Do you consider yourself “spiritual, but not religious? (Aka SBNR.) If you’re like the majority of Wake Up Call readers, you just answered yes. And if that’s the case, you may have a problem, the same one I encounter from time-to-time. Those of us who have left the world of organized religion, or were never a part of it in the first place, can often have a deep-seeded yearning to connect with something greater than ourselves. You might call it a spiritual itch.... Read more
You might know Ken Jennings as the host of the popular game show Jeopardy and a former long-running champion on the show. But he’s also an author who has published several books. His latest release caught my eye as soon as I saw the title: 100 Places to See After You Die. Jennings explores the different visions of heaven and hell found in mythology, books, movies and television. But what I think Wake Up Call readers might find most interesting... Read more
What if the secret to connecting with God was hiding in plain sight? What if it was so beautiful in its simplicity, that when we grasped it, we realized it could have never been any other way? And what if this secret was discovered not in our time, but by a Christian mystic living over 600 years ago? The mystic’s name is Julian of Norwich and last year Julian of Norwich: The Showings was reissued with a new translation from... Read more
When was the last time you did a little self-examination—taken a time-out from life to sit back and evaluate where you are, what you’re currently doing, and where you’re headed? Is your life on the course you envisioned? Or did you at some point take a turn you didn’t plan on? Is the path you’re now on true to who you are or are you headed in the wrong direction? A few nights ago, I woke up at 3am... Read more
He is the wisest who seeks God. He is the most successful who has found God. ~Yogananda On the Tim Ferriss podcast, the host often asks his guests which book they have “gifted” more than any other. For me, the answer is easy. It’s Paramahansa Yogananda’s The Law of Success: Using the Power of Spirit to Create Health, Prosperity and Happiness. I’ve given the book to many people, including a down on her luck cabby in Los Angeles and most recently my... Read more
How many more years will you be alive? And what will you do with them? A US government life expectancy calculator gives me a little more than 20 years on this earth; another calculator allots me a more generous 75% chance to live 25.4 additional years. Yet we never really know how much time we have left. I have written about the business executive who at the age of fifty-three discovered he had terminal cancer and three months to live... Read more
In Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, the Franciscan friar has an ambitious goal. He wants us to see like a Christian mystic. That’s a little daunting, because mystics see the world a little differently than you or me, or for that matter many who call themselves religious. The mystics are all about the direct, inner experience of God. Religion often points to God, keeping a polite distance. But the mystics, like Julian of... Read more
Everyone has heard of guardian angels, a heavenly spirit that watches over us and protects us. But few of us have ever experienced the presence of one. You may wonder if they really exist or under what circumstances they make themselves known. The author John Geiger has explored the notion of guardian angels before, first in The Third Man Factor (see my story here) and again in The Angel Effect: We Are Never Alone. Geiger recounts tale after tale of... Read more
“Nature is the ultimate healer.” That’s a telling quote from Dina Saalisi and her book* Listening to Flowers: Positive Affirmations to Invoke the Healing Energy of the 38 Bach Flowers, with illustrations by Audrey Violet. Saalisi, a California-based healer and hypnotherapist, believes that nature can help cure what ails us—especially the fragrances found in various flowers and flowering plants. Part of the title of the book might have you scratching your head: “What are the 38 Bach flowers”? There’s an... Read more
I’ve been challenged by Richard Rohr—and so have you. He has asked us to take a deeper look at ourselves and answer a simple question: “Am I awake?” Writing in The Naked Now: Learning to See at the Mystics See, the noted author and Franciscan friar isn’t talking about being awake in the traditional non-sleeping manner. He means “are you awake” in a spiritual sense? Rohr anticipates that from his question, we may have several follow-up questions like: Does being... Read more
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