The Pokey Finger of God

If you were to create a new religion from scratch and could pick and choose any doctrines or theologies you felt appropriate, which stance is better: “I’m the only one who can help you” or “I’m okay, you’re okay”?

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Among many other great cultural losses that occurred after Christianity was made the exclusive mode of religious expression allowed in the Empire, was the idea of personal spiritual sovereignty. There was once a great diversity of theology and practice. People were not exclusive to any one church any more than people today are exclusive to [...]

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I have been dwelling further on Venus, the planet specifically, in its passage from Morning Star to Evening Star. I sense a deep pattern here, and placing myself within it may be the best way to quickly understand it.
On Sunday, June 8th, Venus-Solar conjunction will occur. There are three significant points to make about this [...]

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My recent flirting with a regular weight-training regimen has begun to produce noticeable results, almost despite my inability to keep to a schedule. My body feels better and my yoga is better when I keep the discipline of practice.
It reminds me of the benefits I would get with regular meditation practice. Again, discipline with regular [...]

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The nature of death is tied to the structure of life: two concepts with which modern science continues to struggle. While we know ourselves to be alive and know that those who are dead are lost to us, we also know our knowledge is incomplete, if not suspect.
I have had the opportunity on a number [...]

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In the process of studying Biblical history, I’ve also studied a little bit of Greek, Hebrew, theology, philosophy, anthropology (physical and cultural), archeology, literary analysis, linguistics, economics, politics, military theory, and even (yes) basket weaving. The Bible, itself, is pretty sparse, so all these other techniques are used to illuminate this ancient and hoary document.
My [...]

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Human mental and sensory facilities are rarely developed to their natural limits of complexity and depth. People today normally use only a small percentage of their total mental capacity: often only in a simple, blunt way; all but isolated from their own perceptions. While we may flatter ourselves that we are the apex of human [...]

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I © Austin
I moved to Austin nearly twenty years ago because I had fallen in love with the city. I loved the river, the trees, the humidity, and the way the place is with dense with life without being too thick with people. Many residents I have met feel this way: I certainly understand how [...]

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Meditation is a natural state of mind that we unconsciously achieve many times each day. The practice of meditation consists of the exercise of deliberately inducing this state of mind in order to gain the benefits of a mind at rest. Cultures and religions around the world revere meditation as the keystone of spiritual practice. [...]

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It has been something of a tradition with my wife and I to hang a small bell on the rear-view mirror of our car. She started the habit of ringing a bell whenever we pass a carcass on the road as a way of blessing the passing of whatever animal it had been. We like [...]

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