My name is David. I am Taiwanese by ancestry, born in New York and raised in Kansas. I got my B.A. in psychology at Stanford University.

Immediately after graduating from college, I went to live for a year in the Wisconsin Northwoods, with a small community at a school for wilderness survival and Native philosophy. You’ll find it chronicled in musings and photos.

Spiritually, I’ve been influenced by a number of sources, including Christianity, Buddhism, Native American spirituality, Toltec philosophy, and channelled entities. I also had a longstanding interest in dream interpretation and lucid dreams. I currently practice within a Western esoteric tradition.

I am very interested in the many levels of health. Formally, I have a degree in massage therapy. I am currently enrolled in a master’s program at a college of Oriental medicine (i.e. acupuncture, herbs, etc.).

These three intertwining paths — harmony with nature, spiritual practice, and health — comprise my main personal interests and values.

My personal relationships are also a major part of my path of growth, particularly my relationship with my wife Abigail. Love is a vast, deep, and complex teacher, sometimes joy and sometimes torture; I am profoundly grateful that it is in my life.

I hope you enjoy my website. Explore at your leisure.

About my Musings

The general theme of my blog is “Discovering the magic and the meaning in the mundane.” It reflects my desire, and constant effort, to penetrate into the Mystery of life in even the small details, and to bring that into my everyday consciousness.

I strive to make sense of and discover the deeper significance of seemingly trivial and insignificant activities, such as browsing the Internet, mowing the lawn, driving in traffic, watching television, and relaxing my body.

Of course these explorations of the trivial lead to explorations of larger issues such as the violence of modern civilization, my struggles to reconcile myself with primitivism, the meaning of health and balance, and how to engage violence without becoming violent.

I muse on developing a spiritual philosophy with which to approach a patient. I describe alternative practices I try and martial arts I explore. And occasionally I revisit that seminal year I spent living in the woods.

If anything I wrote touches you in any way, positive or negative, please leave a note to let me know that you were here. I would truly appreciate it.

The Edge of Grace

I wrote a short story in high school with the title “The Edge of Grace.” It was about a man who comes to a place where good things end, and questions the nature of good and evil. I still like the title. The Christian idea of “grace” is God’s love for the undeserving; it is love that transcends and transforms darkness into light. In my mind, it is the realization that we are all part of the All. Grace, therefore, is awakening to the Higher Self, and recognizing this Higher Self in others. All of us are but perched on the edge of this awakening, often blind and ignorant of it, but there all the same.

As for the design, my good friend Paul drew it for me. I like its iconic look: The circle, the triad, the four directions or eight compass points, the eye — all of these have great mystical meaning. And, it reminds me of our friendship.