The wisdom teachers of history have been right all along: We can’t solve our most persistent problems or gain liberation from suffering as long as we stay in the same frame of mind that generated our trouble in the first place. That frame of mind, the teachers tell us, perceives Reality through the lens ofContinue reading “Politics in a New Key”
Category Archives: Timely and Random
Figuring It Out
More than any other time in human history, we are obsessed with personal identity. This isn’t to suggest that people in earlier times were ignorant or indifferent to it. Research into human psychological development strongly suggests that identity formation is universal. We all go through it. Quite a few of us, however, don’t get throughContinue reading “Figuring It Out”
A New Look at Religion
I’ve said it many times in this blog: Religion is not the problem; bad religion is the problem. Religion that has gotten locked up in itself is the problem. Religion that has lost its roots and lifeline to the Source and Mystery whose discovery had sparked a vision and launched a movement perhaps centuries agoContinue reading “A New Look at Religion”
Relax, You Are Probably a Post-Theist
The transition from theism to post-theism is typically stressful and traumatic for someone who believes that god actually exists. Even though they have never observed or encountered a deity like the one represented in the sacred stories – and neither, by the way, has anyone else – the very idea that God is not whatContinue reading “Relax, You Are Probably a Post-Theist”
No Such Thing as “Christian” Nationalism
Ever since the emperor Constantine (306-367 CE) declared Christianity the Roman State religion, and especially after his successor to the throne, Theodosius I (379-395 CE), made Christianity the only true religion of the empire, Christians themselves have been enthusiastically taking on the role of Antichrist. Of course, most of them accuse other elements of societyContinue reading “No Such Thing as “Christian” Nationalism”
Breaking Through
The diagram to the right is an abstract illustration of Reality. That horizontal line of different-colored spheres at the center represents the plane of individual existence. Each sphere is a distinct being. Pick a color: that’s a rock being. Across the way is a tree being. Next to them are a dog being, a birdContinue reading “Breaking Through”
What If
Can you imagine our situation on this planet if humans lived with compassionate stewardship of our place in the great Web of living beings? If we today could draw on a spontaneous intuition of our common heritage with other species and our shared dependency on the Spirit of Life? As fellow earthlings and offspring ofContinue reading “What If”
Trumplicanism and the Christian Wrong
Recently conservative Christians of the so-called Evangelical Right met with Republican politicians to rally for their cause. It strikes me that neither partner in this alliance is really what they say they are. The Republican party has been pulled off-center and dismembered by the influence of a reactionary and extremist element, which Donald Trump exploitedContinue reading “Trumplicanism and the Christian Wrong”
A (More) Meaningful Life
A mentor and friend of mine passed away recently. He was 79 years old and a one-time member of a church I served back in my ministry days. He and his wife were good friends with another couple who were founding members of that same congregation. The supernatural orientation of religion, its tendency for gettingContinue reading “A (More) Meaningful Life”
A Case for Human Progress
A “meditational hologram” – that’s what I’m calling what you see above. More than a mere infographic, it arranges things in a way meant to guide a deeper meditation. A large Diamond in the background, a diamond-shaped formation of smaller diamonds in the foreground, and the zig-zag pattern of arrows at midfield, all provide distinctContinue reading “A Case for Human Progress”
Tracts of Revolution 