The Bells
I grow up in the shadow of a church. Every Sunday morning, the 850-pound bell at the...
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Category: Personal Journeys
Black Holes
When I held my son for the first time, the veil was especially thin, though I wasn’t ready for it. A moment that felt heavier than the sun. Studying his face, which was entirely new to me but somehow also entirely known, the light bent around us. We fell into some place, the two of us, squarely in this hole that I have been swimming in and out of ever since, the place where I stand as a binding thread between a boy and the grandfather he never met. As my son grows through ages and phases, I swim with the current of what could have been, wondering what they’d think of each other, what they’d say if they were to meet.
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A Family Fairy Tale
“He drew a circle that shut me out. Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit...
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Peregrinatio: My Journey with Saint Brendan
In my twenties, I found St. Brendan on the cover of a book on Celtic saints that fell off a library shelf to land at my feet. At one point, he even competed with St. Kevin for the most renowned exploits. Brendan visited the isle of talking birds, beached his boat on the back of a whale, and eventually came to rest in the land of the saints, his own version of paradise. Not to be outdone, Kevin held his hand out to shelter a distressed mother bird who laid her eggs in that warm embrace. Fearful of disturbing the nest, Kevin maintained this vigil, holding his precious cargo for weeks through rain and shine, until the baby birds hatched. These two legendary saints thrilled me as a child with their fantastical exploits. As an adult, I fell in love with the pagan aspects of Celtic spirituality: a deep connection to nature, the Divine Feminine, contemplation, and social justice.
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The Braided Way
The Braided Way is a framework to see every faith tradition as a strand, braided into a larger whole of spiritual awareness. In the Braided Way, combining spiritual practice from various faiths allow us to explore sacred experience and wonder in forms that resonate with our personal spiritual needs and sacred intuitions. In today’s culture, many people shun religious dogma, but yearn for spiritual connection. The Braided Way allows the ceremonies and practices of multiple faiths to be available without the confinements of cultural dogma.