A Conversation with Joan Baez (continued)

PM: I've been admiring the album photos, the way one does when listening. You look...fantastic. I mean, how do you do it?

JB: [laughs]

PM: How do you do it--good genes or clean living?

JB: Well, part of it's genes, I have to say. My mom is 90, and she looks about 75.

PM: No kidding.

JB: So I'm really lucky. The other is, I'm really careful. I mean, I eat about half of what's put in front of me, usually.

PM: That seems to be a huge secret.

JB: [laughs]

PM: That some people just do that.

JB: Print it. Print it.

PM: [laughs]

JB: It shouldn't be a secret. I mean, in this country, we are just served too much.

PM: Right.

JB: And so that, and I do Yoga, and I do a lot of meditation.

PM: Do you practice any certain kind of meditation or follow any specific spiritual path?

JB: I do. Well, in the meditation, I do the Vipassana meditation. Because, I think from my Quaker upbringing, it's more about being aware--because Vipassana is an awareness meditation--than it is about trying to lose yourself in a candle flame or something--which also has its merits, because it's nice to float off. But I think we're stuck here, so we might as well get to know what this minute is about.

PM: Yeah, the Vipassana crowd, they don't close their eyes, either, right? They more focus on that spot about forty-five degrees down. Or is that true, or--

JB: Well, some of them do. I think it's the Zen folks who do that more. But I've seen both. I've seen both--

PM: Are you an eye closer?

JB: I'm both, because I do walking meditation, which means I've got to keep my eyes open.

[laughter]

PM: Yeah, yeah. It's good to open your eyes when you're walking.

JB: It shouldn't be any surprise, but it's grounding.

PM: Sure.

JB: You concentrate on your feet and where they're hitting the ground, footstep by footstep.

PM: Yeah. I'm real excited about one of those little meditation benches coming, I think, tomorrow. I ordered it from this guy up in--you know the Ananda people up in northern California?

JB: Yep, yes I do.

PM: Yeah. There's a guy there who makes them.

JB: Up in Nevada City.

PM: Nevada City. You ever been up to the Vipassana place up in Marin County, Jack Kornfield's joint? [www.spiritrock.org]

JB: Jack is a friend of mine.

PM: I figured he might be.  continue

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