From April 2 to May 2, Muslims throughout the world are observing their holy month of Ramadan. This is a time for study, prayer, and deep introspection about one’s faith, a “cleansing of the soul,” as it has been called. What is something that you need to rekindle your faith in?

Gina Puorro . Gina Puorro describes herself this way:   “I am a student of magic, love, grief, intimacy, myth and story, ritual arts, and the wild and vast terrain that we call nature.   My writing is inspired by the exploration of good questions, by relating with my human and non-human kin, and by my pursuit of beauty and awe.   I hope to live with my heart open, my voice free, my mind curious, and my feet rooted in love.” She blogs and shares her poems at Gina M. Puorro Writer and Poet.   Her new book is The Wild Will Call You Back now available on Amazon.                                                 Puorro's new book of poetry and prose is available on Amazon. I Hear There’s a Bounty on My Womb...

It has mistakes, as always, but for me this is a successful drawing: when I get into the paper what I love about the subject: here, the tangle and depth of the twigs and thorns, and the light that filters through it.

In a new book, Steff V Scott, presiding officer of the Scottish Pagan Federation, lays out an argument for a connection between the Near Eastern goddess Ishtar and the Anglo-Saxon Eostre. Continue reading From Ishtar to Ēostre: a conversation with Steff V. Scott at The Wild Hunt.

as preached April 3, 2022 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston It is good to be back in the pulpit. It feels like I have been away for a long time. I have missed you. The last time I was supposed to offer you a sermon I came down with COVID. It was […]

In my Easter sermon for 2022 I challenge us to go beyond the idea that there is such a singular thing as the truth.

Today is a holy day in the Christian tradition. It’s Easter. This week is a holy week in the Jewish tradition. Passover began last Friday evening and lasts until next Saturday evening. And this month is a holy month in the Islamic tradition. It’s the month of Ramadan. We have three great traditions overlapping, and each tradition offers us a story, redolent with meaning and possibility whether we are adherents of the faith tradition from which it comes or not. At Community UU, our theme of the month for April is liberation, and our journey groups are exploring this issue, and looking at what sorts of things from which a person might need to be liberated. There have been and are groups that are oppressed, beaten down. Liberation is ab...

Why the Easter story matters, even to Unitarian Universalists.

Possum decides he’s going to tell the old story of Easter this year. His friends Rolf, Birago, Nicky, and Dr. Sharpie help him out. Click on the image above to view the video on Vimeo As usual, the script is below the fold. (The script has not been corrected against the actual video, and may … Continue reading "Possum tells the old story of Easter"

It rained Friday night. We needed it. And the sun came out on Saturday morning and welcomed me with a rainbow. A fitting image for both Passover and Easter I think. Liberation doesn’t come easy nor does resurrection. But the awe a rainbow inspires can bring us hope of both. I believe liberation is possible […]

I got a nice email this morning from a reader related to my new book, Wisdom of Our Hands. He said the book was "easy to read and enjoyable," those being two of the goals I'd set for myself. There are many books of note on the subject of the hands and crafts that rely on second and third hand information, leaving them somewhat abstract. My own goal was to make it personal, meaning that I would tell my own story as well as invite my readers to explore their own experiences to bring the message home.  I hope this simple strategy—moving from the concrete to the abstract helps my book to enter a popular market. Good sales are good, the message is important. Make, fix and create...

I have this belief that we are connected with each other in unseen ways, and if we are attempting to find clarity, those ways are gradually revealed. Sometimes suddenly that is the case. It's called enlightment.   There’s a phenomenon described in Nuclear Physics called “quantum entanglement” according to which, if two particles are introduced to each other and then thrust apart to the furthest reaches of the universe, what’s done to one is known to the other. Perhaps our own beings are too complex and too distracted to register and make conscious to ourselves the myriad connections between us. We spend endless hours spinning outwards  toward   greater  complexity without seeking that which lies within. Friedrich Froebel, th...

In the Western Christian calendar, today is Easter Sunday, the holiest day in the Christian year, and the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. What is most holy to you?

