Man is constraint; Nature is freedom to me.

“I love Nature partly because she is not man, but a retreat from him. None of his institutions control or pervade her. There a different kind of right prevails. In her midst I can be glad with an entire gladness. If this world were all man, I could not stretch myself, I should lose all hope. He is constraint, she is freedom to me. He makes me wish for another world. She makes me content with this.” 

Henry David Thoreau

Photo: Rose Crown (Queen's Crown), Sedges, and an unnamed lake, with Medicine Bow Peak as a backdrop; Snowy Range, WY; August 24, 2013

On windy days, I like to imagine that Mother Earth is passionately digging her painted fingernails into the shoulder of Father Sky

When I'm in a poetic mindset, I like to imagine the bright red blooms of Indian Paintbrush waving in the breeze as the painted fingernails of Mother Earth, endlessly caressing the spacious expanse of Father Sky.  On especially windy days, I fancy that she is digging her nails passionately into the shoulder of the Sky, insistent that his Sunlight come and illumine her beauty in all of its glory.

Photo: Indian Paintbrush at Logan Pass; Glacier National Park, MT; August 1, 2013

It is the contrasts of life that bring meaning

To capture something of the spirit of this Columbine most effectively, I arrived just after sunrise, when the bloom was lit up while the surrounding meadow was still in shadow.  Moments like this remind me of the fact that a similar situation occurs all during our life here on earth.  We can only appreciate birdsong because of the contrasting silence that occurs between the notes.  Mountains loom so large only because of the surrounding valleys and plains.  Similarly, we only know intense joy because of periods when nothing much seems to be happening.  And moments of epiphany - of revelation, meaning and spiritual insight - occur only because they answer persistent questions that arise through our having to face the seemingly meaningless challenges of life.

Photo: Colorado Columbine near Lookout Lake; Snowy Range, WY; August 25, 2013

It is always sunrise somewhere . . .

"This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls." 

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Sunrise on Mirror Lake; Snowy Range, WY; August 25, 2013

God is still writing passages of scripture!

"The notion seems to be all but universal that . . . we can know God only by tradition, as if the fountains of inspiration have gone dry, and he has not a single word more to say to us, not another story to tell . . . But God is YET writing passages that we can understand and that come within the range of our sympathies."

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Black-tipped Senecio and blocks of white quartzite; Snowy Range, WY; August 25, 2013

"I've been to the mountaintop."

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't really matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. 'Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.' "

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photo: Sunrise on Medicine Bow Peak, Snowy Range, WY; August 24, 2013

Sometimes nature gets right in our face, as if to say: "Here I am in all of my glory; now DEAL with me!"

Oftentimes, Nature flirts with our attention, giving us a glimpse of her beauty as though from the side, and then disappearing.  This is especially true at sunrise and sunset, when the most exquisite lighting lasts only for a minute.  At other times, however, she gets right in our face, shoving us against the wall of our own inattention, as if to say: Here I am in all of my glory; now DEAL with me!"

Photo: Lewis Monkeyflowers at Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, MT; August 1, 2013

One of the major purposes of life on Earth is to develop a sense of awe and wonder.

One of the major purposes of life on Earth is to develop a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty and goodness of the world, and then to offer this sense to the Divine Presence. Indeed, this is the purpose of all good religion, spirituality and science.  For we are meant to be the vision, mind and heart of the Universe.

Photo: A pink variety of Indian Paintbrush blooms on the Garden Wall; Glacier National Park, MT; July 31, 2013

Glacier National Park sits on the cusp between Cascadia and the Rocky Mountains, and embodies some of the qualities of both regions.

This summer, I found Glacier National Park as amazing and beautiful as ever. Sitting on the cusp between Cascadia and the Rocky Mountains, the park seems to embody some of the spirit of both regions. From the Pacific Northwest, it absorbs the lushness that speaks of a vibrant sense of optimism and hope for the future. From the dryness of the Rocky Mountain region, the park retains a sense of simplicity, detachment and interior dryness which are the conditions needed for spiritual transformation.

Photo: Lewis Monkeyflowers growing along the Garden Wall; Glacier National Park, MT; July 31, 2013

In a Rocky Mountain spirituality, alpenglow is the perfect image for the humble, self-emptied God.

