Coming home on the train, I read the news: a man had doused himself in gasoline and self-immolated on the Washington Mall. I smelled smoke and wondered, is it my imagination, or is something on the train burning? No one else seemed to notice. By the time we got off the train, however, it was clear: a major fire burned close. Smoke filled the whole East Bay, brought by strange winds. Our noses scorched. The October day was hot. I sent out a small message: “Sometimes I think we

There are many books written on self-love, probably more than are written on selfishness, though we could likely debate that. I’m not here to debate that. I am here to enjoin us toward the love of self that enables us to better love each other. I’m here to ask us all: are we not part of God Herself? Are we not an integral part of creation and the unfolding of the patterns of life? Really. Why are we here? We are here to find and follow our destiny. We are here to listen to de

Sometimes I am so on fire with love of the world, that there seems nothing to do but grieve. I ache with a deep understanding, the comprehension of what Gurdjieff called “the terror of the situation.” We must come to know ourselves. We must come to love ourselves. We must come to love each other. There arises in us a deep respect when we allow love to enter. There is greater impetus for movement when we allow the fire of will and desire to meet the grief that we usually see a

“Talking in an unhurried way with neighbors or walking across a field with a child — we are powerfully full of information, visions, clarity, generosity and our future. We already have what the corporations want to sell us. We are born with that fire. This “whole thing” is organized for us by the god of the Earth.” – Rev. Billy Talen from his blog. “These people are not separatists, demanding that the outside world provide them with the tools to practice their esoteric religi