The profound disruption and near destruction of American democracy under the presidency of Donald Trump is something we will probably need a decade or more to fully assess. Electing what many thought was a successful businessman with a deep understanding of investment and negotiation strategies turned out to be a serious misjudgment of his businessContinue reading “A Republican Reckoning”
Author Archives: tractsofrevolution
Wisdom’s Long Journey
The spiritual wisdom traditions teach that every human being is somewhere in the process of waking up, that we are each emerging from a long, deep sleep. We’re not yet fully awake, most of us, but a new way of being – what Paul Tillich named the New Being – is even now available, andContinue reading “Wisdom’s Long Journey”
Spiritual Exercise
Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and feel yourself relax into your body. The “drop” of consciousness into the biorhythms, life-force, and material gravity of your body begins from a place where a lot of your time and attention is invested. It’s a place of chronic anxiety and exhaustion, of curating and managing aContinue reading “Spiritual Exercise”
Big Picture, Long View, All of Us
I write this on the day after the close of US elections and ballots are still being counted. Each party is positioning lawyers to dispute or defend the integrity of our election process and its outcome. Americans on both sides are looking through the lens of victory or defeat, as to what it will meanContinue reading “Big Picture, Long View, All of Us”
5 Steps to Ridding the World of Democracy
Back when I was a church pastor, I gave a sermon that offered an analysis of the strategy used by the conservative alliance of political and religious leaders to get rid of Jesus. He had been stirring up hope and excitement among the rabble, announcing the arrival of a New Reality that would break theirContinue reading “5 Steps to Ridding the World of Democracy”
Tomorrow’s Religion
Let’s begin with a definition. Religion is a more or less systematic framework of values, beliefs, commitments, and practices that serves to orient a human being in reality, connect her with others, and inspire the lifelong pursuit of wellbeing and fulfillment. I’m taking the term on its etymological cash-value – the Latin religare means “toContinue reading “Tomorrow’s Religion”
Secure in Delusion
One of the charming yet potentially devastating traits of our species is in the way we lose touch with what’s real, even preferring illusions to what’s right in front of our face. And yet, the condition of fully believing our illusions – called delusion – creeps over us so gradually that we actually have noContinue reading “Secure in Delusion”
The Five Tribes of Donald Trump
Given what was known about Donald Trump prior to the 2016 election, one has to wonder how he managed to make his way into the highest office in the free world. True, enough of us had grown tired and disgusted with “Washington politics,” to the point where a fresh player in the game who wasContinue reading “The Five Tribes of Donald Trump”
Taking Back Our Light
We all have to negotiate a reality that isn’t always interested in our personal happiness or human fulfillment. Distracted, absent, or abusive parents, a dysfunctional family system, and a larger society that operates under the spell of what Charles Tart called a “consensus trance,” conspire to make our journey of self-actualization complicated, to say theContinue reading “Taking Back Our Light”
Out of Depression
The most significant accomplishment for any human being is to become fully human. That may sound redundant to some, and like a downgrade to others, but those who are most in touch with the human adventure have long insisted that we are still a long way from the evolutionary ideal of our species. And they’veContinue reading “Out of Depression”
Tracts of Revolution 