Browsing the archives for the Spirited Conversations category

9/11/2001 – Stuck or Transformed?

What memories of September 11, 2001 do you have? Was there some transformative power at work that continues to reveal itself in you today?

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Cafeteria Spirituality?

Who would have imagined that a Mormon candidate for the Presidency of the United States would be mainstreaming cafeteria spirituality? John Huntsman, the former Governor of Utah, is doing just that and giving voice to the nuanced and rich spiritual practices of tens of millions of Americans.

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The Sword of the Lord – Transforming the Experiences of Fundamentalism

In speaking engagements around the country I hear stories of those recovering from the wounds or abuse of fundamentalist Christianity. In his new book The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family, Andrew Himes offers a path to healing and transforming those experiences. In the telling of our stories a [...]

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Is Gay Spirituality Better…?

“Gay spirituality is better than any other” – the reporter desperately wanted me to endorse his belief.  I wasn’t going there. Righteous spiritual segregation is antithetical to the idea of a spiritual journey. So where does spirituality for LGBTQ people connect with the human family and the Holy? Our normative story usually includes experiencing bullying, [...]

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Freedom Beyond Your Enclosures

        Our journey is a dance between freedom and what encloses us. When we are active participants on our spiritual journey we assume responsibility for being willing to be transformed and free to grow into our magnificence.  Paul offers tools for this journey in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Galatians. How will [...]

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Pimp’s Ho’s and Other Paradigm Shifters!

“Are you a Pimp or Ho?” It is an arresting question. But you instantly get the message. It is the question of the movie Ghetto Physics: Will the Real Pimps and Ho’s Please Stand Up! It is an invitation to a paradigm shift about the lenses we experience life through. Up front the movie declares [...]

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God causes the disaster in Japan! Really?

The earthquake, tsunami, human devastation and nuclear crisis in Japan are God answering prayer.  Really? This bizarre interpretation is being circulated on YouTube by Pamela who says “I am so overjoyed” that God answers prayers directly. Is this pure craziness? It is the antithesis of compassion and spirituality.  I find this this view to be [...]

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Hate Talk or Life-Giving Talk?

We are bombarded with people “talking” at us!  There is another way to experience talking that unleashes, invites, and empowers a fuller way of living.  In We Really Need to Talk: Steps to Better Communication (Sorin Books 2010), Paul Donoghue and Mary Siegel offer such a path.  RVT:  I came away from reading your book [...]

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Lady Gaga’s Porn Show or Cathedral?

“Why are you going to a porn show?” I was asked. I’d never thought about Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball concert in those terms. I didn’t know what to think except that I was looking forward to it. This was no porn show. It was a spiritual revival in her very own travelling cathedral. I was [...]

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