by Ed Bastian
For fifteen years I have worked closely with more than 50 meditation teachers from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American traditions. This began for me by participating…
Introducing InterSpiritual Meditation
Listening as Peacebuilding
by Ana Patel
Last year, while facilitating an experiential peacebuilding workshop, I invited the participants to try a listening exercise. Simple idea – simple activity. Participants were asked to divide into pairs, one listener and one speaker. The listeners were asked to spend three minutes listening to the speaker on climate change – keep eye contact, make encouraging gestures and sounds, but don’t interrupt. Then switch.
Listening to Jesus' Words in a New Kind of Way
by David Parks-Ramage
What woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully till she finds it? (Luke 15:8) Meditation is a choice to become intimate with your own life. In meditation, we are quiet and alert, open and available to what is happening now.
Jainism – “Jain Teachings at an Interfaith Center”
With a vast diversity of member communities, Religions for Peace USA has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share about working for peace. These communities meditate, pray, advocate for justice, and work for a better world in many ways. Sometimes, simply hearing these stories can be inspiring for our own work. In this month’s issue, we profile a Jain community in Michigan, as Nirmala Hanke, M.D. leads us through some of the core tenets of Jainism and its applicability to our world today.
The Rudiments of My Neopagan Spiritual Practice
Meditation is Not Religion or Spirituality – It’s Technology
An Interview with Jay Michaelson, Author of Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment (North Atlantic Books, 2013)
Introducing InterSpiritual Meditation
“How Do Hinduism and Buddhism Influence Me as a Rabbi?”
Dharma in the Christian West
‘Seeds of Peace’ Juxtaposes Meditation & the Engaged Life
What is Most Meaningful in My Life as a Buddhist
Before writing this short essay, I puzzled for some days over what is most meaningful to me, especially pertaining to my Buddhist identity. There are many candidates. I value my relationship with my teacher; I value my sangha or community; I value being a Western Buddhist, which allows me to critically evaluate which aspects of Buddhism to take on and which, such as its sexism and patriarchy, to reject; I value all the training and inspiration I have received over the years.