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Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Scoop Contributor
Martin LeFevre is a contemplative and philosopher.
His sui generis “Meditations” explore spiritual, philosophical and political questions relating to the polycrisis facing humanity.
lefevremartin77@gmail
Martin LeFevre - Meditations - Latest News [Page 35]
Martin LeFevre: Negation in Meditation
Wednesday, 9 May 2007, 11:08 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
It’s late spring in northern California. People cross the iron footbridge on bikes or foot on a hazy, lazy, warm Sunday afternoon. I sit about 75 meters upstream from the bridge, and though I’m in the open, few passersby see me either from the bridge, ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: A Workable Global Polity
Wednesday, 2 May 2007, 11:41 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Will an effective system of global governance emerge in the foreseeable future, or will it continue to be seen as utopian science fiction in an increasingly dystopic world? The answer does not depend on nation-states and the UN, but on the growing ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: Isolated Incidents
Wednesday, 25 April 2007, 8:03 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
So now America has three anniversaries of unvarnished evil to commemorate in a single week: April 19, 1995--Oklahoma City; April 20, 1999-- Columbine; and April 16, 2007--Virginia Tech. Nonetheless, the need to believe they are “isolated incidents” will continue, ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: Beyond Misanthropy
Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 12:54 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
A reader in New Zealand wrote to protest a recent column, saying, “You seem to think we are important in some way when we are really stupid beyond belief.” Apart from the sad streak of misanthropy, the reader raises a question that’s worth examining. ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: Celebrity Activism
Wednesday, 11 April 2007, 4:07 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
In a recent essay in “Time” magazine, Bono said, “Looking inward won’t cut it. We discover who we are in service to each other, not the self.” There is some truth, and a lot of falseness packed into that statement. Let’s unpack it. More >>
Martin LeFevre: “Chocolate Jesus”
Wednesday, 4 April 2007, 2:00 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
The planned Easter Week exhibition of a full-size, anatomically correct sculpture of Jesus on an invisible cross, made from 200 pounds of chocolate, was cancelled at the Lab Gallery in midtown Manhattan. Called, with ostensible seriousness, “My ... More >>
Richard Dawkins Throws Baby Out with the Bathwater
Monday, 2 April 2007, 2:28 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Though the rain didn’t begin until nearly 10 this morning, by 3 pm the parkland had already returned to its creatures. A light drizzle, imperceptible in the wood, fell as I walked along the redolent paths, devoid of people except for a couple of ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: The Problem of Mugabe
Wednesday, 28 March 2007, 12:22 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
There is a squabble between the West and southern Africa on how to deal with the sclerotic tyrant Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe has become a touchstone of the differences, and indifferences, shared by the EU, US, and AU regarding the people of Africa. It ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: We’re All Refugees
Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 2:26 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Seven Asian young men, dripping wet from just having been in the cold creek, walk slowly along the narrow path that parallels the stream. It’s a warm day, and the first new leaves of spring are bursting their buds on the trees and bushes in the ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: The Technology of Human Beings
Friday, 16 March 2007, 10:32 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
In America at least, we are still in the ‘new toy’ phase of high technology. Every new gadget that comes out receives oohs and aahs in the media, with the subtext, ‘aren’t we the most amazing people for inventing all these wonderful things!’ ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: Canine Consciousness
Friday, 9 March 2007, 2:49 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Though the weather was dicey this morning—windy, chilly, and threatening another storm—there was a break in the early afternoon. So, before a new series of storms roll in off the Pacific, I made the most of the lull and drove to Upper Park. More >>
Martin LeFevre: Homage to “2001: A Space Odyssey”
Tuesday, 6 March 2007, 10:58 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
There’s a lot of interest in human origins these days. A new, permanent exhibition, featuring more than 200 casts of prehuman and human fossils, just opened at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The exhibition addresses three fundamental ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: President’s Day in the USA
Tuesday, 6 March 2007, 10:48 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
President’s Day in the USA brings Bush to Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s home, drawing surreal comparisons between his warmongering and the American War of Independence. At the same time, the presidential candidates are out on the interminably long stump, ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: The Gods Were Once Human
Sunday, 11 February 2007, 10:34 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
A high, thin layer of clouds fills the western sky, blunting the warmth of the sun and giving the land a subtly somber cast. The little stream on the edge of town is now full enough to create a cascade over a step of rocks, as it wends it way along ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: Gorbachev’s Old World Order
Thursday, 1 February 2007, 11:04 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
It’s fascinating how failed leaders are sometimes sainted after they leave office and ruin in their wake. Such is the case with Mikhail Gorbachev. More >>
Martin LeFevre: Questioning Atheism
Saturday, 27 January 2007, 10:52 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
The pristinely clear and cold stream flows by at my feet, its brown and reddish stones burnished by the fresh current and glistening in the sunlight. A woodland hawk soars through the bare branches of the oaks and sycamores, and alights on a limb near the ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: Burma, China, & the Global Polity
Tuesday, 23 January 2007, 11:04 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Nearly unnoticed, a resolution against human rights abuses perpetrated by the Burmese government (ironically and hypocritically put forth by the United States) was vetoed by China in the Security Council last week. Politically, this signals the equivalent ... More >>
LeFevre: Why the Bush Administration Is Evil
Monday, 15 January 2007, 3:54 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Most commentators agree President Bush gave a flat, insipid speech for his long-awaited (more like successfully baited) “new strategy” for Iraq. That despite, or because of the fact that it was 'the most important speech of his presidency.' The Bush Administration ... More >>
Martin LeFevre: Sunset Illumination
Thursday, 11 January 2007, 11:41 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Overlooking the hills and fields beyond town, the display of color begins slowly, filling the eastern sky in a muted mauve counter-sunset. More >>
Martin Lefevre: The Art of Meditation
Friday, 29 December 2006, 11:28 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
It’s the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. The sun shines brightly, if briefly on this, the shortest day of the year. When one draws near to the earth, the world grows further away. How necessary that has become each day. More >>
