There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

for some reason when I read this I thought of you. Hope all is well!

I want to let people know about Jadina and her guided journeys on our behalf.

One morning several weeks ago I received a life-altering email from my friend Jadina Lilien.  In it, she offered to go on a guided journey on my behalf.  A very special guided journey.

I enthusiastically and gratefully took Jadina up on her kind offer. She went on a guided journey for me, and sent me a beautiful account of what she had seen.

To which I replied:

"Jadina, i am not often at a loss for words but this is such a case. the account of your journey taken on my behalf and its connection to my life and the clues and suggestions about the question i posed has had such a profound impact on me. i have spent a lot of time thinking about this question and talking to others about it and the insights from your journey are completely original and i'm sure will be very useful. it might take me a bit to process the journey, and i'm sure i'll have questions. i would love a piece of art work...i'm sure it will be amazing and evoke all sorts of spiritual energy...in me, perhaps in you, and perhaps in the cosmos."

I want to let people know about Jadina and her guided journeys on our behalf to any and all interested folks. If you have any questions about the experience or have questions about the specifics of the account of Jadina’s guided journey taken on hippie lou’s behalf, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

and you can connect with Jadina and find out about the details of her wonderful offer here.  :)

peace & love with kind regards, hippie lou

I met Mary Ellen Mark at a gallery opening that Hippie Lou dragged me to. I didn't know who she was but she was very friendly and nice to me... Now, in retrospect, I realized her friendliness was natural because she was the kind of person who could talk to anyone anywhere, it was a talent she used to photograph in the streets. She gave me her card, which I still have, and afterwards I researched who she was... How I wish I have asked her more questions about her art but feel very blessed to have had a chance to meet her.

Perhaps that is all you needed to know and learn from her. It seems that little interaction met the purpose

i am not educated, nor am i an expert in any particular field–but i am sincere and my sincerity is my credential.

And comes through masterfully in your postings! Honored to know you.

Howdy Lou,

Thanks again for taking care of my little man. I’m sure he’ll dig your vibe and he’ll warm up to you.  Cause you’re the closest thing to magic.

The most important thing to talk about is feeding.

Make sure to change his water once a day, preferably in the mornings.

On the counter in the kitchen is his dry food, they’re old sealed containers that used to carry mixed nuts. Inside is a ¼ cup instrument that makes it super easy for you to portion his food, just two scoops in the morning.

Doing this in the morning gives you the freedom to leave the apartment and do your hippie thing.  This portion would be enough to feed him most of the day… his breakfast and lunch in a way.
That just leaves one can of wet food to give him at night. They’re also on the counter in the kitchen… feel free to use any bowls you see around I think I have like 4 small ones. Clean them whenever you like.

The litterbox was cleaned before leaving it shouldn’t need a deep clean. If the level of litter looks too low, just top it off. It easy to forget but try to scoop out the litter once a day. I like to pretend I’m a miner sifting for gold.  The scooper is right next to the litter box.  Extra litter will be near by too.

There are various toys around for you to play with him if you’d like. He loves it and it a great way of getting his confidence. Sometimes it easy just to throw one of the cloth mice and see him chase it or the fishing pole toys, those work the best.

That’s all it takes to keep a cat alive and happy. It’s a walk in the park.

There’s 2 metrocards for you to use. One is a monthly unlimited I already started, the other one is a new one to use when the older one expires. No ones here to use them so you might as well.

Feel free to play around with my toys. The record player has a broken stylus sadly but there are plenty of guitars, synths, amps and pedals. The iMac is hooked up with my recording interface; with those speakers you can listen to The Dead like never before.  And of course the Internet, Wifi password is

So make yourself comfortable, this is your house for the next 2 weeks.  Turn on the AC, surf the web and sleep in. Everything in the fridge is free to eat., there’s coffee if you want to make it.

I think if covered everything but feel free to contact me via email. I’ll try to call and check in every now and again. Hopefully I can reach you at a good time.

Enjoy and Thank You

FYI, my aunts might drop by from time to time to clean up and dust the place. I can arrange a fair warning if you’d like.  I’d imagine they would come by the times your out and about strolling.

Feel free to email me, I’d love to hear from you!

