Insights at the Edge

Earlier this year I came across a goldmine of content when I happened upon the web site located at www.soundstrue.com. While searching for podcasts related to school assignments on iTunes, I stumbled upon some episodes of “Insights at the Edge” with Tami Simon that caught my attention and eventually found a link that provided dozens of free podcasts showcasing some of the world’s foremost authorities on the topics of health and healing, self-empowerment, and spirituality and consciousness. According to the web site:

Sounds True is an independent multimedia publishing company that embraces the world’s major spiritual traditions, as well as the arts and humanities … Sounds True was founded in 1985 by Tami Simon with a clear mission: to disseminate spiritual wisdom. It is in this spirit that we present this podcast, a series of interviews with the world’s leading spiritual teachers, visionary writers, and living luminaries about their newest work and current challenges—the “growing edge” of their inner inquiry and outer contribution to the world.”

Whether it be driving to and from work, running errands, shopping at the grocery store, or on a walk during the evening hours with the baby and/or dog, I’ve managed to log countless hours of listening to these thoroughly introspective and addicting interviews.

Some of the aspects I have most enjoyed about Insights at the Edge have included the caliber of the speakers, the quality of the discussions, and the range of content. While some interviews focus on more practical subjects, others can be highly obscure and complex, bordering on the realm of “out there,” but Tami always has a way of bringing the conversation back to a level of common understanding. Never have I come across such a wide range of specialists, spanning so many disciplines, providing such an array of provocative thinking in one place.

In addition to interviews with such speakers (that I already know and love!) as Peter Russell, Bruce Lipton, Stanislov Grof, Gregg Braden, and Fred Wolf, below is a sampling of some new individuals I came across through this show and would like to hear more from in the future:

1. Ken Wilbur – Ken Wilber is the author of over a dozen books, including The Spectrum of Consciousness; Up from Eden; and Grace and Grit. The Spectrum of Consciousness, written when he was twenty-three years old, established him as perhaps the most comprehensive philosophical thinker of our times. Credited with developing a unified field theory of consciousness—a synthesis and interpretation of the world’s great psychological, philosophical, and spiritual traditions—Ken Wilber is the most cogent and penetrating voice in the recent emergence of a uniquely American wisdom.
2. Caroline Myss is a five-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition. After completing her Master’s degree, Caroline co-founded Stillpoint Publishing and headed the editorial department, producing an average of ten books a year in the field of human consciousness and holistic health.  Caroline developed the field of Energy Anatomy, a science that correlates specific emotional/psychological/physical/spiritual stress patterns with diseases.
3. Sandra Ingerman - Sandra Ingerman, MA, is the author of eight books including Soul Retrieval, Medicine for the Earth, Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner’s Guide and How to Heal Toxic Thoughts. Sandra is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist and Professional Mental Health Counselor. She is also a board certified expert on traumatic stress as well as certified in acute traumatic stress management.
4. Anodea Judith, Ph.D. is the founder and director of Sacred Centers, and a groundbreaking thinker, writer, and spiritual teacher. Her passion for the realization of untapped human potential matches her concern for humanity’s impending crises — her fervent wish is that we “wake up in time.” She holds Masters and Doctoral degrees in Psychology and Human Health, is a 500 hour registered yoga teacher, with lifelong studies of healing, mythology, history, sociology, systems theory, and mystic spirituality. She is considered one of the country’s foremost experts on the combination of chakras and therapeutic issues and on the interpretation of the Chakra System for the Western lifestyle.
5. William Buhlman - William Buhlman is America’s leading expert on out-of-body experiences. The author’s four decades of extensive personal out-of-body explorations give him a unique and thought provoking insight into this subject.

While it’s important to take each interview with a grain of salt, there is always wisdom to be uncovered and connections to be made when listening to new and engaging perspectives. What have you got to lose?

Eckhart Tolle and The Power of Now

I recently came across Eckhart Tolle while listening to an Oprah Soul Series podcast. I was instantly intrigued for two reasons 1) Oprah mentioned that everyone who visits her home automatically receives a copy of Tolle’s book, The Power of Now and 2) prior to writing this book, Tolle was a depressed vagrant living on the streets of England, contemplating suicide until he decided that “he” could no longer live with “himself.” Upon making this statement, he suddenly realized that the “I” and the “himself” were at the same time one but not one of the same. This realization spurred an “inner awakening” and transformed his way of thinking, allowing for him to break free of his negative thought processes and embrace that which he essentially was. Tolle states:

I couldn’t live with myself any longer. And in this a question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void. I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and the fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved. The next morning I woke up and everything was so peaceful. The peace was there because there was no self. Just a sense of presence or “beingness,” just observing and watching.

