By Jawad Maayah I have been here long enough To see that it is always toughHere in this quiet caveEverything is still, like a graveIs it too much to ask for?To find someone new,Someone different and acceptingWho I can be devoted toIs it me being too eagerBeing too much of a loudspeaker?All I hear are echoesOf those who hide like geckosOr is there something that I’m not seeingA new definition of love that could be freeingMaybe it’s more than just feelings for someone newIf I look at it like that, I’ll have a whole new view Chasing this new light...

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There are many different types of corporate wellness programs. And the examples in this list will help you to pick the best one for your team. In this guide we will look at all the different options and their benefits. Plus, I’ll also share insider tips that you need to know before you schedule your next corporate wellness program. Let’s get started. Get my newsletter + free meditation ebook!Leave this field empty if you're human: 1: Corporate Meditation Classes  Corporate Meditation Classes are sessions in which your employees will a) learn ab...

Share Documentary filmmaker Alan Govenar spent four years talking to 60 people around the world about the meanings, feelings, stories, and dreams associated with their homes. about their homes. Here are some of the varied responses of rural folk, suburbanites, college students, homeless people, and rich individuals. Their stories reveal how our sense of home is changing, partly due to the pandemic but also due to economic inequality. The people interviewed in this film encouraged us to think about our own sense of home: Home comes alive in our ...

Share People really want to believe in miracles. They devour newspaper reports of signs in the sky, inexplicable cures, or supernatural phenomena like weeping statues. The Wonder is an engaging and complex tale set in Ireland in 1862, a decade after the end of the Great Famine that devastated the country leaving nearly one million dead. In a small town, the villagers are convinced they are witnessing a miracle. Lib Wright (Florence Pugh), an English nurse from London, arrives in a small town to observe Anna, an 11-year-old pious Catholic girl (...

“There is the music of Heaven in all things.”— Hildegard of Bingen The world fell away, my body melting into the earth. Light-filled tonalities danced in the darkness, lifting my spirit upward into a Divine embrace of soul-stirring spaciousness. . . . This was not a Near Death Experience but rather how I described in my journal my first experience of meditating to the music of the 12th-century mystic, Hildegard of Bingen. In short, it was a taste of Heaven. Each time I return to Hildegard’s music, I feel a bit closer to the angels. When I wrote...

Literary Wisdom We walk though forests of physical things. . . That look on us with affectionate looks.─ Charles Baudelaire, French poet Mystical Wisdom In compassion, peace and justice kiss.─ Meister Eckhart, German theologian and mystic Jewish Wisdom Though not all of life is holy, the holy can come bursting through the everyday at any time.─ Lawrence A. Hoffman, American Reform rabbi Buddhist Wisdom Water flows over these handsMay I use them skillfullyTo preserve our precious planet─ Thich Nhat Hahn in Stepping into Freedom Catholic Wisdom T...

Share “We are each absolutely essential, each totally irreplaceable. Each of us is the swing voter in the bitter election battle now being waged between our best and worst possibilities.”─ John-Paul Flintoff in How to Change the World The murder of Emmett Till (Jalyh Hall), a 14-year-old African-American boy on August 28, 1955, catalyzed the civil rights movement in the United States. His grieving mother became a major force in convincing the public to look closely at the brutal effects of racism. Mamie Till (Danielle Deadwyler) is a working cl...

Share Leonard Cohen spent seven years writing, re-working, and immersing himself in his song “Hallelujah.” He told one interviewer that he had written 180 verses, and he changed the lyrics he sang himself as time went on. True to his own spirit, the ballad was a blend of sacred and secular commentary on human nature. As the singer Regina Spektor says, “You get this feeling of hearing a modern prayer.” Repeatedly over the years Cohen was asked the meaning of images of God, loss, betrayal, and darkness. But the most he reveals is his respect for ...

Share The breeze rustles the palm leaves.The sea whispers inside a conch shell.Of what wonders do they speak?They speak of you and your creation.How you know each of us, just likeevery grain of sand.How we are more special and unique to youthan the great variety of shells.How your love for us is far greaterthan our understanding. —Deborah Lock in A World of Praise

Share When our gratitude overflows, it can take the form of praise: directing our thanks to the Source of all life's gifts. The word praise comes from the Latin pretium, meaning price: It's our grateful response to what we value. In times when flagrant disregard for the earth's beauty and resources has placed us in unprecedented crisis, A World of Praise offers not only uplift but also a needed attitude shift. Gloriously vibrant illustrations by Helen Cann (see For Every Little Thing) accompany contemporary psalms full of gratitude, peace, hope...

