Today, the 17th of November  is marked out as a feast in honor of Hilda, in some records Hild, of Whitby. She counts among my favorite Christian saints. Her feast is observed in the Roman, the Orthodox, and Anglican communions. The precise date of her birth is unknown, but she lived and flourished in the seventh century. Hilda was the abbess of several monastic communities, most notably Whitby. She was a singular figure, leading a mixed community... Read more

        It was on this day, the 16th of November, in 1973, that Alan Watts, self-described “spiritual entertainer,” who might have been characterized as a “stand up philosopher,” raconteur, teacher, and notorious libertine, died. He was fifty-eight years old. Rushing on half a century later, the ripples of influence from his life have nowhere near stilled. Watts is an important figure in my life. And, more important I think he stands as a significant figure in the meeting... Read more

      Some days its not possible to hate the world. For instance, the other day one of my favorite people whom I do not know but thanks to Facebook feel I do, Seraphim Sigrist, offered a small reflection on a Krazy Kat cartoon. This tickled me for many reasons, but four principally. First, I love Krazy Kat. If you’re not familiar with the strip George Herriman developed the character Krazy Kat in 1910 for the strip the Dingbat... Read more

      It was on this day, the 14th of November, in 2003 that astronomers discovered 90377 Sedna. It’s a dwarf planet. “Dwarf planets” are one of a three-part categorization offered by Alan Stern, one of the premier scientists concerned with the matter. In his scheme there are “classic planets,” “dwarf planets,” and “satellite planets.” While this categorization has some compelling logic behind it, and is in partial use, as yet it is not fully recognized by the International... Read more

      I’ve been reflecting a lot on the arc of the spiritual path. It has numerous aspects. There is the principal thread, the cord that pulls us into the depths. But along with it are numerous points about ourselves, strengths, weaknesses. All the things that make us, that stand in the way for us, and that open doors for us. One of those things turns on the question to what do we give our attention. By one definition... Read more

            James Luther Adams is one of the most important figures to appear within Unitarian Universalism in the Twentieth century. I mean to note his birthday every year as it rolls around. Sadly, I’m not as consistent as I would like. What is now many years ago when Jan & I first moved to New England’s rocky and lovely soil, Jan wanted to go to the Cambridge cemetery to put a rose on Henry James’ grave. I... Read more

    Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle was born into a Huguenot family on this day, the 11th of November, in 1898 in Gut Externbrock, in Westphalia. He experienced the horrors of trench warfare during the Great War. By the time he was twenty-one he had become a Catholic and entered the Jesuit Order. Ten years later he was assigned as a professor of German at the Jesuit Sophia University in Tokyo. Enomiya-Lassalle looked beyond his academic position and began working with the desperately... Read more

        It was on this day, the 10th of November, in 1793, that the revolutionary French Convention proclaimed the investiture of a goddess of reason. She was the central figure for a new state sponsored cult designed to replace Catholic Christianity. The deity’s image was installed on the high altar of the once (and future) Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. For some reason I am intrigued with this moment and have marked it at this blog... Read more

From the Chinese Zen Masters, Bodhidharma on the twofold entrance to the Tao. (1) Translated by D. T. Suzuki From the Manual of Zen Buddhism, page 73 and on There are many ways to enter the Path, but briefly speaking they are of two sorts only. The one is “Entrance by Reason” and the other “Entrance by Conduct”. (2) By “Entrance by Reason” we mean the realization of the spirit of Buddhism by the aid of the scriptural teaching. We then... Read more

    Recently I read of a Mexican approach to death with its three stages. I looked it up. It goes: 1) we die. 2) we’re buried, and 3) we’re forgotten. However, the version I read added in a wrinkle, 1) we realize we will die, 2) we die, 3) we are forgotten. I suspect the second version is a cultural variation. Or, perhaps its simply a misremembering. Whatever, I like them both. Although I really like the second one..... Read more