Mark's Blog

There are forces and voices in our increasingly polarized world that want us to view the issues of the day in a binary way: this or that; good or bad. Most issues are more complicated. This blog seeks to invite people to journey beyond the safety, if not the rigidity, of our silo and our ego – to the soul; where we have the opportunity to see things differently.
The Rashomon Effect:  Different Stories of the Same Events

The Rashomon Effect: Different Stories of the Same Events

Our lives are framed and formed by stories.  A portion of my life – and of so many others I talk to, is framed and formed by the story of the war between Hamas and Israel.  A heart wrenching, tragic, and seemingly unending story. In fact, there are two stories.  One...

The Vast Expanse of Space Can Unhook the Ego and Open Us Up to Gratitude

The Vast Expanse of Space Can Unhook the Ego and Open Us Up to Gratitude

In Space there is a lot of space.  Much more than the naked eye can see.  The recently deployed James Webb telescope (in 2021), now a million miles away from earth, has shown us how vast and spectacular space is.  Not to mention how old.  We are now receiving – for...

The Danger of Co-opting Religion: A Breach of the Third Commandment

The Danger of Co-opting Religion: A Breach of the Third Commandment

The major conflicts in the world today– the wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Gaza, which capture our attention and churn our stomachs, are justified by ominous religious impulses.  For instance, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch...

Violence, Death, and Halloween

Violence, Death, and Halloween

Halloween is a fun holiday for kids, partly because they have an opportunity to score lots of candy, which is restricted, if not forbidden, most of the rest of the year.  But more profoundly, they get to dress up and live into a fantasy of being a princess, witch,...

Behold:  A Way That is Beyond and Beneath Belief

Behold: A Way That is Beyond and Beneath Belief

It is too much to take in:  the atrocities in Israel and Gaza, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the waterfall of humanity gathering at the southern border, the chaotic dysfunction of Congress, the relaxing of gun laws coinciding with an acceleration of gun purchases — with...

Kintsugi:  The Art of Healing the World’s Broken Pieces

Kintsugi: The Art of Healing the World’s Broken Pieces

I am feeling emotionally and spiritually raw.  Most people I have talked with this past week say they are afflicted with a dispiriting malaise.    As the images, stories, options and opinions regarding Israel and Gaza flood various media spaces, my psyche bounces...

The Dangers of Instant Gratification

The Dangers of Instant Gratification

The data suggests that the fastest growing religious group in the United States today are “nones”, which refer to the growing number of people who reply “none” when asked of their religious affiliation.  Into this expanding vacuum is an attitude and a practice that...

The Problem of Telling People to Go to Hell

The Problem of Telling People to Go to Hell

“I hope you burn in Hell.”  I have read this condemnation several times over the past few weeks, the vitriol coming from someone who is incensed over someone else’s position or action.   Over the years I have heard it said directly, not at me, but at a close friend...