The party has already begun: 2010 in Vancouver and I Believe

2010 Vancouver Olympics

They’re here. Turquoise jacketed volunteers and orange vested police converge on the city. They’re here. They’re everywhere. Tomorrow, the world’s biggest winter party and carnival begins in this grey, wet city. Is this the first winter Olympics ever held in a place where the grass is green? Where the vines […]

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Deva Premal: the tranquility of Gayatri Mantra

The Essence ~ Deva Premal

A day of stress and frustrations and, in the end, a recognition that I’m not ready to move forward on a course of action requiring a one-year commitment…not just yet…not without a more careful consideration of the options and possibilities. So, a little something to calm the soul….

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Deva Premal sings The Moola Mantra: a gift of love

The Moola Mantra ~ Deva Premal

A couple days ago, this mantra played during a peaceful, energetic, meditative moment while in a healing session with my chiropractor. It reminded me, as it often does, of the woman who gave it to me. It was my introduction to the grounding peace and tranquility of mantras. As I […]

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Winnie the Pooh and the Vinegar Tasters

The Vinegar Tasters

The Vinegar tasters is among my favourite allegories and provides an excellent introduction to the three philosophies that dominated China through thousands of years: Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. For me, the most important of these is Taoism, a gentle, soulful and luminous philosophy. I’m going to be lazy and let […]

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Beauty, Cathedrals, Purpose: The Pillars of the Earth

Saint Denis Cathedral arches & stained glass

It wasn’t very far into Ken Follet’s, The Pillars of the Earth before I understood what might be enthralling the people who’ve been telling me I should read it. “Because it will be beautiful,” Tom the Builder answered Prior Philip.

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Divine Synonyms

God Beauty Perfection Love :: Synonyms

Peter, et. al. I thought we could expand on our Divine Synonyms by listing synonyms for them.  It’s proving to be more difficult than I’d expected… God : The divine, transcendence — the connectedness of all creation within which we all exist, can experience, can become consciously connected to, can become a […]

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RE: Delusions. . .

God Beauty Perfection Love :: Divine Synonyms

Staci… Why have you never brought up Helprin before? The passage you quote in Delusions. . . is scrumptious. Should I begin with Winter’s Tale ? Or Soldier? A couple things about categorisation… You’ve categorised that post in both Beauty and Perfection . I think as far as the sub-categories […]

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Delusions of Grandeur

A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

Here’s something for "Perfection ", Peter. It’s a superbly spiritual passage from Mark Helprin, a writer whose fiction I love, though whose politics I loathe.  Life hands out challenges like that, doesn’t it? Beauty is found in the most unusual places. Had I known his politics before having read most […]

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Emergence… Metamorphosis

The butterflies are gorgeous, gorgeous. All of them, but I really love the monarchs and daisies. They’re special. I know you’ve already sold Tweet on the lonely butterfly, but …  if you’re going to go with butterflies anyway, those are stronger images. I do like Tweet’s avatar, though! Was it […]

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