Spirit: “an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Our spirit is a part of us that cannot be medically identified. Our mind can be measured, quantified. Even, God forbid, dissected — but the spirit is something else. It likes in the ethereal.
The Greek word pneuma (see definition 2) translates as “breath,” and it might be said that the modern definition of the word is similar to the definition of “breath” to an ancient person: “ an invisible liquid or vapor held to travel throughout the body and to be necessary to and associated with life.” (Meriam-Webster) It’s there, we experience it, and yet, we aren’t exactly aware what it is. When it’s gone, we’re gone, and yet it’s not our thoughts, which are centered in our brain.
Questions of spirit are questions for philosophy and also of epistomology — the study of what known, and ontology, the study of what is.
Under this heading I have placed posts on “Memoir” and “Older and Wiser.” I could have put “Memoir” under “Mind,” since all writing is intellectual work. But somehow I thought memoir was more a discipline of spirit than intellect. Memoir is, perhaps, more ontological than philosophical, with the memoirist desperately trying to sift heir memories and find out what really is or was.
Older and Wiser is my name for all the blog posts on topics, such as human ethical behavior, that seem to me to be wisdom based. Wisdom, after all, is the province of those of us in the third stage of life. We have seem much, and our voices offer much perspective.
Hope you enjoy reading the posts in this category.
Raise your expectations. There’s much to see in Twentynine Palms. You might have been told that Twentynine Palms is in the middle of nowhere, not far from Death Valley. This is not completely true. Here are restaurants, hotels, banks, a library, Starbucks …the town has all the comforts of home, really. The desert architecture takes […]
Weekend in Twentynine Palms Read More »
“The way you spend your morning has an outsized effect … “ Benjamin Spall While my evening routine really was just created this spring, my morning routine began more than 25 years ago. It began because I could not “do” my life unless I got my head clear before everyone else got up. As a
10 Step Morning Routine for Focus and Stability Read More »
Mother’s Day is different when you’re a young mom than from when you’re a grandma. And when you’re dealing with great grandma, all bets are off. First Let’s Go Back In Time When I was a young mother all I wanted on mother’s day was some rest. The predominant plan was to get my husband
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Finally, spring is here. You open the windows and smell the magical smell.. But what to do if springtime you brings ennui … even self doubt? Perhaps my doubt comes from the late, even unreliable, spring of Northern Colorado. Even when it does show up, you can’t be totally sure it will stay. There can
A Springtime Reflection on Going Forward Read More »
Are you wondering how to start a spiritual journey? To do that, we first must entertain a few definitions. First, let’s talk about the progress of our lives as humans on earth. Then, we can speak of types of spiritual journeys. I think of life as being in three stages. You can start your spiritual
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In an earlier blog post, Loomings of a California Spiritual Journey, I listed four questions I planned to answer by taking a pilgrimage, to California where I grew up. These questions were general and could serve various individuals who want to reflect and refine life practice. Basically, they sketch out a “a how to change
The Question is: How to Change Your Life? Read More »
As I read over the posts that I wrote on the California trip, I made a list of the things I learned on each day and linked the posts below. Today, as I re-write and re-edit, I come again upon thoughts of Amelia Earhart. Her name came up more than once. Like her I was
Things I Learned on the California Trip Read More »
I spent most of the day driving, returning from Littlefield, Arizona to Fort Collins. I actually left before 6 a.m., and rolled up to my house at 5:45 p.m. But it wasn’t all bad, because as I drove I was thinking about the California pilgrimage, putting my life in order, so to speak. The 10
Last Day of the California Pilgrimage Read More »
I have arrived in LIttlefield, Arizona, just on the far side of the Nevada border. It was a long, tiring drive. The morning began beautifully, with “Barely” showing me how he feeds the blue jays from his porch. That was the highlight of the day. After that, Cholame, then Bakersfield, and then the Mojave desert
Leaving Can Be Hard: Departing from Morro Bay Read More »
Tomorrow, bright and early, I need to get back in the car and travel east. Toward Colorado. Which is not a bad place. Nor is work bad. Exactly. But you know. Today would be a day in San Luis Obispo. Doing my own kind of things. Walking the Labyrinth My day in San Luis Obispo
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