I was born & raised in N.Y.C., & while I hated all the concrete & wanted my mom to buy us a farm, I'm now grateful that I grew up there.  I was exposed to so much, all my years growing up in the city.  Art, music, the museums, the people; strange or in their own world, Central Park & all that went on there.  I grew up in the 60's & 70's & so attended many protests against the Viet Nam War.  I am a pacifist, being a Buddhist.

My passions in life are: my spiritualality & growth, animals & the ocean.  I was once a lifeguard & even had to save someone who fell into the deep end of the pool.

I am an animal activist, & volunteer with Best Friends Animal Society, (bestfriends.org-check it out), as a news writer for the Pacific N.W., an ambassador & have become active in their newest group, Animals & Spirituality.  And yes, I do believe all animals & mammels have souls.  After more study, I intend to open my own Buddhist "Ministry" for animals, w/no fee.

I have danced with Multiple Sclerosis daily for 24+ years.  I believe I'm 1 of the few people who entered a hospice because I was dying, but somehow, things changed enough that I was able to walk out of the hospice; a survivor. For 1 week awhile back, I spent a week in ICU, where my heart stopped numerous times, no breath & it sometimes took more than 1 bolt of electricity from the defibulators to restart my heart.  Obviously, I am meant to be here.  I believe my purpose in life is to share my poetry & other writings, tho I'm putting together a manuscript of my poems to, (hopefully), be published.  But I believe my calling is in animal ministry, or whatever it would be called in Buddhism. Thinking of both gives my heart the same full, excited feelings.  My poetry is dark, I suffer from chronic, clinical depression, in addition to other diseases and side effects from the M.S.  I am in the middle of tring to get a service dog, as my health has been going backwards downhill for quite some time now.  I try to get to Florida, or other places where the ocean is warm, at least once/year.  It rejuvenates, regenerates, & recharges my spirit.  I practice mindfulness and metta, (loving kindness), in addition to tonglen, (give & take) meditation.

My favorite books are either about various sacred texts, books on or about Buddhism, self-help &, of course, poetry.  My favorite movies are: "A River Runs Thru It" &, "Sometimes A Great Notion".  My, "heroes" are the Dali Lama, Pema Chodron, Chogyam Trungpa, & The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan.

I have also started an ANIMAL MINISTRY group for all animal lovers who believe all beings, especially animals, have soul.  There will be blessings, prayer, support and great conversation, as well as some knowledge of animal behavior given.