I have started reading Bill Plotkin's latest book, Wild Mind (Get it HERE). So far, I love it! I am only four chapters in at this point, but there is so much that is coming up for me... as is most often the case with Plotkin's books. I look forward to writing more on the book from a more personal perspective.

Negative introspection damages the soul... You cannot dredge the depths of the of the soul with the meager light of self-analysis. The inner world never reveals itself cheaply. Perhaps analysis is the wrong way to approach our inner dark.

I had to post this… it’s the original reference to what I mentioned in my last post. And the parallels are so wonderfully significant! As Kingfishers Catch Fire As king fishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’

Christ plays in ten thousand places. Or maybe it's that Christ dwells in ten thousand faces. However we think of it, it is our journey to find our unique self and let it flow!

...or at least what we are looking for, obsessed with, or troubled by. Paying attention is perhaps one of the best things we can do. What are YOU dwelling on?

After a week of allergies and a week of a sinus infection and lost voice, I realized that I do not like spring allergies. No thanks to that massive juniper tree casually tossing its spring pollen right through my front door. I do not like this. And I do not like going through roles and [...]

I have been contemplating the nature of the soul in Celtic Spirituality for quite some time now, and as I work my way slowly and thoughtfully through John O’Donohue’s Anam Cara, I am reminded again of this very precious and beautiful gem of history. Frank MacEowen also addresses this belief in The Myst Filled Pa

A poem from 2007: Birds afloat in air’s current, sacred breath? No, not breath of God, it seems, but God the air enveloping the whole globe of being. It’s we who breathe, in, out, in, the sacred, leaves astir, our wings rising, ruffled – but only the saints take flight. We cower in cliff-crevice or [...]

    My heart melts   Filed under: family, Reflections 2013

In times of transition, it's only natural for me to think about where I have gone and how far I have come. It is all about what we choose to look at. The real question is whether we are living into our sacred dance, the work that is written on our souls to do.

Yes it’s true. That sweet little girl, who got on the bus and asked if she could talk to me while I drove… she threw up right before she got off at her stop. I heard her whimpering as she asked, “Can I have a wastebasket?” I knew it was motion sickness as she got a bit [...]

I am going to go back to posting regularly. Engaging life, stirring conversation, wondering together, visioning, dreaming impossible dreams... you know... the good stuff. Join me.

Suffering does exist. Greed does exist. Politicians and lying and pain and difficulty... they do exist. No matter how much we want the world to be otherwise...

My anticipation has been rising in leaps and bounds for our upcoming Modern Monk Retreat at Breitenbush hot springs (October 26-28). If only my spiritual life was growing and expanding at such a rapid pace. I have been contemplating a possible slogan for our retreat. “Modern Monk – I’m not so good at thi

Whew… found this from 2008. How poignant in our election time, once again. A little angsty, so not quite where i am now, but a voice from the past (or from us all?) that deserves to be heard… Longing, looking for that safe place That Space where I don’t have to hide, Where I can [...]

I've heard some say Truth is harder to come by these days... but I would venture to say that Truth is no less accessible now than it ever was at any time. Everything is geared to make us lazy or resistant to Truth, even without its awareness or ours. But not our souls alive. We must reignite our souls from their sleep, from

Submission and obedience are absolutely necessary to the spiritual life. What do you think?

My roommates used to say I was an old man in a young man's body. The things that come out of my mouth may not have the same weight as if I had a bit more gray hair or more wrinkles. Gravitas comes with age. I'm finding my own voice...

In our men's work we hear often that the Nature is the first Scripture and the Bible is the second. If we can't be in right relation with the first, we will never be in right relation with the second. I tend to agree.

"I thought of all those times had had to ask for help, and had plugged away without enough resources, without knowing how, or whether, we were going to manage. And it had taken much more letting go and trusting than we had felt capable of." Conti

Accidents have this way of orienting (or re-orienting) our perspective in such significant ways. I had a bit of an accident yesterday… though, I suppose for someone with an older body, it would be considerably more than a bit. Walking … Continue reading

With our modern sensibilities and scientific knowledge, we no longer know the miracle of the human body. When we suture the split between our bodies, our minds, and our souls, however, we will begin to remember both our unique human being-ness and our soul's connectedness with the ultimate Essence.

For those who haven’t made peace with the inlaws, this is for you. Family is so tricky… not to mention family of family. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and preparing for the arrival of Kat’s father and … Co

The biggest questions that have plagued me lately cut deep in my soul: How can I help people, when I can barely help myself? How do I provide hope for others, when I myself feel very little hope ? How … Continue reading

"Before every session I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this person has that I cannot share with him, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I too am human. Continue reading U

"The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there." One of the things that I love most about offering spiritual direction and companioning is that there is so much more room for responding to the movements of Spirit and less "protocol" for staying removed

Look about you at the starry heavens and the deep, deep sea; at the amazing history that has birthed a home for you on this planet; at the surprise and joy of your existence. Gather together - you and your communities - in the context of this great, cosmic community to rejoice and give thanks.

We must learn to speak according to our own inner truth, as far as we can perceive it.... This gives us a clue to what the director is really seeking to find out from us... The director wants to know our inmost self, our real self. He wants to know us not as we are in the eyes of men, or even as we are in our own eyes, but

"there is no way of telling people that they are all walk around shining like the sun" but God's glory in you can bring out God's glory in the other when you have become more conscious of this shared gift. God speaks to God, Spirit to Spirit, Love to Love. It is all a gift, it is all grace.