tag:www.naturalawakenings.com,2005:/categories/inspiration?page=31Inspiration Inspiration | Natural Awakenings Magazine Page 31Healthy Living Healthy Planet2019-08-28T16:25:04-04:00urn:uuid:9322badd-be05-404f-88a7-35299ba1210e2019-08-28T16:25:04-04:002019-08-28T16:25:04-04:00Seven Ways from Sunday2010-12-03 00:10:43 -0500Lisa Marshall<p><em>If it is proving difficult to find time to attend church services or synagogue, or even pause for individual spiritual practice this holiday season, authors Barbara Brown Taylor and J. Pittman McGehee have uncovered less conventional alternatives. Here’s how some people are daily tapping into their definitions of a Higher Power.</em></p><p> </p><p><strong>The Practice of Paying Attention</strong></p><p>Spend 20 minutes observing a patch of Earth outdoors. Observe what lives there. Think of how it came to be and what it takes for it to survive.</p><p><strong>The Practice of Encountering Others</strong></p><p>Start a conversation with the cashier at the grocery store. Exchange eye contact and a smile with someone on the subway. Offer help to a mother with a crying child at the airport.</p><p>Says Taylor: “The hardest spiritual work in the world is to love the neighbor as the self—to encounter them not as someone you can use, change, fix, help or save, but as someone who can spring you from the prison of yourself if you will allow it… to entertain the possibility that this is one of the faces of God.”</p><p><strong>The Practice of Living with Purpose</strong></p><p>Show your gratitude for being alive through contributing to some common good, whether it is via a vocation you love or volunteer work. “Give your stuff away. Share your food. Pray for those who are out to get you. Be the first to say ‘I’m sorry,’” counsels Taylor.</p><p><strong>The Practice of Saying No</strong></p><p>Say no for one whole day: to more work, to shopping, to the Internet. Use the time you gain to pay attention. “If you slow down for just one day, alarming things can happen,” observes Taylor.</p><p><strong>The Practice of Doing Without</strong></p><p>Go without power for a day. Light candles. Dry laundry on a clothesline. Sleep by the fire. Feel your heart swell with gratitude when the sun comes up.</p><p><strong>The Practice of Creativity</strong></p><p>Create something. Paint, write, cook, dance or plant a garden. “Find the creativity, and you will find yourself experiencing the mystical presence of the transcendent, in the most simple and available way,” says McGehee.</p><p><strong>The Practice of Dreaming</strong></p><p>Write down dreams and pay attention to recurring symbols. Honor them as a divine opportunity.</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:f753ea5f-ec6a-4be6-ba6d-46e89356730f2019-08-28T16:25:03-04:002019-08-28T16:25:03-04:00Kindness is Contagious: Pass it On2010-12-03 00:10:37 -0500Anonymous<p>The best gift of all can be as simple as an act of kindness, generosity and cooperation. Even better, we hope that our good acts may spread. Now, a study published in the online edition of <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em> provides the first laboratory evidence that kind behavior is indeed contagious and that it spreads from person to person. In short, the researchers found that when just a few people benefit from kindness, they pay it forward by helping others who were not originally involved. This cascade of cooperation can influence many known and unknown participants in a broadening social network.</p><p>Here’s how researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and Harvard University illustrated the principle: When one person gave money to help others in a public-goods game where people had the opportunity to cooperate, the recipients were more likely to give away their own money to other people in subsequent games.</p><p>This type of behavior created a domino effect in which one person’s generosity spread first to three people, then to nine, and then to others in subsequent waves of the experiment. Better yet, the effect of being part of such a kindness circle persists, observes James Fowler, associate professor at UCSD, who co-led the study. “You don’t go back to being your old selfish self.”<br> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:8ee38bfb-bc9b-4482-8af3-6562f4d1987d2019-08-28T16:24:50-04:002019-08-28T16:24:50-04:00World Religions: Survey Shows Americans as Religio-Centric2010-12-03 00:10:16 -0500Anonymous<p>The role of religion as a social force of enduring significance in the modern world is recognized by American historians and sociologists, according to studies published by the American Historic Association and Social Science Research Council. Yet, a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life indicates that Americans are generally less than knowledgeable about the core teachings, history and leading figures of major world religions.