flamingseed.com

THIS IS AN INVITATION to become a flamingseed: one who uses challenging conditions to blossom rather than burn. For inspiration, I comb the streets — not to mention the forests and villages, as well as the contemplative and mystical traditions — for insights, spiritual practices and visionary ideas on cultivating a loving, generative world view regardless of circumstances. And I doggedly question cultural and spiritual assumptions so that we can open fresh to these changing times with curiosity, innocence and a sense of adventure.

Beyond surface activism: The unlikely source of the Buddha’s world-changing insight.

I just published this article at Elephant Journal: A bit of a confession, I guess, that felt a little scary to share, given how aggressive and hateful the dialogue around politics and activism can get these days. I wrote it for everyone who feels weary of the polarization and would like to see an end to the argument culture. Here’s how it begins:

I’M THE LAST PERSON you might expect to talk about activism.

In an age where being super busy is a badge of honor and accomplishing tasks the greatest virtue, where some activists promote rallies by quoting Martin Luther King saying, ”For evil to succeed, all it needs is for good people to do nothing,” I did the unthinkable. I dropped out.
Read more at Elephant Journal

Poems for dangerous times

I JUST PUBLISHED a new collection of poetry called Cartoon Kali: Poems for dangerous times. I consider the poems in this collection artifacts from my spiritual practice. They weren’t originally written for an audience, but to help me understand and integrate some of what is baffling about being a human alive at this time. It helped me to write them, and my hope is that they might inspire you to deepen your own spiritual and creative explorations. Here’s a taste of what’s inside: read more

A soul story for those in transition

I WROTE THIS LITTLE BOOK for those who find themselves in the world between worlds. My most recent experiment, The Big & the Small: A Soul Story came through in one sitting in an attempt to see a way forward at a time when one way of life was ending and another had yet to begin. The truth is, we are always in transition whether we recognize it or not, but there are moments when the reality of this is laid bare and it can be frightening. read more

Spiritual contemplation as social action

A FEW YEARS AGO, I had a vivid dream that the world would end on a specific date, nine months away. This might sound like a nightmare, but the effect on me was just the opposite. In the middle of taking in this news, I had an insight: if the world is ending — and all of human life with it — I can’t end social injustice or save the white dolphins from extinction. There’s no time for any of us to reach our so-called full potential. read more