John Friend, Genpo Roshi, Katagiri Roshi, Swami Muktananda, Adi Da. These are all teachers that I or my teachers have studied with, and who have been involved in scandals involving sex, money, and power. These teachers have all wielded tremendous influence in spirituality in the West. Through their transgressions they have left many of their [...]
Posts Tagged ‘spirituality’
When our teachers fall
Posted in Personal Growth, Spirituality, tagged awareness, Buddhism, Genpo Roshi, life energy, money, spiritual masters, spirituality, subtle body, yoga on March 28, 2012 | 3 Comments »
The absurdity of hope; or December 23 at Barnes & Noble.
Posted in Personal Growth, Spirituality, tagged awareness, books, homesteading, hope, Jesus, Lady Gaga, literature, spirituality, Vanity Fair on December 24, 2011 | 6 Comments »
One Christmas I got a DVD of topo maps for all of Southern Arizona from my wife. Oh, the excitement, the places I’d go! I’d walk the whole area, explore hidden nooks off the trail, plan bike- and horse-packing trips to know the whole region, make it mine, all mine! It’s like that feeling of [...]
You, practicing not checking your smartphone.
Posted in Culture, Personal Growth, Spirituality, tagged awareness, Buddhism, practice, smartphone, spirituality, technology, yoga on October 17, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Most people don’t even notice it. There is the familiar buzz in the pocket, or the soft, quirky tone that emanates from an indeterminate space in the room. Before their conscious mind recognizes what it is, the amygdala responds, igniting whatever emotions it is they associate with incoming data: anxiety, hope, fatigue. Unconsciously, the Pavlovian [...]
Another goddamn nature essay
Posted in Nature, Spirituality, tagged ecology, nature, spirituality on September 11, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Nature frees and inspires because it has nothing to do with our earnest, meaningful, petty lives. That juniper tree I once loved is out there right now, standing in the yellow grass, slowly, imperceptibly growing, holding the feet and prying beaks of chittering bushtits and sparrows. Its square-checked bark slowly desiccates on the trunk, its [...]
Advice for myself, 10 years ago
Posted in Personal Growth, Spirituality, tagged citizenship, personal growth, psychology, spirituality on September 6, 2011 | 3 Comments »
At the ripe old age of 35, I have noticed that my life is much better now than it was ten years ago. Things still get chaotic, but it’s nice to have a steady job, a wife, and emotions that aren’t threatening to tear apart the very fibers of my being. I like to think [...]
Nature couldn’t care less about you, but loves you just the same
Posted in Nature, Spirituality, tagged ecology, nature, spirituality, wildlife on May 31, 2011 | 8 Comments »
Nature is impartial, amoral, and chaotic. It is we, the conscious ones, who bring loving kindness, cruelty, meaning and order to it all. Consider that your loving family dog was meant to gnaw the belly of a still living elk calf, that your house cat will toy with a half dead mouse until it dies [...]
Why you want Eminem’s (subtle) body
Posted in Culture, Personal Growth, Spirituality, tagged 3-body practice, Dr. Dre, eminem, practice, spirituality, subtle body on March 29, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Want to teach a great class, give an affecting presentation, make transcendent art, or just show up more fully in your life? Listen to Eminem’s song “I Need a Doctor.” The song is technically Dr. Dre’s (Eminem raps the first two verses and Dre the final one), but that’s just the point: Eminem owns this [...]
Confessions of a Type-A Yogi
Posted in Culture, Spirituality, tagged Anusara Yoga, femoroacetabular impingement, health, practice, spirituality, subtle body, yoga on February 28, 2011 | 95 Comments »
In my early yoga days studying Anusara Yoga with John Friend, he once told me (through my girlfriend) that I could be a great yogi like my friend Darren Rhodes. To me, this meant that I too would be able to contort my body into incredible formations, and demonstrate my world-class athletic prowess through the [...]
A New Year’s Prayer for You
Posted in Spirituality, tagged awareness, growth, spirituality on January 1, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Have you made your New Year’s resolution yet? Before you make that fitness plan, dietary promise or self-improvement commitment, consider this: the universe, and that includes you, is functioning perfectly right now.
Life is Short
Posted in Spirituality, tagged death, Hinduism, service, spirituality on December 15, 2010 | 3 Comments »
In Hinduism, there is a tradition of observing cremations as a spiritual practice. The point is to intentionally come face-to-face with one’s own mortality, and thus to change one’s relationship to life. A friend in my community, Marta Kellogg, was killed in a car accident last week. While I do what I can to support [...]
