Rick Zelinsky

I am constantly trying to learn: "If you are coasting, you are going downhill!"

Just a few quick thoughts on some things I think about beyond music:

All living beings' happiness matters. I grew up hunting and fishing and I love the outdoors but I figured out that we can still love the outdoors while seeking to minimize harming other thinking, feeling sentient beings. I started a Facebook page: Haudsa: Human(s) Against Unnecessary Suffering and Death of Animals. Almost all of us have no good reason to be killing our fellow earthlings. Here's a few good links that made a difference for me:
Dr. Melanie Joy
Dairy is Scary
Best Speech Ever
Forks Over Knives--Great movie on health with doctors from the Cleveland Clinic 
Cowspiracy--Very important movie on the environment.  

Meditation is vital to achieving our potential. I help out and lead a meditation group on Sunday mornings at Namaste North Yoga 7-8:30pm (September-April). www.MeditateInAlaska.org It is in a Mahayana Buddhist tradition and simply it is learning to train ourselves to be of more benefit to others. The word "Buddhism"--it simply means training to focus your mind on virtue. Cherishing others is virtue--about the best thing we can all have on the forefront of our minds. That's important to me--if everyone cherished all living beings we would have world peace. One book to read? "Eight Steps to Happiness" by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. It's about a wonderful monk who simply practiced cherishing all living beings. Catholic monks are big into meditation, too. It can be your secret weapon of improvement!

​I've written a book called, "Wisdom of the Jedi" and it's not published yet. Maybe I'll get around to fine tuning it and get it out there.

I follow the Dallas Cowboys (This is THE year!), The Oklahoma Thunder (Russell Westbrook is awesome!), Cincinnati Reds.