Glad to see that my fellow Buddhists and Taoists don't support cults like these, nor do they condemn non-Buddhist/Taoists to hell, nor do they kill non-Buddhist/Taoists because they are not the same religion.
We believe that after a couple thousand life-times your souls will come around to our way of thinking!
School has one week left, things are going good around the school front. Since I received my "Level 2" Utah teaching license this week (I had to jump thru many hoops and spend many bucks), this happy camper will be welcome back in his adopted state upon return from the orient. Actually, as long as I get back by 2015, I will be welcome to work in this great State.
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| John Coltrane my main influence. |
The only thing that occupies my mind anymore is playing the Sax. I can't explain it but can only describe it as "being driven". Although I have been a musician for years and years, I have never practiced as much as I do now. I don't read, watch movies, or do anything I used to do... Just practice, practice, practice... I love it. I've been practicing the sax for 2 months now, 2-3 hours per day and the results are apparent to me. I can sight read and play slowly even the more difficult pieces, and spend lots of time just making up my own stuff using different blues scales. My intonation is sounding almost like a voice with all its nuances and inflections. These last two concepts were things I wasn't taught while playing in the high school marching band. I'm getting bolder and playing on my front porch for all the passers by and they seem to enjoy it, although I play quietly due to shyness. I need to gain some more skills before I get to China, so I can play freely in the parks and on the rooftops at night. I am even considering starting or joining a small time jazz band for weekend fun at the jazz clubs in Shanghai or even my new home city. (Jazz is still catching on in China, most prefer American cheese music they can practice Karaoke with). The upscale Chinese are discovering the idea of Jazz, which has been the most popular and played music of the 20th century by far. I can hardly stand to listen to anything else but Jazz anymore. From ancient "Ragtime" to "Swing", "Bebop", "Fusion", "Modern Jazz", I simply love and appreciate it all.
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| Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong the greatest jazz player of them all! |
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