I like to think that I know something about boundary setting, but I actually have only learned a few things, and highly imperfectly. For that reason, I wrote a post about a year ago: the top 10 ways NOT to set boundaries. Since it was sarcastic … [Read more...] about I Don’t Have to Tell People I’m Setting a Boundary
spirit & personal
Summer Junk Food for the Mind
Where do you stand on junk reading? I go back and forth. For years I have alternated "quality" literature--like deep spiritual inquiries, riveting memoirs, biographies and histories and prize-winning novels--with "beach" reading like … [Read more...] about Summer Junk Food for the Mind
Bless Donald Trump for helping us remember who we are
All evil and harm that is done in the world is done because we forget who we are. We forget that we are one. We forget that when we harm someone else, we are harming ourselves. The extreme harm of separating refugee children from … [Read more...] about Bless Donald Trump for helping us remember who we are
For Fathers Day: Return Immigrant Children to Their Parents Immediately
As a new thought minister, it is difficult to know what to add to what Stephen Colbert says above--where to begin with the daily heartbreaking news at the border. Even evangelical ministers, who have largely been supportive of and even … [Read more...] about For Fathers Day: Return Immigrant Children to Their Parents Immediately
If Addiction is a spiritual problem, how is it also a disease? Part 3: Questions about Addiction and Treatment Raised by Unbroken Brain
Okay this seems to have turned into a series of articles on the questions raised by the book Unbroken Brain by Maia Szalavitz. Today's question is: if addiction is a spiritual problem with a spiritual solution, how is it also a … [Read more...] about If Addiction is a spiritual problem, how is it also a disease? Part 3: Questions about Addiction and Treatment Raised by Unbroken Brain
Does Shame and Blame Work with Addiction?
In yesterday's post, I reviewed the book Unbroken Brain and listed the questions that it raised for me. Today I'm going to explore the first question: If addiction is a disease, and not a moral failing, why does 12-step culture … [Read more...] about Does Shame and Blame Work with Addiction?
If You’re Addicted, Is it Your Fault, or Not? 5 Snouts Up for Unbroken Brain by Maia Szalavitz
(:)(:)(:)(:)(:) for Unbroken Brain by Maia Szalavitz (Understanding the snout-based rating system). There are people who think 12-step programs are the only way to treat addiction and then there are people who hate 12-step programs and … [Read more...] about If You’re Addicted, Is it Your Fault, or Not? 5 Snouts Up for Unbroken Brain by Maia Szalavitz
Change Everything Without Changing Anything–Four Snouts Up — I Feel Pretty (therefore I am Pretty) in Theaters now
(:)(:)(:)(:) Despite general critical distain, I loved this movie and found it important for a couple of reasons: 1) it makes us identify, laugh and cry about (American) women's obsession and distortion with our looks and bodies; … [Read more...] about Change Everything Without Changing Anything–Four Snouts Up — I Feel Pretty (therefore I am Pretty) in Theaters now
Why not build trust in your intuition by playing a game like Sudoku?
Recently I accidentally stumbled across a fun and easy way to build my belief in my own intuition and spiritual guidance: SudokuI’ve been playing Sudoku on an iphone app on my phone for years. Not very much, I hasten to say (lest you judge me … [Read more...] about Why not build trust in your intuition by playing a game like Sudoku?
Day 26 of Consecutive Daily Blogging
So after years of blogging sporadically (which is really misleading because it much more publishing than actually happened. The truth is I blogged 4 times in 2016; I blogged once--ONCE--in 2015; I blogged 17 times in 2014. The last time I … [Read more...] about Day 26 of Consecutive Daily Blogging
Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Partially Eclipsed Sun. Goodnight Partially Learned Lessons…
Before we all forget that the moon nearly blocked out all of the sun this past Monday (at least in my part of California), I'd like to report some spiritual lessons learned from it (you can tell I haven't preached all month, I'm starting to need … [Read more...] about Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Partially Eclipsed Sun. Goodnight Partially Learned Lessons…
We Are All Great Grandchildren of the Confederacy and the Slavocracy and our Heritage belongs in Museums not Public Squares
With the monuments to Confederate "heroes" tumbling down this past week (after years of protests) and great grandchildren of key figures either applauding it or being okay with it (despite our president's condemnation of those long overdue removals), … [Read more...] about We Are All Great Grandchildren of the Confederacy and the Slavocracy and our Heritage belongs in Museums not Public Squares