Crossing Nebraska

I’m awakened from slumber by the sound of footsteps heading up the trail outside. I listen after them for a time, but the rushing alpine stream has already washed away all traces with its omnipresent roar. Perhaps I’m merely imagining things. More likely, though, I’m not. Someone – or even a whole group of stealthy trekkers, for that matter – is likely making their way up to Belford in the predawn darkness in order to make it to the summit and back down before any storms have a chance to develop. I unzip my tent door and peer outside. Daylight has broken – somewhere on the other side of Oxford , anyway. I can tell by the way it lights up the bottom of the cloud cover billowing and rolling over the summit ridge of Mount Missouri . It’s still way too dark, however, for me to make out any sign of movement along the switchbacks zigzagging with staircase-like regularity up the shoulder of Mount Belford . Looking East From Atop Elkhead Pass I puff a few more breaths into my...

I feel compelled to interrupt the flow of my Alpine Stream of Consciousness series in order to pay homage to a woman whose Dharma teaching has had a profound impact on me for over four years now. I just learned that Ginny Morgan passed away on Tuesday, August 30 th after living with cancer for longer than I have known her. Readers of this blog will know that, despite my being a Soto Zen practitioner, I’ve tried to recognize wisdom wherever it is to be found – be it amongst the various branches of Buddhism, the Abrahamic religions, Native American Spirituality, Yoga, Tai Chi, etc. In that regard, Ginny and I are kindred spirits. Ginny was a teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition. She lived a couple of hours away in Columbia , Missouri , and so I only ever saw her when I was attending one of the meditation retreats that she was leading. During those retreats her Dharma talks often took on a free form sort of character – not without structure, mind you, but nevertheless ...

Hello everyone. I apologize for the delay in finishing this post. It ended up being a little bit more involved than I’d first anticipated; and that was before I became obsessive about its editing! Yes, it’s long; and, yes, it’s long in coming. But I do hope you enjoy it and find it to be a meaningful read. I've change the names of the individuals involved in order to protect their privacy An Alpine Stream of Consciousness (Part 2 of 3) I wake up when I wake up and without even leaving my bed I fold the pillows over onto themselves in order to fashion them into a passable meditation seat. It’s difficult to keep from thinking about the mountains as I sit, but eventually I do – allowing the overall ‘felt sense’ of my anticipation to come to the fore. In time, though, this too subsides and I settle into simply paying attention to the many sounds and sensations and wispy clouds of cognition as they arise and pass away. After showering I pack away my cotton attire of the previous da...