Tolle writes that “the most significant thing that can happen to a human being is the “separation process of thinking and awareness” and that awareness is “the space in which thoughts exist.” Tolle says that “the primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” Below is an introduction from Jim Carrey:

According to Tolle’s web site, at the core of his teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution. An essential aspect of this awakening consists of transcending our ego-based state of consciousness. Below is an interview with Tolle from ABC News:

Tolle mentions that 98 to 99% of our thinking is repetitive and in fact, a lot of our thinking is negative. He says that the ego is habitual and compulsive; many people live habitually as if the present moment were an obstacle that they need to overcome in order to get to the next moment. Therefore, people who are lost in their thoughts not only consumed by the ego but inevitably unable to fully and consciously enjoy their lives. He writes:

The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not ‘the thinker.’ The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. You then begin to realize that there is a vast realm of intelligence beyond thought, that thought is only a tiny aspect of that intelligence. You also realize that all the things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace – arise from beyond the mind. You begin to awaken.

Though nothing Eckhart’s really telling us is new, I recommend this book for anyone who needs a fresh perspective on how to achieve genuine peace and happiness in their lives. Borrowing heavily from the concepts of Buddhism, Tolle meshes together wisdom from a variety of different religions to piece together a clear and modern-day approach to understanding spiritual enlightenment.

Link to the webcasts from Oprah’s Soul Series are located here.

Dr. Bruce Lipton and The Biology of Belief

A new, long-term medical study found that hospitalized patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease who had a positive outlook about their recovery were less likely to die over the course of a 15 year period and had better physical functioning after one year. According to an article from the Duke University web site entitled “You’ve Gotta Have Heart: Positive Outlook Increases Heart Patient’s Survival,”

Cardiac patients with optimistic expectations about their recovery were 30 percent less likely to die over the next 15 years than patients with less optimistic expectations, regardless of the severity of their heart disease, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. This study is unique because it shows that a patient’s attitude toward their disease not only impacts their ability to return to a normal lifestyle but also their health over the long term and ultimately their survival,” said John C. Barefoot, PhD, the study’s lead author.

So is this just another obscure medical study citing heavily-skewed statistics, or could there really be some science behind this finding?  For more information, click here to view the ABC News clip interviewing Dr. Redford Williams, Division Head of Behavioral Medicine at Duke University.

According to Dr. Bruce Lipton, PhD who wrote the book The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles, positive thinking can have a direct impact on our biology. Having spent years conducting stem cell research, he’s concluded that our environment and not our DNA is that which affects life at the cellular level. His research at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, between 1987 and 1992, revealed that the environment, operating though the membrane, controlled the behavior and physiology of the cell, turning genes on and off.  His extensive study of cell life, including his 20 years of teaching the “History of Cell Biology” at various universities, has given him unique insight into the structure and function of our cells. He writes:

When we look into a mirror we usually recognize the image as our self, a single living human entity. But this is a misperception, because in truth the cells are the living entities. An individual human is actually close-knit community of approximately 50 trillion cells. Every cell is intelligent and can survive outside of your body by living and growing in a tissue culture dish.

However, when in the body, each cell is becomes an integral part of a community, working with the other cells that share the common vision of the community. The nervous system acts as a government that controls and coordinates the functions of the body’s cells. When the mind serves as a “good” government, the cellular community is in harmony and expresses health. If the mind is confused, angered, in fear or disturbed, it can destroy the harmony of the cellular community and lead to dis-ease or even death.

Just remember, your thoughts are sent to the body’s cells via neuro-chemicals and nerve transmission. If you are harsh on yourself, it’s your cells that are the ones that physically feel the brunt of your anger. Cell’s are generally very loyal, to the extent that if you so wish it, they will actually commit suicide (apoptosis in the cellular world). Positive and negative thoughts shape your biology, for your mind is actually “governing” 50 trillion cells.

Dr. Lipton’s discoveries, which ran counter to the established scientific view that life is controlled by the genes, presaged one of today’s most important fields of study, the science of epigenetics.  Epigenetics is the study of how environmental signals activate and regulate gene behaviors.  At its most basic, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene activity that do not involve alterations to the genetic code but still get passed down to at least one successive generation.  To learn more about epigentices, click here to read the Time Magazine article entitled “Why your DNA isn’t your destiny.”

