February 2006 Archives

Here's further evidence that the shaman--a mystical indigenous prophet and healer--has achieved sufficient allure to get featured in a top dollar fashion shoot. Click here, if you must, to see a dark, tattooed man (who at least appears to have special powers) next to a bikini-clad fashion model in Saks Fifth Avenue's spring 2006 catalog. (How'd I land on this list? I doubt it was my subscription to The Utne Reader!) Again, I don't know that this man's the real thing, and the advertising copywriters don't explain. But fashion is all about illusion anyway. Saks's back cover features a photo of the same gentleman from the rear with full buttocks in view. Words fail me.

How much do you think he paid for that loin cloth?

Here's a photo of skier Bode Miller, taken before the Olympics, that I find helpful in my quest to put him behind me.

And here's the link to the famous "Do you have a drinking problem?" screening quiz.

Alcoholics Anonymous is considered America's largest self-help spiritual group.

Excerpts from a nice interview with Richard Gere on why he thinks we should all care more about Africa and AIDS aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week." If you missed it, you can catch it here.

Well, the Olympic Games are over, but I can't get skier Bode Miller out of my head.

"Mom, I think you have a crush on that guy," said one of the impish Chattering boys.

"No, no, that's not it," I protested. (I didn't volunteer that I HAD seen a photo of Miller shirtless, and that he didn't look so good. He had the unbelievable nerve to show up in Turin overweight and out of shape.)

I drove home from the boys' school drop-off thinking that I should find a Jungian analyst. Not for myself. Just for my blog. The sports writers describing Bode Miller's free fall from rebel medal hopeful to unrepentant boozing loser, were still missing something, something a Jungian therapist with knowledge of archetypes and the hero's quest could fill us in on. The story of a downhill racer who is first exalted by the press for his idiosyncracies, then pilloried and hated for his adherence to them, really resonates. I think we all wonder what it would be like if a media spotlight ever illuminated us. What would mere mortals do with the power? Would we be true to ourselves? Would we deliver anything meaningful to others?

As I prepared to meditate, I wondered if I should just write about Miller as a problem drinker. His scathing remark over the weekend that "I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level" seems unforgivable, the quip of an addict who hasn't bottomed out yet. Maybe that's the angle to plunder. My Chattering Mind raced: oh, but would calling him a budding alcoholic be libelous? Probably not at this point.

Then, THE TRUTH (ta-da!) came to me. From the recesses of my brain that years ago read German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: Bode is a man struggling to balance the forces of Apollo (the sun god, artist, dreamer) and Dionysus (the intoxicated reveler, the god of secret rites). And Miller played out his effort to reconcile the split in the public eye on Mt. Olympus.

In the end, the personality of Dionysus, the God of Wine, dominated and destroyed the promising athlete. Miller let his more noble, virtuous Apollo fly out his trailer window. Or more likely--Apollo never made it to the Olympics at all. Miller then became the hapless groom who stood his country up five times in a row. He forgot to bring presents! Self-absorbed bore! We are furious with him.

He could have done better, we know he could have. But he didn't.

Here's a convoluted but still interesting paper written by college professor Bart Bryant on the subject of Nietzsche's work on the tension between Dionysus and Apollo. When the forces of the two are in balance, Bryant writes, "We have a god who, while fully grounded in himself, can nonetheless aim beyond himself...and see more. We have, it seems, a more Apollonian Dionysus."

Now, please don't veer too far away, but this link to a list of worthy Buddhist-inspired blogs came my way, and I'd like to pass it on. Looks good....

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"What I now realize, from my study of the different religious traditions, is that a disciplined attempt to go beyond the ego brings about a state of ecstasy. Indeed, it is in itself ekstasis. Theologians in all the great faiths...

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In case you missed it, renowned Buddhist authority, spiritual activist, and Beliefnet.com columnist Lama Surya Das was on "The Colbert Report" with Stephen Colbert earlier this week. True, his holiness the Dalai Lama has appeared on both Barbara Walters's and...

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Gosh, the posts about Beliefnet's homepage reorganization and the naming of the "Spirituality" department were just fantastic. So many good people with really smart ideas. The decision will take some time, and we will keep you posted, but we are...

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The trendy, high-in-antioxidants pomegranate (read all about it in The Bible and Qu'ran!) now occupies a place of status alongside the reliable lemon, lime, and cherry. Polar Beverages is peddling a nice pomegranate-flavored seltzer. I saw it in the grocery...

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Waverly Fitzgerald, the mind behind the one-of-a-kind website School of the Seasons, has a paid semi-monthly newsletter that this month offers the following great idea for preparing for Lent. I encourage you to subscribe to this worthy project if you...

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I heard Randy Cohen, author of "The New York Times" ethical advice column, recently say on NPR that throughout human history, the conduct of "believers" has not been all that different from the conduct of "non-believers." Intrigued, I found an...

