. The sign above the shower heads read "NO PUBLIC NUDITY!". Fuck; I get pretty bummed when I see something ridiculous like that. I'm trying not to be totally absorbed in animosity towards rich folks who play golf, get massages, and go into the hot springs with clothes on. I'm sure they are wonderful people who make a difference in the lives of others each and everyday. If I got to know them maybe I would see that, but I don't think I will be getting to know them anytime soon. C'est la vie.

So far I haven't done any nude hiking. The first day I hiked with my mountain kilt, and no undies. I had planned on hiking this way a lot, since it had worked so well in Arcata. Arcata is usually in the 50-60s. Starting at the Mexican border, it was more like 80, 90, and 100! Well, it wasn't very long before sweaty genitals rubbed and chaffed against my leg. They got really red and irritated, causing me to walk like I had just gotten off a long ride on a horse. So, I had to give in and don the boxers. After about a day or so the redness went away, and my stride was no longer a funny waddle.

The only nudity so far has been in the shower, and sleeping in bed at Warner Springs. I look forward to skinny dipping at any natural hot springs we find along the trail. I also still want to try some nude hiking, perhaps in cooler weather.

Take Care everyone. More to come, sooner or later!

We make our way to the Mexican border

2009-04-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.. Whew, it's been an exhausting few weeks. Ever since I had the misfortune of eating some food which gave me really bad food poisoning I've had a LOT less energy than is my usual. It's coming back, but it is taking its time.
Jen and I have made the move to Ukiah, CA. Now it is a 6 hour car trip down to San Luis Obispo, CA, where we will catch a train down to Pasadena, CA, and then from there get a car ride to our final destination (also starting point) Campo, CA. We will begin our five month hike of the Pacific Crest Trail next Monday April 20th!

The attached photo is of some tasty barley pancakes made by Jen, and some fresh mango, kiwis, and strawberries on top- delicious! We're trying to load up on healthy food while we still can; most of the food "on the trail" will be highly preserved and/or processed foods.

We will have our Blackberry with us on the hike, with intermittent service. After fooling with it for hours trying to get a photo to load to this blog, we finally decided it wasn't going to happen. So, you might see blogs without text for a while, and then a bunch of pictures uploaded once a month or so when I get into a town for a few days.

There will also be day to day photos and text at our trail blog

I will keep the posts coming. Enjoy this wonderful Spring weather!

A dip before we hit the trail!

2009-04-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Jen and I made our last visit to the Finnish Hot Tubs earlier this week before we hit the PCT. We will be looking out for hot springs along the way to enjoy. Sure is nice and relaxing after a physical day.
This is the last blog made from our home computer, we're boxing it up tonight! From now on I'll be testing out the Blackberry. Not sure how it'll look, but I should still be able to post photos and a little text. Jen and I'll also have a trail blog going.
I am looking forward to many nude miles hiking along the trail over the next five months. I hope to keep you all posted of our great adventures!

Nude running is the Life!

2009-03-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have found jogging to be the perfect nude winter activity. I have gone for several nude runs in the Arcata Community Forest, several on Mad River Beach, and a few out to the mailbox! The other option is nude backpacking. This has worked best when it's a warm day and there is a bit of a climb to get the blood flowin. Keepin warm is a big nude priority this time of year.

I have been putting out the word to textile friends about the nude runs, but these notices have been with about 6-10 hours of lead time, resulting in only a few joiners. I only get the urge to go when the weather is unusually warm and beautiful, that's why the last minute notifications. So far Jen has joined me on a clothing optional run out to the mouth of the Mad river. This run/jog/walk is about a six mile or so round trip along the beach. We walk/jog back as the sun is setting. She hasn't grow up around the beach, but she couldn't help but enjoy the beauty and peacefulness of the ocean at sunset! She is a great jogging partner (and a great lover of course!)! It is good practice for the both of us too; we will be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail very soon!

I think the more we do things we enjoy the more we are synchronized with the Divine Flow. True enjoyment is what keeps creativity flowing through our mind, our spirit, and our life. Everything seems to follow from the one true enjoyment, the thing that makes it all worth while. That which gives Peace is found when one is truly enjoying one's self. For me, a nude run on the beach is it. It is really a transcendental experience. I allow the experience to create me as I want to be: happy, fulfilled, peaceful. This is the life I want to live. This is my most deep sense of connectedness to life, nude with nature. It is a wonderful way of life. I really look forward to increasing my time spent nude in nature.

Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream you shall
become.
Your vision is the promise of what you shall one
day be.
Your idea is the prophecy of what you shall at last
unveil.
- James Allen

I love you all. You are truly wonderful! Enjoy this beautiful life TODAY.

Letter to a Friend

2009-03-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

The following letter I wrote to a friend about body acceptance. I wanted to share it with everyone, because I think it could be pretty relevant for many of you wonderful readers out there!

Hey Kevin!,

Just read your latest St Patty's Day blog, thanks for trying so hard to work on body acceptance! It sounds like you're trying to overcome a large mental resistance to realizing that you are truly a beautiful person! I didn't know you were gay until I read this blog, guess I was just out of it, sorry! I have heard that the gay dating/sex/relationship scene is more competitive than the straight scene. Is this true? Maybe this is why you feel the need to be something that you are not, ie. fit into a societal idea of attractiveness. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, this must mean if I think I am beautiful I am! I think the same goes for everyone on this earth!

For myself I have always been pretty positive minded about full figured women. I have always found them very attractive. It wasn't until I got a little "older" (like 27) that I realized my idea of beauty/attractiveness did not jive at all with the mainstream societal idea of beauty and that this was holding me back from loving myself and others. I got by for many year (most of my life) by telling the women I loved that "I liked the way they looked", or that they "looked good to me". I never seemed to be able to tell them that they were beautiful! I just couldn't do it! I was deeply caught up in society's view that these women were unattractive, even though they drove me wild visually!!! Somewhere, somehow, something in my mind just wonderfully, miraculously shifted, and I was able to deepen my love for myself, my partners, friends, and family by seeing things "as they truly are".

Well... it didn't just happen, on second thought. I did a lot of reading, writing, and thinking on the subject over about a one year period. It did take work. :) Some books that really helped me were: Sex for One by Betty Dodson, The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, This Is Who I Am: Our Beauty in All Shapes and Sizes by Rosanne Olson. I'm sure there are many more that I can't remember right now as well. If you go on facebook you can find me "Eric Cinowalt", on there I have a "visual bookshelf" where I rate all the books I've read. A lot of those books have provided me with constant inspiration and deepened my love and understanding of life, myself, and my loved ones.

Kevin, you really have no need for a shabby view of yourself in this life! Where are these negative views coming from? What positive affirmations can you use to replace them with? What body-positive thinking is now available to you to immediately challenge all of your thoughts about your body? How would your attitude be if you meditated each day and slowly chanted to yourself "Right here, Right now, I am the Beauty I seek to achieve. I am perfectly aligned with Divine Attractiveness."?

"When the doors of perception are cleansed, man will see things as they truly are; infinite." Aldous Huxley

You ARE a beautiful MAN, go and Love yourself!

Eric

Thanks so much for reading everyone! I will have more posts soon on nude runs in the redwood forest and along the beach at sunset! Deep loving thoughts to all!

Life is Wonderful!

2009-02-18T18:52:00.000-08:00

I just have to do a blog. Life is too good! So many things just seem to be coming together in my life it is incredibly wonderful. I have been reconnecting with some old time friends, making some brand new friends, as well as deepening my relationship with my life partner. All this in itself may seem to have come about by chance, but I know it is more due to effort than chance. All the meditating I have been doing everyday has finally started paying off! I can focus on things MUCH better than I could just a few weeks ago. I used to get easily distracted and would let my attention drift during conversations, emails, tasks at work, or anything really. Recently I have been able to pull my focus back onto the thing at hand. I've been living more 'in the moment'!

Jen and I just brewed our last batch of beer at our Arcata apartment before we head off to begin the Pacific Crest Trail! We are super stoked for the adventure, and are scrambling to make last minute preparations. We have to move out as well as pack food for five months, as well as continue to get in shape to hike 20 miles a day with 30 pound packs on!

To all of you, I love you! Thank you so much for being a part of my life as a reader, friend, lover, acquiantance, stranger, or some kind of AI. I'm not dying or going anywhere, I've just had a series of amazing enlightenments, and want to say that All is Love! Life is wonderful; I thank you all for reading!

