More climate disasters – locally the new tree ordinance doesn’t protect 99% of the few remaining large native trees in Seattle, while allowing developers to profit. More record heat and whiffs of wildfire smoke in the air. Globally, fires (Maui), heat waves (Europe), floods (New England). It’s a lot to take in and process and …

Wilderness Time Out Read More »

*I gave this talk on July 29, 2023, at an Interfaith Prayer Ceremony standing beneath Luma the Cedar, in Seattle, on traditional, unceded Coast Salish land of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshot, Snoqualmie, Puyallup, and Tulalip people. Good evening. My name is Jordan Van Voast, I’ve been a practicing Buddhist for around 30 years. I don’t …

Social Activism Liberated from the “Us versus Them” Mentality – Metta Meditation Read More »

I heard about LUMA less than a week ago – an old growth cedar tree in North Seattle destined to be cut to the ground at the orders of a Bellevue based real estate development company, and approved by City of Seattle. What? In the hottest year on the planet in the last million years? …

#LUMA – Trees are Life Read More »

Wilderness is ultimately a state of mind, and yet, without the physical wilderness of virgin forests, pristine rivers, diverse ecosystems of flora and fauna roaming across peaks, valleys, and meadows, the richness of our human experience would be cheapened and threatened due to planetary degradation.  Why do monks and nuns still seek out remote places …

Wilderness is a State of Mind – Olympic Mountain sojourn 2023 Read More »

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Allergies Health in Traditional Chinese Medicine is always understood in the context of an inter-relationship between the external environment and the internal health of the person – body and mind. External factors like excess heat, dryness, damp, wind, cold, pollen, smoke, dust, chemicals in the environment and certain foods can become …

Chinese Medicine and Allergies Read More »