Posts made in May 2023

The Journeymen Collective

Inside the JEDI Center Using Psychedelics To Expand Your Mind

Star Wars Day is May 4th, and at a remote retreat center outside Vancouver, Canada, there are two entrepreneurs who are ready to help you become a Jedi master with magic mushrooms.
It may sound like science fiction, but according to those who have attended these psychedelic retreats, the experience gave them a deeper connection to the universe and humanity as a whole. Surely, Yoda and Obi Wan would agree that this is the next frontier in exploring your mind.

Rob Grover and Gary Logan are the founders of The Journeymen Collective, the company creating these luxury guided magic mushroom retreats from their stunning retreat estate.
Calling the space the Journey Education & Discovery Institute or JEDI Center for short, they’ve hosted everyone from performers and athletes to entrepreneurs, CEOs/executives, couples and groups invested in the highest level of self-discovery and personal development.

The force is strong with Rob and Gary, the pair have a combined 50+ years of education in spiritual and metaphysical training, executive level mindset coaching, energetic healing modalities, Alexander Technique lessons, and provide support integrating the transformational retreat. Visitors are immersed in an extraordinary personalized experience that often results in accelerating guests’ success and their intentions to create more of a conscious impact on the world.

Rob and Gary believe that when psychedelics are facilitated in a professional manner, they can improve our mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. The two feel that magic mushrooms should be treated with reverence and respect as a plant medicine that can clear away our old energy and help us move past trauma we’ve been holding onto in our lives. They noted psilocybin has been used by humans for thousands of years in a ceremonial way to open up awareness and perception. It’s very much a journey not a weekend trip for guests as part of the program for The Journeymen Collective involves weekly preparation calls in the month leading up to the in person retreat and ongoing integration support following it.

Becoming a Jedi Master does sound like it would take some intensive training and inner work so none of that should come as a surprise but the setting curated by Rob and Gary looks much more luxurious than Luke Skywalker had in Dagobah.

Featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Condé Nast Traveler, Marie Claire, and Robb Report, The Journeymen Collective has a profound effect on the individuals enrolling in their retreats.

Dom Pérignon × CIA

Dom Pérignon announces that it is joining forces with The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the world’s premier culinary college, to support the first-ever Master’s in Culinary Arts degree program. The Dom Pérignon Scholarship Fund will fully support tuition for 20 students in the unique program, which integrates two years of unprecedented experiential learning at world-class restaurants and features residencies at the CIA’s New York campus and the Champagne House in France.
The program is designed to prepare the next generation of leading restauranteurs for ownership and success. In addition to its scholarship support, a grant from Dom Pérignon helped underwrite the development of the program by the CIA.

The Champagne House recognizes its role and responsibility in supporting the future of gastronomy. As Cellar Master Vincent Chaperon notes:

“Dom Pérignon’s creative ambition is a perpetual quest for harmony as a source of emotion – a quest that is shared by great chefs in our mutual ambition to create memorable meals and pairings. Because of that connection, the culinary arts and fine wine have always been intimately linked, and at Dom Pérignon we recognize a responsibility to the future of gastronomy. Our vision is to nurture a profound appreciation for the art of living in the next generation. The Dom Pérignon Scholarship Fund, made possible through the Culinary Institute of America, is the first step in bringing that vision to life.”

This first-of-its-kind program will feature content in areas including professional excellence in cooking, culinary history, agriculture, responsible product sourcing, and sustainability; the relationship between wine and food. And entrepreneurship and business leadership.

“Since our founding in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America has played an integral part in elevating the chef profession, educating more than 50,000 students who have gone on to lead every facet of food, beverage and hospitality,” says CIA President Dr. Tim Ryan. “We are excited now to announce the launch of the first of its kind graduate-level program to further underscore the mastery, craftsmanship, and business acumen of the culinary arts. It is truly a special time for the CIA and the profession. And we are grateful to Dom Pérignon for their support of this groundbreaking program.”

