Was going through my digital camera and my friend’s Flickr site of pics from my recent trip to Tecate, Mexico at Rancho La Puerta and for the Green Spa Network conference.   There was pretty magical pictures in the bunch, so I thought I’d share them with you.

A few of them have become desktop photos on my computers and on my Blackberry.  For a while, I had this awesome pic of me sticking my tongue out to the camera as Bethanny (from the Real Housewives of NY) was standing next to me at an Everyday with Rachael Ray photo shoot.  Yes, sometimes I act like I’m 12.    But it was time to change the pic to something more soothing.  Hopefully these pics will help you find a little zen in your day.

Fog rolling in during our daily morning hikes.

A top the mountain.

Full sunrise.

Love the colors in the morning.

And before I forget, here’s a pic inside the Rancho La Puerta library.  It’s a tradition for visiting authors to donate their books to the library, so here I am donating my complete collection of books.   If you’re staying at the Ranch, you can head on over to the library and borrow my books and many other great ones ready to read.   A fun place to sit, read, browse and enjoy.

When I was down in Mexico for the Green Spa Network event, I happened to be down there during their Day of the Dead celebration.   The Day of the Dead is a celebration in Mexico that focuses on the gathering of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.   It happens on November 1st and 2nd and colorful altars are created bursting with flowers, candles, salt, toys (for dead children), food and water.   At the ranch, an altar was created and ranch guests had the opportunity to bring a picture of a loved one they lost and light a candle in their memory.

Here, colorful sugared skulls are offered, or an “ofrenda.”    They are welcoming gesture for the deceased.   I did twitter (@dannyjseo) that I was tempted to bring an issue of “Gourmet” and “Domino” magazine as part of my offering for the Day of the Dead….. but in retrospect, perhaps that would not be the wisest idea.

The glorious chandeliers in the dining hall had paper mache skeletons hanging from them.   The Day of the Dead isn’t a somber day at all; in fact, it’s quite celebratory and even fun.

Even a little key hook had mini skeletons on them.   Here, they are all doing various yoga poses, or Asanas. Funny!

A closeup pic.   So funny.

Last week, I was at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico for the Green Spa Network conference and to get caught up on my hiking, running and overall fitness routine.    One evening, I gave a keynote presentation to both the Ranch guests and attendees of the Green Spa Network conference.    Graphic artist Stina Brown came alone and made me this lovely poster that she drew as I was talking; she’d pick up on little notes and highlights here and there and quickly draw them on the paper, ending with a timeline of sorts showing my life in words, pictures and graphics.   

Here’s a close-up of the part where I was sharing a story how I shared the same birthday as Earth Day, started an environmental group at age 12 in 1989 and named it Earth 2000 (to save the planet by the year 2000) and declared myself a vegetarian.   

This pic shows how I BARELY graduated from high school from the Governor Mifflin HS in Shillington, Pennsylvania.  Had a D- GPA.  Yep, I was ranked near the bottom of the class.    Fortunately, I was able to score a book deal my Senior year in high school and used the advance money to get Phase Two of my career going.

This pic illustrates the “Oprah” story I told the audience.  It’s amazing to me that I was able to get booked on my Oprah by simply writing a note on the back of a postcard.  Amazing.   I gave Oprah $30,000 that I raised in less than 30 days to build one of the first Oprah Angel Network houses with Habitat for Humanity.   This was more than 13 years ago and I’m proud to still be sharing ideas through her show and magazines, most recently the eco-home makeover featured in O Magazine.  

Part of my talk was also part-marketing/business/trends to the spa owners and other eco entrepreneurs.    I addressed their concerns about “green fatigue” with American consumers right now, especially in the face of tougher economic times.   Good news: green isn’t a trendy; it’s a cultural shift and we shouldn’t have too much to worry about.   People still very much want to do the right thing.

To learn more about artist Stina Brown, check out her site at www.stinabrown.com.

I’m a contributor over at the website Crazy, Sexy, Life and I recently wrote a post about my experiences with going to the amazing Rancho La Puerta spa in Tecate, Mexico.    I know I’ve blogged many times about the Ranch—from the hikes, to the food, to the decor—but I’ve never really shared the story how much I originally dreaded the idea of going there.   So, over at Crazy, Sexy, Life… here’s my crazy first trip there to share with you.  Enjoy!

