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.
The Discipline of Ordinary Practice
Spiritual life is often associated with peak experiences and profound insights. But what happens in the quieter weeks — when nothing remarkable occurs and daily life resumes its steady rhythm? In this reflection, explore how ordinary practice — rising early, sitting in meditation, tending to responsibilities — forms the real foundation of long-term growth.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Bees at Work
While weeding along the path to the yoga room, two honeybees move steadily across bright yellow blossoms, legs dusted with pollen. Spring has fully arrived, and the work is underway.
Where Earth Meets Practice
From planting chile seeds and sipping Buddha’s Hand tea grown on the land, to sunset mantra meditation on the hillside and learning the craft of warm salt compress, an afternoon at Pure Land Farms offered a grounded reminder that healing begins with simple, elemental rhythms.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Turtle at Rest
While visiting Lake Shrine, a turtle rests on a sun-warmed rock, unmoved by the gentle activity around it. Koi glide past, birds gather nearby, and visitors come and go. The turtle remains.
An Afternoon at the Lake Shrine
The Lake Shrine has a way of slowing the body without instruction. Walking paths circle the water, benches appear just when rest feels right, and silence settles without effort. This journal reflects on returning to the grounds after the fires, and how certain places invite presence simply by being what they are.
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.
Holding the Space
Some forms of leadership are almost invisible. This journal reflects on the quiet responsibility of holding space during a retreat. Preparing land, staying alert through the night, and offering steady presence so others can move safely through deep inner work.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Pocket Gopher
A brief encounter with a Botta’s pocket gopher reveals a quieter rhythm of life. Rarely seen above ground, the gopher moves with efficiency and restraint, reminding us that much of what matters happens beneath the surface, away from view.
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 Peach Blossom
After weeks of rain, a peach tree blooms once an invasive vine is cleared away. This quiet moment in Topanga Canyon becomes a reflection on how renewal often follows release, not effort. Growth arrives when space is restored.
The Payphone at Red Rock Canyon
I left my phone behind on a hike through Red Rock Canyon and found my attention settling in unexpected ways. Along the trail, three quiet encounters and a silent payphone reshaped how I thought about presence, connection, and what it means to be reachable.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Snail’s Pace
On a rainy morning, I noticed a snail crossing the path, its body extended fully, moving forward without hesitation.
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.
Letting the Dog Set the Pace
What happens when you stop directing the moment and let something else lead? A walk with our family dog becomes a meditation on pace, control, and the unfamiliar relief of not being the one in charge.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Widow’s Boundary
She did not move, threaten, or retreat. Her presence alone defined the boundary — clear, contained, and unquestionable.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Bobcat’s Ease
There was no tension in its step. The bobcat moved as though the land recognized it — and perhaps, in that moment, it recognized us too.
Nature, Unfiltered: The Butterfly’s Light
It moved as if carried by light itself — pausing only long enough to be seen before floating onward, unchanged and entirely new.