Author Archives: Bob OHearn

We live in a realm of personal cages — with each drawn breath, another soulis imprisoned; with each exhalation, another captive soul is released. Even though we’re free to come and goas we please, we seem to prefer a life … Continue reading →

I lean back in my chair, sigh and yawn. Evening is approaching, we love it. The fish in the tank are hopeful — it’s nearly time for their next meal. The book I’ve been reading lies splayed open on my … Continue reading →

It’s fairly common to hear the complaint, “If only I didn’t have this problem!” Here’s a secret: the soul loves problems! Most of us came here to revel in problems, they’re essential props for this living theater. We expand in … Continue reading →

There was a cork wedged into my spirit bottle before we met, but at my first sight of you, molecules of kinesin swiftly dragged a plump vesicle of endorphins along a microtubule to the inner chamber of the brain’s parietal … Continue reading →

Some of us, maybe more than just some, are that part of this living Earth which thrills to see the volcano erupt, the hurricane grow to a Category 5, the cyclone or tornado turn into a monster which rips apart … Continue reading →

People may pray to God to spare them from trouble, but God has quotas to fulfill, so it’s out of Her hands.   We do get help, though it’s not always in a form we might prefer, or perhaps even … Continue reading →

Then there’s the story of the hermit who lived for fifty years by a stream in the mountains. When Death came for him, he was not afraid, but asked if he could have just one more day. Death had been … Continue reading →

When people in the other world wander overto the edge and look down, we must seemlike darling little children to them. We play big games, we make things up,we laugh big laughs and cry big tears. Of course, the whole … Continue reading →

“Zen students must learn to waste time conscientiously.” ~Shunryu Suzuki Roshi We are attracted to the concept of eternity because it alleviates the suspicion we harbor that we might be somehow wasting time. Perhaps our story has stalled at base … Continue reading →

An elderly nun sneezes in Ireland, and a Black Mamba suddenly strikes out at a child in South Africa. I raise a glass of Pinot Noir to my lips, since alcohol and venomous snakes don’t mix. The lama crawls into … Continue reading →