Morning alpenglow is a fascinating phenomenon because the mountains begin to glow even though the sun  - from the perspective of the observer standing below - has not yet risen; it is still beneath the horizon.  In a Rocky Mountain spirituality, I find alpenglow to be a wonderful image because it speaks of the humble, self-emptied God.  For it seems he is continually shining the light of his love on us, thereby allowing our own sacredness to glow in all of its glory.  However, when we try to look for the "Sun" who is illuminating us, we cannot find any trace of him.  With alpenglow, we could theoretically come upon the sun simply by traveling across the horizon until we encountered it.  But with God, we could journey endlessly across the horizon of being in an effort to find him, yet never arrive.  And yet - and here is the magic of it all - we still somehow light up and glow in the sunlight of divine love that has its source in the Sun of his mysteriously hidden presence.  How amazing!

Photo: Alpenglow radiates from Medicine Bow Peak, reflected in Mirror Lake; Snowy Range, WY; August 25, 2013

In every walk with Nature, one receives far more than he seeks.

"In every walk with Nature, one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir

I started up the trail about 5:30 A.M., intent on catching the sunrise from a point midway up Medicine Bow Peak.  As in previous years, I was hoping to find some wildflowers and to include them in the frame.  However, the flowers were mostly gone, a situation resulting from our unusually hot summer.  Once I realized this was the case, I found a spot on the trail where I could capture the white of the quartzite boulders in the foreground of the photo.  What I didn't know was that these rocks would begin to glow a deep pink as the sun rose.  Like so many other times in Nature, I was given a greater gift than the one I was seeking!

Photo: Medicine Bow Peak at sunrise; Snowy Range, WY; August 24, 2013

In the Pacific Northwest, topography dwarfs human communities.

"The Pacific Northwest's unsurpassed physical grandeur and topographic variety pervade people's experience, overwhelming and awing them. In the Pacific Northwest topography dwarfs human communities . . . There is nothing, not a thing, about the country that makes a person feel Big And Important."

Patricia O'Connell Killen,
"Pacific Northwest": The None Zone

Photo: Glacier Lilies and Mount Shuksan; North Cascades National Park, WA; July 23, 2013

I have a patriotic allegiance not just to a system of government but to the American land itself.

"I am expressing my growing sense of allegiance to this living nation.  Allegiance to the forests, the prairies, the deserts, the mountains, the swamplands, the seacoasts, the lakes and rivers and oceans . . . Allegiance to the greater community of landscape and organisms that encompasses and sustains us all, . . . a patriotic allegiance not just to a system of government but to the American land itself . . . There is a need for wider recognition that government has as much a duty to protect the land, the air, the water, the natural environment against technological damage, as it has to protect the country against foreign enemies."

Richard Nelson,

"Patriotism and the American Land"

Photo: Western Hemlock and Mowich Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 29, 2013

I pledge allegiance to the soil of Turtle Island.

I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
     one ecosystem
     in diversity
     under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.

Gary Snyder

"Turtle Island" is a name for the North American continent, originating in the stories of some of the Northeastern Woodland Native American tribes.

Photo: Mount Rainier and Cliff Paintbrush; above Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013

Stand still. The forest knows where you are. You must let it find you.

Stand still.  The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost.  Wherever you are is called Here . . .
The forest breathes.  Listen.  It answers,
I have made this place around you . . .
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost.  Stand still.  The forest knows
Where you are.  You must let it find you.

David Wagoner

Photo: Joanne hiking in the Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA; July 25, 2013

A Declaration of Interdependence is our nation's next step!

"In the future, brave men and women will write a Declaration of Interdependence that will be read and honored alongside the Declaration of Independence: proof of our evolution, revolution of our own growth and understanding.  The open space of democracy provides justice for all living things - plants, animals, rocks, and rivers, as well as human beings.  It is a landscape that encourages diversity and discourages conformity."

Terry Tempest Williams,
"The Open Space of Democracy"

Photo: The red-white-and-blue of Cliff Paintbrush, snowy Mount Rainier, and the deep blue sky; above Spray Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013

Self-reflection is a core element of the spiritual life.

