Hello! Continuing to address my own sceptical question, “aren’t stories just for kids?” I am now going to present my second auto-rebuttal – the one I called “general” – a bit more. Hopefully, by the end of this I will have got some way to making the case that we continue through adulthood to interpretContinue reading “Elementary – part II”
Tag Archives: Drugs
Hercules and the Mystery of the Disappearing Detective. And a Dog
Through a considerable effort of will and sacrifice, I have determined to try to wrap up my exploration of the relevance of classic myth and story to our personal journeys out of our destructive habits of body and mind. For the time being at least – I am certainly not swearing that I will notContinue reading “Hercules and the Mystery of the Disappearing Detective. And a Dog”
(S)crappy New Year – a seasonal sermon
Well, I enjoyed my Christmas Eve foray into vicaring and sermonising so much, that I think I’ll do it again. Blessings and compliments of the season to you. I’m saying “the season” rather than “Happy New Year”, because this time of year has always seemed more like a trajectory to me, than a series ofContinue reading “(S)crappy New Year – a seasonal sermon”
Peas be with You
As a reverend gentleman of the cloth hailing from the leafy and undramatic Home Counties of England [non-Brits, think: “The Shire”], in an unscheduled departure from usual programming, I have decided to exercise for the first time, my God & Queen-given right to compose a cozy Christmas homily. Were I to do this in lineContinue reading “Peas be with You”
More Fun Than a Treefull of Monkeys
I devoted much of the previous post to underlining the rather large amount of failure, destruction, and death that attend a problem like chronic addiction, and then enumerating and discussing some powerful forces which are aligned against us when we embark on a quest for freedom. Things with catchy names like “despair”, and “self-pity”. SoContinue reading “More Fun Than a Treefull of Monkeys”
Tree – mend us
So, it took me nearly 6 months of procrastination deep reflection and research to come up with the last blog post, in which I then rashly gave myself a fortnight to come up with this one. I have decided that deadlines and structures are good for me (much as I resist them), while “getting aroundContinue reading “Tree – mend us”
The Devil made me do it…
Hello! So, after a hiatus of several months, I’m back on the blog. Why? When I first put these pieces up online, in early 2021, my initial motivation was: After nearly a year of travel restrictions, we had seen hardly any non-Thai patients at the detox in Thamkrabok monastery. Speaking to old friends back inContinue reading “The Devil made me do it…”
Ask a Philostipher (yet again)
Part V, third instalment: This third instalment is intended to be the last, for the time being, that tries to map out the philosophical basis upon which Buddhist beliefs and practices rest. It takes quite an effort of will to decide to draw a line here, since this philosophy section has been growing exponentially outContinue reading “Ask a Philostipher (yet again)”
Monks ‘n’ Drugs ‘n’ Rock‘n’Roll
First published: July 5, 2020, Plus Seven In the previous piece I discussed the personal impact of seeing the image of Venerable Quang Duc on fire. Profound as that was – establishing my idea of monks as formidable, righteous, worthy of great respect, and definitely onto something – it was only an underlying condition thatContinue reading “Monks ‘n’ Drugs ‘n’ Rock‘n’Roll”
suparo 