  That wandering Spring holyday is back again and means so many different things through different eyes—the hope of humanity, the critical validation of a faith, a fable, a fraud, rebirth, disguisedfolk fertility customs, community, family tradition, bunnies and eggs for the children.   Maybe pick one from column A and two from column B with eggroll. Today we will look at Easter through three alternative eyes.   Poet and novelist Jim Harrison was an outlier—semi-reclusive , curmudgeonly , prone to profound melancholy and ecstatic joy in nature.   “Someone has to stay outside,” he told a friend and admirer.     Theresa Novack is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister, now a dedicated hiker in lovely and wild places with h...

    It’s Holy Saturday. Not very long ago a friend sent me a copy of the Deptford Trilogy. Jan and I actually went through a Robertson Davie’s orgy of reading many years ago, and I’d read all his fiction. But, it had been, well, possibly as many as twenty years ago, and I realized […]

Storm Faerywolf surveys the recent set of attacks on marginalized identities that are part of the culture wars in the United States. Continue reading Opinion: Beyond Bathrooms – the Bigotry of Being Uncomfortable at The Wild Hunt.

If you’re reaching sexual maturity today, you have a wide array of sexual orientations with which you might identify. There are the old categories of straight, bisexual, gay, and lesbian. There is a continuum from asexual through graysexual to allosexual, though it’s not a linear continuum since it also includes demisexual and aspec and other … Continue reading "Is your identity set in stone?"

This picture is my 6th birthday in 1971.  Monday April, 18, marks exactly 51 years later.  When I was six, my biggest wishes were for model cars and G.I. Joes.  The boy to my right was also named Adam the other boy was named Paul (?) and the girl Natalie or Natalia (?)…not sure why […]

A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— Last year, whilst we were still in lockdown, I offered you my Easter reflections only via my blog and podcast. Should you want to read or listen to that piece it was called “Cancelling my subscription to the Resurrection and truly living the death of God”, and you can find links to it in all the usual places. What I am offering you here is simply the central idea it contained.  To begin it’s important to know that the theological position from which I am writing  — one which, given the free-thinking ethos of this ...

The gathering of family and loved ones at Passover for a Seder is an important part of the ritual. In recent years, this has often been difficult, as the ongoing pandemic has made travel harder and being together sometimes unsafe. Who do you wish you were gathering with tonight?

                              A mother at the wash basin. Today we share two verses by master American poets.  Each of them begins with a glimpse at a mother. One is remembered by a child grown up and the other shares an intimate moment with an adult son. W.S. Merwin. W.S. Merwin was born in New York City on September 30, 1927. He grew up in Union City, New Jersey, and lived there until 1936, when his family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania. As a child, he was enamored of the natural world, sometimes finding himself talking to the large tree in his back yard. He was also fascinated with things that he saw as linksto the past, like a building behind his home that had once been a coach house.  At the age of five he start...

Several plants bear this common name, but this is the first I’ve ever drawn (or heard of), and it is sheer coincidence that I came to it on Good Friday. I’m not sure if the drawing is finished, or I’m just tired. I think the latter, in which case I will finish it tomorrow. These […]

Please join us on Sunday (17 April 2022) at 11:00 AM for “Spring Cleaning” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell. This is our first in-person Easter worship service in three years. Our Easter service will feature special music, a communion ritual slightly different from years past (but still with the focus on community), and lots of festivities … Continue reading "All-Ages Worship (17 April 2022)"

On this Easter Sunday (17 April 2022) immediately after the worship service: Cookie Sale Fundraiser (brought to you by our Middle School / High School Class) This fundraiser benefit Laughing Dog Ranch (a non-profit animal rescue in North Caddo Parish). If you want to bake or shop for cookies (or you just need more information), … Continue reading "Easter Cookie Sale Fundraiser (17 April 2022)"

For this Sunday (17 April 2022), our adult religious education class will take a break for Easter. Next Sunday (24 April 2022), we will resume our work using the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. As the author says, “This is not a book you read, this is a book you do” and … Continue reading "No Online Adult Religious Education Class on 17 April 2022 — Class Resumes 24 April 2022"

On this Sunday (17 April 2022), children and youth religious education classes will resume in person and will happen during our 11:00 AM worship service. We will resume our pre-COVID practice where the children and youth will join us in the sanctuary for the first 15-20 minutes and then we will sing them out to … Continue reading "Children and Youth Religious Education (17 April 2022)"

Please join us next Tuesday (19 April 2022) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch. Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.