</p><p>On average, Americans correctly answered half of 32 questions in the survey. Atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons were among the highest-scoring groups, outperforming Catholics and both evangelical and mainline Protestants. At the same time, many Americans are devoted readers of scripture; 37 percent say they read the Bible or other holy scriptures at least once a week, not counting worship services. But Americans as a whole, or 70 percent, are much less inclined to read books or visit websites about other religions.</p><p>Additional Pew data show that while most countries provide for religious freedom in their constitutions or laws, only a quarter actively respect this legal right. Sixty-four nations, or about one-third of the world’s countries, impose restrictions on religious practice.</p><p>Take a quiz at <a href="http://www.Features.PewForum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge">www.Features.PewForum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge</a>.</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:a0dabc27-f885-43d7-90f3-6a2d40336a572019-08-28T16:24:54-04:002019-08-28T16:24:54-04:0010 Guidelines for Enlightenment: Swami Beyondananda’s FUNdamentalist Advice2010-12-03 00:09:30 -0500Swami Beyondananada<p><strong>1</strong>. Be a FUNdamentalist—make sure the Fun always comes before the Mental. Realize that life is a situation comedy that will never be canceled. A laugh track has been provided, and the reason we are put in the material world is to get more material. Have a good “laughsitive” twice a day to ensure regularhilarity.</p><p><strong>2.</strong> Remember, each of us has been given a special gift just for entering, so you are already a winner!</p><p><strong>3.</strong> The most powerful tool on the planet today is Tell-a-Vision, in which I tell a vision to you and you tell a vision to me. That way, if we don’t like the programming we’re getting, we can change the channel.</p><p><strong>4</strong>. Life is like photography—you use the negative to develop. No matter what adversity you face, be reassured: The Universe has us surrounded. Might as well surrender.</p><p><strong>5.</strong> It’s true that as we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles tend to get caught between the ears and cause a condition called “truth decay.” So use mental floss twice a day, and when you’re tempted to practice “tantrum yoga,” remember what we teach in the Swami’s Absurdiveness Training Class: Don’t get even, get odd.</p><p><strong>6</strong>. If we want world peace, we must let go of our attachments and truly live like nomads. That’s where I no mad at you and you no mad at me. That way, there’ll surely be nomadness on the planet. Peace begins with each of us. A little peace here, a little peace there, and pretty soon all the peaces will fit together to make one big peace everywhere.</p><p><strong>7</strong>. I know great Earth changes have been predicted for the future, so if you’re looking to avoid earthquakes, my advice is simple: When you find a fault, don’t dwell on it.</p><p><strong>8.</strong> There’s no need to change the world—all we have to do is toilet train the world and we’ll never have to change it again.</p><p><strong>9.</strong> If you’re looking for the key to the Universe, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news: There is no key to the Universe. The good news: It was never locked.</p><p><strong>10.</strong> Finally, everything I’ve told you is channeled. That way, if you don’t like it, it’s not my fault. But remember… Enlightenment is not a bureaucracy, so you don’t have to go through channels.</p><p><em>Swami Beyondananda is the alter ego of writer and humorist Steve Bhaerman. Find him online at <a href="http://www.WakeUpLaughing.com">www.WakeUpLaughing.com</a>.<br></em></p><p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:706fbc66-e5f6-4ac9-a1f1-a22d62a5cf9a2019-08-28T16:24:59-04:002019-08-28T16:24:59-04:00Prayer Workouts: Fitness that Builds Spirituality2010-12-03 00:09:16 -0500April Thompson<p>It’s a butt-kicking boot camp. It’s a doorway to God. It’s community. It’s <em>caritas</em>, the Christian virtue of charity. It’s ActivPrayer, a fitness program integrating mind, body and soul, pioneered by a fitness-loving believer in Las Vegas, Nevada.