This Gospel is mostly about Jesus’s dangerously popular preaching against corrupt religious leaders who are backed by the Roman empire (sound familiar?!) and liberating people from their captivity to fear and limitation. It’s a spicy read for sure….

I love all the fierce women who show up in the Gospels. They’re pushy, they’re spicy, they’re clever, they’re astute, and they’re usually a heck of a lot smarter than the disciples. The women are the ones that Jesus seems to have the most interesting interactions with and - of course - the ones most maligned by history…

In 2019 I undertook a year-long shamanic studies program. About halfway through the program, the teachers sat us down and said something to the effect of, “Now that you know about these teachings, you can’t pretend you don’t know without dire consequences.” The teachings they were referring to were practices for building spiritual integrity and power…

My first week at the nursing home, an activities aide told me she was here because she fell in love with the residents. Looking around at a dining room full of dementia-riddled old people sitting in wheelchairs with bits of lunch clinging to their clothes, I thought “No way in hell…”

One: Ignore the story, listen only for the truth. Most people have a story about what they think is going on. I’ve had many stories in my day of which I was utterly convinced. This is the story built by the ego to defend itself and it’s self-centered purposes. And this story is often very convincing, even to me as a healer. And yet you can tell it’s an ego story because it’s always got some element of limitation or victimhood in it…

What I’ve learned is to take the long view on history. This is incredibly hard to do when the short view is getting rather urgent. And this is exactly what we were talking about at coffee hour. If we are eternal souls destined to reincarnate until we live through every possible human experience, what the heck is the point of all this?

The evil we are facing right now seems to be the same Christ faced in the wilderness. And right now the individual comforts of the very very few are being safeguarded, defended, and brutally protected at the expense of literally everything and everyone else. These are the exact same individual comforts offered by the dang Devil himself after Christ was baptized and went to test the strength of his newly baptized soul in the wilderness.

The Jesus of scripture was a one-time personality; a human who existed once for 33ish years. Christ, his true being, always has and always will exist and merely shone out through the temporary ego structure of Jesus long enough to share some good news and be on his way. The problem is that we’ve latched onto that temporary ego structure instead of the real thing, and insisted that Jesus is THE ONE.

Sin is anything which constricts a person’s life; blessing is anything which expands it. This definition came to me from a wise elder desert woman who lives in Northern New Mexico. It reminded me immediately of what I believe to be the true meaning of life which is simply to realize that we always have choices and our choices have consequences.

Mary Magdalene; the most maligned healer in the history of the Abrahamic faiths. Is she the sinful prostitute in need of saving by a holy man? Is she the demon-riddled peasant woman? Is she the meek and obedient disciple of Christ who hangs out in graveyards Obviously not or I wouldn’t be so obsessed with her, no offense to the demon-riddled.

Whenever an angel of the Lord appears the very first thing they say is “Be not afraid.” Why would they say this? Because angels are apparently freaking terrifying. They’re all eyeballs and wings and wheels with a heaping dose of fiery swords and the awe-full luminosity of having just been right next to God, the Being who almost burned off Moses’ face.

First of all, John is spiritually ruthless which I love. The whole Gospel is more or less about doing away with our attachment to the great illusion of reality and waking up to the mind-breaking immanence of God within and all around.

Like many people, I used to believe a story that I couldn’t sing. Of course I would sing in the shower or my car, or at a loud concert. But never around other people. I just knew didn’t have a good voice; definitely not the kind other people would want to hear.

Folks, I just discovered last week that the Magi came after Christ was born. Like, months after. Not only that, but they stirred up a bit of a political scandal when they came. As the story goes in Luke, these Wise men from the East (Persia? Babylon?) came in their finest, bearing royal gifts meant only for royal babies, asking about a freaking king who would lead the nation of Israel.

Instead that small cage became a wide open plain with an eternal path full of trustworthy companions, true teachers, face-melting life-saving songs, bone deep satisfaction, a husband who sings harmonies and cooks $100 lasagnas, and a life beyond my wildest dreams.

Law and Order - yes the TV show - was the first time I ever thought I could be a minister. I was living at my parents house after college kind of wondering, “Ok, what now…” I had studied marine biology - mostly so my summer internships could be spent on a beach - but that was a little hard to pursue back in Colorado.

I won't exactly say I regret my past. I will say there's plenty of it I'll probably never try again. Most of it, upon reflection, falls under the somewhat amusing category of "It seemed like a good idea at the time." This goes for jobs, relationships, personal choices, and decisions of all kinds.

Many years ago I heard prayer that I’ve never forgotten. It was 3am and I was sitting around a fire in the desert. I was praying with many other people in an ancient way over a silver bucket full of water we would soon drink. The prayer was for the water itself and it was prayed by a man who had been lovingly tending the fire for us all night.

Us humans have all kinds of pain, so we’ve invented all kinds of painkillers. Or so we think. There are of course the chemical painkillers, so useful after surgeries and injuries. Then there are the liquid painkillers, lovely after a long day’s work. And all of the emotional and mental painkillers, stashed neatly in little apps and beeps on our phones.

Ever gone back and read your journals? I generally avoid it because a) it can be a little cringy b) it’s mostly stuff that’s no longer relevant or c) it’s issues I’m still working on and I’m dismayed there hasn’t been more progress. That, and my handwriting isn’t great so it’s usually a tough exercise in deciphering scribbles.