In this Open Valley, I read William Wordsworth’s sonnet entitled “November 1.” This Open Valley is a Reading, something I haven’t done before, meaning I’m just going to read and not add a lot of commentary. Now this poem reminded me of something I wrote years ago, and so I’m going to read that as well. I don’t share, very often, things that I’ve written, but the subjects of both of these writings are very similar.
In "The Truth about Truth," I discuss the meaning of truth and read a wonderful passage from Emerson's "The Transcendentalist."
In this Open Valley, I simply read one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems, “Birches.”
In this Open Valley, I read from William Blake’s famous "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" and briefly discuss an alternate view.
In "Technology as Destination," I talk about the problem of treating technology as a destination, and I make an analogy to “A Descent into the Maelstrom” by Edgar Allan Poe.
In this Open Valley, I read a poem from Emily Dickinson and explore thoughts about shared, natural empathy existing within us and Nature.
In this Open Valley, I share my experience of getting locked inside of Rome's Protestant Cemetery where Keats and Shelley are buried.
In "Economic Individualism," I talk about recognizing our personal economies, and I read from Emerson for some guidance and inspiration.
In "Reality is Only Feelings," I talk about the movie, The Graduate , and how it unearths a true reality below the weight and confusion of society's institutions and traditions.
In this Open Valley, I discuss the surprisingly intricate structure of the sonnet poetical form and read from Wordsworth and Shakespeare as examples.
In "Love is Yours," I talk about beauty and love, and I read one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets.
In this Open Valley, I share my theory on a potential hidden code in one of Whitman's most famous poems, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer."
An Open Valley is not a typical episode. It's a way for me to give you an update on the podcast, an update on personal items, or some info on other items that wouldn't fit into a normal episode. In this first Open Valley, beyond the house keeping stuff, I do briefly mention what a Rendevous was in the Rockies early in the 19th century.
In "Music's Emotional Manifest," I explore the idea of music's direct emotional effect on us while reading a famous poem from Wordsworth, and I'll also share a couple piano pieces I wrote.
In "Reinventing Intelligence," the idea of intelligence is approached again and this time I'll look at a movie character who helps flesh out a reinvention.
In "Hearing the Unheard," I talk about our buried sense of hearing, and I read some insightful lines from Emerson.
In "Jumping the Gap," I look at how the world we've manufactured for ourselves brings up many questions, and I'll recite some words from Thoreau and Wordsworth.
In "The Power Of Positive," I talk about some of the nuanced wealth in being positive around others, and I read a poem by Wordsworth that illustrates this idea.
In "One Year of Nature's Lead," I celebrate one year of the podcast and talk a bit about myself and Nature’s Lead.
In "A Moment's Miracle," I read a poem by Whitman that captures the essence of how we should approach each moment.
In "The Breeze of Happiness," I look at the transient potential of happiness and read from a beautiful poem by Coleridge.
In "The Great Fortune of Rough Emotions," I read a poem by Keats that helps me reflect on the power of rough emotions, and I also tell my humorous cemetery story.
In "The Deception of Progress," I talk about how the ideas of advancement and progress in society can be misleading, and I highlight a few lines by Emerson on the subject.
In "Finding the Needle in Noise," I read from James Joyce's "The Dead" and talk about how important it is to find underlying truth below the noise of social gatherings.
In "Reflecting a Raindrop," I look to the rain as Nature's active pursuit of our hearts, and I read some excerpts from Thoreau.
In "Open to Inspiration," I emphasize the need to be open to various sources of inspiration in our lives. As an example of this, I look at the famous movie, Citizen Kane .
In "Everything is Alive," I approach the intelligent, innocent idea of our youth that there is life in the inanimate, and I look at some of Wordsworth's lines from the famous poem "Tintern Abbey."
In "Defending Against Information," I explain why I think allowing ourselves too much free flowing information in our lives can be hazardous, and I talk about a famous quote from Wordsworth.
In "Nature's Delicate Immensity," I read from Emerson's work, "Nature," which both defines Nature and speaks of its significance to humanity.
In "Human Gravity," I talk about the need to gain perspective on the power that is pulling us together, and I look at some lines from a work by the Romantic poet, Lord Byron.