</p><p>“People have different ways to go about it, but people all over the world are looking for ways to have a more living faith, to integrate spirituality in their daily lives,” says Luke Burgis, founder of ActivPrayer and a member of the Catholic Church. “I was also looking to get more out of fitness, so I experimented with different ways to infuse my workouts with a spiritual element.”</p><p>After successfully training an entertainment executive turned priest, using his “soul fitness” concept, Burgis recruited participants from various area churches to try out his spiritual boot camps in parks and open gyms. They drew significant interest and in January 2010, ActivPrayer was officially launched.</p><h3>Off and Running</h3><p>ActivPrayer’s group exercise classes begin with a guided prayer that varies based on the belief system that orients a particular class. The opening prayer is followed by declaring intentions—a chance for individuals to dedicate their workouts to a loved one, a person in need or a spiritual goal.</p><p>Then, the class is literally off and running, with women and men of all ages doing pushups, sprints, shadowboxing or other high-intensity movements in minute-long bursts, followed by extended rests, for up to 18 cycles. The self-paced intervals, as opposed to a strictly choreographed routine, enable ActivPrayer’s diverse members to participate according to their own workout levels. The rest periods are more than a time for bodily recovery, however; instructors use them to refocus participants on the day’s intention and meditate on the topic of the day.</p><p>Every class concludes in prayer, with individuals offered as much time as they want to rest in prayer or meditation before returning to the hustle of daily life. “I go to church every week, but I have a hard time focusing on prayer; I need structure,” explains Jenn DiNenna, a Las Vegas high school teacher. “I know if I go to this class, I will do my prayer and think about the things that matter.”</p><h3>Enlarged Perspectives</h3><p>While everyone is encouraged to set specific physical fitness goals, the greater results are often intangible: people changing attitudes, taking up a prayer life or, in some cases, contributing to community services for the first time. Community service is a key component of ActivPrayer, as participants collaborate on organized projects with local nonprofits at least once a week. Members earn one free workout for every five hours of service; in one recent month, 80 percent of ActivPrayer’s members participated in its service programs.</p><p>“Before coming to ActivPrayer, I wouldn’t have thought to volunteer, and some of the places we’ve gone I would have been scared to go on my own,” says DiNenna. She now regularly volunteers with the Special Olympics and says, “It’s all opened my eyes and helped me to grow as a person.”</p><p>Because charity begins at home, Burgis is putting the principles he preaches into practice in his own business. ActivPrayer is helping to create free wellness programs for churches, initially working with interested faith communities to pull together a local team of nurses, doctors, nutritionists and fitness instructors to run a wellness ministry for their congregations.</p><p>With backing from an angel investor, ActivPrayer is also on its way to establishing its own flagship club in Las Vegas, and hopes to have clubs in a few other major cities by the end of 2011. While Burgis eventually seeks to establish a class for every major religion, make ActivPrayer as ubiquitous as yoga and get its classes on the schedule at major fitness chains, he approaches the project with humility, anticipating that its development will evolve organically.</p><p>Much like his fitness goals, Burgis’ goals for ActivPrayer are not growth for growth’s sake—he promises investors he’ll never draw more than a modest salary—but to spread the good word about what adding soul to fitness can do for people.</p><p>“When you learn to see fitness not as a means to an end, but as a way to grow spiritually, you are adding a dimension to your life that can never be taken away, no matter what your physical condition,” he concludes.</p><p><em>Contact </em><a href="mailto:info@ActivPrayer.org"><em>info@ActivPrayer.org</em></a><em> or 888-594-5382, or visit </em><a href="http://www.activprayer.org/"><em>www.ActivPrayer.org</em></a><em> for more information.</em></p><p><em>April Thompson is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C. Connect at </em><a href="http://www.aprilwrites.com/"><em>www.AprilWrites.com</em></a><em>.</em></p><p> Click here for: <a href="/Natural-Awakenings/December-2010/Key-Elements-To-Soulful-Exercise/%20">Key Elements To Soulful Exercise</a></p><div class="body-sidebar-right p-4">