One of the most important elements of spiritual growth is the capacity for self-reflection.  Our natural tendency is to blame others for our problems.  However, when we practice introspection, we begin to uncover our own biases, rooted in our religious beliefs, gender, unique history and personality type.  All of these work together to create the filter through which we look at the world and others.  If we can make this filter conscious, we can at least choose whether or not we want to base our lives on it.  In addition, becoming aware of the filters through which OTHERS view the world helps us in understanding each other, and serves as the beginning of a more peaceful and cooperative existence in the world.

Photo: Reflections of the peaks in Twin Crater Lakes, with Elephanthead and Queen's Crown blooming on the shoreline; Rawah Wilderness, Medicine Bow Range, CO; August 16, 2013

Sophia Wisdom likes to hide under the see-through lace garment formed by the trials of life.

The spiritual journey teaches us to view life's challenges as a sort of see-through lace garment that both conceals and reveals the presence of Sophia Wisdom - the Goddess - hiding underneath.  If Wisdom manifested herself instead with complete clarity, her presence would not be nearly as seductive and exciting.  But since she likes to conceal herself, we have the continual pleasure of seeking her within all of her multitude of hiding-places.

Photo: A diaphanous fog hangs in front of Mount Rainier at sunset, with Avalanche Lilies blooming in the foreground; Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013

The first signs of Fall are appearing in the High Country!

In Colorado, the first signs of Fall appear above treeline.  There, the leaves of some tundra plants turn ruddy in the middle of August, while others down below are just coming into bloom.  On my hike back to the trailhead the other day, I realized that darkness is arriving about an hour earlier than it did six weeks ago.  As we head toward Autumn, I begin to feel the invigoration that comes with crisp air and new projects, as well as a turn inward to consider the course of my life in fresh ways. It is still hot, but Fall is on the way!

Photo: Ruddy Queen's Crown leaves and dried flowers, Lake of Many Winds, Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; August 19, 2013

Ice is only another form of terrestrial love.

"But glaciers, dear friend - ice is only another form of terrestrial love."

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Watermelon Snow, formed by red algae. The peaks in the distance are part of the Tatoosh Range; Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 30, 2013

The mountaineer enjoys a sense of immortality while yet in the flesh.

"To an observer . . . in the midst of such scenery getting glimpses of the thoughts of God, the day seems endless, the sun stands still.  Much faithless fuss is made over the passage in the Bible telling of the standing still of the sun for Joshua.  Here you may learn that the miracle occurs for every devout mountaineer . . . One day is a thousand years, a thousand years as one day, and while yet in the flesh you enjoy immortality."

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Magenta Paintbrush and Mount Rainier; Spray Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013

Discipline is required to see the lushness present in all of life, including our problems.

Cascadian wildflower meadows teach us that ALL of life is filled with sacred lushness.  However, just as it requires the physical discipline of hiking steep trails to see the best of these meadows, so spiritual discipline is needed to find everyday lushness in the midst of the stresses of life.  Here, we let go of a lowland view of life - where we see the world in terms of problems and complaints - and instead practice seeing things from an upland perspective, where we transcend our problems by getting in touch with the crisp spaciousness in which they all float. With an "alpine" view, we understand that "problems" are simply the compost for beautiful wildflowers; that is, for an awareness that each element of life is chock-full of the Divine Presence.

Photo: Avalanche Lilies and Mount Rainier; Spray Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013.

Our society invented compulsory education. Why not add compulsory RECREATION?

"Our crude civilization engenders a multitude of wants, and lawgivers are ever at their wits' end devising.  The hall and the theater and the church have been invented, and compulsory education.  Why not add compulsory RECREATION?  Our forefathers forged chains of duty and habit, which bind us notwithstanding our boasted freedom, and we ourselves in desperation add link to link, groaning and making medicinal laws for relief.  Yet few think of pure rest or the healing power of Nature.  How hard to pull or shake people out of town!"

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: A marshy meadow of Elephanthead spreads out next to the Thunder Lake ranger cabin in the shadow of Pilot Mt. (L) and Mt. Alice (R); Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; August 19, 2013.  Muir wrote this passage in the first decade of the 20th century.

Let us do something for wildness and make the mountains glad.

"Let us do something for wildness and make the mountains glad."

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo:  Mount Rainier and Eunice Lake from the top of Tolmie Peak; Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 29, 2013.  The haze on the left side of Rainier is from a forest fire burning to the east.

