It's been two months since I graduated from the SF School of Massage, and it's time for a public update! I am going to give you one in a weaving, story-like fashion, because I have many threads of happenings going on. And that's the way my brain works. 🙂 I imagine this would be useful …
Continue reading After Massage School: Finding Employment & Connecting with Purpose
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve just finished my 600-hour massage training at the San Francisco School of Massage. Six intense months went by in a flash, and somehow, miraculously, it all came together. I am, all of a sudden, ready to be a professional in this new vocation — a radical experiential evolution to …
I found another lovely bodywork modality that I’m hoping to weave into my personal practice! Today I’ll share some of what I’m learning for those in my life who may be curious about what it is and/or whether they’d wish to experience it themselves. This past week we had a few classes dedicated to lymphatic …
Continue reading Learning & Loving Lymphatic Drainage Massage
“Full-time massage school will be like drinking out of a firehose,” they told us. “Pace yourselves. Know that it will take a long time to integrate what we are teaching.” Now, four months into this six-month journey, I can say: they were right. It’s both wonderful and stressful. I’ve been trying to drink out of …
Hello friends, from the one and only San Francisco! I’ve been back in my old apartment the past few months, after nearly two years of living as a vagabond-nomad, and conditions could not be more different than when I left. This time, I’m on a path of truer purpose and calling. I’m feeling grounded. I’m …
Continue reading An Unlikely Journey: Tech Refugee to Wilderness Therapy Guide to Bodyworker
Trail Journal, February 2025: A poetic and inevitable rainfall Back story: I’m with the girls’ band. We made it to this week’s “Final D” (final destination) and have set up camp at the foot of a small mountain in the Arizona high desert. We are tucked into a hillside juniper grove just above a running …
Time for an update! I've been starting to pull together some writings I worked on sporadically over the past months, to tell the story of where this adventuresome life chapter has taken me, and how I've been growing. I hope you enjoy! It's been a wild and spirit-guided journey... A rollercoaster of change and exploration, …
Continue reading Nomad Life Continues: Journey to Arizona Update #1
Dandelion Diaries.... Newsletter from A Garden Weed (Do you like that title? I was playing with the idea of a better personal brand for my online life updates.) I wrote this on September 15th, 2024. Why didn't I post it? Not sure. Maybe I meant to say more. It's outdated but was an honest mental …
Today was the memorial service for my paternal grandfather Ray, who passed on December 10, 2024. It was a beautiful service and reception, which was lovingly put together through the hard work of many people (big shoutout especially to my aunt Sandy and my dad, Ray the 3rd!), and attended by over 200 people. I …
Continue reading Eulogy for my Nanu: Honoring my Grandfather, Ray Arata Jr.
My 2024 started with a bang: a three-month Movement immersive in Puerto Escondido at Movement Mexico. I lived two blocks from a beautiful beach, lived barefoot, and dedicated many of my hours to studying and practicing "Movement" with world-class teachers and a sweet community. Tres meses en el paraíso! What an honor and a blessing! …
Expressions from this side of the here & now 