Below is a video interview with Wayne Dyer discussing his research and findings:

This video provides more detail for anyone who may be interested in the science behind the power of positive thinking.

The 2012 Prophecy

It’s hard to take the idea seriously that the world is going to end on December 21^st, 2012 when you visit the “official 2012 website” and the first thing you see is a “shop now” link to order books, music, and/or t-shirts relating to the much-anticipated date. For those unfamiliar with 2012, below is a short video clip from MSNBC with Dr. Michio Kaku, an American physicist and Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York:

One can’t help but to be suspicious about 2012 either when certain individuals such as David Icke or David Wilcock (who purport themselves to be authorities on the topic) have personal web sites that either require a paid subscription for more information or offer a plea to attend pricey conferences with an opportunity to meet in person as a lure to accessing more privileged information.  (It is worthwhile to note here that David Icke was a former BBC reporter and radio personality, while David Wilcock primarily considers himself a filmmaker.) While both individuals are well-spoken, educated, very convincing, and possess the uncanny ability to string together a series of facts made to appear as truth, at the end of the day they are both making money off of their predictions and analyses so it’s difficult to take what they say too seriously. To see what Icke has to say on the topic, click here for a video entitled “David Icke on 2012.” To hear what David Wilcock has to say, click here to view a video entitled “Prophecies and Science of a Golden Age.”

So what is it exactly that is supposed to happen in 2012? Depending on who you talk to, you will receive a variety of answers. I figured a good place to start would be with this video response from JPL/Nasa entitled “2012: A Scientific Reality Check”:

With all of the videos that have been made regarding 2012 (just search YouTube), in addition to the 2009 Columbia Pictures movie that was recently released by the producer of Independence Day (click here for trailer), at this point I think it can be said that the mania regarding 2012 is probably being elevated due to media sensationalism.

Although the claims that Icke and Wilcock make are alluring, it is Czechoslovakian psychologist and M.D. Stanislov Grof who I find to be the most fascinating.  According to Wikipedia, Grof received his M.D. from Charles University in Prague in 1957, and then completed his Ph.D. in Medicine at the Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences in 1965, training as a Freudian psychoanalyst. In 1967, he was invited as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and went on to become Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. Below is a video regarding his thoughts on the 2012 topic:

To read the paper he references entitled “2012 and Human Destiny: End of World or Conciousness Revolution?” click here.

In closing, almost anywhere you look you will find someone who has an opinion on 2012. Despite the spectrum of ideas regarding the topic, the vast majority of educated thinkers (Peter Russell, Richard Tarnas, Stanislov Grof) agree that 2012 will more than anything mark a symbolic time of change in human history … a make or break moment where humanity stands at a crossroads leading either to a breakthrough in consciousness, or a potentially self-imposed disaster.

Through the Eyes of a Mystic

Mysticism is nearly universal and unites most religions in the quest for divinity. According to Wikipedia, mysticism is defined as “the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight.” It is derived from the Greek word “mystikos” meaning “an initiate of a mystery religion,” which is in reference to the classical Greco-Roman mystery cults where initiates were sworn to keep secret about the inner workings of religion that they were privy to.

There are many famous mystics in our culture you may have heard about including American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho, and Beatles guitarist George Harrison, but perhaps none so intriguing as Lithuanian child prodigy Akiane Kramarik who began painting remarkable artwork at the age of 4 and attributes her talent to divine inspiration from God:

Currently at 16 years of age, Akiane has been featured on nearly 50 international television shows and documentaries including Oprah, CNN, Good Morning America, The View, and the Montel Williams Show. According to her web site at www.artakiane.com, she has published over 200 works of art, 800 literary creations and 2 best-selling books. Click here to view her gallery of artwork, where prints range in price from $5,000 to $3,000,000, or you can click here to view her poetry. I would suggest taking some time to browse through her paintings and skim through the narratives that go along with each of them. Akiane donates a large percentage of her income back to charity, and her goal with each painting is always the same: to serve as an inspiration for others, provide hope, and to share her love for God with people around the world.

Below is a more recent, longer video of Akiane explaining her artistic processes and the guidance she receives, providing a deeper  level of insight into her world. It is interesting to note that she was brought up in an atheistic household with no introduction to religion, limited access to the media (she didn’t even know who Oprah was when she went on her show at age 9), and was homeschooled.