<strong><em>Workout Fundamentals</em></strong><br><br><strong>Before </strong><br>Prayer: <em>Mental or vocal prayer<br></em>Intention: <em>Workout dedication<br></em>Offering: <em>Work offered up to God<br></em><br><strong>During</strong><br>Rest Meditations: <em>Rest time used for spiritual exercises</em><br>Centering: <em>Centering prayers to maintain focus and intensity<br></em>Visualization: <em>Peak performance and spiritual correlations<br></em><br><strong>After<br></strong>Prayer: <em>Contemplative prayer</em><br>Review: <em>Analysis and reflection<br></em>Resolutions: <em>Focus for this day and our next workout</em><br><br>Source: <a href="http://www.ActivPrayer.com">ActivPrayer.com</a>
</div><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:efe56ac0-98dd-4e91-92f5-925c378385922019-08-28T16:24:43-04:002019-08-28T16:24:43-04:00The Global Coherence Hypothesis: A Conversation with Howard Martin 2010-12-03 00:09:00 -0500Linda Sechrist<p>Howard Martin is one of the founders of the groundbreaking Institute of HeartMath and one of the creators of the institute’s Global Coherence Initiative. This science-based research initiative currently unites 27,000 members from 85 countries, like-minded people engaged in heart-focused care and intention to support the well-being of the planet. One of its goals is to help measurably shift global consciousness from instability and discord to balance, cooperation and enduring peace.</p><p>Here, Martin discusses how participating in their efforts can help us discover whether our collective hearts’ energy field really can have a decided impact.</p><p> </p><p><strong>What is the Global Coherence Initiative?</strong></p><p>Many of us at HeartMath have spent years thinking about how to make major changes in the way the world operates, and have concluded that it will require a change in the field of consciousness itself. We, like you, regularly meditate and pray for world peace and the success of good works. We do this based on belief in the principle, explained by quantum physics, that a field of oneness unites us all.</p><p>At present, however, we have no dynamic proof that this is effective, because we have no means of scientifically measuring the effect. This is one purpose of the Global Coherence Initiative; another is to create a global community of like-minded people interested in increasing the impact of their meditation, prayer and intention efforts.</p><p>It’s evident that humanity is at a crossroads, and the initiative exists to help individuals and groups collaborate, both synchronously and strategically, in order to move change in a positive direction.</p><p> </p><p><strong>What is heart coherence?</strong></p><p>Since 1991, scientists at the Institute of HeartMath have been conducting research in the field of heart coherence, with results most recently published in the journal <em>Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine</em>. We know it as a distinct mode of synchronized psychophysical functioning associated with sustained positive emotion; a state of energetic alignment and cooperation between heart, mind, body and spirit.</p><p>In this dynamic, yet stable, state, various physiological systems within individuals become more ordered and harmonious. Energy accumulates, granting these individuals a larger reservoir of energy to manifest harmonious intention and outcomes. They may also naturally become more sensitive to their environment, other people and the world itself.</p><p> </p><p><strong>How can individually practicing the coherence techniques on your website translate into influencing the world?</strong></p><p>Our hypothesis is that mass emotion, whether positive or negative, has an impact not only on world thought, but on the planet itself. This means that an active global coherence community can intentionally build an aggregate reservoir of positive energy and send out coherent love and care to the Earth as well as peoples affected by many of the challenges we see today. We believe that this will create a more powerful heart-filled, supportive and sustainable environment.</p><p>Personal coherence also promotes a sense of connection and harmonious social interaction. It enhances our ability to deal with challenges and changes more easily and less stressfully.