Beware the Pure Spirit, Let the Flesh Instruct the Mind

New River Gorge, Fayetteville, Fayette County, West Virginia    I am rooted here; this is my special place in the world. This is home.

Last night my class and I were fortunate enough to hear from three ladies who practice at Johnson City's own Appalachian Dharma and Meditation Center. Marina Munjal and her guests led my class in a simple meditation centering on the breath and then a lovely conversation for the remainder of the class. Here's what I shared with my class today about our shared experience: "Last night we took a journey down the path of what was for many of you a paradigm shift. It was a brief examination into another worldview, a glimpse into how many people in world perceive things to be. This in turn shapes how they live their lives and how they interact with others. This may present itself in something as simple as the articles of clothing worn for protection (or good luck), choosing to be vegetarian, or even wanting to limit the amount of pain medication for palliative care in order to have a clear and focused mind. Personally, I don’t find these things odd or strange. It sparks so...

Many of you are aware that I have had some ongoing medical issues for some time. I want to thank everyone for their concern and encouragement. I’ll admit to being somewhat of a “baby” in this manner. I’m sure to be adding to the stereotype of men not being able to handle illness without someone around to care for them. What adds to this is that for most of my life, physically I have felt fine and my body adapts to most stressors and I come away better for it. These past months have thrown me, my body has not adjusted and come bouncing back to relative health. This has just been another reminder of wasted youthful days and the impermanence of my body and my time here. Some days have been better than others and I vacillate between openness and disclosure and then at other times shutting down physically and emotionally.  I've not felt well for some time and I have become frustrated with the process of discovering what is going on with my body. To counteract  any rumor...

Nice new crop to choose from. Get'em while they're hot....

These images that I took today remind me that fall is not fall behind. The woods smelled wonderful. I'll confess that the smell of "swamp gas" reminds me of my childhood and this odor was prevalent in the woodland area I walked in this afternoon. Reminds me of the smell of my grandmother's back yard. Lots of good memories of running around in her backyard with my sisters and my cousins; playing hide and seek, climbing the maple and willow trees and that one HUGE oak tree that grew in the very back of their property. I remember it being as large as the huge white oak that is in front the of DP Culp Center on campus....catching fireflies and  kicking over the crawdad mounds in the wettest parts of the yard. Her backyard was swampy most of the time and the ground in certain places was wet to the touch...that slightly rotten, eggy smell. Sounds awful but it is good reminder of my childhood. A very country, earthy smell that I like.

The following came from a recent post to my class. I like to connect with them this way at least once during the week and since I have them do reflective writing each week, I allow myself the opportunity to do the same with them from time to time. I have decided to include “Fagbug: The Documentary” as your first extra credit opportunity for the semester. This documentary is being sponsored by ETSU’s own HEROES organization in hopes of raising awareness about hate crimes and homophobia. It also serves to give a voice to those who might otherwise be silent and to start conversations. For our class purposes, it will give you some introduction to one of our upcoming class topics, serving the LGBT population in regards to health. The film is approximately 80 minutes long and will be shown in the Culp Center Auditorium at 7 pm on September 26 th . The process is simple; you come to the event, you sign in with me, and you watch the film. That’s it! There is so much we could have furthe...

Can I take just a minute and complain?  I need to vent and release for just a moment. I hate this, but my internal and external worlds are having some difficulty. I want a reset button. Really, I want to reset and cope. But right now, at this moment I need to exorcise my thoughts and concerns. I feel guilty already, I KNOW others have it much worse than I, overall life is good. I admire those folks I know who go on day in and day out shouldering their own illnesses and nary a peep out of them. I want to be like them, I admire them, and I love them.  I feel like I'm about to explode. Now that being said, a moment of pure self indulgent whining: I'm tired of this goddamn mystery illness I'm tired of being so exhausted by the time I come home from work that I cannot do anything else but rest I'm tired of having blood taken repeatedly and STILL not having a clue of what's going on other than "we're still looking for a reason for your hemoglobin/blood loss...