I met Paul Hedderman at the Raleigh SIG retreat in October 2010. His unique phrasings and energetic personality immediately caught my attention. It’s not too surprising that a guy whose website is zenbitchslap.com would pique one’s curiosity.
Listening to Hedderman speak informally to three or four interested listeners Friday evening, I tried to pay more attention to his presence than his words. For what it’s worth, it felt like he rested somewhere solid; from which place his engaging personality would spring forth then return to rest. Later, I heard Paul describe himself as traveling easily, and I agree. Continue reading “Paul Hedderman: The Zen Bitch Slap”
I knew Art, I didn’t know much about him. Gracious is a word that comes to mind, but also a man treading water. Treading water may sound like a negative, but it takes a heck of a lot of persistence to keep treading in the face of no hope of rescue. Maybe he was, unbeknownst to me and to him, the proverbial man with the red hot cannonball stuck in his throat — which he can neither swallow nor spit out.
Bob began his spiritual search studying with Richard Rose. He plunged into the life of a spiritual seeker — reading, meditating, spending time on solitary retreats, working in study groups with others, eventually building a cabin on Rose’s farm in West Virginia. As the years passed, however, he began to doubt if he would ever find an answer to his spiritual desires.
Back then, I was in my early twenties and considered him one of the “old guys” (like I am now!). I recall three things about Bart. One, that I would never want to get into a fight with him; two, that he seemed hopelessly stuck in the spider’s web of daily life; and three (probably related to the first), he could be deadly serious. 
surprised that a relatively lesser-known figure turns out to be an authentic pointer towards truth. Not only that, but I really like this photo of Gary Weber because he looks like he’s ready to kick someone’s butt.