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In the book From Science to God, author Peter Russell argues that science is just beginning to understand and uncover what mystics have known for centuries; he believes that science will soon confirm what the mystics have been saying all along bridging the age-old gap between science and religion. He writes:

The worldviews of science and spirit have not always been as far apart as they are today. Five hundred years ago, there was little difference between them. What science there was existed within the established worldview of the Christian church. Following Copernicus, Descartes and Newton, Western science broke away from the doctrines of monotheistic religion, establishing its own atheistic worldview, which today is now very different indeed from that of traditional religion. But the two can, and I believe eventually will, be reunited. And their meeting point is consciousness. When science sees consciousness to be a fundamental quality of reality, and when religion takes God to be the light of consciousness shining within us all, the two worldviews start to converge.

Peter Russell earned degrees in both physics and experimental psychology from the University of Cambridge, England and also holds a postgraduate degree in computer science. He studied meditation and Eastern philosophy in India, and upon his return conducted research into the neurophysiology of meditation at the University of Bristol. Over the past twenty years, he has been a consultant to IBM, Apple, American Express, Barclays Bank, Swedish Telecom, Nike, Shell, BP, and other major corporations. Some of his books include The Global Brain, Waking Up in Time, and The Consciousness Revolution.  He certainly brings a unique perspective to the topic of mysticism given his scientific background. To listen to some of his talks online at www.peterrussell.com, click here.  For a brief video of his on the primacy consciousness, see below:

Peter Russell is considered to be one of the foremost authorities on the topic of consciousness today. He believes that consciousness does not arise from matter and that modern science has been unable to address the deeper, more fundamental questions that mystics have been understanding for centuries. Moving forward, it will be interesting to keep an eye on both Akiane and Peter, to see what insights and discoveries will be made on both the levels of mysticism and science in our 21st century society.

Non-Rational Ways of Knowing

One of my favorite books to-date has been German Lutheran theologian and scholar of comparative religion Rudolph Otto’s The Idea of the Holy.  The book defines the concept of the holy as that which is numinous. Otto explained the  numinous as a “non-rational, non-sensory experience or feeling whose primary and immediate object is outside the self.” Originally published in 1917, I love the book because the author captures complex, hard-to-describe ideas in beautifully written—though difficult to digest—language. It’s the type of book you need to sit down and get comfortable with … steaming hot beverage in one hand, writing tool in the other.

A central idea in the book is the concept of “mysterium tremendum,” which is Otto’s attempt at describing the feeling that one experiences when enduring an encounter with “the holy.” Whether it be that heavy, looming feeling of something sitting right on top of your chest in a quiet room, or a peaceful wave of calm while enjoying a particular scene in nature – the feeling is not one to be denied. He writes:

We are dealing with something for which there is only one appropriate expression, ‘mysterium tremendum’. The feeling of it may at times come sweeping like a gentle tide, pervading the mind with a tranquil mood of deepest worship. It may pass over into a more set and lasting attitude of the soul, continuing, as it were, thrillingly vibrant and resonant, until at last it dies away and the soul resumes its ‘profane’, nonreligious mood of everyday experience. It may burst in sudden eruption up from the depths of the soul with spasms and convulsions, or lead to the strangest excitements, to intoxicated frenzy, to transport, and to ecstasy. It has its wild and demonic forms and can sink to an almost gristly horror and shuddering. It has its crude, barbaric antecedents and early manifestations, and again it may be developed into something beautiful and pure and glorious. It may become the hushed, trembling, and speechless humility of the creature in the presence of–whom or what? In the presence of that which is a mystery inexpressible and above all creatures.

Around the time I first read this book I made an interesting connection. While listening to a song called “Reflection” by the band Tool, I realized that the lyrics of the song were reflecting upon none other than a mystical experience with countless direct ties (almost line for line) to ideas that were touched upon in the book. It wasn’t a few days later that I picked up a book on Alex Grey at a Barnes and Noble (an artist who did the cover art for the band’s CD) when I noticed that on the inside front cover was a picture of Alex Grey with a copy of The Idea of the Holy sitting on his desk in the background. At that moment the ideas, the artist, and the music came full circle into a picture that more clearly defined the concept for me and also helped me to realize the permeating nature of the topic … the fact that these truths are all around us, but only until we tune into them do we begin to notice or acknowledge that they are there.

Angels Among Us?

