Category: Dharma Journal

Only the Moment

Our original mind, unaltered by habits and conditions, is empty in nature. Emptiness does not mean nothingness. It refers to spacious awareness, right now, free from any limitation. So, following a spiritual path to...

Whirling Dharma

I have a condition called Meniere’s Disease. It is a disorder of the inner ear, a fluid imbalance in the semicircular canals that can cause debilitating vertigo. Extreme episodes cause nausea, vomiting, and the...

Ups and Downs

Some folks pretend the pandemic doesn’t exist. Others are extremely paranoid. Somewhere in the middle is a sane response. The most important thing is to look at our personal situation and discover the settled...

Macro and Micro

The lake is like translucent cobalt glass today. Barely a breath of wind produces a vast, mirror-like surface. Almost 2,000 feet deep, Crater Lake absorbs all but the deep blue frequencies of light. We...

Masks

Iron Mountain is a temple for wildflower lovers. Situated in the “Old Cascades” of central Oregon, this area may offer 60 to 100 flower species blooming any given time throughout the late spring and...

Wandering and Wondering

One insightful way of hiking in the wilderness is to have no destination. It is exploring without seeking an outcome. I think this is why I like to wander away from the beaten path....

If a Tree Falls …

We are hiking up to the caldera rim in the Newberry Volcano. The trail begins as a dry, dusty slog through a stand of lodgepole pine. The understory looks like the aftermath of a...

Fire and Rose

And all shall be well andAll manner of thing shall be wellWhen the tongues of flames are in-folded Into the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one. This passage from T.S....

Colors

I am hiking in the Badlands Wilderness east of Bend and witness a super bloom of Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum). This aster family daisy is widely distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest, so it is...

A Musing

I seem to have lost my muse. Has anyone seen her? She used to live alongside all my thoughts, but I think she got bored and went away. I don’t blame her. I am...