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2009 November/December
Gratitude
The Tattoo Lady and the Pastor
The first time I heard about Mary was through her daughter. Out of the blue, the daughter called to interview me. She searched for, “A liberal pastor that would not be bothered by …
A New Primer for Psychic Research
“Something unknown is doing we don’t know what” — this is how physicist Arthur Eddington described the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principal, the vexing fact that science can never pin …
Join the World’s Largest Interfaith Gathering
Melbourne, Australia, may be a long way to travel, but now is the time to go for the global conference of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. The week-long conference (Decembe…Tags:
• Interfaith
Rebirth for Catholic Brothers and Sisters?
While a quick glance at the American Catholic priesthood shows a population that is white, aging, and shrinking, a new, first-of-its-kind survey of 4000 Catholic brothers and siste…
The Holiday Material World
BEADS OF HOPEIn Uganda, the word for hope is suubi — and the perfect name for a project that makes and sells strings of beads. The beautiful beads and necklaces are hand-roll…
Stop Slavery in Our Lifetime
Imagine one twelve-year old girl in a hotel room in Lima, Peru. She both lives in the room, and works in the room. Her room costs about $20 a day, and the hotel is happy for the st…
Create an Animal Healing Circle in Your Community
Shiri Joshua, M.A., is a psychotherapist, “animal whisperer,” and director of the Shiri Joshua Centre for Human & Animal Healing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Each month she hold…
Three Therapies for Wine and Water Lovers
HARBIN HOT SPRINGS: By far the greenest, least expensive, and most profound personal water experience happens at the Harbin Hot Springs, tucked into a valley about an hour north of…
Three Cups a Day Help Prevent Stroke
THREE CUPS A DAY HELP PREVENT STROKEThere are very few known ways to reduce the risk of stroke, but a recent UCLA study found that drinking at least three cups of green or black te…
Patience: Don’t Rush the Rising
Producing food on an industrial scale presupposes a trade-off or two. Unfortunately, nutritional value is one of the first things to be sacrificed when food companies seek to make …
Injustice in a Group Boosts Willingness to Volunteer
Research from New York University suggests a counter intuitive notion: A sense of unfairness can actually increase volunteerism. Why? It turns out that when people who strongly ide…
When You Need Something, Talk to the Right Ear!
Here’s an odd fact: The human right ear is typically dominant when it comes to listening to verbal stimuli, probably because the brain’s left hemisphere is better at processing ver…Tags:
• Listening
Why “The Star-Spangled Banner” Makes Sports More Violent
Over the last decade, one of the most fascinating areas of research in psychological science has been the study of “priming” behavior. Social scientists found, for example, that a …
How Much of Aging Is in Your Head?
In 1979 a young Harvard psychology professor named Ellen Langer (soon to be played by Jennifer Aniston in Counter Clockwise) realized something astonishing — and true. “Without kno…
The Ways of the Pilgrim
Actually walking 500 miles to Santiago de Compostela proved “a demented delusion.” But “the Camino” also serves those who sit and those who wait — upon others.
Shift into Gratitude 17 Tools for Our Times
It takes no great leap of the imagination to say that we are living in tough times. As a priest, professor, and psychologist, I see struggling parishioners, students, and clients w…
Four Legal Entheogens for the Spiritual Explorer
Throughout human history, spiritual seekers have used sacred plants and fungi for healing, visionary encounters, and mystical experience. Though this history has been largely obfus…Tags:
• Ayahuasca
Lessons from Peak Experiences
About 10 years ago I paddled my white-water kayak onto a wave at “Steamer Lane” in Santa Cruz, California, on a day when the size of the of the waves at the famed surf spot made th…Tags:
• Personal Growth
Keening: The Power of a Really Good Celtic Cry
For the last ten days of April, I had the great fortune of attending the International Gathering of Shamans in Dunderry, County Meath, Ireland. The purpose of our gathering was to …
The Fuel of All Things Good
A recent issue of Business Week has stuck in my mind. The cover story is “The Case for Optimism,” and it is full of inspiring stories and studies showing that optimism works. Stude…
Enlightenment: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
I’ve been reading a lot of books about enlightenment lately, and I still don’t have a clue as to what it is and why it matters. Can you help?Think of it this way: You suddenly find…Tags:
• Enlightenment
Gifts of the Spirit
Long before the birth of Jesus, the Celtic and Norse pagans exchanged gifts at the time of the winter solstice. They believed that this practice mitigated one’s vulnerability to th…
Shades of Truth
A few years ago I was giving a talk in a church near my home. During the question period a man stood and said that his young daughter had died recently, and he felt a strong need t…Reviews
The Human Experience
Directed by Charles KinnaneProduced by Joseph CampoWritten by Michael CampoGrassroots Films / DVD, 90 minutesIn this life-affirming film, two brothers, living in a group home in Br…
The Horse Boy
By Michel Orion Scott and Rupert IsaacsonZeitgeist Films / DVD, 93 minutesWhen their two-and-a-half-year-old son, Rowan, was diagnosed with autism, Rupert Isaacson, a writer, human…The Shadow Effect
A Journey from Your Darkest Thought to Your Greatest DreamDebbie Ford FilmsHay House / Two interactive DVDsapprox. 70 minutes and 110 minutesBased on the Shadow Process seminars of…
"Threading the Ether: A Cantata in 9 Movements"
This is soul-nourishing music, leading beyond thought to a contemplative realm in which an acoustic symphony orchestra and instruments from foreign lands blend with and support a h…Tags:
• Music
Seven Falls
Marshall StylerStyler Music, BMIMarshall Styler is known for creating deeply moving melodies for piano and instrumental keyboard accompaniments; this gentle and romantic improvisat…
Music for Cello and Piano by Women Composers
Iris van Eck, cello; Arielle Vernède, pianoEroicaThis 2006 album appears to be the only available recording of these stunning works for cello and piano by Henriette Bosmans, Louise…Helpers, Guides & Allies
Navigating the Shamanic LandscapeByron MetcalfLuna Recording StudioFor over 40,000 years, shamanic societies throughout the world have used various musical strategies to achieve al…
A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency
Edited by John Stanley, David R. Loy, and Gyurme DorjeWisdom Publications, 2009, $16.95Eastern and Western Buddhist leaders acknowledge that our planet is in grave danger and are a…
The Earth Made New
Plains Indian Stories of CreationBy Paul Goble, with Foreword by Joe Medicine CrowWorld Wisdom, 2009, $17.95Joe Medicine Crow tells how he would follow his grandfather everywhere, …
The Second Book of the Tao
By Stephen MitchellPenguin Press, 2009, $25.95Adapted from two anthologies of Chinese wisdom compiled probably between 300 and 100 B.C.E. (the Chuang Tzu by Master Chuang, and the …
A Return to Healing
Radical Health Care Reform and the Future of MedicineBy Len Saputo, with Byron BelitsosOrigin Press, 2009, $21.95As the debate over health care reform grows increasing vitriolic an…
The Hope
A Guide to Sacred ActivismBy Andrew Harvey,Foreword by Carolyn MyssHay House, 2009, $16.95According to Andrew Harvey, we are living in an age in which “Everything is now at stake, …
Beauty and the Soul
The Extraordinary Power of Everyday Beauty to Heal Your LifeBy Piero FerrucciTarcher/Penguin, 2009, $22.95While many feel that beauty is something that comes with a high price tag …
