Miracles of Prayer, by a Wiccan UU
Many people in my circles—UU, Pagan, humanist, atheist—have little truck with anything called “prayer.” It smacks to them of superstition, sycophancy, futility, or just bad experiences with religion in general and prayer in particular. I’m a huge fan of prayer. So much so, in fact, that my free e-book on this site is called Your […]
The Feast of Fasting
There are, my friend said, religions of the feast and religions of the fast. For better or for worse, he went on, Pagan traditions tend to be religions of the feast. Other faiths, particularly the Abrahamic ones, seem to have a better grip on the spiritual benefits of the fast. While fasting, especially as an […]
Might Your House Be Your Temple?
I’ve written here and elsewhere about the practice of building altars. About how they are little (or not so little!) centers of attention. I’ve posted photos of what my personal working altar looked like. I’ve shared the experience of gathering things that are meaningful and arranging them in ways that are evocative. This week, though, […]
Practical Spirit and Spirit in Practice
NB: This post was from December 2014. The course it mentions is no longer being offered, but the content of the post still seems useful. Let me know what you think. *** I realize that for many people, the idea of spirituality doesn’t immediately bring “practical help” to mind. For many people, the idea of […]
Let’s Begin Again, In Love
I’ve never been exactly sure what “beginner’s mind” is. Nonetheless, I know about the struggle to be a beginner, just to let myself learn and grow and take steps as small as I need them to be to keep moving. I know a lot about that struggle. And maybe it doesn’t need to be a […]
The Wisdom of Good Choices
I can’t stand it when Hallowe’en gets preempted by Thanksgiving, or worse, as is more often the case, by Christmas. Hate it. It just makes me crazy. I love Hallowe’en/Samhain and the whole season of the dead, and it deserves its own time. If you’ve been reading my blog for the last couple of weeks, […]
Justice and Peace Shall Kiss
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”~~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the fruits of spiritual practice that we hear a lot about is peace. I listened to a sermon recently that has left me considering the whole concept of peace as a virtue. I know that in Buddhist practice, […]
What We Touch Changes
She changes everything She touches / And everything She touches changes. / Change us, touch us. / Touch us, change us. Those lines, originally written by the theologian and Pagan leader, Starhawk, have been my theme for the morning. And they might be a theme for you if you’re stuck in your practice or wondering […]
The Biggest Heresy: There Is No Failure
I come from an academic family. For better or worse, I learned to judge. Everything. Everybody. And especially myself. For many years — like into my thirties, even — I gave myself grades for various non-academic things. “Hmmmmm,” I’d think, “I give myself a C- on washing dishes this month.” The grades were almost never […]
Impatience and Persistence in Spiritual Practice
“Ageless Beloved…. Ageless Beloved… Ageless Beloved….” If you walk by my study early on any given morning, you are likely to hear me singing. “Core of Peace, I rest in you. Core of Peace, I rest in you. Core of Peace, I hear you calling. Core of Peace, I rest in you.” You may smell […]