I first stumbled upon the term Perennialism in Aldous Huxley’s lovely book the Perennial Philosophy, published three years before I was born. And, for me in my youth searching for an intellectually honest, which meant to me not obviously conflicting with the natural world, this book together with Richard Maurice Bucke’s Cosmic Consciousness, and William James’ Varieties of Religious Experience outlined the general direction for my quest for meaning and purpose in life. Now, in practice I have a complicated... Read more

As it happens, three hundred, fifty four years ago on this very day the renowned diarist Samuel Pepys recorded an account of witnessing “an Italian puppet play that is within the rayles there, which is very pretty, the best that I ever saw.” an early English version of the Punch and Judy show. Those who follow such things consider this the “birthday” of the English twist on the Italian Commedia dell’arte, which has its origins about a century earlier. According... Read more

A MOTHERING SPIRIT A Mothers’ Day Meditation James Ishmael Ford 8 May 2016 Pacific Unitarian Church Rancho Palos Verdes, California Today, let’s consider mothers. We have many mothers among us. And, of course, we all, every blessed one of us have a mother. So, let’s talk mothers. And, let’s not pretend otherwise. Mother’s Day is a complicated thing. I don’t think its possible for any of us to have unmixed feelings about mothers in general, and our own mothers in... Read more

As Jan and I sit here watching the president give the commencement address at Howard University, I find a number of emotions racing through me. Not only is he the first genuine intellectual to serve as president of our country in many years, he also brings such a breadth of concern for our human condition that simply will not be replicated whomever the next president might be. (As he said at the White House Correspondence dinner, it’s anyone’s guess who... Read more

It was on this day in 1824 that Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in the Theater am Kaminertor, in Vienna, Austria. There is some question about who actually directed, Michael Umlaut was on the bill as such, but Beethoven who at this time was almost completely deaf stood on the stage with him also directing the music playing in his mind. Accounts vary as to who the orchestra attended to. Wikipedia tells us “the public received the musical hero with the... Read more

According to the good folk at Wikipedia the sack of Rome that occurred on this day in 1527 is considered at least by some to mark the end of the Renaissance. This battle and the ensuing sack was a nasty affair, where notably some one hundred, forty-seven Swiss guards died in the fighting, which allowed the pope, Clement VII, to escape. Of course such markers are arbitrary and usually not the actual event precipitating something as great a cultural paradigm... Read more

A while back I saw a meme on Facebook promising that this year Cinco de Mayo would fall on Taco Tuesday. Mildly amusing. And wrong on a couple of levels. First, obviously, as Cinco de Mayo falls on a Thursday this year. And, me, I feel some discomfort in the holiday becoming the Mexican St Patrick’s Day, with all the ills that follow that sad degeneration of someone’s largely religious holiday into shamrocks and green beer. Except now with sombreros... Read more

On Facebook I just ran across the epigram, “We live two lives. The second begins when we discover we have one life.” It’s attributed to Confucius. I found the sentiment compelling, and in the very same draw of my breath I felt suspicious of the attribution. A bit of googling lead to several versions of the the text. Sometimes “we.” Sometimes “I.” Sometimes, “you.” But the drift remains the same. And it consistently is attributed to the ancient Chinese sage.... Read more

I’m still struggling with what to call my comments on the movies that Jan & I go to see. I’m shy of the word “review,” because it implies a level of expertise I do not bring to the table. I’m inclined to the term “appreciations.” But, not completely satisfied with that, and in fact I would be happy for a better term. I particularly feel the complexity within being someone who likes movies but lacks a professional eye as I... Read more

It was on this day in 1536 that the Queen of England, Anne Boleyn, was arrested, charged with treason, oh, and also incest, and adultery, and just to make sure, witchcraft. Seventeen days later she lost her head. I’m not exactly sure what the take away should be for us as we note this day. But, I think I’m going with don’t cross absolute monarchs. Oh, and maybe don’t let anyone be an absolute monarch. Even yourself. You know that... Read more