When we say we are spiritually isolated, different meanings emerge such as being unable to worship and pray together, or not having a spiritual relationship with the sacred presence, or fearing death, or ritual isolation. There are two books I have found helpful in understanding this: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and The […]
This past Wednesday, November 11, 2020, was Veterans Day in the U.S. The usual “Thank you for your service” messages of love came to me via text and tags on social media. It happens every year, and every year I don’t know what to say. During most interactions, both myself and the person sending the [...]
Do you hear a protracted public sigh after this U.S. presidential election? When I informally query colleagues, friends, neighbors and students this week, about how they feel in the post-election gloaming, each response is preceded by a noticeable exhale. Their responses to me reveal how cleaved we feel right now – “weary perseverance”, “anxious hopefulness”, “frayed determination”, and more. The sinews of our [...]
Music inspires and transcends boundaries and Barry Manilow, through the song ‘One Voice,’ shows leadership comes from anywhere. Music has been a big part of my life. I have led people of all faiths in song and spiritual practice with sound to help heal. Now, as a retired business leader, I teach about the ‘presence’ [...]
Precious little history of the interfaith movement is available, save for several books by Marcus Braybrooke. As the globe shrinks with digital tools, and as interfaith relations develop and increasingly command public attention, this arena deserves more attention. Its history is threaded with interesting, useful stories, information, and wisdom. One important but mostly unnoticed element [...]
Almost ten months into 2020, it’s a daily challenge to not be consumed by despair and sadness. What lessons can we learn from those we’ve lost? And what call remains for each of us to hear? It’s hard to look back at what 2020 has been and not feel disheartened. As a global community, we [...]
In August of 1963, in Zimbabwe, as I held tightly onto my mother’s hand, we walked down the street of a small African farming town, whilst our cursing white neighbors spat on her if they could not avoid her by walking on the other side of the street. Why were they doing this? My mother [...]
Six months into this pandemic, without an end in sight, the idea of time spent at home may hold less appeal than it once did. Home is a construct that is as concrete as the spaces we inhabit daily and as ephemeral as an idea that lives only in our imaginations. Sue Monk Kidd writes [...]
Franklin Graham, a popular evangelical leader and Republican political activist gave his thumbs down on Trump’s opponents and their convening in words contrived to alarm unthinking Christians. He intoned, “In watching some of the Democratic National Convention on television this week, it has been interesting to see the absence of God.” There are many reasons why [...]
This past Tuesday, June 18th, 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the United States of America. As a woman, the Amendment and the Women's Suffrage Movement that led to this right is not something to take lightly. It leads me to [...]