This winter season, whatever you practice, celebrate, and enjoy this season, may you practice, celebrate, and enjoy it fully. If you celebrate the birth of a child born centuries ago, light candles for nine days, honor ancient festivals, or celebrate…
Year: 2021
Live and Love Out Loud
Someone asked me today what kind of things I do at the university. For a moment I had to think. What do I do at the university? I can name many, many things I accomplish each day. I can also…
A Festival of Light and Love
Diwali, which comes from the Sanskrit word deepavali, or “rows of lighted lamps,” is one of India’s biggest and most important holidays. The five-day Festival of Lights follows the Hindu lunar calendar, so the date changes from year to year.…
Let us Remember
Last century, back when I was barely a teenager, I was mildly obsessed with the song “Remember the Time” by Michael Jackson. It was all about remembering when a couple first met and fell in love, which to me, as…
Is It Normal to Talk About Death and Dying?
Yes, it is normal to talk about death and dying. Unfortunately, we often avoid the topics until they interrupt our lives. That needs to change. Death and dying are not only a normal part of the life cycle, they are…
Tend to Your Inner Self
Almost seven years ago, while working at another job in another state, I became so overwhelmed with work and my personal life that multiple times a week, I found myself lying under my desk with noise cancelling headphones and crying. …
Inclusive Sacred Spaces: Welcome to the Table
As someone inspired by multiple paths, including Humanism, I value religious and spiritual inclusivity. I want everyone, no matter their religious or spiritual identity, to be included in sacred spaces. As an interfaith chaplain, I treasure bringing together students from…
A Flourishing Spirituality
This past weekend was the President’s Inaugural Prayer and Blessing Service and included prayers and blessings from a collection of local religious and spiritual leaders. Each one shared from their own tradition a few words of blessing on President Alison…
Ten Minute Vacation
My calendar is full. When I say full, I mean every moment seems to have been claimed. The kind of full where the beautiful, empowering stickers that adorn my calendar become lost in the vast amount of pencil marks. The…
Peace Within
One of the holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur, starts today at sundown. It is a time for atonement. One of my spiritual teachers, Rabbi Chava Bahle, reminds me that Yom Kippur is also a time to reflect on how…
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