Not to be severed
from his/her primal source
is the characteristic of the heavenly man/woman;
not to be severed from his/her true nature,
that of the spirit-like man/woman;
not to be severed from the truth,
that of the perfect man/woman.

To regard heaven as the primal source,
virtue as the root and the tao
as the gate,
and recognizing the implications of change
and transformation —
these are the characteristics of the sage.

Zhuangzi trans. Hyun Höchsmann and Yang Guorong, Book 33 Under the Heaven

A friend wrote that he is preparing a series of posts on the topic of religion.

It is impossible to leave religion out of conversation or written statement of any kind. There is no scant description of anything that does not entail one or more values, that “wait in the wings.” Under the guise of objectivity one attempts a clean rendering of things or events. The very choice of vocabulary betrays what one desires, or worse what one fears. To say it a bit differently, values are always at work, the guide rails, the vectors of the social or of the material environment that we jointly envision creating with our minds and our hands, and with our tools. Speaking and writing is no less than painterly work, binding elements of experience, into a world-to-come, a garden of sorts…

Religare: to-bind-together, to-tie-back; according to Cicero to re-read, which suggests a careful ritualistic observation.

I am writing these words on my second cup of Starbucks coffee. The barista who drew the dark roast coffee from the brewing apparatus, adjusted the level of the liquid in the cup, then presented the cup to me at the counter — all involuntary hand-movements choreographed to achieve a precision, even elegant serving of the steaming dark liquid. What would you call this description of the action? Was the action training, or the habit of hundreds of shifts worked behind the counter, or the reflex motions of art-making, or a gesture of respect between a customer (me) and one competent at the ritual of coffee prep and service? The innocuous exchange between a barista and a customer can be described variously. However described it is a ritual, obliquely religious. 

Can a cup of coffee, flavorful, sensually comforting and stimulating be a gateway, a nexus point to the expansive meaning of the cosmos? What do you think?

There are many potential gateways…

Without any doubt each of us feels separation in his/her bones from the root meaning of ourselves, and from what our life might amount to… Each feels severed. To discover again the Gate occurs to some of us. Some actually are interested in a big picture, in what the cosmos could mean. In the 21st Century we have a cornucopia of founding myths to consider, to evaluate, to appropriate as resource. Also not to be forgotten is the cupboard of world-literature from which we experiment with recipes having a religious flavor.

Shakespeare anyone?

A serving of Hamlet?

Not unlike a long stemmed glass of red.

Blood-red and bitter.

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How about a tune? Music is another gateway. Jackson Browne performs this song written with Glen Frey and David Lindley, Take It Easy