To kick off the program and further support its mission, world-renowned chefs, including Thomas Keller, Kyle Connaughton, Niki Nakayama, Val Cantú, and CIA alumna Daisy Ryan participated in an exclusive fireside conversation alongside Cellar Master Vincent Chaperon and CIA President and Certified Master Chef, Dr. Tim Ryan, discussing their personal career experiences, trials and triumphs, and the importance—and future—of culinary education.

As Chef Kyle Connaughton notes, “It’s been incredibly rewarding to work with this group to create a program for young chefs to become the next generation of thoughtful leaders for our profession. Looking back, the challenges in going from chef to chef-owner can be incredibly difficult, and we’ve set out to better prepare our future chefs with the knowledge and experience to move forward in their careers successfully.”

Chef Thomas Keller shares, “I am incredibly proud to have worked with this group to realize the goal of launching a Master’s of Culinary Arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). This effort and the work to bring this forward lie in the hard work and dedication of CIA President Dr. Tim Ryan, a community of chefs, and Dom Pérignon.

I am equally excited to host the first CIA Master of Culinary Arts cohort at The French Laundry. Our restaurant has always been a place for training, education, and mentoring and, over the past two decades, has helped launch many chef, restaurateur, and hospitality careers. The opportunity to finally add the CIA curriculum to ours will bring forth a quantum leap in education and better prepare the next generation to continue to elevate the standards of our profession and secure the future of restaurants. I am grateful to Dom Pérignon for their support of this incredible program, which has helped make it a reality.

I want to recognize the chef community for their continuous efforts and dedication to their craft and for nurturing those who walk through our doors every day. Restaurants have always been the heart of our communities, and we thank the CIA and those who helped teach generations of chefs. The next generation of chefs have the opportunity to receive a higher level of education to advance our profession even further.”

Candidates will be able to apply online at CIA Master’s in Culinary Arts starting May 2, 2023.

Photo: Joe Schildhorn/BFA.com

Anuel – Seven Nominations

Anuel received seven nominations for the 2023 Premios Tu Musica Urbano awards.

One of the most prominent and successful Latin urban music artists, Anuel, has been nominated for 7 Premios Tu Musica Urbano 2023 awards. On Thursday, June 15, the fourth annual awards event will air live on Telemundo PR and via Telemundo Internacional and YouTube in more than 150 Spanish-speaking countries. The legendary Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot will host the event.

In 32 different categories, fans of reggaeton, trap, and its hybrids with pop, tropical, and regional Mexican music are honored at the annual Premios Tu Musica Urbano.

Top Male Artist, Top Trap Artist, Top Dembow Song (“Delincuente”) featuring Tokischa and Ñengo Flow, Top Trap Song (“Diamantes En Mis Dientes”) featuring Foreign Teck, Album of the Year (“LLNM2”), and Video of the Year (“La Llevo al Cielo”) featuring Chencho Corleone, Chris Jedi, and ñengo Flow are all categories in which Anuel has been nominated.

The singer-songwriter is now touring the United States (“Legends Never Die Tour“). The interpreter of “Mas Rica Que Ayer” will be visiting cities such as Houston, Hidalgo, Los Angeles, and more in the coming days, anticipating sold-out shows similar to the ones he recently performed in Orlando, Miami, and Fort Myers.

Anuel has proven himself to be one of the world’s top urban performers, as well as a pioneer in the Spanish music industry.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT – HARVEST

LISTEN TO THEIR RENDITION OF THE NEIL YOUNG CLASSIC HERE

FOLKOCRACY ARRIVES VIA BMG ON FRIDAY, JUNE 2

PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW HERE

2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright shares “Harvest (feat. Andrew Bird & Chris Stills),” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. This interpretation of a Neil Young classic heralds Wainwright’s eagerly awaited new album, Folkocracy, a star-studded collection of folk music reinventions arriving Friday, June 2 via BMG in a range of formats including digital download, CD, and vinyl. Pre-orders are available now HERE.

