By Earl Smith One of the core ideas of Buddhism centers on the first steps on the path to self-knowledge. Here are some thoughts that might help you start on that journey. We’ll go together. *** Let your imagination transport you to a small pond somewhere within a leafy wood. Let’s say the time is … Continue reading Stilling the Ripples
The Silence of the Wild Dogs
By Dr. Elizabeth V. Koshy We had just settled on the playground of the Amravati University in a huge circle for lunch that day, when we noticed a few dogs, standing a few feet away from us, all looking towards us. A fawn coloured dog stood a little distance away from the other dogs and … Continue reading The Silence of the Wild Dogs
The Orange Gerbera
By Ruby Pressman There was a homeless man beating out the rhythms of the songs on the radio station at my local coffeeshop the other afternoon. I am sometimes sensitive to sound, but I didn't even mind -- I felt at peace and it became just like another facet of the background noise of the … Continue reading The Orange Gerbera
Blessings Come in Many Forms
By Leslee W. Kahler My husband and I had been married for about two years when Nekko came into our lives. I was visiting friends when on the way back to my car I spotted a small black and gray cat stuck in a tree. I climbed the tree part way and managed to coax … Continue reading Blessings Come in Many Forms
SHE: An International Women’s Day Write-up
By Mehreen Ahmed Editor's Note: International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th each year. Mehreen Ahmed wrote this essay on International Women's Day 2022. When God created Eve, he had created not a companion, but a woman of power. One who would be instrumental to the creation of human history. Her act, a single … Continue reading SHE: An International Women’s Day Write-up
Finding Home in India
By Sarah Brennan Bright green fields gave way to dusty roadsides and simple buildings as the car I had hired made its way into the small town of Sargur, India. As we turned off the highway the road narrowed, and the car wove its way through town. The pavement all but disappeared and the road … Continue reading Finding Home in India
My Little Star Girl
By Lana M. Rochel Originally was written in 2018 and published in Multiply IQ in September 2018. Rochel updated the essay in 2021. More information about the essay will be posted after the essay. I'm looking at a white blank laptop page in front of me. “Hey, mum! Tell the story of your girl!" I … Continue reading My Little Star Girl
Thinking of Dad: Hank Williams, Patti Page, Roland, and Me
By Leslie Knibbs My first memory, he's standing at a jukebox in his restaurant in Echo Bay. It's the fifties. Roland's two-tone '57 Lucerne is parked in its usual spot parallel with the building safely out of harm’s way at the end of a long line of customers' cars, pick-up trucks, two Indian motorcycles, and Hog Hurley's … Continue reading Thinking of Dad: Hank Williams, Patti Page, Roland, and Me
Signs of the Catcher
By Nick Sweeney It was a re-read of J D Salinger’s milestone classic novel The Catcher in the Rye that reminded me that I was a phony. I read it at sixteen, of course, like all wannabe literate boys, and it revealed to me back then that the world was a phony place full of … Continue reading Signs of the Catcher
Their Time: Female Biathletes, a Landmark Anniversary, and the Battle against Climate Change
By Kris Haines-Sharp She came with two kids, two guns, and a dog. The dog and children stayed. The guns? Another story. One sold to a man in his forties who had taken up biathlon. The other, propped in a case in the back of our bedroom closet. I stopped reading the stickers, plastered on … Continue reading Their Time: Female Biathletes, a Landmark Anniversary, and the Battle against Climate Change
Academy of the Heart And Mind 