Share “Many of us don’t realize that we are weary (and volatile) from holding so much in. Sabbath can be just the opportunity we need to stop working so hard at holding everything in and rest with God, even with the hard stuff. It takes courage to 'go there,' but God promises to be with us even in our lowest moments, and we will never know how God will meet us until we try. ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’ (Matthew 5:4). “While we are on this earth we will always be moving in and out of feelings of loneliness, incomplet...

Share As humans, we seem to be programmed to go and do, to work and try harder. In the spiritual life this usually translates into a lot of striving, imagining that the more we do, the closer we’ll get. Ruth Haley Barton knows this situation well, and writes for those who also know about it firsthand. Not only do we need to rest, for emotional and physical reasons, and to be better members of our families and communities, but we need rest to experience the rhythms of what is Divine. That’s the message of this book. A Protestant Christian hersel...

1. Start by taking a moment to listen to your body at this moment. Is there anything that you could adjust? Is there anything that you could soften or invite to soften? Do you soften your heart, your chest, your belly? 2. Allow yourself to surrender to gravity. Allow yourself to surrender and connect with the feeling of being supported. Feeling supported by the chair beneath you, or the ground underneath you. Even the earth, supporting you. 3. Bring your hand onto your body. You might bring it onto your chest, your heart or maybe somewhere else...

A few years back, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when I came across an image of Miranda, my childhood best friend. She was on a beautiful white-sand tropical beach, tan and radiant, contorted into an incredible yoga pose. In contrast, I was sitting in my living room, pasty white and deeply bundled against the frigid Maine temps, nearly comatose from tech use. And I noticed something. As I stared at the pic, my throat clenched slightly. My shoulders rose up just a hair. And my stomach dropped. I had a wisp of a thought: Ugh. I wish th...

Share How can a young child come to understand their place between the microcosm of quarks and the macrocosm of vast space? How can they begin knitting together the complex relationships between the present moment, their ancestors' lives, and future generations? These are enormous questions, and Laura Alary — who has a background in theology and biblical studies — does not hesitate to approach them. She offers clarity and gentleness suited to five-to-ten years olds' sensitivity about where they belong in the grand scheme of things. She starts —...

moneti/Adobe Stock We welcome you to our Mindful guide to meditation, which includes a variety of styles of meditation, information about the benefits of each practice, and free guided audio practices that help you learn how to meditate and incorporate meditation into your daily life. Keep reading to learn more about the basics of this transformative practice that enables us to find more joy in daily living. What is Meditation? A brief explanation of the practice. How do you learn to meditate? In mindfulness meditation, we’re learning how to pa...

Share “The word mantra comes from the Sanskrit language of India, which is used in many Buddhist texts. 'Man' translates as 'mind.' 'Tra' translates as 'vehicle.' Thus, a mantra is a vehicle for the mind, another option to use as an object of meditation. “In mantra practice, you repeat a word or phrase either silently or out loud in a rhythmic fashion. Use simple, clear phrases that are easy to remember. “My favorites include: 'here now,' 'tall strong,' and 'no skunks.' I mean, who knows? Maybe it will ward off skunks [when I'm running]. “I als...

Share There are thousands of books written on mindfulness and mediation, but this one is unique, designed (1) for those who need what mindfulness offers, but for whom sitting still is never ideal; and (2) for those seeking spiritual practices to help with mental health issues. We recommend this book for those looking for new ways of being present in life and who want to do so with play and enthusiasm. Some readers will know author Nita Sweeney for her 2019 book, Depression Hates a Moving Target, in which she talked about jogging with her dog as...

Share “It’s a whodunit. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” See How They Run is a whodunit film about a real murder on the stage where The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie is being performed. The early death of an American director (Adrien Brody) brings to the scene a laid-back detective (Sam Rockwell) who believes in taking his time on a case, and his rookie assistant (Saoirse Ronan) who jumps easily to conclusions about the killer. It is a lark watching these two interact.\ They make the most of their investigation of potential suspects in...