Congratulations to a master
09/20/2010

My son Hudson completes his Master's in creative writing today, submitting his two-part, bound dissertation--one part criticism and the other a collection of his own poetry.  My hunky younger son is a poet! 

It was just over a year ago that Hudson headed off to London to attend Kingston University--leaving family, friends, and an idyllic Santa Barbara lifestyle in pursuit of his dream--to be a writer.  He had no job, no place to live, no bank account (have you tried getting any of those without the other already in place?) and only a handful of contacts.  But he pieced those contacts together into a place to live for a few weeks while he found permament accommodations, enrolled in classes, got himself appointed editor of the university's literary magazine, joined up with a band of movers and shakers producing a monthly journal on the arts, addiction, and depression; and began the life of a writer--filling his days and nights with reading and writing.

A vision quest and a day of peace
09/12/2010

I’ve been asked to speak for 20 minutes at a Peace Festival in Tonasket, Washington, this coming Saturday.  International Peace Day is September 21 and in some locales there are events and activities this entire week.  Earthdance.org will coordinate a global, synchronized song and prayer for peace at 4:00 p.m. PST this Saturday.   Around the globe, people are uniting in the awareness that consciousness is causal.  That being so, let's create peace.

Read Full Post  |  Post Reply  |  Email to a Friend

Honoring labor
09/06/2010

Rep. Alan Grayson offered these words to remember on Labor Day 2010.  They are from a speech Robert Kennedy gave 42 years ago:

"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.