The Mindful Life with Waylon H. Lewis

You Say You Wanna Revolution?

Wanna change the world? Wanna lose those five pounds, strengthen community ties, get to lunch on time and save thousands of dollars?

“Nahhh."

Oh. Okay. Well…well then riddle me this: what’s good for rich and poor, black and white, male and female, young and old, fat and thin—and our planet—that doesn’t involve starting a non-profit or burning bras or waving banners or wearing hemp necklaces with little abalone shells in ‘em? [more]

The Mindful Life with Waylon H. Lewis

Nirvana! Enlightenment! Who Cares!

	The Boulder Way

Pema Chödron, a famous-ish American Buddhist nun, once gave a beautiful, succinct definition of the path to spiritual realization. To paraphrase: 'If one can keep the sadness and pain of samsara in their heart, and at the same time the vision and brilliance of the Great Eastern Sun, then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea.'



A proper cup of tea. The fruition of a spiritual path ain’t fireworks and trumpets and angels descending from heaven. It’s more likely to be whatever happens to be happening, in that moment. Or, as the Zennies say, before enlightenment you chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment? Chop more wood, carry more water. Nirvana—or whatever you want to call it—is no big deal.



I publish a little Boulder-based magazine in Boulder called elephant. We do stories on yoga, on conscious consumerism and green living, on Buddhism and the ‘contemplative arts.' We do stories on a lot of other things, too—everything from bicycling to work and the stock market to green tea and green fashion. So what do all these things have in common? [more]

CULTURAL (R)EVOLUTION

Thoughts On Sipapu: Where Will We Emerge?

I sat at my desk and watched a dust storm form on the western horizon yesterday morning, collecting itself over the San Juans and tumbling down into the valley. At first we thought fire, or fog, but then the warm wind flickered on and we were pretty quickly surrounded by it and the coarse, blinding dust it brought with it. And so the day went, draped in dust and unable to make out anything beyond the herd of elk perched at the end of the road – in a view that might normally extend for fifty miles or more.

This morning, we woke up to four inches of snow.

And so it goes in the high desert alpine confluence of the San Luis Valley: a reliable even if shape-shifting dance between extremes. [more]