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Editors at Beliefnet.com are reorganizing Beliefnet's homepage, and in the process, they have come to me with a question I have not been able to answer. For the purposes of helping folks navigate the site, they need to give "New...

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Thanks to Patty who wrote:I just need to chime in, being a "Jane Eyre" scholar and a big fan of Chattering Mind. Bertha Rochester, as she is named in Bronte's novel, is indeed the "madwoman in the attic," but as...

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Writer and now pen pal Nell Minow, author of "The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies," sent me a link to her own blog post about the pleasures of re-reading favorite books from childhood. At the end of that piece,...

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"Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the...

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Last week, British actress and dancer Moira Shearer died at age 80. Although her most famous film may still be analyzed in college women's studies classes, many of you young pups may not know it, which is why I want...

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Now that we've all calmed down and heard Vice President Cheney admit that the day he peppered his friend with birdshot was one of the worst of his life, I have a book to recommend. It's called "The Blessing," and...

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On Wednesday, I mentioned Sam Harris's blog post about scientists partaking in a group meditation retreat. Later that afternoon, I spied a provocative article by Harris called 'Taking the Religion Out of Buddhism' touted on the cover of the March...

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This afternoon, I tried to meditate with our fluffy black cockapoo Chester according to the instructions given in James Jacobson and Kristine Chandler Madera's book 'How to Meditate with Your Dog.'I started by playing meditative flute music on the boom...

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I love the reader who volunteered this helpful correction:"Having just read 'Jane Eyre' a couple months ago (for the first time, at age 37), I have to comment that the madwoman in the attic was named Bertha Mason. Grace Poole...

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A reader recommended the works and website of Maria Cilley, a.k.a. "Fly Lady," many weeks ago. Wow. What a reservoir of quirky but sensible advice on how to organize your home for maximum health and effectiveness. While the tips on...

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"I don't worry about the right-wingers on AM radio. They are talking to an audience that is stuck in rush-hour traffic, in whom road rage is mounting, and the talk shows divert their rage from the road to the liberal...

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Thanks so much also to the kind reader who wrote: My son is Jewish-Christian. He was Bar Mitzvah'd at 13 and is being confirmed at 14. But he has also been exposed to all the world's religions and lives in...

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Thanks to Bishop Craig Bergland, who wrote this reponse to yesterday's post about my son, who worries about whether he believes in God, and whether he can be a Jewish Buddhist.Buddhism has been a very significant part of my own...

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Sam Harris, author of "The End of Faith," has a blog item that's well worth reading on "The Huffington Post." It's about the anguish and the insights gained by a group of scientists during a weeklong silent meditation retreat.Many of...

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One of the Chattering boys has been worried that though he is Jewish, he's no longer sure there's a God."I don't want to be an atheist, and I actually think I might be a Buddhist. I don't know what to...

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Here's a wonderful project: a website that is slowly gathering photographs of all the different Hatha Yoga postures. Some positions aren't commonly taught and are beautiful to behold....

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If you or your kids missed it, click here, and look for the NBC-Olympics video marked "Zhang Wins Silver After Nasty Fall." It is one of those poignant Olympic come-from-behind stories for the books. Increasing the intensity of this paired...

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Nothing is weaker than water,But when it attacks something hardOr resistant, then nothing withstands it,And nothing will alter its way.Everyone knows this, that weakness prevailsOver strength and that gentleness conquersThe adamant hindrance of men, but thatNobody demonstrates how it is...

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You will find particularly beautiful photos of snow crystals here....

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This week, we commemorate the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. I found a revealing passage, quoting several biographers who've tried to make sense of Lincoln's religious belief system....Lincoln believed some form of providence was at work in the universe, but...

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New York City got twenty-odd inches of snow on Sunday, and the city's plows have thrown tons of white powder off the streets and onto our parked cars. Five-foot banks of snow have settled on either side of the sidewalks...

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I didn't see the recent film in which Reese Witherspoon plays some kind of girlfriend who comes back from the dead, but I happen to remember that the editors of Beliefnet.com deemed it "paranormally incorrect."Do not despair! If you're still...

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"Once, years ago, I emerged from the woods in the early morning at the end of a walk and--it was the most casual of moments--as I stepped from under the trees into the mild, pouring-down sunlight I experienced a sudden...

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The National Cathedral in Washington D.C. has a wonderful website with broadband selections that keep growing in significance. It's marvelous that a gothic cathedral can also have the latest in computer tech. Look at the menu of offerings: A filmed...

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So I was happy to discover yesterday a mass market magazine for people with food sensitivities called "Living Without."Odd title, I know, and sort of pessimistic too, but when polled, the magazine's readers said they liked the "Living Without" name...

