I look at a great deal of art. And have read my share of books over a lifetime of inquiry. When I was young, I was fascinated with reading about the civil war. That quickly led to reading biographies of the heroes and heroines who shaped our country and our world. When I was ten years old, my parents conceded to my well articulated whining for an adult library card. […]
David Ulrich
Greatness and Humility
The Art of the GameI have been reading a marvelous essay on Zen swordsmanship by D.T. Suzuki in the book Zen and Japanese Culture. Swordsmanship teaches coherence, elegance, and purpose. Like most sports, it can—at its best—be employed as a powerful tool for human development. As we approach the Super Bowl, what might we expect from sports that leave lasting injuries on its participants and feed the national ego as […]
A Patch of Blue Sky
Excerpts from an interview with Matthieu RicardThe full text of this interview appeared in Parabola magazine Vol. 37, no. 2, Summer 2012, titled Alone and Together. DU: Matthieu, we are trying to understand how a larger intelligence is available to us, and how we can come together to contact this intelligence. Philosopher Jacob Needleman asks: “How to come together and think and hear each other in order to touch, or […]
Lives of Quiet Desperation
:Healing our world for the childrenWe the people” begins the Declaration of Independence. I can think of no more relevant phrase today in response to the 27 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Something unites us all: perhaps it is our common humanity, the similarity of our DNA, our inner spiritual roots. I really don’t know. But our collective body is palpable, real, and knowable as […]
Broadening the Arc of Devotion
An Interview with Alan ArkinAlan Arkin has been a major star of stage, screen, and television for nearly fifty years. Best known for his roles in such films as Wait Until Dark, Catch-22, Edward Scissorhands, and Little Miss Sunshine (an Oscar-winning role), Arkin is also a master teacher. Along with his ongoing work as an actor/director/writer, he has taught retreats at The Omega Institute, Bennington College, and Columbia College. I […]
To Live the Question
A Conversation with Jacob NeedlemanWhat is the role of the philosopher in today’s world? We have an ever increasing need for someone to remind us of the important questions that call us, to renew the search for a deeper form of knowing amidst a cacophony of voices and a consumer culture addicted to superficial experience—to approach the great unanswerable questions that give dimension and hope and meaning to our lives. […]
A Visit with Ram Dass
“I Am Loving Awareness”Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to visit and interview Ram Dass at his home amidst the exceptional natural beauty of Maui. To say that we were deeply moved and touched to our core would be an understatement. There are no words that can accurately reflect having darshan with a genuine spiritual teacher, a highly public explorer of consciousness since the early 1960’s. Without a doubt, Ram […]
Diamonds and Rust: Art and Inner Life
A Conversation with David Ulrich Art is a non-verbal communication between artist and viewer, and yoga is a means towards connection and wholeness within a field of fragmentation. And from the simple act of conversation and creative collaboration between two people can emerge a completely new entity. David Ulrich and I have shared many conversations about art, yoga, and inner work over the past year, which is in fact, how The Slender Thread began. […]