“Praise to the Melodious Wisdom Goddess Saraswati, Called ‘The Melody of the Youthful Display of Joy,’ by Kunkhyen Longchenpa in Sunlight Speech That Dispels the Darkness of Doubt: Sublime Prayers, Praises, and Practices of the Nyingma Masters, translated by Thinley Norbu. I was struck by the beauty of the words and the single-pointed focus of … Continue reading Five Beautiful Things
Month: July 2024
Conversions Away from the Gods
When I was in college, one of the women in my social group called herself pagan, but she would not come to the events that the campus pagan group — which I ran for a few years — organized. She was adopted, she went to Catholic school, and she was raised by a traditional WASP … Continue reading Conversions Away from the Gods
How To Write a Hymn (2)
Listen to Rachmaninov’s cascading concertos,to the majestic meander of Yes’ “Awaken” —follow these melodies as they set forthbeginning to end, an evolution always revertingback to the first breathing fingertips upon keys. Now: an epithet. Come to it as an agalma.It is sheet music — syllables and stresses.It is speech coiled together — dimensioned tight.Like a … Continue reading How To Write a Hymn (2)
How To Write a Hymn (1)
Give forth enough breath to let imagescut shapelessly into the lungs’ flatness.Wrap each symbol tense, layering uponsteep cliffs the cascade of fall·catch·fall·rise.The God will buoy you. Attend to this:a flutter of notes light as incense,brittle as dried laurel crushed between palms.Open up this everything in ink's meandering traces.Work them gently like clay upon a wheel,but … Continue reading How To Write a Hymn (1)
Please, For the Love of the Apotheosis Painting of President Washington Having a Great Time with the Gods, Climate Change Is Not Partisan
This is one of several posts that I am creating together in order to have peace of mind about some pressing matters, primarily focused on current events in American society. Even limiting myself here, I have a feeling that our partisanized atmosphere makes this about as effective as Plato’s attempts to philosophize in Syracuse, so … Continue reading Please, For the Love of the Apotheosis Painting of President Washington Having a Great Time with the Gods, Climate Change Is Not Partisan
Small Serendipities in Turbulent Times
The past few days have been somewhat of a whirlwind. Late on Thursday afternoon, I had an MRI with dye, and on Saturday, I was traveling to a conference. It takes 24-48 hours for the dye to clear one's system, so I was still having a few of the milder dye symptoms while traveling there … Continue reading Small Serendipities in Turbulent Times
Some Comments on Truths
This is one of a set of several posts that I am creating together in order to have peace of mind about some pressing matters, primarily focused on current matters American society. It is taking me some time to compose these — I have a feeling that our partisanized atmosphere makes this effort about as … Continue reading Some Comments on Truths
KALLISTI 