joyful picture was perfectly timed. It required only a steady hand and a willingness to tune in. It would be months before the implications of this seemingly ordinary assignment would fully dawn on me. Its daily rhythm was a reassurance; and the simple activity was salve to the spirit. I discovered joy lurking in the nooks and crannies of everyday scenes. A sandwich pictured with goldfish crackers was an ode to the kindness of a friend; the image of a pinecone, a reminder of nature’s mysterious depths. A snap of a day’s outfit was a nudge to keep going, a pair of shoes, a tribute to how far I’d come. Unable to limit myself to the requisite one pho... posted on Feb 14 2021 (7,461 reads)

too real. Either way the ego becomes a false self the moment we take it to be who and what we are. The great news is that we can, quite literally, wake up from the illusion of the false self and reclaim our essential identity. We begin by acknowledging the always and already present presence of awareness. This is the awareness that is cognizant of reading these words and wondering what they mean. That awareness, as ordinary and common as it may seem, is the doorway to awakening to your true nature of Being. It is the very awareness that is so easy to dismiss, because it is always present and more essentially you than you could ever conceive or imagine. Take one simple inward step away fr... posted on Mar 22 2021 (7,786 reads)

Kolams have actually caught the fancy of mathematicians and computer scientists who have attempted to use it to further their studies of array grammars and picture languages [8]. They were first introduced to the western world as a form of ethnomathematics (the intersection of mathematical ideas and culture) by the research of Marcia Ascher [9]. In her book, Vijaya further explores the mathematical underpinnings of the kolam, focusing specially on symmetry, their nested, fractal nature, their connection to the concept of infinity, their use by computer scientists as both picture languages that help in the programming of computer languages and as array grammars that function a... posted on May 20 2021 (18,189 reads)

and even sexual fulfillment, has come to be identified with what he calls here the “lust and thrust and restlessness.” [laughter] Tippett:I don’t think that was in the Herter Norton translation. Barrows:No. [laughs] Right. Right. We had a good time translating that. Tippett:[laughs] And what we’re talking about is the feminine aspect to humanity, right? Barrows:Yes, exactly. Tippett:This is not just about women. It’s about a fullness of human nature and human capacities. Barrows:Yes. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Tippett:I’m just curious, and Joanna, you’ve lived such a long time, you’re so amazing — I wonder ho... posted on Jul 9 2021 (4,635 reads)

mystical abstractionist is a result of the same ideas that influenced many of her contemporaries including Kandinsky, Mondrian, Klee and Malevich. Rather than rewriting the history of art by slotting her in as a hitherto unknown great woman artist, it is probably more useful to consider these ideas and their impact on her art. Scientific and mystical change The scientific discoveries of the late 19th and early 20th century encouraged many to question the very nature of the universe. In the 17th century, Isaac Newton discovered light was made of particles. In the early 19th century, Goethe’s Theory of Colours led many to see colour had sp... posted on Aug 17 2021 (6,775 reads)

sharing.” Then switch roles.  You can end your session now, or repeat the exercise with a different starter phrase.  After you finish, make an agreement: no sharing of what was read, and no referencing in the future, unless the reader himself or herself brings it up.  Speaking to the earth You may do this alone, or invite witnesses to silently hold the space for you. This practice is common among many cultures around the world.  First, find a space in nature that feels safe: a corner in your backyard, or a place in greater nature, like a forest, a creek, a beach.  Then dig a small opening in the earth or sand, large enough to speak (or cry)... posted on Oct 7 2021 (12,498 reads)

kind of joy. These tiny, jewel-toned birds are members of the Nectariniidae family and are often spotted with their slender, curved beaks deep inside the base of flowers. Some species hover above blooms while they drink nectar, others perch on a convenient branch as they forage, while some cheeky birds will puncture the base of the flower to gain access to the sugars, especially if they are imbedded deep within. Observing them is an uplifting experience that drives home just how beautiful nature can be. There are over 150 species of sunbirds in the world, “found in multiple habitats from evergreen and scrub forest to coastal mangroves, Himalayas, and areas of human h... posted on Oct 22 2021 (5,979 reads)

