Mongrel Drivel

In some cultures, the game goes not to the hunter, as we might suppose, but to the arrowmaker. This is another enactment of the Native concept of the Talking Stick, where in a Talking Circle each person holds a staff or feather before him or her self while speaking. The central role of the Talking…

So what am I, if not a writer? A Native Studies instructor? A primitive skills teacher? A school director? Professional labels create images. When I hear someone referred to as a professional of some sort, I automatically picture the person in the role. However, he or she often doesn’t fit my idea. Why then do…

In our culture, we learn to meet others’ expectations by acting certain ways in certain environments. At a very young age, mom and dad taught us what was proper and not in public, at grandma’s house, and in church. School soon took over, and then it was the military or a job. Martial arts played…

Here is one of the most perplexing of the traditional Zen teaching stories I’m collecting for my next book. What do you make of it? A man who is being chased by Tiger comes to the edge of a precipice. He sees only one option—to grab a vine and jump over the edge. Hanging in…

For a moment, let us put aside any noble-minded notions we might have of the wedding ring as a symbol of two hearts joined, unending encircled love, a precious token given selflessly,  etc., etc. After all, we each know that these romantic whims fade away in a few months anyway and reality sets in. I…

Every wild animal I am familiar with drinks when thirsty and gets right back to the affairs of life. We humans don’t have to be thirsty to drink, and we often do so as a leisure or recreational activity. We have come up with an endless array of flavorings for our water, along with quite…

Have you ever wondered why we refer to ourselves as people and other creatures as animals? Are we not animals as well? I believe we could change our relationship with the natural realm by simply changing the language we use to address it. Try referring to spiders and herons and moose as the other animals…

It may sound strange, but many people I know are doing exactly that—replacing modern holidays with ancient observances. But just how old are they? And do we really want to replace some holidays? The winter solstice was a couple of days ago, and that night there was a lunar eclipse. I wouldn’t have known about…