Lighting the Fire of Inspiration How do we practice lighting the fire of inspiration in our hearts? There are days when I feel the heat from inspiration on my face. It may be warming my fingers on the keyboard or the back of my neck. Then there are the days when nothing seems to spark inspiration for me. I try match after match and nothing seems to light. Is there something wrong with the matches or the strip on the... Read more
Being a Monk in the City Some of us believe it is impossible to be a monk in the city. We assume we need to get out of town and away from other people to really be contemplative. Do we need to travel into the country, to the mountains or the desert, into the woods or to the beach, to be monastic? Many of us are convinced we need to get as far as possible from other people to practice... Read more
A Writing Practice for Lent Lent is a liturgical season which, for many of us, turns our attention to spiritual practices. We try to give something up or we choose to begin practicing something new. This year I would like us to think about building a writing practice. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is March 2 this year. Our liturgical calendar gives us a few weeks to reflect and consider what practice is right for us this year. Many... Read more
The Music of Stillness Music has become something in the background of my life. I do not remember the last time music moved me in a particularly strong emotional way. The music I spend the most time listening to now is the music of stillness. Sometimes it seems music used to be important. People produced important music when I was a certain age, but that time has passed. A few years ago I grew concerned I was becoming one of... Read more
Spiritual Life in a Bottomless Pit Many of us experience these days as living in a time which is like falling into a bottomless pit. We feel overwhelmed when we look at the world around us. Some days are as if the four horsemen of the Apocalypse are unleashed on us. War, famine, pestilence, and death fill our daily news. It feels like a long time since we heard good news, since anything made us laugh out loud. Some of... Read more
My guest today is Charles Kruger, a San Francisco Bay area arts practitioner also known as “The Storming Bohemian.” As a “late emerging” artist, who began pursuing this career when he was past 50, Charles has a passion for encouraging others to explore their artistic potential, while pursuing his own projects enthusiastically. He writes, paints, and organizes literary events among other “arts” activities. He is a grateful oblate of New Camaldoli Monastery. Charles has written his review and reflections on... Read more
January Stillness There is nothing quite like the January stillness first thing on a new morning. People, and cities, are just beginning to wake up and wipe the sleep from their eyes. Our first cups of coffee taste the best. The air is fresher. There is not as much traffic on the streets or on the sidewalks. Walking is easier. The aromas of breakfast begin to fill the air. Our second cups are almost as good. Each morning is a... Read more
What is Epiphany All About? Sometimes it seems like spiritual life is all about waiting and hoping for insight, for an epiphany. Some of us believe contemplative practices help us get out of our own way and hear the wisdom of spiritual life. As we take time to breathe deeply and listen to sacred stillness we allow ourselves to recognize deep truths. We are convinced how we think is essential to spiritual life. We read and research and work to... Read more
The Week at the End of the Year This is it. The final week of another year shaped by pandemic and climate change, the week at the end of this year. Some of us are still stretching to try to reach goals we set for ourselves this year. We may be fooling ourselves or we may have just enough left in us to complete a few more tasks. In a few days we will reach the end of the year.... Read more
Celebrating the Winter Solstice Many of us are afraid of darkness. We feel darkness growing darker and threatening to overwhelm us. Our darkest day each year is the Winter Solstice. Some of us grow tired of searching for light on the darkest day. We give up and close our eyes, making our own darkness even darker. Searching for light on our Winter Solstice is not simply about scanning the horizon looking for distant stars. The light we hope to find... Read more
Strategic Monk
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