"Only when distress turns to remembrance and blame of others is erased, is pride extracted from our egos, humbleness settles in our hearts, and the door of grace opens." ~ A paraphrase from Kabir Dede. A heart-centering reflection for the... Continue Reading →
"The thing that we need in the world today is a group of men and women who will stand up for right and to be opposed to wrong, wherever it is. A group of people who have come to see... Continue Reading →
I wrote this post last Autumn and stowed it away in the Drafts folder to be rediscovered today. Seems as timely a topic as ever, so here it is ... “Researching her film, The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard discovered... Continue Reading →
Here's an insight from Will Smith about how essential it is that we switch from a default mode of fault and blame to responsibility. Things like this add up to greater empowerment, agency, and a more skillful ability to relate... Continue Reading →
I'll begin with the Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist quote, because it came up, resonated, and intuitively seems timely: “One thing I keep coming back to is a sense of deep certainty that the way of the... Continue Reading →
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." ~ Joseph Campbell, Mythologist and Author In reflection on this insight from Joseph Campbell, Jim Sher of The Sher Institute of Astrology & Metaphysics says, " ... think of this.... Continue Reading →
“In her final session with Jung, social activist Isabelle Hamilton Rey was told to “Go home and live it now.” As she wrote to her husband, "I did what I came here to do — touch the hem of Dr.... Continue Reading →
It's a fine time, with a change of season opening -- that "in-between seasons" season -- to check in with the Divine Spark, the inner flame, the vision-seeds germinating under the surface, wanting to be showered with nourishment and attention.... Continue Reading →
“There’s a famous quote: ‘Every man who knocks on a brothel door, he’s looking for God,’” he says. “Crack houses and these dens of suffering and illicit activity, they’re all people trying to feel good, trying to feel connected. People... Continue Reading →
In his State of the Soul podcast, author, mythologist and storyteller Michael Meade shares this Wise Elder wisdom: "The heart of the human drama concerns whether we are moving towards a greater life or moving away from it. Either we... Continue Reading →
Here's a bit of timely inspiration as we stand in the gateway of a new calendar year, in the month of Janus (looking backward, looking forward, standing in the present). In an April 2017 TED Talk on the "lyrical bridge... Continue Reading →
Happy New Year to you! In the previous post, I shared Pat McCabe's inspiring message about The Magic of Water (and Sacred Relationship). This is another musing about sacred relationship, water, and standing for the shared values that unite us.... Continue Reading →
“Researching her film The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard discovered that of the materials flowing through the consumer economy, only 1% remain in use six months after sale. Even the goods we might have expected to hold onto are soon... Continue Reading →
“When power is used in a non-consensual situation, it is a wrong. Men who improperly harass or assault do not do so because they are gay or straight — that is a deflection. They do so because they have the... Continue Reading →
This morning, to start my day after a short sleep -- the Muses woke me in the wee hours -- I read some of the musings of poet-philosopher David Whyte, and listened to an inspiring, poetic and real conversation between Whyte... Continue Reading →
“You see, there is a tendency to talk about the moment, more than to savor the moment.” ~ Debra K. Fileta, The Effect of Social Media on Relationships, Relevant Magazine It's not just about technology, of course; "Smart Phones" and... Continue Reading →
"If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way." ~ Emile Zola Pretty... Continue Reading →
“I am grateful to have been loved and to love now. And to be able to love. Because love liberates. It doesn’t just hold. That’s ego. … Love liberates. It doesn’t bind. Love says I love you. I love you... Continue Reading →
"I know it is possible for leaders to use their power and influence, their insight and compassion, to lead people back to an understanding of who we are as human beings, to create conditions for our basic human qualities of... Continue Reading →
“Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.” ~ Rev. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J., Founder, Homeboy Industries Author, Tattoos... Continue Reading →
“You are joined in an ancient and eternal union with humanity that cuts across all barriers of time, convention, philosophy and definition. When you are blessed with Anam Cara, the Irish believe, you have arrived at that most sacred place:... Continue Reading →
“Self-esteem does not come from surrounding yourself with people and things that seem to increase your value. Real self-esteem is an integration of an inner value with things in the world around you.” ~ Anna Deavere Smith American Actress, Playwright,... Continue Reading →
“Wholeness and integrity depend upon the place’s underlying, invisible ecology. Spirit-of-place is influenced by human thought and action: how places are used revered, un-valued or exploited affects them… Listening to a place’s past will tell us where it wants to... Continue Reading →
“As a poet," Snyder tells us, "I hold the most archaic values on earth. They go back to the late Paleolithic; the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth; the... Continue Reading →
"You make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing." ~ Ruby in The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton) This simple comment from Kate Morton's novel, The Forgotten Garden, could be a reflection in itself. Much of consumer-culture... Continue Reading →
“We grandmothers have come from far and wide to speak the knowledge we hold inside. In many languages, we have been told it is time to make the right changes for our families, for the lands we love. We can... Continue Reading →
"Creativity is conceived as a reproductive act with a tangible result -- a child, a book, a monument -- that has a physical life going beyond the life of its producer." "Creativity, however, can be intangible in the form of... Continue Reading →
“After you’re dead and buried and floating around whatever place we go to, what’s going to be your best memory of earth? What one moment for you defines what it’s like to be alive on this planet. What’s your takeaway?"... Continue Reading →
We see (and hear, and feel) a lot of what many might call 'ugliness' and acting out these days. While that's far from a new phenomenon, there are also spikes, or "Monstah Muck Waves," of it. Here's an interesting way... Continue Reading →
“I don’t criticize ...That’s not my approach. I look for avenues of transformation, and I feed them. I’m always looking to generate something, as opposed to just taking something apart.” “The way I think of it is, every time we... Continue Reading →
“In dark times, let’s be skillful enough to learn how to fly in the darkness like bats. Let’s be healthy enough to vomit the lies we’re obliged to swallow each day. Let’s be brave enough to have the courage to... Continue Reading →
"She felt that somehow, wandering through uncharted territory, we might stumble upon something that will, in an instant, seem to represent who we are at the core. That was very much her philosophy of life—to not be limited by fear... Continue Reading →
“All times are changing times, but ours is one of massive, rapid moral and mental transformation. Archetypes turn into millstones, large simplicities get complicated, chaos becomes elegant, and what everybody knows is true turns out to be what some people... Continue Reading →