Reflections

The full body sensation of an emotional trigger requires the Welcome Practice writ large, extended in real time to the real world. Sitting in a board meeting, I can usually do the mental work to attend to what’s being said. I can usually do the wisdom work to let go of my preconceived ideas and consider things non-anxiously. But holy hell, to be aware when bodily sensations are hijacking me? That’s hard work.

On Friday, I went for a walk in Mary Young Park, a lush oasis on the banks of the Willamette River in a suburb of Portland. Well-trodden paths meander through tall coastal redwoods and sitka spruce, big leaf maple and western red cedar, ponderosa pine and a small stand of old Oregon white oak. The river flows wide and deep at this time of the year...

Here we stand in the midst of Holy Week.
As we recollect the events that unfolded, we begin to sense that they are not only sacred stories, but living patterns that continue to reverberate within us and around us now.
Holy Week begins with celebration. A road covered with palm branches. A king entering the city.
On the surface, all appears well.

The reconciling force of an adventuring cat (a mostly true story) by Paula Pryce - photo by James Wheeler Pip went missing. Then in his own way, Jeremy did too. Jeremy was the young man who loved and fed her. He lost himself with the loss of Pip, but after a while, something unexpected happened. Jeremy learned that reconciliation only really comes when we give everything away. It began like this: Jeremy moved back home. He had long been a nomad, searching out holy places in the desert, by the...

She’s 7.5 lbs, about a year old according to our veterinarian’s office that scanned the stray dog after she came into our lives earlier this week. No chip, no collar, unclaimed days later. My wife named her Mia. Cradled in my arms and lap, I note her slow breath and feel the comforting beat of her heart. We are connected in this moment of stillness...