The mind · Speculum Mentis

The Mind

Essays and a memoir from Speculum Mentis: identity, relationship, consciousness and the shadow.

• The Grey Man6 June 2026I was in 4th grade when he first appeared. Catholic school. The year we prepared to receive the sacrament of reconciliation (the formal initiation into the idea that your interior life is…
• The Cicadas4 June 2026I've experienced a phenomenon that I've called it The Cicadas since I was a kid, before I had any idea what it was. No framework, no tradition, no explanation. Just this thing that…
• The Maze to Nowhere8 September 2024Qualifier: I don't actually remember writing this. It does resonate, and sounds like me, but I may have gotten it from somewhere else
• What We've Become23 August 2023I think I would say "how awful we've become" rather than "how awful we always were".
• Identity3 August 2023Identity in simplest terms is the mental model of who we are. As we develop, we become attached to certain aspects of our experience. Be they physical or mental traits, ancestry, personal…
• Conspiracy21 May 2023It's really disturbing how often the word "conspiracy" is now used online, and in modern media as a replacement for the word "fantasy". It actually means: "a secret plan or plot by a group…
• Sensing the Mystery14 May 2023Plants and animals can sense many things we have no senses for, and we can sense things that some of them cannot. We don't know what we don't know. Life is vast, and the things that we're…
• Collaboration In Relationship9 May 2023When I see people in relationships that aren't happy, it seems like they tend to be hyper-focused on their own specific needs that aren't being met in the relationship. In unhappy…
• Lost In Neverland1 April 2023At work yesterday, we were talking about the new Peter Pan. I don't know anything about it, but I said that I have no interest in it because I see enough grown children around me all the…
• Path of the Artist6 March 2023All throughout history people have pondered the meaning of life. I for one particularly appreciate the perspective of the Toltec tradition
• Pondering The Shadow2 February 2023I was listening to a podcast this morning, and in it, part of the discussion revolved around shadow or dark side. It reminded me of something a dog trainer once told me. "Bite training…
• Eldership20 January 2023Last night I was involved in a discussion about what it means to be an Elder. It got me thinking, and trying to express what I feel the spirit of "Eldership" means to me (not implying in…
• On Abundance2 November 2019Our culture's obsession with self reliance creates mental and energetic resistance to the energy of abundance. Saying or thinking "I desire and deserve a thing" but then only being willing…
• Engagement23 October 2019I believe it all comes down to what we consent to. If we don't align with, or embrace what people are trying to accomplish with their actions, intentions, or words, then don't engage with…
• Resolution of Consciousness12 October 2019I feel as though our journey through life is fundamentally one of resolution. Reality is infinitely vast, and deep. As we continuously realign with, and embrace that depth, we integrate the…
• The Human Zoo1 August 2019Most people today intuitively understand that animals in zoos suffer because they are not living as nature intended them to, yet fail to understand the correlation that has with the human…
• Relationships and DisintigrationUndatedIt's so common today for people to engage exclusively in relationships that we require to be convenient, and comfortable, or to instead fill our time with multiple experiences that offer…