Dr. Nate Smith, who had accompanied Gov. Asa Hutchinson for the state's daily coronavirus briefings since March, was doing so for the last time July 17 when the governor said he had received a text regarding Arkansas' outgoing health secretary.

"I just had a text from someone that asked to issue an executive order countermanding [Smith's] employment at [the] CDC and have him stay here, but I don't think my executive authority goes that far," Hutchinson said during the briefing.

Smith, who joined the Department of Health in 2004, has served as its secretary since 2013 but will leave the department next month to take a role as a deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Smith said he has felt a sense of commitment to the department's mission to protect and improve the health and well-being of all Arkansans in his work in public health, but his core values and faith also have helped him serve the spiritual well-being of others.

[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]

Smith has served as an ordained deacon of the Anglican Mission in America since 2014, and over the past year he has followed a calling that led to his consecration to the priesthood July 15 at St. Andrew's Church in Little Rock.

"The work of loving people well -- and that includes public service -- includes encouragement, includes directing people to their source of strength spiritually as well as otherwise," Smith said. "For me, it's that integration of ... what I do that people see on TV and what I do when no one's watching, and the role I play in trying to build up my colleagues in the health department as well as my parishioners at St. Andrew's.

"They all come from the same substance."

MEDICAL MISSIONARY

Smith, who grew up with an interest in science, applied to medical school with the goal of becoming a medical missionary after having a "transformational experience" during college that conveyed an "understanding [of] all that God had done through me, done for me through Jesus Christ and how he had ... shown his love for us.

"That was something that I've never fully gotten over," Smith said of the experience. "I hope I never do."

The four months he spent at a small mission hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo helped Smith channel his love of science into an interest in medicine. A year into medical school at Baylor College of Medicine -- where he met his wife, Kim, who is originally from Vietnam -- he took a leave of absence to study at Dallas Theological Seminary, eventually attaining a master's degree in theology.

After medical school the couple spent seven of the next eight years as medical missionaries in Kenya -- Nate treating infectious diseases and Kim as an OB/GYN -- with a year in Arkansas between trips. During that time Smith began a career at the health department, and Kim has continued her practice at Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton.

When Nate joined the department, they were the parents of three toddlers adopted from Kenya, and would eventually adopt a fourth child from the country. Three are now adults, with their youngest starting ninth grade in the fall.

"We have a lot of history together as a team, and we've worked overseas doing pretty much the same thing -- a mix between medicine and faith together," Kim Smith said. "As we look to give people hope, both physically and emotionally, it's really important that medicine has both physical elements of healing and also spiritual or emotional healing as well."

"In my sense of calling and career, there would be these two very strong strands. ... They had been expressed in terms of my missionary work, but also in terms of serving as a teacher or leadership at my local church." Smith said. "As a missionary, it was pretty clear how my faith and my practice of medicine connected, but it felt less in my role at the Health Department, and I think that pride pushed me to ask, 'What next?'"

ATTENDED SEMINARY

Deacons are ordained in the Anglican Mission in America and Smith, having attended seminary school, already had the foundations of a priest. Rev. Robert Cook, rector of St. Andrew's Church, said he wasn't surprised when Smith approached him about becoming a priest.

"Nate was already living out that [calling to be a priest], in a sense, in the life of the church," Cook said. "He is a servant, he is a man of great humility, he's a man of great authenticity."

Cook said in addition to other duties as a deacon at St. Andrew's, for years Smith has taught and preached regularly in the church's "Growing in Grace" ministry, which is devoted to helping people dealing with addiction.

"There's so many things Nate has done that you would not know, but he is a humble servant," Cook said. "He's had a tremendous impact not only on the life of St. Andrew's but in this community and then around the world."

Nate Smith was ordained into the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. Philip Jones, the Anglican Mission in America lead bishop.

Jones, the senior pastor of All Saints Dallas, was the senior pastor from 2005-10 at St. Andrew's, where he first met the Smiths.

