Mar 05
Gandhi in the Hood As grown-ups, when we see two kids on the playground fighting, do we first decide which kid deserves our support and then jump in and start punching and kicking the other kid? No, of course not. Our job is to step in, bring an end to the conflict, help …
Oct 14
Something subtle is obviously here in our lives, that cannot be put into words. This something, which is not in fact a thing, is what allows us to be alive and aware and ever present, intelligent and orderly. (This “something” is what allows me to write and you to read and understand these words.) Okay, …
Dec 05
So how can the urban/suburban householder monk or nun most mindfully (lovingly) relate to the myriad money matters that arise each day, each week, each month, each year? We can’t ignore money, obviously, no matter how much some of us might try. (When we ignore money, we most often end up very, very broke!) …
Nov 21
I was quite tickled earlier this year when Pope Francis made a little tweak to the Lord’s Prayer—saying that God never leads us into temptation, so why ask Him (on a daily basis!) to refrain? The Pope said the real translation should be, “do not let us fall into temptation,” which he says is much …
Nov 07
The writings and tapes of Joel S. Goldsmith, and lightly, the Infinite Way community, made Goldsmith one of my early “go-to” teachers. (And now available on youtube, alas audio only.) He’s been an inspirational companion and teacher for more than forty years. His biography, The Spiritual Journey of Joel S. Goldsmith, by his long-time assistant, …
Apr 05
At one of our recent men’s group weekly gatherings with the Abbot, Buzzy, one of our monks, was complaining about his overloaded “To Do” list. “At work, at home, everywhere I go,” he said, “I look around and see more things I need to do. I have a smorgasbord of chores I need to do—or …
Mar 12
A sad, cranky, unkempt, fifty-something woman came to see me as her stop smoking coach off and on over several years. She came more for the chocolates I kept on my desk, I suspected, and the contacts I had in local social services than for any wisdom I might inadvertently bestow regarding her addiction. So it …
Jan 23
As a monk, I find myself disturbed a bit by our minority president’s recently imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines. It feels like the Lord of the Manor in his castle on the hill has had his henchmen build a new wall around our lands trying to keep the outside world from coming …
Dec 12
“What can we do to enjoy a better December?“ This was a question of the week for one of our December Sunday morning men’s group. (These are regularly, though not always, held in my front living room. The group includes at least one atheist, several agnostics and a rainbow of other weltanschauungs. As the organizer …
Nov 26
An invitation to become a monk to Charlie Rose, Lewis CK, Kevin Spacey, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Roy Moore, Donald Trump and the more than 30 other jerks who have recently been exposed as sexual predators, and/or grown men with junior high sensitivities. So, what are you guys going to do now, what with your …
Nov 03
I would suggest for most of us we keep our money lives more private than either sex or religion. We also keep our sex lives private, of course and our religious understanding is shared mostly with family and fellow travelers. But our money lives we keep secret, not only among friends often even from our …
Nov 02
I recently published this on the New Buddhist Methodist Church site. Thought I’d publish it here, too: The Quakers sent me a neat poster this week with the words, “Sanctuary Everywhere.” Made me think I wanted to hang it in my window. Our local Unitarian Church recently offered sanctuary to a local woman – from …
Sep 09
UPDATE: With recent accusations, revelations, of Al Franken’s improprieties with two different women, I had to consider whether I would have written this piece. Looking at the details of those accusations, and the response Senator Franken offered, I still see him as a man of integrity, though also flawed, and imperfect, as are we all. …
Dec 26
When we first elected the Abbot to be the abbot of HMM, just because he’d been here the longest and loved the monastic life– at least in theory– more than most of us—well, more than some of us– and understood the contemporary potential and function of a monastery-without-walls–he said was honored, and would accept the …
Dec 17
It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings. — Mahatma Gandhi My new strategy is to not click on all the Trump rants, both for him and against him and from the man himself. Not clicking on the rants is my new …
Dec 03
The daily routine at Heart Mountain Monastery doesn’t change much during the Christmas season-=- okay, the holiday season. That’s one reason why we get quite a few folks asking if they might come stay during this time. The ordinariness, and the lack of pressure, seems to be a real draw. When I say our daily …
Dec 02
“ When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it always.” — Gandhi Looking back, it’s clear that we did figure out, quite …
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