If you’re a regular reader of Wake Up Call, you’ll know that I often feature the philosophies of others who I admire and who have influenced my thinking. This includes the soul-virtuoso Thomas Moore, the businessman-turned-philosopher John Templeton and the passionate promoter of “interspirituality” Mirabai Starr. I like to think that these writers, and others of their ilk, add an additional layer of wisdom to what I already know, putting a fresh coast of paint on the bedrock principles that… Read more
July 3, 2013
Does spirituality mix with a good wine or beer buzz?
July 3, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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As I write this, it’s Wednesday and I am winding things down at work in anticipation of a rare four-day holiday weekend. I am especially looking forward to tomorrow, the 4th of July. I’ll start the day with some stretching and light meditation, followed by a prayer of thanks, and then embark on a four-mile run. If I have the time, I’ll also partake in a few pages of spiritual reading. I’m currently perusing Wisdom from World Religions by the great… Read more
June 23, 2013
Sick? Tired? Achy? Depressed? It’s time you tried some beautiful medicine.
June 23, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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How are you feeling today? Healthy, alert and full of vim and vigor? Or are you suffering from chronic aches and pains, fatigue or depression? If you’re in the latter camp, you must read a book that can honestly change your life: A Beautiful Medicine, A Radical Look at the Essence of Health and Healing by David Mercier. Mercier has crammed a lifetime of knowledge into this book, which includes decades of clinical experience and even a two-year stint as… Read more
June 7, 2013
Since we don’t know when we’re going to die, maybe we should get busy living.
June 7, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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Each weekday morning I get on a bus and make a very long commute from the Jersey Shore to New York City. On one particular morning, it dawned on me that I might have only a few seconds to live. It was a couple of days after the Boston Marathon bombing and I was sitting in the back row of the bus. Just as we were about to roll out of the park-and-ride lot, a man boarded the bus. I… Read more
May 19, 2013
How would you answer the question “Who is God?”
May 19, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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A few months ago I had a reader contact me about a blog post I had written. Like a lot of my Wake Up Call columns, it referenced God, and this particular person had a question that went something like this: “I enjoyed your story but you didn’t answer the question: Who is God?” It was a peculiar query, since this particular column wasn’t addressing the subject at all. Yet it got me thinking. Could I actually define God? Who… Read more
May 7, 2013
Is the best guru for you, you?
May 7, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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Why do you need a guru? If you fall down, then pick yourself up and continue to walk. ~Krishnamurti I’ve been reading with interest some of the posts of my fellow Patheos blogger Ambaa, also known as the White Hindu, who does a wonderful job of opening a window into Hindu traditions and philosophy. She also writes a regular series titled “Find a Guru” where she introduces us to individual gurus, warts and all. Like a warning label that appears… Read more
April 25, 2013
Excessive generosity: how you can make your world a better place.
April 25, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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I just finished reading the wonderful More or Less, Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity, by Jeff Shinabarger. But before I discuss this book, I’d like to start off with an anecdote. The motivational author Napoleon Hill, best known for his book “Think and Grow Rich”, is one of my all-time favorite inspirational writers. Hill was at a public event once when a woman approached him and said that while she appreciated his writing, she was disappointed that he didn’t… Read more
April 16, 2013
Where is God when evil happens?
April 16, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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I started writing this post just after the Newtown school shootings in Connecticut this past January, and now feel compelled to finish it given the events that just took place at the 2013 Boston Marathon. When something so sinister happens to so many innocent people it begs the question: How could God let this happen? It’s something that may have passed your mind as the news came out of Boston, or perhaps when you first heard the spirit-draining news of the… Read more
March 24, 2013
Leaving the church and finding God.
March 24, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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Who is the greatest figure in the history of American spirituality? If you ask me this highly subjective question I will tell you it’s the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here’s why. A graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, 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 crisis of dogma. Emerson has issues with… Read more
March 10, 2013
You have three months to live. Now what?
March 10, 2013 By Tom Rapsas
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At 53, Eugene O’Kelly was on top of the world. He was Chairman and CEO at one of the Big Four accounting firms, a job he loved. He lived in a penthouse apartment in New York City, had a lakefront vacation home and a happy family life with a wife and two children. Then one day, he went to the doctor for what he thought was a small issue. He had been experiencing headaches and vision problems, probably just migraines… Read more
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