The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it. – Henri J. M. Nouwen I admittedly struggle in my life’s work as a global educator. The systemic issues of poverty, suffering and inhumane labor practices at times shackle my heart and mind with an unbending futility. I must […]

I question my self-subscribed theology often. I feel that’s healthy. I continue to take into account the evolution of consciousness through us as a species and see how language, nuance, bias, and my leanings towards Process Theology still have incalculable layers. I will never comprehend all wisdom lessons in a one-dimensional body. I want to […]

Ram Dass wrote about visiting death row inmates in San Quentin. He recalled those visits to be equal to visiting the holiest of monasteries. As they meditated together, he described light pouring out of their hearts and how the whole experience was immeasurably profound. Those on death row, he said, “had been pushed into a […]

Years ago a prominent spiritual leader shared the story of her first invitation to a high profile political fundraiser. She felt the invitation came due to her strong opened criticism of certain elected figureheads. The attendees would be renowned leaders, celebrities and revered advocates. She invested a great deal of time and money in styling […]

Over promise – under deliver. I’ve heard it used to describe the scene of so many of our trust crimes. I’ve used it myself regarding maintenance workers, organizations, health care professionals and the esteemed spiritual teacher or three. But this week in meditation, I heard it differently. Over promise – under listen. When I reflect […]

Peace is felt in an atmosphere of surrender. An atmosphere of surrender is available through letting go of the conventional. Letting go the conventional requires the understanding that there are far more options available to consider than what you’ve seen modeled by others. The risk of being labeled foolish will actually nurture peace in your […]

In high school English class, we read a short story called The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson. It was first published in The New Yorker in 1948 and is still considered one of the most provoking short stories in American literature. Much of its metaphor was lost on my 1970’s youth but I do remember […]

Ritual has been a part of civilization since the beginning of our primitive existence. What brings it relevance and meaning in our modern world experience is the depth of intention we bring to the activity. This week, as we approach the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, we have the opportunity to engage in such […]

It’s noisy out there. Divisive and fearful opinions daily sound off like sirens which layer us with worry and a smothering forgetfulness that seems to blanket our innate genius. When we do nothing to filter the noise, then we, as a species, often try and numb it away. Substance abuse, work addiction and complete avoidance […]

I was recently reminded of a powerful distinction – the difference between change and transformation. With change, I can make a different choice, but, I can always revert back to old behavior. I can change locations yet return to where I began. I can change my mind about a person, but, I can also revert […]

There is a sustaining energy that is the nucleus of all livingness. It links everything and everyone. It is infinite in nature – always has been, always will be. This energy is personalized in our lives by our willingness to recognize it. To say that good does not exist for us is perhaps one of […]

We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. – Saint Clare of Assisi In a recent airline magazine article, a biologist shared his research on the migration of monarch butterflies and their winter resting place – a forest in the state of Michoacan in Mexico. It detailed the remarkable sojourn […]

A low self-image is usually not based on fact but on mismanaged memory. – Orrin Woodward The phone rang in the middle of the night. It was the Veterans Administration Hospital calling to inform my mother that my father had passed away. I was 7 and where I slept and where the phone was located […]

You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind. – Henry David Thoreau The Mule Rule A mule is the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. A horse has 64 chromosomes and a donkey 62. The mule has 63. This one chromosome change has a strong influence on the general character traits […]

When one suffers from cold and congestion there is a system we use in order to facilitate the cold to run its course. We rest, drink fluids, alter diet, take a medicinal agent. No one questions such a system and many rely on it to return to wellness. When one suffers from the congestion of […]

Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight. For the greatest tragedy of them all is never to feel the burning light. – Oscar Wilde Icarus, from Greek mythology, has often been associated with youthful carelessness. Donning wings of feather and wax, his demise came from flying too close to the sun. Not […]

Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new. – Albert Einstein We are not born with a tentative stride. In our infancy, we are fearless, ceaselessly pulling ourselves to stand even after we repeatedly fall. We scramble across the floor with innate curiosity and start running with reckless abandon. Acquired experience […]

If your knowledge of fire has been turned to certainty by words
 alone, then seek to be cooked by the fire itself. Don’t abide in
 borrowed certainty. There is no real certainty until you burn; if you 
wish for this, sit down in the fire. ~ Rumi In the metaphysical classic, The Science of Mind, […]