The Mountain Kilt!

2009-02-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

This mountain kilt is quite incredible. If I was a woman I would be wearing a skirt all the time! But I am a man, so I must wear a "mountain kilt"!
This is an awesome clothing innovation dating back to the 16th century. We think of it as Scottish but I guess it comes from Norse culture too.
It is hard to beat the free flowing feeling from wearing a kilt while hiking. It is sheer bliss. The ease of movement is divine. The access to going number one or number two is simply unsurpassed. Impromptu "quickie" sexual fantasies are now a breeze. The world is your oyster! I think that pants should go away, at least for a while, and give kilts a chance to catch up in the 21st century male' wardrobe.
The kilt is a joyful discovery for me. Sometimes the contrast between the nude world and the textile world can seem pretty black and white. This sharp contrast can create kind of a dualistic or "lose-lose" mindset. "I'm unhappy wearing clothes to fit in, but I will get arrested if I walk around naked." Hmm... This kind of thought could be pretty discouraging to a Nudist, if not completely depressing. That is why the kilt makes me so happy! It is the grey area; it is the area in between the black and white. It is a wonderful way to carry some Nudist values into our everyday textile world with a minimum of resistance from others.
If you are interested in a Carhartt sort of kilt check out UTILIKILTS. These look pretty awesome! I haven't had the cashflow to purchase one yet, but I'm thinking about getting one this year probably. They have some pretty darn funny videos on their site. They're kind of amateurish kilt mock-u-mercials. You should check them out!

Self love and the male nude

2009-02-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

I added some nude photos here of me hiking in the local community forest. I wasn't nude the entire time, just in the sunny (warm!) spots. The rest of the time I hiked in my new mountain kilt. I'll blog more on kilts in the near future. All I've got to say for now is, get one!

I believe that the male body is beautiful, whole, wonderful, and sacred. If you've ever heard someone say "the female body is beautiful, but the male body is ugly or utilitarian" then you have some idea of where I am coming from. I think that the female body is equally beautiful and amazing. It is particularly wonderful in its non-anorexic form. I think I've definitely veered off from the opinions of the mainstream culture here quite quickly, but so be it!

What is beautiful in a nude (male or female)? Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me it can be: health, fitness, uniqueness, softness, firmness, calm, peace, power, fragility, intelligence, fierceness, vitality, oneness, joy, freedom, or simply an honest moment of deeply felt laughter. Now that you have an idea of how I see nude beauty, let me explain how I'd like to create a greater awareness of it.

In Eve Ensler' poignant and raw book/play The Vagina Monologues she creates a powerful case for female nudity. By reading the monologues in the nude, she is empowering women to look at their bodies, be aware of them, as well as stand up for them, and join together with other women to protect them. These are totally important things to be able to do, in a culture where one in three women is forced to have sex against their will (aka raped) in their lifetime. So what if you flip it 180 degrees around? What does the male part of the population need to do? Wouldn't a male awareness of the sacredness of the human body help, a lot? I don't think I have the time, ability, or desire to really tap into the male rapist phsyche, but I do want to understand male self love and body acceptance. The more we love ourselves the more empathy we can have. The more we can tap the suffering of others the better. It really starts with ourselvs.

I don't believe there is a book out there called, I am man, my body is beautiful, let me count the ways. So, fuck it... let's start to believe we are beautiful ourselves. By beauty, I am not really refering to some sort of airbrushed Miss America sort of beauty. By beauty, I really just mean love, wonder, appreciation, acceptance, and respect. These are the things that allow us to see beauty. Beauty is always there. When we open ourselves up to the idea that a naked male body is a wonderful thing, then we can see beauty there. Wouldn't that make it a great place to live? I want to live in a sacred temple, a place of worship. I want to live with respect, peace, and love. I want to be in harmony with my own skin, bones, and muscles.

Men, and women, lets celebrate our bodies! Lets go out into the sunshine and shout out our love for ourselves! Find the nearest mountain top and go look out over all you see. Imagine you are a vibrating particle of light hanging in the air, caught, paused in time. Realize that this pure energy, this delicate love, this incredible purity, this raw essence is your body. Turn any off-perceptions of your body upside down, challenge them deeply. Do I believe these things? Who told me these beliefs? Go and be Happy! Be Nude!

