christmas, sin and innocence

the christian story is one that keeps intriguing and baffling me. what is this thing that we’re celebrating today? in the mountainous region of the german speaking alps, where i grew up, the image of the naked little baby jesus in the manger is the predominant one for the christmas story. maybe this is one… Continue reading christmas, sin and innocence

“in love with the mystery” – ann mortifee’s new book

“mystery” – how do you talk about it? “the deeper you go into it, the more difficult it is to name,” says ann mortifee, and “everything becomes mysterious after a while.” the first mystery that struck me as i entered st. mark’s church where ann mortifee’s launch for her new book and CD in love… Continue reading “in love with the mystery” – ann mortifee’s new book

why people don’t talk about “mental illness”

this is a guest post by one of my twitter friends, the barking unicorn. “the only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well,” said alfred adler, a colleague of sigmund freud. “most people live in a myth and grow violently angry if anyone dares to tell them the truth about themselves,” said… Continue reading why people don’t talk about “mental illness”

buddhist carnival, the first in 2010

it’s january 15, and time to serve up this month’s buddhist carnival, a selection of posts from the buddhasphere.  here is this month’s poem: a first kensho when things abruptly shift like part of the body misaligned by a sharp move when the house goes, or the he or she, any room at once gets… Continue reading buddhist carnival, the first in 2010

talking about spiritual experiences

a while ago evan asked the question how do we talk about our spiritual experience? we had a little discussion about that here. what still remains to be done, however, is for me to actually tell you about my spiritual experiences. let me offer up two stories, and then perhaps you will contribute one of… Continue reading talking about spiritual experiences

christmas, love, agape

these days i really seem to enjoy to quote from books.  here’s one i have talked about before: the priority of love: christian charity and social justice, by timothy p. jackson.  let me give you some quotes. jackson puts the christian virtue of charity in close context of agape.  according to the stanford dictionary of… Continue reading christmas, love, agape

be the change: loving awareness

each person can use the mantra, ‘i am loving awareness.’ just repeat this and become loving awareness. then we share that loving awareness with all others. ram dass “just repeat this and become …” – these words by one of my favourite writers sound so simple. and they are.  (btw, it’s another quote from be… Continue reading be the change: loving awareness