What a magical place. Some lament the increasingly crowded trails, though on the flip side, it is good to see so many people connecting with nature. We took a side trip that added an extra 2 miles and 1500 feet of vertical climbing and saw very few people until reaching the lake, though please use …

Ingalls Lake – October 8 Read More »

A day in the mountains. Stilling the mind and soothing the heart within the vast expanse of the natural world. Breathing in the sky, the sun, the colors, and feeling thankful to be alive. Location: Ingalls Lake in the Enchantment Range. (click on individual images for full resolution).

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 »