Please join us on Saturday (16 April 2022) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes. This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching. The group is free and open to all. For more information, contact Larry … Continue reading "Meditation with Larry Androes (16 April 2022)"

Alan D.D. considers the need to remember and celebrate the important milestones in our lives - our own personal Wheels of the Year. Continue reading Column: A Personal Wheel of the Year at The Wild Hunt.

Alan D. D. examina la necesidad de recordar y celebrar los hitos importantes en nuestras vidas: nuestras propias y personal ruedas del año. Continue reading Columna: Una rueda del año personal at The Wild Hunt.

      Here we are. And in 2022, today, the 15th of April is Good Friday. (Not coincidentally, it’s also the first day of Passover) Within the Christian tradition, Maundy Thursday kicked off the events that led to today’s horror, tomorrow’s mystery, and then Easter. Not just because of the season, but certainly helped […]

Nonpartisan Civic Engagement Initiative Will Focus on Strengthening Democracy, Organizing for Justice and Accountability

A robin is building a nest in the beam under our deck roof. I thought she would stop yesterday, after I went out and in a few times–it is our entryway. But she is back today. It seems to be a great place for a nest. The way the beams are fastened, the center board […]

Yesterday my wife and I learned we'd lost an old friend in a tragic accident the night before. Lin Welford was the co-founder with my wife of the Books-in-Bloom Literary Festival here in Eureka Springs, an avid environmentalist, and library supporter. She was also the author of a whole series of books about painting on rocks, and a whole lot more than that. She played a very important transformational role in my life. In about 1994 or so, and as a best selling author for F&W Publications, she invited David Lewis to come to Eureka Springs to meet various artisans who might be interested in writing a book for them. David's trip to Eureka Springs led to my being invited to write my first book, Creating Beautiful Boxes with Inlay Techniques....

The central task of the Passover Seder is the annual retelling of the story of Exodus. The story connects the Jewish people to their ancestors who were slaves in Egypt, to a God that made their liberation possible, and to those today who are not yet free. What stories are important to your heritage?

Lambs blood on the lintel--a sign to God's avenging angels to pass over the homes of Jews as the first born sons of Egypt are slain. Tonight at sundown Passover or Pesach began when Jews around the world gather around   ritual tables to remember and give thanks for the events that lead to the ultimate freedom of the Hebrew people and a Promise Land of their own.   That came at a terrible price for their oppressors—a pain that they thank God for inflicting.   It is an uplifting night, a hopeful night, but also a terrible one. The story of Passover and the Exodus from Egypt is a saga of freedom that not only gave comfort and hope to Jews through centuries of persecution but inspired others who were enslaved and oppressed.   Blacks he...

This is the last of the conifers. I’m looking forward to entering the world of broadleaf, deciduous trees. Thank you for your beauty, pines, firs, spruce, cedars, cypresses, junipers!

My partner Carri and I were pretty early in our relationship when we started to wonder if we were “gay enough.” It wasn’t a new question for me; as a bi-identified person, more than a few lesbians have over the … Continue reading →

After my last post, I kept thinking about how to take these ideas and invite in a collective conversation, as well as a more intentional strategic response. The conversation part that I’m thinking about is a kind of playful response … Continue reading →

Audio recording of Focus Talk — Marcia Boehlke Audio recording of Main Lecture — Mary Rose Muti Link to Noel Bairey Merz  — The single biggest health threat women face Link to Paula Johnson —      His and hers ... healthcare

A fairly major revision of a gr. 8-9 Coming of Age program is now online. From the course description: “The goal of our Coming of Age program is to help young people sort out their ethical and religious identity (recognizing that some young people do not feel religious at all), so that they may make … Continue reading "Revised Coming of Age curriculum now online"

A reader identified as "Avid Woodworker" left a review of my new book, "The Wisdom of Our Hands" on Amazon as follows:  "I have been a hobbyist woodworker for over 60 years. Although this book is NOT a "how to do it" book it is proving to be the most effective book for improving my woodworking skills that I have ever read. Reading Doug's book is improving my use of the two most useful tools in my shop, my mind and my attitude." https://smile.amazon.com/Wisdom-Our-Hands-Crafting-Life/dp/1610355016/  Today in the woodshop at the Clear Spring School, I helped high school student Henry build a box for his chess set. It's nearing completion, and I'll have photos to show at a later date. Make, fix and create... 

