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This is what I say: Your mind is spiritual and so too is the sense-perceived world. The spirit is timeless and it dominates all existence as the great law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It changes crude nature into mind, and there is no being that can't be transformed into a vessel of truth.

-Brahmajala Sutra

posted 4 years, 10 months ago
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My "I" is arbitrary-a passing thing. It's all still the moon on water. What happens to that moon when a leaf falls, or a pebble is thrown?
A variation on the koan: what was my name before my parents were born?

Take another turn up: no divine, no I, no name. Choose your poison-religion or science? Is it better to believe or not believe?

posted 4 years, 10 months ago
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As a Unitarian Universalist, a buddhist, a pagan, an anthroposophist, a ceremonial magician and a taoist, I find all this talk akin to counting how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Doctrine is the moon in water.

Your experience of the divine in your life reflects your essence, your past, your progress.

There are as many ways to the godhead as there are atoms in the universe. Maybe as many as there have been quantum fluctuations since time began.

In a human context, community and relationship define who we are. The phrase "no man is an island", is never truer than in the context of spiritual practice. There are very few of us who spend most of our time alone. And none who worship alone-because even if you worship alone, the divine is there too.

BTW, the answer to "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" is: "all of them-angels don't take up any space".

posted 4 years, 10 months ago
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We just moved up here from SoCal, where my 2 boys of 7 and 9 went to a charter Waldorf school. They're going to Portland Waldorf School in the fall, as we strongly believe Waldorf education is really the best education style. If all schools taught Waldorf method, there would be no need to unschool.

No matter. So, this spring and summer we did unschool the boys-they played outside, in the creek, visited OMSI, rode bikes, played ball, listened to a lot of stories, started learning to fish, helped with the baby and yardwork, picked blackberries, swam, drew, wrote (the older one), started to learn to read (the younger one-Waldorf kids don't start reading until 1st or 2nd grade). They also sat around and watched TV and played computer games-blecch.

I'm not so sure unschooling works for the earlier grades-there really is material that has to be learned, and specific milestones that need to be reached-demyelination is happening, and if the neural pathways don't get myelin on them, they get pruned.

I think you have to find the right situation for your child-what they're happy with, what challenges them, what makes them grow. Waldorf stresses all aspects of a person-head, heart and hands-and the teachers consider each child when making up lessons.

posted 4 years, 10 months ago
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