Talk To Us: January/February 2019
Letters from our readers.
Celebrating 20 Years!
Just opened your 20th-anniversary issue.
I’m of an age when I can’t remember if I’ve told you how much I appreciate the artwork in every issue.
After reading your “From the Editor” column, I turn the page and read the “artists” page, looking up each piece by the page number. I study the art, admire the talent represented, reread the medium used, and occasionally go to the artist’s website to see more. I wonder, too, where you find all this wonderful art!
After all that, I read the “contributors” page and work my way through from cover to cover.
You can be very proud of this fine periodical. Keep up the great work!
The times they are a’changin’
—Linda Werner
I just got my copy and ABSOLUTELY love your interview with Marianne Williamson. She is such a bright light in this world. I don’t remember, but have you ever had one with Br. David Steindl-Rast (gratefulness.org)? At 92, he is still another bright light and has such a good message.
—Manuela Meier
Editor’s Note: Thanks. Brother David wrote for our very first issue, pointing us to a definition of spirituality as “total aliveness”—and we helped him launch gratefulness.org.
I am intrigued by your conversation with Marianne Williamson. In the conversation, reference is made to a new awakening in spirituality some twenty years ago when the magazine was first published. However, there is also reference that this awakening of spirituality may be fading today, although Marianne clearly says that “the new American love revolution” continues but can be messy at times.
What concerns me is that so many of us seem to think this awakening of spirituality is somehow driven by an unexplained force, when in reality it stems from the tremendous advancements made in science and technology as crazy as that might seem. The energy of the universe flows through all of us, including those who have and are discovering so many of the new possibilities that will make the world a much more humane place in which to live. We already have the capability to generate all the renewal energy we need as well as regenerative agriculture to feed us all without destroying the planet. This transformation from an industrial society to an information one is inevitable. The only question is how messy the transformation will be. All transformations and revolutions—all change for that matter—involve chaos and violence. More of us need to realize how great the possibilities for the future are and participate in bringing that about. Those with the power and wealth generated by the industrial revolution will do all they can to hang onto their influence and resist the new. The rest of us need to keep this from happening.
— Francis Rode
From Facebook
This month a magazine called Spirituality & Health published its 20th-anniversary issue. They surprised us by including our Growing Edge partnership on their list of 10 spiritual leader “who are responsive to today’s yearnings for new pathways and elevating the conversation.”
We thank them—and all the people who have joined the Growing Edge—for this recognition.
Just one personal note for those who don’t mind Old People Humor: If Carrie (Newcomer) and I are supposed to be spiritual leaders for the next 20 years, I guess I know now my expiration date: January 28, 2039—100 years from the day I was born.
But I have no intention of expiring then. I’m told that nitrates can extend a product’s shelf life—so I’m off to the store right now to get me some.
—Parker Palmer
talk to us
by mail: Spirituality & Health, 123 W. Front Street, Suite 2B, Traverse City, MI 49684
by email: [email protected]; facebook.com/spirithealthmag; twitter.com/spirithealthmag
Include your name, city, state, and phone number when possible. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
