Richard Mahler

writer, editor, tour guide, and stress reduction teacher

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No, I'm not related to Gustav Mahler (1860-1911, shown at right), the famous European classical music composer. My "Mahler" ancestors came to the U.S. in 1881 from Germany's Hanover province, settling eventually in suburban Chicago. The suggestion is flattering, but I'm tone deaf. You can learn plenty about Gustav and his music by searching the Internet under his name, or check out the International Gustav Mahler Society at www.gustav-mahler.org. The ancestry of my late mother, Mary Vencill Curnutte, is a polyglot of French, Scot, Irish, English, Norwegian, Italian, Dutch, and Basque origins. Mom was born and raised in Texas, where I was born in 1951.

Looking for other Richard Mahlers? There are plenty of us! Find the deceased (1947-2007) pornographic movie director (real name, Roger Watkins) at www.atomiccinema.com, the esteemed Manhatten endocrinologist specializing in diabetes at www.healthgrades.com, the Australian family law mediator at www.mahlerfamilylaw.com, and the U.S. Navy veteran at www.bergall.org. I also don't sell real estate in Pennsylvania, distribute earth-moving equipment in Canada, play professional sports, practice law in Florida, run for Congress in the Carolinas, operate a family financial business, get dismissed from juries in Wisconsin, serve on a city council in New York, or teach school in Australia. But we're an impressive lot, aren't we? Let's hear from you! (Maybe we can start an International Richard Mahler Society.)

Here are some recommended links to other writing by this Richard Mahler: www.newdream.org, www.loe.org, and eartheasy.com.

My current projects? I'm promoting The Jaguar's Shadow: Searching for a Mythic Cat, my book about a five-year quest to see a wild jaguar and the conservation story of this remarkable (and endangered) cat. The 376-page book is available from Yale University Press; you can read reviews and order a copy by clicking HERE.)

Want to learn more about the big spotted cat? I'll send you articles I've had published by Arizona Highways, Tucson Weekly, E Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, and Pacific News Service. I'd love to hear from anyone interested in jaguars, particularly those who've studied or taken photos of them. For more information on the subject, I recommend www.panthera.org, or my own website, www.thejaguarsshadow.com

I'm also selling my critically-acclaimed book, Stillness: Daily Gifts of Solitude, which describes the 97 days I spent living alone in the New Mexico wilderness and my subsequent research about the importance of (fast-disappearing) silence, solitude, and stillness in daily life. I'm a passionate advocate for the preservation of "quiet zones" in public places. Consider some of my thoughts on the subject by clicking here.

Finally, I'm looking for opportunities to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a therapeutic approach using yoga and meditation for which I was trained in 2000 under the direction of Drs. Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, through the Stress Reduction Clinic of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. I can provide details to those interested. For background on MBSR, go to eMindful.com or www.umassmed.edu/cfm.