I am always glad to touch the living rock again and dip my head in high mountain sky.

"Coming down from the mountains to society, I always feel a man out of place; as from sunlight to mere gas and dust, and am always glad to touch the living rock again and dip my head in high mountain sky."

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Elephanthead and Lower Blue Lake, San Juan Range, CO; August 10, 2013

Novelty is a major aspect of Rocky Mountain Spirituality.

Rocky Mountain Spirituality includes an intense realization that the Divine Presence values novelty as a major aspect of the spiritual journey. As Process Theologians John Cobb and David Ray Griffin remind us: "God is the goad toward novelty in the universe, stimulating us to realize new possibilities after the old ones no longer are sufficient to give zest to our enjoyment." From a meteorological perspective, Rocky Mountain weather embodies this principle perfectly. A common adage among Coloradans puts it this way: "Don't like the weather? Just wait an hour!" Snow can occur in the mountains any day of the year, and a storm can arise out of nowhere. On the other hand, 60-degree winter days are not uncommon, and the temperature can drop thirty degrees in just an hour!

Photo: Rosy Paintbrush and Upper Ice Lake; San Juan Range, CO; August 11, 2013

Cascadian shoreslines embody the Pacific Northwestern valuing of diversity.

Many Cascadian shorelines are undeveloped and wild, situated between forest and ocean, with rocky sea stacks jutting out into the ocean.  They speak of the profound realization that beauty is found where contrasts come together.  The Pacific Northwestern tendency to value diversity - ethnic, religious and gendered - embodies this kind of wild coastal beauty in a human environment.

Photo: Second Beach, Olympic National Park, WA; July 26, 2013

The mountains of Cascadia and the Rockies aid in the practice of Insight Meditation.

Cascadia and the Rocky Mountain region both feature mountains that serve well as an aid to the practice of insight meditation. Tibet - a country of high mountains - is, after all, the place where the spacious aspect of meditation is given its most thorough expression. In all of these areas, mountain peaks represent the ability of meditation practice to help us transcend (go beyond) our usual fixation on afflictive thoughts and emotions. Spacious sky and vast vistas represent a wide-open awareness (facilitated by a focus on each exhalation) that forms the expanse out of which all thoughts and emotions appear and then dissipate like momentary clouds. The crispness of alpine air embodies the precision of this awareness which notices each thought or emotion in the very moment that it arises. The fact that wildflowers appear suddenly out of snowfield-covered meadows and then disappear back into snow once again symbolizes the transitory quality of all thoughts and emotions, which behave like echoes arising seemingly out of nothing, without any original "word" ever being spoken. In this photo, the lily shining - half hidden - at sunset next to a pond reinforces this sense that all things appear - and hover - out of the spacious lake of Divine love, arising as though out of nowhere, disappearing back into love, and then appearing yet again!

Photo: Avalanche lily, Mt. Rainier and a pond at sunset; Spray Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013

Rainier reveals the feminine aspect of Cascadian Spirituality.

Rainier is one of the prominent features of Cascadian Spirituality, defining the femininity of the land in a way that is impossible to ignore.

Photo: Cliff Paintbrush and Mt. Rainier; Paradise, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 30, 2013

The lush wildflower meadows of Cascadia speak of a future that is overflowing with fresh and unlimited possibilities.

I find that the lush wildflower meadows and forests of the Pacific Northwest embody a major aspect of Cascadian Spirituality: a sense that the future - though associated with inevitable challenge - is overflowing with fresh and unlimited possibilities.

Photo: Pink Mountain Heather, with Mt. Shuksan in the 
background; Mt. Baker Wilderness, WA; July 23, 2013

Light is what love LOOKS like.

"Light is what love LOOKS like . . . Light is the APPEARANCE of love."

David Deida
Kashmiri Tantric teacher

Photo: Sunset at First Beach, Quillayute Reservation, La Push, WA; July 26, 2013

Alpenglow is an element of Mountain Spirituality

I've been talking a lot lately about Cascadian Spirituality as an example of a regional approach to religion. People are always asking me: "What ARE you?" Their expectation is that I will answer in terms of one of the great transnational religious traditions, like Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism or Islam. However, like many in our time - and especially like many who live in the Pacific Northwest - I have trouble identifying myself with any one religion. In terms of the Gallup Poll surveys, I would be considered a "None." I find myself combining the elements of MANY different spiritual traditions, even though I tend to look at them all with a Contemplative Christian slant, since that is my background. This confuses people, because they are seeking for a single, unifying term that they can latch onto.

