Barry Nathan, Vilasa Press' publisher, is a businessman of a different stripe. He has demonstrated a lifelong dedication to conscious living and social responsibility. He has had a full and rewarding life of service and management success. He brings both to Vilasa Press.

A member of one of the first Peace Corps "classes" to go to Brazil, Barry served in Rio de Janeiro from 1964 to 1966. He was a community organizer in the "favelas", the shantytowns covering the Rio hills. Most of his work was devoted to solving public health problems. His two years in Rio were highly impactful: He loves Brazil and everything Brazilian, even naming his first stallion after the country's exciting martial art, capoeira.

Finishing his Peace Corps tour, Barry trained new Peace Corps volunteers in the United States before entering the Master's Degree in Urban Planning program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Finishing that program, he used his Master's degree to assist people left out of the United State's prosperous mainstream. Working in antipoverty and Model Cities programs around the country, Barry Nathan lived the values he preached. He eventually became a Senior Planner in the Planning Departments of both San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties in the 1970's.

At that time, he needed a break from public service. He became convinced that he could be more effective helping people in the private sector and entered the Master's in Business Administration program at Santa Clara University. He completed a good portion of the MBA program before leaving to manage Design Resource, a high end furniture store and interior design service he and his wife, Sandy Nathan, founded and owned. Design Resource became a full time job.

"I felt like Robin Hood, helping consumers buy fine furniture at prices far below the other furniture stores," Barry says of these years. His business skills were sharpened by this experience and his management of real estate investments.

Years of work in the public and private sector culminated when he discovered his real passion: horses! Yes, riding his Peruvian Paso horses is where he finds his joy.

My wife has always loved horses. When we met, I thought they were completely unnecessary: No animal needed to be that big in this age. Then I got into them. I had no idea the horses were so addicting. Well, addicting isn't quite the right word. They're just more fun than pretty near anything, except reading my wife's books.

When Sandy started writing in 1995, my life expanded. I was the first, and in many cases the only, person to read her drafts. I've read all of them, and let me tell you, you ain't seen nothing yet! The only thing that will get me off my horse is another one of her new chapters.

I started Vilasa Press to facilitate the publication of Sandy's work. We named the business Vilasa Press because it echoes our personal philosophy. Vilasa is a Sanskrit word meaning, "delightful play or sport." Keeping vilasa in mind, our lives can be seen as the play of the universe, the play of consciousness.

We named our horse ranch Rancho Vilasa some years ago and can testify how much better life is when you view it as delightful play. Problems dissolve or lose their sting. Things that seemed impossible become possible.

That's the purpose of the books we publish: To illuminate positive ways of responding to problems. To open doors and let spirits fly. To scare you silly when they're not raising you to bliss.

As publisher at Vilasa Press, I promise to bring you the most exciting, enlightening, THRILLING books you've can imagine.

I can make this commitment, because I've read all of Sandy's books.

I promise you, our readers, the best books, service, and reading experience this old urban planner turned cowpoke can deliver. From my experience in the public and private sectors, I have learned that sometimes, there's only one way to get things done: Bring in the heavy equipment.

Seriously, the only thing that would get me off the back of one of my horses and into the office is my commitment to my wife's work. Sandy has something special in what she teaches and in the stories she thinks up. I'm hooked. I hope you'll feel the same.

I've been fortunate in that I've been able to live my dreams. I hope that you live yours, and I hope reading our books helps you do it.

Sincerely,

Barry Nathan,
Vilasa Press.