Amidst the chaotic disruption of daily life, an increasing number of us are feeling the strain on our mental health. The economic shakeup has altered the way we work, how we shop, where we go, and what company we keep. Spending more time at home, whether in quarantine or out of caution over catching andContinue reading “Make Your Home a COVID Monastery”
Category Archives: Timely and Random
The Second Coming of Santa
The secular myth of Santa Claus has its historical roots in the life of Nicholas of Myrna (270 to 343 CE), who had become legendary for his practice of secret gift-giving, especially to children and families in poverty. His feast day on December 6 is still celebrated today by exchanging presents, and children who leaveContinue reading “The Second Coming of Santa”
Calling On Your Higher Self
You know that part of you which tends to panic, fall apart, go ballistic, or hide under the bed when things get overwhelming? Be honest, it’s there. We all have it inside us. As children it was more or less our modus operandi whenever life brought us more than we could handle. If we wereContinue reading “Calling On Your Higher Self”
Understanding Spiritual Frustration
One of the great ironies, which is quickly metastasizing into a tragedy of catastrophic dimensions these days, is in our certainty that taking control and pinning things down will solve the major problems that beset us. By major problems I don’t only have in mind the national and global challenges of poverty, racism, and theContinue reading “Understanding Spiritual Frustration”
Being Human
Our health, happiness, and fulfillment as human beings are based in, and therefore dependent on, how deeply we understand ourselves. By that I mean something more than what we think of ourselves, or what general theory of human nature we happen to hold. Understanding is by definition a deep (“under”) position (“standing”) that accommodates aContinue reading “Being Human”
Breakpoint for Humanity
The concept of community is widely misunderstood and frequently gets misapplied to types of human groupings such as assemblies, crowds, neighborhoods, or regional populations. These others are based on a quantitative function of individuals gathered or grouped together, and might be distinguished by their specific conditions of location, setting, or occasion. Community, on the otherContinue reading “Breakpoint for Humanity”
Whitewashed
Just now, conservative and mostly Republican legislators are advancing bills into law that will prohibit the teaching of “critical race theory” (CRT) in our public schools. Basically the theory says that racism – the prejudices, antagonism, inequality, and violence between white and black races in America – is not merely an “episode” of our history,Continue reading “Whitewashed”
Empathy and Human Salvation
It’s easy to blame Donald Trump for the fracture of American society along the faultlines of race, wealth, politics, and religion. But we all know that those faultlines were already there before he brazenly sucked the soul out of the Republican party and exploited social media to seduce millions more into his “Make America GreatContinue reading “Empathy and Human Salvation”
Plato and the Collapse of the Republican Party
When political leaders are elected in a democracy, their constituents expect them to represent and promote their interests, safeguard their freedoms, and protect their rights. Quite frequently, as candidates, those seeking office tell their constituents what they want to hear, and, once elected, they might follow through on some of those promises. If an electedContinue reading “Plato and the Collapse of the Republican Party”
The Social Challenge of Jesus
In Insurrection and Epiphany I tried to explain what was truly revolutionary about Jesus of Nazareth, focusing on his message and revelation of “unconditional forgiveness.” That exact term wasn’t used by him, but the gospel stories about him and the stories he told (called parables) both imply and explicitly declare a new understanding – groundedContinue reading “The Social Challenge of Jesus”
Tracts of Revolution 