I have had this week the incredible pleasure to have been to two live Kirtan events. The first was last Tuesday when Krishna Das was in town, sitting with his mates on a humble stage at the First Congregational Church. We went with Felix and we danced! It was a blessed evening.

Then last night Lisa Mae and her mates gathered a few score faithful to sing and praise God and Goddess in all their forms. It was a benefit for Bobby Jo and her family, and i am so touched with all the loving energy that we were able to manifest and send her way.

"Experiences can shape not only what information enters the brain, but the way in which the mind develops the ability to process that information." Such i read in "The Developing Mind" by Daniel J. Siegel.

This is a question not of religion, nor even of spirituality per se. It asks you to describe the underlying narrative in your life, the lowercase 'god', that fabric which connects the "big events" in humankind: life, death, mortality, fear, birth, family, and countless other primal themes which deeply influence our everyday life.

Please bear with me on a quick stroll through millenia of human habitation on Earth.

My kids love this one illustrated book --no words: it starts out with a picture of red with yellow dots. The next pages shows a picture of a rooster on a window sill-- the red is his plumage. The next shows two children playing, with the rooster on the window sill in the background. The next shows a magazine, and on the cover are the two children playing with the now tiny rooster on the window sill. The next shows the magazine in the hands of a girl who is reading it. And so on, each layer giving way to the next until the story simply ends with what could easily be the next beginning.

There has been much research and writing about the Biology of Altruism in the last twenty years. The general conclusions are not that surprising: people are altruistic --that is they help others for delayed rather than immediate gain-- because it provides evolutionary benefits.

The altruistic woman who jumps in a lake to save her drowning child will have a greater chance of passing on her genes to her still living offspring. The altruistic genes will have a greater chance of living on than those of the more self-absorbed woman who wouldn't risk her own life to save her children.

I am very aware of the nearness of death. Ever since i was 18 and had two revolvers pushed against my forehead during an armed robbery, i have always known death to be less than a breath away.

For years, this was a traumatic realization which caused me deep nightmares --i didn't handle it very well. But all throughout, it imbued me with a powerful sense of This Moment! This moment is truly all we have.

For me, amid the kinetic busy-ness of our times, i struggle to keep my spiritual development at the forefront of my life. That was one of the inspirations for this website, to give myself and others a place to reflect and practice everyday our own personal spiritual development.

I do a lot of work with non-profits, and part of that work entails helping them think through their Mission. The word "mission" has diverse connotations; for one's Personal Mission Statement, i opt for this meaning: A duty assigned to oneself which reflects the uniqueness of that individual, and which will express in actions the true character of that person.

Looking at the spectrum of compassionate choice i can make in this lifetime, forgiveness has long been high on the list. But lately, i have been feeling that i need a lesson in Advanced Forgiveness.

Basic Forgiveness is straightforward:
1. Someone wrongs you
2. You choose not to retaliate
3. Furthermore, you choose to permit them to stop feeling guilty, because you have chosen to move on with your life, turn the other cheek, let go of feeling wronged, in short, to forgive.

Fine as far as it goes, but looking at this process a bit more closely, i believe i can do better.

I danced with the Laughing Buddha this week. I also danced with my son in the rain.

We gathered yesterday to celebrate the return home of our son Felix, who was badly injured in June in a fall from a tree. After 10 1/2 weeks in the hospital, countless breaths at the edge of death, we were gifted with the chance to celebrate yesterday, his joyful return home.

Earlier in the week, we had watched the weather avidly. Rain was forecast to be heavy, 100% guaranteed, for exactly the 5 hours encompassing the gathering, which was held outside on a late Portland Sunday afternoon.