July 13, 2016 (Kampala): Reading Bellah's book on the evolution of religion has my mind swirling. He's discussing the appearance first of mimetic culture among our ancestors, followed by mythic culture and the 'drive for conceptual clarification' which may have, in part, fueled the emergence of fully human language. The connections being made in my …
Tag: love
In quantum love
January 21, 2016 (Kampala): Last night we had dinner at Cafe Roma's with G and her friend B. At one point, B was telling us about the Christian books she and G read together. Then she self-consciously and insecurely made the caveat that even though these books aren't 'Bible studies', they are still 'based on …
Sacred sensation
***WARNING*** This post contains sexual themes some may find uncomfortable. December 28, 2015 (Timu): Since reading Sardello's book on Silence, I've been trying out some meditation techniques. Three days ago, I was out on a large rock for my morning quiet time. I closed my eyes and focused my attention on the enveloping silence. I …
(Dis)obedience
November 29, 2015 (Kampala): Yesterday morning we stuck around the Baptist Mission and didn't do much. Then we went to Little Donkey for lunch. From there I walked to Kololo Airstrip to see Pope Francis for my 'spiritual pilgrimage' into Kampala. As it turned out, I did get to see the Pope, but a couple …
Quaternity of kisses
October 22, 2015: And now more from James Schall on The Order of Things: "The order of stable relationships within the Godhead is at the origin of what the world and our lives are about...[and] lies behind all other order." "The trinitarian life of God is reflected in what is not God on the vastest …
Hopeful monster
I am a monster! I am emotionally malformed and psychically misshapen. The combination of utter neglect and loving nurture in my childhood distorted me. I became a mutant, a monstrosity - appalling to witness, an omen of the evil to come. If you see me coming, run away! What I crave is intimacy, and yet …
What is love?
What is love? (No, the next line isn't "Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt meeeee anymore!") What is love? Do you know? Some say it's a feeling; others, a choice. It is both? What is love? We all seem to know intuitively, but defining it is a challenge. Philosophers have spilled oceans of ink trying …
Purified love
August 2, 2015, Kampala: De Caussade's reading for this morning describes the process God has been taking me through these last ten years or so: "The soul ought to strip itself of all things created in order to arrive at the state of abandonment...this state of consolation is for those who have attained it; but …
African maiden
December 24, 2014, in Uganda: Over the last week, I've dreamed about N at least 4-5 times. N is the Kiroba (Tanzanian) girl I had a major crush on from 1996-1997. I wonder if my dreams are merely the archetypal fantasies of union with the Cosmic Feminine, of which my feelings for N were my …
My universe
July 3, 2015, in Timu, northeastern Uganda: The last couple of weeks I've been reading My Universe by Teilhard de Chardin. It's a short and exceptionally clear presentation of his main ideas. I record here some key quotes that I want to remember...because they speak my truth as well: "Ever since childhood, the need to …