What would Christmas be without angels? Angels are certainly inextricable from the history of Christmas. They tie back to the very birth of Jesus as noted in the famous holiday carol, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and are recognized across almost all religious traditions including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism.

According to the popular story of Christmas, it was angels who told Joseph to wed the Virgin Mary, angels who brought the good news to the Virgin Mary about her being chosen as the mother of Jesus Christ, angels who looked over Mary and Joseph as they traveled to Bethlehem, and angels who spread the news of Jesus’ birth. But where do angels fit into our story today?

Per a 2008 ABC News story entitled “Most American’s Believe in Guardian Angels,” what’s interesting is that more than half of all adults, including one in five of those who say they are not religious, believe that they have been protected by a guardian angel at some point during their life.

Similarly, a 2007 Pew Research Study found that “Nearly seven-in-ten Americans (68%) believe that angels and demons are active in the world. Majorities of Jehovah’s Witnesses (78%), members of evangelical (61%) and historically black (59%) Protestant churches, and Mormons (59%) are completely convinced of the existence of angels and demons.”

Are these statistics nothing more than wishful thinking based on blind faith or is there something more to the story? You be the judge.

Below is a video from CNBC about a woman who believes that an angel saved her daughter’s life:

While the above statistics and stories are nice, there is little else that speaks more clearly than a good personal experience. Of the more compelling stories regarding angels that I have heard, two stories come to mind.

Story #1: An Important Message from Above

The day before a good friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer, she woke up at 12:00 a.m. sharp, sitting straight up in bed to find an angel directly above her “handing down” an urgent message. The message came like a bolt of lightning, a piece of paper shoved straight under her nose, saying as if she must pay attention to an important message that would be forthcoming, but that everything would at the same time be ok. As fate would have it, that next day at a doctor’s appointment, at exactly noon, the doctor handed down a report indicating that breast cancer was indeed her diagnosis. She has since fully recovered and feels as though this was a message from above providing her with hope and peace at a time of otherwise doom and gloom.

Story #2: Modern Miracles

In October of 2001, a lifelong friend of my father’s came face-to-face with a burglar who had shot him in his own driveway. As he lay bleeding to death and waiting for the paramedics to arrive, with his wife standing over him, surrounded by neighbors and friends, Tim and his wife had each witnessed angels hovering above them. The interesting part of the story is that neither of them mentioned this part of the story until long after it was over. Tim’s full personal account can be read by clicking on the following link entitled Modern Miracles.  Meanwhile, a very abbreviated version of the story (with no mention of the angels) can be viewed here. It is also worthwhile to mention that media coverage of this story in the broadcast news left out any mention of the angels sighted in its reporting.

In closing, whether or not you personally believe that angels exist or that they are nothing more than a figment of one’s imagination, it remains difficult to deny the influence that angles have had in our society and across cultures, the important role that they have played in our history, and what their messages (real or imagined) could otherwise mean for one’s future.

Catholicism at its Tipping Point?

“Catholicism provides a reliable tradition and a rooted, intellectually structured sense of who we are in this world.” – Mary Jo Bane, Harvard University

Catholicism means many different things to many different people, as I would argue most religions for most people do. For me it provided a great sense of structure and tradition throughout my childhood; it also laid the groundwork for leading an ethical life.

I recently completed the book Being Catholic Now, by Kerry Kennedy, which surveys 37 American Catholic adults and their experiences, upbringing, and current views regarding the Catholic Church. From Susan Sarandon, Dan Ackroyd, Martin Sheen, and Nancy Pelosi to Andrew Sullivan, Frank McCourt, Bill O’Reilly, and Bill Maher, the full spectrum of believers is represented in this book and the memories and traditions that define what it means to be Catholic – then and now – are shared. Below is an excerpt from Kennedy’s introduction:

Only Walt Disney could compete with my mother in the total makeover of our home at each holiday. The day after Thanksgiving, while other families hit the malls, our house underwent a complete renovation. By the time the first Sunday of Advent rolled around three days later, and we gathered to say the Rosary and compete over who got to light the first purple candle embedded in a fresh wreath, our center hall colonial had been transformed into eye-popping splendor. A platform held Rudolph, his nose a blinking red bulb, followed by a harness with eight life-sized reindeer. There was Santa in his sleigh riding across the snowy spun-glass draped tops of the English boxwood hedge in front of the house. Electric candles pierced the centers of thirty-six balsam wreaths in the thirty-six windows. Walking through the front door triggered jingle bells, which could be heard over Bing Crosby and Andy Williams Christmas albums playing 24/7 from Thanksgiving until the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6.

