Freedom

Once, in ceremonial space, I went to work trying to arrive at a clear articulation of  the fundamental principles of human reality. Drum roll, please. It all came down to two principles: 1. There is an other. 2. I care. Now, this seemed strange to me. First because it was so simple. (Then I remembered that was me … Read more

My friend, Michael Dowd, (rest his soul) sent me a blog post by John Michael Greer, an author who writes on nature, culture, and the future of industrial society from a Druid perspective. Mr. Greer draws a compelling distinction between predicaments and problems. Predicaments, by definition, are not merely unpleasant situations. They are unpleasant situations … Read more

I was awake at 3 am. My dog was anxious, whining. Maybe I tapped into his field. Or more likely he tapped into mine. My mind was whirling with everything that’s wrong in my life. Story after story, scenario after scenario, all reinforcing the “truth” that my life was teetering on a precipice. Everything, I … Read more

During a sacred plant ceremony I found myself on the receiving end of a temporary gift of  clairvoyance, ( “clear seeing”). I was in a room with twenty-five others, sitting with an open, clear mind, listening to the beautiful suffering. Strange as this latter phrase might sound, it’s an apt description of the experience of being … Read more

I came across the term “the watcher” reading the late and controversial, Buddhist monk, Chogyam Trungpa’s book, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. The watcher is the expression of self that learns, over decades of socialization, to watch what s/he says, watch how he acts, watch what he wears, watch his tone of voice, watch whether he … Read more