“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
The following story is one of 112 included in my new book “Wake Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious.” It’s available at Amazon. Are you old enough to remember when the Beatles had a brief fling with Indian spirituality? In 1968, the group went to India to visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement. While the trip ended abruptly, due to some questionable behavior by the Yogi, it was part of the spiritual development of... Read more
These days, it can be easy to lose your joie de vivre (English translation: joy of living) or at least feel like it’s missing in action. And who can blame you? It seems like there’s been a seemingly endless stretch of bad news that has lasted months, with our inability to get a handle on the Covid virus disrupting virtually every facet of life. So with all that’s going on, how can you stay actively engaged with life? Should you... Read more
How do you picture God? I was raised in a Catholic family and attended Sunday church services regularly until I was out of high school. For years, I perceived God as an elderly man with a long beard. He sat on a throne in the clouds, draped in flowing white sheets, watching over the world. It was not until I was well into adulthood that my spiritual thinking began to evolve and I started to see God in a new light.... Read more
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