When you picture God, do you conjure up an image of a fatherly figure with long white hair and a beard? If you answer yes, there’s a pretty good reason for that. Attend a religious service at any church, synagogue, or mosque and, more often than not, you’ll find God referred to in strictly male terms. You may be surprised to learn that in the three Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, God is not defined as a man or... Read more
Sometimes inspiration finds you. Other times you find it. The key is knowing where to look and for me one of the easiest places to locate a little spiritual stimulation is on one of the bookcases in our home. It was there, under a thin layer of dust, that I stumbled upon A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen. Do you remember this book? It was an instant bestseller when it first came out, to my surprise,... Read more
Welcome to a Thanksgiving like none ever. If you’re like a lot of people, the alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, combined with warnings from public health officials, has altered your holiday travel plans or changed the plans of friends and family members you were expecting to see. What can we do but make the best of it? While the Thanksgiving gatherings may be smaller than usual, across America we will still be celebrating the holiday. In my home, we’ll have... Read more
How did you sleep last night? Perhaps you’re like me—one of those people who has no trouble falling asleep, but who often wakes up at 3 or 4 in the morning feeling wide awake. I’ll then proceed to toss and turn for an hour, maybe two, before mercifully sleep again washes over me. As I try to sleep, the monkey mind is on the loose. The notion of the monkey mind comes from Buddhism and refers to the mind jumping... Read more
Let’s put political parties and issues aside for a moment and look at character. What were the moral and emotional qualities that distinguished the presidential candidates as individuals? Could you label each of them as honest and trustworthy? How about kind and empathetic? Character is important because it sets the tone for those around you, whether they be your political followers, your co-workers, your children, grandchildren or extended family. What you do and how you act rubs off on others,... Read more
Is it over yet? Just when you thought it might be safe to come out again, the election goes into overtime. It’s enough to make you drink—which I’ve been doing pretty much since the polls closed Tuesday evening. I’m sure my life will return back to normal, when and if they ever declare a winner. Yet there’s more to stress-relief than a strong pint of ale or a glass of red wine. I’ve written previously about how to de-stress almost... Read more
What is the secret to a happy and contented life? We’ve all heard the aphorism made famous by the American author and mythologist Joseph Campbell that you should “follow your bliss.” It sounds like a brilliant idea, one that most of us can get behind—but what does it mean exactly? Campbell’s remarks on bliss occurred during a discussion with journalist Bill Moyers on a popular PBS series titled The Power of Myth that first aired in 1988. He expanded on... Read more
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
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