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My Journey of Conscience

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December 2015

December 21, 2015

Five Sure Ways to Improve Family Relationships during the Holidays

Nothing's better than family at showing you where you still fall short of your own...

December 18, 2015

I Discover I Can Only Know God with My Heart (Not with My Mind)

I spent last week at an intensive, silent Zen meditation retreat. We meditated for 7...

October 2015

October 16, 2015

Three Reasons the Climate Movement Needs Ordained Religious People

When I started my Journey of Conscience over a year ago, how to respond to...

October 02, 2015

Not Just Guns and Madmen: Our Whole Society Is Insane

Just about every blogger will have something to say in the wake of the Umpqua...

August 2015

August 02, 2015

The Nature of the Zen “God”

The comments and discussion provoked by my previous post, "The Burden of Atheism," has inspired...

July 2015

July 25, 2015

The Burden of Atheism

Lately I've been working on a book on meditation. It's involved extensive research into other...

July 14, 2015

Dogen and My Journey to Oneness with a Flower

At my Zen center right now we're studying one of the most treasured Zen texts: Zen...

June 2015

June 20, 2015

Being Real Rather Than Happy

Sometimes I shock my students and the other people who come to my Zen center...

May 2015

May 27, 2015

Daring to Speak about Our “Buddha Nature”

Today I am giving a short talk at a nearby Zen center as a visiting teacher....

May 21, 2015

What Did Thich Nhat Hanh Mean by “Accept That This Civilization Can Be Destroyed?”

A friend recently sent me a link to an interesting Youtube video featuring a short...

May 13, 2015

The Radical Effort of Non-Effort (Meditate Is Not a Verb)

I teach 8-10 new people to "do" Zen meditation every month. At times I feel...

April 2015

April 13, 2015

Dear Emily, My Great-Grand Niece

I have no children of my own, so any descendants of my sister will be...

April 02, 2015

What Good Is Religion, Anyway?

When I contemplate the GOOD of my religion, I immediately start to think about some...

March 2015

March 26, 2015

The Joy of Having No (Versus Low) Expectations for the World

There are two kinds of expectations. One is a belief that something is likely to happen....

March 13, 2015

Confessions of Complacency in the Midst of Global Warmth

Yesterday I was walking my dogs in the sunshine. When I turned my mind to...

March 10, 2015

More Reflections on Activism as a Person of Faith

Yesterday I attended a rally in downtown Portland against fast-tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade...

March 09, 2015

Missing Kyogen Carlson and His Dharma

At my Zen Center last Sunday we read and discussed a beautiful teaching from Kyogen...

March 07, 2015

When Religion Refrains From Explaining “Why”

If religion’s purpose is to help people find peace and strength and to live good...

February 2015

February 27, 2015

Everyone Is on a Path Toward Greater Wisdom and Compassion

A friend of mine has a saying, “It takes all kinds of people to make...

February 24, 2015

Let’s Start a Global Movement!

Would you be willing to adopt the following Seven Principles and become a Global Citizen?...

February 20, 2015

Remembering There’s Nothing We Can Do to Prevent Change

Sometimes I notice stress sneaking into my life. It starts accumulating under the surface of...

February 19, 2015

My First Protest Rally

Just thought I'd write a little report about my first protest rally. I'm guessing my...

February 13, 2015

Back to the Drawing Board with Meditation for the Homeless

I thought it would be a good idea to post an update on my efforts,...

February 07, 2015

When It’s Time to Speak Out as a People of Faith

Last week one of the largest Zen Centers in the U.S. published an open letter...

February 03, 2015

Three Ways Activists Alienate People – and What They Can Do about It

If, like me, you want to be an effective activist, it's good to keep in...

January 2015

January 30, 2015

We’ve Got to Passionately Love Life Itself

I've heard folks speak in placid tones about suffering and destruction due to climate change,...

January 23, 2015

From the Individual to the Global Scale: Greed, Hatred and Ignorance Cause Suffering

For millennia, spiritual traditions have recognized that greed, hatred, and ignorance cause suffering in the...

January 11, 2015

We Have to Do Something AND Everything Will Be Okay – AT THE SAME TIME

On the one hand everything's going to hell in a hand basket and we have...

January 06, 2015

I’m Afraid You’ll Stop Reading this Blog If I Talk about This

On New Year's Eve, 2014, I found out that we have two years - until 2017...

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