Little Creek Monastery

Wandering Komusō

Posts in ESSAYS

Nasty is the New Black

Nasty is the New Black

Over the last couple of years we’ve all seen politics turn distinctly nastier. Whether it’s the abusive rhetoric of Donald Trump, the Maoist-style ‘calling out’ by campus protestors, the paranoiac accusations of media conspiracy against Bernie Sanders or Jeremy Corbyn, or the barefaced lies of the ‘Leave’ campaign, few of us have witnessed anything like this before. But these disturbing tendencies are by no means confined to politics. They are increasingly also found in the world of work.

ESSAYSMark WalterFebruary 15, 2024james souttar, Negativity, Narcissism, abuse, bullyComment

Deathbed Visitors

Deathbed Visitors

According to neuropsychiatrist and neurophysiologist Peter Fenwick, who carried out extensive research into the experience of dying, the perception of ‘deathbed visitors‘ — visits by the dead to a dying person — are a very common occurrence in the last days and hours of life. Often they are from a parent or grandparent…

ESSAYSMark WalterSeptember 29, 2023death, dreams, james souttarComment

The Power of Universal Principles

The Power of Universal Principles

Part of my martial arts journey involved learning to become more relaxed. Problem was, I didn’t realize that I wasn’t relaxed. Understandably, this particular ‘inner journey’ took time for honesty to creep in. It wasn’t that I was being dishonest, but rather that my definition of honesty and self-awareness had to expand. Frankly, it was a process that took me years to unfold.

What’s interesting is the way in which Jiu Jitsu helped me unwrap all this.

ESSAYSMark WalterMarch 20, 2023jiu jitsu, principles, awareness, mark walterComment

The Old Hag

The Old Hag

When I was between 12 and 15 years old I had an event that would occasionally occur. It always happened spontaneously and it was easily the most terrifying thing in my entire youth.

I would see something, It always appeared in my bedroom, and it always took place exactly the same way. It was a spiritual being, but it wasn’t a vague wisp of light nor was it a shadow. It was a fully featured woman, clothed and sitting in a rocking chair. She always appeared the same way, seated and rocking in a wooden rocker at the end of my bed.

We had a busy house with a family of eight. There were six kids, three boys and three girls, and we only had one bathroom and three modest sized bedrooms for the whole family. My parents had the biggest room. The three girls had a room and us three boys had a room. That put three beds plus dressers in each small bedroom. My bed was positioned on a wall with enough open space at the foot for a closet door to swing open. When this woman appeared, she would appear in that space.

ESSAYS, FIELD GUIDEMark WalterDecember 1, 2022Great River, scott walter, spirits, experiences, field reports

Harmony: Birth of a Roadmap

Harmony: Birth of a Roadmap

Balance and Harmony’ is an often-used phrase that sounds good on paper but isn’t always so easy to achieve. Quietly residing between those two seven letter words lays a simple three letter word — ‘and.’ As we shall see, it’s all in the ‘and,’ because hiding in that modest conjunction are five secret principles to improved balance and harmony. The power of the ‘and’ reveals how to transition from Balance to Harmony.

ESSAYS, JIU JITSU, PRACTICESMark WalterNovember 27, 2022Great River, principles, universal principles, mark walter

The Hereafter

The Hereafter

When it comes to death and dying I think it pays off for us to be practical in these matters. Take the idea of a hereafter, for example. Why are we compelled to think about the hereafter in times like these? It’s because we look to hereafter for answers that may comfort us in our sorrow and uncertainty.

When we think of things like the hereafter, however, we should not be reluctant to remind ourselves that we are the ones who are here, after someone else has moved on.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 25, 2022memorial, eulogy, mark walter, death

The Folded Hands of Time

The Folded Hands of Time

“The essence of relativity is that there is no absolute time, no absolute space. Everything is relative. When you try to discuss time in the context of the universe, you need the simple idea that you isolate part of the universe and call it your clock, and time evolution is only about the relationship between some parts of the universe and that thing you called your clock.”

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 24, 2022time, relativity, mark walter

My Ecumenical Cap

My Ecumenical Cap

You’ve probably never considered the ecumenical when considering a hat. I can’t say I typically do, either. But my little cap literally transcends time and boundaries.

Is it the cap of a biker? Or maybe a Muslim? Perhaps it’s the cap of an anarchist. Then again, it just might be that I have really strange taste. And I’m open to that.

