Blogging Evolved

Daily life tends to fluctuate between inward and outward patterns, sometimes moment by moment. On a deeper level, one’s life generally follows patterns of entering and pulling back from engagement with the world. After a long period of such pulling back, I’ve stared writing publicly again. I spent most of the past 15 months in practice environments. This time was split between my Zen Monastery in Crestone, Colorado and the Meditation/Yoga schools of Hridaya and Agama based in Koh Phangan, Thailand and Mazunte, Mexico. This time was focused very much on self-discovery, intimate relationship and seeking a truer way of life. While this inward journey continues, I find myself longing more and more for engagement – in a creative sense.  With and through others, developing a community of individuals seeking to come together around one of the most important questions – Who am I ?

My current writing is focused on my day to day experiences, re-developing a habit of writing and articulating inward experience to others. I find writing incredibly nourishing in the sense that it provides me the opportunity to pause and reflect in this world of ceaseless activity. These pauses enable me to more closely examine my life and make adjustments of my relationships to others and the world with a greater sense of clarity then simply going with the flow and relaying on a more frantic mind to make such decisions.

Regarding the title of this post, I want to share my greater vision for this blog and my writing. Speaking in a pure business sense, all of my writing and ideas are in a sense creating something like a brand. Just as one is identified in the world via their personality, their actions and words, a blog is an extension of this. So this Keith brand, what exactly do I want it to be about? I’m not necessarily talking about turning my blog into a business or something that generates income (although that would be nice!), but something that is an extension of who I am.  Well who am I then? This is where the blog evolves. As I continue to hold deeply to the question of Who am I? while engaging in the world, the evolution occurs.

As I see it right now, there are four themes that my life continuously engages in and that I would like to more deeply explore for myself and others:

1. Meditation (and Yoga)
2. Masculinity (and intimate relationship)
3. Personal finance
4. ~TBD

The forth category is quite broad at the moment and I need help refining it. It revolves around lifestyle and some of its main components:

1. Simple Living
2. Alternative lifestyles (Escaping the 9-5)
3. Health
4. a few more random topics

Somehow I want to create a place where these themes weave together in a way that will help me continue to evolve in my own life, intermingling the fundamental topics of meditation and spirituality along with the more conventional topics of finance, relationship and day to day life.

As a reader, I would really appreciate some feedback on this one – does it make sense to focus on these themes? Are they too broad/disparate? What areas would you individually like to read about?  Thanks in advance for your feedback!