Conversation: Emmanuel Vaughn-Lee: Deep Water   Most of us in the west take clean water for granted. And generally we're equally asleep to the profound role water plays in our lives. In an interview with Sam Bower of greenmuseum.org [issue #18] I brought up the question of water. He mused, "If you think of what we are, I mean we're made up of cells and each little cell contains a drop of seawater. In some ways, all the little creatures that emerged from the seas found each other, bound together and found a way of collaborating and sharing the recipe over and over with helpful modifications, and here we are ... Jun 13, 2011, 54140 reads

Make a Living, Make a Life: John Evans Even in this world of computers and the global economy people still make dinner for their friends, have children, walk on the beach at sunset, share stories, start businesses. (If the truth be told, the global economy is more like an empire where everyone does what they have always done but with a little less money, and more of our money goes to fewer and fewer people.)      People start businesses for basically two reasons: to make money or to make a living. Money is one of the most confusing creations that we have ever gotten tangled up in. Most people need it, ... Oct 17, 2007, 26036 reads

Annalena's Painting Advice: A tutorial from Leigh Hyams' granddaughter Leigh Hyams sent me the following notes. —Richard Whittaker "I found this script today in a forgotten portfolio. It was dictated to me by my four-year old granddaughter, Annalena, who could not write then, but she knew how to advise people to paint and draw. I like her advice enormously, not to mention her attitude..." — Leigh Hyams, San Miguel Allende, Mexico Excerpts from Annalena's advice on painting and drawing:  • Take some paint, some colors, and with your paintbrush, put one color on your paper and take another color on top. Mix it ... Feb 10, 2009, 10503 reads

My First Best Friend: My First Best Friend Dark dense morning. The sky spilling rain at dawn. Water splashing impishly against my windowpane. I sit and watch it fall. I feel the call - come out and play with me. Into her splashing arms I run. Long before we came along, there was water: great oceans that welcomed the rivers; rivers that welcomed the creeks; creeks that flowed from springs that opened some place in the earth, and released this living liquid to go out and play and nurture the planet.      In 1945, a child too young for school, I wandered from ... Jan 28, 2021, 5619 reads

On Hopelessness and Hope - A Conversation with Michael Penn, PhD: Awakin Calls are a global interview series and podcast hosted by ServiceSpace. Each call features a moderated conversation with a guest who contributes uniquely to the world. Awakin calls are ad-free, available at no charge, and anyone can participate in them real-time. Introduction (excerpt) Around the age of 22, a near death experience transformed Doctor Michael Penn into a seeker. Following this profound encounter with his own mortality, he began an extensive study of sacred texts and the works of the founders of the world’s religions.      Today, ... Jul 7, 2018, 17113 reads

John Malloy Interview: We Are All In This Together photo: r. whittaker I met John Malloy at one of ServiceSpace’s weekly events, an Awakin Circle. It was typical in that there were 60 or 70 people there. And, as usual, there were many I hadn’t met. At one point in the evening, each person has a chance to speak and it’s always fascinating to glimpse the different worlds that come into view this way. There are always some who make deeper impressions. John Malloy was one of those. His presence is palpable and his speaking reminds me of the few Native American elders I've heard.    ... Nov 9, 2014, 14657 reads

Conversation with Jane Baker: Working Assets San Francisco 12/08/08 My first acquaintance with Jane Baker came at a dinner party at a friend's house. I left with a strong impression that stayed with me, but a year was to pass before we met again. That happened thanks to Leigh Hyams who was in town for an exhibit of her own work at Meridian Gallery. A couple of days after Leigh's opening, the three of us got together for breakfast at Jane's house. It was one of those memorable occasions when conversation flows almost magically from one wonderful story into another. "You should visit her at her ... Feb 19, 2009, 19232 reads

Interview: Gail Needleman: Music Is Something You Do Gail Needleman taught music at Holy Names University in Oakland, California. Her work as a writer and teacher addressed the essential role of music in the moral and spiritual development of children. She received a Parsons Fellowship from the Library of Congress for research in American folk music, and is the co-creator of the American Folk Song Collection website, a pioneering online resource of American folk songs for teaching music to children. We met at her home in Oakland to talk about music...   Richard Whittaker:  How did music enter your life? What were ... Apr 16, 2012, 199714 reads

A Conversation with Doug Burgess: Weeds On the walls of the Photo Lab in west Berkeley where I take my black and white film for processing, there’s always a photo exhibit on display. This one came with a xeroxed eleven page catalog: "Weeds" by Doug Burgess, in which he describes weeds as our constant companions. He adds, "The relationship between weeds and people may be one of our most enduring relationships with the natural world.”       As a kid, like Burgess, I too was given the task of removing weeds from the front lawn, but Burgess’ career of ... Dec 4, 2004, 24396 reads

Greeting the Light: An Interview with James Turrell It was thanks to artist Walter Gabrielson that I was able to get in touch with James Turrell. Gabrielson was an old friend of Turrell’s from Pasadena and, like Turrell, also a pilot. The prospect of meeting this remarkable artist was exciting and arranging it took some persistence. Michael Bond, who managed Turrell’s projects around the world, was encouraging, but he suggested some homework. I should go to Los Angeles to experience one of the artist’s pieces in a private collection there, The Second Meeting. Although I was already familiar with ... Mar 22, 2001, 353499 reads