“The music of Neil Young has been part of my entire life. What has always drawn me to him are his lyrics. I think that lyrics are often underrated in today’s music. But then of course with Neil Young you also get these absolutely iconic melodies and the sound quality of his albums is simply amazing. He is the full package.

To record Harvest was a pure joy. I had never sung with Andrew or recorded with him playing the violin and he is so inherently musical that it feels so natural to sing such a sophisticated song with him. And it was amazing to include my old friend Chris Stills on this track who probably was fed Neil Young’s voice with his mother’s milk. Chris has one of the most beautiful voices I have heard and his harmonizing is absolutely delicious.”

– Rufus Wainwright

LISTEN TO “HARVEST (FEAT. ANDREW BIRD & CHRIS STILLS)”

PRE-ORDER FOLKOCRACY

Folkocracy sees Wainwright joined by a spectacular lineup of friends, family members, and other special guest artists including Brandi Carlile, John Legend, David Byrne, Sheryl Crow, Nicole Scherzinger, Chaka Khan, Andrew Bird, ANOHNI, Susanna Hoffs, Van Dyke Parks, Madison Cunningham, and many more. Produced by longtime collaborator Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Crowded House), the album includes the haunting first single, “Down in the Willow Garden (feat. Brandi Carlile),” hailed by The Boot as “goosebump-worthy…Wainwright and Carlile seamlessly blend their voices while telling the haunting story of a brutal murder from the perpetrator’s perspective,” the timeless track is accompanied by an official music video streaming now at YouTube HERE. The second single, “Heading Home (feat. John Legend)” is a joyous rendition of the Peggy Seeger folk standard. Its accompanying music video is streaming on YouTube HERE.

Wainwright – joined by a six-piece band and special guests including Chaka Khan, Van Dyke Parks, Susanna Hoffs, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Richard Parks, and Madison Cunningham – will celebrate Folkocracy with a one-night-only Release Day concert event set for Los Angeles, CA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday, June 2. In addition, a wide range of international live dates is set through the summer, with diverse dates around the globe through late July. Highlights include headline shows, top-billed festival appearances at Winnipeg, MB’s Winnipeg Folk Festival (July 7), Mariposa, ON’s Mariposa Folk Festival (July 9), and Cambridge, UK’s Cambridge Folk Festival (July 29), as well as “Wainwright Does Weill,” a once-in-a-lifetime five-night residency at New York’s legendary Café Carlyle set for May 16-20 that will see Wainwright performing the songs of composer Kurt Weill accompanied by his longtime pianist Jacob Mann.

In addition, this August will see Wainwright embark on a worldwide Folkocracy Tour while also marking both the 25th anniversary of his landmark debut album, 1998’s Rufus Wainwright, and the 20th anniversary of 2003’s award-winning Want One (and its 2004 companion, Want Two) with a series of orchestral shows featuring lush symphonic arrangements by Sally Herbert (Woodkid, Florence + the Machine) and Max Moston (Antony and the Johnsons). A full slate of North American, EU, and UK dates will be announced soon. For complete details and remaining ticket availability, please visit rufuswainwright.com/tour.

Folkocracy – which follows Wainwright’s most recent studio album, 2020’s GRAMMY® and Juno Award-nominated Unfollow The Rules – sees the critically acclaimed artist celebrating his upcoming 50th birthday by revisiting his roots, of childhood summers spent at folk festivals and watching his famous family on stage. Wainwright is joined on his journey into the past by an all-star cast of special guests that includes Brandi Carlile, John Legend, Chaka Khan, Nicole Scherzinger, Van Dyke Parks, and Madison Cunningham, to name only a few. The 15 songs featured on Folkocracy include folk standards from around the world along with a unique reframing of Franz Schubert’s “Nacht und Träume” as well as a spellbinding rerecording of his own “Going To A Town,” featuring his longtime friend ANOHNI. Highlights include the sensual “High On A Rocky Ledge (feat. David Byrne),” a gorgeous, expertly harmonized take on The Mamas & The Papas’ “Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)” featuring Sheryl Crow, Susannah Hoffs, and Chris Stills, and the album-closing “Wild Mountain Thyme,” a song Wainwright grew up singing with his sisters, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, both of whom join him on the new rendition along with aunt Anna McGarrigle, cousin Lily Lanken, and close family friend Chaim Tannenbaum, the latter playing Rufus’s late mother Kate McGarrigle’s iconic banjo.

