Empty Mountain

10/30/2026

I've been a blogger focused on sharing about mindfulness and meditation practice for over 14 years. As of today, I have written 1,195 posts. I don't often take the time to acknowledge what a big accomplishment this is. So this is me saying: dang, this is pretty awesome!

I started a second blog on our Empty Mountain website before we even officially found land to start offering programming. So now I craft posts, typically once a week, for two different blogs. I feel fortunate to have the time to invest in the endeavors of writing, which is due in large part to being a person who lives with a physical disability and chronic pain based on a nerve condition I contracted over 20 years ago after an injury. Sometimes our life can unfold quite wonderfully even when the impetus is far less than preferred.

Here's my most recent post on my OG blog, "On Aimlessness & Leisure", which I wrote this morning:

https://goingoutwordsandinwords.wordpress.com/2026/10/30/on-aimlessness-leisure/

10/30/2026

New blog post about our new bell:

In August we applied to receive a grant from the Thich Nhat Hanh (TNH) Foundation for the purposes of buying a larger bell to use during our program events and retreats here at Empty Mountain. We were informed recently that our request was approved. So we went ahead and placed our order and our new

10/28/2026

Gratitude to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation

We recently received a grant from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation to allow us the opportunity to purchase a large bell to use during our program events & retreats here at Empty Mountain. A big thank you to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation and its generous donors for their support.

We’d like to encourage those who are able to donate to their grant program so that future endeavors may also be supported. For more info: https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/?form=DOP

10/26/2026

New video upload:

Just a little walkabout and update. Recorded on Saturday October 24...

10/22/2026

New blog post: The Art of Fire Making

As soon as autumn started hinting at its arrival here in the mountains of western Montana, around mid-late August, I got back into the habit of splitting wood and gathering sticks for kindling for lighting fires in our cabin’s wood stove. Last winter we purchased a 10 ton hydraulic log splitter, t

10/20/2026

There's still work left to do but our water cubes are now snug and cozy in the insulated box that Mike built. We'll side the sauna building, along with the water cube box, with wood milled from here on site, but that might not be until this winter or possibly next spring. One step at a time, slow & steady.

10/20/2026

Last night I gave a talk at Be Here Now sangha on what I call the 3 pillars of spiritual practice. I also gave a talk on this topic during our EM retreat in August. This version is a little different, also the same.

To give it a listen, which ends with a song I wrote last year when Mike and I were at Deer Park Monastery on retreat for a few months, please see link below.

(NOTE: You do not need to have a Soundcloud account to listen, but you will need to open the link in a browser. If you try to click the link on your phone and you don't have an account, you won't be able to listen because it will try to open the app. You'll need to direct the link to open in a web browser if you don't have a SC account.)

Talk given at Be Here Now Sangha on October 19, 2026

10/15/2026

New video:

10/13/2026

Gosh, this insulated box build around our water cubes has been a bigger project than expected, but then that's often how building projects go. Mike built the roof on the ground then had to hoist it up on top, which was no easy feat. But it's up! The box is coming along.

10/11/2026

New blog post, in honor of our teacher Thay, whose birthday is today.

Picture I took of Thay at Deer Park Monastery in 2009 Two candles I light before I sitin meditation amid the quiet darknessbefore sunrise.With a stick of incense I offer these words:In gratitude fo…