A few years ago, I realized that many of the books to which I gravitated were about journeys. I read about Shackleton’s adventures, and about a group of prison camp escapees. I read Searching for Tamsen Donner, written by a writer-researcher who followed the path of the infamous Donner Party, trying to understand the woman […]
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As I wander through the streets of Lisbon and the coastal towns that follow the Tejo river south toward the sea, I occasionally come across signs like this one: They are pointing the way for two pilgrimage routes, one on the well-known Caminho (or, in Spanish, Camino) de Santiago and the other to Fátima. The
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This weekend I spent 24 hours (I’m excluding sleeping time) with 300 people in the Santa Cruz Mountains at 1440 Multiversity for the first On Being Gathering. There is so much to say about this experience, but I am still processing it and making meaning. What is most striking was the ability to connect with
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The way the soul is with the senses and the mind, is like a creek. When desire-weeds grow thick, your intelligence cannot flow, and soul-creatures stay hidden. But sometimes a flooding comes that runs so strong it clears the clogged stream, as though with God’s hand. No longer weeping and frustrated, your being grows as
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There was a time when I realized that all the books I was reading — fiction or memoir — were about people on a journey. I suppose most stories are about journeys, literal or figurative, physical, spiritual or emotional. But these were obviously about a physical journey that also enabled emotional and spiritual exploration. Inspired
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There is a meditation I have followed in which the guide has me thinking of a tiny pinprick of light in the middle of my chest. As the meditation continues, the pinprick grows and light starts to fill the space around me, then the room, then all around as far as I can imagine. For
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In Biosphere 2, a closed ecosystem experiment that was tried in Arizona, the trees that grew inside this giant greenhouse-like structure were weak because they were never exposed to wind and so didn’t develop the stronger “stress wood” needed to help them grow to old age. In this same way, you need the stress of
I read this article today that I found still resonates to this day. One part in particular that I continue to dance with is this: Grief crowds the heart, eats up all your energy and chronically imposes upon your peace. But grief isn’t some evil force that’s only there to cause pain, grief is escorting
All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere. I am sure of that, and I intend to end up there. — Rumi
We spend the weekend in beautiful Sebastopol, CA, this weekend. It reminds me of the Napa of my youth, still feeling like a small country outpost. It’s a cute little town with a hippie vibe — think organic clothing stores, sensible shoes and crystal shops. As we wandered through Main Street, we stopped in to
The Problem with Catholics Read More »