Early in the week, I read an interesting piece on the Spirituality and Practice website entitled, “The First Stone or Hypocrite Stone.” It is an unique practice presented by Tom Cowan. I do not know Tom Cowan, but his suggestion makes perfect sense to me… “… carry a small stone in your pocket or purse …
Author Archives: tVM
Chief Joseph
In 1879, Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé Indians traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with President Rutherford B. Hayes and other government leaders to plead his case to return his tribe – displaced from the Northwest to Oklahoma’s Indian Territory – to their original home in Oregon. Chief Joseph was known as a skilled …
An Example for your Children
Why are Muslims hateful? That is clearly an unfair question because I am certain Muslims are not hateful. If you want to know what it is like to be 80-years old, look at an 80-year old person. If you want to know what it is like to be a Baha’i, look at a Baha’i. If …
Instructions: How to Become a Hero
I do not believe I was ever required to read Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If.” Perhaps better known for his books Kim, Captains Courageous, Gunga Din, The Man Who Would Be King and The Jungle Book among others, Kipling penned “If” in 1895. I first read the poem on a rainy afternoon in the ’60’s sitting …
Solar Eclipse 2012
Just want to remind our readers of the first solar eclipse in the 21st century, which will occur on Sunday/Monday, May 20/21st. This Wikipedia link offers some excellent animation. Those of us in North America should get a good view of it on Monday.
The Dog
Of all the animals on Earth, I have learned most from the dog. Although my boyhood home was next door to a veterinarian, Doc Dapson in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, I never owned a dog until 1975 when we lived on a farm in Upstate New York. In his epic poetry, Homer tells us of Odysseus’s dog …
Henry David Thoreau: Concerning Civil Disobedience
Amid the tsunami of political rhetoric that threatens to annihilate us all, my mind forever returns to Henry David Thoreau. We have so much government and so many laws they we can no longer do the right thing. We are merely forced to do whatever the majority – if it is even possible to define …
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True, Good and Useful
Last Friday, I viewed an interesting film, “To Save a Life” that opened with a young, friendless boy walking into his high school, firing a handgun into the air to get everyone’s attention, and then turning the gun upon himself… One year ago, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was seriously shot in the head less than …
You Are the Light of the World
We can all have extraordinary days if we pay attention and open our hearts and minds. Father Paul spoke about the Transfiguration of Christ at church this morning. I couldn’t help but think about the post we put up last Friday. “Look for the light,” Father Paul implored us, and in his intercessions I heard …
Back to the Garden
I’ve recently been viewing the 1988 PBS presentation “The Power of Myth,” 342 minutes of fascinating conversation between American mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904 – 1987) and journalist and former White House Press Secretary Bill Moyers. The depth, rather the height of their intellect humbles me. A passing clip and statement captured my attention. The …