David Smart 
“Words inform the world in which we inhabit. Words create our stories. Stories create our reality. Reality creates our destiny.” — Mark England Words are near and dear to my heart because they intersect three of my life’s greatest passions: storytelling, meditation and communication. I believe the study of words is critical to my development … Read more
As I’ve become increasingly interested in communication, I’m paying more attention to how I speak, write and listen, the words I use and the questions I ask. It feels like communication is at the heart of all my conflict and connection to others—that 99% of conflict is the result of unclear, vague, soft and closed … Read more
I’m willing to share with you the list of my favorite thru-hiking gear. Do not take this gesture lightly. To share the contents of a backpack is to forge together two souls in the fires of eternal love. Okay, maybe that was a bit intense. But I can guarentee this list will allow you to … Read more
I recently completed an 8-day water fast. No food, tea, coffee, or supplements. Just water. In this post, I’ll share with you the why and the results. Warning: This content is not advice. I do not recommend unsupervised fasting and take no responsibility for your decision-making. Okay, now that that’s over, let’s begin. 🙂 Why … Read more
It is April of 2015, in the days leading up to a 2,650-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, when something called Vipassana is brought to my attention by my college fraternity brother and soon-to-be hiking partner, Bradley. He begins to explain these ten-day meditation retreats. My eyebrow raises. I think of meditation as a … Read more
You’ve reached a point in your life where you’re looking for change. You wish to create space for something new. Maybe a big decision looms but you aren’t sure what to do. Maybe you‘re a meditator and you’ve become too dependent on formal retreat centers and wish to regain your independence and sit outside in … Read more
Repeat after me. PHASE I: Creation 1. Creativity flows from me easily and feeling stuck is temporary. I go through phases of creation and absorption. Each are necessary to the artistic process And I accept myself in either phase. I listen and observe, I speak and perform. Everything I do is art, And it flows … Read more
I first came across Spiral Dynamics during a late-night YouTube binge, thanks to my friend Bradley. The video entitled The Grand Model of Psychological Evolution ran an hour and twenty-six minutes long and I just so happened to have that kind of time on my hands because sometimes it’s late, I can’t sleep and okay, … Read more
In the Buddhist teaching, there are three primary characteristics of existence: impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and no-self. I’ve experienced these characteristics to varying depths and degrees in my practice of Vipassana, a body-scanning meditation technique and a Pali word meaning “to see clearly,” but no-self is far and away the most elusive insight of the bunch. No-self … Read more
Note: I tried and failed to provide download links for Kindle (.mobi) and iBooks (.epub) files. This is a note to myself to possibly fix this in the future. Until then, enjoy the story below! Cheers. ——— The Color of Rain, a Short Story By David Smart I thought while staring across the empty streets … Read more