Bear's Blog

"The forms of Zen Buddhism – black robes, chanting, incense and sitting in zazen– seemed all too familiar to me, echoes of many past lives."

I recently became lay-ordained as a Zen Buddhist. I have been hanging around Zen temples since my teens, but was never much interested in studying the literature and linage of the form. Of course I picked up some of those teachings along the way – more than I had thought, actually – but I was drawn to Zen because of its main...

The McKay Method^® Graduate Retreat

In addition to the Graduate Celebration, the Retreat is an opportunity to reconnect with The McKay Method® community every year. We typically explore an area we don’t normally cover in classes, such as working with land, plant, animal and mineral energies. This year we communicated with ancient trees and made prayer flags to adorn the graduation tree. Two of the presentations were specifically about plant energies - another was about...

It has long been commonly said that we only use 10% of our brain’s potential. Whether that exact number is accurate or not, the idea that we have this unused brain real estate has fostered much speculation about what’s possible for humanity.

Like in the film Lucy, where Scarlett Johanssen walks into a room and knocks everyone unconscious with a thought (and that’s only at 60%), we dream of power. Not just the physical powers of the current gaggle of superheroes, but mental...

I have written about the importance of grounding your spirituality with a specific practice and about the energetic and physical dimensions of health. Now I would like to address the importance of connecting to a larger body, a community of like-minded people. This can take many forms, from a religious congregation or sangha to a book club to a hiking group; any group of people that meets on a regular basis to engage in activity and conversation.

It has been well-documented that people who...

We are egocentric creatures; the world is organized around the self. Even when faced with the absolute certainty of death, we look for ways to extend the self and live on in posterity. Some build monuments or libraries, create works of art, businesses, and charities… some forego the building and donate money to carry their name forward into the future. That our name is spoken, known and acknowledged is important to us even though we will be gone.

Those of us with fewer resources or...

It's finally time to play outdoors, go on vacation, get engaged with the bigger world and learn something new. If you are new to the world of Energy Awareness, we encourage you to come on out for the first one-day McKay Method energy class ever!

The Energy Awareness Hands-On Class will be like a day in adult summer camp where you can introduce yourself to a whole new way of thinking and interacting with your world - plus feel good in your body, meet new friends and pack a sack...

Everyone needs a spring break, and if you live in Montana, you need to go somewhere else for spring in March! I was in San Francisco and Salt Lake City, and both were blooming. Hopefully, you are feeling a renewal in your own life as we shift into the seasons of growth and liveliness.

This spring break centered around my meditation practice. I have meditated and hung out in Zen temples since I was a teenager, but I was never interested in any formal study of Buddhism. I’m big on direct...

What exactly is energy healing?
The word healing indicates that all aspects of a person are involved, with the understanding that these different aspects are connected - including our immediate physical concerns. Indeed our spiritual, emotional, psychological states have direct physical impacts. You can’t deny the physiological impacts of anger (increased heart rate, rapid breathing, an adrenaline rush), depression (a weakened immune system, loss of appetite), and stress (high blood...

Making resolutions for a new year – again? Often resolutions revolve around the physical, such as exercising, going on a diet, engaging in outdoor activity more, or planting a better garden. Other resolutions may feed our social and mental well-being, such as spending more time with friends and family, limiting media exposure, or volunteering. This year how about making a resolution to improve your spiritual health?

Do you have a resolution that feeds the soul, your life’s...

Every summer the School has a Retreat in the wild. It’s a time of celebration and completion for the graduates as they present their final projects and a big party for the School community. In The McKay Method^® classes we focus on the human physiology; at the Retreat we explore other kingdoms – plants, animals, and earth forms. In the past we have gone to the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, and the WD Ranch in Big Timber, Montana. This year graduate Linda Thurston and her...

The healing world lost two luminaries in 2012 - John Upledger and Gabrielle Roth. Dr. John was an osteopath who created a set of techniques known as CranioSacral Therapy, and Gabrielle developed a language of movement called The 5Rhythms®. Both were concerned with enhancing the movement of life within our bodies. Our bodies are both matter and energy, physical and fluid; the energy moves the fluid and the fluid moves the physical, which creates energy. This dance of movement from matter...

On the full moon lunar eclipse in April, Emilie Conrad took on her light body. A true pioneer, exploring consciousness through the human form, she challenged our thinking and awareness of what’s possible, and how we limit our own experience. She was at the cutting edge of many disciplines, enlisting collaborators in the arts and healing arts. She was a pivotal teacher for me in many ways. I studied with her off and on over 15 years, and have included Continuum movement in my...