Adrien Field

In the three days I spent by his side, he was always smiling, his eyes creased in a state of permanent joviality. At the same time, there was a deep calm emanating from the center of his being.

Adulthood is freedom; it is the freedom to make your own decisions, your own mistakes.

Sleep with whomever you desire, you don’t need to label it.

When was the last time you just sat quietly, listening, observing without judgment, without any thoughts crowding your mind?

At twenty-six, after eight years of sleeping with men, pursuing casual affairs with some sixty forgotten names and faces, I feel it is time to settle down – with a woman.

I have never made much money at anything and the anxiety and stress of debt have nearly driven me to suicide, or at least entertain the morose notion at times.

Meditation is a great mystery to many. But in reality, there is nothing simpler – and yet it is precisely for this apparent simplicity that people go on misunderstanding it.

The puppy, a girl, was afraid and came forward with trepidation, smelling the peanut butter and retreating. She was afraid of anything that moved quickly or loudly. I stayed crouched on the ground, beckoning her to me. Slowly, she came closer and smelled my hand.

One can live like royalty in the Third World – the only issue is that you’re the king of a cesspool.

I had assumed that anyone coming to India to attend a course with the goal to receive a teaching certification would themselves be dedicated yogis, coming with years of practice.

I contemplated leaving every hour during those first days.

Every time I travel to India, I seem to be tested in some way. It’s the universe asking how badly I want to go back, what will I be willing suffer to make it back to the place that I love so much.

I see groups of friends on Facebook, smiling together in swimsuits at some beach house and know that will never be me. I’m not a team player and my identity feels lost in a crowd. I wonder to myself whether those smiles are genuine.

A psychic once told me that a soul mate doesn’t have to be a lover – it’s anyone who comes into your life and changes its course.

When I was faced with my business failing last year, I questioned my self worth and what I want meant to do in this life.

I want to grab it, squeeze it, embrace it.

To be a real free spirit requires more than a wardrobe of linen smocks and Birkenstocks.

The inner search requires quiet; it requires space and detachment, all things which are antithetical to New York life.