"We have a phrase in our tradition: Once a deacon, always a deacon," Jones said. "Even if you're a priest or a bishop, you're still always a deacon, still serving the people."

Jones said consecrating Smith as a priest during a pandemic was "a remarkable event for the ordination of a remarkable person."

NO LAYING ON OF HANDS

Several modifications to the consecration made the event possible, Cook said. The 100 or so attendees work masks and remained socially distanced. There was no laying on of hands by all the other priests, as would normally take place during an ordination. During Communion, Smith removed his mask and stood alone at the altar, rather than serving Cook and Jones at the altar. Those in attendance also were given Communion elements upon entering the church for the ceremony.

Cook anticipates Smith will in time go on to continue to serve alongside other ministers at a church in the Atlanta area, much as he has in Little Rock before and after his consecration to the priesthood.

"The title of being ordained as a priest is one thing, but Nate just lives it out, so he will still live out what he believes as he goes to work at the CDC in Atlanta when he and his family get connected with the church there," Cook said. "He'll be able to serve in ways that come alongside the other ministers on staff at that church. ... He brings a lot of gifts, not just to the community but to the church as well."

Kim said in the past months she and her husband have watched online services broadcast by Anglican churches in the Atlanta area

The Smiths have been together in the business of pointing others in the right direction physically and spiritually, Kim said. Life has no guarantees, she added, and people must make the most of their lives by following God's example.

"Life as we know it is not in our control, ever. It's always in God's hands," Kim said. "He knows the day that you were born and the day that you will die, and whatever [is] in between, you just kind of follow his lead and do the best you can, and help others along the journey."

Dr. Nate Smith, kneeling, is consecrated as an Anglican priest by Bishop Phillip Jones as the Rev. Seth Richardson (left) and the Rev. Dustin Freeman (right) pray over him.(Special to the Democrat-Gazette)

The Rt. Rev. Phillip Jones, lead bishop in the Anglican Mission in America (right), exhorts Dr. Nate Smith in the responsibilities of Anglican priesthood. Smith was ordained as a priest in the faith July 15 at St. Andrews Church in Little Rock.(Special to the Democrat-Gazette)

Dr. Nate Smith invites those gathered at St. Andrews to sing the Doxology at Smiths ordination service July 15.(Special to the Democrat-Gazette)

Link:

A medical and spiritual connection - Arkansas Online

I passed by the field of the sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, and behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Proverbs 24:30-31

When we were preparing to move to Elizabeth City the Realtor asked what we were looking for in a house.

My first response was a large property for a garden. My absolutely favorite hobby is gardening. And while we have enjoyed much fruit and produce from our garden so far this year we are now at the time that I dislike the most about gardening. Weeds! Weeds everywhere. They seem to come out of the ground fully grown overnight. So every morning now the ritual is to spend an hour or more in the garden weeding.

It is so rewarding to see the rows of vegetables free of weeds that I almost forget how hot and sweaty Ive become and how much the knees ache from bending. But anyone that stops over now usually leaves with some fresh produce from the garden. It may be tomatoes, beans, squash, peppers, eggplant or even a cantaloupe.

In Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus teaches in parables. He spoke of a farmer sowing seed in his field. Some of it fell beside the road and the birds ate it. Some of it fell on rocky ground without much good soil. It sprouted and came up but without the depth of soil the sun caused it to wilt and die. Some seed fell among weeds and thorns and was choked out by them. Only the seed that fell on good soil prospered and yielded a good harvest.

In this parable Jesus was talking about different types of people. Some hear Gods Word but it does not take root. Others hear the Word but the cares and temptations of the world choke it out. Weeds do that. Weeds take the valuable nutrients from the soil that the good seed needs. Weeds, left unchecked, will choke out the valuable plants to the point that there is no harvest.

Dorothea Dix wrote, Your mind may be likened to a garden which will, if neglected, yield only weeds and thistles; but, if cultivated, will produce the most beautiful flowers and the most delicious fruits.