Reading about the New Paradigm

2009-02-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

The nude meditations have been going well the last few weeks. I plan to continue them into the future, they really are kind of addictive, in a good, natural sort of way, not like donuts, coffee, or speeding in your car. The connection or perhaps "disconnection" has become more apparent. By this I mean the connections between "me" and "my thoughts". Each day I try to unravel the mind, make it easier for it to function. I have been doing this by creating a space or disconnect between the self that just experiences and the self that thinks or problem solves. It has been slow, but very rewarding spiritual work.

I had a great image come to mind the other day during meditation. It was a bright sunny day and I was looking at the sun dance off of a lawn of tall green grass. I imagined that the dragonflies landing on the blades of grass were my thoughts, and that the grass itself was my subconscious mind. I stayed focused on the grass swaying in the breeze, catching the sunlight. I was aware of the dragonflies as they landed (aka my thoughts), but I didn't try to hold onto them in my mind, I just let them fly away, come and go, and I kept my mind on the grass itself. It was later that I realized the soil beneath the grass was my unconscious, bringing my most deeply felt emotions to life.

I have been reading about this concept called "new paradigm relating". As defined by Deborah Anapol, it is "a philosophy of relationship which emphasizes using the relationship to consciously enhance the psychological and spiritual development of the partners. New Paradigm relating is characterized by responding authentically in the present moment, honoring individual autonomy, equality, total honesty, and self responsibility." This is as opposed to the more familiar type of relationship we all probably grew up in, or "old paradigm relating". This she defines as "a philosophy of relationship which emphasizes well defined rules, extensive agreements, ironclad conditions, and the importance of the group over the individual. Usually involves a hierarchical power structure."

New paradigm relating just has different emphases on different certain things, as opposed to other types of relating. I think that the things stressed in new paradigm are very important for personal growth. One of the things stressed is non violent communication. In other words, let communication be. Don't force it. LISTEN. For me, it has been an eye opening experience to communicate so completely freely and non obstructively, just simply relating. This is a wonderful, simple, and empowering activity- not just communicating, but letting it flow where it may.

How do we get stuck with violent communication? In other words, why is FORCE applied in our everyday conversations? What about appeals to logic, reasoning, love, and empathy? I think violent communication is definitely a learned behavior, reinforced by our culture, and thus our society. I don't think there is any real valid excuse for continuing this sort of communication style. This would completely make sense if you were thinking of an "anti-war" or peace mentality vs. a "kill em all" "anything goes" mentality. Non violent communication is for personal relationships what peace is for global relations. How often during our daily lives do we push or be pushed by others? We're all adults now and don't really think too often in terms of bullying like we did when we all played in the sandbox. But it is totally obvious. We are still there in the sandbox, everyday! It's just kind of an undercurrent in our conversations: at work, at home, and even out with friends. How do you play? Do you play nice?

To take this a step further, how much bullying, aka violence, is socially acceptable? Is a hierarchical structured relationship inherently violent? If one person's needs are not being met, or even communicated, then isn't there probably the threat of violence holding them back? I think that it is the dance of the two (or more) people in the relationship that creates this kind of setup. This does not mean it is fair to both parties, it's just that they are both agreeing to create that dance, or that relationship together. When we begin to consider such things as equality, harmony, compassion, honesty, non violence, and personal growth, it is amazing how much we can change for the better in a relatively short period of time. Even more incredible, is how long we can keep creating change, how deep we can take these concepts. There seems to be no real limit to how deep love can travel inside of us. There appears to be no limit to how strong a connection can be made between friends or partners. The only limitations exist or once existed in our minds; they are inherently false. Once we come to understand our true nature, made up of love, harmony, and peace, then the false limitations will cease to exist for us.

Clarity, Spirit, and A Very Funny Film

2009-01-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

I just saw this film called Forgiving the Franklins. I had no idea what this movie was going to be like. I just picked it up on a whim. All it said was "religious comedy". It turned out to be fuckin awesome! I really don't want to say anymore about it and possibly ruin the fun of you discovering it for yourself.

