ISIS WINS WITH TRUMP The reality is that ISIS, al Qaeda, the Taliban and their derivatives have won the war on terror not on the battlefield but in the hearts and minds of the American people. The terrorists have succeeded, with our full cooperation, in turning us against each other. And with that the terrorists win. The attack on 9/11/01 was a vicious assault on...
Read MoreTHE TRUMP EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE Many progressive Christians and political activists have been expressing dismay and surprise at the blind way evangelical Christians have embraced Donald Trump. Their allegiance is in many ways shocking to our contemporary perspective. It is hard to accept the depth of hypocrisy which seems beyond logical comprehension. However, upon...
Read MoreTears are God’s gift to us, They are our holy water. They heal us as they flow. Rita Schiano When you open your life to the living All things come spilling in on you And you’re flowing like a river. The Changer and the Changed You’ve got to spill some over Spill some over Spill some over Over all. Chris Williamson — Waterfall TEARS ON THE...
Read MoreTHE ENGAGED MYSTIC MATTHEW 25 About one third of the time I write from the perspective of the “engaged mystic.” This posting is meant to set a foundation for that perspective which I often use but have never defined. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of Engaged Buddhism which I enormously respect but I resist the confines of any single spiritual tradition in my writing, so I...
Read MoreINTO THE STORM For the most part I live a rather sedate life. I rarely take physical risks but when storms come, I simply love going out into the midst of them. The raw power of stormy weather is an excitement that can only be experienced in that setting. I even like it when the harsh wind pushes hard, and I have to lean forward to walk. Storms change the...
Read MoreFor the most part when I feel close to my Soul I feel at peace, whole and content. In these moments the world makes the most sense to me and I feel at home with whatever I am doing. The most mundane things: washing dishes, driving to work, drinking tea all carry the imprint of the Divine in those moments. They all become a form of meditation as I attempt to...
Read MoreJaws: The Movie and its Archetypes I arrived home on Thursday after what seemed like a long day and actually long week of work ready to settle in for what I hoped would be a perfectly mundane Thursday Night Football game between the Patriots and Giants. After preparing a relatively good evening meal as I sat down, I discovered the movie Jaws was on which felt like a...
Read MoreWar is sweet to those who never experienced it. Erasmus Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity. George Carlin Dad, how do soldiers killing each other solve the world’s problems? Calvin and Hobbes A NOT-SO-MODEST PEACE PROPOSAL War has been almost constant throughout human history. Since the beginning of time efforts at containing this horror have quite...
Read MoreI have had a rule for my blog that I don’t sell things here but today I am going to break that rule by announcing that my memoir, “An Ordinary Childhood,” is finally available on Amazon. This project was begun in the early 2000s with early drafts and scribblings. I abandoned it for quite a while but reclaimed it in 2015. And since that time, it has been...
Read MoreSPIRITUAL CONUNDRUMS Throughout the history of spiritual and theological reflection there have been certain staples of thought about the Divine. These include; God is all powerful, God is all knowing, or God is perfect. Reflection on the nature of the Divine literally fills many libraries with thousands of volumes. Part of the problem with our efforts to...
Read MorePATHWAYS TO THE SOUL BLOG
I am starting this blog to create a space for dialogue about personal and spiritual growth. It is my plan to post once or twice per month and will respond to any comment within forty eight hours. I urge readers to comment on any of my postings with agreement, disagreement, questions or expansions. This blog is meant as a vehicle for dialogue, reflection and community.
Please feel free to pass these postings along to friends, family and colleagues. That is, after all, the way to “grow” the blog.
In this light there are three cautions I need to emphasize:
1) Posting here is not private or confidential. Anything said here is in the public domain.
2) This blog is a space for general reflection on themes of personal and spiritual growth and as such it is not intended as a substitute for psychotherapy or other treatment.
3) As the “keeper of this space” I reserve the right to erase any comment that is not in line with its intention.
I hesitate to say these things but legal consultants make it clear that this is necessary. (Sigh)
