Charles Fillmore, cofounder of Unity, said that prayer is “communion between God and man ... it is the language of spirituality.” Just as our physical senses give us language and experience for our human world, prayer awakens our “spiritual senses,” giving us language for the ever-deepening felt presence and expression of the living Christ energy. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
We seem to be deluged with never-ending newspaper and TV coverage about the Syrian/Iraqi refugee crisis and the threat of extremist violence. Each time it shows up in my newsfeed on Facebook, cuts into a TV show I am enjoying, or I hear people in a coffee shop talking about it frantically, I am bombarded [...]
I’m sitting in the cancer center, hooked up to an IV for my iron infusion for the next 6 hours, watching worlds go by. I am in a large room full of recliners, IV stands, rolling carts filled with anything your nurse could need - gauze pads in 6 different sizes, 5 varying lengths and [...]
How often have you used the phrase, “it took my breath away?” The other day I pulled over to allow an ambulance safe passage. As I listened to the screaming vehicle fast approaching, the sound literally took my breath away. Finally I saw the ambulance come over the hill and the driver barely looked both [...]
The other day I saw a social media post from a spiritual leader that seriously hooked me and within seconds I was completely torqued! Totally pissed me off! Huge judgments running through my mind, and it sat so heavily on me I had to send an email to friend and rant for a couple paragraphs [...]
Did you know that lamenting is a spiritual practice? It is incredibly relevant for Easter, especially Holy Week, when our time of the crucifixion and resurrection is coming to a close. This Easter season I want to talk about lamentations. Why? Because to lament is probably one of the most revolutionary things we can do [...]
At the end of each December I think about intentions I may want to focus on for the next 365 days because I don’t do resolutions. However, I definitely do REVOLUTIONS. That’s what these questions, What if? and Why not? help create for us. I always have the feeling that maybe, just maybe, I am [...]
Two things I love about the wisdom of the Muppets, First, their philosophy is eternal. It was here long before Jim Henson, and will be here long after the Muppets retire. The second reason I think the Muppets are necessary for life’s learning, is because it reminds me there is hope. Hope for the spiritual realities we yearn for in life, regardless of one’s faith philosophy or tradition.
I have never outgrown my delight in smelling coffee brewing first thing in the morning. Especially during my morning contemplative time. Wherever I am, at home or traveling, there is something about that earthy aroma that makes me pause while a smile spreads across my face, like warm syrup over a pancake. As I breathe [...]
Do not adjust your screen, yes, you read the title correctly - I’m giving up God for Lent. I know this may sound strange since I am a member of the clergy. Why on earth would someone who’s JOB is God give up God for Lent? It would be like watching a doctor ask the [...]
Everywhere I look there are TV shows, articles, pictures, poems, reflections and pithy aphorisms about love, oneness and seeing or knowing God. If I didn’t know better I would think we were hungry, or even starving, to see Spirit! In our spiritual journey we seek to define God, to manifest Spirit, to know our faith and to live it. I sometimes find myself drifting in and out of knowing the Divine, and what it means to fully “see” God, or even to have faith in what I am doing.
