Coffee and a Cool Breeze: A Summer Journal

By Tom Bayly

Lifes more serious curveballs, you dont see coming. You are not prepared and you do not know what to do. And, sometimes, when the curve is real nasty, you buckle. This book tells the story of the great curveball thrown into my life. The buckle, in my case, is what has been called Kundalini Syndrome. The term refers to the troubles that can come along with a spontaneous Kundalini Awakening.

It seems clich to say something about how the big curveballs and challenges in life are the real opportunities to learn and to grow as a person. Especially considering that some things in this world are so awful that they couldnt possibly fit into a comforting expression. However, in my own story, Ive found this clich to be accurate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Nov 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490750781

Tom Bayly

Tom Bayly is not all that excited about writing an about the author blurb. He considers himself to be a good person and knows that he put his heart and soul into Coffee and a Cool Breeze, so naturally he hopes the book gets read and enjoyed by the masses. However, his happiness is no longer contingent on writing a successful book, so he won’t be offended if you opt not to engage. Outside of writing, he enjoys cooking and hanging out with his wife, watching good documentaries, and shooting hoops. He thinks product placement in TV shows is out of control and insulting to our collective intelligence.

Book preview

Copyright 2014 Tom Bayly.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5077-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5079-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5078-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014919880

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Trafford rev. 11/05/2014

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword

An Intro

Chapter 1 Memorial Day Weekend

Chapter 2 Tom the Doula Goes Chasing the Earth - Heart

Chapter 3 Climb the Mountain

Chapter 4 A Thousand Petals

Chapter 5 Caucasian Shamans in Varanasi

Chapter 6 The Tao of Jah - 2008

Chapter 7 Bedford Falls

Glossary

Acknowledgements

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this book. Special thanks to Cat for the edits and insights and to Yewande for the love and support.

This book was written in memory of Coach Bill Campbell, who taught me that the greatest rewards in life are found amidst the interaction with other people.

Foreword

While I am not a man of many words, I am a natural adversary of convention so forgive my being brief and atypical in my execution. I aim to speak directly as opposed to being clever.

The following entry may only chronicle a relatively short time frame, but there is much to be said and/or observed. I wish to begin by saying that I have a deep personal connection with this book, not only for it being written by a good friend of mine, but because its content resonates with me greatly. While Tom’s intentions in writing Coffee and a Cool Breeze were to make a proper mark of growth on the wall so to speak, and to express his account of a pivotal time in his life, there is much insight shared as well. If not by volume then certainly by value, some of which is written plainly and aims to speak directly, whereas other bits are subtle and will leave you room to do with as you wish.

Tom, or Bayly as I refer to him, has served as a sort of guide for me since day one, our initial encounter in 2010 being the catalyst for my ever having written. This being said, I find it in accord to ask; how proper? The long overdue visit I paid to Tom and Yewande, when I was offered the opportunity to write to you now, came just in time. The reason being is that I am in the midst of my own dark night. Over then many mornings while I sat with my coffee and cigarette reading Coffee and a Cool Breeze, I had many experiences with each passing chapter. From that light bulb blazing inside my skull, to nearly uncontrollable laughter, to moments of solace and the feeling of reassurance, to renewal of faith in the process. Whether or not you are familiar with the soul’s dark night, I believe you will have a similar experience with this book. To be objective, I have no doubt my experience would differ greatly being within or without my current phase.

To close, I will indulge my propensity towards philosophical cogitation and say this: One may hear or see things and those things may have no adherence, not because of the subject but possibly due to how it is articulated or executed.

I find that this entry’s nature navigates through this idea. Although it is a subjective account of a personal experience, I believe it will resonate with you, and you, and you.

Chris Kellam

Human Boy

Planet Earth

October 23, 2014

An Intro

I woke up this morning and encountered my wife sitting on our couch, watching the 1989 film Best of the Best. I couldn’t believe it. I sat down next to her immediately, right around the time the US team was heading to Korea for the championship match. If you’ve never seen this movie, it is amazing. I’m talking an 80’s classic. The folks on the tube gave it one star, but they don’t have the slightest idea of what they are talking about.

It’s been years since I’ve seen the whole thing, but the tale is about a handful of underdog American taekwondo fighters going toe to toe with a handful of Korean fighters. James Earl Jones is the American team’s coach and the movie features Ahmad Rashad as himself broadcasting live from Korea. It is a beautiful thing, full of cheese and glory and martial arts bromance.

In 1989, I was ten years old. And, as an introduction to this book, I think it’s important to understand that this is the kind of movie that I grew up on. It is very inspirational, and it drives home a belief system that if one is willing to work hard, to put in the time and sweat and blood and tears, then it is possible for someone to rise above all competition. It is actually possible for a person to become the best.

In the case of this book, it’s not that I am claiming to be the best at something, but rather, the first. I am claiming to be the first living person to enter and successfully navigate a mysterious courtroom that has been spoken of for millennia.

However, perhaps even more importantly, in true 80’s film fashion, Best of the Best tugs at the heart strings. At the end of the day, it’s a feel good story, one with a moral and a lesson. I like to think that my story is as well.

Now Friday afternoon, I suppose that I should provide a little background on where this story comes from. In 2002, I left my office job to become an entrepreneur. I had just turned 23 years old. I was ambitious, naïve, and craving adventure. I was also suffering from chronic lower back pain, which made my mathematically oriented desk job a generally miserable experience.

The first product that I brought to market was a book that I helped my mother write called The Kid Coach: Teaching Sports, Having Fun and Making a Difference. It’s a good book on how to coach a group of kids, regardless of the sport, and I’d argue a book much needed by our society. However, I didn’t bring the book to market very well, the main reason being that I got sidetracked.

Right around the time that our first run of books was printed, my chronic lower back pain turned into something else. I had a physically oriented epiphany that resulted in spontaneous yoga poses and a tribal dance. Soon after this initial awakening, I got inspired to write my own book, one about poverty and God and math and a whole lot