Hopeful Thinking

The rules have all changed now. We are no longer bound by societal expectations about our religious devotions. Only decades ago, any American who didn’t belong to a church got a side-eye from the rest of society. A hundred years ago, there were actually men who wandered the streets on Sunday mornings to collect your tithe if you weren’t in church. And you’d better have a good reason for not being there. Truancy from worship was even punishable in some places. It brings to mind the resistance that has built up over these last decades to spiritual and religious rituals and ceremonies. And with good reason (see above). But not only from the obvious challenges people have with organized religion. We are going through a systematic appraisal of every single element within our human society right now. Nothing is off limits from inspection. Every symbolic carton of milk, loaf of bread, and jar of honey is being checked for an expiration date. Is this a good thing? Of course. Is it painful? Usu...

The sun moves one degree north today following three days of “death” near the Southern Cross constellation where it sat virtually immobile, waiting to begin the slow movement toward summer again. This cycle is thought of as the death and resurrection of the sun.  Interestingly, around midnight last night on December 24, the North Star sat in direct alignment with the three stars of Orion’s Belt, also known as “the three kings.” These three stars point directly to where the sun rose this morning on the 25th.  There are other parallels as well with the gospel stories including the constellation of Virgo the virgin also known as the “house of bread,” which happens to be the exact translation of the name Bethlehem.  What might there be to consider in all this? Does it beckon as proof that the story as it’s told in the Bible of Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection didn’t happen? Perhaps. But not necessarily. Whether or not the story happened literally is somewhat beside the ...

  We are entering one of the more sacred times of the year. Across so many cultures these next two weeks are adorned with dozens of occasions, festivals, and religious observances representing a myriad of belief systems. There’s a pattern to be seen in this. And it points to things which are intrinsically human among us. But also, exploration of these various traditions can lead to valuable insights about where we each fit within the pantheon of world spiritual belief.  Christmas, to me, is the recognition of the birth of a spiritual master whose teachings I happen to follow most closely. There are several others I look to for inspiration as well, but his I tend to perceive as a particularly clearly defined example of the active practice of raising the vibration of this planet through our actions. I am less focused on the birth of a savior in the traditionally observed sense, so much as I am focused upon someone who taught us a practice through which we might save ourselves. T...

We have a complicated relationship with the idea of submission. We sometimes take great pride in our lack of willingness to submit to the ideas, advice, or demands of others. Our independent streak is a wonderful tool, if used judiciously, however. To be honest, I had a tendency to feel the same way about the concept of submission. That is, until I spent a little bit of time in a Sufi monastery. There I learned the word Islam means submission. Specifically, submission to God. The concept isn’t as clear cut as you’d imagine. Submission can just as easily be viewed as a demand to do as you’re told. But that’s too simple. The closer I looked, the more I realized that “submitting oneself to God” is a poetic way of saying that we should use what we learn from spiritual texts to live our lives in the spirit of good relationships with our neighbors.  Though many will disagree with that interpretation of what I have gleaned of God’s purpose for us through my exposure to various spiritual t...

Throughout human history, groups of people have conquered others in order to take their land. In the process, humans have done all sorts of unthinkable and unspeakable acts. There is virtually no conquering society in history who isn’t guilty of these crimes.  And what do we do about these regrettable histories? What do we do now as we learn more about the atrocities our ancestors committed? How do we apply the things we learn through our exploration of spirituality and religion to not only cope with the present moment but rise above the shame of our ancestors, now that we know things might have been done differently? As we proceed through Native American Heritage Month, we are invited to notice that there is beauty in Native American traditions. And there is also horror and atrocity in their own history perpetrated against one another. Native Americans are not without their own blood on their hands. We have a romanticized idea about Native American culture on this land. But the tr...

Like many of us, there have been times when I found it difficult to engage with other people. Even now, and even being the generally gregarious type of person that I am, I have moments of profound shyness. So much so, that I would consider myself to be uncomfortable in public settings far more often than I am comfortable. I would consider myself more willing than wanting of attention.  Which makes it all the more noticeable when someone spots that in me and moves to put me at ease. It’s not only kindness, but awareness. Awareness of their environment and of the comfort of those present. One might consider that to be a Cancerian quality. As a Cancer myself, I’m aware of that categorical trait. And I do my best to exhibit it. I’m sure there are other astrological signs that are known for this. But what if we were to adopt it on purpose regardless of our sign or tendency? I have a neighbor across the street who is easy to spot as one who feels more comfortable being by themselves. Or ...

  The subject of forgiveness has always been a fascinating one to me. Not surprisingly, my opinions about it have sometimes been at odds with established ways of thinking about it.  For instance, I absolutely deny the usefulness of ideas like “forgive and forget.“ What good is forgetting if there’s something to be learned? And we often learn quite a bit in the moments of experiencing something for which our forgiveness might later be requested. Drama is often in need of forgiveness. But never forgetting.  Mainstream religious thought contends that we will not receive forgiveness until we ask for it. However, I believe it’s more about perceiving than receiving. We don’t perceive forgiveness until we hear ourselves ask for it. In my belief, since according to tradition God knows our hearts and actions long before we ever commit them, we are pre-forgiven for our actions. But even the term pre-forgiven isn’t quite right because if we are so deeply understood by God, then how ...

So, I have a theory about ghosts. But it will take a minute to get there. In its many and varied ways, the earth is receiving information from us. We humanity. It receives the sound waves of every footstep we make, it tastes the pollution we release upon it. Mingled with the smelling of its own flowers, it smells its own people.  And just because the earth receives information, doesn’t prove it can process and act upon it like a human brain and body. Yet many cultures have nonetheless attributed the earth with consciousness. They hold that the earth is aware of our presence, and has opinions about it.  Whether or not it’s true, thinking of it as such helps connect us with it and to resonate with it. It helps us remain accountable to it. And maybe there’s a reason many cultures throughout history have perceived the earth as having consciousness. Whether or not it is literal in the way we think of consciousness is beside the point. To endlessly debate its literalism is a distrac...