sa国际传媒

Probably most people have heard about the quality the Buddhists call 'suchness' or 'thusness' (Sanskrit, tathata). It refers to a sense of an absolute reality which is untainted by judgement, opinion or preferences.

Zen stories and parables about enlightenment often involve a monk sweeping. It is a common motif. Of the dozens of domestic chores which monks must perform only sweeping has risen to the level of an archetype.

In a consumer society, we wait for the big sale days 鈥� Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and eventually Boxing Day. We wait for great deals. We save up our money or ensure there is room on our credit cards.

I鈥檝e been hard-wired to wallow in my weaknesses. I get manic about my mistakes far too often for far too long. These patterns mute and, at times, silence my flourishing. But I鈥檝e discovered a way to change that. I鈥檓 currently practicing it.

I鈥檓 always amazed 鈥� and dismayed 鈥� at how quickly I fall out of being present to what Richard Rohr would call the 鈥渞eally real鈥� or the 鈥渘aked now.鈥� This is especially hard to bear as it takes so much work to get to such a state in the first place.

I recently moved. It wasn鈥檛 a very big move distance wise; just from the Westshore to downtown Victoria. In terms of how it felt, though, I may as well have been moving to another continent.

Would it make a difference to peace efforts to have more women involved in the governance of our world, at every level? The world has seen female heads of government in the past and we have a few at present.

Current attitudes toward religion increasingly seem to range between disinterest to disdain or disgust. It鈥檚 often associated with superstition, dogma, violence and polarization, with many good people jumping on the thumbs down bandwagon.

Recently, I facilitated a WISE circle 鈥� men and women in conversation about the transition through age. This experience was particularly meaningful for me as confirmed by my tearful welcome.

On Monday October 31 st an ancient tradition was lived out on the streets of our city. The ancient tradition comes from the Celtic lands and is known as Samhain. The tradition marks the end of the harvest season.