In solitude we discover a sense of inner authority.

In solitude, we realize our oneness with the Divine especially through silence, which serves as a kind of solvent, dissolving us into Something more vast than anything we've ever known. In this solitude, we understand that we ARE the web of life knowing and celebrating herself through our own unique vision. It is this oneness that gives us a sense of inner authority. Here, like Christ, we are not primarily a Christian; nor are we a Buddhist - just as Gautama Buddha was not. For these are merely external labels by which the world seeks to categorize us, but which cannot do justice to the reality of our oneness with the sacred Ground of Being. It is this oneness that gives us any spiritual authority we might have.

Photo: Subalpine Fir tree and Notchtop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, March 23, 2015