The body is described as the “temple of God.” This means that our care for our physical well-being is an ethical as well as spiritual issue. What we eat, our patterns of exercise, rest, prayer, and meditation are all part of our spiritual adventure. Each person’s path to wholeness is unique, but overall well-being involves caring for our bodies as well as the bodies of others. Our diet is an ethical issue: as the saying goes, “live simply, so that... Read more
In his Advent Oratorio, W.H. Auden counsels “love him [God] in the world of the flesh.” God’s world is beautiful and deserves our love and appreciation. The apostle Paul describes the body as the temple of the Spirit and invites us to glorify God in our bodies. There are many ways to glorify God in embodiment, but some of the most helpful involve movement and exercise, healthy eating habits, meditation, rest and stress-reducing techniques, and healthy touch. We can love... Read more
Creation is alive with beauty and praise. Let all things praise God. Praise is the recognition of the holiness and beauty of life, and the abundant creativity of God. In God, we live and have our being. Praise affirms are connectedness with the Life Giver and the Life All Around Us. Praise orients us toward the divine. It reminds us that we are not self-contained or self-made but depend on the bountiful abundance of the universe for every breath we... Read more
A Native American prayer asserts: I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me. I walk with beauty above me. I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty all around me. Your world is so beautiful, O God! In that same spirit, the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead affirms that the aim of the universe is toward the production of beauty. Spirituality truly involves embracing a beautiful God, as Patricia Adams Farmer suggests in her book... Read more
Psalm 150 says “let everything that breathes praise God!” Holistic and adventurous spirituality embraces all creation and sees God’s presence in all things. God’s omnipresence means that God is inspiring and energizing the non-human as well as human worlds. We are called to heal the earth, not just human relationships. Romans 8 proclaims that “creation” groans in pain as it awaits the healing that comes through divine-human partnership. Our wholeness and the wholeness of creation are intimately related. When we... Read more
There is no “other.” While each of us is unique and experiences the world from a unique and unrepeatable perspective, we are all intimately related. The whole universe, as philosopher Alfred North Whitehead asserts, conspires to create each moment of experience. And each moment of our lives shapes our future and the future of our planetary companions. In the interdependence of life, God is the energy that holds all things together. God is present in all things as the source... Read more
In the Holy Adventure, there is no ultimate distinction between loving God and loving our neighbor, including the non-human neighbor. In loving God, we gain a perspective on life that takes us beyond individualistic self-interest to care for the whole, even when it means personal sacrifice. In loving the neighbor, I bring greater beauty to God’s experience of the world. Loving God and creation are part of one dynamic spiral of relatedness. God is in all things, moving through the... Read more
In the Jewish tradition, the words “tikkun olam” mean repairing or mending the world. What we do really matters. Each act brings and detracts from the beauty of the world. In an open universe in which the future awaits our decisions, our calling is to companion with God in healing the world. In the interdependence of life, our acts radiate across the universe, shaping the micro and macro. Embracing our calling as members of the body of Christ brings wholeness... Read more
The body of Christ is more than a church; it is the graceful interconnectedness of life; the place where we all belong and all have a vocation, a role – or many roles – that bring beauty and health to the whole. The body of Christ is the divine-creaturely community that embraces all of us. Our life’s mission is to discover the roles that we alone can play in bringing health to our companions in the holy adventure. Creation seeks... Read more
You are loved, simply because you exist. You don’t have to earn it, just receive it. Open to those who love you without conditions. Awaken to God’s all-encompassing love – a love that embraces everlastingly all creation. Just as you are, you are loveable. Sometimes the last place we expect to find God’s presence is in our own lives. The world is filled with God, others need our care, but often we forget about ourselves. We see ourselves as God-forsaken,... Read more
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