Similar to Kennedy’s story, growing up within a Catholic family produced a variety of cheerful memories for me as well. Whether it was spending Christmas at my grandmother’s home of 50+ years in Nebraska where the entire extended family would attend church together on Christmas Eve (same parish where my dad was once an altar boy), and then coming back to a warm, snuggly home for honey-baked ham sandwiches, homemade pierogis, or my Aunt Clara’s hand-churned sausage, caramel corn, and peanut brittle – the memories were all delightful. Similarly, taking part in annual Christmas pageants at my parish (outfitted as an angel, of course!) and singing Christmas carols come to mind when recalling the early years of attending the large cathedral in Los Angeles filled with spectacular stained glass windows, candles, and incense. Stopping for donuts and hot chocolate after Sunday masses with dad was also a regular occurrence, as was getting excited about how to style my hair in elementary school since the outfit (uniform) –plaid skirt, white blouse, green acrylic sweater, and saddle shoes–was already figured out.

But above all, growing up within a Catholic family has meant building wonderful memories alongside of family members whose lives have been rooted in the church. These ethical, grounded, hard-working, loyal, loving, and above all compassionate and charitable people have no doubt have taken a cue from lessons learned within the church to become the people that they are today. For these reasons and others, I admire this religion. And, it’s the basis of why I think religion is important in a society where values have been all but lost.

I found Being Catholic Now intriguing because Kennedy had each contributor answer the same few questions and it was quite entertaining to read through the variety of opinions and answers. The questions ranged from “Tell us about your upbringing as it relates to the church” to “What would you change if you were the Pope?” At the end of the day I was left with the feeling that the definition of what it means to be a Catholic has not only changed dramatically over time, but is much broader than I had originally suspected. The book most definitely drove home the fact that despite what the church is preaching, the beliefs of its followers have progressed and as a result the church is undergoing a crisis.

According to www.catholicity.com, since 1965 mass attendance among American Catholics is down from 75% to 32%, the number of those in the priesthood has almost halved, the number of Catholic nuns has fallen by 60%, and the number of those attending Catholic schools has dropped off by over 50%. Though Vatican II marked a fundamental shift towards the modern Church by changing the order of the mass and allowing it to take place in languages other than Latin (!), it seems that the church hasn’t changed quickly enough in order to keep pace with the times. Below is a short comedy skit, touching on the fact that Catholics in general have lost value in attending mass:

On a more positive note, below is a quote from Sister Joan Chittister (a contributor to the book) who is a Benedictine sister, key visionary within the Church, award-winning author, and international lecturer on behalf of peace, human rights, women’s issues, justice and Church renewal. She writes:

Change doesn’t really happen from the top. Not in the Catholic Church. It happens from the bottom and it happens over long periods of time. The whole notion that the Catholic Church doesn’t change is only said by people who don’t know its history. It’s a changing body, but the problem is that some people get chewed up in that long, slow process. That is the sin of the Church. But that is what happens when you’re the vanguard or articulator of any idea in a developmental process … (If I were the Pope) the first thing I’d do is to bring women into all arenas of the Church, all areas of authority and idea development. I’d make the Church a universal church instead of a male church, and I’d do it overnight. Why? That’s the only way you’re going to hear and develop the full theology of the Church.

There were many aspects of Being Catholic Now that I found fascinating; reading the book illuminated a couple of different points about the religion that I hadn’t considered before. For example:

1. I knew nothing about the strides that Catholic Charities USA has been making globally on the fronts of poverty, human trafficking, and social injustice in general, especially in third world countries. It was also nice to hear that the Catholic Church plays a key role in responding to natural disasters around the world.
2. I was previously unfamiliar with the changes brought about by “Vatican II.”
3. The division of “Catholics vs. Protestants” or “Irish-Catholics vs. Italian-Catholics” was something I never thought about much since I grew up in a time where the cultural/societal divisions were not as obvious given the fact that the landscape was exponentially more diverse in California than the days of when tight-knit Catholic communities existed separately from the rest of the world.

