Nearly a decade ago, Thich Nhat Hahn’s simple, yet profound words showed me how everything we see and cannot see is wondrously woven together in a sea of interbeing. I had never given previous thought how a cloud, the rain, a tree, and a simple sheet of paper are dependent on each other. Thay matter-of-factly… Continue reading The Sea of Interbeing
Tag: awareness
Touching the Universe
Many years ago, shortly after becoming a father, I felt the need for my growing family to have spiritual guidance. I was raised in the Protestant faith and my wife was Catholic. We settled on going to a Presbyterian church close by. I yearned for a universal truth about how we can be the best… Continue reading Touching the Universe
Concrete Gray Steps
This is my childhood home in New Albany, Indiana. In the summertime the hot sun would blaze behind the house where I would sit on concrete steps and squint into the sky. Gray paint would always flake off the steps like dried flower petals. As golden rays soaked into my bare chest I would try… Continue reading Concrete Gray Steps
This may be hard to understand
This may be hard to understand. Everything is nothing. Nothing is everything. All that remains is consciousness. Can you imagine a universe with us not in it? Me neither. Now think of this. The universe, and everything in it, is only here because we can observe it. When we close our eyes, is it still… Continue reading This may be hard to understand
Awareness
Is there a single ingredient that holds our universe together? We look deeper and deeper into outer space, trying to find the edge, searching for the substance in which we are contained. Peering inside, have we found anything smaller than a neutrino, electron, or Higgs boson particle? I used to see a tree, a hummingbird,… Continue reading Awareness
The Blade of Grass
You may analyze my brain To see what is inside You might think I am disturbed With thoughts I cannot hide When I caress this blade of grass All things I understand Beauty right before our eyes Life's just one thin, green strand I once held a jar of fish Their colors splashed for all… Continue reading The Blade of Grass
The Mountain to Paradise
One autumn, Tony Higgins’s family moved southwest to Hopkinsville, Kentucky. I drove down to stay overnight. The next morning Tony took his cousin Steve and me to Pilot Rock, a mountain site that was renowned in his new homeland. Arriving early, we jumped out of the car and raced to the top. Primitive steppingstones were… Continue reading The Mountain to Paradise
The Kingdom is Here
I lie on my back A leaf falls gently on my lips I feel the breeze For once I am alive I am here Cause you are there And this is this Cause that is that There is nothing I can do For I am only an image of you The kingdom is here … Continue reading The Kingdom is Here