Long ago the first lapidaries or gemcutters used primitive methods to polish the exterior of rough rock material. They would fill rough textured bags with raw unrefined pieces. Shaking it vigorously, twisting and kneading this bag between the palms of their hands, they would create a sort or organic, primitive friction inside. This contact would […]

Northeast of Bodhgaya, India is a terrain of rocky hills and brush populated by slums. Situated inside one of these hills is the Praghbodhi Cave, the place where Siddhartha Guatama was believed to have lived for 7 years among ascetics who fervently believed that poverty was the pathway to enlightenment. Here he subsisted on little, […]

On a friend’s invitation, I signed up for a deep-sea fishing expedition off the shores of Corpus Christi, Texas prior to returning for my sophomore year in college. Far into the murky waters of the Gulf, I discovered we were booked on a commercial charter with professionals. I knew nothing about the intricacies and best […]

It was painful to watch. Activist and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver visits a family in Huntington, West Virginia – a town given the label as the unhealthiest in all of the United States. On his new television experiment, Food Revolution, part reality show, part educational programming, Oliver explains to the mother that the freezer full […]

…the time between one occurrence and another …the period of time between now and when something is supposed to happen. Recently, when meditating on this common phrase, it occurred to me that how we are “in the meantime” quite possibly is the most telling barometer of one’s state of spiritual maturity. Between the “substance of […]

DialogueYou may have read or heard from a variety of sources that we humans have something upwards of 60,000 thoughts a day. 60,000. I’m not sure how one actually calculates such a precise number. I conjure up images of some sort of thought gatekeeper with one of those clicking devices in hand. There they watch, […]

Those who experience the unity of life see their own self in all beings and all beings in their own self. – Buddha Imagine an endless net where in each knot of the infinite mass of intersecting squares, a jewel is sewn. Each pristine jewel reflects all the other jewels in the net, the same […]

You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.– Rumi We are all in hospice. From the moment we arrive through the portal of birth, we begin the journey towards another, equally shared portal for our exit. The origin of the word hospice refers to being either guests or hosts. This world is our […]

The secret to having it all is knowing you already do. – Unknown If the gift of Life is already made, then our part must be to accept, receive, believe in and use it. – Ernest Holmes, “This Thing Called Life” The four basic quadrants of human existence are considered to be, health, wealth, creative […]

The best propaganda is not pamphleteering, but for each one of us to try to live the life we would have the world live. – Gandhi The saying goes that an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. A path of vengeance only perpetuates continuing retaliation. If I meet discord with more of the same […]

Adaptability is key. – Marc Andreessen Early 20th century experiments with parasites on plants found that when infested rose bushes were brought into a room and placed in front of a closed window and allowed to dry out, the parasites, previously wingless, changed to winged insects. After the metamorphosis, the insects left the plants, flew […]

It was never true. All those years focusing on a belief that somehow you couldn’t do it – somehow you weren’t good enough, were years influenced by lies. All those decisions to not attempt a greater endeavor, to not initiate choices that carried passionate momentum due to some alliance you and I formed with futility […]

You are not the same person you were 365 days ago. There is cell, blood and tissue regeneration. People have come and gone. Countless miles traveled. Physical adventure and immeasurable displays of emotion. Old beliefs discarded and new ones nurtured. Change. Some of it conscious, most of it, not so much. Every one of those […]

The Latin phrase Carpe Diem (seize the day) was first attributed to a poem written by the famed Roman poet Horace during the reign of Augustus. It gained fresh awareness for many of us by the actor Robin Williams in the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. Williams, playing the role of an unconventional English professor, […]

There is but one temple in this Universe: The Body. We speak to God whenever we lay our hands upon it. – Thomas Carlyle We can sit in the shade or move into the sunshine. “The Science of Mind” page 411 Imagine a healing temple where only words of love and peace have been expressed […]

I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet. – Gandhi If we want to be free from suffering, we have to stop inflicting it. If we want love, we have to love, no matter what anybody thinks of us. – Ernest Holmes, Creative Living The job of a sentinel is […]

Beloved comedienne Gilda Radner frequently joked, “It’s always something.” So many relate to the everyday human existence with perpetual overwhelm. Life seems packed with situations we feel must be overcome. Our existence can be lived in a vibration of low or high panic, invading the simple act of living regardless of socioeconomic status. This is […]

We have all the light we need. We just need to put it to practice. – Albert Pike The well-known idiom states, “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” This is frequently offered as a statement of hope. We share it with others or even say it to ourselves to help bolster confidence. […]