Hopeful Thinking

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...

We might as well face it. Humans love drama. We spend millions to consume dramatic stories on film, television, and myriad other forms of media. We eat it like a last meal every day. So much so, that we often unconsciously perpetuate drama in our own lives. Many seem to thrive on stirring the pot.  Pretty much all of us have a hard time not getting sucked into little dramas here and there among our friends, family, and coworkers. We love to put our two cents in. We love to gossip. We love to talk smack about people. It’s like a drug. It’s almost irresistible. We can all go easily find ourselves in the middle of a drama in which we had no place. That is, until we made one for ourselves by joining in and thus perpetuating it.  Many spiritual practices appear to emphasize a need to dispense with drama in our lives. It’s interpreted by some as a need to dispense with any unlikable people and live a de facto socially monastic existence.  It is not the point of the human experi...

  I’ve been dieting lately. Of a sort. I lost a few pounds, but I haven’t really gotten very far. And then an old prayer idea popped into my head. I don’t remember where I heard it, though I immediately resonated with the idea.  The prayer is: Please help me see what you would have me see. Please make me attracted to the directions I should journey. Please make me hunger for the food that will make me well. Please make your light sparkle for me. Amen. The theology behind this prayer is twofold because part of it is an investment in faith and the other is the physics of asking.  To make good use of this prayer, we must be open to assuming that what we want/need is always hovering around us in the periphery. It’s just a matter of connecting with it. This belief is an investment. For some it’s a risky one. It implies that God provides all the time, and that we are somehow doing it wrong.  But remember that learning is not shameful. Growing is a process. Thinking of our ...

What type of light are you? Are you a lighthouse? I tend to be a cross between a spotlight and a candle, I think. Are you a blacklight? Are are you laser? Or perhaps you are moonlight.  The type of light that best represents each of us is derived from a combination of who we are naturally, and what we hope to be.  In my case, when I was a performing arts youth mentor, I loved creating a space to shine a spotlight on other people. I loved to find out what people were good at, and give them their best shot at doing it well. I really wanted to give them opportunities for appreciation. Not just appreciation of themselves, or of the opportunity. But to receive appreciation from others for their efforts. As a Minister, I take great pleasure in continuing that practice. I love it when I’m given an opportunity to showcase someone’s gifts in a way that encourages a sense of belonging and fulfillment. That to me is a spotlight. Something that, in its own ephemeral way, draws all of the ...

I’ve always been fascinated by symbolism. It’s my observation, backed up with some considerable evidence, that symbols evolve over time. The shapes change a little, their meanings adapt to the needs of the times in which they are used.  These symbols find their ways into other cultures and become other things. What was once solely a symbol of well-being in the ancient east gained a dubious fame in the 20th century as the Nazi swastika. Clearly not all symbols mean the same things to all people.  One of the things I like about the Jewish Star of David, for instance, is that it’s an overlay of two triangles. One pointing above and one pointing below. Superimposed upon one another to signify that they both exist in the same time and space. That symbol is far older than Judaism, however. It is an ancient symbol of protection. And then we look at the Christian cross. Though it has many variations, the predominant version we see today is that of a T with a vertical protrusion. Known...