That is why I've become excited lately by the possibility of seeing that unifying factor in terms of a REGIONAL spirituality. In my own case, that means that I identify myself primarily with the Rocky Mountains, since that is where I live. But I also identify with elements of Cascadian Spirituality and the spirituality of the Desert Southwest. For me, one of the primary elements of Rocky Mountain Spirituality is the use of the phenomenon of alpenglow to describe my experience of God, the Great Mystery. For I find that in the presence of the Divine, I light up with the glow of love, even though God himself - like the alpenglow sun - remains mysteriously hidden below the horizon of Being. I appreciate the humility of this alpenglow God, who receives great joy in illuminating all beings, thereby manifesting their own sacred glow, while disappearing from the need to be seen and affirmed. Since the Rocky Mountains are known for their sunny days (over 300 a year), alpenglow is a frequent phenomenon. However, alpenglow also appears in the Pacific Northwest on clear nights (and mornings), even though Cascadia has a greater number of rainy, misty days than the Rockies do. Therefore, perhaps alpenglow is an element of EVERY mountain spirituality, even though it is especially prominent in our Rocky Mountain region.

Photo: Alpenglow on Mt. Shuksan, reflected in the Nooksak River; Mt. Baker Wilderness, WA; July 23, 2013

True liberty means having the freedom to choose in what unique and particular way we will serve the Greater Whole.

True liberty does not mean feeding the narcissistic concerns of the indivdual ego-self. Rather, it means having the freedom to choose in what unique and particular way we will serve the Greater Whole.

Photo: Liberty Bell Mountain, North Cascades Range near Mazama, WA; July 21, 2013

Places of exquisite natural beauty open up the heart to perceive beauty in ordinary life as well.

Places of exquisite natural beauty stun us out of the ho-hum attitude into which we so easily fall during our daily life in society. They open up the perceptive faculty of the heart, allowing us to feel the joyful leap of the Divine within our body and mind. We can then bring that same awakened heart to our daily life, allowing it, too, to stun us with its beauty and to leap with joy within our body and mind.

Photo: Fireweed and Lower Blue Lake, San Juan Range, CO; August 10, 2013

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.

"Those who dwell . . . among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.  Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."

Rachel Carson

Photo: The Quillayute Needles and First Beach, Quillayute Reservation, La Push, WA; July 26, 2013

Cascadia's religion is a "geography of wonder."

"[The Cascadian mindset] is intimately connected to nature, leery of tradition-bound institutions and open to experimenting with novel expressions of freedom. Cascadia may be a so-called secular place where fewer people than anywhere else in North America consider themselves institutionally 'religious,' but they certainly think of themselves as 'spiritual,' often experiencing sacredness in the imposing landscape . . . , [practicing] a spirituality of place, which some have called Cascadia's 'geography of wonder.' "

Douglas Todd

Photo: Blue Lake, North Cascade Range, near Mazama, WA; July 21, 2013

The appearance of each moment is like a meditation bell announcing the sacred silence that underlies and undergirds all things.

The appearance of each moment is like a meditation bell  announcing the sacred silence that underlies and undergirds all things; a divine silence from which every event emerges like an unspoken echo; a silence to which everything returns, lost to itself in bliss.

Photo: Bells of white and pink mountain heather, with Mount Rainier looming in the background; Paradise section, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 30, 2013

A Spirituality of Lace

Whenever I see frothy waves wash over a sandy beach, often crossing one another to form beautiful patterns, I imagine a woman's lacy lingerie.  After all, the ocean is commonly viewed as a powerful embodiment of feminine energy: flowing, wild, uncontrollable and shapeshifting.  Its tides are associated with the moon, another feminine symbol.  Lace garments both reveal and conceal, embodying the fact that the feminine principle of paradox is a hallmark of all true spirituality.  Religious fundamentalism attempts dividing up all of life into dualistic opposites: absolute right and wrong, true and untrue, saved and lost, scriptural and unscriptural.  Mature spirituality, by contrast, always involves a both/and approach that ferrets out the truth contained within each seeming opposite.

