"A highly individualized spiritual belief system composed of selected elements drawn from various doctrines." — Judie Sigdel
Today was Sunday. I had a to do list a mile long. Thanks to a bad bout of insomnia, instead of getting an early jump on my day I got up really late. As I dutifully crossed tasks off my list my inner child whined, "I can't possibly get everything done. I want to relax. …
In my previous post, Conversations with Angels, Part I, I provided a brief, high-level overview of angels from a historical and cross-theological perspective. Today, I will share my first-hand experience with angels from my yet-to-be-published book Faith without Labels — A Guide to Eclectic Spirituality (projected publication date February 2018). I'll also examine the enormous popularity of current publications …
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane [you aren't alone] In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry] An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promised joy. -- Robert Burns, "To a Mouse" DH and I were supposed to go antiquing upstate …
Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. -- Jon Kabat-Zinn As my loyal readers (you know who you are!) may remember, I see a biofeedback therapist every week. Actually, I'm lucky enough to …
In addition to my meditation apps and gadgets, I have a virtual Sangha of like-minded seekers who I met online. I consider some of the people who have interacted with this blog to be members of this "e-Sangha." Others include online friends I have known for years who share their experience with Buddhism and other spiritual practices and support me on my quest.
I don't remember being overtly bullied when I was a child, but I was definitely the odd man out. I was surrounded by other children, but I was alone. Alone in the classroom. Alone on the playground. Painfully alone. Part of the problem was that I read constantly in class regardless of the lessons or …
Yesterday, one of coworkers, T., who is twenty-something and was raised in China, asked me if I had "seen the parade" on the way to work. I said that I had not and asked what the parade was for. T. said, "I don't know how to say it in English." I said, "Tell me in …
I'm pleased to present the third installment of the Convert a Friend series. As always, I am posting it without edits. The following essay was written by David Meszaros. The Appealing Allure of Buddhism One day, a friend had happened to stop by, and decided to join me for tea. As we discussed life, she had …
Eventually, he learned that the only way that he could endure the pain was by repeating the mantra, "In this moment, I am fine."
My dear friend Michele Scott James is a professor of history and philosophy and religion at MiraCosta Community College. She has a BA and an MA in Asian studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara with an emphasis in religion and history. She also has equivalency in religious studies and history. A few weeks …
Eclectic Spirituality 