The Kindom of Heaven Is…by Alex Gaynor
Cami Kasmerchak got me connected with Alex when she was in Sacramento with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in 2015-2016. She’s in a class with me now, These are a Few of Our Favorite Things. She…
Category: Wisdom Traditions
The Art of Living: Munindra/2
Earlier this week, I shared some of Munindra’s teachings. Today, I want to pass on several observations of those who knew him and learned from him. He was like a scientist who had just made…
The Art of Living: Munindra/1
The following reflections by Bengali Buddhist Anagarika Munindra come from the inspiring book by Mirka Knaster, Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra. Mostly you’re living in the world of thoughts. 11 I…
Inflaming the Soul
While reading Stephen Clissold’s The Wisdom of the Spanish Mystics, I was most taken by the passages that spoke of love and detachment. Once again, thanks to New Directions for publishing this series decades ago….
Forever on the Alert
I’ve known Pat Geier almost 40 years. Not two months into the pandemic, we began Zooming on Fridays, then added Mondays, and before too long were immersed in reading and discussing the works of French…
Not Flustered, Not Melancholy, Not Anxious
James Laughlin, Ezra Pound’s publisher, observed that “Pound’s translations of Confucian texts, beautiful as is their language, are seldom applauded by Sinologues.” But we common readers may appreciate such versions from the Analects, when they…
Making Everyone Happy
Melita Maschmann, Encountering Bliss: My Journey through India with Ānandamayī MāDelhi : Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2002 It is as difficult to escape the grace of a Guru, as the revenge of a tiger.Indian proverb Last…
Spinoza Sees into the Future When Twitter Reigns
“The love of esteem [Gloria] which is called empty [vana] is acquiescentia in se ipso that is encouraged only by the opinion of the multitude. When that ceases, the acquiescentia in se ipso ceases, i.e….
Becoming a Mensch
Alan Morinis, Climbing Jacob’s Ladder: One Man’s Journey to Rediscover a Jewish Spiritual TraditionTrumpeter, 2002 Alan Morinis offers an engaging account of how he came to re-order his life according to the Jewish practice of…
A Small Part in the Cosmic Play
Mukunda: In the Iyrics to that song “Awaiting on You All,” from the All Things Must Pass album, you come right out front and tell people that they can be free from living in the…