Each summer, at the end of August, I spend some time at New Camaldoli Hermitage and Monastery in Big Sur, California. I am there this week, listening to silence. New Camaldoli has become a second home to me. I am a lay person who has been received into the community, known as a lay oblate. […]
Listening to Silence Read More »
There is a movement sweeping through Southern California and across the country, changing the very way we think and speak. It began over a year ago with an interview on Epicurious about my first Craft Brewery Pilgrimage. Soon there were news reports about the growing number of local craft breweries and other establishments catering to those
Crafting a Movement 2012: An Update Read More »
People ask quite a few questions about the name Strategic Monk. Where did you get that name? What kind of a name is that? What does that mean? What was that name again? Most of the questions are about the monk part. People want to know whether I am a real monk, and what my
Why the Strategic Monk? Read More »
1. The Olympics is not really about the opening and closing ceremonies, except when the Queen jumps out of a helicopter. 2. People who get paid to participate in sports may play better than people who do not, but they are not nearly as much fun to watch. 3. If you want the potential to
An Olympic Retrospective: 12 Things I Learned from the London 2012 Olympics Read More »
Each day is different, filled with wonders of its own. I experience some days as nearly impossible. Things happen that make me wonder whether I can handle what comes my way, whether it is worthwhile to keep trying. People come into my life who drain me of my love and energy. I seem to be
Take Delight Each Day Read More »
Happy India Pale Ale Day! Pale ale, common in England from the middle of the seventeenth century onward, was originally ale that was brewed from pale malt and lightly hopped. Over time, pale ale came to be made mostly with coke-smelted malt which produced less smoking and roasting of barley in the malting process, and
Some people hear about what I do or see that my website says Leadership, Pilgrimage, Revelry and ask, “Why Revelry? What does revelry have to do with what you do?” Revelry is celebrating or taking delight in something, which is essential to the work I do at StrategicMonk. There are people who think that coaching
Growing up is a very individual, personal process in the culture in which I was raised. There are few formal rites of initiation, and few recognized benefits of growing older. The culture is oriented toward the future, toward being youthful. People in our culture tend to put off growing up as long as possible. Growing up
Independence is in the eye of the beholder. I can remember when I saw independence as an iconic American virtue. The independence declared by the original colonies is reflected in many of the heroes of the American story; settlers carving homes from the frontier, men and women exploring earth and space, law enforcement officials working
It is summer, and my 2012 Craft Brewery Pilgrimage is rolling into its halfway point. Each month I bring people together to build community around a table. We pay tribute to the long connection between monks and brewing, and the rapidly growing craft brewing community in Southern California. I get to meet the people I know online who I have not met in
2012 Craft Brewery Pilgrimage Reaches Halfway Pint Read More »