Photo: Waves and sea stacks at Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, WA; July 26, 2013

We are designed to serve as a nourishing platform on which other beings can flourish.

One of the defining characteristics of a temperate rainforest is the fact that some organisms (like this moss-covered Bigtooth Maple) serve as a nourishing platform for other organisms (like this fern) to flourish. This quality can remind us that one of the defining characteristics of a spiritual life is the realization that selfhood is not identified merely with the individual. Rather, the self is part of a larger web. In other words, we are not meant to live merely for ourselves, our family, our race, our nation, or our species. Instead, we are designed to serve as a stable, nourishing platform on which an expanding network of other beings (including humans) can flourish. Ultimately, we are the means by which the Cosmos - along with God and Mother Earth - can know and appreciate its own amazing beauty.

Photo: Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA; July 26, 2013

His sight is turned inside himself to try and understand the serenity of a clear, blue mountain lake.

"His sight is turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake."

John Denver,
"Rocky Mountain High"

Photo: Upper Ice Lake, San Juan Mountains, CO; August 11, 2013

In the Pacific Northwest, religious experience is rooted historically in contact with the landscape.

"In the Pacific Northwest, religious experience - the charged and creative moment of encounter with the sacred - is rooted historically in contact with the landscape.  This is certainly true in Native American culture, and Euro-American explorers and settlers, too, found the vast and imposing geography of Cascadia both overwhelming and awe-inspiring . . . 'The Journals of Lewis and Clark,' for instance, show a preoccupation with the physical grandeur of the country . . . Even today, Northwesterners find moments of mystical illumination in contact with nature.  The prototypical religious experience of nature in the American West is the mountain epiphany, embodied in the adventures of John Muir, who writing of a sojourn into the wild, said: 'I will touch naked God.' "

Mark A. Shibley

Southern Oregon University

Photo: Rosy Spirea, Picture Lake, and Mt. Shuksan; Mt. Baker Wilderness, WA; July 22, 2013

The Divine Seeing occurs at the center of the human heart.

"The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye.  This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things and through which we see Him.  If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen . . . The person who is thus pure contains the Universe in the pocket of his heart."

Nicholas Black Elk

Oglala Lakota

Photo: Lower Blue Lake, San Juan Range; August 10, 2013.  I love the sense of mystical union expressed here.  

This is very similar to what Meister Eckhart said in the 14th century: "The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me. "  When we realize that we are held in the magnetic gaze of God welling up from the center of our being (experienced during contemplative prayer),  this realization IS the gaze of God, who - because of his humble self-emptying - has no "I" and who therefore exists only in the second-person as a Thou who is known by us.

First August Snow

The mountains of southwest Colorado received their first snow on Saturday evening.  Are we in for an early fall?

Photo: Rosy Paintbrush, Upper Ice Lake, and several thirteeners; San Juan Range, CO; August 11, 2013

God is this great feeling of solitude with which we are all born.

"God is this great feeling of solitude with which we are all born."

Ernesto Cardenal
Nicaraguan poet and former monk

Photo: Second Beach, Olympic National Park, WA; July 26, 2013

Do people in the Pacific Northwest enjoy REFLECTING on their experience of Nature more than those who live in other regions?

In Colorado where I live, an abundance of people engage in outdoor activity.  However, few seem to enjoy REFLECTING on their experience of Nature or using words in an attempt to articulate what this experience means for their spiritual lives.  On the other hand, I get the impression that in the Pacific Northwest, there are a higher percentage of people who do enjoy such contemplation and reflection.  Perhaps the abundance of grey, misty days fosters a move INWARD, which in turn encourages reflection and contemplation?

Photo: Glacier lilies with Mount Baker looming in the distance; Goat Mountain, Mount Baker Wilderness, WA; July 23, 2013

Why is the sea king of a hundred streams? Because it lies below them. Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams.

"Why is the sea king of a hundred streams?
Because it lies below them.
Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams."

Lao Tze
6th century B.C.E.

Photo: Cow Parsnip growing by a stream, with sea stacks looming in the distance; Second Beach, Olympic National Park, WA; July 24, 2013

Beauty and danger are inseparable.

