Gather 'round…
"He was more practitioner than advocate, in the way of believers whose religion is so intimate they keep it to themselves."~ Lief Enger, Virgil Wander "Be humble because you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars."~ Serbian Proverb What if it is the very mixture of humility and nobility that... Continue Reading →
"The spiritual life is about becoming more at home in your own skin."~ Parker Palmer "Anything that removes what grows between our hearts and the day is spiritual."~ Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening What is it today that plucks away the things that stand between you and the universe?How is it, this very day,... Continue Reading →
"We cannot live without being affected by others, but we are only real when we let truth and love shape us from within. Our want to be liked, our want to avoid conflict, our want to be understood--all these traits tease us away from taking the voice within seriously. Though the Earth is touched by... Continue Reading →
'"In a dark time the eye begins to see.' And this is the paradox: that black is white, that darkness is the mother of beauty, that the extinction of light is a revelation."~ Chet Raymo, The Soul of the Night Without darkness, there is no light. Without depths, heights are not heights. Without suffering, love... Continue Reading →
I’ve been thinking a lot about conflict recently. This is, we all know, a pretty timely topic on, well, every scale. I kinda doubt I'm the only one staring down this steely barrel. We all have our own unique ways of dealing with, or responding, to the inevitable head-butts of life. I am even given... Continue Reading →
“Compassion, sweet compassion, is the never-ending story of how we embrace each other and forgive ourselves for not accepting our beautifully particular place in the fabric of all there is.” ~ Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening “In your heart may there be a sanctuaryFor the stillness where clarity is bornMay your work be infused... Continue Reading →
"Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.Breathing out, I smile.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Mud, No Lotus Such simple instructions, so hard to follow. The bar, I would like to remind you, need not be so high. In meditation, certainly, but it's never just about meditation... Click here for just a few things... Continue Reading →
“I had to remember about open, blind, knowing, unreserved, unambiguous, unconditional love–naked love–before any of it could make sense again. I had to find it in the many places it hid, drag it out in the open and wrap it all around me, wear it around the house, feel its imprint on my skin, weave... Continue Reading →
Jeff Rennicke, The Conserve Kid’s English teacher back when COVID closed down the school and the world, is in Alaska, as he is wont to be. He wrote this on Wednesday: "It is fitting, I suppose: a thick fog blanketing the Alaskan mountainsides where I have come seeking solace after such a difficult and divisive... Continue Reading →
I was with a few close friends the other day, and we were talking about our experience of God. Now, please understand, Im’a simplify the context violently here, or we'll never get anywhere. I'll just cut to my part, which was kinda' two parts: First there was my general presence answer. The deep knowing, the... Continue Reading →
Me post-nos. It's small for obvious reasons. Had me a little nitrous the other day. I guess it was almost a month ago now. Time flying when the fun is had and all that... The nitrous in question was administered at my request as prelude to an extraction. You see, while I've had a tooth... Continue Reading →
The robins are singing again. I can't be sure that it's Julio I'm hearing out there, but whoever it is, they're greeting me through closed windows each morning, and I've missed them. As I've explored before--you know, a few times--I am slightly more dependent than the average bear on the changing seasons for my well-being.... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 