   The Culture of KindnessWhat is the "Culture of Kindness"? The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language defines culture as "The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought." This column is dedicated to the belief that the ethical underpinning of a peaceful "culture of kindness" can and should be the concept that "kindness and compassionate love for others" has the highest value. Note that this column was previously called "The Culture of Heart." I have changed the name in order to create a more specific focus. Music, Bonfires and a Return to Village LifeEvery year, on December 21st, our family attends a Winter Solstice celebration at a country house owned by Doug and Lesley Austin, our dear family friends. Doug is a wonderful mandolin player and is a member of the Runaway String Band.
 moreHow Personal Flying Vehicles Will Change SocietyImagine a city where there are no roads. Imagine a city where paradise has not been paved, and turned into a parking lot. Imagine a city where asphalt and concrete are nowhere to be seen. Instead, the areas between buildings and houses are filled with grassy lawns, gardens and parks. That image alone should make the prospect of a world without ground-based vehicles immensely attractive.
moreThe Medical Profession Should Treat Patients Like Honored CustomersMany doctors seem to think that they are doing their patients a favor by treating them, rather than serving customers who are doing the doctors a favor by paying their fees.
moreThe Tyranny of FashionOn the 14th of October, in the Year of Our Lord 2006, my family and I attended the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Annapolis. We feasted, we drank lemonade, we attended a merry joust where the brave warriors deigned not to fall off their horses because of insurance clauses. We had a grand old time for nigh on three and a half hours browsing rows of hideously expensive shops, and watching revelers eat gigantic turkey legs. And I was jealous.
moreA Declaration of PeaceA Declaration of Peace, containing Universal Principles of Peace, that articulates a particular viewpoint and stance that individuals, families and organizations may wish to adopt in order to promote world peace. Local, state and national governments may wish to adopt the declaration as a "Resolution" in their legislative body. We Stand Together Now, at the Springtime of the World. We are crossing into a new era, leaving behind centuries of violent change. The frontier ahead of us today is the long neglected arena of the human heart.
moreTo Carry Our Heart through the World Like a Life-Giving SunSeven hundred or so years ago, the Sufi poet Hafez wrote the poem “Like a Life-Giving Sun.” I stumbled across it in a volume of poems by the great Islamic poet, edited, translated, and interpreted by Daniel Ladinsky. The book, called The Gift, contains some of the most beautiful poems about God that I’ve ever read. Truly, Hafez was in love with God.
moreBook Excerpt: from "Building a Marriage of True Love" :: Section 1 - The Eternal Castle of True Love~ "Building a Marriage of True Love" is a work in progress. I am publishing it here in serial form, as it is completed. Note that this section "The Eternal Castle of True Love" is NOT the same as the column of the same name. ~ When I was a small child in Maine, I loved reading folk tales about a Prince and Princess falling in love, getting married and living happily ever after. I imagined them standing on the parapet of a castle amidst the clouds, gazing out over a valley lush with foliage and singing birds. I wanted to be the Prince, with my true love at my side.
moreTeaching Our Children a World Level VisionThis is the text of an extemporaneous speech delivered at the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace Conference on Ambassadors of Peace at the Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC on October 13, 2001, one month after the 9/11 attack. The speech has been slightly edited for print distribution. We have to teach them that the most important thing that they can do - the best thing that they can do -- when they grow up, is to bring joy to others by loving them and by caring for them.
moreI Came, I Saw, I Took It~ conflicting desires and our quest to be happy ~ What after all, is a criminal? Isn't a criminal simply a child who still adheres to the false grandeur of the Caesarian credo, "I came, I saw, I conquered"? Or, in the little boy version, "I came, I saw, I took it." Trying to conquer others by violent force is an easy choice for a man with a bratty heart who just plain "wants it now".
moreJoyful Love~ confessions of a nursery school student in God's school of love ~ One of my longest-running and most heartfelt prayers over the years has been to understand how to adequately express love to others. I was a loner in my youth, and had no idea how to extend my heart toward others. Being easily hurt, I avoided the risk of pain that came with human interaction.
more“The Epiphany of Zebediah Clump”
Watch our first film right here.    Tag Cloud~ A Chortle of Humor ~ A Concatenation of Software ~ A Dram of Health ~ A Meditation of Spirituality ~ A Murmuration of Movies ~ A Parliament of Quotes ~ A Potpourri of Resources ~ A Soupçon of Foodieness ~ A Worship of Writers and Books ~ An Antiquity of Bygone Writings ~ An Ecstasy of Nature ~ An Exaltation of Music ~ An Illumination of Art ~ An Incredulity of Cool Stuff ~ CD Review ~ Children's Stories ~ Culture ~ Economy ~ Education ~ Environment ~ Family ~ Film ~ Freedom and Human Rights ~ From the Back Porch ~ HeartQuestions ~ Interviews ~ Letters from the Compassionate Pugilist ~ Music Review ~ MusicViews - Music as a Bloodstream ~ One Longfellow Square ~ Peace ~ PhotoVoyance ~ Plays ~ Poetry ~ Service ~ Short Stories and Novellas ~ The Culture of Kindness ~ The Green Wheel ~ |
