Feeling very much like a bird with all the traveling and flying I have done in the past couple of weeks—from the US to Saigon to Phuket to Macau…so far.
As you know, I started my travels by leaving the US in late July and headed to Saigon to do some charity work. I left Saigon and flew to Phuket on the 13th to spend a few days with good friends relaxing and getting "inked". Those were my two main reasons for traveling to Phuket.
While I was there, I stayed in a beautiful villa overlooking the ocean at the Trisara Resorts with four good friends who also got their own separate villas. The first night we got there, we all decided it would be best to just check into our rooms and enjoy a nice quiet dinner at the Resort. We talked, laughed, and joked as only close friends can do and called it an early night so we could start on our short, yet very much needed vacation, the next morning. And that is exactly what we did.
I have been waiting to get another tattoo for over a year now and I finally got the chance to get it done the way I really wanted it done. I wanted to get another meaningful tattoo using the art of bamboo tattooing. I found an excellent tattoo artist who's won a first place award and took down the title "Best Bamboo Artist" in Phuket. So I immediately scheduled an appointment with him to have my latest artwork done. Luckily for me, he wasn't busy that night and had agreed to come to the resort I was staying at and did the artwork in my Spa room.
Choosing to get "inked" in the traditional way by using a bamboo stick, I got the words "Om Mani Pädme Hum" written in Tibetan script across my right shoulder blade.
"Om Mani Pädme Hum" is easy to say yet quite powerful in meaning. It contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable "Om" it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, "Ma" helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and "Ni" helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. "Päd", the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, "Me" helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable "Hum" helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.
This tattoo has so much meaning for me because those are the aspects and vurtures in life I want to try my best to be perfect in. This tattoo is a reminder to myself of how I want to be and how I want to always live my life. It is now forever embedded into my skin so my eyes will never forget the vurtues I want to see in myself. With that being said, This will be my last tattoo because I believe all tattoos have significant meaning to the person getting it and each new tattoo, for me, has always had a much more significant meaning then the last and I don't think I will ever find another tattoo that will have more significance to me and my sprituality then "Om Mani Pädme Hum".
After a full day of touring the island, I was able to relax for one more day and then I was off to Macau for the APT Celebrity Charity event and Main Event. I'm feeling lucky and I'm so ready to win!!! I will let you all know how the tournament turns out and fill you in on all of the festivities tonight is sure to bring in my next blog.
"Bang" to "Bust" to "Bang" again…my July in Vegas Part II!
Greetings everyone! I hope you all are doing well.
But really I do enjoy watching that crazy sport and I would recommend to anyone (that doesn't faint at the sight of blood) to go see the UFC if given a chance.
After my bangs and busts in Vegas, I headed to Los Angeles for a few days before I was off overseas. The drive out there to let me clear my head and do some thinking about life in general and the things I have lined up for the next couple of months. Sometimes driving is the best alone time for me. I enjoy the cool breeze and quiet time I get from them. When I got to LA, I was able to get some business work done as well as a chance to catch up with a couple very close friends from So. Cal. which is always nice. Then, I was back on an airplane for my six weeks trip around the globe .. I'll tell you more about that in my next blog.