The Tulsa Chapter of The Association for Women in Communications (AWC Tulsa) announced they have named their annual scholarship in honor of All Souls member Ruth Richards. The post AWC Tulsa Honors All Souls Members appeared first on BeyondBelief.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its most dire climate report last year and a new update outlines the impact of the climate crisis with recommendations on how the global community might adapt, especially to protect the most vulnerable. Continue reading IPCC issues new report for mitigation on Climate Change at The Wild Hunt.

The un and under housed in McHenry County can count on help this Friday, April 15 which is also Good Friday and the first day of Passover at sundown.  The Community Power Shower event at Willow Crystal Lake, 100 South Main Street, will be open from 10 am to 2 pm. Empower Shower is a collaborative community event providing homeless individuals access to a variety of resources. Warp Corps and Willow Creek will work together to provide transportation from Woodstock and surrounding towns for the events.  Regular pick-ups will be scheduled at the Woodstock Metro Station at 9:30 am and the Woodstock Wendy’s parking lot, 120 North Eastwood Drive.  Individuals who cannot meet at these locations and times can reach out to the Warp Corps team...

UU the Vote is a nonpartisan civic engagement initiative focused on strengthening democracy and organizing for justice, accountability, and healing. Continue reading "UUA Launches UU the Vote for 2022 Elections"

When we organize, we build power in our communities for justice, accountability, and healing. In the last two years, UU the Vote has built new networks of spiritual and political communities to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate. We know what's at stake; LGBTQ rights, abortion access, voting rights and democracy itself are all on ballots all over the country  With UU the Vote 2022 we’re organizing on the state and local levels to fight for fair elections, advance voting rights, protect abortion access, and resist the targeting and criminalization of Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.   Last weekend, we officially launched UU the Vote 2022 and you're invited to join us! Watch and share the recording of UU the Vote 2022 Launch...

Many Christians honor Good Friday with a Tenebrae service.  “Tenebrae” is the Latin word for “darkness.”  In the worship, candles are slowly extinguished, leaving the congregation in silence and darkness to contemplate despair, hope, and memory. If it is comfortable and possible for you to do so, spend some time today in silence and darkness.

Most times, talking about our religious and spiritual experiences is a good thing. But there are times when talking about them is unhelpful and even harmful. In those cases, it’s best to remain silent.

We are in the midst of the Islamic holy month Ramadan.  Tomorrow, April 15 this year, is both the beginning of Jewish Passover and Christian Good Friday.  Sunday is Easter.  The Germanic/Norse celebration of Ēostrethe Spring Equinox was in late March, but many modern neo-pagans celebrate it at the same time as Easter noting the symbols and customs—eggs, hares, and flowers—were folk customs folded in the Christian holy day.  I am sure diligent investigationwould uncover additional celebrations and rituals by other faithsobserved at this time of year. Clearly there is a visceral connection to a season of rebirth connected to many traditions.  And despite stout claims that each celebration is the true one, many believe they are al...

This is the other tree that’s sometimes called redberry juniper. It is named after Gifford Pinchot, a forester, conservationist, political ally of Theodore Roosevelt, and governor of Pennsylvania who served as the first head of the U. S. Forest Service.

DeSantis is wrong. Say gay. Continue reading Editorial: What’s the next thing you can’t say? at The Wild Hunt.

By Avery Cook | After two long years of conference Zoom rooms, we donned our lanyards once again and set up our table-skirted shop at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) in Boston, from March 31 through April 3. With the conference in our backyard this year, we attended with numbers and enthusiasm, enjoying for the first time since 2019 the privilege of being surrounded by our books and chatting in person with some of our authors.

Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash Sunday, April 17, 10:30 a.m. Love Rises Up Led by Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann   This Sunday, April 17, Rev. Alice explores Easter messages of despair, resurrection and hope as they relate to the climate crisis. With love, we can rise to the challenge.   Join us for coffee and conversation after   [ … ] The post Easter Sunday, April 17 ~ Love Rises Up ~ 10:30 a.m. appeared first on Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson.