ESSAYS, HUMORMark WalterNovember 12, 2022ecumenical, caps, mark walter

Bookstore Coffee

Bookstore Coffee

I stop by the Barnes and Noble Starbucks coffee bar nearly every night. It’s a bit of a ritual. After a while you notice the regulars. Some are students, or maybe the occasional tutor sneaking in to claim her piece of camouflaged chalkboard. But being a bookstore, many of the regulars tend to be quiet folks. Studious, contemplative, polite. Some, like me, are older.

The older ones tend to notice. They see who comes in night after night, or who is considerate or respectful. Things like that. They go about their way quietly, but they’re noticing along the way. That’s their way.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 12, 2022respect, books, bookstore, coffee, humility, mark walter

I Came to the End of my Tether, or ‘Nervous Breakdown 101’

I Came to the End of my Tether, or ‘Nervous Breakdown 101’

I am not a soap box evangelist. I don’t believe in shouting down panic by telling everyone else how much I’ve got my act together. But, like so many of people, I’ve climbed some mountains and I’ve also crashed head first into some pretty deep valleys. At first, I had no idea how to deal with the cyclical nature of Nature and its many ups and downs. I was a guy without a compass. Sometimes I was fine. But there were times I was screaming silent, private screams in my own versions of hell.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 12, 2022dudeism, mental health, mark walter

Dude Jitsu as a Way of Living

Dude Jitsu as a Way of Living

Over the past few years, I’ve both emailed and personally met the religion’s founder, Oliver Benjamin. Dudeism is widely viewed as a spoof, and many of its followers have reinforced its washed-up stereotype of bumbling incompetence. Yet this modern spin on Taoism continues to grow, and its over 600,000 ordained ministers are legally recognized.

Cross-relating and then applying martial arts principles is where it’s at. At least for me — along with a few others I’ve met who are just as deeply convinced that practical applications are the key. Hence, we are Dudeism’s only monastery. The relationship is understandably informal and casual.

ESSAYS, JIU JITSUMark WalterNovember 11, 2022dudeism, dojo, dude-jitsu, mark walter

The Mystic’s View on Facing Death

The Mystic’s View on Facing Death

Not all mystics are the same. There are many types, including Christian mystics, Buddhist mystics, Jewish mystics and Sufi mystics. Some would never use the term ‘mystic’ in describing themselves.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 9, 2022mystics, mysticism, death, mark walter

The Way of the Mystic

The Way of the Mystic

‘Mysticism’ is about doing, rather than about thinking or feeling (some might say it is about being, which is true, but in the sense of how one’s state of being is transformed by exposure, experience and practice, rather than through trying to be a certain way, which is just imitation).

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 9, 2022mystics, mysticism, practices, james souttar, mark walter

Hope Needs a Stronger Sense of Direction

Hope Needs a Stronger Sense of Direction

The selfishness and detached concern of the powerful and wealthy have taken on viral qualities. It seems the rest of us are embracing the tools of our enemies.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 8, 2022hope, mark walter, james souttar

The New Careerism and Zen

The New Careerism and Zen

Most of us don’t know how to be relaxed and productive. We equate productivity with stress, tension and long hours. But genuine creativity and flow do not naturally rise out of stress and fatigue. Creativity occurs when we are relaxed, when our minds are in what the zen guys call ‘stillness’.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 8, 2022career, zen, mark walter

Everyday Asceticism

Everyday Asceticism

My spin on an updated concept of asceticism generally doesn’t resemble traditional ascetic practices other than sharing the primary focus of most traditional monasteries: inner transformation. I’m not out waving my monk’s staff or knocking on doors for a beggar’s donation. Yet, regarding inner transformation, I’m your guy.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 8, 2022asceticism, reiki, mark walter

Ascetics

Ascetics

We generally define an ascetic as someone who has taken vows of poverty or a worldly renunciation on behalf of a spiritual calling. And that’s true. But from my point of view, ascetics are everywhere.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 8, 2022asceticism, emerson, mark walter

Monetizing the Soul

Monetizing the Soul

When it comes to life itself, it’s clear we’ve disconnected or jumped out the wiring. If humans were buildings, they wouldn’t be allowed to be occupied.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 7, 2022emerson, consciousness, principles, mark walter

Living & Dying in Anonymity

Living & Dying in Anonymity

Perhaps one of the more vexing things in all of life occurs, oddly enough, when we do daily meditations on dying. Because in the process of meditations on death, we inevitably encounter coming to terms with anonymity.

ESSAYSMark WalterNovember 7, 2022death, belief, reincarnation, mark walter