Does your church challenge you to take action commensurate to your capacity to get positive things done? — By Daniel Gauss To what extent do churches accommodate the values of their worshippers and merely give them a sense of comfort, and to what extent do churches set high standards and encourage Christian growth and social commitment? To examine these questions, I want to draw from a memorable service…

Relationships in the arts are complicated. — By Eric Maisel [In this series of posts that I’m calling “Your Creative Life,” I want to paint a picture of how you can become more everyday creative and how you can sustain a creative life. If this series intrigues you, you might think about becoming a creativity coach. If…

What a shame for the modern tourist industry that so few ancient despots built giant stone spiritual turbo boosters. — By Daniel Gauss I know some people who have gone to Angkor Wat and when I told them I was going to Cambodia, they told me there was no choice in the matter, I simply had to go to Angkor Wat. I asked them whether they had learned anything there…

Sexual Trauma and PTSD keep painful memories from our past alive and present in our day to day lives. — By Corinne Farago Sexual Trauma and PTSD keep painful memories from our past alive and present in our day to day lives. …

Unless the work for justice derives from joy and compassion, we risk creating more harm than good. — By Daniel Gauss I spotted this photo in the Ho Chi Minh City Museum a couple weeks ago. It is the type of photo that immediately arrests your attention. The young woman engages you directly with her warm smile and slightly tilted head. We sense her joie de vivre, see…

the cycle of the sacred and the mundane. — By Edie Weinstein The invitation arrived in the form of a text from my BFF Barb as she told me about a women’s retreat at her synagogue. …

A visit into alternate realities. — By Edie Weinstein I ponder this paradigm often as I am simultaneously grateful for the life I have chosen. Some might contend that our lives were decided for us by soul contract before we are incarnated. I have come to believe that our lives are part personal choice/free will and…

If you are seeking an affordable, stimulating and even inspiring vacation, Hanoi is a good option. — By Daniel Gauss You can get an e-visa to Vietnam for 30 days, online, easily. 90-day tourist visas will be available in August 2023. Hanoi is a beautiful, vital, exciting city filled with sweet, kind, hardworking and optimistic people. Furthermore, it is an inexpensive travel option filled with interesting things…

Sometimes, just staying still and listening to the wind can be an event of great beauty. — By Ira Rabois The Curious Power of the Wind Sometimes, just staying still and listening to the wind can be an event of great beauty. Nothing else is needed to feel full, satisfied. Happy. Those are rare and glorious moments. Sometimes, wind is a gentle touch, a cooling breeze on a torrid day. Sometimes, it disappears…