In Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, the Franciscan friar has an ambitious goal. He wants us to see like a Christian mystic. That’s a little daunting, because mystics see the world a little differently than you or me, or for that matter many who call themselves religious. The mystics are all about the direct, inner experience of God. Religion often points to God, keeping a polite distance. But the mystics, like Julian of... Read more
Everyone has heard of guardian angels, a heavenly spirit that watches over us and protects us. But few of us have ever experienced the presence of one. You may wonder if they really exist or under what circumstances they make themselves known. The author John Geiger has explored the notion of guardian angels before, first in The Third Man Factor (see my story here) and again in The Angel Effect: We Are Never Alone. Geiger recounts tale after tale of... Read more
“Nature is the ultimate healer.” That’s a telling quote from Dina Saalisi and her book* Listening to Flowers: Positive Affirmations to Invoke the Healing Energy of the 38 Bach Flowers, with illustrations by Audrey Violet. Saalisi, a California-based healer and hypnotherapist, believes that nature can help cure what ails us—especially the fragrances found in various flowers and flowering plants. Part of the title of the book might have you scratching your head: “What are the 38 Bach flowers”? There’s an... Read more
I’ve been challenged by Richard Rohr—and so have you. He has asked us to take a deeper look at ourselves and answer a simple question: “Am I awake?” Writing in The Naked Now: Learning to See at the Mystics See, the noted author and Franciscan friar isn’t talking about being awake in the traditional non-sleeping manner. He means “are you awake” in a spiritual sense? Rohr anticipates that from his question, we may have several follow-up questions like: Does being... Read more
The search for happiness is often the source of unhappiness. I heard the line above on the Rainn Wilson spirituality show The Geography of Bliss—and it got me thinking. What if there was no search involved? What if happiness was sitting right in front of us, waiting to be grasped—or more accurately, embraced? It’s an idea that Naval Ravikant has also explored and you may already have a question: Who the heck is Naval Ravikant? While not widely known outside... Read more
Can emptiness really be fulfilling? It sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? After all, aren’t we most happy when we are satiated, feeling stuffed after a big dinner, or when our calendars are full, and our lives are brimming with activities? Thomas Moore begs to differ. In his book, The Eloquence of Silence: Surprising Wisdom in Tales of Emptiness, Moore looks at the merits of emptiness from a variety of perspectives. Through a series of short chapters, each beginning with... Read more
At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel. There’s a lot of truth in the paraphrased quote above from Maya Angelou. You can probably think back to your childhood and remember neighbors, classmates or teachers who made you feel good—and others who made you feel, well, not so great. But the focus today isn’t on others, it’s on you. How are you making other people... Read more
If you wanted to find the real God, would you look in the Bible? Or does the Bible present a false version of God, a God shaped by myth and folklore, reflecting the thinking of ancient cultures more than two-thousand years removed from our own? These are just a few of the questions pondered by biblical scholar and theologian Peter Enns in Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming. The title is a nod to Enns’ former... Read more
Thomas Moore has a superb new book out titled “The Eloquence of Silence” that I’ll be writing about in 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, here’s Moore wisdom from “Ageless Soul.” The story below will appear in Wake Up Call, the book, being released January 1, 2024 by Wildhouse Publishing. You might think the cure for loneliness is a simple one: just get out of the house and spend time with other people. But there’s a contrary point-of-view, and it comes... Read more
If you’ve caught any recent interviews with Matthew McConaughey, it’s quite clear he’s a spiritual man. But is he religious? In a recent interview, McConaughey told an anecdote about being in kindergarten where his mother served as the teacher. One day at recess, a friend tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Matt, let’s go out and play!” McConaughey made a dash for the playground only to be horse-collared by his mom. She scolded him, saying: Your name is not... Read more
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