a milestone in my path toward recovery and healing.  Extreme self-care meant taking my care to a whole new level—a level that seemed arrogant and selfish, practiced by people who had an inappropriate sense of entitlement. It meant taking radical action to improve my life and engaging in daily habits that allowed me to maintain this new standard of living (…) the practice of extreme self-care forces us to make choices and decisions that honor and reflect the true nature of our soul. Cheryl Richardson  On a fundamental level, extreme self-care for survivors of suicide loss is about extraordinary self-compassion. It is about making conscious choices t... posted on Nov 27 2021 (4,671 reads)

the end of Craig Foster’s 2020 documentary film My Octopus Teacher, he shows his son the wonders of nature along the shore and in the sea. He says the most important thing to learn is a gentleness that thousands of hours in nature can teach a child. The word ‘gentleness’ suddenly stood out and could well be the best description of the film. It is a word rarely used today. One is more likely to hear the words ‘success’, ‘ambition’ or ‘being tough’ in an ungiving world. Today, the word gentleness is more likely to be used as a quality to sell face cream, pampers or bed sheets rather than as a spiritual value. Once a quality to be n... posted on Dec 22 2021 (5,244 reads)

follows is a transcript syndicated from On Being, of an interview between Krista Tippett and Jane Hirshfield. You can listen to the audio of this interview here. Transcription by Heather Wang  Krista Tippett:The esteemed poet Jane Hirshfield has been a Zen monk and a visiting artist among neuroscientists. She’s said this: “It’s my nature to question, to look at the opposite side. I believe that the best writing also does this … It tells us that where there is sorrow, there will be joy; where there is joy, there will be sorrow … The acknowledgement of the fully complex scope of being is why good art thrills … Acknowledging the fullne... posted on Jan 12 2022 (4,878 reads)

such a ridiculous idea, [laughs] but very, very alluring. [music: “Spring Rain” by Auditory Canvas] Tippett:I’m Krista Tippett, and this is On Being, today with journalist Oliver Burkeman. [music: “Spring Rain” by Auditory Canvas] You also, at regular intervals in the writing, you will stop and say, This is a relief. It’s a relief to know that there will be neglected, missed opportunities, that there will be losses, that it is in the nature of vitality that there is loss. And part of this time management mentality that we have is that somehow you can salvage it all, that you can somehow make it all possible and not have to sacrifi... posted on Jan 31 2022 (5,533 reads)

with yoga or soothed with meditation. In this case, “instead of asking, How can I stop feeling so anxious?, we should be asking, What is my anxiety telling me?” she writes. “Anxiety is not what’s wrong with you—it is your mind and body fiercely alerting you to the fact that something else is wrong.” For example, this kind of deeper anxiety may stem from being in the wrong relationship, feeling disconnected from other people or from nature, or even living in a world marred by injustice.  Again, her solutions are not revolutionary: practicing gratitude to see more good in the world, connecting authentically with others, al... posted on Apr 7 2022 (9,046 reads)

is also a quality linked to the cultivation of hope in her work as a researcher and public educator on the climate crisis. Confronted with the often-overwhelming data of despair that depicts the current ecological situation, we face an imperative to acknowledge the bleak outlook while at the same time letting go of the inevitability that this be our future--in order to imagine a different one. Imagination is the key to finding hope and shifting the narrative of an us vs. them approach to nature (and to humanity) to an interconnected, interdependent reality, says Zoë. Just as Zoë practices surrender when standing before a blank canvas, there is an invitation for humanity to p... posted on May 24 2022 (3,203 reads)

