About James Miller
I was born and raised in Edmonton, while also spending many years in Grande Prairie, Vancouver, Nanaimo and Prince George.
I have a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta. From 2002 to 2012, I taught (primarily art and mathematics) in Libya, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the UAE and Japan.
I’ve served as a District Manager for World Book Encyclopedias; Communications Officer for The University of Calgary; Marketing Manager for T-MAR Industries in Campbell River; Journalism Instructor at the then Grant MacEwan Community College and as a Daily Reporter for the Nanaimo Free Press. More recent experience includes working as a Care Provider for the Prince George Association for Community Living (AiMHi); a Licensed Property Manager in Prince George and Courtenay and as an Industrial Janitor and Second Cook in MEG Energy and Cenovus Energy sites in Conklin and Fort McMurray. I’ve also worked for the Mustard Seed in Edmonton as a Janitor at winter homeless shelters and their downtown homeless shelter. Memorable short-term positions include wrapping tree seedlings for tree planters in Prince George; installing solar panels (I don’t like heights) and dealing blackjack at Edmonton’s Exhibition.
I believe this wealth of experience can be put to good use in bringing energy and innovation to the many challenges Edmonton faces.
That’s me on the outside. On the inside, I’m a creative individual and I invite you to explore my website to see my art, hear my music and read about my spiritual views on life.
Still Life’s Good (acrylic on canvas) by James Miller
My outlook on life can be summed up simply from this quote from A Course in Miracles, a spiritual guidance masterpiece, which I maintain is the most beautiful (and should be most influential) book of the Second Millenium. The Course, as it’s known to those that study it, states as its purpose, the delivery of peace of mind. Consider this passage, which essentially says that we are never victims in our lives and that we’re not only responsible for our experience, but that WE ARE our experience. While this might be a challenge for many to accept, keep in mind that those that want to help others and themselves, almost universally speak of the ability we have to change our lives if we want to. There are many terms for it, but one frequently used is empowerment. This philosophy is empowerment at the highest level.
2. ²Say only this, but mean it with no reservations, for here the power of salvation lies:
³I am responsible for what I see.
⁴I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide upon the goal I would achieve.
⁵And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have asked.
⁶Deceive yourself no longer that you are helpless in the face of what is done to you. ⁷Acknowledge but that you have been mistaken, and all effects of your mistakes will disappear.
Spirituality, for want of a better term, deals with the aspect of our lives that centers on our awareness of being alive and our search for ways of maximizing and maintaining the happiness and peace we want. Almost everyone would rather be happy than sad and at peace rather than in conflict; yet it’s also readily obvious that many of us struggle to sustain those experiences. As a result, many of us look for ways to reduce our discomfort, whether it be through gambling, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, material possessions, personal obsessions or classical music collections. For more on the latter, I recommend Dr. Gabor Maté’s book, In the realm of Hungry Ghosts.
I’ve tried, where possible, to contribute to the lives of others. While at the U of C and serving in my capacity as a co-editor, I organized several fundraising drives. When Hurricane Katrina struck, I was teaching in Saudi Arabia and organized a staff/student talent show to raise money to support relief efforts.
I truly believe that supporting others makes my life better.
Bringing Edmonton’s Spirit
to Life
Just as the atomic level delivers far more power than the molecular, I argue the spiritual level of life of an individual (or city like Edmonton) is more powerful than the physical. Hence my interest in promoting Edmonton’s spirit. Can a civic government seek ways to improve the happiness of its citizens? I would argue the city is already doing that through the promotion and sponsorship of festivals; the provision of recreational facilities and programs, and public events like the recent Pride Parade, to give just one example among many.
Edmonton has a tradition of innovation, and I’d like to see the city actually try to first measure and then promote the improvement of the happiness of its populous. I first proposed this in 2022 and had hoped to meet with the mayor but, for one reason or another, my request for a meeting was never fulfilled.
Could happier individuals in a city really influence those around them and make the whole city happier? I don’t see why not but it would certainly be worth trying to find out, so let me ask this question: How happy can you stand it, Edmonton?