Living in the Almost – by Michael T. Young
Hope is one half of the divided world. The other is apprehension. We are, in fact, haunted by the future as much as the past because we live in a distraction of expectation. Tantalus...
The 10 Aspirations – by Alison McBain
I. I am one truth of many. Thou shalt respect all gods and religions, not just one.
II. Thou shalt not eschew those who make a carved image of faith, for I am a loving...
The Past is Glass, Turpentine, Rags: A Garden of Love
They think they love God! It is only his old clothes—of which they make scarecrows for the children. Where will they come nearer to God than in these very children?
—Henry David Thoreau, Journal (Nov...
Lectio Poetica: Remember the Other World
“You are not a troubled guest on this earth, you are not an accident amidst other accidents, you were invited from another and greater night . . .” – David Whyte
In his poem “What...
Our Victory
If there is ever a book that saves us it will be a contemplation of Love without pretext or association with idols. It will be about knowing the mystery is boundless and choosing life...
Pondering Dogen and Proust
Recently I interviewed the novelist and Zen Buddhist prist, Ruth Ozeki, on the occasion of the publication of her new book, A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING. I made a commitment to myself to...
thoughts on radical passover
when st. francis exclaimed that he desired to become god's instrument for the bestowing of blessings on all beings, or when the bodhisattva vows not to rest until all beings are saved before she...
“Crucifixion”
"The real meaning of crucifixion is to crucify the false self, that the true self may rise. As long as the false self is not crucified, the true self is not realized."
—Hazrat Inayat Khan,...
Classical Literature, the Gods, and Metaphysical Desire
In December I finished teaching a course on classical myth and literature for undergraduates. We read a variety of texts and from a variety of time periods. Among the works we studied were The...
On Merton’s Snow and Watt’s Potatoes
"your heart is my hermitage" - thomas merton
one of the most profound beauties in merton's spiritual journey is his progression from a spirituality of "the" heart as a general proposition in the abstract, to...