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"Everyone makes mistakes..and yogis are no exception!" says the February issue of "Fit Yoga" magazine. An article by Susi Aldous Hately then proceeds to relate the eight ways yoga students injure themselves during yoga workouts. Number one: Failing to relax....

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Mr. Chattering and I once went to a lively party, and suddenly, as if guided by a force much larger ourselves, everyone there started talking about allergies. Cockroach dust. Mushrooms. Mold in the house.After a few minutes of this fascinating...

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The Jewish commemoration of the world's trees--Tu B'Shevat--(also known as the birthday of the Tree of Life) falls on the full midwinter moon, this February 12th. If you care to celebrate this holiday with your children (who will be immediately...

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The Mulla was resting under a huge oak tree next to a field of melons. As he lay there, he thought, "Hmm, everyone says that the Creator has a grand plan, but look at this majestic oak tree with its...

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When I last toured George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, I was astonished to see and touch a tree that the father of our country planted himself (well, I'm not certain he did the actual shovelling, but...). You'll find photographs of...

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"The homemakers of old had an instinctive knowledge of the helping elemental beings, of the protecting penates and the spirituality of a household, which the human being today has lost."But since the household organism is a real world, the human...

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More from David Deida, "Blue Truth: A Spiritual Guide to Life & Death and Love & Sex.""Modern-day spiritual culture tends to be a lukewarm miasma of stiffened women and spineless men--very efficient and quite prudent. Once you have balanced your...

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As promised, from David Deida's "Blue Truth.":"Naive youth gets lost in the brief rush of pleasure. Depressed grown-ups linger in the not-enough of vacant embrace. The truth is that every moment is tangibly insubstantial. The true lover surrenders beyond all...

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I find this next Bonhoeffer quote of great interest to people sometimes described as "spiritual, but not religious." Actually, I am a Presbyterian who writes on contemplative spiritual matters that might appeal to those of emerging or blended faith. Despite...

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Speaking of relationships....I once met a man at a party who said he was getting a divorce. "Oh, I'm so so sorry," I said."It's okay," said he. "I didn't really know my wife."Then I lamented, "Oh! Well! Who's to say...

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Chattering Mind is now on an e-mailed Beliefnet newsletter called GLOW that can rest peacefully within your virtual inbox of work memos, love letters, and spam, gently beckoning you to open it up and savor its helpful contents. "Helloooooo. Find...

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I caught the tail end of PBS's program on Deitrich Bonhoeffer last night, and I was so moved by the quote used to end the program, that I ran to my desk to find the paragraph online. Actually, what's interesting,...

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You may be seeking deeper intimacy. Spiritual intimacy. You may be wanting to be known more deeply and seen more truly--by your partner or by your own gorgeous self. You may want to be relished, ravaged, broken open, loved for...

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"The nanny is very consistent, judicious, and kind, which are all good things to be. But the most important thing she does is create space in which people can make the decision to change. She's very much like a Zen...

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Thanks to the reader who wrote:"It is a shame more parents don't know about the affects of dyes and flavorings on children. I ran into this problem with my son when he had constant ear infections. Unfortunately for him, all...

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"Right now, and in every now-moment, you are either closing or opening. You are either stressfully waiting for something--more money, security, affection--or you are living from your deep heart, opening as the entire moment, and giving what you most deeply...

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I have such admiration for Mothering Magazine's founding editor Peggy O'Mara. For twenty-seven years, her heroic periodical has published articles that have raised the nation's consciousness on our routine vaccination of infants with compounds that contain mercury. In this month's...

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Here's a lovely sermon on the Christian celebration of Candlemas, given by Mark Powell, the vicar of St. Peter's Church, Ealing....

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In a couple of weeks, the kids and I will give dozens of heart-shaped sugar cookies as gifts to their teachers and classmates, and this year, we'll ice them in frosting that's a lovely shade of all-natural red! Finally. As...

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Combine the spiritual backdrop of the South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo with the lovely top note of Emmylou Harris, and Lord, Lord, you've got one beautiful version of the old standard "Amazing Grace." It's on Ladysmith Black...

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Last weekend, I attended a two-day workshop on Ken Wilber's integral philosophy. It will take me quite awhile to feed you all the teachings, links, and wonderful contacts I made. The Integral Institute's teaching crew came in from Boulder, Colorado....

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"The more you control your physical actions to minimize violence, possessiveness, and sexual obsession, the more alive you feel, the more free you feel, the more peaceful your inner feeling. With violent interactions with others lessened, the more you can...

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Thanks to the reader who pointed out something I'd missed. Earth-based religious faiths do not condemn masturbation. In fact, they form a rather strong consensus in favor of it. Sorry if this horrifies the most demure of you. But here's...

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When I was traveling last week, I threw my copy of Robert Gass's CD "Ancient Mother" into my suitcase without its case (remember when we thought CDs were indestructible?). Anyway, of course it broke, and I'm having to re-order it...

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