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Is there a way to measure individual and global coherence?</strong></p><p>An individual can measure their own coherence using the emWave® technology developed by HeartMath. It shows how different patterns of heart activity have distinct links with cognitive and emotional functions.</p><p>On a larger scale, Earth monitoring will be done by The Global Coherence Monitoring System (GCMS). Two of 12 monitoring sites strategically located around the world have now been deployed, in Northern California and Saudi Arabia. These sensor sites are observing changes in the geomagnetic field and the ionosphere, a plasma-like field that protects the Earth from incoming radiation. Over three years, GCMS will enable a new level of scientific inquiry into the relationship between the Earth’s magnetic field, collective human emotions and behaviors, and planetary changes.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Can anyone participate in the Global Coherence Initiative?</strong></p><p> Yes, just register on the website for a free membership. At members’ own discretion, they may use proffered resources to help facilitate desired changes in individual, social and global consciousness, learn about the science behind the project and participate in specific experiments.</p><p>Members also receive periodic alerts with suggestions about when and where they may help make direct, energetic contributions to planetary needs through coherence practice, meditation, prayer and directed intentions. However, no one has to use the coherence heart-focused techniques provided. We do not designate any particular form of prayer, out of respect for differing belief systems.</p><p> </p><p><em>For more information visit </em><a href="http://www.GlCoherence.org"><em>www.GlCoherence.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:5c2b04fd-6d5a-4813-95f5-7d8d9530ae5e2019-08-28T16:24:55-04:002019-08-28T16:24:55-04:00Everyday Grace: Finding the Sacred in Daily Living2010-12-03 00:09:00 -0500Lisa Marshall<p>A sunrise jog, a home-cooked meal with a friend, the smell of moist soil in a freshly-tilled garden, a smile from a stranger on the subway…</p><p>Most would agree that such Earthly experiences can give us something to look forward to or add a spark to an otherwise ordinary day. But to the increasing number of devotees in what some are calling “the invisible church,” these experiences are nothing short of spiritual opportunities—a chance to tap into the Divine, far outside the walls of any synagogue or cathedral.</p><p>“For a long time, there was an idea that there was only one way to do ministry, and that was within the church walls,” says Barbara Brown Taylor, author of <em>An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith</em>. “But there is an explosion of spirit going on right now, and people are experimenting with other ways to serve and seek that go way beyond that definition.”</p><p>Taylor, an Episcopal minister, left a 15-year-stint as a parish preacher for life as an organic farmer and professor of spirituality at Columbia Theological Seminary, in Decatur, Georgia. She is among a host of faith leaders who have moved beyond the confines of the altar to shine a light on the sacred nature of the outdoors, physical activity, food, gardening and even mundane workaday tasks.</p><p>The proliferation of such unconventional sacred practices comes at a time when the number of Americans who identify with one religion is dwindling, while those who consider themselves “spiritual, but not religious” is at an all-time high.</p><p>According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the number of adults who say they are not affiliated with any particular faith has grown to 16.1 percent, twice what it was 20 years ago. Among adults under age 30, one-quarter say they are unaffiliated. Meanwhile, 92 percent of Americans believe in God or a “universal spirit,” three-quarters pray and two in five meditate.</p><p>With the recent publication of such atheist tomes as Richard Dawkins’ <em>The God Delusion</em>, and the meteoric rise of conservative Christian personalities like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, those on either end of the spiritual spectrum have taken center stage in an increasingly divisive dialogue in recent years.</p><p>Meanwhile, former Episcopal priest J. Pittman McGehee points out that the more moderate seekers have been quietly creating a modern-day alternative all their own. “There is a 21st -century spirituality out there that is neither fundamentalist nor atheist,” observes Pittman, a University of Houston psychology professor and co-author of <em>The Invisible Church: Finding Spirituality Where You Are</em>. “People are looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary, the miraculous in the mundane, and the sacred camouflaged in the profane.”