Autumn is Officially Here (and so is my new album SEE AGAIN!)

And earlier than usual. It’s strange. Usually we have the Indian Summer rockin until November. But not this year. This morning I woke to find a completely different energy in the air. Lite, crisp, clean, yet a little less bright, and completely BEAUTIFUL. Just a tint of orange to the landscape. I sat on my porch with a warm cup of coffee and Atlas Shrugged. I had to take a break every few minutes to breathe in the feeling. It’s amazing how in ONE day this change comes about. All of the sudden, fall is here.

Usually I HATE this time of year, when the summer is over. I am a water girl all the way around and anything that keeps me from enjoying the sunlight and salt water, I despise. But this year its different. It may partly be because my year in LA toughened me up to cold water. I now actually ENJOY surfing in cold water. Who ever would have thought that such a thing could be possible for me, who has only lived in Florida, Hawaii, and LA (and Russia but only for a couple of months.) It only goes to show that ANYTHING is possible. It really is true. PEOPLE CAN CHANGE. I now find cold water to be invigorating. I have even heard that its good for you. It makes the blood rush to your organs… or something.

Guess what else is especially awesome about today, SEE AGAIN IS AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE!! As of TODAY! Isn’t that fantastic? Go buy it! And tune into 89.9 NPR (wjct.org) for Electro Lounge tonight, I will be making an appearance to talk about and play a few tracks from the album.

“How do you stay positive?”

My friend, Scott Petersen/DJ Catharsis, honestly asked me. I was speechless for a number of reasons, but mainly because, well… I don’t. Staying positive doesn’t come natural, at least not for me. There were at least two days last week when I found it hard to leave my couch. That’s not positive. I don’t think anyone on this planet actually STAYS positive ALL the time. I would venture to say that MAYBE the Dalai Lama stays positive most the time, but I bet even he gets a little down SOMETIMES. Being positive with out ever experiencing any negativity is like having the day without the night. It’s just not natural.

But what I do almost always (still: ALMOST always) maintain is a steadfast belief that the world is a good place and everything will be OK. So how do I maintain THAT positivity? Take, for instance, my two days on the couch. I broke out of it and hit the ground running.  And that is probably the best answer I can possibly come up with for a questions like that:

ACTION.

ACTION. ACTION. ACTION.

Literally being part of the solution. Staying in the game of creating a better world. Being positive doesn’t come from the outside in. It comes from within YOU and radiates outward. And for me, the best way to create a positive atmosphere with in myself is to take action in helping others.

Something else that came to me later while still pondering this question – is that I refuse to live in fear.
Fear of ANYTHING. I refuse to let any type of fear stop me from doing what I want to do – whether that be loving, traveling, dreaming, you name it.

I also refuse to accept the condition of the world being unchangeable. While I do accept that the world is the way it is at THIS PRESENT MOMENT, I also accept that I have the power within me to change that condition and so does every single person on this planet, except for maybe those who have done a lot of meth, or crack, or LSD. I think its hard for them to do much of anything. No offense. To the crack heads.

Anyway. A few more no brainers when it comes to keeping the positive alive:
REST when you need it.
EAT good, healthy, beautiful food.
SURROUND yourself with the people you love.
And when you can find none of the above – know that this is only temporary.

Jacksonville CD Release Party this Saturday!!

CD RELEASE Sunday, September 6 at La Playa in Ft Lauderdale!

Hot, sticky, sweaty, dirty.

