And so are you! At least, this is what this new book I bought, The Key To The Chakras, tells me…

For a long time, my uncle had been telling me I should meditate… He knew all the issues and stresses in my life and assured me that meditation would help me as it helped him. I figured I’d give it a try. My uncle is by no means a hippie and never was, not like me. He was always a responsible, normal guy with no kooky ideas.

I had read up a little on meditation over the years, but I never seemed able to do it correctly. The key, so they say, is to make your mind a blank. Yeah, like that’s possible for someone who’s bipolar and has a brain that’s like an internet browser with a million tabs open and about as many background programs running all the time! How the fuck do you quiet that?! The answer is… you don’t. I tried everything and still found my brain going like a hamster on a wheel. Spinning fast and getting nowhere…

One day, while shopping at one of my favorite stores, I found this book. It was right there, staring me in the face like it was waiting for me, so I bought it. Best investment ever!

I read the whole book front to back in a short time, sometimes practicing the exercises as I went, some I waited until the end and went back to do. All I know is that, for the first time in my life, I was in a meditative state and felt great the entire day because of it. I know, you’re thinking it’s mumbo jumbo, right? Yeah, I thought so, too, until I was able to understand how to do it correctly. And if you’re like me, pick up that book. It’s like meditation for dummies.

My uncle also swears by yoga… It has a lot of health benefits, I admit, so I decided to try it once. I got to the “warrior pose” (pictured here) and said hell to the no… Don’t get the idea that I’m not a flexible person or hate exercise (okay, I kind of hate exercise). But there are some things in this world I physically can’t do and this pose is one of them. My kneecaps are misaligned and I have osteoarthritis. Poses like this cause pain that makes me see stars. And I can handle a lot of pain! Just not that kind…

Back to the subject… As I said, I recently bought a book about the chakras we all possess. It even came with a bracelet containing stones related to the chakras, which I thought was pretty cool. It’s supposed to help…

Anyway… my meditation book also discusses the chakras we all have and aligning them properly is very important to meditating correctly. But I still didn’t think I had a great understanding of them, how they work, how to access them, yada yada… So when I saw this book, I thought why not buy it? Maybe I can get a grip on myself, find some peace and serenity. I’m not sure about the whole spirituality thing, but maybe I can get a better understanding of my connection to the universe…

I wish I could say that meditation and learning about chakras was enough to make me happy. But I can’t…

To a degree, I’m a bit vain. Looking pretty makes me feel pretty and builds my confidence. Which is important since I’m feeling a bit old…

I found this look on Facebook a while ago and I was so anxious to try it, but I wasn’t sure I’d like it on me. One day I said “fuck it” and asked my hairdresser to do it. It didn’t turn out quite as colorful because my hair is a darker brown, so the purple looks almost black unless I’m out in sunlight. But I’m rocking the purple before I’m too old to do so and it feels great!

I just got my hair dyed three days ago (I love being purple again), but several days before that, I went on a bipolar shopping spree. I hate them… I spend so much money I can’t afford to spend on stupid shit. This time, I spent it on makeup at Ulta. I rarely wear makeup, but I had a coupon and figured why not, I could use some new stuff. And I never had fancy makeup. My stupidity was not looking at price tags and only looking at the colors I liked and buying a much needed set of brushes. And I got a new bottle of my go-to lotion, Hempz. Even after my coupon, I spent $269! I nearly fell over! But I was happy with my purchases…

I guess today’s message is this… I think that outer and inner beauty kind of work hand in hand. If you look good on the outside, it gives you confidence and you feel good on the inside as well. On the other hand, if you feel beautiful on the inside, it will shine through to the outside no matter what you look like.

As my chakra book says, everyone is a rainbow! And what’s more lovely than a rainbow…?

Good heavens, I’m really starting to sound like a hippie, here, aren’t I? Well, that’s because, in many ways, I am a hippie. And I can prove it…

I know, I know… I never show my real face. But this isn’t the face I have now, so it’s okay…

This is my baby picture! It was taken way back in… well… a long time ago. Let’s leave it at that. I’ll just say what I usually do: I came out the same year as the song “Brother Louie”. If you want to know how long ago that was, you need to go do some research.

Anyway… I always tell people I was born a hippie and I’ll die a hippie. As you can see from my hospital picture, I was making an upside down peace sign with my fingers! How funny is that…? I’ve always been proud of this picture because of that. How many people can say they were a hippie from birth and have photographic proof? Not too many, I’m sure… Peace out, man…