“To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.” -William Blake Whenever there has been a snowstorm I love to awaken early and sit quietly looking out the window at a world of white that [...]
Act always as if the future of the Universe depends on what you do, while laughing at yourself for thinking that whatever you do makes any difference. – Buddha This sums up 2012 beautifully for me. It is the quintessential paradox for my life, an inescapable infinity loop that is always at work as I [...]
Some of my favorite characters from the Christmas story are the wise men. Even though I know the stories aren’t historically true, I love that each character represents a part of me. As I have mentioned in the previous two articles, the narratives we have for the birth of Jesus are found in two of [...]
The other day I was talking with a friend who lives in Germany. It was already nightfall for her and she was sharing with me the beauty of their first snowfall this season. She described the scene outside her window with such clarity, that I couldn't help but close my eyes and imagine it for [...]
The last time I wrote anything political was… Oh, I remember, NEVER. The world of politics is not something I have ever felt comfortable with probably because I get overwhelmed with ALL the information, statistics, rhetoric, facts, ideologies, opinions and basic filibustering that goes on. Not to mention the routine candidate bashing that ensues, regardless [...]
A little while back, Todd Akin, (R) Congressman from Missouri, stepped in doo-doo in a major way with his comments about rape and pregnancy. And yes, if you know what I am talking about, you know “doo-doo” is likely a much more gentle way of describing things than perhaps other words floating around. Here’s what [...]
My first volunteer commitment at church was a prayer chaplain at Unity of Phoenix with Rev. Lei Lanni Burt and Rev. Richard Rogers in 2002. The chaplains were invited to take part in World Day of Prayer, reading names of those who had submitted prayer requests for the our 24-hour prayer vigil. […]
Some days I have a deep yearning to write, but my mind is blank about what to write about. Other days I have lots to say but no desire to sit still at the keyboard. Such is the life of living in the mystical lunatic fringe. On those days when my mind seems to be [...]
About every six weeks I like to stop at a McDonald’s for an Egg McMuffin. There I said it, I confess. It’s one of the VERY FEW fast food things I enjoy. I have to take half the English Muffin off, otherwise it’s just too much bread, but in the nutrition scheme of things, it’s [...]
As I sit in the quiet of my morning self-connection practice, I listen inside for the place to enter the flow of silence, the place of mystery. I don’t have to seek, it always finds me, and today it scoops me up leading me to the world outside myself. I hear the rhythm of the [...]
What I want to talk about is that things are always perfect and it can’t get any better, life is wonderful! I love to talk about things being magnificent and sublime. I thoroughly enjoy those moments, sitting with others, basking in the glory of all that is good, true and beautiful. When I do, I [...]
I recently sat in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, a mecca for Catholics. Ironically, I think it’s a mecca for anyone deeply rooted in a religious tradition. I am surrounded by the trappings of my past, of all that is Catholic: stained glass windows my great grandfather worked on, statues and carvings of [...]
I woke this morning in a cosmic haze. By that I mean when I opened my eyes it took me a moment to come into my body. I had been elsewhere, astral traveling I call it. As I have journeyed the terrain of depression into the mystical life, of joy and suffering and back again, [...]
“I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills...” This is the opening sentence of the book Out of Africa, and it’s probably one of my most cherished lines from any book. It doesn’t provide much information really, yet it speaks volumes about life, adventure, and storytelling. From one sentence my [...]
For a couple years I have had this phrase, “Between mysticism and madness I find myself.” When something stays with me this long I know it is a thread to follow, so consider this fair warning for the beginning of my “following.” […]
