Just got back from Harbin. I really love it there, and I love it more every time I go. For a history of Harbin, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin_Hot_Springs

The best thing about this place is that when I get there, I go into super healthy mode. I soak and do yoga, I dance, I hike in the mountains around the retreat. I soak some more, I swim in the beautiful pool ( no chlorine), and I eat the tastiest, healthiest food you can imagine. They have amazing raw soups and smoothies in the market, and I really enjoy those. And the restaurant makes yummy steamed and cooked dishes, we enjoyed the steamed veggies with brown rice both nights. Not raw, I know, but pretty healthy none the less, and remember, I'm not trying to be 100%. Two meals out of three is what I'm shooting for, and it seems to be working very well.

We saw no less than three people we knew this weekend, which was fun. Two we know from Dance Jam and one was I guy I met last month in Arizona and the Liquid Love Celebration in Eden Springs.

Andy's been traveling around, living in his car, and just came down from Mt Shasta. Last year Lisa, Maya and I spent some time up there and hooked up with a beautiful soul named Rael who runs the Flying Lotus, which is a dance and creative arts center in the town of Mt. Shasta. Andy, my friend from Eden Springs, also knows Rael and told us that she's got some kind of gathering or event happening almost every night. I'm glad to hear that she's busy and doing well this year.

Harbin just makes me feel so good. I felt my heart opening to lots of people there, and one day I took a three hour yoga class. Actually it was a mix of yoga, breathwork and dance, all flowing into each other, and the instructor, Puja, did a beautiful job of leading us. We were only 8, so it was nice and roomy in the georgeous new temple at Harbin, which is shaped like a dome, but has beautifully sculpted curved rafters on the inside leading up to a centra circular dome cap. It's a most extraordinay building, and in my opinion a fantastic place for dance, yoga and celebration.

Lisa received a Watsu (Water Shiatsu) that she really loved up at the Domes. This was great for her. My heart was very open to her the entire time we were there and I can't say enough about how good it is for our relationship to go and spend a romantic getaway weekend up there. It's peaceful, beautiful, fun, inpsiring and very, very relaxing. All the soaking in the hot springs is just so good for my sleep, and it was super deep. Also, all the yoga, dancing and swimming and walking up and down the hilly terrain is great for cardio and flexibility. It's all about embodiment at Harbin. The wisdom of the human body shines through, the hot springs are a very wise teacher. Of course, it's a spiritual and healing center, so you get a good taste of serenity and peace when you're there, too.

Our friend Cinnamon is another great person that we bumped into, and on Saturday night we sat out on the same deck that I hula hooped on the first day I arrived. We kicked back in lawn chairs and watched the moon rise, and talked about everything under the sun: Living in Mendocino, moving to California from back east, going to Grateful Dead shows, the pain and ecstacy of relationships. All through it, we laughed. We joked and laughed, and laughed and joked, for a solid 2 1/2 hours, watching the moon rise higher and higher. Cinnamon loves to laugh, and Lisa loves to be the jokester, and as the night went on, I realized that I'd been laughing for hours on end. It was the best feeling, just so liberating to laugh and laugh and laugh.

We left at noon on Sunday, drove back through the wine country, picked up a bag of organic produce at Williams in Richmond, and got our lovely daughter at her friends' house in Albany.

Now we are back home, Maya is asleep on the hammock, and I'm thinking back to my weekend with a smile on my face. Home is good too, but oh that Harbin. I like who I am there, and who it helps me become when I leave.