In the majority of the contributing stories, authors spoke of growing up in integrated communities with strong a sense of cultural identity among multiple siblings within large families where day-to-day life was inextricable from the Church. Church was a central aspect for many in that families regularly had priests over for dinner, all of the children’s schoolteachers were nuns, and church activities provided structure both after-school and on weekends. Today it is much more difficult if not impossible to achieve the level of relationship parishioners once had with their priests, especially in light of the sex abuse scandal that is still making waves throughout the church.

If Catholicism is to remain relevant in today’s landscape, it is imperative that the Church finds a way to reconnect with its members in a way that spurs a regeneration. Whether that be through reviewing and updating its policies, incorporating women into the hierarchy, or changing the very nature of communication and outreach among parishoners, surely there must be some smaller-scale changes that could be made to trigger or bring about an epidemic of change. The Church has reached its tipping point.

Huston Smith: A National Treasure

Huston Smith is perhaps one of the wisest, most charming, and insightful men that the good world has ever had the pleasure of knowing. Now in his 90s and living in a Berkeley, California-based assisted living home, he is still married to his wife, Kendra, of nearly 70 years. Having grown up in rural China alongside of missionary parents, then quickly rising up the academic ranks while teaching at such schools as Washington University, M.I.T, Syracuse, and Berkeley, Smith is perhaps best known for his traipsing around the world to discover the unique varieties of religious experience while at the same bringing insight and understanding of such lesser-known traditions to the West. This man has literally seen and done it all.

I was first introduced to Huston Smith, as most college students were, when assigned to read one of his books, The World’s Religions (which sold over 2.5 million copies), during an “Introduction to World Religions” course in college.  Never before had I been presented with such a clear and colorful, concise and vividly written account of the world’s religions. As a result, I became completely captivated with this author, especially after watching portions of his five-part PBS special with Bill Moyers, and went on to read additional books of his including Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief, Beyond the Postmodern Mind: The Place of Meaning in a Global Civilization, and most recently Tales of Wonder: Adventures in Chasing the Divine. (For a full list of books he has written, click here to visit his Amazon.com page.) In Why Religion Matters, Smith argues that religion is humanity’s greatest asset because it provides us with aspiration, hope, and courage. In Beyond the Postmodern Mind, he distinguishes between the “traditional” worldview that placed God at the center of the universe; the “modern” view in which science ruled; and the “postmodern” view that doubts whether the universe makes sense at all. In Tales of Wonder, he documents his extraordinary travels around the globe that have taken him to some of the world’s holiest places, where he has practiced religion with many of the great spiritual leaders of our time.

From a May 2009 San Francisco Chronicle article entitled “Huston Smith: Rock Star of Religions,” below are some of the reasons why I find him so interesting:

His autobiography is a dizzying tour of a singular life. Smith was there when the 1945 U.N. charter was signed in San Francisco. He met Mother Teresa, interviewed Eleanor Roosevelt and invited the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to speak at Washington University in 1956. Seeking enlightenment, he took mescaline with Timothy Leary and peyote with an Indian shaman. He counts Saul Bellow, Aldous Huxley, Pete Seeger and the Dalai Lama among his legion of friends …  and late on the night before the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising, he arrived unsuspectingly in Beijing for a conference on Chinese philosophy.

In addition to his books, Smith has (luckily) given many interviews and lectures. Being an ordained Methodist minister, I came across an interview on the United Methodist Church web site where he discusses his faith story. I found his answer to the question of why he has remained a Methodist after having been exposed to so many of the world’s religions interesting. He stated:

I’m often asked why have I stayed in the Methodist church when there are so many other denominations and even other religions which I have studied and venerate. I take my answer from his holiness, the Dalai Lama, whom I have had a very deep friendship with for 35 years and I heard him ask whether conversion to another religion was ever appropriate. He said, it’s better if you can stay within your own tradition because you are imprinted with its form, and its music, and its literature, and Christmas carols, and the like. However, if you’ve been bruised by your tradition, your religion, why then, it is a good idea to look into others and possibly converting. Well, I have never been bruised by my church. I disagree with some of the policies, but just as we can disagree with the policies of the current American administration and still be an American, well, it’s the same way with me.

The link to the full interview is available by clicking here.

In May of 2000, Smith lectured at Duke University on “Why Religion Matters” where he outlined some of the major ideas from his book. Though not told in the rapid, bullet-point fashion of most lectures and presentations given today, and not accented with any flashy graphics or visual representations, I promise that if you listen to this lecture you will not only find wisdom in his words, but such beauty in his expression of them. Smith was in his early 80s at the time; if we could all only aspire to be like him!

