In 1985, as the HIV/AIDS crisis was terrorizing gay communities across the nation, The Rowe Center took the bold step of opening its doors and creating a public weekend for men who love men. Nearly four decades later, a great deal has changed. HIV, for many men, is no longer a death sentence but a manageable, chronic condition.
Welcome to the Spring Thaw Retreat, a community for men who love men, where every man is embraced, valued, and celebrated for who they are. Join us in a community of camaraderie, support, and joy.
Ram Dass played a big part in my life. In 1967, when I was a senior at UC Santa Barbara, I heard Richard Alpert talk, and I remember it well. I had read and followed the guidance of The Psychedelic Experience, based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the book Alpert wrote with Timothy
Ram Dass Dies at 88 by Rev. Douglas Wilson Read More »
On my first trip to Ireland in 2007 with my husband John, I read Thomas Cahill’s now-classic book How the Irish Saved Civilization, in which he describes the essential role of the Irish monks and their work on illuminating manuscripts during the Dark Ages. I was captivated especially by the idea that Ireland was outside the
How Ireland Changed the World—and Me!- Christine Valters Paintner Read More »
“The quality of true genius is the ability to hold two contradictory thoughts simultaneously without losing your mind.” —Charles Baudelaire I’m a photographer. I‘ve been looking through the lens of a camera for fifty years, and through its tiny aperture, I find myself wherever I look. Images are my currency. They tell me everything I need to know.
Re-Pairing Opposites- Jan Phillips Read More »
“How necessary it is for monks to work in the fields, in the sun, in the mud, in the clay, in the wind: these are our spiritual directors and our novice-masters.” — Thomas Merton, The Sign of Jonas Thomas Merton, the 20th century Trappist monk, knew that the true mentor of the soul was nature itself. The fields,
The Natural World As Spiritual Guide- Christine Valters Paintner Read More »
Every art form has its basics—those fundamental principles, forms, or techniques that must be set in place before you can learn the finer points of the craft. Watch children in any beginning ballet class, and you’ll see them learning the same five positions. Art classes the world over invariably begin with the line. Haiku also
Haiku and the Art of Play- Clark Strand Read More »
I have a confession to make that may not go down well in official haiku circles, but I can’t hold it in any longer. It has been fifty years since I first read Bashō’s little poem about the frog jumping into the old pond with a plop!—and I still don’t get it. Not that I
Plop!: On Bashō’s Most Famous Haiku- Clark Strand Read More »
The Japanese word haiku is composed of two characters: HAI (俳), meaning “light or comical,” and KU (句), meaning “verse.” Thus, haiku means literally “humorous verse.” But humor of what kind exactly? The more examples we find of haiku humor, the more puzzling it becomes. It’s an amorphous term that seems to mean wildly different things in
The Strange Humor of Haiku- Clark Strand Read More »
The Fall of Kabul mirrored the Fall of Saigon. From many corners of the military, I’ve heard tales of anger, betrayal, grief, and moral shame. Many veterans, including myself, fear for the ones left behind, condemned to a horrible fate by our political leaders. We are angered by the lack of leadership and resolve of
Broken Hearted Over Kabul: What Was It All For?- Charlie Pacello Read More »
