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What if the meaning of life was sitting right at your feet, tail wagging, heart open, and ready to love you anyway?
In Stop and Smell the Bacon, a wise old dog shares timeless lessons on how to live a life filled with love, loyalty, joy, and presence. Through ten gentle chapters, this heartfelt guide explores what truly matters—from the ma
What if the meaning of life was sitting right at your feet, tail wagging, heart open, and ready to love you anyway?
In Stop and Smell the Bacon, a wise old dog shares timeless lessons on how to live a life filled with love, loyalty, joy, and presence. Through ten gentle chapters, this heartfelt guide explores what truly matters—from the magic of simple moments to the healing power of patience and connection.
Told through the voice of a seasoned canine companion, this book will make you smile, reflect, and maybe even cry a little. It's for anyone who has ever loved a dog—or been loved by one—and who’s ready to rediscover what it means to live fully and love deeply.
Of The One is a spiritual exploration that transcends doctrine and dives into the universal truths at the heart of all faiths and philosophies.
Born from a lifetime of seeking, suffering, and awakening, this book offers a gentle guide toward inner peace, connection, and wholeness.
With reflections on kindness, equanimity, humility, health,
Of The One is a spiritual exploration that transcends doctrine and dives into the universal truths at the heart of all faiths and philosophies.
Born from a lifetime of seeking, suffering, and awakening, this book offers a gentle guide toward inner peace, connection, and wholeness.
With reflections on kindness, equanimity, humility, health, gratitude, and more, Bodhisifu invites you to see the sacred in all things and to remember that the Divine is not somewhere out there, but within and among us.
Rooted in the wisdom of world religions, ancient cultures, and modern spiritual insight, Of the One is both a compass and a mirror. It reminds us that we are more than our beliefs, more than our pain; we are part of something eternal, infinite, and lovingly united.
A Cold Beer, a Warm Breeze, and Words That Might Change Your Life !
Bodhi was just passing through — a writer, a traveler, a self-proclaimed beach bum. But when he wandered into the Cowboy Beach Bar on a quiet Pacific island, he found more than the cold beer he came for.
Behind the bar stood the Salty Sensei — gray hair, cowboy hat, and a
A Cold Beer, a Warm Breeze, and Words That Might Change Your Life !
Bodhi was just passing through — a writer, a traveler, a self-proclaimed beach bum. But when he wandered into the Cowboy Beach Bar on a quiet Pacific island, he found more than the cold beer he came for.
Behind the bar stood the Salty Sensei — gray hair, cowboy hat, and a lifetime’s worth of stories etched in his smile. Around him, locals, wanderers, surfers, and tourists asked questions about love, happiness, purpose, and even the distractions of modern life.
The Sensei answered them all with a blend of humor, humility, and beachside wisdom — the kind you don’t find in books, but in sunsets, ocean waves, and a well-worn barstool.
Through twenty conversations, Bodhi captures the laughter, insight, and quiet moments that make you feel like you’re sitting there too, listening with a drink in hand.
If you’ve ever been a seeker or simply someone who asks “What’s it all about?” — pull up a seat. Your drink is waiting.
What if you were never off the path?
What if just being alive means you're already walking it?
In this transformative journey through the world’s spiritual wisdom, Bodhisifu redefines enlightenment - not as a distant goal for the few, but as a living truth for all. You are not separate from the divine. You are not waiting to be chosen. Yo
What if you were never off the path?
What if just being alive means you're already walking it?
In this transformative journey through the world’s spiritual wisdom, Bodhisifu redefines enlightenment - not as a distant goal for the few, but as a living truth for all. You are not separate from the divine. You are not waiting to be chosen. You were chosen the moment you drew breath.
Blending sacred teachings from every corner of the globe, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Shamanism, Hinduism, Voodoo, Indigenous cosmologies, and more.
This book uncovers the golden thread that connects all paths:
We are all walking home.
Whether you move fast or slow, whether your steps are graceful or unsure, the destination is not reserved for saints or sages. It is promised to everyone. And though the journey may be long, you can choose to walk it with kindness, love, and awareness. To arrive not just in time, but in peace.
You are the path. You are the light.
You are already on your way.
“The Path to Enlightenment is not found.
It is remembered.”
Shadow Whisperer
Shadow Whisperer
Shadow Whisperer
What if your greatest darkness held the key to your deepest light?
