Author: Michael Stevens

Dead and Alive

One of the autumnal practices I enjoy while wandering the desert is identifying wildflower species when they are dried up and in seed. This is more difficult as botanical keys mostly have pictures of...

Dharma Seeds

So many seeds! Sow many seeds? The desert is awash with golden to brownish-yellow seed heads on rabbit brush, sage, buckwheat, yarrow, and many other species. It is a panorama of fuzzy, knobby, and...

Desert Bathing

Autumn in the desert is missed by many people because the color palette is more subtle than the vibrant orange and red of moister deciduous forests. For us desert rats, however, we revel in...

Cloud Shadows

Thoughts are cloud-like in that they cannot be grasped and held in place. But, like clouds, they can cast a shadow on the landscape of the mind. I am gazing out the window of...

Simple Gifts

I and some family members are in a small town located in far eastern Tennessee where the annual Apple Festival is underway. Parking is impossible. Were it not for the citizens offering their yards...

Exactly the Same, Only Different

The overnight low temperature dropped to freezing in the past few days, a sign that autumn is revealing itself. The change in seasons arouses in me feelings of both excitement and dread. Excitement, because...

Dharma Farmer

The date 1888 is etched into the side of the well worn wooden frame of the threshing machine. It spews chaff out one end while spitting wheat kernels into a galvanized steel bucket sitting...

Water Myopia

When Buddha saw that being self-absorbed creates a kind of myopia, nearsightedness, he recognized that our limited view is the reason for all suffering. When we do not look beyond our own perspectives and...

Remembrance

Today marks the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Pennsylvania. I imagine there will be all sorts of news reports and ceremonies here and there. It is very strange how we...

For Now

I am sitting down and looking around our beautiful little Dharma center while waiting for folks to arrive for our “first Monday” introductory session. A quiet ambience permeates the space and colors of the...