Author: Michael Stevens

The shakuhachi flute is a very difficult instrument to play, let alone master. It demands very precise air management. In reality, you are only playing air. The flute is simply a channel. Gaining skill...

The snow is gone for the moment but winter is not yet done with us. The cold will return, the snow will fly, and we will deal with whatever arises. In the meantime, frosty...

The overlook at Crooked River Gorge is not for those with acrophobia. I have a bit of this affliction myself. Today, as I look down basalt cliffs from the ‘bump out’ in the retaining...

In the Tibetan Buddhist view of the subtle human body we are composed of three things: channels, winds, and subtle essence. When we are feeling happy and settled, the winds flow freely through the...

As I write this, the solar year 2022 is coming to a close. No use spending time reviewing events in a short journal entry. Better to wax poetic on what a year actually means...

Brrr…eight degrees. Not so bad with the right layers of wool. My heart goes to those in Ukraine who have no layers, no power, no reliable heat source—people watching their homes being destroyed by...

Psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a simple schemata regarding basic human needs. His Hierarchy of Needs in order are: Physiological (food, clothing, shelter, etc.), Safety and Security, Social (Love and Belonging), Self-esteem, and Self-actualization. It...

We are all born with some kind of unresolved karma calling us to take birth. Our karma shows us the way to liberate the traces of past experience by getting our attention. In my...

When Thomas Merton entered the Trappist monastery for the first time, he experienced a profound sense of freedom. He said the monastic life was free from care. He meant, I think, freedom from the...

To say I was born in sin (separateness) is to say I came into the world with a false self. I was born in a mask. I came into existence under a sign of...