In Shadow Whisperer, Bodhisifu invites you on a sacred journey into the parts of yourself you’ve hidden, feared, or denied. With raw honesty and spiritual wisdom drawn from Zen, Sufism, indigenous teachings, and personal experience, this book reveals how your inner demons—
What if your greatest darkness held the key to your deepest light?
In Shadow Whisperer, Bodhisifu invites you on a sacred journey into the parts of yourself you’ve hidden, feared, or denied. With raw honesty and spiritual wisdom drawn from Zen, Sufism, indigenous teachings, and personal experience, this book reveals how your inner demons—addiction, anger, shame, fear, and more—are not curses to be exiled, but energies to be understood, transformed, and harnessed.
Each chapter explores a specific “demon,” offering insights, reflections, and practical rituals to help you move from avoidance to alchemy. Through this process, you’ll learn how to whisper to your shadow—not to silence it, but to guide it.
This is not a book about perfection.
It’s a guide to wholeness.
A lantern for the dark.
A path home.
You are not broken. You are becoming. And the shadow is not the end—it’s the beginning.
-Bodhisifu
Let Go Let Life
Shadow Whisperer
Shadow Whisperer
Let go of the noise. Let life in.
Let Go, Let Life is a guide to inner peace through the art of releasing what weighs you down mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. With gentle clarity and deep insight from the voice of Bodhisifu, this book explores how to live more lightly, love more freely, and reconnect with what truly matters.
In 35 s
Let go of the noise. Let life in.
Let Go, Let Life is a guide to inner peace through the art of releasing what weighs you down mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. With gentle clarity and deep insight from the voice of Bodhisifu, this book explores how to live more lightly, love more freely, and reconnect with what truly matters.
In 35 short, powerful chapters, you'll learn to:
- Drop the fear, control, and clutter
- Embrace stillness, simplicity, and presence
- Live with more peace, purpose, and truth
This is not just a book, it’s an invitation to come home to yourself.
-Bodhisifu
Art of Balancing
Shadow Whisperer
Art of Balancing
Mastering Life’s Elements on the Path to Enlightenment
We live in a world that demands everything faster, louder, harder and rarely teaches us how to stay centered in the storm.
Art of Balancing is not about perfection. It’s about returning to your center. Again, and again.
Through 37 deeply reflective and practical chapters, this book guid
Mastering Life’s Elements on the Path to Enlightenment
We live in a world that demands everything faster, louder, harder and rarely teaches us how to stay centered in the storm.
Art of Balancing is not about perfection. It’s about returning to your center. Again, and again.
Through 37 deeply reflective and practical chapters, this book guides you through the essential dimensions of life: mind, body, emotions, relationships, purpose, discipline, joy, and more. With grounded wisdom and calm clarity, it explores how to walk through life with presence, alignment, and grace.
Written for seekers, doers, and anyone who’s ever felt stretched too thin or lost in the noise, this book is both compass and companion.
Whether you're recalibrating your energy, untangling your time, or simply trying to breathe a little deeper, Art of Balancing will meet you where you are and help you return to who you are.
Because balance isn’t a destination.
It’s a way of living.
-Bodhisifu
Art of Balancing
What if the moments that shattered you held the secret to your wholeness?
In The Art of Kintsugi, Bodhisifu invites you on a transformative journey of healing, mindfulness, and self-discovery inspired by the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Rather than hiding your cracks, this book teaches you how to honor them,
What if the moments that shattered you held the secret to your wholeness?
In The Art of Kintsugi, Bodhisifu invites you on a transformative journey of healing, mindfulness, and self-discovery inspired by the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Rather than hiding your cracks, this book teaches you how to honor them, turning wounds into wisdom and imperfection into sacred beauty.
Through 20 thought-provoking chapters, you'll explore how the principles of kintsugi can guide you through emotional restoration, deepen your relationships, and help you live each day with greater presence, purpose, and peace. With insights drawn from Zen philosophy, personal reflection, and timeless spiritual truths, this book is a gentle reminder that nothing truly broken is ever beyond repair.
You are not a mistake to be fixed.
You are a masterpiece becoming whole.
-Bodhisifu
Cultivating Patience, Purpose, and Presence in Everyday Life
There is a quiet magic in the way a Bonsai tree lives. It does not strive. It does not chase. It simply grows, slowly, patiently, shaped by care and time.
In the West, we are taught to grow up fast, reach for more, and prove our worth through action and ambition. But in the ar
Cultivating Patience, Purpose, and Presence in Everyday Life
There is a quiet magic in the way a Bonsai tree lives. It does not strive. It does not chase. It simply grows, slowly, patiently, shaped by care and time.
