In Hunting Magic Eels I make use of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous essay "On Fairy-Stories" to describe how we might recover enchantment in our secular, modern world. In 2015, I did a series about "On Fairy-Stories", but only used a bit of that material for Hunting Magic Eels . I'd like to re-share some of that series, giving readers of Hunting Magic Eels a deeper dive into the riches of Tolkien's famous essay. But before getting to "On Fairy-Stories," I want to step back to appreciate how Tolkien's work fits wi
One of the big points I make in Hunting Magic Eels is that relationship with God is more seeing than believing . The point isn't to manufacture belief in God but to see God directly. The response here is predictable: How can you see something that is invisible? And the answer here is very old, the tried and true path: The way of contemplation. God is "invisible" in a strange sort of way. What we're trying to "see" and encounter is the Ground of Being, which is always directly in front, behind, above, belo
"like a tree planted by streams of water" /// Psalm 1 is famous for starting off the collection with the "two paths" metaphor. This is a frequently used image in wisdom and religious traditions. And also in many talks parents give to their children! Two paths are out ahead of you. Two choices. Two futures. Two lives. Even two "You's." Which will you choose? In describing the person who "delights in the law of the Lord," who "walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits