I am still struck today with just how generous he was to share something he loved with a stranger. Gary owned a small family farm with horses and cattle. While his profession took him to the hospital as a physical therapist where I had met him, this was another side of him — love of the …Read More
Category: Spirit
Satyagraha – Odetta sings Ghandi’s Truth Force
Satyagraha (origin: Sanksrit) literally means “holding onto Truth” or “Truth Force”. Mahatma Ghandi coined and developed the term for his political movement of passive non-violent resistance to British Imperialism and his support for Indian independence. For Ghandi, satyagraha is much more than “non-violence.” Ghandi also referred to it as “love-force” and “soul-force”, encompassing a daily way of …Read More
Animal Medicine – Native American Healing
Today, a pair of rabbits hopped about in my backyard, and then disappeared in the brush. A few minutes later, small deer ran across the lawn. A few minutes more, that must be mama deer lagging behind. “It’s Spring!” I said out loud to myself as I continued to stare out the window. Living in …Read More
Poem: If Only to Receive
A friend and poet, Daniel Cryns, shares these words, “If only to receive…” (Poem is posted below with permission.) “If Only to Receive…” by Daniel Cryns If only to receive the song of today in reverence, delight… No need to own it, no need to share it. To fully take in that which will never …Read More
Poem: We Have Come to Be Danced
“The fastest, cleanest, most joyful way to break out of your own box is by dancing. I’m not talking about doing the stand-and-sway. I’m talking about dancing so deep, so hard, so full of the beat that you are nothing but the dance and the beat and the sweat and the heat.”—Gabrielle Roth Ecstatic dance …Read More
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
The Invitation —by Oriah Mountain Dreamer It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool …Read More
Love in the Moment – Poetry of Rumi
Rumi is celebrated for his poems on ecstatic Love. As a Persian poet and Sufi mystic writing in the 13th century, it is surprising that his words can still speak to us nearly 800 years later. However, he is one of the most popular poets in the English-speaking world today partly because of the beautiful …Read More
Life Purpose in 5 minutes?
A secret to happiness is … knowing your life purpose. What is your life purpose? Adam Leipzig says that we can figure it out in 5 minutes. (His questions are so simple and yet so profound that I’m re-posting this to my new blog to start off the new year.) Ask yourself these 5 questions. Who …Read More
Finger Pointing at the Moon
“It’s like a finger pointing a way to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.” ― Bruce Lee In the movie “Enter the Dragon” (1973), Bruce Lee encounters a young student walking around the temple. They begin to spar, practicing their martial arts training. After sparing, Bruce …Read More
The Power in Vocal Communities
Last summer, I spent a week with my friend Ysaye Barnwell in her annual workshop “Building a Vocal Community” at the Omega Institute. In this workshop singers and non-singers (like I used to be) learn to sing in the oral tradition. (No music to read. No words to read. We learn by listening and repeating.) …Read More