THE BELOVED is most commonly a Sufi term, but not exclusively so. The idea of God as Lover may be outre to some, but the connotation of passion and all-involvement is a powerful one for many mystics (including the author…
Category: Etc
Free of labels, which is also a good rule for living
Why I Love: Astronomy
It’s the quiet thrill you get when you first look through a telescope and see Saturn’s rings for yourself. It’s the hush before the planetarium show begins. It’s the ancientness of the constellations. It’s knowing that others before you, perhaps…
And Now, A Moment of Science
SWIMMING AGAINST THE ANTI-INTELLECTUAL TIDE that these days governs too much of mediated public discourse is a modest little one-minute radio programlet called StarDate. It’s “the longest-running national radio science feature in the country,” according to the description on the…
365 Names of God: The Force
THE FORCE is a non-anthropomorphic term, but to a purist like me, so is “God.” It could be argued that since the Force is created by all living beings, rather than the reverse (at least, the reverse from a mythic…
Best. Haircut. EVER.
WE HAD LIVED IN SONOMA for about a third of my lifetime before I visited Allen’s Hair House, about a half-block south of the Plaza. I had become fed up with being charged $20 for a chop job by my…
THERE’S (more) ‘ing WATER on MARS!
BACK IN 2008, THE METAPHORAGER gleefully spread the word that water, at least in trace amounts, had been found on Mars. Now there’s a(n apparent) pile of it. Using an advanced form of radar, scientists appear to have discovered more…
I’m Ed, He’s Johnny
FOR MOST OF this year, I have been co-hosting a weekly radio show with my rabbi (and showhost), Steve Finley. It’s billed as the Sonoma Valley Interfaith Ministerial Association Radio Hour, and is an exploration of different faith traditions and…
Reflecting Pool
“WHEN THE CENTER IS MOVING, no quiet is. When the center is still, no chaos. Where is the chaos when there is no center? Where is the center when there is no motion?”
Aside
WHAT THE HUMANS DIDN’T REALIZE was that, for everyone else in the galaxy, it was largely considered bad form, and even bad luck, to visit planets settled by intelligent apes. (You’d think the quality of their UFO sightings would be a tip-off.)
Moving Lines
“FOR GOD’S SAKE LET US sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings.” — Wm. Shakspere, Richard II “Are you a dream, Merlin?” “A dream, to some. A NIGHTMARE TO OTHERS.” — Excalibur “Well, it’s…
Where Do The Ideas Come From?
LET’S MAKE THIS AN EXPLORATION of the landscapes of creativity — how does the creative experience feel to you? Mentally, I’m all about visualization: perhaps it’s synesthesia, but even smells and sounds have a visual component for me. So I’ve…
Wistful Vista
DESPITE ITS HELIOSHEATH-BREAKING ACCOMPLISHMENTS, or perhaps because of them, I can’t help but regret, just a little, that there’s no “NCC-1701” decal on Voyager 1. But at least there’s Beethoven. That almost makes up for it. Almost.