As a young man, I had a number of  natural history mentors. These men and women were woods-people who organized their lives in such a way that they experienced the natural world to the fullest. They didn't read about the natural histories of the various species in the natural world, they experienced the natural histories personally. They knew the natural history of a species because they observed a species' natural history directly ... immediately ... without borrowing their experience from…

I have spent much of my time, mostly voluntary, helping preserve and restore natural areas. I do not expect that people share my conscience in this matter. Many people might wish to pave over a natural area I wish to see preserved.

Presence experiences any number of ugly and horrible things will happen. Presence experiences any number of wonderful and pleasant things. They happen in Presence and always will; as they always have.  In Presence, it is not that you…

I observe the habits of the male Allen's Hummingbird on territory. 

Sometime, as I watch, he turns his throat in just the right way so that his gorget blazes forth in brilliant hues of orange.…

The early Quakers declared it:

And we found this light to be a sufficient teacher, to lead us to Christ, from whence this light came, and thereby it gave us to receive Christ, and to witness him to dwell in us; and through it the new covenant we came to enter into, to be made heirs of life and salvation. And in all things we found the light which we were enlightened withal, (which is Christ,) to be alone and only sufficient to bring…

When this testimony was shared with me around 30 years ago, my personal experience of the sufficiency of Presence was affirmed.  These words testify to the Rock of Ages, inwardly experienced; starting me on a lifelong journey toward and struggle with a consciousness anchored and a conscience informed by the immediacy of…

Is not Presence a blessing when illness discomforts? We deepen down into the Quiet and invisible nurseries of healing open in and anoint consciousness. These invisible spaces of healing comfort consciousness with an inward peace effusing the dis-ease of the body with…

Yesterday I spent time observing the territorial and migratory behaviors of the Rufous and Allens Hummingbirds.

It happened that I came across this beautiful species of lichen commonly called Candy Lichen. The scientific name is…