Lake Elizabeth, Fremont

I don't know why they chose me, these two men of very different ages, who each at separate times, approached and wordlessly asked if they could sit. I had plopped myself beneath a willow on the far side of the lake, grateful to have prayer time outside in the heat.

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Ring of Fire

Note: This post was originally published as an essay in the Passages issue of Inquiring Mind, Spring 2011

‘I went down, down, down and the flames went higher...'                                                                   

This summer at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, I attended Grief Ritual: A Daylong Workshop for Collective Healing, with Dagara healer Sobonfu Somé and Buddhist Teacher Spring Washam. Designed to penetrate our barriers to grief, the daylong offered a sacred container in which to express the pains and emotions of loss. I have never experienced the meditation hall so aflame. In the morning we sat in cool stillness, following our breath and listening to the teachings with quiet curiosity. By afternoon, we were wailing and dancing, the incessant drumbeat carrying our sorrows toward the colorful shrines we’d created, our losses laid bare in prostration or in carefully cradled croons. Mothers mourned lost children, daughters grieved their fathers; there were survivors of cancer and addiction, infertility and childhood trauma. Folks risked expression of their suffering, and for many of us, I believe it was healing.

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25 Random Things About Me

An old 2007 Facebook activity, resurrected in the name of writer's block, aka 'sloth':

My first "official" date was in 5th grade, and included racing go-carts on a home-grown course.

My sister is my best friend. I am also blessed to have several best friends who are sisters.

My favourite store bought comfort foods are - savory: boxed Macaroni & Cheese (Kraft then, Annie's now), sweet: Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt. 

I wish more people felt comfortable naked.

I knocked out my two front teeth during my own birthday party at Derr's Skating Rink.

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