Congratulations to recently dharma transmitted EDZ priests! Kakushi Kate McCandless and Onshin Michael Newton of Mountain Rain in Vancouver, Nomon Tim Burnett from Red Cedar Zen in Bellingham, and Burai Rick Spencer from Grupo Zen de Puerto Vallarta. Bows and happiness that these new fully authorized teachers have fully hatched.

We just finished a month’s seminar on the Four Brahamaviharas, or Immeasurables, and I found it really interesting to study and prepare talks. What a great idea to develop kindness, joy, compassion and equanimity! And to try to do so in a realistic messy way (life being on the whole messy and realistic, almost never ideal). We practiced with the teachings during the week and then discussed them together. The talks include guided meditations you can work with if you are interested.

I did another guided meditation for the Company Time group on the topic “Work as Life Journey .” (You can find all of these in Guided Meditation, under the Teaching tab in the menu bar above, or search for the keyword “guided meditation”.)

The Gulf Oil spill is really distressing. The oil companies were getting better and better at extracting oil, but forgot to spend a little effort on what-happens-when-something-goes-wrong. But we need oil. Without it things would grind to a halt, people lose jobs, social chaos, despair. I blame the government for not paying attention – but not this government, the last one. I remain undisappointed in President Obama. He is the best President of my lifetime, and I am not young.

Whatever we do about all that, kindness, joy, compassion, equanimity will remain worthwhile states of heart to cultivate. They will clear our minds.

2 recommendations: a New Yorker article of May 17 by David Owen, The Annals of Design: “The Inventor’s Dilemma” about Saul Griffith, a brilliant young inventor I met once here in San Francisco. He has important things to say about climate change. Also, some music by a terrific songwriter Jascha Hoffman from Brooklyn. I love these songs. Lyrics remind me of Leonard Cohen. Jascha’s lyrics are as good, maybe better (he doesn’t have the existential tough guy image to maintain) and the music is definitely better, more various, and smart. You can get his cd at his website.

Some new poems up on www.normanfischerzenpoetry.com. Off to New York soon for two talks at Brooklyn Zen Center/Jewish Meditation Center there. Thanks again for your support. Next time I see you somewhere be sure to say hello. Take care.

Norman