In looking back across Smith’s life, you’d be hard-pressed to find a reason that his life has not served a uniquely divine purpose given the coincidences of his interactions with famous cultural icons in American history combined with his presence and involvement at various key events. For a truly enjoyable read and a full outline of his life experiences and lessons to date, please check out the aptly named Tales of Wonder and feel free to share any thoughts here!

Enlightenment at Aquae Sulis

A few years ago my husband and I spent the weekend at the JW Marriott in Las Vegas. Included in the suggested activities for the weekend (as this was a media-related event) was an early morning yoga class at the Aquae Sulis Spa. From a May 2000 article in Los Angeles Magazine entitled “Relieving Las Vegas” reviewing the hotel and its facilities:

Aquae Sulis (latin for ‘waters of the sun’) is laid out in imperial splendor and offers mind-body invigoration with a dose of ancient, almost mumbo-jumbo-ish therapy principles and brave new technologies. Thalassotherapy uses seaweed and micro-algae to relieve stress. Negative-ion therapy employs ionized seawater to balance body humors. Soprology is a relation technology with sound … (but) I had signed up for aura imaging, another Aquae Sulis exclusive. It seemed they had a camera that could capture the invisible field of energy surrounding an individual and reflecting the state of one’s seven chakras, or energy centers.

Having known nothing about the background of the spa at that point in time or the nature of the yoga class, I attended the scheduled event that morning—half asleep—merely as a courtesy to the event planner. While going through the typical motions of a yoga class, stretching and listening to the instructor’s guided meditations, I began to feel a sensation similar to floating and became enveloped in swirling bright colors of magenta and purple. Based on a curiosity to see where this was heading, I decided to continue listening to the instructor as the colors became more pronounced and swirling until abruptly, like waking up from a dream, the class was over. Following the class I asked the instructor if she might have any idea of what that experience could have been. Was I so relaxed that I might have fallen asleep and been dreaming? Was it the warmth of the room combined with the sound of the waterfall outside that had put me into like something of a hypnotic trance? To my surprise, she quite simply said that I had “tapped into my chakras.”

Not knowing what a chakra was, and brushing off the explanation as something “New-Agey” and unquantifiable (combined with the fact that I was in Las Vegas for the weekend and very much distracted), I never really thought too much more about it.  But, in the last few weeks I’ve read a couple of items that have re-ignited my interest in this topic, including a book that my brother passed along to me entitled Frequency by Penney Peirce and an article from the November 2010 issue of Healthy Beginnings Magazine entitled “The Awesome Future of Vibrational Medicine.” Both readings readily discuss the idea that humans are made up of energy and how this applies to healing and medicine.

First, a word on chakras. According to About.com, “Chakra is a Sanskrit term whose literal translation is “wheel.” The chakras are energy-centers located along the central axis (Shushumna Nadi) of the subtle body, which are activated via yoga practice.” Because I witnessed the colors of magenta and purple, this would suggest that I tapped into my crown chakra. The crown chakra is associated with the pineal gland, the color violet, full enlightenment, and union with the cosmos. For an explanation of the seven chakras, click here for a color chart.

Below are links to two videos that provided a new perspective on my experience:

Chakras Overview/The System of Chakras:

The Theories of Disease and Healing in Energetic Medicine:

In Frequency, Penney Peirce adds to the idea that “everything is energy” when she writes:

The world’s scientific communities agree that energy comprises all things and that energy systems are conscious. Earth spins, they tell us, within an infinite electromagnetic field. Everything participates in this swirling, oscillating, vibrating energy. It’s interesting how we commonly regard cosmic energy as something “out there,” crackling in some far-flung location beyond the earth upon which we walk. The truth is this same energy is present “in here,” right within our existence as an individual self and everywhere present in the atmosphere in which we live … Whether electromagnetic, gravitational, or quantum, science is revealing what spiritual giants of all times and traditions have told us since the beginning of time: we are luminous, energetic beings of creative intelligence, fully equipped to consciously participate in the evolutionary impulse of the universe and become fully self-realized.

This concept was further clarified in the Healthy Beginnings Magazine article, where June Milligan M.Ed., a Reno-based Energy Psychologist (never knew there was such a thing?) wrote: “All humans are conglomerations of electromagnetic energy and as a result, our bodies function as dynamic electric circuits. Cells transmit and receive energy, and each has its own vibrational frequency range. When the cell vibrates within that range, it’s healthy and works just as it was designed.”