The Keys To Spiritual Fulfillment

No human life is without tragedy, loss and suffering.  What is the wise advice of spiritual elders in how to relate to these?

The church has a history of intolerance, oppression and religiously inspired violence.  In this era of Christian Nationalism, what are we to make of the figure of Jesus?

Grief is a universal human experience.  It is important to understand that everyone grieves differently.  And there are things we can do and know that can help.

An awareness of our inevitable death can lead to a fuller life.  And love is stronger than death.

Everyone experiences difficult emotion.  But by relating to them skillfully we can greatly reduce our suffering. 

Repentance and atonement are not what many people say it is.

Live your own life and not the life others think you should live.  You cannot give away what you don't have.

Forgiveness is not what most people think it is.

Advice from thousands of years ago that is surprisingly relevant today.

We all have to deal with difficult people.  To do that with integrity and mindfulness makes it a spiritual practice.

Human beings need close, warm relationships with others to thrive, or even just function.  The loneliness epidemic in the current time is causing so many problems and so much suffering. In short, we need friends, but having and making friends is difficult in today's world.  Here are some thoughts about the art of friendship.

You weren't born full of anxiety and self criticism, beating yourself up for all your faults.  You were taught to do this, and it took a look of effort because deep down, There Is Nothing Wrong With You. If you doubt it, at least take a listen.  

In this episode we reflect on the nature of God, Spirit, Ground of Being.  More and more people are rejecting the idea of a personal, all powerful being separate from creation.  But what can we say about All That Is?

Making important life decisions well is crucial for our future fulfillment and happiness.  In this episode, we will learn some reflections we can undertake to make good life choices, based on the ancient Contemplative Christian art of discernment.

Because we are just as much a part of nature as the animals and plants, we need to spend time in nature to realize our full humanity.  If we don't do this, we suffer from a variety of physical, social, spiritual and psychological ills.  The more hight tech we become the more time in nature we need.  

Our basic nature is one of wisdom, compassion, inner freedom, confidence and courage.  In traditional language we have a spark of the divine or Buddha nature.  But there are spiritual dead ends we need to look out for.  If we spend all our precious energy on these, it leads to suffering and a wasted life. We can identify these as the 5 delusory 'p's.  Possessions, Power, Prestige, Profit...

Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It is a big mistake to think that the issue of how you deal with money isn't related to your spiritual wellbeing.  There is a lot of symbolic and psychological power attached to money.  Here are some suggestions, gleaned from ancient and modern wisdom on how to get right with your relationship with money.   

In this episode, we will consider six things to remember about time.  To live a life of integrity and fulfillment, it is essential that we pay close attention to how we spend out time and  to our beliefs about time.   Here I will suggest some good ways to pay attention to how you relate to time.  And some practices that you can begin right now.

We can just be spiritual by ourselves.  In this episode we'll discuss the three "rooms" of spiritual practice--the alter room, the living room, and the sanctuary room.  The alter room refers to the private spiritual practices you do, such as meditation and prayer.  The living room refers to wide conversations we have with others, perhaps in a group the meets regularly.  And the sanc...

This episode is a description of the four areas of practice that will help you read your full humanity.  They are mind and learning practices, body and fitness practices, heart and relationship practices, and traditional spiritual practices.  You will find a description of these areas and some of the practices that help us to grow in each of these area.  As you listen, see if you are already doing...

It is our birthright to become awesome human being--wise, compassionate, courageous and happy.  That is the subject of the Keys to Spiritual Fulfillment podcast. In this episode, we will introduce the topic and suggest 3 practices you can start doing right away. gratitude generosity and hanging out with good and wise people. The Irish poet John O'Donohue described this so well: "Your ide...