By Ocean Robbins

I come from an unusual background. My dad, John Robbins (author of Diet for a New America, and an inspiration to millions) and my mom, Deo, are not just parents to me, they are also my dear friends. From an early age, they helped me to look at problems in the world not as monsters to fear, but as opportunities for healing. “However bad things are,” my mom used to tell me, “is exactly how much better they can be with a change.”

by Daniel Kohn

The Search for David Cain

As a fairly typical midwestern male, I was always attracted to the "macho" side of life; guns and war filled my childhood imagination. Growing up watching the T.V. show "Kung Fu" I had admired the central character David Cain's prowess in martial arts combined with his profound commitment to peace and harmony. Although I dabbled in Karate and Ninjitsu, I never found a real-life version of David Cain or his martial and spiritual discipline. Nonetheless, I had faith that somewhere there must exist a discipline combining the best of enlightened eastern philosophy with the discipline and grace of martial arts.

by Stephen Dinan

Kali is the dark Goddess of the Hindu pantheon, a representation of both time and death as well as the raw and wild sides of the Divine. Kali eliminates what is less than holy in us, what we use to shield ourselves from a frightening world. During a long foray through India, I lingered many times on this vision of Kali stamping out the proud postures of my ego. Kali proved to be an apt symbol for the stripping of those months, a stripping that ultimately revealed something transcendent. In this context, already more than a bit bruised, I entered my first serious meditation retreat, nervous but willing to go deeper. This is the chronicle of that inner journey.

by Soren Gordhamer

It took eight months to begin meditation classes at the local juvenile hall — seven months of talking about it and one month of letters, phone calls, and meetings. The director was not sure the kids would go for it. He said that if we expected the kids to sit down, cross their legs, and watch their breath for forty-five minutes, we were mistaken. My co-leader, Jason Murphy, was a former resident of the hall and worked as a drug rehabilitation counselor with a similar population. He said, “We could teach basket weaving and if we are genuine, they will go for it. They watch you, not what you say.” The director warned us: “You need to be a master of your art. If you show signs of weakness or doubt, they will see it and blow you away. They won’t hold back.”
 

by Abigail Sutkus

After eighteen years of strict Catholicism, hearing the words, "God as Female" in my theology class freshman year of college was life-altering. For me, God was synonymous with He, and the possibility of God as She opened the door to a whole new world. At first, it was a struggle to even hold the possibility of a female God in my mind, God as He was so deeply ingrained. Yet, I searched for images of Her, information about Her, and gradually She was revealed.

by Susana Herrera

At the end of the rainy season in the desert of Northern Cameroon elephants the color of sweet ripe mangoes walk across the rising sun, playing jazz on their golden saxophones, leaving footprints behind their song. Nearby in a small bush village of Guidiguis, the call to prayer rings out, waking the Foulbe and Tapouri and bringing those who are Muslim to chant at the mosque. After morning prayers, the young men herd goats, the older Foulbe lead their cows to water holes and the women and children begin their endless quest for water and enough food to live one more day.
 

To help set a foundation for these seven effective abuse healing steps, it is helpful to know that for 15 years the author of this article was the executive director at Factnet.org, which is the largest and oldest internet organization that helps individuals recover from the most severe forms of physical, sexual, mental, financial and political abuse caused by destructive and pathological religious, social and political cults.

Radical Authenticity
by Bob Dearborn

All that matters is that the miraculous become the norm. — Henry Miller

The Life I am trying to grasp is the me that is trying to grasp it. — R.D. Laing

Sometimes life is extraordinary. A magical night on the town, a deep conversation under the stars, a wave of creative inspiration, falling in love. It’s as if windows of clarity, of sharpened perspective, of really being here open up amidst the relatively listless routines of daily life. During these periods of clear, wakeful presence, life is just plain juicier than usual. And whether sweet or sour, packing a lasting buzz or momentary high, these juicy bits of experience are simply those times when I feel particularly full of life, especially present to whatever I’m engaged in, more “on,” more “there,” more deeply who I am.