Good Morning!

I just arrived yesterday afternoon.  The cake that was sent by the devotees of DC to the brothers here was warmly received and enjoyed.  It was a very pristine expression of love and I send out a thanks to the one who hatched such a sweet plan.

I read the first chapter of "The Imitation of Christ" just now.  It spoke of a verse that we shared in a lecture not too long ago from Ecclesiastes 1:8.  It reminded me that the eye cannot be satisfied by seeing nor the ear filled by hearing.  It encouraged me to focus beyond the senses for peace.  It  is to live in that changless place behind the mind and senses.  It is a call to notice yourself as the viewer of you mind, the viewer of your senses.  In that identity lies peace and tranquility.  

My travels over the last week

Gave some lectures in Cambridge UK

Visited Edinburgh, Scotland last week

Organ and bells concert at St. Pauls Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie.

The St. Paul's church in Poughkeepsie renovated their pipe organ and put on a celebratory recital.  I went with Bob from the monastery.  We had a rip-roaring time.  Grin.

The Tiffany stained glass windows were beautiful and the old style woodwork were incredible.

Earlier in the week I went to brunch at the Eveready Diner.  Classic diners are everywhere up in this part of the country and are a highlight every time.  It always feels like you are dining on the set of a sitcom.

The classic diner template.  Diners get their iconic looks from their origins as recycled trolley and train cars.  They always serve American comfort foods and are usually staffed by the best of snarky waitresses.  I love them all.

Hiking Photos

Took a great hike up into the Shaupeneak Ridge Park about ten minutes from the monastery.  It was a beautiful hike.

I was amazed at the patterns in fern as it grew in large fields in the woods.  I mused a bit about the design constraints that it works with that produce those patterns.  It made me think about a "responsive" intelligence that nature displays to the laws that govern it.

I saw three of these little, tiny guys on my walk.  They were less that two inches long and looked amazingly vulnerable.  The color was so vivid.  If you zoom in you can see faint markings on its skin.  It seemed to be the opposite of camouflage;  it made me wonder if they were poison to predators or tasted awful so the color was a warning.

 A moody overlook waited for me at the highest point of the hike.  I am amazed at how beautiful this valley is.  There was a prominent painting movement here in the mid 1800s.  It was called the Hudson Valley School.  I saw a great display of some of the works at the Vassar Art Gallery.  Every day the lighting or mists and clouds produce some lovely moods.  

I noticed this little nature vignette on my walk.  It seemed like such an intentional arrangement that it caught my attention.  Small things like this are small reminders of the beloved for me.

This photo is just a random photo of the trail.  There wasn't anything overtly inspiring about it, but you get the idea of the casual beauty that is everywhere up here.

Musings on Being

I am not thought.  Thought comes from me.  I am not its content.  Thought exists before my view in sequence.  The meaning is me manifested.  I assemble the implication.  I never move.  The reflection is stored.  It is retrieved as thought.  It is referenced by the present.  The present is obstructed, defined, colored by it.  

Latest pics

Went for a walk in Newpaltz today.  Saw houses built in the 1600s!  They were full of character and made me think of a time when houses were built for humans and not only for profit.

New flowers by an ancient wall.

A photo of the Holy Cross church from the patio on the backside of the monastery.  Sat here today having a wonderful talk with some of the monks (Bernard and John).  Mondays are the day with no schedule.  

For Pentecost we had a performance by Kairos.  There is a clip below of the music.  It is recorded by my phone, so imagine it a bit better.  grin.

Kairos.

Mr. and Mrs. Nain visited me this last weekend.  We hiked up to John Burroughs' cabin in the woods.  He was a naturalist writer from last century.

About that storm

The thunder and lightning storms were quite dramatic over the last 24 hours or so.  The sky was churning colors of the noir.  With the expansive view, you could see things coming and going for a long distance.