To add a note to the last blog, I should mention why I started doing longer meditations. The quick answer is I am trying to find clarity in my life. I would like to have no doubt about the choices I make in my life. Having no doubt is somewhat different from being unable to admit another life path is also valid. I just want to be sure the path I choose is absolutely the best for me. I want to KNOW that this life I choose is perfect, and that my choices are truly mine.

Some people have problems with clarity in their lives, some don't. Daily meditation is, for me, a way of letting go of the clutch on attachments to any ideals that no longer fit me. So far it has been wonderful. I have already had overwhelming moments of peace, calm, joy, and quiet. These moments seem to be independent of thought. They are times when I can just feel, and just be. They allow me to trust in reality ( and myself), by experiencing the moment fully. I guess this is where Spirit starts to have a voice through us.

A time for meditation

2009-01-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

I've taken on a new routine for meditating. I have decided to attempt a shift from random often sporadic meditations of rather short length, to longer ritualistic meditations at designated times. I at least want to try this routine for a two week period. This is at the recommendation of Ram Dass, in his book Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook.

I added a few photos here. One is of the new meditation pose I'm trying out, I believe it is the half lotus. The other photo is of a string of meditation beads Jen made for me out of some beads our friends gave to us.

Just what is meditation? Ram Dass writes "For surfers it is the moment when they come into equilibrium with the incredible force of the wave. For skiers it is when the balance is perfect. When our skills fit the demand perfectly, then there is no anxiety. Then we have proved ourselves. Then there is nothing left to do. In that moment our awareness expands." I think this is an incredible explanation. I love how simply he states what it is he is explaining. It's as if he has said this a thousand different times in a thousand different ways and this is just the billionth attempt at a perfect explanation.

Balance, equilibrium, no anxiety... What moment is this for a Naturist? Speaking for myself, I imagine standing on the edge of a cool river with the sun bouncing off of my naked body. As I stand there in the sun, totally at peace, the warm breeze of the late summer afternoon blows gently by. On the bluff next to me are a small group of happily naked folks laughing and sharing tales, and sipping cold microbrewed ales. It is the start of a great afternoon as I head down for a nude swim in the river. This is the Bliss of a Naturist. This is being in the moment. The feel of the wind, the water, and the sun are Divine. There is nothing left to hang on to. Just be.

For any readers out there, I would love to hear from you about your meditative Naturist moments! Namaste'.

Mystical Sex and Magical Sun

2009-01-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

Life is wonderful! Life is incredible! (In case you had forgotten!) The weather has been INCREDIBLE here for the last few weeks; it's almost like summer! Sunny everyday, clear, and warm if your'e in the sun. It would be good weather for nude activities here, such as: gardening, frisbee, skimboarding, and hiking. Anything really, as long as you keep your heart rate up a little bit and stay in the sun!

The only "official" nudist site in the area is College Cove. I haven't been going there lately, since I am also a Naturist, and I will usually avoid sucking down a few gallons of gas in the pickup if I can. Not to worry, I have instead been opting for a good deal of incredible magical (and nude, of course) sexual sessions with my wife! This has been wonderful. We get to spend hours together in the nude in the middle of Winter! This topic isn't really discussed in Naturist magazines, probably for family appeal and to win society's acceptance of "non-sexual nudity". I think this is great, and totally makes sense, but it just makes ME want to write about it even more! We're all adults here, right? Adults have sex, whether they are nudists or not!

I wanted to show some photos of JenEric Brewing Co's California State Fair 2008 Homebrew Competition first place award for their Duckbeaver Oatmeal Stout! We brewed the beer ourselves, in our own kitchen. Pretty sweet, it turned out to be the BEST IN THE STATE!!

I recently found an incredible resource for Nudists and Naturists called Skinbook! I haven't had much time to explore it yet, but as you can guess it is very similar to Facebook or Myspace, only it is "nude friendly". I have been struggling to find resources for Northern California Naturists. So I finally created a group on Facebook with this name. So far there are only two members, but I hope it will grow! Calling all Nudists! I list a few resources on there, and encourage others to do the same.