Today my Kindergarten students (the Rainbow Group) will be finishing the Froebel blocks they're making and building boxes to keep them in. The finished sets will look like those made by my high school students yesterday, but will likely not appear so well made. Make, fix and create... Build your life upon these notions.

                                           Putin's nuclear alert was a flashback to Cold War terror for many. After Vladimir Putin launched the Russian invasion of Ukraine and encountered unexpectedly fierce resistance on ground andthe united opposition of NATO and most of the rest of the world, he was stung by crippling economic sanctions and defensive military aid to Ukraine.  To scare off Western action he pointedly announced that he had ordered a full nuclear alert and let unnamed “sources” hint that he was willing to use battlefield nukes if Russian territorial integrity was threatened.  Stunned commentators were aghastat the threat and everybody had a flashback to the bad old days of the Cold War whe...

“Our grief is a holy thing. It is that proof that another life touched ours in a profound way. It is the mark of love, the mark of connection, and the mark of a life well lived.” -Tracie Barrett-Welser

The pitfalls of using a 42-year-old field guide to the trees may be few, but occasionally one does stumble into them. When I started looking for redberry juniper photos, I quickly realized that there are two trees commonly called by this name: Juniperus pinchotii and Juniperus coahuilensis. So I went back to the guide, looked […]

— by MaryMargaret Halsey Click here for the audio recording. This lecture was followed by a dynamic Roundtable Discussion on various facets of the issues.  A common hurdle to finding right relationship was the constraints imposed by all of our stuff, and the obligations it places upon us.

The death of 479 manatees in the first three months of 2022 is a direct result of their habitat and food source of seagrass being impacted by human generated pollution. As climate change progresses, more plant, as well as animal species will continue to be impacted and possible become extinct. Continue reading Impacts from waste, pollution, and climate change threaten many species at The Wild Hunt.

        Today, the 12th of April, 1961, sixty-one years ago Yuri Gagarin flew the Vostok 1 in an orbit of the Earth. With this Yuri became the first human being to touch outer space. As the rocket was poised to launch ground control informed him they were about to lift off, and […]

Amazing. Extra time. Unearned. Mercy. Elegance. Refinement. Courteous goodwill. God’s favor. Grace can mean so many things. The post April Theme: Grace appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

This week people in many parts of the world are preparing to celebrate the Jewish holy days of Passover, the Christian holy days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, and we are still in the month of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting ... read more . The post Co-Ministers’ Colloquy – April 12th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Upcoming RE Classes: K/1st/2nd Grade OWL (Our Whole Lives sexuality education):  Everyone is invited to attend the service Easter Sunday, 4/17, when there will also be an egg hunt (weather permitting). Following their fun and informative orientation this past Sunday, their first session is scheduled for Sunday morning, ... read more . The post RE This Week – April 12th appeared first on Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

To part 1 In this part, we'll look at two further matters in the Palm Sunday story: the acquisition of the colt, or donkey, and the bit about the stones shouting out. So, what about that stolen colt (donkey)? Jesus sends his disciples off to fetch him a ride, telling them “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” It’s possible Jesus has made the consensual arrangements in advance to borrow the animal, though none of the Gospels suggests any such thing. To all appearances, they steal the colt. We know this Jesus is not above crime. He acts illegally when he overturns the tables outside the temple. The Jewish and Christian scriptures include many examples of law-breaking for the sake ...

To part 2 Reflections Upon Palm Sunday The Palm Sunday story of entrance into Jerusalem is mentioned in all four gospels. Here's the version from Luke 19: 28-40After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They...

“Thinking about memory suddenly became important when my husband, Sky, was diagnosed with dementia in 2016….  As we processed this devastating news, Sky said he assumed he would eventually forget his family, but he was mostly afraid that he would forget his Self.” -Jane Dwinell, in this month’s Quest What are you most afraid of … Continue reading Fear of Forgetting

                                   Achy Obejas--Cuban and American, refugee, feminist and lesbian, Catholic and Sephardic Jew. Achy Obejas is an example of the wide diversityof voices and perspectives that often get lumped togetheras Latinx. I first took note of her as a contributor to the local Logan Square community weekly newspaper.  I was active in the Logan Square Neighborhood Association in the early ‘80’s and her journalismwas an important contribution to the community.  Later I watched as her star rose as a writer for the Chicago Tribune and as a literary figure. Achy Obejas with her Cuban refugee family in Chicago. Obejas was born in Cuba in 1956 into a family with Sephardic Jewish roots..  In ’63 h...

