This is a version of a story I first published on Patheos several years ago. The 2024 election results have left many people and communities in a deep funk, so it seemed appropriate to repost it now. Now that we’re past the election, how do you feel? I must admit that on the morning of Wednesday, November 6th, I awoke with a case of the blues. (Ironic word, isn’t it?) I’m slowly getting past it, and preparing how to cope... Read more
Last week I wrote about witches. This week, I’m going to take a look at their second cousins, shamans. Witches and shamans share some similarities, like a belief in the power of nature and the ability to communicate with spirits. But there are also differences. In the book Shamans Through Time: 500 Years on the Path of Knowledge, editor Jeremy Narby features the first-hand accounts of over sixty anthropologists who have studied and lived with shamans from around the world.... Read more
Witches get a bad rap. Sure, everyone loves witches around Halloween but by Thanksgiving they’ve worn out their welcome—and are again seen by many as inherently evil. They are people (or more specifically, women) to be feared. It’s a stereotype that’s rooted in centuries of misinformation, superstition, and just plain stupidity. The truth: For centuries, “witches” were often viewed as healers within their communities. As Google Gemini explains, “Witches were often women who possessed knowledge of herbal remedies, midwifery, and... Read more
Do you ever find yourself disconnected from life, more concerned with your to-do list or personal issues than the people and environment around you? Or perhaps you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through your smartphone just a little too often, tuning out the real world in the process. There’s a spiritual practice for that or make that six. Think of them as ways to wake up your consciousness and stay better connected to the world around you. I stumbled upon them while reading... Read more
Willie Nelson turned 91 years of age earlier this year. And you might not be surprised to learn he’s on the road again, with three shows scheduled in Texas later this month. Willie was a member of one of my late father-in-law’s all-time favorite groups, The Highwaymen. With other group members Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and now Kris Kristofferson no longer with us, Willie is literally the last (Highway)man standing. Almost 20 years ago, when he was a young man... Read more
In her latest book Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground, Mirabai Starr seeks to demystify mysticism and invites us to make it a part of our everyday spiritual lives. Which may have you wondering: What is a mystic? Mirabai defines it in a number of tantalizing ways: A mystic is someone who skips over the intermediaries (ordained clergy, prescribed prayers, rigid belief systems) and goes straight to God. To be an ordinary mystic is to lead with love, to... Read more
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. ~Corrie Ten Boom How often do you find yourself worrying about something? Daily? Well, if you just answered yes, know that you’re not alone. A recent Gallup Poll showed that 55% of Americans feel stressed or worried on any given day. And as the quote at the top of the page illustrates, worrying is not a good thing. It can keep us from being fully present... Read more
Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you? ~Fanny Brice From the outside looking in, James Martin was living the good life. He was 29 years old and had a solid job working for a Fortune 500 company. He had a fancy apartment, plenty of friends, wore stylish suits to work and had begun to... Read more
Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. ~Carl Jung I was reminded of the quote above while reading John Phillip Newell’s latest book, The Great Search: Turning to Earth & Soul in the Quest for Healing & Home. Newell, a former clergy member whose area of expertise is ancient Celtic wisdom, similarly calls on all of us to “reawaken” to the sacredness found within us... Read more
What happens after we die? The best clues may come from those who have been right on the precipice of death, who have entered a mysterious realm unlike anything here on earth, only to return to the living. What they have gone through, and the stories they have to tell, are known as near-death experiences or NDEs. Doctor Bruce Greyson has been called the world’s leading expert on near-death experiences and in After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal... Read more
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