I am spending two weeks with my mother in Tennessee. She is 96. She has senile dementia. It is not the Alzheimer’s type but that associated with chronic hearing loss, near blindness and the aging brain. She is at the point that I have lost 90% of her. “Her” being the full mom that I…

I have always been an eternal optimist but that hope is facing tremendous challenges in this present day. I have even begun to consider if I have gotten it all wrong. In the past, I have had this over-riding hope, despite having anxiety about the particulars of daily life. I admit that my optimism within…

I have overheard many interesting conversations within the walls (or patio) of a coffee shop. Saturday was no exception. I had just finished my long (once a week) seven-mile run. I took my coffee outside where the breeze would help evaporate my sweat. Sitting at the table beside me were two men. One was stocky,…

The Metaphysical Perspective I’ve heard it said that it requires mysticism to experience the mystery of God. I disagree. I will point out again the Christian culture has mixed a Greek metaphysical view of nature and super-nature (that realm of supernatural).  For clarification, I will state that some of the synonyms for this concept of…

I will make the point once more that the purpose of this article is not to criticize those who find mysticism as an important part of their lives or spirituality. My purpose for writing is for those, like me, who have no desire to be mystics, at least in accordance with the popular definition. We…

A few weeks ago, I did a video (written narrative only) about my confessions of being a bigot. I posted that on my FB page as well. Some of the people I grew up with were a bit taken back that I would describe our community in NE Tennessee as bigoted. They grew up in…

Part I – The Personal Side of Mysticism Resistance I am meeting more and more thinking people, who surprise me, by saying that their Christian faith has now taken them into mysticism. I’ve always known the unthinking types who preferred the mystical approach to faith. Those that would feel God, hear God talking to them…

Keep your day job. That’s the term we have heard when an artist, usually a musician, doesn’t quite have the talent to make it professionally. I believe that most of us have an artist, or two, inside us. If we won a lottery, many of us would immediately give up our day jobs, which we…