Preparations for the 2012 Craft Brewery Pilgrimage continue to approach fruition. Plan now to become a Craft Brewery Pilgrim this year. Join us in celebrating the significant contributions monks have made to brewing, and in appreciating Southern California’s growing craft brewing community.  I always enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories in real life; this is a great, relaxed way to do that.  We also highlight a nonprofit organization at each stop. I recently visited several strong candidates. Jan and I visited Steelhead Brewery in... Read more

Getting together and sharing, community and listening are central to what I do as the Strategic Monk. Each time provides opportunities to explore, grow into, and express my deepest true self. Each gives me ways to connect with the true selves of people around me. Essential things happen when people sit down together to share. People with very different kinds of experiences seek those essentials, and I help them move forward. Each person brings unique gifts to the table. We sit... Read more

My friend Jan and I got together again this week at another craft brewery in Orange County. Jan is a wine lover. The first time we met was her introduction to craft brewing.  Now we have found a common goal of exploring craft brewing from the point of view of a wine lover, while researching Southern California craft breweries. This month we visited Steelhead Brewing Company in Irvine, which offers a sampler of seven brews. They range from a Hefeweizen with... Read more

I was reminded this week of how powerfully a dream can transport you through time. I was in a store or at a gas station, and the background soundtrack started playing a Beach Boys song. I  immediately travelled from an unseasonably warm January day in Southern California back to one of the Midwestern winter days of my childhood. I would spend hours in my room, with temperatures below zero outdoors, listening to Beach Boys songs about the endless summers of... Read more

Breakfast provides the nutritional spark and sets the tone for our day. Breakfast in the United States has a history that mirrors the economic and sociological development of American culture. Before the Industrial Revolution, breakfast was a product of an agrarian society. People ate food that they or their neighbors produced themselves. In addition, people would rise early, work for several hours, and return for a sustaining meal. It was not unusual for people on farms to drink beer, or... Read more

Once I begin something new, a great deal of what happens next depends on my focus and my flexibility. Whether it is changing the direction of my career, preparing a meal, working to address a social issue, or having a single conversation, much of what I contribute is a result of the combination of my flexibility and focus. I can be very focused. I have been described as having “attention surplus disorder.” I am willing to put in a great... Read more