I’m writing you with a relaxed smile from Gili Air, a tiny island off Bali .. where something cool just happened.

I was biking home from watching the sunset when I heard an acoustic guitar and immediately screeched on the brakes.

I hadn’t planned to stop. I just, as the great Vedic teacher Thom Knoles would say, went from feeling to action. No analysis, just instinct.

“Where are you from?” the Indonesian man playing guitar asked as I hopped off the bike. “America!” I responded. “Oh perfect, we need a singer,” he said. 

Oh my. I love to sing, but I’m terrible at it. I'm enthusiastic and off key. 

But this was just one evening, on a tiny island, and they needed an English speaker. So I said yes.

They started playing “Zombie," and I belted out the lyrics while my new Indonesian friend and another traveler played the chords. Then “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Hey Jude.” I let my confidence in the lyrics overwhelm my insecurity about singing. I lost myself in the music.

And I realized we can have so much fun doing something we enjoy that we’re terrible at! Why should we only do what we’re good at? I’m terrible at biking but have been biking all around Gili Air, constantly falling off and getting a bit beat up but having a blast.

So this week I ask — is there something you love that you’re bad at, that maybe you can do anyway? 

We work so much. Let’s play. Try something you might enjoy but haven't done in a while, independent of your skill level.

And this week, we're bringing in a real expert to guide us in meditation. John Baker has been a student of Buddhism for 41 years and co-founded Naropa University in Boulder. He's also a senior teacher in the North American Buddhist community and the author of many numbers about Buddhism. We are SO happy to have him guide us in meditation this Tuesday, at the Penthouse of The Standard (ohhhhhh yeahhhhhh).

After the meditation, you're invited to join Dasan Tea for a (free!) tea ceremony with a new tea they created from wild green tea leaves, hand-picked from Mt. Jiri in South Korea. We'll enjoy the tea in cups handmade by Korean pottery artists, and each sip is designed to help you awaken and clear your mind.

Tuesday, in short, is going to be amazing.

click here to join us for meditation & tea

And to be clear, all this is included in the cost of a regular meditation! Just $24 for meditation by John Baker AND the tea ceremony.

click here to join us