</p><h3>God in the Wilderness</h3><p>Raised in a devoutly Jewish family and ordained at the prestigious Hebrew Union College, Jamie Korngold was following a fairly typical rabbinical path in the 1990s. She presided over Saturday services at an ornate synagogue in Calgary, where she lead a large congregation in songs, chants and readings. Still, she often found herself thinking about the people who weren’t there. “No matter how great my sermons were, I knew I wasn’t going to reach beyond the pulpit,” she recalls, noting that 70 percent of Jews are not affiliated with a traditional congregation. “I needed to meet the people where they are.”</p><p>Today, she has no synagogue at all. Instead, through her rapidly growing Boulder-Colorado-based Adventure Rabbi program, she leads brief Shabbat services at a mountaintop warming house at the Copper Mountain ski resort, before spending “a holy day” carving turns on powder-filled slopes with her congregants. For the Jewish New Year, she leads them on a hike to a mountain top, where they unroll a giant Torah and toss snow into a rushing stream to bid farewell to past mistakes and welcome new beginnings. At Passover, they—like their Biblical ancestors—gather in the desert, where she tells the story of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt during their hike to a striking red-rock arch in Moab, Utah.</p><p class="pullquote">“Little mercies are the earthworms that loosen the rock-hard soil in your garden; the laughter we hear coming from a playground; and a second chance at anything. With practice, all of us can grow grateful hearts.” <br>– Lynn Coulter, author of <em>Little Mercies: Celebrating God’s Everyday Grace and Goodness</em>
</p><p>“It was an experience like none that I had ever had,” says Lori Ropa, 45, a lifelong Jew who attended an Adventure Rabbi Rosh Hashanah retreat with her husband (a Christian), after both had grown disenchanted with traditional religious services. “The opportunity to have a peaceful connection with God and with myself amidst all of that beauty really creates an intense experience for me,” says Ropa, who now attends Korngold’s services regularly. “I go because I want to be there. Not because I feel I need to.”</p><p>Korngold’s <em>God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors</em>, includes a reminder that Moses had to hike across the desert and climb a mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. “The physical exertion of the desert climb, coupled with the stark desert beauty, helped Moses to arrive spiritually and emotionally in a place beyond internal chatter—a place often called awe,” she writes, suggesting that, regardless of one’s faith, the very act of experiencing awe (for example, over a beautiful sunrise or the life cycle of a tree in the yard) connects us with something bigger.</p><p>“So, you spend much of your day in a cubicle… Get a spider plant, and watch the miracle of its growth on top of your file cabinet,” Korngold advises. “Change your route to work so that you can drive through a park.”</p><h3>The Sacred Track</h3><p>For 58-year-old Warren Kay, Ph.D., a track coach and religious studies professor at Merrimack College, in Boston, the act of running represents a moveable sanctuary where mental clutter falls away and time seems to bend to allow him to connect with himself and his higher power.</p><p>Kay, author of <em>Running: The Sacred Art</em>, believes that, “Running is the new yoga,” and notes that spiritual traditions have embraced running as a sacred vessel for centuries. In the village of Mount Hiei, Japan, members of a small Buddhist sect, known as the Marathon Monks, engage in a grueling, seven-year challenge in which seekers run as many as 50 miles a day in 100-day blocks in pursuit of enlightenment. In Tibet, the Lung-gom-pa runners use multi-day running journeys as their meditative practice. In Copper Canyon, Mexico, 50-mile barefoot races across the rugged desert comprise an integral part of the Tarahumara Indians’ spiritual fabric.</p><p>For Kay’s sought-after class, The Spirituality of Running, students read scripture from the religious tradition of their choice, and then go for a run, using the time to reflect on what they read. Or, they run first, and then come back to journal their thoughts.