Dance Performance Evelyn Reid: Vernissage Yann Normand
A professional artist for the better part of 20 years, sculptor Yann Normand wanted to do something a little different for his first solo show. Asking me to perform literally anything I want, “fais ce que tu veux, Evelyn” on opening night of “Eternal Love” at the prestigious Galerie Le Royer in Old Montreal, I created a choreography informed by multiple channels.
Origami Workshops
After spending months in preparation and reflection, I am thrilled to announce the details of my new project and reveal a childhood passion in the process. Join me for an afternoon of Zen with a cup of tea or coffee in one of the most stunning and inspiring spaces in Montreal as you learn origami, the ancient art of paper folding, guided by yours truly.
Touring Bird Google Project
Folding into Google’s travel team as of October 21, 2019, Touring Bird was originally a startup project incubated within Google’s Area 120. Its goal? Bringing trip planning and travel booking to the next level. Enlisting the guidance of travel experts covering over 200 top destination worldwide, I covered lesser-known must-try activities and eats in Montreal, the fourth largest French-speaking city across the globe and the most populated one in the developed world second only to Paris.
Alzheimer’s Disease Reversed in Mice. Could Humans Be Next?
Alzheimer’s disease has been successfully reversed in mice according to a landmark study conducted by neuroscientists at the Lerner Research Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. Could humans be next?
Cracking the Safe: The Paradox of Security
“Cracking the Safe,” Chapter 10 of Chuang Tzu as coined by Thomas Merton, lays bare the paradox of security. What you call theft? Others call good business.
Masala Chai: How to Make the Perfect Cup of Tea
Masala chai is a spicy Indian tea boiled with spices and milk on a stove top to produce the perfect cup. But who has the time to monitor a boiling pot and stir constantly to prevent the milk from clotting? Here’s an easier way to get the same amazing flavor, complete with homemade froth.
The Wind and the Banner
This is the story of two monks who argued about everything, right down to whether the day would turn out good, or bad, and whether the wind moved the banner—or is it the banner moving the wind? An exasperated Zen master got fed up. And chimed in.
Lemon Verbena Tea: The Forgotten Wonder Leaves
Lemon verbena tea is so antioxidant-rich that it has more catechins than rooibos, lavender, jasmine, and lemongrass. Then why isn’t everyone drinking it?
Seasonal Affective Disorder: Beat Winter Blues the Scandinavian Way
Seasonal affective disorder can be brutal. Some think a lack of sunlight is behind the winter blues. Yet people in and around the Arctic circle living months on end with no visible sun along the horizon are less depressed than those living through milder winters with more daylight. What’s their secret?
The Empty Boat and the Angry Man
The empty boat and the angry man describes a 2000+-year-old parable found in the Book of Chuang Tzu. How many of us would react the same way if faced with identical circumstances?
The Key to Mastery According to a Samurai
The key to mastery according to a samurai? If you ask him, anyone can master anything. But to do that, you have to do this.
Sleep Aids That Work: What Science Says
Sleep aids that work? They’re out there, confirmed by science. These ones don’t even require a prescription.
The Ego Is a Monkey
According to Hua Hu Ching (or Huahujing), an ancient Chinese text, the ego is the equivalent of a monkey catapulting through the jungle. Threaten it, and things get a little wild.
Will the Real Milk Oolong Please Stand Up?
Real milk oolong, imitation milk oolong… how does one tell them apart? And does it really matter? Tea connoisseurs go nuts over its silky, creamy flavor.
7 Ways to Feel Better RIGHT NOW Using Neuroscience
These 7 ways to feel better right now using neuroscience work. And they work fast, with some altering brainwaves and dampening destructive stress responses in the body in a matter of seconds.
What Is Soft Is Strong
What is soft is strong, one of life’s great paradoxes according to Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese sage who allegedly authored these words 2,500 years ago. But what does he mean?
The Best Earl Grey Decaf I’ve Ever Tasted
The best Earl Grey decaf tea I’ve ever tasted also happens to be the best decaf I’ve ever tried. And tried decafs I have. I call them attempts to turn an otherwise obsessive tea habit limited to a short daytime window into a magical 24-hour realm of possibility.
The Mind Is Like a Knife
“The tiny particles which form the vast universe are not tiny at all. Neither is the vast universe vast. These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife.” Or so claims the Hua Hu Ching, aka Huahujing, an ancient text believed by some to have been authored by Tao sage Lao Tzu.
Butter Sencha: The Ultimate Green Tea for Haters
Butter, caramel, and a touch of green tea might just be what the doctor ordered.
Blended in Paris: Dammann Frères’ Jardin Bleu
Blended and sold in Paris, today’s Tea of the Week is brought to you by a company claiming its production origins date back to Louis XIV and his court in Versailles, circa 1692.
The Usefulness of Uselessness
A craftsman going to the state of Ch’i came to a certain mountain and saw an enormous tree at a shrine there. Yet, to the puzzlement of his apprentice, the craftsman paid it no mind and went on his way without stopping. So his apprentice asked him why.
Ouija Board Researchers Stunned by Revelation
Who is doing the talking, exactly? Ethereal spirits guiding human hands on the planchette? Or mere mortals unaware of their own movements? Researchers looking to settle the debate had no idea they were about to answer a completely different question.
Nan Mei White Tea Review: Like Smoke Meets Brimstone
Nestled in the Mengku sector of China’s Yunnan Province and straddling the border of Myanmar is the valley of Nanmei is one of the strangest teas I’ve ever tasted.
The Tao of Death
When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciples expressed a wish to give him a splendid funeral. But Chuang Tzu was baffled by their logic.
Want a Better Memory? Do This Exercise
Want a better memory? Do this exercise for a stronger brain, to potentially improve short and long-term memory, concentration, reaction time, and more.
This Nepali Black Tea Tastes Like Honey
Nestled in the Himalayas an 11-hour drive from Kathmandu is Jun Chiyabari, an organic Nepali tea garden reaching elevations nearing 7,000 feet above sea level, whose plots feature a unique blend of Darjeeling, Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese cultivars.
Feeding the Belly Brain
You have a second brain. It’s in your gut. And non-human organisms squatting in your body are calling the shots. Stressed out? Depressed? Anxiety-ridden? You might want to get on their good side.
The Matrix
The quantum physics of Tao in one paragraph.
Why the Rewire?
What if I told you your brain still grows as an adult. And that you have the power to shape it.
Why Tao?
There’s a lot more to Tao than Pooh Bear and yin yang symbols. Not that there’s anything wrong with Pooh Bear and yin yang symbols. Both are quite delightful, actually.
The Fighter
If my training in the martial arts has taught me anything, it’s this.
Rare Winter Frost Tea From the Blue Mountains
Tea in India, like in other tea-producing countries, is typically picked in spring, summer, and autumn. But one region in the country waits for a chilly window in January and February when frost hits to pluck its prized leaves, producing a sweetening effect similar to what happens with ice wine grapes.
Listen to Your Heart to Read Minds? Science Closer to Saying Yes
Can you accurately read your heartbeat without taking your pulse? Then you might be able to read people’s emotional states as impressively as a Buddhist monk.
The Transformation of Things
“Once I, Chuang Tzu, dreamed I was a butterfly and was happy as a butterfly.” One of the ancient sage’s most famous utterances might be his most profound.
Why Tea?
To be a fly on the wall when the first cave folk discovered the glory of leaf-soaked water. Little did he or she know the humble beverage would become the most popular tonic on the planet.
The Tiger in the City
“Sir,” said the sage. “Suppose you were eating your dinner and a man rushed up and told you that there was a tiger in the middle of the city. Would you believe him?”