If I get thinkin about it too much (not good), I can get a bit down about the state of nudity in this country. It would be easy to feel isolated, subjugated, different, misunderstood, etc. about having to have a "seperate" Facebook of our own. Is nudity so weird? I don't think so, but maybe I have some realizations to work through. To me, nudity is natural, it is the only way, it is peaceful, spiritual, playful, fun, and relaxing. To others, what is it? What else could it be? Do other folks walk around and look at a small sparrow or a blue jay and shake their head? Do they invision a smart looking business suit on these little birds? A swimsuit? Do people want to cloth other species, or just humans? What the fuck? Maybe in time, I will get some much needed perspective on this subject. I really hope I do. As it stands, I just get mad when someone (or a group) disallows nudity in any way. I'm workin on this. Any ideas?

Nude at last!

2009-01-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

Nude on the beach, in Humboldt county, in Winter? Nahh, probably not a great idea. Nevertheless I spent several days picturing myself there, on the beach, nude. This probably has a lot to do with all the incredibly sunny days we've been having! Having finally gotten a free day to bike to the local nude beach (College Cove), I decided against it. Why? Well, I decided I didn't want to spend four hours out of the day biking there and back. Plus, the fantasies I'd been having about biking to the beach had been me nude cycling there. I had to come down to reality, this wasn't going to happen, unfortunately due to our current laws and perceptions by people. Who knows, maybe someday I will get out there, and just go biking in the nude!

I had resolved myself to a non-nude day. I could still go get some sun by walking into town. I wandered around for a few hours, looking at books and stuff, before I headed back home. Once home, I got the idea to try something I'd never tried before- transcendental masturbation! That's a word you don't hear everyday! I had heard of this in Betty Dodson's earth shattering title Sex for One. After I read the chapter on combining masturbation and meditation, I quickly began to experiment. I ended up having a wonderful one or two hour (not sure which) masturbation/meditation/trance/sleep session! I had several orgasms, and I think I fell asleep once. After I was finished, I was SO relaxed for the rest of the day, and into the next, it was unbelievable! What an incredible way to spend an afternoon! And to top it all off, I realized that I was in the nude for most of the afternoon without even trying to find a place to be nude! Sweet, a new naturist activity- transcendental masturbation!

The Good Winter and Polyamory

2009-01-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

I think a Good Winter, is one that can be enjoyed in the warmth of the indoors, nude. An easy way to do this is by heating up the house with a little batch of brew on the stove! Yesterday I brewed an oatmeal stout called Duckbeliever. It's a variation on our Duckbeaver recipe, which has won first place at the state fair. This version should be a bit more intense, it might even bring in some coffee notes, along with a little more maltiness. I'm really looking forward to trying it!

This blogging thing seems to lend itself quite readily to rants, venting, and straw man arguments. Well, I will not except myself. I've been feeling a rant coming on about polyamory. I have been reading about this subject recently, and find the ideas to be revolutionary and amazing. When talking about polyamory I just mean having more than one intimate relationship, sexual or not. Many of us do this without knowing it, but others restrict themselves unnecessarily.

This morning I was reading a chapter from Polyamory: The new love without limits by Dr. Deborah M. Anapol. She makes an analogy between the early pioneers who sailed to "the edge of the world" back when it was supposedly flat, and the people who choose to explore polyamory now. I think this analogy could not be more appropriate. I think that polyamory is way of loving or existing whose time has come. We need to drop the old models of relationships, and sail to new lands, leaving the old behind. Or, we could believe that the world is flat... But it isn't! The world is round, and we don't love in a bubble. Everywhere we go we love people. We talk to them at the store, the street, a friend's house, online, and anywhere else possible! It's hard to have an interaction with someone without some bit of Love sneaking in there. To deny that love exits everywhere is to die, and to sell ourselves VERY short. Love is what Paulo Coelho writes about in The Alchemist as "the language of the world". It is in all things, and through it all things communicate with each other. Some folks might refer to this as God, or Energy, or any other term you wish. I realize Deborah is referring to "intimate relationships" in her book, and that what I am talking about here is perhaps a little different. Oh well, sorry Deborah.

