Recently, it seems that we are hearing more frequent reports of a chaotic climate and an increase in unpredictable storms that disrupt the everyday lives of people everywhere, and while the debate continues over what steps we should take now in response to our changing climate, very little has been written about the disruptions which … Continue reading Stillness After The Storm
"Finally we must make use of all the aids which intellect, imagination, sense-perception, and memory afford in order, firstly, to intuit simple propositions distinctly; secondly, to combine correctly (compare) the matters under investigation with what we already know, so that they too may be known; and thirdly, to find out what things should be compared … Continue reading Our Human Powers
Echoes of the Moment Before I was able to relinquish my tenuous grasp on consciousness, After writing through the relentless sighing of night, The irresistible call of the brightness of the spring morning sun, Pulled my heart and mind to delay fitful sleep, And instead to persist a while longer, In order to enjoy a … Continue reading Echoes of the Moment
Napoleon's coronation as "Emperor of the French," was a sacred ceremony held in the great cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in the presence of Pope Pius VII on December 2, 1804 Watching the live news coverage of the devastating fire in Paris on April 15th at the Cathedral of Notre Dame brought tears to … Continue reading The Spirit of Notre Dame Is Alive!
“The truly sacred attitude toward life is in no sense an escape from the sense of nothingness that assails us when we are left alone with ourselves…the sacred attitude is one which does not recoil from our own inner emptiness, but rather penetrates into it with awe and reverence, and with the awareness of mystery. … Continue reading Awareness of Mystery
"Driftwood," by Winslow Homer (1836-1910) “I can reach a state where I seem to be watching things happen as if I were there. That is, I suppose, that my memory supplies what I had forgotten, so that it seems as if it were happening independently, though I am really making it happen. In certain favorable … Continue reading Moments of Being
Giving deliberate and purposeful attention to developing some form of contemplative practice is essential for promoting a greater degree of self-awareness, and for encouraging us to conduct the deep inner searching necessary to reach and explore the world within us. In order to begin this process, we must be able to still the mind and … Continue reading Connecting to the World Within
Life moves forward always. It swirls and slides and strikes at the very heart of me. At this point in my life, having accumulated more than sixty years of living memory, looking back, for me, is long. For at least that long, I have held on to some specific recollections of my early days. Of … Continue reading Memories and Humble Beginnings
--Marcus Tullius Cicero, by Bertel Thorvaldsen as copy from roman original, in Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen. “We must fight…against old age. We must compensate for its drawbacks by constant care and attend to its defects as if it were a disease. We can do this by following a plan of healthy living, exercising in moderation, and … Continue reading Ancient Beginnings
“Solitude seems to me to wear the best favor in such as have already employed their most active and flourishing age in the world’s service…We have lived enough for others; let us at least live out the small remnant of life for ourselves; let us now call in our thoughts and intentions to ourselves, and … Continue reading Awareness and Consciousness
John's Consciousness 