Monkey Mind
Dear Bella Levenshteyn Do you ever have one of those days When you swing from wanting One thing to another Days like I seem to have with such frequency I know for sure I’m meshugah…
Reasons of State Or Reasons of Memory
First published in The Ecumenist, 1997. Edward T. Linenthal, Preserving Memory: The Struggle to Create America’s Holocaust Museum. New York: Penguin USA, 1995. $27.95, U.S.A; $36.99, Canada. Throughout this spring, there have been several…
On Gillian Rose’s Love’s Work: A Reckoning with Life
–first published in Episcopal Life, 1997 This memoir grabbed me from the moment when I first read its opening epigraph, “Keep your mind in hell, and despair not.” I remember laughing with gratitude, “Yes! How…
Tao of Writing
“When you accept writing as what you are supposed to do, after you’ve tried everything else–marriage, hippiedom, traveling, living in Minnesota or New York, teaching, spiritual practices–there’s finally no place to go.” –Natalie Goldberg, Writing…
Compromismo, 1983
I came across this excerpt from a 1983 statement from Brazilian Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga in response to a request from the Salvadoran Human Rights Commission on behalf of Salvadoran refugee children. This statement reminds me of the commitment of…
Share the Wealth with Susan Clark and Chris Wallach: A Workshop Among the Stars Of Mindfulness and Compassion
In October, Susan Clark and Chris Wallach attended the Mind and Life International Symposium for Contemplative Studies. The Mission Statement of the Institute states: The Mind & Life Institute is a non-profit organization committed to…
What You Understand Depends on Where You Stand/1
For Brent and Brett On Daniel Berrigan’s Night Flight to Hanoi Night Flight to Hanoi is an account of Jesuit Daniel Berrigan’s odyssey in late January and early February 1968, when he and historian Howard Zinn traveled…
Present Moment Wonderful Moment
Spent the morning with Thuy Khuu at Café Ventana: Breathing in, I know that life is precious in this moment. Breathing out, I cherish this moment of life. gatha by Thich Nhat Hanh
Deep Seeing
Dear Chris, For me, one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s greatest gifts is the original 14 precepts of the Order of Interbeing (first published by Parallax in 1987). As you know, I include the 4th precept…
Her Favorite Photograph
Out of the blue She texted me First, there was a photo: Then Lena Laserstein Wrote underneath it: “My favorite photograph” Being ever so curious I wrote her back: “Why do you like it so?”…