"Thanks for clicking your way further into this site to learn more about us authors and our stories. It's an honor to be a part of this edition and to have a chance to share a little more about the voyage and myself. This is how it came about for me:

A few months ago, I was contacted by a friend who shared this site and when I checked it out, I really appreciated the idea that there was a place to be able to share some important and valuable things. When I was asked to write a few words, the quest for me was to try and share something that I might have learned from rowing across the Pacific, besides the fact that it's a really, really big ocean and 1.6 million rowing strokes across that puppy. The stuff that stuck out the most to me were the changes that took place about my ego. I mean, nothing is more memorable or healthy than getting your ego crunched, and I chose Andrea and a wise guy turtle from the well of crunches, to write about.

We certainly don't have to be in the middle of the ocean, a thousand miles from the closest person, to "get" something. It did work for me though. The cool part is, neither one of them knows what they did for me. God bless 'em.

I'll be at sea for about 6 months this summer sending back daily reports. If you want to watch me go in circles while I get my ego crunched even more, check out our site at www.naau.com."

DAVID ROTHENBERG:  In searching for an additional story about a spiritual experience through music we found The Necessary Note to be the ideal muse expressing spirituality through both music and nature.  Like Mick Bird and Al Harris, musician and writer David Rothenberg reveals his creative expression through song and words.

PATTIANN ROGERS:  Pattiann is a favorite Northwest poet also serving a natural fit for SpirituallyFit.com!  Watching the Ancestral Prayers of Venerable Others reads with a deep, guttural tempo from the earth's core as if the universe's heartbeat becomes louder and wiser as Pattiann draws us further and further back in time.   We will be sharing additional poems from Pattiann as she has blessed us with free reign to reproduce her works on our site!

BILLY CLIFFE:  Billy was the first amateur writer to submit his story to us!   We were thrilled to receive his snowboarding story to include in our second issue.   Billy gives some background about his story:

"The Butchers are a group of Billy's friends that call Mt. Baker and other Cascade Range ski areas their home. Billy's story is a slightly irreverent account of four young travellers finding the thrill of a lifetime on the slopes of Mt. Baker. What sets this story apart is Billy's unique take on what many riders overlook that sets one day apart from others. There is a separate side to riding that many people will never grasp simply because they choose not to seek it out. For those who spend the extra time searching the mountain with their mind as well as their body, there are many extra rewards to reap. Hopefully this is what the reader will come away with from this story - or at least a good chuckle."

AL HARRIS:  Al Harris, author of The Healing Power of Music, is now a veteran SpirituallyFit.com contributor.  He is the major reason SpirituallyFit.com expanded its scope to include stories about spiritual experiences through nature and music.   We welcome Al Harris as an ongoing contributor to our webzine!