In the West, we are taught to grow up fast, reach for more, and prove our worth through action and ambition. But in the art of Bonsai, there is no rush. Each branch is shaped with intention. Each snip of the shears is a meditation. And every season is honored, whether it brings blossoms or bare limbs.
This book is not about cultivating trees, it is about cultivating yourself.
The way of Bonsai offers us more than beauty; it offers a philosophy for how to live. It teaches us to begin with strong roots, to grow slowly, to prune with purpose, and to endure life’s winds without breaking. It invites us to simplify, to listen, to tend to the smallest details with reverence.
In a world obsessed with speed, Bonsai teaches slowness.
In a world addicted to control, it teaches surrender.
In a world filled with noise, it offers silence.
Each chapter of this book explores a principle of Bonsai and connects it to your everyday life. You will not find a roadmap to perfection here. Instead, you’ll find reflections, gentle teachings, and practices that help you live with more intention and more rooted in who you truly are.
Whether you are beginning again after loss, trying to simplify your life, or simply yearning for a deeper connection to yourself and the world around you, the way of Bonsai welcomes you.
Let this be your invitation not to become something more, but to become more of who you already are. The tree is already within you. This is your time to shape it.
-Bodhisifu
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Welcome, Friend
I’m glad you’ve found your way here.
I’m Paul D. Dukes, also known as "Bodhisifu" a nickname given to me by my traveling friends.
I've been called an author, military veteran, certified peer support specialist, songwriter, ordained minister, philosopher, spiritual guide, and lifelong traveler. But above all else, I’m a beac
Welcome, Friend
I’m glad you’ve found your way here.
I’m Paul D. Dukes, also known as "Bodhisifu" a nickname given to me by my traveling friends.
I've been called an author, military veteran, certified peer support specialist, songwriter, ordained minister, philosopher, spiritual guide, and lifelong traveler. But above all else, I’m a beach bum with sand in my toes and spirit in my heart, wandering this world in search of something greater: "Enlightenment"
I was born in a small Mississippi town where both my Papaw and my uncle were respected Southern Baptist preachers. From them, I received a strong foundation in faith. But I was also taught to look beyond the boundaries of one belief system. I was raised to respect all religions and to seek understanding in every form of spiritual truth.
My journey led me to Okinawa, Japan, where I trained in Shōrin-ryū karate under Grand Master Hanshi-sei Fusei Kise. Later, as a Loadmaster in the U.S. Air Force, I traveled across the Far East, Middle East, and Europe. I carried more than cargo. I carried experiences, insights, and the seeds of transformation. Today, I live in a peaceful village just outside Udon Thani, Thailand, called Tum Tao, which means Turtle Cave. It is there that I write, meditate, and prepare for the next chapter of my life’s story.
My path has taken me across the continents of North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe. I’ve sought wisdom in the stillness of temples and the chaos of city streets, in jungles, deserts, and distant mountain retreats.
Along the way, I have studied under shamans, priests, monks, and spiritual leaders of many traditions. Each of them helped shape my path. I now walk a path of humility, reverence, and an unshakable desire to seek and one day reach true "enlightenment."
I’ve lived in luxury condos and simple huts, in cargo planes, vans and quiet forests. I’ve known boardrooms and back alleys, sat in circles of healing and in solitary confinement. I’ve shared meals with monks and drinks with strangers. I’ve also "quite accidentally" found myself entangled with gangs, the mafia, and even a cult in New Zealand. And for those
wondering, yes - I’ve been joyfully married five times.
Through all of it, I’ve come to understand that this journey isn’t mine alone. I didn’t walk it just to find peace for myself. I came to realize that it is my responsibility to share what I’ve learned. My calling is to light the way for others, to offer stories, lessons, and truths that might help someone else step out of their own darkness and into the light.
I write about what I’ve lived. The struggles of veterans, the shadow of addiction, the weight of mental illness, the pain of loss, and the constant undercurrent of spirit that flows through them all. Everything I share is connected by a simple truth: we are all trying to find our way back to where we began.
Whether you are here for healing, adventure, inspiration, or just curiosity, I hope you find something in these words that meets you where you are. Something that stirs you, comforts you, or gives you the courage to keep going.
And if one day you find yourself walking a distant shoreline and you spot a sun-warmed beach bum with a pen in his hand and a peaceful grin on his face, don’t be shy. Sit beside him.
Share your story.
I'll be listening.
"Peace be your journey"
— Bodhisifu