Lynn Braz, Writer

Bio

Lynn is a journalist whose eclectic work has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers and books, including Cosmopolitan, Philadelphia, Conscious Living and Whole Life Times magazines, the Dallas Morning News and the San Francisco Chronicle's web site, SFGate.com.

Topics Lynn has written about include travel, wellness, spirituality, jewelry, skiing and flying trapeze.

Based in San Francisco, Lynn spends four months a year traveling internationally. Next up: France, Italy and Spain. Lynn is currently penning her first novel, Temples in Manali, inspired by the extraordinary people she met during her adventures in India... more.

Travel Blog

Adventures in Kashmir, Sikkim, Darjeeling... Flying Free.

Essay: The Key to Happiness

Anand assured my friend Judy and me we'd easily find his office. It's next door to the German bakery, he said. Cafe Amigos. I'd spent most of my life resisting pastries with zealous discipline, so uneasiness with Anand's landmark--and, therefore, Anand--washed over me. But Judy, who didn't share my obsession with being thin, decided Anand's proximity to cake was a sign that he would be the perfect guide for our four-day trek in the Indian Himalayas.

Since I read Lost Horizon when I was eleven, I'd longed to visit the high Himalayas. I knew if I stumbled upon Shangri-la I'd never return to ordinary life. More recently I'd read Autobiography of a Yogi and imagined if I ever made it to the Himalayas, I'd meet a holy man in a cave and instantly be changed forever. All of my character defects would melt away and I'd return to everyday life a better person, a happier person.

But having actually landed in Southeast Asia my overriding goal became escaping the sweltering equatorial heat. To hell with holy men. I would have sold my soul for a cool breeze. For Judy, who was more tolerant of the temperature-more tolerant, in general-trekking topped her priority list. more...