Have you ever been in a relationship that has become unhealthy? One in which you struggle to find the difference between an intimare connection and an addiction? Your relationship is exciting and attractive; it motivates you to live life more fully, and even keeps you up at night.You find it challenging to get up and get going in the morning with spending some time together; you spend a lot of time thinking about new ways to explore your connection. You... Read more
It may be because we are afraid of the dark. As the days get shorter and darkness grows, as we approach the end of each year, we enter a season that our culture calls “The Holidays.” We barely have time to experience each one distinctly. They blend together, becoming one big excuse to spend and consume. We get lost in a rush of costumes and candy, turkey and football, carols and trees. We shortchange ourselves. They become something to be... Read more
Cyprian Consiglio is a musician and composer, spiritual teacher, and Camaldolese Benedictine monk; he is part of the same branch of the Benedictine family to which I am connected as a lay oblate. Brother Cyprian begins Prayer in the Cave of the Heart by acknowledging the growing hunger for interiority in our world, and our culture, and that the interior way often goes against our natural grain as people. Our senses draw us outward, and we rarely think to look... Read more
Advent is the season in the liturgical year which precedes Christmas. It is a season of preparation and anticipation, of listening and openness. Listen: John’s Gospel says that “In the beginning was the Word,” and that “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Listen: People traveled to seek advice from early Christian monastics, the Desert Mothers and Fathers, who were known for the depth of their spiritual wisdom. They would ask, “Amma, give me a word,” or, “Abba, give... Read more
As Americans prepare to commemorate Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, it is important to reflect on all that has changed since that first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, and all that has remained the same. Much is different, and many features have been added to what we consider typical of Thanksgiving today. There were no televised parades or football, for example, and no need to rush out to Black Thursday sales after dinner. One thing that remains the same is that, in many ways,... Read more
November is, in many ways, a very contemplative month. It begins in the wake of costumes and frivolity; false selves on display for all to see. The days grow colder and darker, almost as if the month is turning inward. Candles and treats give way to the early evenings of standard time. Like contemplation, November is a process of letting go. Leaves fall from the trees. We let go of long, warm evenings and early mornings. The sounds of summer... Read more
My research in preparation for the 2012 Craft Brewery Pilgrimage continues. I am a committed and dedicated researcher. I intend to leave no Stone untasted, and to check and recheck my results as many times as necessary to ensure that the best craft breweries in Southern California are included on our itinerary. It is a daunting task, but I accept the challenge. My research is ongoing. Please let me know if you would like to recommend sites for me to... Read more
I have read quite a few books about contemplation and people who practice it as I have become one of those people. For me, those books often tend to be fairly conceptual and a little cosmic, and not to include much accessible or tangible help. It can be challenging to talk or write clearly about contemplation and silence. A Sunlit Absence by Martin Laird is a companion volume to his 2006 book, Into the Silent Land. While each book stands... Read more
People who build walls want their walls to run true. Whether they are framed in lumber, built of bricks, or made of stacked stones, good walls are balanced and level, positioned correctly, and remain upright. True walls are in the right place, they are straight and square to their foundations, and they stay standing. Walls which are not true either lean, are in the wrong place, or fall down; they do not do what we expect walls to do. Walls... Read more
I have met more and more people recently who believe in the power of ideas. They are passionate about generating and forming new ideas and concepts. They are often particularly creative people; it can be a little challenging to keep up with them, and very exciting to be around them. They have seemingly endless ways to create new ideas, and are energized to generate more of them. I recognize the power of ideas; ideas are the seeds of the future. ... Read more
Strategic Monk
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