I have no taste for conspiracy theories. Now conspiracies happen. No doubt. But also much less often than their advocates believe. And, more importantly, it is my observation that those who get sucked into the grander and more complex conspiracy theories such as are found in the events around 9/11 and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, frequently find themselves spiralling into a vortex that begins at some point to look a lot like madness. Today is... Read more

I rather enjoy the various options there are out on the ‘net to psychologically type oneself. There is, after all, little as much fun as looking in a mirror. And there are tons of mirrors out there. For instance one can see what is one’s religion, which Winnie-the-Pooh character one is, what kind of classic movie star one is, etc. etc. What’s not to love? And recently, at least for me, I’ve discovered a blogger can even learn what type... Read more

I was exchanging notes with my Zen teacher when I mentioned one of the threads of my life at this new church I’m serving follows the fact my immediate predecessor was a plagiarist. It was quite the local scandal and he left in disgrace. I mentioned to John how the complexity included how this person’s sermons included stories of events in his life that changed him and caused him to walk in new directions. Only they weren’t his experiences… John... Read more

How exciting! When I opened my emails this morning I learned that Kevin Osborn who among many other things is one of the Boundless Way Zen community’s web masters has created a website for our brand new Benevolent Street Zendo. This is our ninth Boundless Way sitting group, with six in Massachusetts and one each in Maine, Connecticut and now Rhode Island. (go to the Boundless Way site for the links…) Our project is to create a Western Zen community.... Read more

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I loved this pic when it arrived together with the magazine in our mailbox. Now a friend sent it as a jpeg, so here it is… I do worry a bit for the President Elect. There is so much hope for him and his presidency. I know weeks out I still choke up when the words “President Elect Obama” come out of my mouth. The possibilities I dream are big… Still, Jan and I walked into a store on Sunday... Read more

I’m a great admirer of Ken Jones and find this a very good example of why. This essay was published in Melvin McLeod’s very important book Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place. Ken is Secretary of the UK Network of Engaged Buddhists and author of the seminal study, The New Social Face of Buddhism: A Call to Action. The Four Noble Political Truths Ken Jones When we look at the state of the political... Read more

LOVE YOUR MOTHERReflecting on the Nature of the Divine James Ishmael Ford 16 November 2008First Unitarian ChurchProvidence, Rhode Island Text The Tao is called the Great Mother:empty yet inexhaustible,it gives birth to infinite worlds.It is always present within you.You can use it any way you want. Tao Te Ching, Chapter SixTranslated by Stephen Mitchell As many here know I was raised a fundamentalist Baptist. The God of my childhood was a stern father, not very likable, quite distant, and mainly... Read more

A long day… This morning I conducted the memorial service for a young man who died of a drug overdose. Right after I drove back up to Newton to sit with the widow of a wise and good man who died last night. Some years ago he became financially independent following the success of a computer start up he was involved with. He took that freedom to teach High School math. An emotional whipsaw… I’m now working on my sermon,... Read more

Thomas Jefferson famously observed “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” While I would rather we have both, I feel the press is incredibly important. Actually essential. A free press, for all its problems, and I’m not pretending there are not lots, is probably our best shot at guarding personal freedoms and continuing social improvement. So, I’ve... Read more