Life Itself May Be A Koan
"Consider the Zen practice of the koan, the question or problem proposed by Zen masters to each other or by masters to students. The koan is a dilemma, a mystery which the rational mind cannot solve. The key to the resolution of a koan is a shift in the being of the student which allows for a new understanding of the question itself." Rachel Naomi Remen shares more.... posted on May 06 2020, 3,542 reads

The Little Priestess: Listen with the Ear of the Heart
Noirin Ni Riain is an Irish spiritual singer, theologian, teacher, author and Interfaith minister. Known as the High Priestess of Gregorian Chan, Noirin has released sixteen albums since 1978, including three with her sons Eoin and Micheal O' Suilleabhain. Her voice has rung out for peace on many continents, from United Nations conferences to gatherings with the Dalai Lama. In this short excerpt, ... posted on May 05 2020, 5,489 reads

Together Apart: Letters from Isolation
Together Apart is a new Orion web series of letters from isolation. Every week under lockdown, they eavesdrop on curious pairs of authors, scientists, and artists, listening in on their emails, texts, and phone calls as they redefine their relationships from afar. The exchange that follows is between Krista Tippett, author and CEO of the On Being Project, and the poet and theologian Padraig O' Tua... posted on May 04 2020, 4,726 reads

A Geometry of the Heart
At 16 she lay down in the middle of a busy two-way street. Then she heard an inner voice say, "Do you want to be a drunk, or do you want to be an artist?" She got up and never forgot the clarity of that decision. High school was a humiliation. She was deemed slow and unteachable. When she asked her dean about how to put together a portfolio for art school he asked her if she'd considered selling s... posted on May 03 2020, 3,753 reads

From Emergency to Emergence
"Discussions now underway in many community, national, and global forums suggest a significant widening of what is known as the Overton Window: the range of public policies that the mainstream population is prepared to consider at a given time.While there is an almost universal desire to move rapidly beyond the COVID emergency, the spectrum of what we want post-pandemic is broadening. Many are art... posted on May 02 2020, 7,918 reads

The Capacity for Successful Solitude
"The capacity to be alone is the capacity to know enough about yourself and who you are, and be comfortable enough with that. That way, when you are with another person, youre not trying to make that person into somebody you need them to be in order to buttress a fragile sense of your own self. You can actually turn to a person and see them as another person, and have a real relationship with them... posted on May 01 2020, 7,535 reads

Helping Parents When Parenting Gets Hard
"I love the act of listening to parents, one-on-one or in a group. Parents have so much love they want to give to their children and families, they work so hard at it, they summon unprecedented amounts of energy and persistence to love well. I love listening over time, and being privy to the creativity of parents, and to their successes in transforming difficult situations in their families into p... posted on Apr 30 2020, 4,673 reads

Where Fear Meets Hope: Stories from Around the Globe
As we grow accustomed to life under lockdown, we are discovering the richness that can emerge from the quiet, contemplative nature of solitude. Hoping to tap into the inner wisdom of our collective attempt to find light amidst darkness, writer Emily Rose Barr asked one simple question of individuals across the globe: What are you doing that's bringing a little extra joy, light, or laughter to you... posted on Apr 29 2020, 8,016 reads

Following Butterflies: A Conversation with Milan Rai
Milan Rai is a self-taught Nepalese contemporary visual artist. A self-described failure in school, he now sees the world as his studio. A moment of serendipity set him on his path. Inspired by a butterfly that alighted on his paintbrush in the middle of a challenging project in 2013, Rai began cutting out simple white butterfly shapes from paper and thoughtfully arranging and affixing them to sur... posted on Apr 28 2020, 2,967 reads

How to Be Alone
This charming video pays tribute to the happy wholesomeness of being alone. Tanya Davis recites her poem about the ways of solitude, gently cataloging all the places where aloneness can bring freedom and healing. Whether at a lunch counter, park bench, mountain trail, or on the edge of a dance floor - all you have to do is love yourself enough, to love being alone.... posted on Apr 27 2020, 4,688 reads