I am a member of clergy. And I am also a citizen. I write this because silence in this moment is not neutrality — it is abdication. The church has a role in democracy. Not a partisan role — but a moral one. Democracy does not sustain itself, it is not self-executing. It lives [...]
I don’t often hear people use the word “outraged” let alone “rage.” I will hear words like anger, frustrated, mad, irritated - but not rage. I think we have an allergy to it because it makes the body and mind feel out of control, at least it does for me. Often being outraged assumes [...]
Every year when decorating the tree on Christmas Eve at my mother’s there comes a point when we become still and fall silent. We oftentimes wait until Christmas Eve to decorate the tree in order to have everyone there. It makes for a much more precious and meaningful experience as each ornament is taken out [...]
How many times have you found yourself interacting with a person you find challenging, and thinking how hard that person is to love? Have you ever wondered if you’ve been hard to love? I know I have been. Sometimes I’m just prickly, aware that I am angry, tired, lonely or confused. Some days I [...]
Recently a friend and I were talking about what life was like when we first got into 12-step recovery, and what we needed in order to break the bonds of addiction. I rarely talk about the beginning because frankly most of it is a blur, and it was a few decades ago! All I wanted [...]
Advent and Christmas is a time for telling the truth—the truth of our weariness and our anxiety, yes, but also the truth of relentless generosity. The entire season of Advent is about something on the horizon coming, something we’ve never seen before. It is a season of asking “what is possible?” An invitation to begin [...]
Meister Eckhart was a medieval philosopher, theologian and one of the great Christian mystics. His writings and teachings created quite a stir, and eventually he was accused of heresy by the church. Yet, like all good boat rockers, he has lived on - and with greater influence today than when he lived 700 years ago. [...]
It is Charles Fillmore’s birthday today, he would have been 165 years old. So I offer this essay about “the Silence.” His meditation practice was referred to as Practicing the Silence, and then there is the Silence itself, a state of consciousness. It was a gift given to us from the co-founder of Unity 120 [...]
About 600 years before the writers of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke penned Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed, Buddha told a parable of a mustard seed. It revolves around a woman, Kisa Gotami, who lived during the time of Buddha. Kisa’s only child had died, and unwilling to accept his death, she [...]
When was the last time you participated in something sacred with 1.5 billion people? The thought of that may sound exciting or possibly a little daunting, but I can tell you it is enlightening and deeply rewarding. I am referring to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It is considered the holiest month of [...]
It's the second week of Advent, the week we focus on PEACE, and I am wondering how much peace everyone is feeling or practicing in light of events, both here at home and abroad. Sometimes peace can seem a little out of reach or maybe for a few folks, even difficult to define. I [...]
It’s been a strange year, which sounds woefully inadequate. Somedays it appears the world has gone mad. Not my first time thinking this or even saying it. Hell, almost everyone I know is saying the same thing. I’ve been watching the last couple years of f***ed up leadership in this country - watching people [...]
It’s official. We have entered the holiday season - even though I saw Christmas decorations at Target this past July… but let’s not go there. The bell has rung, and we are out of the gate - starting on Thanksgiving, running into Black Friday, zipping through Small Business Saturday, leaping over Sunday (there must [...]
Say these words out loud - I AM BLESSED. Now say it again with a pause in between each word. I. AM. BLESSED. Now one more time with a longer pause, and with your most powerful voice - I… AM… BLESSED. Even as I write the words, a smile emerges slowly across my face, my [...]
Do you ever hear words emanating from your lips, and instantly while the words break from your mouth you think, “Did I really just say that??” You are still in the nanosecond of surprise, when you discover you probably have a small list of sentences or phrases you could never have imagined uttering. If you [...]