“The older I get, the more I appreciate how valuable my folk knowledge is, to have had it ingrained in me as a child,” Wainwright says. “I’m from a bona fide folkocracy who mixed extensively with other folkocracies such as the Seegers and the Thompsons. I spun off into opera and pop. Now I’m back where it all began.”

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT TOUR 2023

MAY

3 – Boston, MA – City Winery Boston (Early Show) *

3 – Boston, MA – City Winery Boston (Late Show) *

4 – Northampton, MA – BOMBYX Center For Arts & Equity *

6 – Provincetown, MA – Provincetown Town Hall *

16 – New York, NY – Café Carlyle ^

17 – New York, NY – Café Carlyle ^

18 – New York, NY – Café Carlyle ^

19 – New York, NY – Café Carlyle ^

20 – New York, NY – Café Carlyle ^

JUNE

2 – Los Angeles, CA – Walt Disney Concert Hall **

3 – Monterey, CA – Golden State Theatre **

4 – Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions **

21 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Cain Park **

23 – Philadelphia, PA – Kimmel Cultural Campus **

24 – Vienna, VA – Out & About Festival **

25 – Red Bank, NJ – Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center **

27 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse **

29 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Center **

30 – Portsmouth, NH – The Music Hall **

JULY

1 – Bar Harbor, ME – Criterion Theater **

7 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Folk Festival **

9 – Mariposa, ON – Mariposa Folk Festival **

13 – Montauk, NY – Montauk Point Lighthouse †

16 – Beacon, NY – Towne Crier Café **

22 – Dublin, Ireland – National Concert Hall **

24 – Barcelona, Spain – Teatre Grec **

25 – Madrid, Spain – Teatro Real **

27 – Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain – Festival Pedra Viva **

29 – Cambridge, UK – Cambridge Folk Festival 2023 **

AUGUST

11 – Chicago, IL – Ravinia Festival ***

SEPTEMBER

5 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall ***

19 – Nashville, TN – Schermerhorn Symphony Center ***

* Solo Performance

† 50 Isn’t the End: A 50th Birthday Concert with Rufus Wainwright & Friends

^ “Wainwright Does Weill”

** Folkocracy Tour w/Six-Piece Backing Band

*** Want Symphonic Series

Folkocracy Tracklist

Alone (Feat. Madison Cunningham)
Heading for Home (Feat. John Legend)
Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon) (Feat. Susanna Hoffs, Chris Stills & Sheryl Crow)
Down in the Willow Garden (Feat. Brandi Carlile)
Shenandoah
Nacht und Träume
Harvest (Feat. Andrew Bird & Chris Stills)
Going to a Town (Feat. ANOHNI)
High on a Rocky Ledge (Feat. David Byrne)
Kaulana Na Pua (Feat. Nicole Scherzinger)
Hush Little Baby (Feat. Martha Wainwright & Lucy Wainwright Roche)
Black Gold (Feat. Van Dyke Parks)
Cotton Eyed Joe (Feat. Chaka Khan)
Arthur McBridge
Wild Mountain Thyme (Feat. Anna McGarrigle, Chaim Tannenbaum, Lily Lanken, Lucy Wainwright Roche, & Martha Wainwright)

CONNECT WITH RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

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Photo: Miranda Penn Turin

Manuel Turizo – Five Nominations

Manuel Turizo, one of the most prominent artists in Latin music, has garnered five nominations in the fourth edition of Premios Tu Música Urbano. These awards recognize the most popular artists in the genres of reggaeton, trap, fusions, pop urbano, and regional Mexican, with a total of 32 categories.