Budget traveling can really suck. I don’t have the patience for it. It’s a good thing my friend Anne is with me because I came close to hailing a cab about 6 times, wanting SO BADLY to give up on lugging my ton of shit around on my back across the hot pavement of Tel Aviv, while looking for the correct bus in the Israeli desert noon-day sun.
This is when I think to myself “Maybe I don’t like traveling that much.” But immediately realize that I love traveling, I just can’t afford to do it the way I WANT to do it. So budget traveling it is.
At the end of the day I am glad I stuck it out. We made it from Jaffa to Jerusalem in three hours by budget. It takes only 40 minutes by car. That’s budget for you: long, sweaty, hot, dirty, confused, hopeless, yet ALWAYS working out EVENTUALLY. It didn’t help that I spent the second night in a row at my new favorite neighborhood watering hole, Margoza Bar. It’s a hip little place off the beaten track. Good food, good drinks, and GREAT people. Young hip israelis looking for a laid back place to have a drink and hear great music. Both nights I was the only tourist in there and they welcomed me with open arms. I became friends with the bartender Assaf who almost hourly, filled a shot glass full of some anisette tasting liquor that is stronger than vodka for everyone at the bar as we raised our glasses to each other, “Lacheim!” That’s hebrew for “for life.” Both nights I meant to be there for only an hour or so, but ended up staying for four or five. This leads me to the subject of the one thing worse than budget traveling: budget traveling with a hangover.
We finally made it to the Palm Hostel in the arabic section of Jerusalem, just across the Damascus gate to the old city Jerusalem. Yeah, that’s the place where Jesus hung out and stuff. Although exhausted and slightly nauseous upon my arrival, I could not allow myself to sit there in my hostel, knowing that such a powerful place was just across the street, beckoning for me to enter its walls, its spiritual strength inviting me to be transformed. Would I walk out of those gates a different person?
Being in a place like this gives you superpowers. You manage to dig up energy from someplace deep in your soul. I set back out to explore the ancient city. I felt nervous walking up to the huge, archaic archway of the gate. What would I find on the other side? How would it move me? How would it change me?
As we entered the gate I prepared myself for what was to come…
“Ok, there’s some shops. That’s cool. Ok, more flea market junk stores… an orange juice stand. Some rugs, a remote control store, lots of ancient rocks… but like, where was the jesus stuff?”
We spent the next hour or two getting lost in the maze of junk. We finally sat down for a falafel and coffee to ponder our plan.
“How a bout the western wall? That’s supposed to be like, special, right?”
We decided to go there and once again, walked around in circles, avoiding the yells of the vigilant junk shop owners. Asking for directions every five minutes. Being told to “Go the other way,” until finally a nice young man of seventeen named Joseph took pity on us and took us under his wing. He led us through the maze to a view of the wall. We took pictures and asked him to lead us down to the wall. He said that only jews could visit it at this hour and told us to come back the next day. He then led us to a couple of other great spots with views, and through more passageways of rugs and scarves and orange juice. I was beginning to lose my optimism for having any kind of spiritual awakening in the walls of old Jerusalem when finally, Joseph offered to take us to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This site is said to be the holiest of Christian sites. It is said to be the place where Jesus was nailed to the cross, died and resurrected. Finally! Someplace with some sort of spiritual depth. Isn’t that what Jerusalem was supposed to be all about?
We walked in, with my optimism on the rise, only to be instantly thrashed by the guards who told me to “GET OUT.”
Apparently I was not allowed to show my shoulders, legs and midriff. How the hell did they expect a person to survive this heat with all those clothes on? So I turned around with my tail between my legs. Anne and I decided to head back to the hostel. Neither of us has really slept in days and are looking forward to a peaceful evening of REST and repair.

