In one of my courses this week, we discussed a concept in cognitive psychology called autonomy. Autonomy is the belief that individuals, as independent and separate from others, are responsible for their own thoughts and behavior. A person is able to change thoughts and behavior patterns because they belong to… Read More »Autonomy and Community: Toward the Greater Good
The sun was warm. The sky was blue. There was crispness to the air. It was a perfect autumn day. Laura and I drove to the county park for a walk around the lake. Now living in D.C., I thought my good friend would enjoy the afternoon in a rural… Read More »Spirituality, Judgments, and Turbulent Times
The year was 1971. We sat in a classroom with desks in straight rows. The high school guidance counselor walked in as a hush fell in the room. After dumping books and papers on the desk, he went to the chalk board and wrote, “Know Thyself.” The “guidance” class required… Read More »Exercise and Self-Knowledge: Dimensions of the Spiritual Path
He paged through the book he just purchased. Thoughtfully, he looked up at me and said, “Spirituality it something important. I really believe that. I can see it in the lives of other people and the difference it makes for them. I hate to admit this, but I really don’t… Read More »Igniting the Inner Spark
It’s morning. I complete my bathroom ablutions and sip some coffee. Making my way to the study, I pause to light a single candle centered on a small table. Sitting in a large, wooden straight back chair, I begin. Sometimes I start with a chant and other times a favorite… Read More »Self-Transcendence and Sustainable Spirituality
What’s better for the environment: using paper bags that could increase deforestation or plastic bags that result in debris everywhere from city streets to water ways? Is it more environmentally friendly to use energy to wash a dirty plate or to use a throw-away paper plate? What about sending greetings… Read More »Sustainable Spirituality: The Foundation for Green Living
In the mid 1980’s, I read a novel by May Sarton: Anger. Because her autobiographic work, The Journal of a Solitude, touched me deeply, I hoped her novel exploring expressions of anger would help me sort out my own experience of anger. Anger is an emotion which has complicated my… Read More »Anger: A Signal for Change
We live in a time of great uncertainty. More people are unemployed in the United States than have been since the Great Depression. The number of families living in poverty has reached the level of the 1960’s when Johnson declared a war on poverty. The country is divided politically, economically,… Read More »Sustainable Spirituality: Re-Thinking Our Life Together
