9/8/2019 Nature and I are cultivating Concordia, a special place in the woods. Nearly fifteen years ago, I dedicated a special maple tree to my friend Nuala (noo-lah).  Nuala's tree is now the centerpiece of a retreat with unique natural features that I did not notice until I started working on Concordia.  Concordia had been waiting to emerge. Concordia celebrates Nuala's role in my life.  She will visit soon, in her first time on these trails.  If her back is hurting again, Concordia is the ...

I'm thinking about starting a normal people anonymous support group.Members have the right to define normal for themselves but not for anyone else in the group.  You're anonymous to each other, at least at the start of your membership.  If you surrender your anonymity with another member, that's okay.  You can still attend, together or separately, but it is recommended that you come out of the closet about it, for your own good.You do peer-led programs, activities or projects together, such as 1...

Excerpt from transcription of a Dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh:Many of you may not have heard about cow releasing. The story is like this: One day the Buddha was sitting with his monks in the woods. They had just finished their mindful lunch and were about to start a question and answer session. A peasant passed by and asked the Buddha, “Dear monk, have you seen my cows passing by here?”The Buddha said, “What cows?”“My cows, six of them, I don’t know why but this morning they all ran away. ...

First post in the Concordia Spartan 300 blog.   Word count today: 130.  Reading time: 1 minute.  Please sign the guestbook, especially if you have negative feedback.Concordia Law says that a post exceeding 300 words is punishable by drowning itself in the bit bucket; no exceptions, no parole.I love StandardNotes for providing the stats in the Action Bar.  Especially word count and reading time.  As a slow reader, it's good to be told how time-wasting a normal reader might find my scribblement.  ...