In European mythology, this specific process of self-discovery (meeting the shadow) is usually depicted as the hero literally descending into the underworld and meeting the dead. Whether it’s in The Odyssey or The Divine Comedy or the Harry Potter tales (in which Harry frequently visits past events), the first part of this process involves going into a netherworld that allows the traveler (and the reader) to think...
- By Alan Cohen
2012 is here. Finally. After many years of anticipation, sensationalism, foreboding, titillation, and wild prophecies, we’ve reached the end of the Mayan calendar. The era of momentous...
On January 15, 2009, a jet taking off from New York City suddenly plummeted into the Hudson River. What would your thoughts, feelings, desires, regrets, and heartfelt prayers be if you, like these passengers, knew you perhaps only had two more minutes to live? ...
The time has come to write a new story for our lives and to let go of those handed down to us by our families and our cultures. These are not our stories; they do not belong to us. We must hand them back with love and write our own. We are being urged to become aware and informed and, by doing so...
In honoring our feelings, we can more swiftly and comfortably navigate through difficult times, and come out wiser in the process. If we face our difficulties with grace, gratitude, if we can combine occasional expressions of pain and sadness with our usual routine of...
- By AdminStaff
Our difficulty lies in the fact that in asserting our right to partake in the man's world we have come to identify with the very patriarchal attitudes that devalue our mothers and grandmothers. We are ashamed of our yearnings for connection, our tears, our mothers. We try to live like men: valuing separateness and achievement.
- By Sarah Brady
In just one year, guns are used to kill more than thirty thousand Americans, and thousands more are injured. The fear of gun violence alone affects the quality of life of every American, even those who have never experienced it firsthand. What we forget is that living in fear does not have to be an inevitable part of life in America.
A testimonial of an encounter with a policeman who assisted in showing her the way back to the path of enlightenment and recovery: "One morning last spring I was driving down US1 at 5:30 in the morning. Well, I wasn't just driving, I was speeding. I was going at least 15 miles over the 45mph limit, and my mind was not on the road..."
In my community, there is one man whose life speaks louder than his words. He is known as Sam, and he lives on the streets. His life provides us with a sense of charity so that we can live guilt-free in our lavishly furnished homes. We don't want to learn how one could adapt to living on the street.
A thought or decision can certainly redefine our direction in life and in love. There's a lesson in every experience. However, one usually doesn't figure out the lesson until well after the experience...
- By Adam Thilem
Article (short-fiction) that takes a look at being homeless and a way in and out of that experience.
My strongest memories of my father are of him leaving for work. There was something important about the ritual of him preparing for work. He was off to do important things. He was off to do business, to work, to provide for us. If his leaving in the morning was an important ritual, waiting for Dad to come home had an air of expectation. Did he have a good day? Or a bad one?
Nature is a great teacher. Its natural cycles demonstrate important truths about life and renewal. Every year, deciduous trees must drop their leaves so that new life can form. If the leaves did not fall, the tree could not renew itself. It is that simple. What can this cycle teach us?