December 2017

Meditation on a home altar. As the bright days of summer fade to soggy, gauzy grey, I wrap my sweater close for warmth and desire to be safely home before early darkness falls. With comforts all around, I find I have time to reflect and attend to maint …

Sometimes the saying is true: We teach what we most need to learn. I’ve taken ski lessons since the age of seven, and have always hated them. I’ve been led down chutes, over precipices and through the trees, and have panicked more than once. While I lo …

Three young Utah Dreamers contemplate their future. Brenda Marquez (not her real name) is an 18-year-old student majoring in Communication Studies at the University of Utah. She graduated top of her class at a westside Salt Lake City high school and vo …

How to prevent (or cope with) a cold or the flu. I used to think it was inevitable that I would fall ill when my daughter caught cold or flu—not because I catch bacteria or viruses easily but because of the closeness that would occur when she was sick. …

You may be surprised at what edibles grow in Northern Utah in the winter. Salt Lake City’s Winder Market offers grass-fed, organic locally raised meats. There are eggs like you’ve never tasted before. Root vegetables, squashes and some greens are still …

Last month CATALYST was a guest on KRCL’s RadioActive, a show for grassroots activists and community builders, weeknights at 6, hosted by Lara Jones and associates. This is the best show of its kind serving the Valley-smart, humorous, diverse, down to …

A monthly compendium of random wisdom for the natural world and beyond. DEC 1 Sunrise. 7:32am. Sunset 5pm. In Salt Lake City, December is the cloudiest month of the year, with only six days where the sky is mainly clear. Most nights are below freezing, …

Take a breath and know that nothing is going to go according to plan. So, you might as well relax. Osho Zen Tarot: Intensity, Thunderbolt, The Source Medicine Cards: Otter Mayan Oracle: Polarity, Men, Harmonic Balance Ancient Egyptian Tarot: The Tower, …

Intersections of science, art and faith. So much of mankind’s history is defined by the scientific discoveries, artistic creations and sacred traditions of faith that have nurtured the human mind, body and soul. Science, art and faith have each painted …

In its heyday, the scarred landscape of Salt Lake City’s Beck St. area was a site of physical and spiritual healing. No one dreams of this place anymore,” the city employee told me as we toed the ledge of the main pool in the former Wasatch Warm Spring …

Thanks to an allocation of about $35 million from the Volkswagen Settlement, Utah has a unique opportunity to replace some old dirty diesel equipment with new, cleaner models. You may recall hearing about the VW scandal that hit the headlines last year …

Environmental news from around the state and the West. The more we examine the special properties of the quaking aspen, the greater our fascination with the beauty, complexity, and continuing mystery of this tree. If others agree, perhaps we can save c …

The curse and blessing of living six decades and having serviceable memory skills is that you notice patterns in everything. That and clichés become more irritating. “Death and taxes” is the slogan most used to convey certainty, but both are less predi …

Pando, the Earth’s largest known living organism by mass, is dying for lack of large predators in the ecosystem. Pando, an exceptionally beautiful male quaking aspen clone, is located in the Wasatch Plateau on the Fish Lake Highway in Southern Utah. He …

This month marks three years since The Bee: True Stories from the Hive began gathering community for “lovingly competitive” (& occasionally curated) storytelling in Salt Lake City. Starting at The Urban Lounge, The Bee has taken place in a variety …

Who doesn’t like a warm drink in winter? Postum, the simple and healthful beverage made from roasted wheat bran, wheat and molasses, was marketed in 1895 by C.W. Post, whose cereal company became General Foods (purchased in 1985 by Philip Morris for $5 …