Living with hope, especially when life is hard, is difficult for most of us. But when we lose hope, when we give up on hope, we’re left in a bad way. Learning how to nurture hope is critical for our lives. In this video, I talk about hope and how… Read More »Hope: It’s the Hardest Thing
From time to time, I post a meme on my Facebook page and Twitter feeds with quotes from spiritual writers I find inspiring. A few days ago, I posted this one with a quote from 13th Century Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart. Eckhart was a Dominican priest, philosopher, and theologian. In… Read More »Set on Fire
The problems of the world can be overwhelming to us: the climate crisis, refugees and asylum seekers, and violence. How can we begin to grasp the enormity of the world’s problems from the perspective of the spiritual dimension of our lives? The following is a text version of this blog.… Read More »The Overwhelming Problems of the World
Taking rituals and ceremonies that aren’t yours and using them contrary to their original purpose: this form of cultural appropriation commonly happens with spiritual practice. In a time when interspirituality has become common, what is important to consider about the appropriation of the beliefs and rituals of others? The following… Read More »Spiritual Appropriation: Exploiting the Rituals of Others
Enlightenment. Spiritual growth. Personal fulfillment. While many people pursue these aspects of growth, is there a dark side to this quest? The following is a text version of this posting. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. People who are rich and poor alike spend huge sums of money on it. What do… Read More »The Dark Side of the Quest for Enlighenment
It’s an age-old question … one that people continue to ask. Why is this happening? Things happen to us that we view as bad. We look for a reason. We ask these questions when we don’t get the job we want, when a relationship doesn’t work out, or when a… Read More »Jesus, God’s Glory, and the Law of Attraction
Spiritual teachers, gurus, and clergy all tell people how to engage in spiritual practices. Often, they have a “one size fits all” approach. There’s wisdom in recognizing that we each need to pray as we can, not as we can’t. The following is a text version of this posting. A… Read More »Pray As You Can Not As You Can’t
It’s an ancient tradition. Over the last 1500 years or so, Christians have observed a period of prayer and fasting prior to Easter. In time, a forty-day period (Sundays aren’t included because Sundays are a memorial of Easter) emerged within the Christian tradition and came to be called Lent. The… Read More »Lent and the God of Jesus