I decided that I needed to check on the weeds in my garden recently. No, not the nut sedge or wild onion or dandelions growing in the vegetable garden. I needed to check on the weeds in my spiritual garden.

Why was it necessary to get upset because a man was only driving 15 mph in a 25 mph zone recently? In just two minutes there would be four lanes and I could pass him.

Did it help to get angry at what I was seeing on the news?

Why was I short with my wife when she was only trying to explain something to me?

Anger. Insensitive. Unkind thoughts about someones motives recently.

Weeds. Weeds that choke out pleasant thoughts, kind words and good deeds. Weeds that cause others to be hurt. The seed that fell on the good soil brought forth fruit, sometimes in an overwhelming way.

How is your garden doing? Dont have a garden? But you do. You have a mind, a heart, and a personality. Are you growing beautiful things? Bearing fruit that is delicious? Or allowing weeds to sprout and take over?

Lets consider Pauls challenge, So walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10.

Emmett Murphy is a retired Christian minister.

Excerpt from:

What weeds are growing in your spiritual garden? - The Daily Advance

Study results published in JAMA Network Open found that multiple aspects of religion and spirituality were associated with anxiety, depression, and fatigue among adolescent and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, all of which were indirectly associated with their sense of meaning and peace.

Researchers indicated that though these results do not establish a causal direction, future research based on this study should evaluate the extent to which religion and spirituality represent a novel and potentially efficacious focus for intervention development to improve quality of life for AYAs following a diagnosis of cancer.

Meaningful conclusions can be drawn from this study, moving the state of the science of spirituality forward, the authors wrote. Meaning-making is a complex but modifiable process. Clinical application of these findings could facilitate further integration of religious considerations and meaning-making into pediatric palliative care, as has been demonstrated with adults.

In this cross-sectional study, researchers used baseline data from an ongoing 5-year randomized clinical trial being conducted at 4 tertiary-referral pediatric medical centers in the US. Overall, 126 participants diagnosed with any form of cancer who were aged 14 to 21 years at enrollment were randomized.

Variables were obtained from the Brief Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality, as well as the spiritual well-being subscales of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy. The predefined outcome variables were anxiety, depressive symptoms, fatigue, and pain interference from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System pediatric measures.

Structural equation modeling demonstrated that meaning and peace were inversely associated with anxiety ( = -7.94; 95% CI, -12.88 to -4.12), depressive symptoms ( = -10.49; 95%CI, -15.92 to -6.50), and fatigue ( = -8.90; 95% CI, -15.34 to -3.61). Moreover, feeling Gods presence daily was indirectly associated with anxiety ( = -3.37; 95% CI, -6.82 to -0.95), depressive symptoms ( = -4.50; 95% CI, -8.51 to -1.40), and fatigue ( = -3.73; 95% CI, -8.03 to -0.90) through meaning and peace.

Considering oneself to be very religious was also indirectly associated with anxiety ( = -2.81; 95% CI, -6.06 to -0.45), depressive symptoms ( = -3.787; 95% CI, -7.68 to -0.61), and fatigue ( = -3.11, 95% CI, -7.31 to -0.40) through meaning and peace. Even further, considering oneself to be very spiritual was indirectly associated with anxiety ( = 2.11; 95% CI, 0.05 to 4.95) and depression ( = 2.8, 95% CI, 0.07 to 6.29) through meaning and peace.

Notably, no associations were observed between spiritual scales and pain interference.

We anticipated finding an association between spiritual constructs and [patient-reported outcomes; PROs] and did not find one. It is possible that no such association exists in this population. It may also be because of the way faith was operationalized, the authors wrote. Although comfort and strength of faith were not associated with the PROs measured, the actual importance of faith may be motivational, prohealthy behaviors that may relate to PROs. The current study also assessed how pain interferes with life and found no relationship with spiritual or religious variables.

The investigators suggested that all pediatricians and adolescent medicine specialists practice primary palliative care to minimize the suffering of AYAs in any form. Though many providers may be reluctant to address these issues, the researchers indicated that AYAs want providers to address their concerns, including those of a spiritual nature.

