Nature, Unfiltered: The Rattlesnake on the Steps
While clearing leaves near the lower steps of the property, a small rattlesnake appeared curled tightly against the wood after being startled by the sound of a blower. The patterned snake blended naturally into the surrounding steps and stone.
The Work of the Morning
This week’s journal reflects on an early Sunday morning of tending the retreat grounds in Topanga Canyon. What began with a broken sprinkler in the cactus beds turned into a full morning of land stewardship—repairing a shade sail overlooking the valley, clearing weeds around the cabins, and digging cactus pups to prepare a new fire protection line.
Nature, Unfiltered: African Iris Bloom
A white African iris appears quietly along the gravel steps near the pool in Topanga Canyon. Though it bloomed later than the surrounding daisies, its striking petals make it impossible to miss. This moment in the landscape offers a reminder that timing in nature rarely follows urgency.
The Lengthening Light
A quiet afternoon at Pure Land Farms unfolds through tea, meditation, and a hillside walk beneath lengthening light. As daylight lingers later into the evening, small observations reveal how the body naturally responds to rhythm, warmth, and place.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Ice Plant at the Edge
Along the patio near the pool, ice plants slowly spill over the masonry, blurring the line between structure and landscape. This week, bright pink and yellow blooms opened along the edge, transforming the corner into something more organic.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Cliff Succulent
Across the rocky cliffs of Topanga Canyon, Dudleya succulents take root in narrow stone crevices, growing where there is almost no visible soil. Their pale rosettes hold steady against the canyon rock.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Bird of Paradise
Along the pathway to the cabin, Bird of Paradise flowers bloom with quiet confidence. Upright and deliberate, they don’t soften the landscape so much as mark it, inviting a slower pace and clearer attention.
Meditating in Public
Meditating in public means allowing the world to keep moving without stepping away from it. In this journal entry, I sat outside a café in Topanga and practiced stillness amid voices, footsteps, and passing cars, noticing what happens when nothing needs to be managed.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Pecking Order
A few new chickens join an established flock in Topanga Canyon and the pecking order quietly reshapes itself.
Walking Barefoot on a Familiar Trail
Removing my shoes did not add anything to the walk. It removed a layer. What followed was a quieter pace, a more attentive body, and a conversation with the trail that could not have happened otherwise.
Behind the Scenes of the Journey Through Meditation Trailer
Filming the Journey Through Meditation trailer didn’t unfold the way I expected. A sudden power outage pushed the whole project off course, forcing a scramble for generators, propane, and last-minute fixes. But as the day unfolded—ending in golden hour above the canyon—it became its own lesson in steadiness, resilience, and the heart of meditation itself.
Where Fire Meets Renewal
Eight months after fire swept through Tuna Canyon, the hillsides are alive with new growth. What seemed empty has returned, not as it was before, but as something changed — and in that change, something beautiful. Renewal does not erase loss; it carries it forward. Like meditation, the canyon teaches us that presence is found in both the scar and the sprout.
The Spirit of Place: Meditation and Celebration at Topanga Day
Topanga Days is the canyon’s most spirited annual celebration—a music festival and parade that bring the whole community together in color and motion. In this journal entry, I reflect on how Katy and I found presence in the middle of it all—through music, movement, and moments of quiet awareness woven into celebration.