Usually I draw a bunch, especially with these scale-like leaves, each so tiny. But here is a single leaf of alligator juniper. Each exudes resin, which appears white. The common name comes from the bark’s resemblance to alligator hide.

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, Coalition of Visionary Resources announces nominees, grandmother accused of 'whit witchery.' protest music, and more news. Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: Week of April 11, 2022 at The Wild Hunt.

Russia’s complicity in Burma’s own violence shows the nation is a bad actor on many fronts.

  THE GOD QUESTION (a sermon in several parts) by Rev. Kit Ketcham, Apr. 10, 2022   SYMPOSIUM by Joe Rush, member of Boulder UU Fellowship, 1935 “God,” said the theologian, “Is a triune entity Of Holy Spirit, Father, Son, Yet One for all eternity.” A workman dropped his pick, and spat, As he frowned and scratched his head. “Why, God”--he labored with the thought-- “God saves our souls when we are dead.” “God is a myth!” the atheist spoke With an air of studied scorn. “Chance rules; and man, stern nature’s joke, Once dead, might never have been born.” A tired old lady, bent and gray, Closed the Book and met my eyes: “For years I’ve trusted Him; one day He’ll call me home beyond the skies.” “God loves ...

My students at ESSA finished 24 boxes  (3 apiece) in our three day class. In the photo I'm the old guy on the left.  It was a very good class with all the students helping each other,  and for me, it is a rewarding and invigorating experience. Folks, noticing that I teach both adults and  kids, ask "what's the difference between the two?" Learning at its best is always a matter of play.  That's why Kindergarten is important, even today. It utilized the natural interest and engagement of the kids, doing real things and could serve as a model for the reinvigoration of all schooling.   At ESSA. The tools are real, the materials are real. All the senses are engaged, and compare that to public school classrooms where kids are watching t...

The Shel Silverstein Forever Stamp  unveiled at a ceremony at Darwin Elementary in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. Last week the United States Postal Service unveiled a new First Class Forever Stamp honoring beloved children’s poet Shel Silverstein at the Chicago elementary school he attended as child.  My friend Mike Gold, former Chicago Seed staffer, pop culture commentator, and comic book maven described the event as “Honoring the most subversive folkie I’ve known” adding, “this is stupidly cool, but I do not believe these folks did their vetting.”  That was especially true of the earnest school official who also unveiled a mural honoring the alumnusand spoke in the kind of uplifting platitudes that Shel would mock...

¿Por qué no recordamos los primeros días de nuestras vidas? I am learning Spanish on Duolingo and this phrase keeps returning to my lessons: Why don’t we remember the first days of our lives? My earliest memory is at my brother’s first birthday party–I was one. It is a memory of a day with my … Continue reading Earliest Memories

Since 2020, I’ve been filming stories-for-all-ages in a puppet studio I put together in the nursery at the Palo Alto church. We’re about to resume infant and toddler care, so it’s only a matter of time before I have to remove the puppet studio from the nursery. But I managed to take some behind-the-scenes photos … Continue reading "Behind the scenes"

  Story There are a number of illuminating stories, fables, and myths in the world.   This is but one: A Crow, half-dead with thirst, came upon a Pitcher which had once been full of water; but when the Crow put its beak into the mouth of the Pitcher, he found that only very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far enough down to get at it. He tried, and he tried, but at last had to give up in despair. Then a thought came to him, and he took a pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. And then he did it again. And he did that a few more times, and then, just for good measure, he dropped in a few more pebbles.   At last, at last, he saw the water had risen cl...

In part two of AWAKENING, we talk about spiritual practice and learning to interact with creation with renewed senses.