Turizo has been nominated for Top Male Artist, Top Social Artist, and Song of the Year for “La Bachata.” Additionally, his collaboration with Piso 21 on “Los Cachos” has been nominated in the Song of the Year Duo or Group category, while the artist has also been selected for the Top Pop Urbano Artist category.

It has been a year of success for Turizo, who’s single “La Bachata” reached the impressive milestone of 1 billion streams on the Spotify music platform. Moreover, the singer is currently on his “Tour 2000” across Latin America, while “El Merengue” and “La Bachata” continue to dominate the Tropical Airplay chart on Billboard.

The ceremony for the Premios Tu Música Urbano 2023 will be broadcast live through Telemundo PR and in more than 150 Spanish-speaking countries via Telemundo Internacional and YouTube on Thursday, June 15th, from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot. The awards aim to recognize the favorite artists of the global audience in the aforementioned Latin genres.

Shawni Davis

360 MAG | Apple Podcast

Shawni Davis has a candid conversation with Vaughn Lowery on the 360 MAG podcast about the importance of marginalized business owners having a presence within the NGLCC.

Luminary Electrical Founder × CEO

Shawni Davis is New York State’s first African American female master electrician with more than 15 years of experience in the construction industry. As a black woman in a male-dominated industry, she has set the standards for those following her footsteps, including working her way into leadership positions within the ranks of the largest union contractors on major projects all over the northeast. She has taken what she has learned throughout her career to earn her Unlimited Master’s License, and officially established Luminary Electrical Contractor, LLC in 2021. Luminary Electrical is certified as both a New York State Certified MBE & MWBE Business (minority-owned & woman-owned).

A native of Syracuse New York, Davis started as an apprentice in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 2007. In 2022, she made headlines when she introduced President Joe Biden during a major Micron Technology announcement in Syracuse, NY, but her story does not stop there. In March of 2023, President Biden then talked about Shawni’s journey at the SBA’s Women’s Business Summit in Washington DC at the White House. Davis continues to mentor and give back to the community and those following her path. In fact, her dream is to change the industry by creating a business that reflects a diverse and inclusive workforce that possesses the same skills as those who dominate leadership in the industry today. Her skills as an electrician and a natural business leader, ensure Luminary’s longevity in the industry.

Davis’ successful career is a direct reflection of her determination and skill set. She is a proud member of the LGBT community and a graduate of Henninger High School in Syracuse. She currently serves on the board of the National Electric Contractors Association (NECA) and the Central New York Community Foundation’s Black Equity & Excellence fund.

Awards

2022 Champion of Diversity Award – YWCA of Syracuse & Onondaga County

2022 Onondaga County Small Business of the Year – Small Business Development Center

2023 WBE of the Year CNY Region – City of Rochester MWBE Awards

Economic Champion Award – Centerstate CEO

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Shawni Davis introduces President Joe Biden at Micron.

Backstage at a Syracuse event where she introduced President Joe Biden, Local 43 member Shawni Davis captures a selfie with the president and her proud business manager, Alan Marzullo, who said she “hit a grand slam” with her remarks. Photo: Courtesy of IBEW via 360 MAGAZINE.

Rolls-Royce Dawn

Heading into the Sunset

After concluding delivery of Dawn commissions to the United States concluded in 2022, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today signals the end of a glorious era as it ceases production Rolls-Royce Dawn, the iconic drop head. In this retrospective, the marque reflects on the best-selling drophead in the brand’s history as it takes its own unique place in the pantheon of great Rolls-Royce motor cars.

CONTEMPORARY GLAMOUR AND ROMANCE

Following the success of Phantom VII, and its stablemates Phantom Coupé and Phantom Drophead Coupé, an increasingly youthful, universally self-confident and sociable client base was drawn to the Rolls-Royce brand. These new super-luxury consumers required a motor car that, like the first transformative models of Rolls-Royce’s Goodwood era, captured the glamour and romance of super-luxury motoring; but did so in a fashion completely in tune with their contemporary tastes and lifestyles.

