Everybody loves babies. Babies are the ultimate sign from the Universe that beyond the veil, back where the Numinous dwells just out of site, there is innocence and tenderness and a Presence you just can’t keep from embracing.

Babies are soft and vulnerable and naïve. In order to thrive they need our love, our touch, our constant provisions. Babies bring smiles to our faces and we ‘coo’ and ‘goo-goo’ and contort our faces for minutes on end just to get one smile in return – even if it might have more to do with passing gas than a mutual response of endearment! Continue reading…

It may not be the end of civilization (yet), but it seems we may have turned the corner on the end of civility… and so the latter cannot be a good sign for the former.

Behavioral scientists sometimes speak of different levels of human development and consciousness. For instance, ‘warrior’ consciousness expresses itself in terms of “the world is a jungle; eat or be eaten; express yourself and to hell with everybody else.” You have to admit those are not particularly admirable traits nor do they lead to admirable ways of interacting with others and the world at large. And yet, even though this level of consciousness is one of the lowest levels of all human interaction, suddenly it feels ubiquitous. Continue reading…