</p><p>Across the country, at the Shambhala Mountain Center, in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, 51-year-old Marty Kibiloski, an Ironman veteran, combines Buddhist teachings with trail runs during a three-day running meditation retreat.</p><p>“What we are trying to show is that you can overlay the practice of meditation onto so many aspects of your life, not just sitting on a cushion,” says Kibiloski, who once lived what he called, “a high achievement, low satisfaction life,” as a competitive marathoner, but has evolved a less-competitive, more thoughtful pace in both his running and personal life since adopting a Buddhist practice.</p><p>Whether running for miles or walking from the car to the grocery store, simply focusing on your cadence and your breath and being mindful of where your thoughts take you, can illuminate great things, he says. “Once you start really paying attention, you will be amazed at all that you’ve been missing.”</p><h3>Delicious and Divine</h3><p>L. Shannon Jung, a professor at Saint Paul School of Theology, in Kansas City, says he sees the burgeoning local food movement and surge in backyard gardening as welcome signs that people are rediscovering the heavenly roots of earthly bounty.</p><p>“We are rediscovering food as a link between us and God,” he says, adding that many of his students have gone on to start congregational community gardening programs in church yards. “When you watch a tiny green bud of spinach break through the surface of the soil, it really reminds you of our dependence upon things far beyond us.”</p><p>Meanwhile, in Liverpool, England, members of the Somewhere Else “bread church” meet twice a week to bake bread and talk about life as they wait for it to rise, the comforting smell filling the kitchen. Half of the bread, the staff of life, feeds the homeless.</p><p class="pullquote">“The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw—and knew I saw—all things in God and God in all things.” <br>–Mechthild of Magdeburg, medieval mystic and author of <em>The Flowing Light of the Godhead </em>
</p><p>To McGehee, the mere act of eating can be a reminder of what a divine wonder our own body is, as it stimulates every sense; the smell of an orange, the sound as we bite into it, its texture on our tongue. But when a meal is prepared lovingly and shared with a friend, it becomes even more sacred. “If you buy a burger at the drive-up, you are probably just fueling your body,” he comments. “But if you invite someone you care about to sit down with you for a burger, it can become a transcendent experience.”</p><h3>Attend to Community</h3><p>Taylor, whose acclaimed book, <em>Leaving Church</em>, recounts her parting with parish ministry in 1996, finds that some of her greatest moments of spiritual connectedness now come while digging her hands into the soil to find potatoes, bringing water to her chickens or sowing seeds. But she still believes that the traditional, walled church plays an important role, in that it brings us together physically.</p><p>“My worry is that in a culture that is individualistic and busy, if we aren’t careful, we might end up alone with no one to talk to about the things that matter most to us,” says Taylor. She encourages everyone to make time for community—whether it is at church on Sunday, a running group, book club or something else—wherever one’s spiritual life resides.</p><p>Most importantly, adds Korngold, pay attention to the moment: “The point that is often overlooked in the story of Moses and the burning bush is that he was busy tending his father-in- law’s flock, when he saw a bush out of the corner of his eye that was burning, but not consumed by flame. It was only when he stopped what he was doing, turned aside and paid attention that God spoke to him.</p><p>“If that were to have happened today, Moses’ cell phone probably would have gone off and he may have missed it altogether.”</p><p><em>Lisa Marshall is a freelance writer and mother of four whose spiritual life resides along the running trails of Colorado’s mountains. Connect at </em><a href="mailto:LisaMarshall08@gmail.com"><em>LisaMarshall08@gmail.com</em></a><em>.