I don’t really have any regrets when I think back on my life. But there are a couple experiences I wish I could have had. I mean, I suppose I still might have these experiences, but at my age, it doesn’t seem likely, and no…I’m not talking about any particular sex acts. I think I would have liked the opportunity to be really comfortable financially. I’m not talking about rich, here, just…comfortable. You know, I’d like to not have to worry about having enough money to pay all my bills, or to be able to just up and take a trip to France without saving for years. I’d like to have...

I may seem like some kind of seeker, but I’m not. The truth is, who knows why we do the things we do? I can remember from my earliest childhood being called to certain images. When I was four years old, I was fascinated by a statue that stood high atop a building in the city of San Pedro. Whenever my mom or dad went there on business and brought me with them, I made the drive by that statue so I could see it. I had no idea whom the statue represented. I only knew I loved it. I would not find out until only ten years ago that it was a statue of the Virgin Mary. I can’t really explain why I have...

Today is the feast of the Epiphany. This is the day that Christians celebrate the arrival of those three wise guys from the east. Actually, as I’m sure most of you know, it nowhere says that there were three of them. What it says is that Magi came from the east, whatever the hell Magi are. The Greek word, magios, refers to priests and wise men, “magicians”, with the ability to interpret dreams. It does not say they were “kings”. So much for we three kings. Matthew is the only gospel to mention them. But there is a reason for this. Here is the reading: When Jesus was born in Bethlehem...

I Am 57 Today I Am I have seen fifty-seven dawns the promise of light I have seen the rise of the Titan rocket and the fall of the Challenger I have seen the rise of Camelot and the fall of a president I have seen the rise of Dylan and the fall of Cobain I have heard the voice of a prophet crying in darkness I saw them kill Martin, kill Malcolm, kill Bobby, kill Jack I saw the rise of our consciousness and the fall of our aspirations I saw burning banks, burning draft cards, burning bras, burning desires I saw Watts burning, Detroit burning, Saigon burning, burning, burning I saw burning Vietnamese...

Okay, so before, I told you that I was going to give you all you need to know to help resolve conflicts in your day to day lives. And if I manage to succeed at this I fully expect to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize or something. Solving conflicts is not an easy thing to do. If it were, there would be no wars, would there? So here we go. Let’s assume you have a conflict with somebody. I know that rarely happens, but hey, it’s good to be forearmed. Or maybe that isn’t the best word, considering the topic and all. The first thing we all need to do is to let go of this idea of winning and...

As a teacher I have to try to resolve differences nearly every day of the week. Now keep in mind that for most of my teaching career, I’ve been working with ten and eleven year old children. However, I find that there’s not much difference between children and adults, especially when it comes to feelings. I think our feeling-emotional side is really closest to the child inside of all of us. And we get just as hurt as children do when we feel slighted or attacked verbally. One of the biggest lies that most of us tell (including me, by the way. I don’t leave myself out of this) is that we don’t...

We just got back from Phoenix, Arizona.  We went for Christmas.  It was a great trip.  A few years ago, though, we had a horrible trip to Phoenix.  The car broke down in Indio.  We were stuck there for hours.  There are few things worse than being stuck in Indio, except, perhaps, being stuck in Bakersfield.  The funny thing was that I had a feeling before we even left our driveway that something was going to go wrong. From time to time in my life I have had those feelings. I’m sure all of you have. You get this funny feeling that something just isn’t right, or something is. That’s...

Well, tomorrow is Christmas. And this day always brings images of Mary and Joseph coming into the little town of Bethlehem looking for some place to lay their heads and for Mary to give birth to the child who would grow up to change the world forever, or at least as long as there are people here. It’s a beautiful story; it really is. I hope it’s true, or at least most of it. Of course there are a lot of historical problems with the story. And this all stems from the simple fact that the only sources we have for this story come from two of the gospels, Luke and Matthew. Mark and John...

The relationship of Sifu is not an easy one to explain.  Within a kung fu school, sifu means teacher.  But a sifu is more than a teacher.  Sifu also means master.  And the diligent kung fu student accepts the sifu as his or her master, doing whatever is asked of him or her, as any good apprentice would.  But sifu also means father.  And in the traditional kung fu school, a sifu is just that.  When the teacher agrees to take someone on as a student, that student becomes as a child of the master, and the master becomes an adopted parent, a father, a sifu. My sifu, Richard Cunningham, satisfied...

You’re here once again reading one of these little gems about God and religion. Perhaps you’re interested to see if I’m going to say anything interesting or funny. Perhaps you want to know a little more about that ancient history, or about that Greek language, or about the beginnings of Christian traditions, or about what Jesus really had to say about things. Or perhaps there is something that just compels you to read them. Something has caused you to want to voyage on these seas, as it were. Who knows why we make the choices we do. But you have chosen to read this far, at least. You are...