I find it fascinating to contemplate the fact - on the one hand - that Mt. Rainier is perhaps the most beautiful single mountain in America.  On the other hand, I often ponder the fact that she is also the most dangerous mountain on the continent.  Her beauty comes from the sheer massiveness of her form, the multitude of glaciers she wears, the lush wildflower meadows that clothe her slopes, and the ancient old-growth forests which thrive lower down.  Her danger comes from the fact that she is a volcano which could erupt at any time.  Mt. St. Helens, which erupted in 1980, is an adjacent mountain rising up just to the south.  If Rainier erupts, many metropolitan areas lying within the path of the lava flows would be affected.  In fact, a large part of Rainier's beauty arises from the very fact that she has indeed erupted before.  The decomposing lava from these eruptions makes an especially rich soil, a major factor in her unmatched wildflower display!

Photo: Avalanche Lilies and Mount Rainier at sunset, viewed from Spray Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013

Each of us finds our true self only in being positively-mirrored by an Other.

Each of us finds our identity only in being mirrored by others.  It is for this reason that the practice of love is so important, for it provides a positive looking-glass which puts us in touch with our own true self and helps undo the damage done by negative mirroring.  Of course, human beings - including we ourselves - cannot serve as the ULTIMATE mirror.  We are often preoccupied with our own concerns and therefore fail to see the harm we are doing to others through inattention and negative mirroring.  It is for this reason that so many of us eventually embark on a spiritual journey which leads us to a DIVINE mirror that is not  fickle like we humans are.  In my own life, Nature provides a major aspect of this Divine mirror, enabling me to let go of the tight, constricted ego-self I so often embody and identify instead with the spaciousness of the True Self.

Photo: Sea Stack and sand patterns; Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, WA; July 27, 2013

Cascadian Spirituality involves a love affair with the Feminine Earth.

For me, one of the most beautiful features of Cascadian Spirituality is a heightened awareness of the Sacred Feminine.  This is especially true at Mount Rainier, where the local Nisqually tribe's name for the mountain ("Ta-co-bet") means "nourishing breast."  Here, the Beargrass that blooms on many of the slopes serves to enhance this association of landscape and Goddess.  Like a confident woman, Rainier has a mind of her own, continually creating her own weather, revealing and concealing her voluptuous form in fog and clouds all day and all night.  However, this association between Woman and Landscape is not some mere anthropomorphic concoction.  As in any experience of mystical union, the intermingling of opposites runs two ways.  Thus, while in the presence of a sensitive human observer, the non-personal landscape suddenly becomes alive with personal femininity, the observer is changed as well, able to transcend the ego-self in the act of absorbing the non-personal aspects of a 4.5 billion year history.  When in the presence of Rainier, I find myself suddenly able to become more spacious, transcendent, and less ego-driven.  As a man, I find that the erotic aspect of my nature takes on a wider perspective, able to fall in love with the Feminine Earth rather than simply being consumed in the typical male attraction to human femininity.  This two-way exchange is made possible by the elation and joy I feel in the presence of this astonishing mountain, which causes a swirling sensation within my heart - like that of a Sufi whirling dervish - that spins together the realms of personal and non-personal.  Of course, any poet will know exactly what I mean!

Photo: Mount Rainier and Beargrass, with glimmerings of Eunice Lake peeking through; Tolmie Peak Trail, Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 29, 2013.  The haze on the left side of Rainier is from forest fires raging to the east.

A regional approach to spirituality includes valuing and learning from the Native peoples who live in the area.

In a recent posting I spoke of Cascadian Spirituality as an example of a regional approach to religious identity, one that is quite different from the usual practice of identifying oneself with one of the great international world religions. I believe it is important in practicing regional spirituality to appreciate and value the indigenous cultures that inhabit each landscape. In the case of the territory depicted in this photo, that would be the people and traditions of the Quileute Nation. While visiting the village of La Push - located within a mile of this beach - I found the Quileute people I encountered especially friendly and excited to share the richness of their culture with anyone who would appreciate it. Later that afternoon, while hiking along the beaches of Olympic National Park - traditional Quiliute territory - I could sense their warmth, self-giving attitude and respect for the land permeating my experience of the natural world.

Photo: Second Beach, Olympic National Park, WA; July 26, 2013