Author Archives: Morgan Mussell

Compass and Lamp

Posted on May 6, 2019

I started this blog in June, 2010, after a daylong blogging seminar hosted by the local branch of the California Writer’s Club. I was trying to write a fantasy novel, and popular wisdom at the time was that in this … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blogging, Buddhism, Spirituality, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Poem for Our Time

Posted on May 3, 2019

Yesterday, as I paged through a nice collection of Mary Oliver’s poetry, Devotions, I found a poem, published in 2008, that characterizes the state of our nation and our world better than countless learned articles that attempt to explain us … Continue reading →

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Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Slender Threads

Posted on March 28, 2019

“Sometimes a life can hang by such a slender thread.” – Kate Wolf Yesterday, around dinner time, I took my wife to the emergency room with severe chest pains. This morning, a little before 9:00, she texted that she was … Continue reading →

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Posted in Culture, Family, Health, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

They Shall Not Grow Old – a movie review

Posted on January 23, 2019

Since its release last November, I’ve wanted to see Peter Jackson’s First World War documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old. On Monday I got my chance. As the film opens, Jackson explains that in 2014, he was invited by the … Continue reading →

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Posted in History, Movies | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

The War on Beauty

Posted on January 17, 2019

I was in grade school during the height of the cold war, the decade of duck and cover hydrogen bomb drills and Nikita Kruschchev pounding his shoe and promising to bury us. But what I feared most from the “red … Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate, Culture, Current Events, Nature, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

An End of Year Blessing from Anam Thubten

Posted on December 29, 2018

I wrote a number of posts about Anam Thubten in the early years of this blog. Not so many lately, though that may change in the future. I’ve followed his teachings for the last dozen years – via his books, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Buddhism, Culture, Meditation, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

James Hillman on Educating the Imagination

Posted on December 10, 2018

It’s no surprise to discover that the roots of our current national tribulations have deep roots. James Hillman died in 2011. I am unable to find a date for this talk, but he references the administration of George W. Bush, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Imagination, Psychology, Stories | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Who and What Divide Us?

Posted on November 16, 2018

A Camp Fire evacuee plays with an abandoned dog, Chico, CA, Nov. 15 Daily updates on the deadliest fire in California history are almost too horrific to take in. The Camp Fire, named after its place of origin on Camp … Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate, Current Events, Nature, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments