I won’t say too much about Inanna’s descent this week, because I want to make sure you have all the details you need about my upcoming sabbatical. Most of this … Continue reading Bonus Track: Sabbatical Thresholds

A necklace is a curious symbol. It could represent connection. It also could symbolize one’s voice being bound up. Restrained. At the third gate, Inanna gives up her double strand … Continue reading Bonus Track: Voices and How We Use Them

At the second gate on her journey to the Underworld to reconnect with her sister Ereshkigal, Inanna is forced to surrender her staff. Some would call it a measuring rod. … Continue reading Bonus Track: Measuring Up

To pass through the first gate Inanna encounters in her descent to the underworld, she must give up her crown. There are lots of mythologies around descent and ascent. The … Continue reading Bonus Track: Being Seen

I’ve mentioned a few times that my plans for sabbatical are influenced by the Mesopotamian story of Inanna, one of the oldest recorded bits of human mythology. Maybe there is … Continue reading Bonus Track: The Characters in Our Stories

On Sunday, we explored different places in our lives that guiding principles might emerge. For instance, we said that some of our guiding principles might directly address a lie we’ve … Continue reading Bonus Track: Guiding Principles and Challenging Conversations

It’s been said that No is a one-word boundary. This is true. We don’t owe other people an explanation or rationale for our boundaries. Our boundaries are enough by themselves … Continue reading Bonus Track: No

On Sunday, we read words from the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John. Although it had some compelling imagery about vines and branches, there were some other bits in … Continue reading Bonus Track: The Bible Says What?

I went through a frustrating phase in my development as a composer. I had creative ideas I fell in love with quickly, and then I would get tired of working … Continue reading Bonus Track: The Infinite Germination Dilemma

  There was a playground near Jessie’s school. It was a sad, neglected place. The swings hung loose by a single chain. You couldn’t really sit in them. The slide … Continue reading Bonus Track: The Word Playground