Margery’s Message

I remember Margery swinging gently on the porch swing of the old lodge at Camp Unistar, the Unitarian family summer camp on Cass Lake in northern Minnesota where, when my wife and I were in our mid-thirties, we would bring our two young daughters for a week of good...

Vulnerable to the World on Fire

  The mythologist Michael Meade says that when the world is on fire and you don’t know where you are, you could be in an initiatory experience that could change your life forever. As a result of being in these moments, your life might change permanently. For...

Stendhal Syndrome

Stendhal Syndrome. From Wikipedia: “Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal’s syndrome, hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic disorder that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to an...

A Touch

Two hours into a morning lecture at a recent workshop I was attending, I left my chair and sat on the floor in the aisle to stretch my lower back, still listening to the teacher and continuing to write notes in my notebook. A few moments later, I felt a touch and...

Grandfather’s Throne

I offer this little story I sometimes tell: It was probably six years ago when I was in a busy copy shop in Uptown Minneapolis one morning and chanced upon my dear friend “David,” with a little girl at his side, as they were on their way out after making...