Reintegration Blues
The COVID pandemic has killed, caused economic and social carnage, and continues to spawn variants with difficult to define powers. Yet, it has provided a near-obligatory opportunity for those who […]
Filters
Growth, Reflection, and Sharing
Happy Easter! It’s a holiday rife with far flung symbolisms, but it’s a certain recognition that Spring is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere! Today was particularly special for me […]
Steaks and Lollies
Organisms have an intimate and complex relationship with food. We not only literally take it into our bodies, but also we assimilate it into our own being. Additionally, it triggers […]
The Ever Present Suck of Media
You’ve reached the bottom of the rabbit hole’s gravity well; midway through your night’s journey, you’ve found yourself in a hermit’s blog. The internet has its pull. It preys with […]
Tender spots
Lately, I’ve been experiencing a bit more of people than I like. I’m finding that solitude makes each exposure more saturating and evocative. A dim LED shines brightly if your […]
Technology and Monasticism
… is the title of an unwritten dissertation. In my monastic experience, I’ve taken a tack that welcomes some tech and shuns others. I don’t think there’s a single approach […]
Postmodernism, quantum physics, and the unravelling of purpose.
Physics has been one of my favorite subjects since I was a kid and ignored much of second grade in favor of my science magazines. I started studying Physics and […]
Lessons from Evolution in the age of Media
The term, “meme,” doesn’t only mean a snarky cat photo. The term was coined by Richard Dawkins in his book, The Selfish Gene, and was meant to reflect a much […]
The Protean Loneliness Machine
Some time ago, just under 4 billion years, relatively early in the planet’s existence, some bubbles gained certain unusual capacities involving the regulated shuffling of electrons and sustained frothiness. Distinct […]
Savoring Friendships
Hermits don’t get out much. But it isn’t uncommon for a hermit to have to run to the grocer, speak with a utility company person, or actually have a job […]
Introvert
While examining why I might be be drawn to an eremetic life, it was clear that introversion was a significant driver. I do my best thinking, my best caring, my […]
Small
Nothing that I could write is of an order of magnitude large enough to be visible in the shadows of the grand and foul machinations of our government. Perhaps that […]
Attempted coup and the mouse in my car.
Filters are important in most monastic endeavors. Selectively permitting the passage of information, and selectively permitting the information to be of impact. A matter of scale in the importance of […]
Carbon and Celibacy
Monasticism is almost universally earmarked by sacrificing excess. In Christian Monasticism, one of the ‘excesses’ to get the boot is sex. To forego sex is to deny the carnal, in […]
Simplicity, and Stuff
The quest for simplicity is a common thread in the life of monks and hermits. For me, such simplicity is worth pursuit for the clarity that I hope will come […]
Loneliness Prevention Plan, kind of.
Solitude can be peaceful, productive, and empowering, but there’s little to gain from loneliness, and much to lose. Loneliness erodes confidence, self worth and can lead one to compromise in […]
Grooving without Social Media
It’s been almost a week without facebook. I have to check my work account, but don’t exchange conversation with people or like stuff when doing that. It’s meant a good […]
With little more time.
A few days into the big media reduction shift, I’ve found I have some extra time. And I realize that I should update my routine. Here are somethings I’m thinking […]
Digital Media Reduction Plan
First Iteration My first serious go at Secular Monasticism was in the early 1990s. I didn’t have a computer, cellphone, or internet. Back then, I turned off my radio, cancelled […]