EXQUISITE ELEGANCE PAIRED WITH LUXURIOUS COMFORT

‘La dolce vita’ was a life filled with passion, adventure and romance. It was sensuous and sensual, a celebration of decadence, indulgence and pleasure in all its forms. It was this spirit that Rolls-Royce wanted to capture in its new drophead, expressed through timeless form language, contemporary craft and an effortless yet potent dynamic character.

The boldness of that vision was reflected in Dawn’s design. Its pure, simple form was inspired by fifties and sixties fashion, which evoked glamour by removing superfluous lines and textures, focussing instead on how it amplified the form of the wearer. Similarly, Dawn’s supple, flowing coachwork wraps around its occupants akin to raising a collar on an overcoat, affording those inside a cossetting, private and chic cabin experience.

In creating Dawn, 80% of the panels were entirely unique, including a ‘wake channel’ on the bonnet emanating from the Spirit of Ecstasy, evoking the sensation of quietly gathering energy while provisioning drivers with a permanent vanishing point – a design feature that endures on Rolls-Royce motor cars today.

However, in one vital respect, Dawn broke with a long-established automotive design convention. Almost without exception, convertibles are designed in a 2+2 configuration, with full-size seating for the driver and one passenger in the front, plus two smaller seats for occasional passengers or children in the rear. The lack of rear-seat space, and particularly legroom, reduces the car’s comfort and practicality – a shortcoming Rolls-Royce refused to accept. Dawn was therefore a full four-seater with comfortable, individual seating for all occupants.

A MODEL TESTING PROGRAMME

In quintessential Rolls-Royce style, engineers spent months optimizing the convertible experience with an exhaustive testing program – neither eliminating airflow completely nor permitting disruptive levels into the cabin. To achieve this, the test subject was a modified mannequin provisioned with a wig of long, flowing hair. It was chauffeured for hundreds of hours, while a bank of sensors and cameras faithfully recorded how the hair was displaced by the moving air. The resulting data enabled engineers to make Dawn the world leader in aerodynamic comfort with the roof open.

Indeed, during a product experience later in Dawn’s life, an American journalist passed through an area as it was struck by an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale, followed by a 2.7 aftershock; such was the smoothness of the ride, he learned of this only when he read about it in the press the following morning. [1]

BLACK BADGE DAWN

In 2017, Rolls-Royce added Black Badge Dawn to its model family. Like the Ghost and Wraith that preceded it, Dawn’s alter ego derived its character from a series of engineering and design treatments. An entirely new exhaust system added a bass baritone quality to the engine note. While appealing to the rebel spirit that attracts so many to this noire expression of the brand, Black Badge Dawn created its own singular place in the Rolls-Royce Pantheon – one characterized by the romance and seduction of the city at night.

A LASTING LEGACY

Beyond its desirability, Dawn brought the spirit of ‘la dolce vita’ to Rolls-Royce’s contemporary brand promise through an exquisite marriage of seductive design, contemporary materials, and a social, open-air driving experience. In doing so, Dawn has ensured its legacy by compelling an entirely new generation to the marque.

[1] https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/18327/the-2018-rolls-royce-dawn-review-driving-a-416100-convertible-through-an-earthquake

Oakley Muzm

Oakley, as the leading sport-performance brand, is announcing the return of the limited-edition MUZM Racing Jacket.

Twenty-five years after it originally launched, the newest interpretation of the brand’s first dual-lens performance eyewear is making a comeback. Designed to fit the face like a jacket does on the body, the Racing Jacket represents the newest exhibition in Oakley’s MUZM series, an ongoing experimentation in reinterpreting iconic, archival products by elevating them into a true form of art.

The campaign is led by Team Oakley downhill mountain bike frontman, Amaury Pierron and the eyewear is available in a strikingly stripey Red Tiger colorway with Prizm Black Lenses.

