Blogs from Tucson, Arizona, United States, North America - page 23

Easter Sunday was a special day. We got up for the Sunrise service at our church, Shepherd of the Hills. It was well attended, in fact, it was the largest gathering our church has had for the sunrise service. Pastor Eckert had a wonderful sermon about the words of Christ on Easter. We often hear the words of Christ on the Cross but not the words that Christ said to the people that came to the tomb on Sunday morning. The Angels words to Mary and others, He is Risen ,Do Not Be Afraid etc. IT was a beautiful service with the choir and harpist. In the after noon we were invited to the Ekstrands, where we had a wonderful meal and fellowship. It was truly a wonderful day of celebration on a beautiful day ... read more

We are beginning to have our flowers bloom so I would like to share a couple of pictures with you, ... read more

Began my first proper trip over in the U.S by hiring a car and hitting the road. Have been keen to do a U.S road trip for a long time and Arizona is the perfect place for it. Lots of long, quiet roads. Changeing scenery on a regular basis. Christian rock everywhere you go - what more could a guy ask for. Pumped out 5000km in 2.5 weeks and loved every bit of it. There is still plenty that i would like to see in Arizona but it'll probably have to wait until next time. Got off to a great start when the hire company gave me a V6 Pontiac for the same price as a small economy car. Headed over to Tucson for a couple of nights. The scenery over in this part of ... read more

For five weeks as I studied Buddhist method and wisdom at Diamond Mountain, I’d been wondering about the 16” mirror ball hanging from the temple ceiling. On Sunday night, my questions were answered with party lights, a smoke machine and a DJ. These folks know how to party. Right there under the images of Buddha and other heroes like Je Tsongkapa, nearly a hundred people shook bootie as the chants of more modern heroes like Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson blasted the temple’s adobe walls. Everyone was dancing. Allegra, who must be close to 80, wore a gold lamé gown and matching jewel-encrusted pope-like mitre blended with a half dozen sweaty shirtless guys. Monks in crimson robes spun while Geshele and Christie took turns swinging with nearly everyone else. Celebrants had worked hard this term and ... read more

Hi Friends - It’s been two weeks here at Diamond Mountain University and high time I told you what’s going on. In short, nothing. Rather, emptiness. That’s the operative word. Everyone around here is working to see it, or not see it, as the case may be. There’s an old debate about whether we can see something that doesn’t exist. The idea is that emptiness does exist, but it has no qualities of its own. It’s free of qualities. A qualityless quality. People spend their lives pursuing it and debating it. Most of the people here are doing just that. Some apparently have had some success. I’m still working on it. The idea is that a thing has no quality, from its own side, that makes it such. And any quality it has, is something that ... read more