Finding your way on the winding path we call life.

March 14, 2014 By Tom Rapsas

How do you walk through life? Are you sure-footed with a specific destination in mind? Or do you meander, unsure of your direction or where you’re headed? Several months ago, I wrote about finding your path in life, or what’s also known as “finding your calling”. I thought this quote by David Spangler did a great job of summing up what a calling meant: We all possess a gift or talent that we are attracted to and enjoy doing…this gift… Read more

I don’t go to church. So why did I sneak into a Thursday afternoon service?

February 21, 2014 By Tom Rapsas

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I’m not a regular church-goer, more of a Christmas and every-third-Easter kind of guy. I prefer connecting with God in the solace of my own home and see spirituality as more of a solo venture. But on this particular Thursday, I’m breaking the rules. I decide I need to break away from an especially insane day at the office—I work in a fast-paced New York City advertising agency—and find a quiet place for contemplation. I think I know just the… Read more

Finding the Spiritual Silver Lining in a Long, Blue Winter.

February 6, 2014 By Tom Rapsas

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Arctic air. Sleet and snow. Black ice. Commuting nightmares. It has been one brutal winter in most of the United States and I, for one, have had enough. This year, like most, when the calendar hit January 2, I was officially ready for summer. But after one of the coldest months on record, even the promise of spring seems far away. I suppose I could be one of the millions who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It’s what some call… Read more

If Jesus saves, can Buddha save too?

January 22, 2014 By Tom Rapsas

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Chris Lemig was one messed up dude. He had gone 23 years without having a single sober day, overindulging in all manners of booze and drugs. He had hurt friends, family, anyone who ever got close to him. Wracked by guilt, confused about his sexual identity and without hope, he hated himself. And then, just when he had hit rock bottom, Lemig was saved…by the Buddha. Funny how when you hear stories about people being saved from addiction, it’s often… Read more

Finding your own personal spiritual mentor. (Even if that mentor is dead.)

January 9, 2014 By Tom Rapsas

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The really smart marketer Seth Godin got met thinking about mentors the other day. While I’ve always believed the spiritual path is best navigated as a solo journey, and have railed against “gurus” in the past, the word “mentor” evokes a different image for me. I picture a wise sage who, when needed, dispenses valuable advice and counsel, ensuring that the spiritual journeyer stays on course. But how do we go about finding our own spiritual mentor? According to Godin,… Read more

The Dude on Finding True Love and Making it Last.

December 30, 2013 By Tom Rapsas

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Earlier this year, I wrote a column titled “You’ll Dig These 6 Life Tips from The Dude” here on these Patheos pages. It featured the wisdom of the actor Jeff Bridges as told in his book The Dude and the Zen Master. The Dude is a role Bridges once played in the movie The Big Lebowski. And while he may have received an Academy Award as Best Actor for Crazy Heart, it was his performance as the chillaxed Dude that… Read more

10 true things Jesus said that you won’t find in the Bible.

December 18, 2013 By Tom Rapsas

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What if I told you some of the most amazing and compelling things Jesus said during his lifetime can’t be found in the Bible? That’s because they’re part of the Gnostic Gospels, a loose collection of almost 60 early Christian texts that have been referred to as “the secret sayings of the savior”. Many of the Gnostic gospels were written in the first through third centuries, about the same time as the four gospels found in the New Testament. Once… Read more

Did Roger Ebert glimpse heaven days before his death?

December 6, 2013 By Tom Rapsas

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An avowed “non-believer”, something strange happened to the movie critic Roger Ebert a week before his death: According to his wife Chaz, he visited heaven. Did you read the recent best-seller Proof of Heaven? I did and while Dr. Eban Alexander spun a good tale of his journey into a heaven-like world while lying in a coma, there was just one problem: the author had credibility issues. As detailed in a long profile and follow-up in Esquire magazine, one couldn’t walk… Read more

The One Prayer to Say on Thanksgiving (and the 364 days that follow).

November 27, 2013 By Tom Rapsas

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“If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart I first wrote about this prayer at the beginning of the year and am repeating it here because it is especially appropriate for the Thanksgiving holiday. I use it each morning to get my day off to a great start and for all its simplicity, it’s the most important, most powerful prayer I know. It’s a simple prayer of thanks and it starts… Read more

Spirituality and the Rat Race: can you maintain a spiritual focus in the 9-to-5 world?

November 20, 2013 By Tom Rapsas

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I work in New York City in the frenetic world of advertising. After a two-hour early morning commute, I usually walk into the office with a couple of tight deadlines to make, two to three meetings to attend and an average of a crisis a day to handle. I work with people who approach their jobs with the same level of intensity you might associate with brain surgery. Now I consider myself a spiritual guy and place the utmost importance… Read more

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