The Eighth Sermon to the Dead

I'd forgotten how wonderful and easy meditation is. I just finished a 5 minute meditation at my chair, and feel refreshed and wonderful. I also identified some bad habits I have programmed in from working. We're gonna fix that shit right now.  What bad habits, you ask? Well, soda, for one. Eating while reading, as well. It makes both experiences sort of throw-away. Not meditating. :) As I'm writing this, I'm like "I should save this for tomorrrow, so I don't overpost". Then, I wonder if anyone reads this besides me. Then I realize I don't care. I'm posting it anyway.  If you read it, enjoy. If you don't, well, there's nothing really I can do about that.

As used to be the case, I was talking with someone and it sparked a blog post. My friend is worried about the volume of criticism he receives for his writing, and I tried to encourage him a bit with scripture about pearls and swine, and milk for babies, meat for adults. He replied with I honestly think that is being too generous. It implies I have pearls and meat to give. I really don't think I do anymore. And I realized the last time I'd tried to cast any pearls was April. And that was about poetry. There's a blogger I've been reading since 2003. He posts at least once and usually multiple times a day. Every day. Holidays. Sundays. He posts about football, politics, economics, writing, online arguments, his kids, soccer. The main point is he posts what's going on in his head, and he does not care what others think. He may not always (or ever) be right, but he's always there. Posting. I don't post a lot of what goes on in my head. I do care wha...

Right before my wedding, we went to the dump. Riverbend Landfill in McMinnville is a pretty nice place, all things considered. Sure, there's a smell. There's always a smell around garbage. However, there's also fairly clean recycling bins and a nice delivery system. It allows us to get rid of all our garbage, and being on a farm, we generally have quite a bit. As I'm sorting the recycling and throwing out the rusty, bent chicken wire, rotten wood, and oodles of  wine bottles, I'm thinking about the things in my life that I hold. Some of it I keep because it's valuable, like the grams of gold.  Some of it I keep because it  has memories, like my great-grandfather's railroad pocket watch, or my terribly beat up Snoopy doll. Some of it I keep because it's shoved in a corner and not in sight, but not bothering me: like the extra coffee grinder or the pile of memorabilia from College. Some of it I keep because I'm too angry to get rid of it.  Like p...

[Note, this is fiction.  Note the date.] The sun has passed it's equilibrium point, and as the month of September winds to a close and the nights get longer, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the various things that have happened. In May, we had a wonderful Conclave in Calgary, Alberta, hosted by our Patriarch Shaun McCann, and saw the ordination of Rev. Ms. Fisk to the Diaconate.  We also had the first official Friary Day on the Thursday before Conclave, doing initiations and workshops on the more esoteric wing of the AJC. Our theme of Johannite Identity was a great success, and Elaine Pagels drew an interested crowd with her lecture on the Gnostic Exegesis of the Johannite Gospel (updated). The capital funding for Our Lady of the Woods chapel is coming along, although I feel I'm always fundraising. We've had the building for over a year, so now we're working on walking paths and meditation areas, changing gardens to be a little more food forest, a litt...