The lore and love and specificity associated with Irish places grow directly from Ireland's residual paganism. But that paganism does not conflict with a devout Catholicism that embraces and absorbs it. The old ways were seamlessly bonded to the new, so that ancient rituals...

by Norman Monath.

by Jim Brickman.

I like the word faith: faith in God, in yourself, in your family. It's such an important thing to believe in something these days. I credit my faith with why I've been so blessed with such a trouble-free life. And my faith tells me that eventually when times do get rough, I'll be guided through it if I continue to believe.

by Stuart Alve Olson.

A Taoist seeker was wandering about a mountain range in search of a true teacher. On one occasion he happened upon a small Taoist hermitage high atop a peak on Wu-T'ang Mountain, where a small number of venerable old immortals (priests) were living. Though he found these men extremely wise...

by Swami Sivananda Radha.

Surrendering doesn't mean you don't have to make plans. You do. I call this doing my homework -- I do my best to look at the situation, then I make one or two or three plans, and then I wait to see what the Divine has to say about all this.

by Tolly Burkan.

Slot machines, as outrageous as it might seem, are a powerful vehicle to help you learn how to keep your heart open. Since the brain and, in fact, the entire body, is a package of electrochemical impulses, it shouldn't seem so farfetched that we can influence electronic devices.

by Joseph R. Simonetta.

It was my nature at a very young age to be observant and contemplative. I observed the restrained and reverential behavior of people in church. I also observed, curiously, that many of these same sanctimonious people were often irreverent, insensitive, and sometimes cruel outside of church.

by Sadhvi Bhagwati.

'GRAAANDMAAA, BUY ME A PAIR OF JORDACHE JEANS,' my voice would sing out in a whine. Back then, every season demanded new clothes: back to school clothes, summer clothes, spring clothes, birthday clothes.... Now I live on the holy banks of the Ganges, in Rishikesh, India.

by Christina Baldwin.

I have believed all my life that there is a necessary interaction that occurs between a person and the Divine. This interaction does not come only to prophets, bodhisattvas, and other great spiritual masters, it comes also to us: ordinary people in our ordinary lives...

by Wayne Teasdale.

Without doubt, there is great value in spirituality that emphasizes and supports withdrawal from society. But in our time, with its special needs, we require a spirituality of intense involvement and radical engagement with the world. It is in the real world that awakening...

by Margaret Wolff.

It was three days after I met with her that I realized Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitsch is a small woman. Her fathomless eyes, her great good humor and the magnitude of the peace that effortlessly flows from her heart convey a physical presence that reaches far beyond her diminutive frame. She is warm beyond measure, mercurial and deeply connected to the Earth...

by John Izzo, Ph.D.

I am asked 'Do you believe in miracles?' and it occurred to me that no one had asked me that question since my days in ministry. I was taken aback. Did I believe in people being spontaneously cured of cancer, virgin births, raising of the dead, parting of seas, burning bushes, and so on? Did I believe in serendipity, synchronicity, and moments of seeming happenstance that wind up being instrumental to our path?