I have started to take short walks in the neighborhood–just 10-15 minutes each morning. It feels good to be moving again and hopefully building my strength. I especially get energy from the birds singing so exuberantly. There are cardinals all over the neighborhood. This morning, from our backyard I saw several cardinals chasing each other […]

Some people think that long trails with significant elevation changes are harder than shorter, flatter trails. It isn’t true. We did an 8 + miler this week with almost 1100 feet of elevation. But it was really pretty easy. The trail was well built and maintained with long gentle switchbacks. There were very few roots […]

        It was on this day, the 10th of April, in 428, that Nestorius was enthroned as Patriarch of Constantinople. Three years later he would be deposed and driven into exile. This would lead to the first ongoing schism within the continuing Christian churches, which would in time create the great branches […]

Sometimes, we light a candle to remember someone important. As it burns lower, its flickering light reminds us to bring them into our hearts, minds, and prayers. Light a candle of remembrance today.

Wild magic strips away the masks, costumes, and programming of the modern world and helps us remember who and what we truly are. That helps us understand what we really want, and how we can go about getting it – or being it.

      I am so pleased to announce that I have offered denkai transmission to senior dharma teachers, the Reverend Janine Seitetsu Larsen, Tom Daimon Wardle, and Mo Myokan Weinhardt. And, that they have accepted. As Zen has taken shape in the West most communities have found a two-step transmission healthful. The first step […]

Dorienne Laux. I admit to kind of falling in love with the work of Dorienne Laux despite our differences in gender, and many life experiences.  But we share an experience, as we shall see, her in her youth and me at a much older age and also a heart-on-the-sleeve love of poetry itself. Laux was born January 10, 1952 in Augusta, Maine in a family of French Canadian ancestry.  She worked as a sanatorium cook, a gas station manager, and a maid before receiving a B.A. in Englishfrom Mills College in Oakland, California in1988.  She taught at the University of Oregon and is now a professor at North Carolina State University’s creative writing program, and the MFA in Writing Programat Pacific University.  She is also a contributing edito...

Like the other trees I’ve been drawing for the past couple of weeks, the Western juniper has tight, scale-like mature leaves. But when the leaves (and seedlings) are young, they are more needlelike. This is the case of most if not all of these trees, but I haven’t always found photos of that juvenile stage. […]

UK occultists and scholars gathered at the end of March to celebrate the life and work of Gareth Knight. Continue reading UK: first Gareth Knight Conference takes place in Glastonbury at The Wild Hunt.

A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— A few weeks ago I received a wholly unexpected telephone call from an elderly man I knew who was in a hospital many miles from Cambridge having just been told that he had, at most, a week to live. With no warning whatsoever I found myself fully immersed in a vitally important, existentially charged conversation with someone about something that, as Paul Tillich (1886-1965) called it, was of “ultimate concern.” As Tillich writes: “Man, like every living being, is concerned about many things, above all about those whic...

Yesterday my students in the wood shop at ESSA began making two boxes. A third box will be started today. The photo show cutting finger joints using a dedicated ringer joint router set up. I have 8 students and the class is going well! Make, fix and create...

A pile of old photographs brings back memories of people who have gone before us, like the cloud of ancestors at your back. Who are the ancestors behind you today?

A short  “ thought for the day” offered to the Cambridge Unitarian Church as part of the Sunday Service of Mindful   Meditation  (Click on this link to hear a recorded version of the following piece) —o0o— Today is Palm Sunday, the day when Christian churches retell the story found in all four gospels about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem shortly before his arrest, trial and execution. In the gospel of Mark the basic event is briefly described as follows: “And many persons spread their cloaks in the road, but others stalks of straw, cutting them from the fields. And both those going ahead and those following after cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our fa...

      It was on this day, the 9th of April in 1945. The allies were closing in and just two weeks before the collapse of the Nazi regime. One day after a trial before an SS judge, at dawn, the Reverend Dietrich Bonhoeffer was stripped naked, marched to the place of execution, and […]

  Maxine Kumin--a poet in her prime at her desk. Maxine Kumin was born Maxine Winokur on June 6, 1925 in Philadelphia, the daughterof Jewish parents but attended a Catholic kindergarten and primary school. She received her B.A. in 1946 and her M.A.in 1948 from Radcliffe. In June 1946 she married Victor Kumin, an engineering consultant.   They had three children, two daughters and a son. In 1957, she studied poetry with John Holmes at the Boston Center for Adult Education. There she met Anne Sexton, with whom she started a friendshipthat continued until Sexton’s suicide in 1974.   Kumin taught English from 1958 to 1961 and 1965 to 1968 at Tufts University and from 1961 to 1963 she was a scholarat the Radcliffe Institute for Independe...