Slowing Down
Eknath Easwaran, Take Your Time: Finding Balance in a Hurried World This book reminds me of something Thomas Merton believed: “The spiritual life is simple, but not easy.” Even though many people in the U.S….
Category: Wisdom Traditions
Ahavat Israel: Wiesel’s Hasids, Dreamers, and Sages
Elie Wiesel, Sages & Dreamers: Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Portraits and Legends Summit Books, 1991 This work concludes Wiesel’s collections of portraits and legends of the figures from the Judaic tradition who have helped him…
Religion 101: Thoughts from Sri Ramakrishna
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Translated into English with an introduction by Swami Nikhilananda God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You…
Gratitude/555
I give thanks for translators whose labors allow me to meditate on the teachings of sages throughout time, like David Hinton’s work with Confucius’s Analects… 1.16 The Master said: “Don’t grieve when people fail…
Share the Wealth with Matthew Miller: Rumi, Sufi Path of Love, and the Politics of “Mysticism”
Matthew Miller will lead us in a wide ranging discussion about Persian Sufi poetry. He will touch on the problems with many popular translations of Rumi and explore the “Sufi path of love” by introducing us to…
Share the Wealth with Sari Althubyani: Ramadan Kareem
Sari will share with us his various experiences of Ramadan, from his homeland in Saudi Arabia to United States in these last few years. Bring your questions or share your own experience of this time…
Reminder to Self
When you encounter those who are wicked, unrighteous, foolish, dim-witted, deformed, vicious, chronically ill, lonely, unfortunate, or handicapped, you should think: “How can I save them?” And even if there is nothing you can do,…
Share the Wealth with Natalie Long… Agrarianism, the Divine, and the Presence of Absence: Reflections on a Trip to Poland
We are living in historic times. The pandemic afflicting the human species is not only a test of the resiliency of people around the world, but also an invitation to examine the insufficiency of existing…
After Sanders Makes His Endorsement, I Turn to Some Great Reminderers
Those who live by compassion are often canonized. Those who live by justice are often crucified. –John Dominic Crossan, Scripture Scholar, USA Don’t mourn. Organize. –Mother Jones, labor activist, USA The madness of violence must…
Conscience Thunders
for Matt Miller Taylor Branch, At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-1968 Simon and Schuster, 2006 The following are passages from this third volume of a gripping, recent history of the US….