Where do we go when we die? Maybe you believe that there is no place to go, that when this life is over the light goes out for good. But if you’re like me, you believe that the body is merely a vehicle for the soul—and that after the death of your body, your soul lives on in a world beyond this one. It’s a place that some people refer to as heaven. In the book Regaining Paradise, Forming a New... Read more
God is always speaking to us at different times and different ways. That’s the basic premise of the book Discernment by the late Henri Nouwen, a Roman Catholic priest, author of 39 books, and religious teacher at Yale, Harvard and Notre Dame. Of course, the idea that God is in constant contact with us may cause you to ask: “If God is talking, why don’t I hear him?” Nouwen says the way to hear God is through the process of... Read more
To put it mildly, Donald Trump has engaged in some questionable pandemic-related behavior. As The Washington Post succinctly put it, “President Trump contracted the novel coronavirus after months in which he and people around him avoided taking basic steps to prevent the virus’s spread, like wearing masks and avoiding large indoor crowds.” What I’m wondering, and maybe you are too, is this: Is President Trump’s Covid-19 infection the result of karma? Will his continuing disregard for the disease, and the... Read more
“God is indwelling; and because God is indwelling, I do not have to seek God so much as I have to remember my connection with God.” Remembering our connection to God—that’s the hard part, isn’t it? The words above come from journalist Karen Brailsford and her new book Sacred Landscapes of the Soul. Comprised of a series of short essays that she calls “landscapes,” her stories have a common thread: the idea that God is everywhere and with us always,... Read more
I first wrote a story with this title a few years ago, but now it’s time for a new take on it—because if ever there was a need for more lifeguards it is now. There’s a churning rip-current of bad news and negativity out there and it’s taking people down with it. So, it’s time to be on guard for those around us who are slipping beneath the surface. Or, if needed, to rescue ourselves. Some simple but urgent guidance... Read more
Years ago, there was a spirituality and life blogger I followed who went by the penname of Anna Nimm. She was supersmart and had a unique point-of-view, but one day her posts suddenly stopped appearing in my inbox. A few years went by until she suddenly remerged, with several new blog posts. Where had Anna been? In the jungles of Peru taking ayahuasca. There are many paths you can take on your spiritual journey. You might devote yourself to a... Read more
At the age of 53, Eugene O’Kelly was on top of the world. He was a top executive at a major accounting firm, a job that he loved. He lived in a penthouse apartment in New York City and had a lakefront vacation home. He was happily married and had two children he cherished. Then, after experiencing headaches and vision problems for a few days, he went to the doctor. He thought it would be a small issue, probably just... Read more
This story appears in the new book Wake Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious. What do you do when it feels like your prayers are going into a deep, dark void and you aren’t connecting with the Divine? Well, in the 14th century an English Christian mystic had an answer, an alternative to traditional prayer that he believed offered a direct connection to God. The mystic, who has never been identified, put his thoughts down in a book... Read more
How do you stay sane when the world around you is going nuts? In his new book Spiritual Practices for Crazy Times, the noted author and Interfaith Minister Philip Goldberg has some answers. He discusses our current plight—and the seemingly daily adverse events that can take the wind out of our sails and momentarily knock us off our spiritual path. Goldberg tells us that: In crazy times like ours, we need prayer, meditation, mindfulness, and other spiritual practices more than ever.... Read more
Who is the greatest figure in the history of American spirituality? If you ask me this highly subjective question, I’d argue it’s the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here’s his story. A graduate of the Harvard Divinity School in 1821, Emerson serves for three-plus years as a minister at a Unitarian church. But at the age of 29 he decides to call it quits, not because of a crisis of faith, but due to a loss of confidence in the church. Emerson has... Read more
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