"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." In this famous quote about adenture, T.S. Eliot reminds us that one of the most important (and lasting) benefits of travel is the experience of returning home and seeing it with fresh eyes and a newly-expanded appreciation for the context in which it exists. One of our closet comrades, MC Yogi, is a dedicated adventurer: constantly on a quest to explore new lands and new means with which to express himself. In this personal and pithy Speakeasy from Wanderlust Colorado 2012, he shares how his curiosity about spirituality was piqued and how it led him on a personal pilgrimage of self-discovery. "None of this is divinitive, this is only how I experienced it," he prefaces MC Yogi. "It's not linear, they're not hard facts. This is my quest, my journey of why I am who I am and why I took this body. This is what i discovered so far, and it's an ongoing process." His pilgrimage, like those of many an adventurer before him, began with learning about the roots of the stars and the universe. "Within the cosmic ocean there was a great vibration, giving rise to everything, the hum of the self starting to speak. Om. It reminds me every day how powerful my words are - words create worlds," explains the eloquent MC. "Being a pilgrim is very different from being a tourist. Being a tourist you want to take from a place, being a pilgrim you learn who you are in a different environment. We're so used to seeing ourself in our life, in the parameters of our home, our family, our friends, but to be in a different place offers a whole new perspective -- so much growth, so much inspiration." After delineating his motives for traveling to India, he generously shared a slideshow of images and stories of the influential people and places he witnessed on his trip. Coincidentally (or not), MC Yogi met many gurus, psychics, cultures, holidays and traditions which helped him realize himself and his own values. Let this Speakeasy inspire you to sow the seeds of envisioning your next voyage beyond a boundary: whether that pilgrimmage requires a passport, a paintbrush, or just your imagination, create the space for yourself the opportunity to go somewhere -- anywhere -- and come back changed.

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For a good time, sit next to the beat-happy, Krishna-crazed love machine known as MC Yogi (AKA Nick Giacomini) as he works his creative magic up in his Northern California studio, Photoshopping all kinds of dazzling personal India travel photos into wild collage art that will serve as backdrop for his “cosmic, electrifying” new shows with one hand, while simultaneously blasting tracks from his latest record, Pilgrimage, with the other.