no spiritual life that does not involve, does not start, intimately and inescapably, with the Earth.” The Rev. Fletcher Harper believes that he felt God while mourning his father’s death on a solo camping trip in Montana. A violent hailstorm struck one night, and he sought shelter in the lee of a rock. “At about three in the morning, I felt this deep sense of well-being,” he recalls. “I realized that I was going to be OK. I thought, ‘I can move on with my life now.’” Later in his life and career when interviewing hundreds of people from a broad spectrum of religious and non-religious backgrounds, he discovered th... posted on Nov 17 2022 (1,976 reads)

It was raining in the Bay Area, that’s like heaven sent. We’ve been desperate for rain, so the rain was glorious. We came back, and life was completely transformed. So we shifted our conversation. And we’re the same people, the circumstances are the same, all the things we complained about were still there. But we knew that we had the power to shift our conversation and therefore our experience of life. So whether you asked what’s true, I don’t know, I feel nature is true actually. That’s one place where I can always find the truth for myself, or what I’m calling the truth. But how I relate to what’s going on is where I have power and w... posted on Dec 31 2022 (4,033 reads)

organization that has now touched thousands of young lives, across three facilities in Mumbai as well as 18 other facilities in India. At its core Sachi's work reminds us of each person's fundamental belonging, of the beauty inherent in wholeness, and the power and freedom that come from recognizing we are not the labels that others, or we ourselves place on our lives. The following interview opens a window on Sachi's unique journey.  Given the nature of the work being described, the following interview does contain some references to suicide and violent events. Reader discretion advised. RICHARD WHITTAKER:   Sach... posted on Jan 9 2023 (2,471 reads)

merge into a synchronized pattern. We sense that we are part of something larger, a community, a pattern of energy, an idea of the times — or what we might call the sacred. Complement with the poetic physicist Alan Lightman on music and the universe, Nick Cave on music, feeling, and transcendence in the age of algorithms, and some thoughts on music and the price of what we cherish, then revisit the kindred science of “soft fascination” and how nature helps us think. ... posted on Jan 16 2023 (3,670 reads)

of his martial art competitions, his sensei took him in a field one day and handed him a rock. "Use all your might and throw it as far as you can." After he did that, his teacher hands him a leaf. "Now, do the same with the leaf." Naturally, the leaf went nowhere. "If you are in a rock place in yourself, you will see a world full of dense rocks. But when you hold a leaf consciousness, you will see that your greatest strength lies in aligning with the winds of nature." As we harmonize with those larger winds, "the inescapable network of mutuality”, we soar through the skies like the murmurations of starlings, in elegant formations divined... posted on Feb 2 2023 (8,903 reads)

FUERTH LEMLE April 11,1916---April 17, 2011 For the first 58 years of my life, I would have to say that my relationship to my mother was a complex and difficult one. She was a huge personality, full of great passions, creativity, rages, and generosity. I remember saying to friends that I loved my mother in small doses, but that she didn't come in small doses. She was a force of nature. She had no sense of boundaries; my memory of going to restaurants with Edna, was that as the waiter placed my plate in front of me, her fork would be in my food before I was even able to lift my own. She would often just show up at my house anywhere in the world, uninvited. She was also very contro... posted on Jul 1 2016 (46,581 reads)

individual and a change in the relation to the cosmos. Such an energy has been called “communion.” It is a kind of participation. The early Christians had a Greek word koinonia, the root of which means “to participate”—the idea of partaking of the whole and taking part in it; not merely the whole group, but the whole. This is what I mean by “dialogue.” I suggest that through dialogue there is the possibility for a transformation of the nature of consciousness, both individually and collectively. ... posted on Feb 12 2023 (3,980 reads)

of today's society is designed through the lens of financial wealth, but is our world richer for it? Nipun Mehta uses that question as a springboard to make a compelling case for alternative forms of wealth that are often overlooked -- like time, community and attention. Drawing on his personal journey with ServiceSpace, as well as fascinating research and real-world examples, below is the transcript of an inspiring TEDx talk that invites listeners to consider a catalytic question: what forms of wealth do we care to amplify?] Decades ago, one of my friends was volunteering with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, and one of these major donors walks into the place, checks ... posted on Apr 19 2016 (51,432 reads)

composer in residence with the Portland Chamber Orchestra I had a commission coming up. And I decided I wanted to find a story I could set to music that would address the climate crisis on a root level. My artistic partner and wife found something. She said, “Have you ever heard of the Modern Prometheus?” I said the modern what? She said, “Well, its the earliest sci-fi novel.” I said okay. She said, “It has fantastic nature writing.” I said okay. She said, “It has a beautiful evocation of the human drama with real ecological consequences.” She said "look at this line rig... posted on Feb 27 2023 (2,119 reads)

of rest is creative rest. This type of rest is especially important for anyone who must solve problems or brainstorm new ideas. Creative rest reawakens the awe and wonder inside each of us. Do you recall the first time you saw the Grand Canyon, the ocean or a waterfall? Allowing yourself to take in the beauty of the outdoors — even if it’s at a local park or in your backyard — provides you with creative rest. But creative rest isn’t simply about appreciating nature; it also includes enjoying the arts. Turn your workspace into a place of inspiration by displaying images of places you love and works of art that speak to you. You can’t spend 40 hours a... posted on Mar 21 2023 (14,752 reads)