I love your photos, you are a Cindy Sherman-type, what will he look like in the next pic?!

always dude
peace in the lower east
:)

i just made that up
i'm going to now copyright it and make millions of dollars
bwahahaha
your favorite topic
<3

later skater
you could sell hippie lou t-shirts and hats
with your face on the front
and the tag
peace in the lower east
i think that would sell like ... a lot
idk
try it out

i try to stay detached from hippie lou

Hi HL
I'm sorry I did not get back to you. I've been feeling totally out of it with a bad cold the last few days.  Turns out that tomorrow not good, have too much work to do. Maybe sometime next week?

I also realized that I know almost nothing about you.

do you still have a sense of possibility?

that's a hard question....
i am working on having it but I am not always successful...

sometimes a sense of possibility is like a premature baby
or a little duck egg
it needs an incubator
warmth, moisture, light
protection from the harsh environment
i hope to provide that for ppl
to keep their sense of possibility alive
while it is still nascent
until it can stand on its own
wobbly legs

:D sweet metaphor

if your sense of possibility ever needs warmth, moisture, and/or light, you know who to call!

lol! i got your number, hippie lou :)

Lou,

I just read your story. It was moving and so beautifully written. I don't have much more to say without sounding trite or cliche. All I can say again is thank you for sharing it with me. Happy people is one of my favorites too, hits really close to home both literally and figuratively.

I'm off to Florida for the summer,
I'm sure our paths will cross again soon.

Hippie,

Sorry for the somewhat late reply. I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated reading your story, and the fact that you placed it in a historical context made it really fascinating. It's incredible to see where you are in your life story now, and I felt inspired and reminded, for sure, that there's a lot more to life than the material (as great and intriguing as that can be), and what I want to invest in are the intangibles.

I hope you've enjoyed your week,

Hippie Lou,

Your story was amazing, inspiring and beautiful.  Thank you for sharing it with me.  I have more to say about it, which I'll do over lunch/early dinner soon.  I'll let you know when I have a moment.

Thanks again for the talk on the street the other day. It's strange...outside my family, there have only been one or two folks I've been comfortable opening up about the ordeal and you, my friend, are one of the (un)lucky ones.  Thank you.

See you soon!

Hippie,

Thanks so much for our raw, inspiring conversation from yesterday. I admire how you clarified the type of life you want to craft and the values you want to live by.

Please do send your story along to me here via e-mail, I'd love to read it. Like you suggested, I plan to start writing mine today or tomorrow.

I also wanted to say, I'd like to keep in touch with you!

Enjoy your Sunday,

Dave,

Thank you so much for sharing.

It is clear that you have been through a lot in your life. I was not aware of a lot of it.

I am thinking back to something I was moved to say at a Quaker Retreat a couple of weeks ago: "To love because I love, not because I am told to love: that is my challenge." It is our right to love as we are naturally led to love, not as we are coerced to love.

It is clear to me that you had the courage not only to leave behind the values of an abusive family, but to leave behind the values of an abusive society. It is the unfortunate tendency of those without that courage to cling ever more tightly to their abusive leaders, and to take the pain that this induces in them out on those who are leaving. Leaving for better gardens of course! The abuse runs deep, and only those who are strong enough to leave it comprehend its depths.

I commend you for everything that you have done and will continue to do. We have a lot of years ahead of us!

Thanks Lou! That made my day. Today's been a weird day. Depressing. Miss you too my friend.

How are things in hippie land?

 living the hippie lifestyle here, too. Peace and love and joy

mainly communication and respect. Which precedes peace

What have you been up to lately?

Haha wow you have a lot going on. I've been writing more recently too! Biking is cool too! I'm glad you're  staying active and taking care of yourself. How's your daughter doing?

Maybe this is the time that she wants to talk to you most? Ya never know

but you are her dad. So maybe you know

Maybe act like her mom but still like you. Idk if that makes sense

Well, she's a woman. She grew up with her mother as discipline a lot of her young adult life. Why not slightly balance things out?

No, you can't force anyone to do anything. It's about mutual respect. You've said it yourself

Of course . Take your own advice. Listen to your mind, body, and brain and it will balance out how often you listen to your heart. The whole body counts. She probably just wants to be accepted, similar to what it seems like you want from her. Mutual acceptance. So listen to her more than you listen to me. That'll probably help

#respectyourself #respect #thetruth #youarewise