Grace and Golf

Grace and Golf was written by Thomas Buckley, who won an international golf tournament in Turkey in 2016. Thomas’s cousin Phil, who is the family historian, encouraged writing the story of his victory in 2018. At first, Thomas had no interest in writing a story about himself but eventually realized that God wanted them to write the story as it was about overcoming adversity through God’s grace, redemption, and living with purpose.

Thomas had a challenging childhood due to an alcoholic father and turned to drugs and alcohol as a means of coping at age 12. Although Thomas excelled at sports, including golf, substance abuse took over his life, leading him to stop playing sports altogether.

A month before his 19th birthday, Thomas’s parents sent him to a treatment center for help. Although Thomas experienced some setbacks early on, he has been able to maintain sobriety for over 42 years.

The book details specific moments of grace in Thomas’s life that allowed his victory in the Turkish Airlines World Amateur Golf Championship Open to come to fruition.

One specific moment of grace covered in the book is when Thomas got divorced after nearly 18 years of not drinking. He explains how he almost returned to drinking one perilous night after his divorce but instead went to get help at a local church. That night he met a man and that meeting changed the entire trajectory of Thomas’ life culminating in a private audience with St. Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in Rome.

The book also features several golf stories that highlight famous courses from around the world that Thomas has been blessed to play as well as the relationships Thomas has been blessed to make due to living his life for others.

The book comes to a close with a chapter where Thomas reveals the top 10 lessons he has learned in his life.

While the book may resonate the most with golfers, it will speak to anyone who is looking for ways to cope with the various difficulties and challenges of life. Thomas hopes the reader will enjoy his spiritual journey around some of the most magnificent golf courses in the world.

Michelle Goni, MD

My father immigrated from Spain to the United States of America in his late forties. He was a Renaissance-type man: multilingual, culturally astute, well-versed in world history and Spanish literature, a self-taught pianist, educator, and poet. Being fifty-two years older than me, our age gap, generational differences, and communication issues led to many misunderstandings. He had a difficult time assimilating to American culture, and I was a prime teen in the eighties. I adopted the role of pleaser to win his rare praises, but it was never enough. Compliments were few. As the patriarch, he led sternly and expected nothing less than perfection.

Writing was an escape from my rigid, sometimes stoic, home. Poetry was the genre I gravitated to perhaps because it was unstructured, evoked emotions, and incorporated rhythm. I told my father that I wanted to be a writer “when I grew up” but he responded that the idea was nonsense and that my only two options were to become a doctor or lawyer. It was after this conversation that I stopped sharing my poetry with him. For my father, doing well academically equated to success, and this took precedence over anything else. I defined my performances; in school, piano, tennis, and/or learning a third language, the result was synonymous with what I was going to be. This was the start of years of perfectionism, limiting beliefs, searching for belonging, and lacking self-love. Despite these obstacles, the love and respect I had for my father was immeasurable, as was the pain I felt when he passed away during my junior year of college.

One of the main inspirational leaders who helped me transform my thought processes is clinical researcher, professor, and author Dr. Brené Brown. She states that “courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” I made a conscious choice to be seen, and in my forties, I started writing again. This eventually led to a retrograde analysis of my life, and this book was born. Roses and Thorns is a memoir-esque compilation of life stories written in prose poetry format that gives all of us permission to fear, fail, and feel pain. But it also embraces growth, evolution, and being multi-hyphenate. If I had waited for the messy to disappear from my life, I would have never enjoyed the beautiful.

Roses and Thorns is meant to inspire the reader to spark internal dialogue through the use of emotionally provoking poetry. Most of the poems in my book are personal stories. Some are raw and painful, like the thorns on a rose. I have known grief, failure, impossible self-imposted expectations, and emotional abuse. I also share beautiful moments of self-awareness, hope, appreciation, and evolution like the sprouting, colorful petals on a rose.

Life is beautiful, and life is messy. In a universe whose laws of energy constantly shift toward balance, it should be accepted that both can coexist. Normalizing vulnerability and sharing our stories, emotions, and thoughts is the spark to loving our lives and finding relatable connections.

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