What if there were no intimate relationships? What if there were only intimate moments? I mean, really we only have the term "relationship" to distinguish ourselves in society. But does this really make an accurate representation of a life lived in exclusive intimacy? I don't think it does. I think intimacy just happens, it may be consciously sought out and created by people, but I don't think that it is an exclusive thing. It reminds me of this place my parents would take me as a kid on Thursday nights, called The North Woods Inn. It was a restaurant with fake snow on the roof in Pasadena. Every Thursday night they would give free "all you can eat" peanuts out to everyone, and let them throw the shells all over the floor. The whole floor was just covered in peanut shells. I used to love it. I thought it was so much fun. Peanuts shells were everywhere, no one would deny that. But would some deny that love was everywhere? This was many years ago when I was just a kid, but I am certain that love was everywhere back then too. Once you start to think of love being everywhere, you start to envision it everywhere. It is what holds all cells together. It also enforces our social connections. It bonds us to things we may not even be aware of. If only everyone could see Love so clearly as they do the peanut shells on the floor! Then we would be getting somewhere!

One more analogy for the road! It's like that old expression "When a tree falls in the woods...". Does it make a sound? Does love make a sound? I think it does, sometimes louder than others, but it always depends on our ability to LISTEN. I want to hear. Do you?

A new sign and This borrowed life

2009-01-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

A new sign went up today, to let anyone walking up to our door know that our place is clothing optional. This gives me a chance to answer the door in the nude occasionally, since the sign gives them the option of knocking for nude or clothed. Two knocks is for clothed, and three knocks is for nude! We'll have to wait and see how this pans out in REALITY over the next few days!
What an incredible beautiful day it was today! Driving along the coast from Arcata up to Smith River was truly awesome. It was actually sunny and clear out across the ocean! I got to get out and do a little "work" by discussing a few potential test sites. (This would be where we plant trees to see which ones grow the best in a given area- I work for a local timber company.) The rest of the time I was just crammed in the back of a pickup truck lookin out at the beautiful day. The best part of the day was when my boss let us take a side trip to the Alexandre eco-dairy! We were on the lookout for fresh grass fed beef, but they were all out. But, we stocked up on their open pastured eggs, and butter from grass fed cows. What a nutritous treat!
Riding in the backseat of the truck gave me plenty of time to think. Overall, I'd say my thoughts were of "this borrowed life". What I mean by that is that the truck I was in, the bodies of my coworkers, the plastic dashboard, the sun, the ocean, and the sky... They are all borrowed! We are here in this life, and then we are gone. Poof! Afterlife or no, this life is surely on loan to us. Each day is a sweet, divine gift, wether we are able to realize it or not. Permanece, holding onto things, stinginess, clingyness, and possessiveness are all very dangerous habits. They are kind of like "my precious" if you are familiar with Lord of the Rings. You just can't hang onto that stuff in this life! We live in a natural world, where there is a cycle of life and death going round.

Remembering a sunny season

2009-01-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

It doesn't seem so long ago that I was hiking nude in Redwood National Park. The wind was warm, and the pools along Redwood creek were cool and refreshing. Now that we're soaked in more rain than the soil can handle, I guess Winter has finally settled into our spirits. Three more months or so of Winter, and then Jen and I are off to Ukiah for a couple of weeks of intensive training for the Pacific Crest Trail! I'm sure the start of Spring will be fantastic and full of fun new energy- alive and everything sprouting!
I just got out of my weekly Science of Mind meeting in McKinleyville. After a brief meditation, we delved deeply into the first chapter of Ernest Holmes main text. One topic was the name for spiritual energy we all prefer. Some like God, others Godess, others like It, Spirit, Energy, etc. The point was really that it's all the same thing! All the different religions of the world may not agree, but when looking at them from the outside it's fairly easy to see that they are basically similar.
Jen is preparing this week for a trip to Chicago to be in the Oprah audience. She couldn't be more excited! I think it's great she has this opportunity. Her mom has been calling the Oprah show hotline to try and get tickets for SEVEN YEARS!!! What a chance for her to get out and see the world! I'm looking forward to hearing of their adventures when they return!

