There’s an Internet meme going around under the hashtag “#filmstruck4”. The idea, initially posted by the movie streaming service Filmstruck, is for participants to post four films that “define” them. Movie are an important part of our culture, sure. But let’s try something deeper. What are four myths that define you? Here are my four. Buddha Touching The Earth If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know this myth by now — it’s right there in the title... Read more
But we must be wary of thinking that more suffering enables more healing, that in order to become better healers we must suffer more. Read more
Product advertising has been with us since some Paleolithic guy boasted that his flint arrowheads were the best and everyone should trade with him; political hucksterism goes back to the Roman Republic. But technology is allowing them to move from the realm of human interaction to the realm of mind-control black magic. Read more
The fault, dear Americans, is not in our guns, but in ourselves, that we are brutal and careless about each other; that we live in a nation where racism and economic injustice and a culture of violent domination can set someone on the path to murder, and poor access to mental health care and a broken criminal justice system makes it unlikely that they will be stopped before they explode. Read more
I was nine years old, give or take a year or two, and I was home sick from school. Mom went to the local branch of the Baltimore County Public Library (all praise be upon it, and upon Mom) and came back with some books for me. I supposed she asked the librarian for something appropriate for my young age, advanced reading level, and interest in science fiction and fantasy. Among the books she brought home was Ursula K. Le... Read more
Even the tools to fix the broken things were broken. But if you write about "spiritual" topics, sometimes people actually expect you to walk your talk. Read more
Every spread of the cards is a funhouse mirror, reflecting what comes before it, distorting it in interesting ways, and showing a different scene to everyone who looks. Read more
Fractal Cat is a Baltimore band that I’ve been fortunate enough to watch come together over the years. (I played and read at both the Carriage House open mic series where Miles Gannett and Keith Jones first met, and at the Side Streets open mic where they came together again.) The title track from their new CD, The Tower, is based on Tarot imagery. And it has a sing-along refrain; “I believe in you.” As I was dancing and singing... Read more
"Religious humor is a form of 'deep play' that works to renegotiate ideas about tradition, space, identity, community, and the body, and uses paradox to further one’s progress toward enlightenment." So in that context, I'd like to consider Festivus, a satirical or parody holiday celebrated on December 23rd. Read more
Change is going to happen. That's pretty much an inevitable part of existence. But if we are intentionally making change happen, then we are magicians! Read more
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