Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Hello. It’s been a few weeks since a new reflection has been posted. I took a couple weeks off after completing my internship, and planned on resuming posting here at that time. I’ve since decided to take a short sabbatical from blogging. I likely won’t be writing directly here again. I will be starting my…

I was not raised in a religious family and I rejected any concept of divine beings. As I grew and encountered the world religions via school or media, I began to study their origins. This opened my horizons enough to recognize the core values behind the rituals and religion, and seemed to speak to me,…

Play is essential to the spiritual life. In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom speaks. She speaks about her beginnings, and the beginnings of the earth. YHWH created me as the beginning of their1 work,     the first of their acts long ago. Ages ago I was set up,     at the first, before the beginning…

“I believe that appreciation is a holy thing— that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.”1 “…appreciation is… what God does all the time.” I…

Today the sun is shining. The blue sky has a few wisps of cloud. The thermometer tells me temperature is warmer than yesterday at this time. The clock on the wall ticks, tocks. This reminds me of my grandma’s house. Which reminds me of the green carpet and of playing with my cousins. As I…

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Though I’ve never run a marathon, I do know a bit about them. Organizers build in supports for the runners. They have hydration stations, sometimes food available along the way. They have medical teams on hand in case something goes awry. They do this because a marathon is…

Should. “Should” is a four-letter word, especially in this time of global pandemic. I should be more focused.I should have more energy.I should be reaching out more.I should come out of this with a new skill.I should be using this time more effectively. Here’s the thing about “should”:It is useful for shaming and for beating…

On this Earth Day 2020, I’m feeling a little “muddy”. There is so much going on with this Pandemic, information coming from all sides. So much suffering due to sickness, death, job loss, and separation of friends and family when these support systems are needed the most. I want to be well informed, but to…

People are suffering.  People are dying. There is fear and uncertainty all around. We are disconnected from our communities; our work is disrupted and everything around us has changed.  It seems like chaos reigns.   Where is God in all of this? I know I don’t have the answers.  But here is what I have to…

I have anger. It has been my close companion for many a week now. The surge of energy in my body, the tenseness in my muscles, the restlessness, the fantasizing about destroying things. “Anger is the deepest form of compassion,” David Whyte writes, because it reminds us what is most important to us and helps…

This is a blessing for the unhinging for the fraying edges for the falling apart. May this season be an opening a loosening of the grip a letting go of all that is non-essential. May you entrust the heap of your clay self to the One who first formed you. May you rest in the…

Bottle. Moxie. Bravery. Courage. We are in a season that calls for courage. The good news is this: we are already practicing it. Y’all know I like definitions. Here are some definitions of courage: to accept this new reality we are living intoto go to work during a pandemicto stay home during a pandemic for…