Explorations in Deliberate Living
Field Notes on Travel, Philosophy, and Life
Hey! I’m Ethan.
I help people wake up from our cultural dream, live as authentic expressions of themselves, and feel the wonder and mystery of existence.
Here you’ll find:
100+ articles on life, travel, and being human
Free in-depth guides on super cheap travel and ideas that changed my life
Collected Goodness— a monthly curation of the best things in I’ve encountered and experienced
My Bookshelf offering the books, ideas, and quotes that have most shaped how I see the world
WONDER WANDER, the surreal “potluck of experiences” I annually host
A curious collection of wisdom, wonders, and ways — in your inbox once a month.
May include: ideas, articles, photos, quotes, books, poems, albums, videos, how-to’s, and in-person possibilities the world round.
All-Time Favorites:
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![The Shamanic Dance In the Waterfall]()
The Shamanic Dance In the Waterfall
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![Why Wander?]()
Why Wander? A 4 Min Video on Why I Venture Out
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!["How Did I Get Here?"]()
"How Did I Get Here?" Moments
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![What is a Mystic?]()
What is a Mystic (And How to Be One)?
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![Bookshelf]()
Bookshelf: A Floating Shelf of My Favorite Books
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![Float Against the Tide]()
How I Learned to Float Against the Tide
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![Cosmic Consciousness Speech]()
Cosmic Consciousness Speech @ Festival of Yes
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![Stop Watching TV]()
Why You Should Stop Watching So Much TV and Be More Like Bruce Dickinson
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![Silver Gate, MT]()
Three Summers in Silver Gate, MT
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![A park with a pond, trees, and a large pavilion structure in the background. There are two statues near the pond, and a few people walk along the paths during sunset.]()
My Mind-Blowing Inner Experience of a 10-Day Vipassana Meditation Course
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Quotes from the Bookshelf:
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Powerful symbols and a philosophical coffee table book.
17 Ideas That Changed My Life is a philosophical coffee table book that explores how ideas aim our awareness, construct “our world,” and offers 17 ideas that have fundamentally shaped my own lens on life.
After a decade of exploring ideas — across years of travel, hundreds of books, and good soaks in many cultures — it’s a photo-heavy homage and collection of the most profound and useful ideas I found.
Designed to hit hard and be beautifully actionable, each idea comes with a striking quote, short read, and “Lenscrafting” exercise for crafting the idea into your lens on life.
Some of the 17 Ideas That Changed My Life include:
Walk to Understand the World
Freedom Means Living By Your Own Rules
Surface Area for Serendipity
Group Dreaming Apes
Expand Your Worldview
Printed on thick, sustainably-sourced, 10.75''x8.25'' card stock and spiral bound — it’s as beautiful a thing to hold in hand as it is to engage with your awareness.
A $1 bumper sticker for all who live on a blue-green ball of life miraculously afloat in the void of space.
Planetary togetherness is fresh perspective. It wasn’t until 1967 that we captured an image of the whole Earth from space, exposing our collective awareness to the striking truth of our celestial situation. Societies, religions, conceptions of self — all were formed long before this higher perspective could be perceived.
In a culture of imagined divisions and self-generated crises, it’s time we bring our plain-to-see togetherness to the fore of our awareness. And what simpler way to do so than a symbolic, perspective-expanding bumper sticker crafted from the iconic Earthrise image?
Each 11”x3” bumper sticker costs $1 (plus $7 for packaging and shipping by yours truly).
Why pay $8 for one, when you could grab three for $10, or twenty for $27 to share with your fellow riders on spaceship Earth?
This coin is a catalyst for better life.
Imprinted with “memento mori,” Latin for “remember death,” it serves as a pocketable reminder that you will one day die.
For thousands of years — cross-culturally, from Stoics to Buddhists to Christians — people have contemplated death with varying uses, but for the ultimate purpose of living a better life.
Today, we can do the same.
Weighing a perfect 1oz, this pure copper coin is light enough to carry in your pocket, yet heavy enough that you won't forget its there. Across time, it will age to look like mine (seen in the last photo).
Boldly imprinted with “memento mori,” a laughing skeleton, four hourglasses, and an owl (which sees the light in night's darkest hour), it’s a perfect, pocketable reminder to hold you close to all of death's unsung extraordinary benefits.
The coin is packaged and shipped by yours truly in a burlap pouch with a note introducing the practice to its recipient.