Christmas

| December 25, 2007

    As I was gazing out of my bedroom window the other mornng, I happened to notice that the buds on the lilac bush had begun to swell and turn green.  I realized that it was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and that henceforth the days would progressively get longer.  I [...]

Hognose Snakes, Opossums and Consciousness

| December 13, 2007

     The Hognose snake (Heterodon platyrhinos) was going through its impressive repertoire.  First it flattened its head and neck out like a cobra, showing the lighter yellow color between the dark scales.  Then it raised its head up off the ground, making striking motions (with its mouth closed).   However, it ignored my hand when I held [...]

Melatonin and Long Hours

| December 12, 2007

If we decide to part Let us not say goodbye, but when holding hands walking down a deserted beach, I will bend over to pick up a shell and when I turn to show you… you’ll be gone.        Tonight I shall go to bed about 5 am and as to when I arise, [...]

Don’t Whine If You Build On Flood Plains

| December 8, 2007

I recently traveled to the nearby town of Puyallup, driving along a road that paralleled the Puyallup River.  I noticed that the rich bottomland along the river in the town of Fife, that had once been daffodil, berry or vegetable farms were now covered with apartments, homes and businesses.   The homes were built right up [...]

Time…Time and the Imagination…

| December 7, 2007

     I was walking along a beach on the east side of Case Inlet of Puget Sound a few years ago, when I noticed an area where the sand gave way to smooth stones.  It was a lovely sunny day which can be rare in the area, and the water was gently lapping at the stones.  The dry [...]

Can a Charlatan be a Prophet?

| December 3, 2007

                  I believe that I first read The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda in either 1969 or 1970.  I read the rest of his books as they came out, being completely caught up with Castaneda’s tale of his apprenticeship with the “Man of Knowledge,” Don Juan, a [...]