There are people who spend their entire lives searching for the right path. Some of us have very specific requirements for the path we will choose to take. We want a good balance of sunlight and shade, not too wet and not too rocky. Some may prefer a gentle grade which is not too challenging to follow. We may […]
Spiritual Practices From the Inside Out: Following Our Path Read More »
From Egyptian deserts, to Italian caves, to stone monasteries, each generation creates monastic life. Our Story So Far It is easy for us to think monastic life is far away, hidden behind walls, shrouded in secrecy. We have pictures in our minds of robed religious people, chanting or being silent. Monastic life has always been
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The spiritual story of where we live is about land and water. We may disagree about politics, but we fight about land and water. As the drought developed over the last few years we slowly began to conserve water. One dry day at a time we came to see water, like our land, is something
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We know we are not supposed to get angry, or at least not show our anger to anyone else. Anger is not nice, not polite, and we are supposed to be nice and polite to other people. We are taught that when we respect other people, they are more likely to respect us. People tell
Spiritual Practices From the Inside Out: Understanding Our Anger Read More »
A friend of mine, when she was a little girl, was faced with a difficult decision. Her class in school was having Career Day. Even though she was quite young, she needed to choose between two possible career paths. For her, it was a choice between becoming a ballerina or becoming a saint. My friend thought carefully about her dilemma,
Things were much easier when I was a child. When I was growing up, the boundary between spiritual life and everything else was clearer. The spiritual stuff happened one day a week, when we worshipped and read scriptures. We did things a certain way, and spiritual life fit neatly into our schedule. The rest of the week
What is So Spiritual About All This? Read More »
It may be hard for us to believe there are any monastic extroverts. We think of monks as people hiding from the world of human contact behind stone walls. We assume monks want to escape the anxieties and responsibilities we face every day. It is a challenge for us to imagine monks laughing or even
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Some people are convinced spiritual life is about what we think. They believe it is more deeply spiritual to hold certain opinions and ideas. For them, spiritual life is essentially analytical and intellectual. They see growing spiritually as learning and finding answers to questions. It is important for them to be able to explain spiritual life
Embodying Spiritual Life Read More »
People tend to be curious when they meet me for the first time. Some people are surprised to learn I live in Los Angeles and am married. Some people are confused by my spiritual journey and my background. I tend not to meet their expectations about who a monk will be. Some people are
Monastic Life in the World Read More »
Hospitality has been woven into our story, my story, almost since the beginning. I am the most recent in a long line of wanderers, people looking for a new home. Our stories tell us we are refugees, strangers, and immigrants. No matter which countries and spiritual traditions we claim, they are stronger because of people from somewhere else. Our
Practicing Hospitality Read More »
