If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I'm fascinated by medtiation and have been dabbling with it off and on for quite some time.

Recently, I have been meditating on a much more regular basis...At least 10 minutes a day...And it's amazing what a difference it makes for me. It's hard to put into words exactly what it gives me, but I sure am enjoying it.

I recently came across an article that offered the following thoughts on the benefits of meditation and I thought I'd share...

Sonia Choquete writes in her book The Psychic Pathway, "Learning to meditate sharpens your awareness, increases your concentration, and assists in shutting off the mind chatter, the endless drone of voices that run through your brain. You will slowly learn to become more aware of the voice of guidance within."

In an article on Shinzen.org, Shinzen Young writes, "A person with high base-line attentiveness finds, in general, all life activities to be more fulfilling. Intrinsically pleasant experiences (food, music, sexuality, etc.) are vastly more intense and satisfying simply because one is more fully in the moment." Furthermore, ordinary banal experiences (washing dishes, driving to work, social conversation, etc.) take on a quality of extraordinary vibrancy and fascination. Bordeom becomes a thing of the past."

Pretty cool! Skip on! Meditate on! Good stuff. :-)

My world and Paris Hilton's world have been colliding lately!

That's because the book she is reading while she is in the pokey, along with the Holy Bible and The Secret, is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle which is New World Library's bestseller ever. That's the amazing publishing company where I feel truly honored to be a book publicist.

We've been getting all kinds of calls this week from tabloids like OK Magazine and Life & Style to national media like TV Guide to The Early Show wanting to interview the author to learn what his book might help Paris discover while she is behind bars.

Eckhart Tolle is not your every day author, though. While most authors would leap at the chance to talk about their book in the national media, not Eckhart. He truly practices what he preaches and is not swept away by the energetic rush that the media whirlwind so often creates in our culture. Explaining this to producers and editors is its own unique callenge as a publicist.

Whatever he's doing, it's hard to deny it is working! His book is a New York Times Bestseller that week after week tops our weekly sales charts. I personally love his way...How detached from it all he is...and how he really and truly stays deeply in the present moment, even in the face of great success.

Since Eckhart's media appearances are so few and far (especially between compared to the authors of The Secret), I thought I'd share the following excerpts from a companion book we publish also by him called Practicing the Power of Now. It will give you an idea what The Power of Now is all about...Not to mention a glimpse into what is keeping Ms. Hilton busy in her cell.

**The present moment holds the key to liberation. But you cannot find the present moment as long as you are in your mind. Enlightenment means rising above thought.

**Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old audiotapes that have been playing in your head for many years.

**Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the now the primary focus of your life.

**Make it a habit to ask yourself: What's going on inside me at this moment? The question will point you in the right direction.

**Presence is the key to freedom, so you can only be free now.

**Forget about your life situation for a while and pay attention to your life.

**Observe the many ways in which unease, discontent, and tension arise within you through unnecessary judgment, resistance to what is, and the denial of the Now.

**Make it a habit to monitor your mental and emotional state through self-observation.

**Become aware of your breathing.

**Die to the past every moment. You don't need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present.

**To stay present in everyday life, it helps to be deeply rooted within yourself; otherwise, the mind, which has incredible momentum, will drag you along like a wild river.

**Whenever an answer, a solution, or a creative idea is needed, stop thinking for a moment by focusing attention on your inner energy field. Become aware of the stillness.

**Use your senses fully. Be where you are. Look around. Just look, don't interpret. Listen to the sounds; don't judge them. Touch something and feel and acknowledge its being.

Excerpted with permission from Practicing the Power of Now. Copyright © 1999 by Eckhart Tolle. Reprinted with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA.

I've spent the past several hours updating iskip.com for the first time in over a year! I've mostly been using this blog to report any skipping news, and as a result the website itself got put on the backburner.

I've been having a great time rediscovering the stories of all of the amazing skippers I have met on this miraculous skipping journey in the updating process...It's incredible to take a step back and take stock of all of the skipping magic that has filled my life the past 8+ years.

I added a media section to the home page that includes links to interviews I did on the Donny & Marie Show and KOVR out of Sacramento...Amazingly, many of the links to the newspaper articles that were written are still live, so I included those as well! I even found this article that I'm not sure if I've ever seen before. It has to be one of the most in-depth and interesting ones ever done! What a treasure for the skipping archives. I am really excited. :-)

Here's a snippet from it...

"Other people also skip in order to raise money for favorite charities. Alpharetta, Ga. skipper Susan Reineck spent more than a week last April skipping 100 miles from Atlanta all the way to Ellijay in the North Georgia mountains to raise money for a local wildlife rehabilitation refuge. “It’s just fun,” proclaimed Reineck. “It’s about the same pace as a walk, but you’re really using your lungs a lot more. So, I’m able to just sit back and enjoy the scenery while I do it.”

Skipping is an activity appropriate for all ages. Just ask 67 year-old Laura Middleton Downing, a Boulder, Colorado skipper. She and her friends skip through the bustling Pearl Street Mall, and she’s even been spotted skipping through some local road races. She also leads a senior citizen group in skipping routines.

“We got all sorts of strange looks and smirks, but we also got some people to skip with us,” she said. “I’m finding that it does look kind of silly for adults to do it – especially for seniors. But, if people will do it they find it’s a lot of fun and it makes you feel good. “

This activity has to be catching on, if watching Billy Bob Thornton skipping on the screen is any indication. . After all, it’s all about self-expression.

“It’s a great metaphor for the evolution of the male--losing the (inner) child, and losing the freedom to truly express ourselves in all silly ways,” said Jeff Lester, who, along with his wife, actress Susan Anton, produced and directed The Last Real Cowboys. “We (have) become much more rigid and concerned about the way we’re coming off and the way we look. I just thought it was great to take a leap back and ask the question: where in history did that happen?”

Lester says the premise of the comic short film is simple. It’s about a cowboy in the 1800s who poses the question, “Why don’t we skip no more? You know like when we were kids – skipping. I used to love skipping.” The response from his befuddled companion is simply, “Men don’t skip.” Just like they try not to show their feelings, trust a stranger, or believe in love.

You can watch the Last Real Cowboys online by clicking here

I sure have been enjoying my virtual skip down memory lane this evening! What a long strange skip it continues to be. Yee-haw! Skip on!