i LOVE Israel

Who would have thought that I would come to the Middle East to feel AT HOME. Seriously… what? How could that happen?
I have no idea.
All I know is that I arrived in Tel Aviv last night to find myself getting something I’ve been missing. What? i don’t know. I think sometimes what we need is not available for our sight until seen. That’s the case for me at this moment.
I’ve always viewed the middle east as a scary place where fanatical muslims roam. Where women wear veils and american just don’t visit. i’ve always known that was a croc of shit, but knowing doesn’t erase the bullshit that gets rammed into your brain living FREE in America. I knew before I came that Israel is a peaceful place… minus the wars and stuff. But seriously, there is peace here right now, I promise. i checked in to my hostel last night and immediately had the feeling, “Yeah, I could stay here for WAY longer than two weeks.” And then I got to my room…
words cannot explain how beautiful. not that there was anything especially beautiful about the room itself. its just that i felt like i was some place so different, yet someplace i had always wanted to be. Just one bed, ancient walls with ancient paint, arabic yellow doors with crusty teal shutters that led to a lanai that looked over the street with a basic table and chairs. Maybe it was the location that gave me the feeling I had, for there was a PARTY going on all around me. A party that was unescapable and welcoming. You see, there’s a flea market that exist here on every day of the week, except for the sabbath of course. But on thursdays, it turns into an all out PARTY. A street party. And its FUN.
There is LIVE middle eastern sounding music on every corner amplified in a MAJOR way. There are people dancing, chatting shopping, mingling, just plain ENJOYING. And it smells like food you want to EAT everywhere mixed with some kind of Israeli cologne that I HAVE TO HAVE.
My lanai looked over a crossroads of it. So even though I hadn’t slept in oh, 30-40 hours, i couldn’t help myself. I was so excited to be in Israel alone, and there was also a block party. HELL YEAH.
So I set out to the streets. Lots of vendors selling anything and everything you can think of. Fake designer purses, dresses, shoes, “water pipes”/bongs, EVERYTHING. I traveled around old Jaffa as well. An ancient port dating back as far as before Christ. They say that Noah, yeah, THE NOAH, the one with the flood and stuff, his son built the port. That’s the cool thing about Israel. People from like THE BIBLE lived here. CRAZY.
It feels like it.
No words can describe this place. That’s why I will post pictures very soon.
Otherwise, just know that I came back to my place last night ready for sleep long before ANYONE else was ready to call it quits. Normally this would bother me. Last night it didn’t. I laid down with a smile on my face, knowing that all around me people were LIVING. That’s what they do here. Maybe its because at any moment another war could break out? Or maybe because they’ve been through something that made them realize that we only have this moment. THIS MOMENT. I wouldn’t know, but I speculate that war on your very own turf would teach you THAT. That at any minute everything you have could be taken by a roaring ball of whistling and flames. Maybe its not THAT close, but its closer than what I am used to.

New website will be up soon!

I am working on a brand new website that will encompass all aspects of me: my fundraising for nepal, my music, my writing and my yoga. This website will also give access to online donations! very exciting. I am hoping to have the website up sometime in the next week so stay tuned!
much love,
crystal

Benefit Concert a Success!

We had an amazing time at the concert last night and raised $385.03. Yes, that’s right. We are now at $535.03. That means $2964.97 left to go. Very exciting.

I want to send a thanks to my mom for donating money for flyers, Liz Chesek, Nicole & Christian for the African Drum and Dance performance, Lucio Rubino, Soulo & Deron Baker for the fantastic music, and also for bringin the sound system, Sweet Corn Grits and Anastasia for their last minute musical performances, Yvette, Melissa and the Present Moment staff for making it such an awesome night! We really had a great time and I am looking forward to doing it again. I would also like to thank Dave of Blue Sky Surf Shop for donating the boogie board and taking pictures, Mike and Stephanie from the Tasting Room, Jaime Carter of Visage Salon, Kristy at Panache Salon, and the Bikram Yoga St Augustine Crew for donating items for the raffle.

Now what? I am planning a few more events but in the mean time I will be teaching yoga at the Present Moment Market, 226 West King St, Mon-Thurs, 6 PM and at the Integral Yoga Retreat on Saturdays at 11 AM, 2105 Powell Rd. Saturday’s yoga class is followed by an Indian Brunch.

Hope to see you soon!

Benefit this Sunday! 4 PM at Present Moment

Things are going great! Kim Karston Bush, one of my fabulous LA surfer chic buddies sent in a donation AND Yoga for Nepal is bringing in the dough as well. We’re at $150, only $3,350 more to go.
This Sunday is going to be a fantastic event. So far prizes have been donated by Blue Sky Surf Shop, the Tasting Room, Present Moment Cafe, Panache Salon & Spa, and Lu Rubino Studios.
The event will begin at 4 PM with a yoga class lead by me and music begins at 6 PM. You don’t want to miss this awesome event!

Yoga for Nepal!! Saturdays at 11 AM

It’s official! I will be teaching a fantastic yoga class every Saturday at the Integral Yoga Retreat in St Augustine, FL. What’s so fantastic about my yoga class? Well, besides stretching and strengthening your limbs and putting your mind into a state of bliss – I also feed you some PHAT organic indian food. And the proceeds go to my volunteer fundraiser. It really doesn’t get better than that.
FEED YOUR MIND, BODY & SPIRIT, AND STOMACH!
11 AM, $10 suggested donation.
Integral Yoga Retreat
2105 Powell Rd.
From 16 turn south onto four mile road, take an immediate right on DEER RUN, then a 1/2 mile down take another right on Powell Rd.