Living the Bhagavad Gita

June 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Paths

They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them, who have renounced every selfish desire and sense craving tormenting the heart. Neither agitated by grief nor hankering after pleasure, they live free from lust and fear and anger. Established in meditation, they are truly wise. Fettered no more by selfish attachments, they are neither elated by good fortune nor depressed by bad. Such are the seers.... When you keep thinking about sense objects, attachment comes. Attachment breeds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gandhi, Mysticism, Spiritual Practices Leave a Comment

All Bodies Count: Memorial Day, Fallen Soldiers & Civilian Casualties

May 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
conscience

My father who fought in WWII, he tried to tell me that, “War is not as glamorous as they make it out to be.” But I was too stubborn and bull-headed to listen. When you are young, you want to get that experience for yourself . . . and, boy, I asked for it. I really found out. I saw more than I really wanted to see…. You [see] how war affects the civilians in the area. Every house you look at has bomb craters or bullet holes in it . . . .  It makes them put their humanity aside to make it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conscientious Objection to War, Gandhi, MLK, Nonviolent Activism, Sermons Leave a Comment

Zero Dark Thirty: Torture, Disavowal, and the Oscars

February 19, 2013 By 1 Comment
metta-meditation

This is what should be done by those who are skilled in goodness, and who know the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied, unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways, peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful, not proud and demanding in nature. Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove. Wishing: in gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease. Whatever living … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ethics, Gandhi, Nonviolent Activism, Sermons, Unitarian Universalism 1 Comment

Simplify! Living More Abundantly with Less Stuff in Less Space

July 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Enough-cover-194x300

(Will Davis, Jr., Enough: Finding More by Living with Less, 2012, 232 pages.) This book review is a sponsored post that is part of the Patheos Book Club. When I was first asked to review this book, my first thought was, "Great. I've already read it!" However, I was mistakenly thinking of another good book titled "Enough" by an author whose first name is also "Will": Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess by Will Samson (from back in 2009). Reflecting on this duplicate title reminded me … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ethics, Gandhi, Occupy Leave a Comment

What Did JFK, MLK, & Gandhi Really Think about Birth Control?

February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Many commentators have noted the ironic, misogynistic, and audacious scene of yesterday's Congressional Committee hearing in which only men were called to testify about the controversy surrounding funding for women's contraception. Equally troubling were the three huge posters displayed behind the committee of John F. Kennedy, Jr.; Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi. The intended point was that these three figures symbolize the courage to stand up for the dictates of your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Catholicism, Gandhi, JFK, MLK Leave a Comment