surprise at being alive, at the miraculousness of the mundanity of it all: Red sadness is the secret one. Red sadness never appears sad, it appears as Nijinsky bolting across the stage in mid-air, it appears in flashes of passion, anger, fear, inspiration, and courage, in dark unsellable visions; it is an upside-down penny concealed beneath a tea cozy, the even-tempered and steady-minded are not exempt from it, and a curator once attached this tag to it: Because of the fragile nature of the pouch no attempt has been made to extract the note. […] Green sadness is sadness dressed for graduation, it is the sadness of June, of shiny toasters as they come out of the... posted on Aug 21 2022 (6,138 reads)

too upset at this point.” OJS: Yes. TS: “I’m off the rails really.” OJS: Yes. TS: Help me, Oren. OJS: Help me, help me. Well, life’s hard, isn’t it? I think one of the things about this training is having compassion for ourselves and recognizing we’re all doing the best we can. And I certainly can offer a few tips and tools, but ultimately it’s going to be imperfect and that’s the nature of being human. And instead of holding ourselves to some unrealistic standard and beating ourself up because I didn’t do what Oren said to do in the book or something, just, “OK, I&... posted on Sep 21 2022 (3,591 reads)

probably don’t. It’s important to develop ethical criteria, but then to be prepared to use them in accordance with what we know. HR: What is the difference between your theory and others? Why do you think yours is better? MN: The Nonhuman Rights Project does a lot of litigation on behalf of animals, using what I call the “so-like-us” approach—which judges animals by an alleged likeness to human beings, using the old traditional idea of a ladder of nature with us securely at the top. It’s a religious idea, which means we’re closer to God and the others straggle behind. Steven Wise uses this approach because he thinks he’ll b... posted on Jan 18 2023 (2,722 reads)

to impede the kind of decent relationships children need and our democracy needs. The problem is not merely that we do not attend enough in schools to children’s social, emotional, and intellectual needs but, what is worse, we neglect these needs in ways that are disastrous for the future of a democratic culture. This isn’t a trend that started yesterday; it emerged about a hundred years ago, but it is not yet so old that we cannot hope to change it. It is not engraved in human nature; in fact, it goes against human nature. My argument is that a democratic culture rests, not on any specific and unique juridical arrangements but first and foremost on a special form of interre... posted on Feb 13 2023 (2,673 reads)

a blade of grass? Will that silence our bird? Absolutely not, nothing will. For he is born to sing. I want to convey to you something special about jamming with another species, but I don’t know if jamming is the best word. Does that suggest something frivolous to you? Musicking? Playing along with? Finding common ground? Interspecies music, of course, is music that no one species could make on its own. And the whole, if it works, should be greater than the sum of its parts, just as nature is greater than any one species in its midst. We all have our place, and no species is an island. We enhance ourselves by paying more attention to the rest of life. One song or many: what is... posted on Feb 21 2023 (2,778 reads)

Douglas-Klotz. For a longer excerpt and more information, please see: www.revelationsofthearamaicjesus.com Why consider Jesus’ sayings in this language, much less use them in prayer or meditation? Language determines our way viewing the world. Languages have different words for the same thing, but also unique words that cannot be put into words in another language. In ancient languages, these unique expressions were all about the way people perceived their relationships to nature, other human beings, and Reality itself (a reality often translated “God”). Aramaic offers a way of looking at life as an interrelated whole, not simply at spiritual or religious... posted on Mar 22 2023 (3,904 reads)

1837–1861 (public library), he writes: Why should I speak to my friends? for how rarely is it that I am I; and are they, then, they? We will meet, then, far away. Several months later, just before the Christmas holidays with their cruel magnifying lens of loneliness for the lonely, he rues his inability to connect openheartedly: My difficulties with my friends are such as no frankness will settle. There is no precept in the New Testament that will assist me. My nature, it may be, is secret. Others can confess and explain; I cannot. Thoreau finds himself pocked with self-doubt about his ability to connect, his sense of isolation at times swelling into pu... posted on Mar 27 2023 (5,932 reads)