The Beginning I am dying . . . and it hurts. The longing to experience just a little more life is so overwhelming I can’t see anything beyond my death. Just once more I want to feel the strong grip of a baby’s tiny hand around my finger…savor the taste of chocolate…smell the scent of …
All Kinds of Family
Family in the Old Testament Most of us are familiar with the story of Noah and the Ark. We know that God was displeased with humanity in general and that none but Noah, a “just and perfect preacher of righteousness,” and his family were worthy of being saved. How many of us know that, just …
You Are On Your Way Out
Centering: Black Elk, Holy Man and Healer of the Oglala Lakota Sioux nation: Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds …
Welcome to Planet Earth
This month, events in our home conspired to alter my usual optimistic outlook. You see, instead of being able to look through rose-colored glasses, I was peering out through eye sockets infected with a bad case of pink-eye. And it wasn’t just the pink-eye that colored my view. In the last three weeks we've had …
Lifelines
When Navajo rug makers weave a rug, they always leave a break in the design of the border. According to traditional teachings, this small imperfection, called a lifeline, leaves a route for evil spirits to vacate the rug. Navajo basket weavers follow the same practice, making sure each of their basket patterns incorporates a small …
Hill Psychology
In my neighborhood in Kearney, Nebraska, everyone had bikes and we went everywhere on them. At every school I attended (elementary, junior high, high school and college), there was a single constant in good weather…full bike racks. Even in the winter, there were a surprising number of hardcore bicyclists (including me) that rode to class, …
Conversing With the Universe
Anyone who has had small children has probably heard them talking out loud to themselves–while at play or when they are lying in bed, just after they wake up or just before they fall asleep. My seven-year-old daughter Samanna picks out a different beanie baby to sleep with every night. She recently said to me, …
Water
Water From Steven Pinker, Psychology Professor, Harvard University: Overcoming naive impressions to figure out how things really work is one of humanity's highest callings. The next time you take a long sip of water, remind yourself that it is one refreshing drink of dinosaur pee! Yeah that’s right…plants and animals and then later, humans, have …
Trees
Part 1: Trees Nothing is more important to the health of the tree than the roots. The embryonic root is the first thing to emerge from the tree seed planted in the ground. It immediately anchors the germinating seed in the ground to provide stability for the future stem. The root also begins absorbing water, …
Ohm Math
Stretch and Relax Over ten years ago, I started taking yoga. I was beginning to get a lot of injuries and I thought it was probably because I was doing too many high-impact, high-intensity activities without enough stretching. The injuries were a message from my body telling me I needed to balance the way I …
School of Thought 