</em></p><p> Click here for: <a href="/Natural-Awakenings/December-2010/Seven-Ways-from-Sunday/%20%20">Seven Ways From Sunday</a><br> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:91f24e90-80f8-425c-baad-8990a50a64b02019-08-28T16:06:52-04:002019-08-28T16:06:52-04:00Economic Buffer: Survey Equates Frugal Habits with Healthier Lives2010-11-02 15:31:22 -0400Anonymous<p>Ninety-four percent of middle-class Americans who have adopted sensible spending habits in response to the economic slowdown say that their newfound frugal behaviors are making them healthier, according to an index published by First Command Financial Services. Families have cut expenses by cooking more at home (45 percent), buying less junk food (30 percent), walking or bicycling to work (13 percent) and reducing their alcohol purchases (10 percent). Survey participants ranged in age from 25 to 70.<br> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:fbb0cde1-a535-4a72-ba47-7069c54d27902019-08-28T16:06:54-04:002019-08-28T16:06:54-04:00Web-wise Giving: Savvy Computer Use is Revolutionizing Philanthropy2010-11-02 15:31:11 -0400Anonymous<p>A sibling brainstorm by Ken and JJ Ramberg is paying off in helping causes across the country. Their <a href="http://www.GoodShop.com">www.GoodShop.com</a> now works with more than 1,500 leading online retailers to donate an average of 3 percent (or more) of the cost of every purchase to the customer’s chosen charity or school. Similarly, every general Yahoo-powered search on GoodSearch.com chips in about a penny. Can’t find a favorite charity in the lists posted on both websites? Apply to add it.</p><p>“More than 100 new nonprofits and schools register daily,” says co-founder Ken Ramberg. “GoodSearch and GoodShop are helping make a difference in communities across the country. They are alleviating the strain in resources and making it possible for everyone, regardless of how much time or money they have, to give back.” Co-founder JJ Rambert notes that millions of people are using the two websites to benefit more than 90,000 nonprofits and schools.</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:c4ecd973-4d8e-4fde-95eb-ccaa0a48c4b82019-08-28T16:06:59-04:002019-08-28T16:06:59-04:00The Gratitude Campaign: A Simple Gesture from the Heart Says it All2010-11-02 15:31:00 -0400Scott Truitt<p>Shortly after 9/11, I began a practice of approaching military personnel whenever I see them in public to thank them for serving for us. Most times, it has been a wonderful experience for both of us. Occasionally, however, it has felt a bit awkward, for reasons that are not always apparent in the moment. Other times, I couldn’t muster up the nerve to approach them at all. What has been consistent is that every time I’ve done it, they seem very appreciative of the gesture, and I have always felt better for having expressed my gratitude.</p><p>It can be difficult for some people to approach strangers this way, because many of us have been socialized since childhood not to talk to people we don’t know, much less open our hearts to thank them for defending our very freedom to be whoever we want to be.</p><p>My occasional reluctance and awkwardness in these situations made me think that it would be nice if we civilians had a gesture or sign, similar to a military salute, that we could use to express our gratitude quickly and easily, without having to even approach a stranger. I did some research and found a sign that originated in 18th-century France. The Sign, which some are now calling The Gratitude Sign, begins by placing your hand over your heart, and then bringing your hand down and out in front of you, bending your arm at the elbow (not the wrist), and ending with your hand at about your belly button, slightly facing the person you wish to thank. Fully translated, it means, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”</p><p>My next challenge was how to spread the message. I called a client, the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks, and told them I wanted to share this sign with people as a means of expressing their gratitude when circumstances might not allow for a verbal thank-you. The Seahawks suggested that I make a short video they could air during their games. So, I partnered with Amy Sedgwick of Mouse House Productions, in Seattle, to create the video(s) at GratitudeCampaign.org. Since our video first aired in 2007, an estimated 30 to 40 million people have seen it, and many are now using The Sign throughout the world.</p><p>I’m often asked if The Sign is limited to honoring military personnel. Not at all. Look around, and I’m sure that you’ll find lots of people who are serving our communities, from local to global. If you appreciate their service, give them The Sign. Say, “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”</p><p><em> Scott Truitt is the founder of </em><a href="http://www.GratitudeCampaign.org"><em>www.GratitudeCampaign.org</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>