Blog Masonry With Right Sidebar

I recently learned of a Zen Buddhism concept known as shoshin: the beginner’s mind. It is the state of openness, curiosity, and receptivity that comes when we approach something as though for the very first time. In the teaching of a beginner’s mind, there is freedom from assumption, pride, and the need to prove what we already know. “In the beginner’s mind,” wrote Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki,...

Artist and creator Andy Warhol once famously said, “I like boring things.” At first glance, this may sound odd coming from one of the most iconic, eccentric, and creative figures of the 20th century. Warhol, with his soup cans, celebrity portraits, and avant-garde films, hardly appears to be someone enthralled with the ordinary. Yet this statement carries a truth worth pausing over:...

There are seasons when our calendars, commitments, news cycles, and head space run ahead of us, leaving our bodies weary and our spirits stretched thin. We keep moving, often on autopilot, convincing ourselves that if we just push a little harder, everything will fall into place. But then there comes a whisper from within—a gentle but insistent voice: my soul needs a rest. Rest is...

The change of seasons rarely arrives quietly. It sweeps in with a flurry of uncertainty and excitement—new roles, shifting relationships, unexpected transitions—and can leave us feeling untethered. Whether it’s a seasonal change or a change that we have chosen, or a change that has chosen us, the experience can feel both like the opening of a gift or like standing in the middle of a storm....

There are days when the noise of the world feels relentless—news cycles that churn, notifications that buzz, a culture that rewards the loudest voices and the quickest takes. When everything clamors for our reaction, the quiet art of witnessing can feel almost radical. To witness is to stay present without rushing to fix, to listen without interrupting, to see without turning away. It is an...

“And did you get what you wanted from this life?”I did.And what did you want?To call myself beloved, to feel myself Beloved on the Earth.”– Raymond Carver There are certain words that stop us in our tracks, catching in the chest and lingering like an echo. For me, Carver’s lines have always been among them. They are simple words, almost understated. Yet within them lies the deepest human...

As a mental health professional and one who believes deeply in services for all, ‘988 Day’ is not just a day but a day I feel is important to be noted. So, for this week’s Chrysalis message, I am focusing on the importance and significance of 988. On July 16, 2022, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched as an easily remembered, nationwide number for anyone experiencing a mental...

Every September, approximately 65,000 people gather in Santa Fe to watch Old Man Gloom go up in flames. Zozobra—a 50-foot marionette, built from wood, wire, and cloth—is stuffed with shredded paper bearing the written worries, sorrows, and disappointments of the past year. When the torch is set and the fire takes hold, Old Man Gloom roars and groans, and collapses into ash, symbolizing the...

For years, I worked diligently to be perfect – the perfect employee; the perfect pastor; the perfect therapist; the perfect partner; the perfect parent; the perfect friend. What I discovered is perfection has a way of creeping into our lives disguised as ambition, responsibility, or care. I so deeply wanted to be the best parent; the strongest and most steadfast leader; the most faithful and...

Long before GPS and step-counting apps, travelers relied on waymarks to guide them along unknown roads —simple stones, painted arrows, or carved symbols marked their path. On Spain’s Camino de Santiago, the scallop shell and yellow arrow appear again and again, marking the path for pilgrims from all over the world. They do more than direct—they reassure: Yes, you are still on the way....