It turned out that fire was one of the most important elements in the Biodesign experience. Typically, every day of our studies at Yosemite and Mendocino ended with a circular celebration around a campfire. Often the combination of heat, light and the transformation of solid wood into gaseous flames served as a metaphor for mental … [Read more…]
Dateline: 10-15-76 Headline: High School Biology Class Freezes To Death In Yosemite When I decided to follow John Muir into the mountain wilderness, I was naively unaware that the closer I got to his living spirit, the greater the risk of experiencing one of his near-death events. When I decided to encourage groups of … [Read more…]
About fifty years ago, long before I knew what a Jungian synchronicity was, I experienced one that still resonates with me on every clear night. I was the father of a two-year-old daughter and on a whim one evening, after her bath, I took her out to see the stars. At the tender age of … [Read more…]
On the third day of complying with Napa County’s “shelter-in-place” edict, my mind drifted back to happier times at Yosemite Valley. Typically, during the Class orientation session on the meadow beneath the watchful eye of Half Dome, I shared Anne Frank’s reflection: “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to … [Read more…]
“Come to the edge, he said. We are afraid, they said. Come to the edge, he said. They came to the edge, He pushed them and they flew. Come to the edge, Life said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, Life said. They came. It pushed them… And they flew.” Christopher Logue … [Read more…]
The word “kything” became more widely known in 1973 when Madeleine L’Engle published, A Wind in the Door. Evidently she was looking for a term that described soul-to-soul communion and found the word, “kythe” in an 1856 Scottish Dictionary. I was elated by the glorious synchronicity that, although I don’t recall John Muir ever using … [Read more…]
According to Edwin Way Teal (editor: The Wilderness World of John Muir) Muir was a scientist, a poet, a mystic, a philosopher and a humorist. The mystic in him wrote: “No sane man in the hands of Nature can doubt the doubleness of his life. Soul and body receive separate nourishment and separate exercise, and … [Read more…]
The first Class to fully embrace holistic biology: Body—Mind—Spirit. When Melody Petersen Floyd and Terri Raymond Penington invited Christie and me to the upcoming 40-year-class reunion, my grumpy response was, I am retired and attending reunions was not in my job description. Thankfully, Christie disagreed and said, “I think we should go.” Of course! She … [Read more…]
Among perhaps the three greatest American Naturalists, John Muir was clearly the wildest. He “walked-the-walk and talked-the-talk” throughout vast areas of unspoiled wilderness. He experienced and described marvels, wonders and miracles that R.W. Emerson and H.D. Thoreau could not envision in their widest imagination. Emerson chose to write from the comfort of his office desk. … [Read more…]
Excerpt: Biodesign Out For A Walk. “He’s freakin’ nuts if he thinks I am going to sleep up there!” Although I think the student who muttered these words was half kidding, I was in good company. 130 years ago, John Muir was often regarded as a tramp, bum, social misfit and perhaps most demeaning, “a … [Read more…]