Our Writings

In speaking of kindness last week, a quotation from the late educator, John Holt, came to mind. I looked it […]

We have most recently spoken of vulnerability and of healing. Vulnerability involves an awareness of the possibility of being hurt, […]

As you know, I am fascinated with the etymology or roots of words, one of which is healing, the counterpart […]

Last week we wrote about fear and anger, and how beneath them are the deeper realities of our longing for […]

This week I would like to consider the experiences of fear and anger and suggest possible ways to respond to […]

I have been speaking lately of a way of interpreting our life experience as a gift and call to bring […]

Last week, in light of the story of The Old Man and His Grandson, we suggested a way of interpreting […]

I mentioned before that I have been teaching a five-week class on folk tales. This past week we looked at […]

We have been speaking of words, especially in images and stories. We have mentioned how these speak to our heart. […]

During the last two weeks, I have been teaching a course of folk tales which, like the ancient mythologies, draw […]

We have often spoken of story and retold many stories in our weekly reflections. We might recall again that, in […]

Last week, I referred to an interview in which children’s book author, Kate DiCamillo said that life is chaos and […]

Last week, I spoke, in part , of the meaning of the Greek word, alethia, and the Latin word, revelatio. […]

The long months of the pandemic have not only been an unfamiliar experience for many, but have often created a […]

We spoke last week of the notion of home as a place, chiefly within the heart or sacred core of […]

We have spoken many times of the notion of home, and that it essentially means being at home to ourselves […]

In the Greek myth of King Oedipus, as portrayed in the play by Sophocles, there is a moment when a […]

We have often spoken of our story and last week spoke of our inner story, the inner world of our […]

I listened this week to an interview with the late John O’Donohue, who was a poet, philosopher, and theologian, who […]

This past week I heard an interesting interview, made some years back, with Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, who […]

I heard an interesting broadcast from the BBC World Service this week. It featured the response of a Buddhist nun, […]

The last time we mentioned how the beauty of a work of any art, from story to sculpture, or the […]

The poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, wrote a poem about contemplating a statue of Apollo, the ancient Greek god and symbol […]

As we mentioned previously, the story of Snow White raises the question of how we respond to the red emotions, […]

The last time, at the winter solstice, we spoke of light and darkness. While light usually is treated as more […]

“There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” This is one of my favourite […]

We have spoken often of our unique identity and of the sacred worth of each person and all that is. […]

Last week, we spoke of our unique identity, using the image of the unique song that is each of us. […]

We spoke last week about beauty, the beauty that is found in nature, in the arts, in the inner core […]

Whether in flowers, music, painting, story or other expressions, the theme of beauty returns again and again. I think that […]

We concluded last week’s reflection with a story familiar to many of you, called The Gift. I’ll repeat it here […]

There is one feature that struck me in speaking of the meaning of “heart” as the inmost core or unifying […]

One word or image that has recurred over and over again is that of heart, from little emojis to songs […]

Last week, we spoke of compassion as offering to one another not advice, answers, or a defensive wall, but a […]

There was a CBC program quite a few years ago, in the Ideas series, that was called The World of […]

The past five weeks, I have had the privilege of teaching a class on Greek Mythology. This experience followed several […]

In renewing my study of Greek mythology, I tried to discern the experience behind the stories, the basic life questions […]

After last week’s reflection on solitude, I came across words of poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, and educator Howard Thurman that […]

In preparing the Greek mythology class, as well as readings from the poet Rainer Maria Rilke and other reflections, the […]

We have spoken lately of the importance of being in touch with and naming our own deepest experience, especially through […]

One of the thoughts recently expressed is that we may look at and name or interpret different events in our […]

We have been speaking of the importance of being in touch with and naming our own deepest experience, and stressed […]

We have been speaking of the importance of being in touch with and naming our own deepest experience whether of […]

Last week, we spoke of how important it is to experience and name our real feelings, however varied and even […]

I have often spoken of experience, and particularly of the deepest experiences, whether of joy or of sorrow. I’ve also […]

Many authors suggest that out of still smouldering ashes of an old world order, a new world of greater interdependence, […]

Last week I mentioned how one author, Elena Lasida, thinks that the old order of things is dying and a […]

Last week I heard a talk by Elena Lasida, whose background is in economics and the social sciences, and who […]

I recently heard an interesting interview, on the CBC Ideas podcast, with.George Monbio, a writer for The Guardian newspaper, who […]

Forgiveness as Recognition of Sacredness Deeper than Brokenness Near the end of last week’s reflection, we added this paragraph. Solitude […]

In speaking of kindness last week, a quotation from the late educator, John Holt, came to mind. I looked it […]

We have most recently spoken of vulnerability and of healing. Vulnerability involves an awareness of the possibility of being hurt, […]

As you know, I am fascinated with the etymology or roots of words, one of which is healing, the counterpart […]

Last week we wrote about fear and anger, and how beneath them are the deeper realities of our longing for […]

This week I would like to consider the experiences of fear and anger and suggest possible ways to respond to […]

I have been speaking lately of a way of interpreting our life experience as a gift and call to bring […]

Last week, in light of the story of The Old Man and His Grandson, we suggested a way of interpreting […]

We have been speaking of words, especially in images and stories. We have mentioned how these speak to our heart. […]

We have often spoken of story and retold many stories in our weekly reflections. We might recall again that, in […]

Last week, I referred to an interview in which children’s book author, Kate DiCamillo said that life is chaos and […]