Trappist monk and theologian Thomas Merton addressed the difficulties and rewards of being oneself in the modern world, with heartening words on navigating the way through.
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Martin Luther King, Jr on Resisting Violence to the Spirit
Martin Luther King’s Six Principles of Nonviolence go far beyond political activism and protest. They are a way of life, applicable on even the most personal and private level, Principle Five in particular.
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Practical REAL-Life Wisdom from the Very Wise Ann Lamott
When she turned 61, Anne Lamott decided to “take the opportunity to write down every single thing I know, as of today.” It is a seriously good distillation of decades of living from the author of Bird by Bird.
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Questions that Transform Difficult Situations (Jack Kornfield)
At the height of a crisis, a friend sent us this hugely helpful excerpt from Jack Kornfield’s wise book about becoming at ease with the difficulties of life.
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From Opera to Improv: How Deborah Domanski Found Her True Voice
After years of singing professionally to great acclaim, Deborah Domanski found herself on an unexpected quest to find her true voice.
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Ikigai: What is Your Reason For Being?
When a friend sent us a VENN diagram of the Japanese concept of Ikigai last week, we found we couldn’t get its big fat question out of our mind.
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Practicing Martin Luther King Jr’s 6 Principles of Nonviolence
We’ve often wondered at Dr. Martin Luther King ability to maintain his non-violent stance in the face of numerous threats and arrests. Was he born with it, or was it driven by his powerful faith, or was it something he had to work at daily, a practice?
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Houdini Unbound: How A Novel Changed Its Author’s Life
When David Saltman randomly opened a biography of Houdini in a dusty second-hand book store, he had no idea it would change his life, leading him down an unexpected life path that would become Houdini Unbound.
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2 Minute Lessons from Therapy from Really Creative People
Shrink is a compelling series of videos in which really smart, creative people tell what they learned in therapy in under two minutes. Natasha Lyonne’s is our favorite, perfect with this Galway Kinnell poem.
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Pat Steir’s Artful Collaboration with Chance and Gravity
This 2-minute film is a lovely entree into artist Pat Steir’s beautiful work and very unique process, which is all about giving up control.
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Art as Self-Alteration, Rather than Self Expression (John Cage)
John Cage used chance as the key determinant in his art. Rather than impose his will and self-expression, he preferred “self-alteration”, which is a unique approach to life as well.
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Walking the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Path w Poetry
We thought these extraordinary photographs of walking Japan’s ancient deep forest pilgrimage path would be a fine wait to start the week. And of course we found poems to accompany them…
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7 Essential Items to Carry When You Travel
Having traveled A LOT over the years, I’ve honed a kit of essential items that see me through, both physically and spiritually, the unexpected events that are guaranteed to hit, sometimes hard. Since I have a seriously-sensitive constitution, I’ve learned the hard way that taking some fortifications is well worth the bit of thought and effort…
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How a Computer Crash Yielded a Vacation with Rumi
My recent week-long hiatus sans computer proved to be tremendously healing, slowing things down in the studio…while giving me permission to…become deliciously – literally – powerless..
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The Wonder of Room-Size Shadow Boxes
Our friend Susan Dworski recently email us a link to artist Anila Quayyum Agha‘s room-size shadow box with this note: Sally – this is pretty fabulous. So simple a concept, so detailed the craft, so profoundly spiritual the effect. And she is right. ‘Intersections’ is large-scale shadow box composed of Moorish patterns suspended in the middle of…
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Must Read: Anne Lamott’s “Everything I know”
When she turned 61, Anne Lamott decided to “take the opportunity to write down every single thing I know, as of today.” It is a seriously good distillation from decades of living.
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Reflecting on Difficulty: 5 Questions that Transform
At the height of a recent crisis a few months ago, our friend Chris Eldredge send me this note: I’ve been reading Jack Kornfield’s “A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life” and saw this. I thought it might interest you. ( I changed a bit of the wording where…
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Celebrating Spring with Dark Ambiguity of Maximón
Easter, Passover and the innumerable rites of spring used to make me anxious and defensive. Tales of death, rebirth, joy and sorrow, suffering and salvation, history recited, vows reaffirmed, sacred foods eaten: traditions created to allow tribes to regroup, bond, and go forth again into an uncertain world. Part of me bridled; I wanted to…
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Thomas Merton: Paradoxical Thinking is a Key to Creativity
Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk of one of the most rigorous orders which he entered in his twenties after quite a wild youth. Merton sought and wrote so lucidly about cultivating a spiritual practice in modern life, that he has been likened to a zen monk in his simplicity, commitment and the breadth of…
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Hand as Note Pad, Art Material, Tool, “Thundering Channel”
The other day at Artists and Craftsman, we noticed the cashier’s ever-ready note pad —his hand — and were reminded of the many ways we’ve used our hands. We mentioned this to Sinnae Choi, Improvised Life’s brilliant aide-de-camp, and she wrote some seriously powerful words about just what hands can do, and be.
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