The Enlightened-ish Friday Buzz
Stuff that is lighting me up this week in the hope that you might be inspired too.
Hello, Enlightened(ish) Friends,
I’m resending yesterday’s Friday Buzz because I noticed a couple of links were broken. I hope you enjoy this week’s edition.
Welcome to the Friday Buzz, in which I share quotes, books, podcasts, ideas, and other resources that have inspired me and/or brought me joy, hope, gratitude, on my journey toward more health and wholeness. My hope is that you’ll find something useful here to inspire or help you on your own journey to become Enlightened-ish.
A Book That’s Feeding My Soul:
YES, AND… by Richard Rohr
I wake at 4 am most mornings, not because I want to. I make coffee, grab a stack of books, and, with Tommy sleeping by my side, I sit on the balcony in the predawn darkness, reading, meditating, and praying. Lately, I’ve been reading “Yes, And…,” a book of meditations written by Franciscan priest and ecumenical teacher Father Richard Rohr. I’ve admired Rohr’s writing for a long time, especially Falling Upward, a roadmap to spiritual health for anyone who arrives at midlife in crisis. (Rohr teaches that we can only hope that our life falls apart in mid-life. It’s the falling apart that sets us up for true grown in the second half of life.) This week, I stopped cold when I read a meditation in “Yes, And…” called “What You Seek Is What You Are.” He states, “What you seek is what you are. The search for God and the search for our True Self are finally the same search. St. Francis of Assisi’s all-night prayer, ‘Who are you, O God, and who am I’ is the most honest prayer we can offer.”
I re-read those lines, especially the prayer.
I am a religious man, and I am convinced of God’s presence in the universe. But I am not a Christian or member of any other religion or sect. I veer more toward eastern spiritual practices and wisdom traditions (though I’m not a Hindu or Buddhist either.) But this Christian prayer seems like a potent entry into a life of prayer for a spiritual seeker of any stripe. It has become the prayer that I start my day with.
What I’m looking foward to:
Billy Strings concert at Austin’s Moody Center tomorrow evening.
I’ve seen Billy a handful of times, and each time, I’m cast into a trance. Indeed, Strings, a bluegrass guitar virtuoso and energetic entertainer, plays with the speed and wild-ass verve of a heavy-metal guitarist, which he was during his younger years. A Billy Strings concert is like a tent-revival mixed in with a Grand Ol’ Opry show and an EDM concert. If you get the opportunity: Go. His playing gives me goosebumps like Stevie Ray Vaughan did when I saw him play in the late 1980s. Here’s a video of Mr. Strings, for the uninitiated.
YouTube videos I’m watching and re-watching:
“Soul Diving” by Barry Michels
I told you a couple of weeks ago about personal growth book The Tools, by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels. Well, this week, I came across a wonderfully interesting series of videos made by Michels called “Soul Diving.” In these videos, Michels draws on Jungian psychology and The Tools to present many user-friendly ideas for living a more engaged, soulful life. My favorite video is called “Seeing the Soul of the World.” (Of course, it’s my favorite. My new memoir is called Into the Soul of the World.) He explains that, for him, the ordinary world is heart-breakingly beautiful and extraordinary, if we only “have the vision to see it.” Michels says that we can train ourselves to have a spiritual sixth sense that is capable of viewing this outrageous beauty underneath everything. In fact, he tells us that he believes the world is trying to communicate with us, saying “Pay attention.” The world is hungry for us! We can—and maybe should—pivot away from asking the world what it can do for us and instead ask what the world needs from us. The World needs us humans. Now.
Podcast I’m listening to:
“Men, This Way with Bryan Reeves.”
Reeves is a master conversationalist and a knowledgeable source of information about the state of masculinity in the U.S. today. He engages his guests in lively, knowledgeable discussions about how we men can improve the ways we show up in the world, understand ourselves more deeply, and create more intimacy for ourselves and our loved-ones. This is a good one—for men and women. Full disclosure: I was interviewed by Reeves this week for Men, This Way. The episode with his interview with me will run in mid-July. Keep your ears out for it.
Remember that my memoir, Into the Soul of the World, is now out in the world. You can buy from your favorite indie bookstore or on Amazon.
The Enlightened-ish Friday Buzz
Aw, thanks! It’s going to be a Weekend Buzz this week. Coming soon!
I missed your Friday buzz this week