New year (almost)

2009-01-04T06:09:00.000-08:00

Hello! Welcome to one of my first blog entries! I didn't set out with a particular "agenda" for this blog, but I'm sure one will carve itself out of the digital bits of the internet world. I look forward to writing about all the things life has to bring. Among them, I'm sure I will be writing about the adventures of my wife Jen and I, brewing beer, playing forester in the woods, naturist musings, nutrition/health tidbits, and Pacific Crest Trail infatuation! The above photo is of me and my father in law, Dennis, loading firewood onto a cart at their mountain home near Ukiah, CA called Smart's Mountain. It was taken a few days after the Winter Solstice. We had snuck out during a break in the falling snow.
Well, this year is off to a slow crawl so far. Jen and I are looking forward to a real New Year's celebration at the end of this month- the beginning of the new lunar year. This "Christmas" was a first for us, in that we didn't celebrate it for the first time in our lives. We decided instead to celebrate in accordance with our beliefs- we are not Christians. Thus, we have celebrated the seasons as well as the lunar cycle. Our "Christmas" was as joyous as ever, but it was in the name of the Winter Solstice!
We just received in the mail our awards from the California State Fair Homebrew Competition! It was only last May that we won first place for our DuckBeaver Oatmeal Stout! Since we were unable to attend the awards ceremony, we have been anxiously awaiting the awards arrival! The arrival of the awards has inspired us to brew again. We will be brewing up a few batches this winter for the coming State Fair. Stay tuned for brew updates!
It is the time of year for sleeping (preferably naked!), and sleeping a lot! Jen and I have been reading a book called Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice. We have been realizing how out of whack our systems are compared to how they would have been hundreds of years ago. The author writes about how our bodies are "fooled" into thinking it is a "perpetual summer" by having artificial lights on everywhere we go. It is the dead of winter, and I can't seem to sleep more than eight or nine hours a night. I guess historically 12 or 14 hours a night would be more like it. My body is too in tune with the light bulb, the tv screen and the computer monitor to be in harmony with the seasons, the stars, and the moon.
Maholo for now, and thanks for reading first!

The Trinity

2008-12-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

the rippling bosom of the River
like a tide sucking in its breath
the sweat beads of the Valley
roll over rounded rocks below1

the sweet supple curves of the surface
meditate and meander slowly
gliding seamlessly into a series of rolling ripples2

a butterfly on the beach dances in the wind
soft and warm the wind brushes up against the bunchgrass
then the air becomes suddenly still
as a cloud clowns in front of the sun’s warmth3

time seems to stop
the river turns dark
the curves on the water
flatten out into blank white lines
barely able to catch the light4

a cold flush of air rushes up the river
cobbles piled on the steep south bank
well covered in green brown moss
sit still in deep shadow5

the water seems quieter
with the new darkness in the Valley
the River hasn’t changed
a sparkle and a shadow are sung the same
through the voice of the River6

frizzy clouds thin out in the Sky
light begins to shine on the water again
ripples reflecting onto boulders
show off their dreamy bubbling light7

the salmon have now all passed through
the River is at its most calm
relaxed
at ease
it will rest until the winter rains
begin to fill the land again8

water bunches up and surges
around a hefty stubborn boulder
forming quick whirlwind eddies
at the boulder’s back9

the boulder can’t stop the river
but the water slowly wears through
the outermost layers of the stiff old boulder
slowly slipping off the new river silts10

tiny bugs light up in the sunset light
like dandruff flakes
shaken from the hair11

the River does not stop to think
it is in constant motion
it is never unsure of where to go12

if it is a flat and wide section
then the River is slow
if the water is high and full
then the River boils and overflows
with power and energy
shifting car sized boulders
out of its path13

the wild River can’t be stopped
constant
alive
perfectly itself
it always has been
and will continue to be
forever14

the River reflects
the bright blue of the Sky
pulling cool calmness over it’s full length15

the blueness of the River at sunset
is held in the memory of the land
nothing can use up
the beauty and calm stored in the land16

when the River froths it does not forget
the calm in it’s smooth banks
when the River erodes away the hills
that snake across the Valley
it knows the land is at peace
with the changing of the river17

the Trinity has confidence
in all that it does
all that it creates, forms, and destroys
flowing over and into many things18

it has a linked faith
between each water molecule
that keeps the River as one19

it has a deep pride
in it’s role of shaping the land
and moving the water
where it needs to go20

the Trinity is in perfect harmony
with all life that passes before it
it upholds
the strong, deliberate timelessness of nature21

nothing
could be more beautiful, whole, magnificent, and perfect