Many years ago, I visited several times with a man named Edgar Jackson. Edgar was a pastor, a research scientist in behavioral pathology, and a published authority on grief. He was also a mystic and spiritual healer. Experiences that many people dismiss as nonsense were commonplace for Edgar, and he used the rigor of a... Continue Reading →
Looking In From The Outside
“We have gone from being within religion to being outside it.” - Marcel Gauchet[1] When I was in college, I took a course on the Old Testament. For the final exam, the professor asked us to explain the evolving perceptions of God through 2,000 years of Hebrew history. The question was challenging because those perceptions... Continue Reading →
Patience
Love is patient. – Paul the Apostle Patience— (n) the capacity to endure delay and distress without becoming angry, or any of the euphemisms we commonly employ to pretend we aren’t angry, such as frustrated, irritated, and annoyed. “Standing in line at a register behind someone fumbling for eighteen cents in exact change, I was... Continue Reading →
Appreciate The Wonder
Every now and then, as I’m sitting on my deck, I find myself marveling at the wonderful strangeness that surrounds me. Trees sprout from the mountain slopes like alien fungus. Four-legged creatures graze on a hillside field, and feathered ones flit to a feeder. An invisible breeze wafts down the cove. It’s amazing to think... Continue Reading →
The Importance of Bodies
There’s nothing like a week spent drowning in snot to remind you that you have a body. For most people, snot is a distasteful greenish-yellow goo of differing viscous states, some of which rival Gorilla Glue for adhesive power. The possibility of snot is not something you would choose if designing your own body, but... Continue Reading →
Faith Part 2
The first act of bad faith is to flee what it cannot flee, to flee what it is. - Jean-Paul Sartre Faith can be dangerous. In 1997, thirty-nine members of the Heavens Gate UFO cult happily killed themselves with drug overdoses, leaving behind upbeat suicide notes on videotape. The believers were liberating their consciousnesses from their... Continue Reading →
Faith Part 1
Faith begins precisely where thinking leaves off. – Soren Kierkegaard[i] One day, during a discussion about religion in a sociology class, I irritated a student. While writing on a whiteboard, with my back turned to the room, I casually mentioned there was no proof that God exists. Immediately, a voice behind me yelled out, “That’s... Continue Reading →
The Silent Song
Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. - Anonymous One Saturday night, many years ago, I attended a dinner party hosted by a married couple in one of my churches. Since I didn’t know the other invitees, after we were seated, the wife made... Continue Reading →
Pretending To Be Human
When things get tense, when I start taking my work a bit too seriously, I remind myself that I’m only pretending to be a human being. -Alan Arkin[1] My first job in the substance abuse field was as an off-hours counselor in a twenty-eight-day alcohol rehab. I supervised residents through the weekend hours when there... Continue Reading →
What Belongs To Us
When I worked in substance abuse counseling, I quickly learned the difficulties involved. People in early recovery can be grumpy, horny, enjoy power struggles, and frequently fail to make it beyond the word “early.” In my five years as a counselor in an outpatient clinic, I saw one client three different times. On his fourth... Continue Reading →