Tall tales and other thoughts from storyteller, sailor and nomad Dennison Berwick. "Kuan Yin" is his 32-foot go-anywhere home.
Posted in Books/Language, Solitude on Apr 11th, 2010
Renewal in the Wilderness, A Spiritual Guide to Connecting with God in the Natural World by John Lionberger. Published in 2007 by Skylight Paths Publishing, Vermont.
Why is it so many of us find our spirits lifted in Nature and so often feel exhausted and unsatisfied in big urban sprawls? John Lionberger explores this question and [...]
Posted in Books/Language, Sailing, Solitude on Apr 4th, 2010
However fascinated any of us may be with the Arctic (and Antarctic), eager to watch TV specials and maybe one day to go there ourselves, few of us would think of sailing north at the end of the summer with the intention of being frozen into the ice to spend an Artic winter alone. Yet [...]
Posted in Solitude on Mar 3rd, 2010
I’ve written before about the “Hermit Writings of S” and posted his script in its entirety on this site. See here.
In order to bring his writings to a wider audience, I’m going to post extracts from the Hermit Writings according to various themes which he himself used as sub-titles. They’re intended as bite-sized chunks that [...]
Posted in Solitude on Feb 25th, 2010
I’ve written before about the “Hermit Writings of S” and posted his script in its entirety on this site. See here.
In order to bring his writings to a wider audience, I’m going to post extracts from the Hermit Writings according to various themes which he himself used as sub-titles. They’re intended as bite-sized chunks that [...]
Posted in Life skills, Solitude on Feb 8th, 2010
What is it that attracts people to a hermit? Though the image of a man or a woman who lives alone, disconnected from the attachments of the world, is often of an angry or deranged misantrope, the reality is more usually very different. One clear example is Robert E. Harrill who, at the age of [...]
Posted in Sailing on Jan 15th, 2010
If you’ve every dreamed of a quieter, simpler life – then this short story is for you. Though it’s a favourite among cruising sailors (for obvious reasons when you read it), Martyr’s story is really about the yearning all of us feel from time to time to be FREE.
Posted in Solitude on Jan 3rd, 2010
Find a Retreat to Suit You – Trusting your own inner voice of calm
There are as many good reasons to go on a retreat as there are places in Canada offering specific programs or just quiet accommodation where your desire for solitude and calm will be respected. Common to all – and perhaps what separates [...]
Posted in Solitude on Jan 3rd, 2010
In 1995, in one of my breaks from writing and travelling, I founded and built a retreat centre on a 90-acre farm in southern Ontario, Canada. Still Life Retreat was non-denominational, though the teachings of the Buddha inform my own way of life and practice.
The intention of Still Life Retreat was support people in whatever [...]
Posted in Books/Language, Solitude on Jan 2nd, 2010
A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland
In the course of researching and writing the book Maitland spent silent time in silent places – on Skye in the Hebrides; in the Sinai Desert; in forests and mountains; in a flotation tank; in monasteries and libraries. She was trying to match her personal experiences to those of [...]
Posted in Solitude on Jan 2nd, 2010
The Hermit Writings of S.
These are a remarkable collection of short essays on many aspects of being a hermit – self-sufficiency, hermit and the world, love, time, urban eremitism, and virtue, for example. They are straight-forward, down to earth and direct. The writings are posted on the Hermitary website by Meng-hu. They are [...]
"Serendipity" is the art of finding something valuable or delightful when you're not looking for it. It's how you might also define living life as an adventure - which is something I seek to do everyday - and accepting whatever happens.
