Earlier this week, I visited Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. Both structures evoked a sense of wonder and historical perspective. Stonehenge (properly pronounced Stone-HENGE, with the accent on the second syllable) sits about an hour and a half from London proper. The massive stones rise, silent and imposing, on top of a hill, quite visible from [more…]
Best. Burger. Ever.
A wandering eye and a willing mind can take you to delicious places. A few nights ago, they took me to the best hamburger I’ve ever enjoyed. My friends Sarah and Greg and I had just reveled in the energy and pageantry of Olympic Beach Volleyball. Ready for some eats, we snaked our way to [more…]
Here’s Lookin’ at Kew, Kids
Kew are so beautiful. You can learn all sorts of things from hanging out with plants. Early in the London leg of my Europe trip, my friend Sarah took me to the Kew Royal Botanical Garden. An impressive oasis in the desert of city pavement, Kew maintains impeccably groomed, sprawling lawns, gardens, greenhouses, ponds, and [more…]
Faster, Higher, Stronger
I stepped off the train in London three days ago into a wave of energy. Granted, I had just come from the open wind, dunes, and sea of the northern coast of Scotland. The tall buildings and bustling traffic of Charing Cross would have offered a shock no matter what. Given the Olympic games, however, [more…]
This is General Tom
Tom Rose is an odd fellow. He’s also a precious one. I met Tom almost immediately after I arrived at Findhorn this last week. With a scraggly beard, pronounced teeth, and thick glasses a bit cloudy from mist or dirt or both, he greeted each member of our group enthusiastically. Eager or perhaps nervous to [more…]
Dolphin Training (part 2 of 2)
(This post continues from the previous one. To read that entry first, click here.) The Dolphin Training game shows us how much fun–and success–we can have when learning by positive reinforcement methods, yet so few teachers use the approach the game suggests in their own pedagogies. I’m not yet sure myself what teaching improv–or any [more…]
Dolphin Training (part 1 of 2)
The first seed of my sabbatical came at the Loose Moose Theater Company’s International Improvisation Summer School two years ago in Calgary, Alberta. One of our teachers, Shawn Kinley, introduced the Dolphin Game and my heart leapt. Two of my favorite things–improv and positive reinforcement–in one exercise? Whiskers on kittens! The directions were deceptively simple. [more…]
Teachings of the Elf Buddha
I hadn’t expected much from the afternoon. We’d help out with cleaning up Findhorn’s Singing Chamber, a work-in-progress earthen construction. Maybe we’d add some artistic touches if we had the chance. Little did I realize that we would work in the presence of an unexpected sage. Ian Trumbull is the kind of spritely character that [more…]
Leading Beyond Dualisms
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I’ll take you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’ doesn’t make any sense.” –Rumi Some people need clear direction, wandering rudderless when they don’t have [more…]
Shaking Hands With Findhorn
Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy has inspired me for years. His creations almost always activate my sense of wonder, bringing earth-based materials — twigs, stones, leaves, and water — into conversation with other natural forces — light, wind, tide, and time. His works shift as they interact with the landscape, passing through multiple evocative stages of [more…]
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