If your mind is always racing, then you're probably overwhelmed with activities, which are over-stimulating your mind. Your commitments take up every minute of your day; from the time you wake up, until the time you go to bed. Your mind never gets a rest, not even when you sleep.

When I think of a spiritual retreat, I imagine a lot of meditation, quiet walks, no computers or media, listening to gentle music, and withdrawing from the busyness of the world. Some of that happened, but a different type of spiritual retreat emerged.

The verb hope means “to want something to happen,” while the noun hope refers to “a feeling of expectation and desire” and, in its oldest sense, trust. When we really expect that something we’ve hoped for will come to pass, it’s enough to lighten both our hearts and our steps...

Imagine for a moment what it's like to have absolute uncondi­tional trust in yourself. That includes trusting your body. Yes, even if it gets sick or if it has pain, can you trust it? No matter what happens...

I was for a number of years the choir director of a First United Methodist choir while all the while remaining, in my own offbeat way, a practicing Jew. Some may see my actions as hypocritical, but I do not. I learned a lot by becoming involved in the music and ritual of another religion.

I observe that most of humanity is feeling a vast amount of fear, stress, and worry in this ending of the Kali Yuga, which involves tremendous change. You cannot cross the bridge of fire and water and endure the storms of accelerated transformation without inculcating deep fearlessness...

To live a spiritual life, you don’t have to give up your job or become a monk or a nun. The spiritual life is where you are, whether or not you have a job, are married or have children. You don’t have to suddenly throw everything away and rush off to join a Tibetan monastery. In fact...

I realized that peace was the complete absence of fear. It was the feeling of true, pure, untarnished love, the light that shines in all of us, free of any fear-based thoughts or beliefs.So I ask the question: Is it possible to experience that peace on earth? I’m not sure, but I think it’s worth asking for.

We all desire peace, but most people look for it in the wrong place. We often think of the saying “peace of mind,” but we can’t rely on the mind to give us the peace that is desired from our Souls. Peace is not found in your mind. The mind begs for our attention, but there is no stability or peace if we react to every thought from the mind.

Meditation is the only way the mind can rest. All day long we think, emote, and react. All night long we dream. This most beautiful and valuable of all tools, our own mind, never gets a moment’s rest. The only way it can get a rest is when we sit down and concentrate on a meditation subject.

We know that mindfulness can transform the life of an individual. But did you know it could also change the world? We need to develop new social practices and encourage a broader cultural shift towards more sustainable living and climate action.

When Spirit notices something about your behavior that needs to evolve, it in-spires you to make a change for the better. All changes that are being willed by life-centered Spirit—as opposed to changes being willed by your self-centered ego—are born with ease and are cultivated with grace.

The words 'We are ALL One' have reverberated through the hearts and minds of Humanity in one form or another since the beginning of time. They do not express a lofty platitude or a sweet cliché even though our lower human egos have often perceived them as such. They profess a profound Truth.

What is meditation? Here is a good definition: Meditation is listening. It is listening not only with the ear, but with the soul—not only to sound, but to the silent language of inspiration. "Listening" itself, as I use the word here, entails much more than listening with the ears. It means, among other things...

Sharia in Arabic means “the way,” and does not refer to a body of law.

Researchers in religion studies are using computer simulations to help answer big questions about religion’s benefits (potentially better mental health) and its evils (violence in the name of God).

Your ancestry and your family tree extend beyond your biological family; every human has a spiritual, multidimensional soul lineage as well. You may have a strong connection to the Egyptian lineage. You may go as far as to say that you are...

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two attacks that claimed at least 12 lives in Iran on Wednesday. With this, the flaring tensions between Sunnis and Shias are once again in the news.

If it were your last days on earth, what would you do? Would it change how you live today? Maybe you would wake up earlier and be a bit more cheerful. You might even stay up later. You would definitely tell your family and friends how much you love them.

Every culture has had its own concept of evil or the devil. In Genesis, there is the famous temptation of Adam and Eve by evil—personified by the snake. While the Hebrew Bible mentions Satan by name only in the book of Job, the idea of evil permeates Jewish mystical and religious thought.

Choose one or two ways you can apply mindfulness in your daily life in the coming week. The more specific you are in choosing the activities, the more likely you are to follow through. You might choose washing the dishes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to begin your mindfulness experiment...

Emotions are the entryway into the infinite. They are your route back to your self, and they provide an easy access to the peace that is already there, calling you into your very essence. You might like to start by finding a quiet space where you can sit without interruption...

People who attend worship services at a church, mosque, or synagogue live longer, are less stressed, and have better overall physical health than people who do not, new research indicates.