that silence that is so integral to growth. And you might think, “Well, yeah, I could do that, but I’d feel bored.” Boredom is not a bad thing. Tippett:No. Murthy:Boredom can be generative and creative. So anyway, these four simple steps are things that you can do. And that solitude, by the way, it can look different for each person. It can just be a few minutes. It could be a few minutes sitting on your front porch before the day begins. It could be a few minutes in nature, a few minutes in prayer, a few minutes in meditation, a few minutes listening to music that inspires you or stills you. I’ll tell you for me, one of the things I do toward the end of ... posted on Apr 14 2023 (3,958 reads)

and I have a book called Full Voice. So if you had that thought, act on that — that’s how people find me. And another way is to share my music. Same thing. I write the songs so they can go out there and do stuff. And I have a lot of music videos on my website, and there's stuff around. There’s a funny song about negative self-talk called “Brain Rats.” There's a tender song I wrote for a friend facing his death. There's some love songs to nature and a really good birthday song. So spread the songs out so they can do their jobs. And the third thing would be to stay in touch. I do these little concerts, I lead little classes from my livi... posted on Apr 28 2023 (2,538 reads)

could sit for hours along the edge of the stream near Grandpa's vegetable garden, marveling at the grandeur of every small detail. A world full of freedom, where coloring outside the lines of "the normal" is allowed, then unfolds. Thus, in the moment, I move beyond learned insights about beautiful or ugly, good or bad. And I create dreamy, colorful images that breathe a new world of simplicity, serenity, silence and transcendence. For hours I want to wander through nature. Preferably through the mountains. This is where I feel so at home.... I can't explain why. It is a primal feeling. During those years the Course in Miracles a... posted on May 9 2023 (3,010 reads)

Pacific Northwest of America. I was struck by the fact that the vast majority of human prayer has historically been in wooden churches, long before the amazing stone monuments we have today. First White Hair The thought of your eyes heather brown, make my pale blue eyes glisten, and I wonder how God chose which strand to grant your first white hair. You make an artform of disappearance, and teach me that life is second nature. I reach out at your request, finding the strand between my thumb and finger. Stillness while you wait for the pinch of the pluck. Your eyes widen as I rip the ... posted on May 11 2023 (4,638 reads)

let go and enjoy the ride, because the ride takes you to some remarkable and unexpected places. And here, on this platform, today, is one of those places. (I am enjoying myself immensely.) To all today's graduates: I wish you luck. Luck is useful. Often you will discover that the harder you work, and the more wisely you work, the luckier you get. But there is luck, and it helps. We're in a transitional world right now, if you're in any kind of artistic field, because the nature of distribution is changing, the models by which creators got their work out into the world, and got to keep a roof over their heads and buy sandwiches while they did that, are all changing. I&... posted on May 21 2023 (4,502 reads)

on the call to David, the deer was gone. She had walked down our driveway, across the street and disappeared into the woods. I never saw her again. I always remember that I saw her on November 16, 2001 - the day Aunt Tessie died after a long struggle with ALS. ​ Note: You might wonder, did I ever find any logical answer to why this deer visited me? The simple answer is, no. The encounter left me with many questions that had no answers. I spent much time, even years, telling my horse, nature and animal friends this story and asking if they knew of or had any such a connection with a deer.  I even spoke with people I know that are hunters hoping maybe this story would open them... posted on May 22 2023 (6,883 reads)

if I just went ahead and told you what I think is the truth of your spiritual identity ... Actually, I don't have a clue. I do know you are not what you look like, or how much you weigh, or how you did in school, and whether you get to start a job next Monday or not. Spirit isn't what you do, it's ... well, again, I don't actually know. They probably taught this junior year at Goucher. But I know that you feel it best when you're not doing much -- when you're in nature, when you've very quiet, or, paradoxically, listening to music. I know you can feel it and hear it in the music you love, in the bass line, in the harmonies, in the silence between notes... posted on Jun 5 2023 (3,816 reads)

mind being woken up, your conventions jostled, and your ribs being tickled multiple times along the way. Arguably no other writer in the world waltzes so delightfully between scientific fact, poetic digression, philosophical conjecture, and a flair for the comedic. Her debut essay collection, Things That Are, shines a spotlight on everything from the passionate yearning of pea tendrils, and the particularity of panda bear palates, to the perturbability of caterpillars, the oracular nature of mushrooms, and the dynamic between planets and their moons. Described as "a descendent of Lewis Carroll and Emily Dickinson," Amy defines her genre simply: Words. And what she conj... posted on Jun 21 2023 (1,952 reads)

a narrative for people who want to judge but not be judged, who want peace without the rigor of practice, who want heaven without having to change how they live in any significant way. That feels like the opposite of accountability, to me. I know a lot of people for whom this, or some other story of God, or gods and goddesses, makes sense and provides meaning. I feel the holiness in these people, in their rituals and practices. Many of the rituals—lighting candles, letting aspects of nature represent divine material, asking for divine support and shaping of our lives—align with my own witchy practices of the present. But I always notice the contradictions between what peo... posted on Jul 12 2023 (4,909 reads)

me the same sense of grace and the presence of God. My case is no exception. Many who meet Father Ed experience this touch of the eternal. When Bill described the evening in the recording he made for Thomsen, he said that at the end of his and Dowling’s conversation, which went on long into the night, he “felt for the first time completely cleansed and freed.” As the author of the Fifth Step—“Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs”—Bill recognized this as a Fifth Step experience. Although Bill had composed the Twelve Steps, he himself had not made all of them; they were an adaptation and expansi... posted on Aug 2 2023 (6,390 reads)