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Redefining Spirituality and Debunking Magical Thinking In the Modern Age
The self-help movement has come quite a way since Samuel Smiles (actual name) published Self-Help in 1859. Considering the opening sentence invokes God and the help He offers, the tone for a metaphysical entity assisting you in your quest for [fill in the blank] was set. In many ways that idea hasn ...
In the last month, two people that I’ve critiqued in this column have replied and created fruitful dialogues. J. Brown, a teacher whom I respect for his intellectual fortitude, just sent me this new blog post; I am currently in a very pleasant email exchange with Indradyumna Swami, who responded to ...
Last week was a big one for assumptions. There was Wolf Blitzer asking an Oklahoma tornado survivor if she was thankful that the Lord spared her life. Then that brief, awkward moment when Rebecca Vitsmun looked down at her baby, cracked a half-smile, and replied ‘I’m actually an atheist ...
While in Joshua Tree this weekend for another event, my friend and I swung by Shaktifest, the sister festival of the more popular Bhaktifest, which takes place every September. Both fetes are entirely devoted to the music of kirtan (mantra chanting) and bhakti (devotional) yoga. By midday Sunday ...
Last week two articles were published stating that meditation is not necessarily a component of living a spiritual life, as well as that we generally don’t recognize what real meditation entails. While I agree with the first part, the second struck me as odd, especially given that one article ...
One of my first yoga instructors used to say, ‘Suffering is optional.’ In the immediate he was referencing the struggle to remain in challenging postures—our mindset could shift from one of struggle to that of acceptance. Underlying the asana was the notion that we choose to view existence as laced ...
After her uterus nearly erupted, Vyckie Garrison was rushed to the hospital to give birth to her seventh child. The emergency caesarean section nearly killed her. Her doctor warned the family to stop having children. Her friends balked at the prospect, promising that God would see to it that she ...
Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.—Alan Watts Yesterday the NY Times published an article about the importance of play in the evolutionary development of our species. Over the years I've read numerous essays and research confirming such. Play helps us ...
For the foreseeable future, ‘terrorism’ will be the default term immediately applied to any act of public violence. While some warned against jumping to conclusions in regards to yesterday’s tragedy in Boston—there have already been a slew of falsities reported by media outlets more concerned with ...
This morning after my yoga class, a friend came up and asked what the difference between prayer and meditation was, and if they were the same thing. While crossover exists, and while many people have different approaches to both, I replied that no, they do not have the same goal in mind. Prayer ...
A few weeks ago, when I published an article on vegetarianism as a political tool, I received emails and comments from people in India contesting the opening graphs, which were actually designed to set the stage more than be a driving point. Their basic contention: vegetarianism was a ...
Yesterday on NPR, Jenna Chavez, a member of an evangelical church in El Paso, Texas, succinctly summed up the foundation for the argument against same-sex marriage: [Marriage has] been defined...for thousands of years...I don't think a court should determine what it is if God's already ...
There’s a popular myth in the American yoga community that Indian vegetarianism began as a spiritual response to humanity’s place in the cosmos. The concept of ahimsa, or non-violence, is cited as the catalyst for widespread vegetarianism, used by some to propagate the message to an American ...
Observing the Roman Empire crumble from North Africa in the fifth century, St Augustine of Hippo decided that while waging war against fellow Christians was sinful, throwing up arms against pagans and other religious zealots, when done out of ‘love,’ was to be considered medicinal. He compared the ...
Arguably the most dangerous of the seven deadly sins, pride acts like the invisible center of the wheel of transgression in which the other six revolve. Inextricably entwined in cases of wrath, lust, greed, sloth, envy and gluttony, humanity’s boastful nature has forced commentators to say plenty ...