Mystic or Manilow?
Several years ago I created a short quiz for a class I was teaching. I presented participants with lines of verse — some were contemporary pop lyrics, others were bits of sacred poetry from various traditions — and invited them…
Big Time
“The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.”Madeleine L'Engle I’ve got a big birthday coming up next week. Fifty. Five-Oh. I’m a bit boggled by it. Frankly, it’s a lot more…
PEEP ON PEEPING ON
You’ve probably heard the old story about the farmer whose horse ran away. When they heard, the farmer’s neighbors gathered to commiserate, “How unfortunate!” The farmer said, “Maybe. We shall see…” Within a couple of days the horse came home,…
FULL EXTENSION
My sweet friend Romy complimented me on my “extension” after dance class last week. It felt really good. I’m a pretty big guy, so when I spread out my arms or stretch my legs, I can take up a…
What’s Church?
The sacred shouldn’t suck. For the past decade, I’ve been asking, “Why spiritual community? Is it worth the hassle?” I mean, it’s pretty obvious that religious organization tends to be full of problems and pitfalls. Nobody has to look…
Be Mice Elf
I’ve had Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf” going through my head this week. Psychedelic funk has seemed an apt soundtrack for Life lately. And this song has got it going on in so many…
CRYSTAL CLEAR AS MUD
I keep returning to the search for Clarity. In my own practice as well as in what I say and write about the spiritual journey, I circle back to this theme because it always seems like the necessary first step…
Making Fun
It dawned on me recently that all my commitments, convictions, and cares have piled up and hardened up and gotten in the way of me having as much fun as I used to. I mean, I’m still looking for a…
Meet You There
For years, since first encountering it, I’ve loved the beautiful Rumi saying: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” The concept is so touching and inspiring — the possibility of relationships that…
People Are Strange
I’ve had the iconic Doors song in my head for two weeks, since rocking it at karaoke. I think I chose the song because I was inspired by something I read in Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, which we are…