My mother was a singer in church, around the house and, after her customary half glass of wine, at parties. Her father was a preacher, and with fingers crippled on his right hand, nonetheless learned to play piano without learning to read music. Music was the most important thing in their house, after God and … Read the rest
Bringing Meditation to Life
It was a long day preparing for the Sakyong’s arrival. Shambhala Mountain Center was abuzz with activity. The driveway was chalked with the auspicious symbols, and strewn with flower petals. The kitchen was readying the welcome feast. However, it would be false to say that all was joyful in anticipation. And while most were joyful … Read the rest
The Fires of Baltimore
Baltimore burned last night.
Ravaged neighborhoods long left for dead lie in the shadows of the award winning, highly praised, renovation of the waterfront, the jewel in Baltimore’s charm bracelet. The influx of money, people and life that filled the harbor and its adjacent neighborhoods, had faltered by the time it reached its east and … Read the rest
TRUNGPA
That winter was thick, frozen and bleak. We spent long nights at the main house huddled around the woodstove, drinking sake and singing Scottish sea shanties. The students would trade broken-hearted stories of a teacher whose passing, nine months prior, was still fresh in their hearts. A man of outrageous warmth and brilliance, Trungpa, Rinpoche … Read the rest
Taurus Winter
Stars exploded across the night sky. Among them the giant V, the horns and nose of the bull, an arrow pointing to the earth you’re heir to. Oh, Taurus slave to this winter, lonely, driven, dark and chained to your domain, even as you dream of Venus, ruled by her, but shunned, a beast of … Read the rest
Across a Night So Wide
Snow had covered the ground and frozen bright, reflecting trillions of diamonds in the night. The sky was clear, ringing into an aura of a full moon. Stars nonetheless stood out in that amazing black and completely ice lit sky shining above the glistening earth, reflections of a moon reflecting its sun 93,000,000 miles behind … Read the rest
Waking Up To The Change
You wake up and its another day. Its beautiful, fresh, alive and a new start. Yet, you can sense the zombies out there, just beyond the fence. The asteroid approaching. The other shoe about to drop on the landing, the economy or the environment. Our egostasis is threatened and we gear up for battle, even
Welcoming the Wood Sheep
We’re well into winter. Its becoming brighter and colder. There is a confluence of energies as the days getting longer bringing a sense of hope and newness, as the temperature stubbornly clings, even drops in defiance. The old year grudgingly moving on, as a new one takes its place. The tides of time.
And this
… Read the rest A Bodhisattva of Our Time
Dr Martin Luther King was a Bodhisattva of our time, in real time. He was in the midst of the greatest change in the history of our society and remained true to his vision of nonviolence and liberation. Dr. King was an inspiration to all who long to inspire change. He was the perfect coach,
… Read the rest Working With Yourself
(Who Else?)…
We want to get it done. We want to feel competent. We want to be functional. We think its time we finally became an adult. But, the child inside thinks otherwise. We keep the doubt hidden behind a veneer of competency, despite a nagging sense that we are not really up to the … Read the rest