(Dracaena angolensis) Family: AsparagaceaeAlso known as: Bow String Hemp, Cylindrical Snake Plant, Elephant’s Toothpick, Skyline Spear, Sansevieria, and Spear SansevieriaOrigin: AngolaWritten about further in The Civilized Jungle, Volume I and The Medicinal Jungle, Volume I“With only the slightest imagination, both its most common name and that of Elephant’s Toothpick...

A few days ago, I felt moved to sit down near a coconut stand and “be,” and in my ‘being’ I get to observe life around me – to witness with equanimity. I often get a clear feeling that I am supposed to be where I am being directed, and...

I’m not sure if there is a better time to walk around town than in the morning after a light rain. The air is fresh, the streets are clean, and people are all smiles. And this rain is long overdue. It was a dry year with too many fires. I’m...

Inspired by Andy Borowitz. I speak not as an outsider,but as a neighbor. A witness. A fellow human beingwhose heart beats across borders. I’ve lived among you. Raised children in your schools. Walked your streets. And still,I feel the tremble of a nation on the edge—and I cannot stay silent. This is not about lines on a...

by Zhander P’ng It’s my last Saturday morning in Puerto Vallarta. Not forever, not exactly—but long enough to feel the shift. I say “sort of for good” because I’ve learned nothing is ever final. Nothing is ever truly “for good.” But this moment—this leaving—carries a weight. A softness. A...

Alexandrian Laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum) Family: ClusiaceaeAlso known as: Alexandrian Laurel Balltree, Beach Calophyllum, Beach Touriga, Beauty Leaf, Borneo-Mahogany, Dilo Oil Tree, Indian Laurel, Indian Doomba Oil Tree, Indian-laurel, Laurelwood, Mastwood, Red Poon, Satin Touriga, and Tacamahac TreeOrigin: Tropical East Africa to eastern Polynesia“Laurel would be incomplete without the addition...

“I am St. Germain, keeper of the violet flame. You who are in physical form right now are making such tremendous progress there, and you are doing so many obstacles, so many pitfalls, so many roadblocks, that sometimes those of us in the nonphysical are simply astounded by you....

This morning, I walked down Boulevard Madrid to Calle Juarez. I was headed for desayuno at Lulu’s with plans for coffee at Puerto Café afterward. I almost made it, but was distracted by something shiny at a nearby small appliance repair shop. I struck up a conversation with the...

by Michael HarrityHow it all started.Fifty years ago this past week, my two brothers, myself, and our parents landed in Guadalajara for a twelve-day Mexican adventure. Our itinerary was six days in Guadalajara and six days in Puerto Vallarta. I had never even heard of either place. I was thirteen...

God in Drag follows last week’s piece. A reminder that the divine doesn’t just visit the holy places—it walks with us in all our contradictions. E.Z. “Treat everyone you meet like God in drag.” – Ram Dass We are all—God dressed in drag. Yes. Feathers, fishnets, fists raised in anger, eyes rimmed with...