If it’s seemed quiet on this site lately, it’s because I’ve been focusing my efforts on a new project: Earth Witness Online, a combined newsletter and podcast that collects my reflections on Buddha Dharma, somatic practice and connection with the living world.
I first began practicing Zen when I was quite young, just 21 years old. Early on I had the opportunity to live and work with Robert Aitken Roshi at his home in Hawaii, and his work and presence continue to be a lasting inspiration. This was also my first entry in serving the Dharma in a professional capacity.
I also trained for many years at the Zen Center of Denver (where I continue to practice today), under first Danan Henry Roshi and then Karin Kempe Roshi. I also served the ZCD for seven years as office manager and resident caretaker, and I was deeply involved with the planning, design and fundraising for the ZCD’s new temple on Columbine Street.
More recently, I spent three years as resident manager and chef for Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, north of Boulder under the Indian Peaks. While the position offered many challenges (namely running a busy retreat center and maintaining a rustic lodge while cooking three meals a day for our guests), it also afforded me numerous opportunities to connect with both the land and with dozens of Dharma teachers. These included teachers such as David Loy, whose work on ecodharma connects Buddhist practice with ecological sustainability and social and political activism, which will be a persistent theme in the podcast.
Friends will know I’ve also had a decades-long interest in yoga, and recently I’ve been digging into Buddhism’s yogic roots, examining the Noble Eightfold Path as an embodied and energetic practice. I have thus embarked on a series of talks titled “Turning the Eight-Limbed Wheel: The Somatic Practice of Buddha Dharma.”
Finally, I will also be periodically posting vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free recipes, both for retreats and at home. While the Dharma posts will be completely open access, the recipes will be available to subscribers only (although they’ll still be free).
This is all at the outset, and the continued development of Earth Witness will depend in some measure on the response. In the meantime, I’ll be offering new posts weekly (more or less) at earthwitness.online. If you’d like to receive the newsletter in your inbox, just click subscribe. You can also follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (links below).
THE FELL AND THE FAE 