By the time the shuttle van pulls into the monastery grounds it, it’s dark and cool (60 F). Tiny lights indicate paths, steps, and gates. The driver warns me to keep hydrated, as the air at 7200′ is extremely dry and “you’ll quickly have chapped lips and cracked finger tips.”
Out of nowhere, a women appears [...]
in new mexico
travelling
Today I’ll be travelling from Victoria to Albuquerque via Seattle and Salt Lake City. I don’t look forward to three plane changes, hanging in airport lounges, and being surrounded by cellphone-obsessed multitudes. But I am excited. The destination at the end of the day—after one more shuttle bus—is Upaya Zen Center somewhere near Santa Fe, New [...]
into great hands
Each time I witness someone approach their last breath, my heart softens. I’m infused with their fragility and my heart space opens wider and deeper with each observing. Where is this taking me, my rational mind wants to know. Perhaps no-where you can name.
What I am able to name is an expanding sense of vulnerability: not as weakness [...]
no more resistance
Each Tuesday at hospice, the care team gathers around the conference table: nurses, social worker, community liaison, counsellor, physicians, physiotherapist, and myself, as spiritual care worker. Before we review the most complex patient charts, I ring a bell to call us to silence. Someone then reads the names of the people who have died on our floor [...]
the witness
This relates to yesterday’s post below. Ken Wilber writes:
“The Witness is a huge step forward, and it is a necessary and important step in meditation, but it is not ultimate. When the Witness or the soul is finally undone, then the Witness dissolves into everything that is witnessed. The subject/object duality collapses and there is only [...]
who is present?
I’ve mentioned before my mind’s tendency to question my qualification to do what I do. It’s healthy to be critical of one’s actions and motivations, but on some days, when the Inner Critic gets the upper hand, it can be sheer torment. During those times the mind resists the view that we’re neither good nor [...]
no limbs, no limits
This post comes from a regular reader of this blog: Nancy McPhee works as an organizational consultant and lives on Galiano Island.
When someone sent me a youtube link with the subject “finish strong,” I did what has become second nature: I clicked. What I saw really shook me. I’d never heard of Nick Vujicic. After watching a clip of a [...]
the force of love
A themes of ‘being of service’ and ‘taking care of others’ run deeply in this blog. Meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg offers this Buddhist perspective, reminding us to begin right here, with ourselves–
The practice of metta (lovingkindness), uncovering the force of love that can uproot fear, anger, and guilt, begins with befriending ourselves. The foundation of metta practice is [...]
caring for my mom (part 3)
Dawne is learning to care for her ageing mom, first at home and now at hospital. She previously wrote on January 7 and 27.
My 87-year old mother now resides at a small hospital on the main island. For most of last year I cared for her at home on a small island. As her mobility decreased, we received a [...]
behold!
There’s an image that has stayed with me for several days now. It occurred after a patient had died and the family left hospice. In the window of time before transport would arrive to take the body to the funeral home, I entered the room to sit vigil. I try to do this whenever possible, motivated by the wish [...]
my wish for you
“In your daily life, please accept yourself as you are and your life as it is. Be intimate with yourself. I want you to take advantage of every chance you have to become a really intimate being.”
Taizan Maezumi Roshi was founder and long-time teacher of the Los Angeles Zen Center. He is my Dharma grandfather by [...]
know your station
On a clear day I am at ease in my skin, content with who I am, what I do, the way things have unfolded. For most of my life however, I’ve felt driven to “improve” upon my build-in inadequacies. An old voice frequently reminds me that I’m not good enough “as is” and that the only way-out is continuous ambition and relentless striving.
Someone [...]
travelling in laos (another letter from abroad)
Excerpts from a long letter sent by Katheryn & David who are on their annual buying trip through Asia. Unfortunately, I’m unable to unzip the photos they sent.
Laos is a wonderful country; so far I’ve only met one person who didn’t like it, and he was Austrian, and bitter. Usually we justify a few weeks here by traveling up [...]
silence is [...]
early morning: i have nothing to say; nothing of substance anyway. i’m dumbfounded. “he who knows does not speak,” says the Tao te Ching. well, i don’t want to speak for a while precisely because i don’t know.
at mid-day: To be silent or to speak, to conceal or reveal, to admit or deny. Contradictions everywhere–or so [...]
