Time, Timing, Fatigue and the Radicality of Relaxation
The clock on the wall keeps a pushin’me That’s not the way I want my life to be If you take any pushing from that clock on the wall, you won’t be happy at all. —The Guess Who From the day we are born until we die we are pushed by the “clock on the … Read more
Suffering Our Way Back to Reality
To suffer is to submit to reality. Sounds simple. But if we could do it, we’d all be awakened souls. I’m convinced that this is the wisdom that saints, and holy women and men, throughout the ages either stumbled on to or knew by direct download. The Buddha discovered it under a Bodhi tree. Jesus … Read more
Seven Marks of Spirit
I got back in the saddle at Hillhurst United in Calgary. These folks have made me their “Theologian In Residence” for the next little while. We’re not sure what that means exactly, but we’re going to figure it out together. I offered a reflection on Pentecost Sunday, and came up (rather arbitrarily with seven marks … Read more
The Perils of Wishing
When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are… — From Pinnochio Walt Disney took an original folk tale about a “bad boy” who endures humiliating experiences in order to correct his behaviour and turned it into the beloved version we know today. Probably a good thing since the original tale has … Read more
O Grave, Where Is Thy Victory?
A talk given at EastLake Community Church in Seattle: I fear that I must be developing a reputation among you. I am graciously invited by your leaders and then proceed to talk on such things as trauma, grief, and alas this morning, death. I promise to never give a talk on taxes! But it’s not … Read more
The Spiritual Ego
Spirituality can be summoned as a substitute for trauma work. When this happens we develop a spiritual ego, little more than another defence against suffering what is ours to suffer. It’s a little harder to spot because it can present as calm, equanimous, wise, unflappable, smart, compassionate, etc. On the other hand, when we run … Read more
THE CORE ADDICTION
A human being’s core addiction is to the traumatized self. Trauma, along with our early childhood patterns of compensating for failures of love give rise to our trauma signature. This signature registers as “me” in my energetic field. As an adult, with all of this trauma relegated by repression to the unconscious, I default under … Read more
As We Forgive…
As We Forgive I attended Yom Kippur this past year, with my Jewish wife, Mia. It’s the holiest day of the year for Jews. My wife is Jewish. The theme is repentance and atonement for sin. These folks know how to do repentance. Three hours of singing about how they have hurt others through acts … Read more
Recruited
The Lakota chants are a summons to the warrior within. I am being recruited to walk the path of integrity, humility, and compassion. The medicine that is ayahuasca tea first brought me to my knees revealing the posturing of a false self, constructed to survive repeated failures of love in my early years. Now, in … Read more
The Making of a Bad Ass
Breaking Bad. View it on Netflix, if you’ve got the stomach for it that is. Warning. The violence can be graphic, and the content is disturbing. Yet, I can’t remember another television series I found as compelling. As in, I couldn’t stop watching it. I was late to the series. I had heard the buzz, (it won … Read more
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Dismantled: How Love and Psychedelics Broke a Clergyman Apart and Put Him Back Together
This book describes my healing
journey with psychedelics.
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