https://youtu.be/L8BZmx9zJ1E This past week, I went north of San Rafael to Terra Linda at sunset to stand in an empty parking lot, looking for starlings. As the light fades, huge flocks of the glossy, black birds swirl high above the trees, streaming a... Read more

As we bid 2020 a relieved farewell, I want to thank everyone who made 2020 an extraordinary year at InsightLA.   If you were able to come to classes and programs often, thank you for your steady engagement. If you are part of a regular sitti... Read more

This is a time to remember vastness and mystery. The year is ending with a cosmic conjunction unseen on Earth for 800 years. InsightLA held an important community gathering and ritual for letting-go of our Olympic and Melrose centers and envisioni... Read more

What a tense, roller-coaster of an election week this has been! And what a vivid illustration of how the mind reacts wildly to what it wants - and doesn’t want. However you voted, for me, it was a Tuesday night of tears from not getting what I wanted,... Read more

Recently I took part in a process to settle an ethical matter. I saw how easy it is to see things from one way; how easy it is to objectify and blame someone who makes a harmful mistake; how easy it is to fall into knowing certainty and self-righteous... Read more

In a time of polarization and divisiveness, plus the on-going crises of fires, economic and racial injustice, and pandemic, there are bright rays of hope - people building a future of respect, dignity, generosity, love and understanding in a thous... Read more

I changed five nouns in this poem for us, for now: Thanks, from W. S. Merwin. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind a bit. It reminds me of Zen teacher Yvonne Rand’s last audible words before she passed away Wednesday evening: “No form - Just thank you” L... Read more

Monday I learned that Yvonne Rand, one of my teachers in this life, has entered hospice to do her dying. An accomplished Soto Zen priest, Yvonne came to teach with me at InsightLA in the early days. Yvonne has lived a life that has given so much to so... Read more

The ocean has been cold again this week, good weather for the kelp! Did you know that in in ideal conditions kelp can grow from 12 inches to 18 inches in one day? Did you know kelp stores carbon as efficiently as tropical rainforests? The kelp in the ... Read more

Decades ago in the 70’s, before the Dalai Lama became famous, his smiling face was on the cover of a newspaper called The Snow Lion. The quote under his photo struck me so powerfully that I cut out the cover page and stuck it on a kitchen cupboard whe... Read more