GRATITUDE

I am very humbled by all the wonderful friends, both old and new, that I met during my 10-week tour of 33 cities in the United States and the tremendous help they gave me. They opened their homes to me, they fed me, they organized talks and media interviews, they bought extra copies of my book to give to their friends and clients, they gave me donations; most of all, they renewed my spirits again and again. Here are a few of them:

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Ron Baseman and his family for hosting me, Lawrence Huff for organizing a talk for me at NPTI Technical Institute and to his yoga class at the public library, and for lending me his car.

ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: Mirra Price for driving me, organizing an interview with Rob Neufeld published in the Asheville Citizen-Times, and a talk for me at the Firestorm Cooperative Cafe (40 people came) and a reading at Malaprops Bookstore (46 people came). Donald Moore and his brother Pat for hosting me.

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA: John Gross for hosting me.

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: Allan Rosen for organizing 2 meetings and a talk for me (10 came).

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Dr. Steve Landau for hosting me.

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND: Dada Vishvarupananda for hosting me.

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA: Randy Goldberg for organizing a talk for me at Apurva Wellness (9 came).

BETHESDA, MARYLAND: Victor Vyasa Landa and Shanti Yoga for organizing a talk for me (25 came) and hosting me.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Consul General Carol Delgado and her husband Greg Wilpert for organizing a great talk for me at the Venezuelan Consulate (45 came). Diego Esteche and his family for hosting me.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSSETTS: Thanks to Lucy Parsons Center for giving me their space to hold a talk, and to Michael Romani and Dinali Abeysekera for hosting me.

NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSSETTS: Prakash and Devanistha Laufer for hosting me and for bringing me to the Path of Bliss retreat at Earthdance where I spoke (60 participants).

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: David Scheickart for hosting me and organizing a talk for me at The Heartland Café sponsored by Portaluz and Venezuelan Consul General Jesús Rodriguez (45 came). Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn for driving me. Candrashekhar for hosting me.

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, ILLINOIS: Dada Vedaprajinananda for hosting me and organizing a talk for me at the Urbana Free Library (20 came).

CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS: Chuck Paprocki (Citsvarupa) and all the loving members of the Sufi Community for hosting me, giving me a wonderful tour of all their projects, and organizing a talk for me at Southern Illinois University (20 came).

SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI: Dada Shamitananda for hosting me.

IOWA CITY, IOWA: Andy Douglas (Alok) for hosting me, organizing a talk for me at the public library -- (25 came) and publishing a review of my book in the Iowa Press Citizen newspaper.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: David Griffin for hosting me.

MANKATO, MINNESOTA: Mark Friedman and Jane Dow for hosting me, organizing a talk for me at South Central College Global Connections Conference (25 students came) and driving me to Madison.

MADISON, WISCONSIN: Beth Wortzel and the Economic Democracy Alliance for organizing the Economic Democracy Conference from October 11-14 (more than 220 participants came). Bill Ayers for co-leading a workshop with me, "The Ethical Need for Revolutionary Change." Rashad for driving and helping me.

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Peter and Yamuna Fleury and their family for hosting me and organizing a talk at University of Texas (20 came) and at Monkeywrench Books (30 came). Apekshit and Kalyanii for driving all the way from Dallas to meet me and discuss Prout with the Austin group.

SAN CARLOS, TEXAS: Ray Guthrey for driving me and organizing a talk at the San Carlos Public Library.

EL PASO, TEXAS: A for driving me 8 hours from Austin. Claudia Ortega for organizing a talk for me at 'Life Force Consciousness' event (35 came). Rubi Orozco and Roberto for hosting me.

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO: Matt Oppenheim (Mayajiit) and Kanako for hosting me and organizing a talk for me at Central New Mexico Community College Montoya Campus (45 students came). (Aditi) for organizing a talk for me to the New Mexico Health Equity Working Group (12 health professionals came).

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Vaekunta and his family for hosting me. Ammadevi for organizing a talk at her home. Dr. Manuel Yara for organizing a talk (20 came).

LOS ALTOS HILLS, CALIFORNIA: Dada Nabhaniilananda for hosting me. The Conscious Living Collective, a student club at Univesity of California at Berkeley, for inviting me to speak at their lovely meditation retreat (30 came).

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Consul General Tibisay Lugo and her wonderful staff at the Venezuealan Consulate who organized a talk for me.

SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA: Satya Tanner and Abraham Heisler for driving me to the beautiful home of Kevin Rossey and Jill Lawless who hosted me.

EUGENE, OREGON: Amara East for driving me up from Berkeley. Kamala Quale for hosting me. Wayland Secrest and Carin for hosting me and organizing a talk for me (20 people came). Ravi Logan, Madhulika and Jason Shreiner for hosting me and organizing a talk (20 people came) and a tour of the Prout Institute, and for driving me to a beautiful old growth forest.

PORTLAND, OREGON: Maetri for hosting me and organizing a talk at the Kailash Ecovillage (12 people came), and for showing me around New Day School.

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON: Lori Blewett organized an interview with me on the Evergreen State College TV station. John Regan and Professor Anne Fischel organized a talk for me at the Olympia Center (40 people came). Professor Peter Bohmer hosted me and organized a talk for me at Evergreen State College, with Professors Michale Vavrus, Karen Gaul and Therese Saliba (135 students crammed into the hall for an hour!).

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Doris Olivers for hosting me and driving me around. Steve at East West Books for bravely organizing a book reading just 24 hours before the event!

BOULDER, COLORADO: Maeve Conran for interviewing me twice on KGNU Community Radio. Doug Reichlin and Carolyn organized a talk for me at the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, and Joe Richey, producer for David Barsamian's Alternative Radio program, who recorded it.

DENVER, COLORADO: Ed and MJ Glassman for hosting me, setting up a talk (8 people), and lovingly sending me on my way home to Caracas!