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This writing practice is part of how I stay connected—to children, to my work, and to the kind of person I’m still learning to become. The writings here are more “thinking out loud” and explore the Dhamma, education, contemplative practice, deep listening, and the often quiet, messy work of transformation. I’m grateful to share this journey with anyone reading.
Parenting and teaching have been my clearest mirrors. They reveal where I move from habit, where I tighten, and where there’s space to grow. They are not separate from spiritual practice. They are relational Dhamma: the path lived moment by moment, in real relationships.
I’m not a polished writer—not even close. But I love writing. This love has deepened as I’ve navigated neurological changes that affect language and clarity. I’ve shared more about this experience here.
To the young people who shared their lives with me (many now grown), and the families who became our tribe: I offer this as a gift of my heart and presence, and as a reflection of the love in every moment we spent together.
Thank you for allowing me to walk alongside you. For inviting me to witness a part of your life. We saw each other.
I saw you.
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The Buddha likened life’s pains to a first arrow. The second — the extra hurt we create in the mind — can be set down.
The Four Noble Truths move from recognizing life’s unease, to seeing its cause, to the possibility of release, and the Noble Eightfold Path that leads there.
A reflection on Maylie Scott’s teaching that “nothing is out of place,” exploring how loneliness can be met with mindful presence and compassion.
A simple forest school lesson on bird alarms became a doorway into presence, perception, and pressure—spanning science, parenting, deep nature connection, and contemplative awareness.
When attention softens, the forest responds. Birds, breath, and baseline become a mirror—not of self, but of tone, pressure, and the wake of thought.
A tribute to Bev Bos and the living legacy of Roseville Preschool—celebrating trust, play, presence, and the radical act of letting children tumble freely into becoming.
A deeper look at sammāsati, the Buddha’s Right Mindfulness—rooted in ethics, memory, and wisdom, not just presence. A critique of secular mindfulness and a return to path.
A nature-based approach using curiosity, storytelling, and invisible guidance to foster deep connection with the land, self, and others, supporting cultural repair and renewal.
Exploring presence as relational, embodied, ethical, and cross-cultural—moving from technique to undoing, attunement, and mutual vulnerability with children and nature.
Presence shaped by outcome isn’t presence. Krishnamurti invites attention without identity, method, or purpose—challenging us to meet the child without bringing ourselves.
Bhramari Pranayama, or bumblebee breath, uses humming to calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and support emotional regulation
A gentle mindful pause helps children breathe, notice, and rest—nurturing calm, presence, and emotional awareness through quiet moments of stillness.
In the hush of the forest classroom, Emily discovered withered mushrooms and responded not with removal, but with reverence—sculpting clay companions to ease their solitude.
Though outwardly invisible to most people, for me these events can impact language, memory, and cognitive clarity.
Journey through ancient writing systems, from Ashokan pillars to the Indus script, tracing how materials, cognition, and transmission shaped the evolution of language, memory, and meaning across cultures.
Fiona meets clay for the first time. Through gesture and touch, she enters a sensory dialogue, revealing the depth of nonverbal learning and relational presence.
A glance becomes a blueprint as children design and build a car from stumps—merging imagination, collaboration, authorship, and spatial storytelling in an evolving outdoor classroom.
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A personal exploration of early Buddhist history reveals a living Dhamma—translated, traded, and sculpted across cultures—grounding modern practice in historical humility and intercultural reverence.
A clear guide to samādhi practice, Bhante Gunaratana’s work deepens mindfulness into stillness, offering direct instruction on the jhānas and unified awareness.
An invitation for teachers to reclaim their inner life, Parker Palmer offers a pedagogy of presence grounded in authenticity, integrity, and the soul of the educator.
Description: A playful ritual, repeated over years, transforms a forest boulder into a shared landmark of joy, trust, and community memory.
An invitation to dissolve inherited beliefs, teachings on awareness, authority, and the end of psychological suffering.
A journey into the philosophical heart of the Reggio Emilia Approach, exploring listening, research, and democratic education through Carlina Rinaldi’s nuanced and visionary pedagogical view.
A relational, child-centered philosophy of early education from Italy, the Reggio Emilia Approach honors curiosity, creativity, and community through project work, documentation, and a deeply respectful image of the child.
Reflects on risk, agency, and learning through the lens of Teacher Tom’s wisdom, honoring children’s capacity to navigate the physical world with courage and competence.
What does it take to raise resilient children? This post explores the role of nature, discomfort, and early freedom in shaping inner strength—from scraped knees to carrying their own water.
Tells the story of a child who valued real tools at school—only to be told he was wrong. A critique of standardized assumptions about learning and materials.
An invitation to rethink risk in childhood—how trusting children with real challenges builds strength, discernment, and responsibility, rather than fear or dependence.
A child kneels in stillness, pencil in hand, mapping bird language and wind. This is relational learning—seeing the invisible through Sit Spot, presence, and reverence for place.
The hike had been long. The children were hot, a little tired, and more than a little restless. No one asked for a story—but something in the air asked for a shift. So I waded into the creek, sat down on a smooth rock, and opened the book.
A tender portrait of emergent empathy and relational literacy, where a child's reading becomes an act of presence, not performance—honoring care beyond comprehension.
A quiet moment of a child reading to a sapling becomes a meditation on empathy, presence, and the unseen curriculum of relational, child-led learning in nature.
Children navigate a creek with curiosity and courage, revealing how unstructured nature play cultivates sensory awareness, problem-solving, and embodied, integrated learning beyond the classroom.
Children run for no reason but joy. In their motion, they reclaim learning as instinctive, embodied, and whole—beyond adult framing or institutional control.
Explores the principles of the Continuum Concept, contrasting traditional Western parenting with evolutionary expectations of closeness, responsiveness, and community-integrated childhood.
Guides families through creating a values statement that reflects intentional choices, not cultural defaults. Encourages clarity, coherence, and alignment between beliefs, parenting, and daily life.
Presents the principles of empathic listening as relational practice. Offers tools for presence, reflection, and attunement—fostering trust and emotional safety in both home and classroom.
Introduces a rhythm for compassionate parenting and teaching that supports emotional presence, repair after rupture, and trust in relational growth—rooted in nonviolence and mindfulness.
Explores how loose parts—natural or found materials—invite open-ended play, creativity, and exploration. Celebrates children's innate capacity to invent, construct, and express meaning through self-directed interaction.
Discover how a Danish mother’s forest walks sparked a global educational movement, reimagining childhood learning through nature, storytelling, risk, and child-led exploration across cultures and climates.
Reflection on Peter Gray’s definition of play, exploring how real play fosters autonomy, creativity, and deep learning through self-direction, imagination, and internal logic.
A comparative overview of three influential early childhood models. Highlights their philosophies, practices, and cultural origins, inviting reflection on what each offers to educators and families today.
A contemplative exploration of mindfulness (sati) as taught in the early Buddhist tradition, through the lens of Bhante Gunaratana’s plain and radical invitation to see things as they are.
A beginner-friendly introduction to Buddhism. This essay offers a clear, exploration of what Buddhism is—and what it isn’t—through the life of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and the path of practice. No jargon, no mysticism—just a human invitation to clarity, freedom, and direct experience.
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