A couple of years ago, I was given a gift of a one-week stay at Rancho La Puerta, a destination spa in Tecate, Mexico. This is a legendary spa dedicated to fitness, health and wellness, and delicious healthy food. Forget Calgan; Rancho la Puerta, take me away.

To most people, this sounds like a heavenly offer—a free week to spend doing nothing but yoga and pilates, taking glorious hikes up mountains with breathtaking views, enjoying delicious specially prepared meals and unwinding with a pure-bliss relaxation massage. To me, it sounded like pure hell: I was dedicated to my growing business and wanted to spend every waking moment towards developing TV shows, writing books, designing products to just keep growing, growing, growing.

To make a long story short, a year had gone by and I was basically reminded by the gift giver that I had still not taken advantage of the trip. Out of guilt, I packed up my things and went, hoping I would not freak out wondering if I was needed on a TV set, in a production meeting or at a photo shoot. Yes, I was stressed out about going somewhere created to relieve stress.

On Day 1, I thought I had entered my personal nightmare: people said hello to me everywhere I went, there was no television in my room, not a drop of alcohol in sight and my Blackberry only worked when I illegally tapped into the ranch’s wifi. What I wanted was to be left alone to watch TV, check my email and have a glass of wine. That’s what we call getting off on a bad start. I called a friend and said, “Help. I’m at Promises Rehab Mexico. Send. Wine.”

But as the week progressed, I noticed something about myself. Out of boredom, I took yoga, mat pilates, stretch and cardio circuit training classes. I never looked at my watch during these classes, which I normally would do back home wondering if I had enough time to get to a meeting. Yes, I am that person who leaves yoga class right before the meditation part of the class. Instead, I could basically enjoy the moment and focus on the activity at hand. I met interesting and friendly people at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and never felt hungry. I relished my 8PM massages, staggered back to my villa in a stupor and had the best sleep of my life.

I didn’t miss my sugar-free Red Bulls, my evening glass (er, glasses…) of wine and most importantly, my Blackberry. What I experienced was something I hadn’t felt before: bliss. And I lost weight (about 7 pounds) that I didn’t even know I needed to lose. I felt great.

The day I checked in for my third visit to Rancho La Puerta, I saw a sign with names of guests who had been there multiple times.  I noticed that film critic Roger Ebert had been a guest more than 30 times. The first time I saw this, my reaction was “crazy people.” Now, being a three-peat guest, I think “it’s crazy I don’t come here more often.”

The lesson I walked away with goes beyond bettering my fitness regime, getting cooking tips or losing those extra pesky pounds. Instead, I realized the investment I make in a one-week retreat towards myself is re-investing in my business: if I’m not living my life at optimum health, I can’t perform well in all aspects of my business. My whole life, I’ve been using a mantra that it’s the quality of the work that matters, not the quantity. Rancho La Puerta has taught me that the same philosophy applies to myself as well.

There are plenty of activities to do at Rancho La Puerta other than hiking, pilates, yoga, running, cardio, stretch, etc.   There are many hands-on classes where you can do everything from sculpture to water color to jewelry making.   One project that I didn’t have time to take part in was the making of these colorful dream sticks.    They are branches that are hand tied with intricate layers of colorful yarn, dried sage, crystals, beads and found feathers.    This beautiful arrangement was in the main dining hall at the Ranch.

On a rainy day back home, some branches had come falling down from the tall trees around the house (typical), so I grabbed a few and brought them inside to dry out.    Working with some leftover yarn I had in the craft room, I started to wrap the branches over and over with different layers of colorful yarn.   I made stripes, X’s, zig zags, etc.  you name it.   There was no real rhyme or reason here; in fact, it was sort of done organically.

I added some beads, colorful feathers I found stashed away in the craft room supply drawers and glued some chunky pieces of recycled glass seaglass on top.    The Rancho La Puerta version are far, far better, but I think this is one of those projects that can evolve over time.  When I find a feather on one of my hikes in the woods around my house, I’ll grab it and add it.   Or maybe I’ll take some leftover fresh sage, bundle it up, and tie it to dry naturally on the sticks.    A very fun and easy project to do with kids or on a rainy day.  Highly recommend.