Specialty care addressing meaning and peace to improve outcomes may take several forms. Referrals to psychologists, who routinely deal with issues of spirituality, meaning, and health, may be appropriate, the authors wrote. Individual and group interventions addressing meaning for people with cancer have shown efficacy for increasing spiritual well-being and for decreasing anxiety, depression, and pain. Referrals for specialty spiritual care from clinically trained chaplains may also be beneficial.

Reference:

Grossoehme DH, Friebert S, Baker JN, et al. Association of Religious and Spiritual Factors With Patient-Reported Outcomes of Anxiety, Depressive Symptoms, Fatigue, and Pain Interference Among Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer. JAMA Network Open. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.6696.

Excerpt from:

Religion and Spirituality in AYAs with Cancer May Be Associated with Psychosocial Issues - Cancer Network

Though India is perceived as a spiritual country at the heart of it, there's still a lot more that its citizens can and ought to draw from theBhagavad Gita, said renowned Vedanta scholar Jaya Row. "We are not taking the wealth of theGitaand are still looking westward. We are only taking concepts from the surface that have been marketed. The modern world is promoting and nourishing desire and the financial world is based on desire," said Row, during e-expressions, a virtual dialogue organised by The New Indian Express. The session also included TNIE's Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla and Author andJournalistKaveree Bamzai.

Row also spoke about how they were trying to reach more people through sensible influencer targeting, "We should look at COVID as nature's way to course-correct. If a few leaders of society do it then the rest will follow. It's like promoting veganism. The goal was to get the top 7% of America todo itbecause they knew the world will follow. We are trying to reach thinkers and intellectuals so that more people follow the path," she added that, "Hollywood stars like Will Smith and Julia Roberts havealreadysaid that they are reading theGita."

Row, who is an established lecturer and speakerandhas served as the Managing Trustee of the Vedanta Trust, said that she had faith in the country because of its deep spiritual ties, "I am optimistic because of the aspirations of people. There are people in small towns who will work to realise their aspirations. This is what is keeping India going. India is still a spiritual country. Talk to people about it and it will touch a chord. This will not happen anywhere else in the world." This spirituality is vital, according to her, in keeping your immunity up during these troubled pandemic times, "We have spiritual immunity, especially among the poor, that is helping them cope. I think it's positive where people understand challenges will come and that it will pass."

Responding to a question about why people only turn to spirituality when hit by personal loss, Row explained that it was inevitable as it was hardcoded into human nature, "The majority of people turn to spirituality when they face some loss or bereavement or tragedy in life."

But will this lockdown and the threat of COVID have steered more people towards embracing their inner spirituality? Row confessed that she had cautious optimism in this regard, "I'm not sure if people will return to nature. I think it is a temporary hiatus and that people will resume their life with a bang. There are people who have used this opportunity to do things they have never had the time to. Even businessmen have turned to the path of enlightenment. Vedanta has a longlasting effect on people even if they are materialistic, to the extent they are receptive and use it."

When asked what her number one lesson from this lockdown was, Row, who is currently in Mumbai, said, "There are so many things denied to us during the lockdown and yet life moved on. The lesson is that we don't really need it. It has helped us to look inward to find happiness." And is there a secret formula to achieve happiness? She promptly replies, "TheGitagives a formula for happiness: Happiness = Number of desires fulfilled/Number of desires harboured. If you bring down the denominator to zero, you hit infinity!"

See the rest here:

India is a spiritual country, but we're still not taking the wealth of the Bhagavad Gita: Vedanta scholar Jaya Row - EdexLive

Caldwell, N.J., July 28, 2020Caldwell University has received a grant to start a new program Disciples on the Way that will encourage high school students to look at what it means to be a disciple in todays world. Thanks to a five-year $222,000 Lilly Endowment grant, studentswill have the chance to explore questions about their faith and the moral dimensions of contemporary challenges.

In 2015, Caldwell University received afouryear grant to establish a residential summer program,theSpirituality and Leadership Institute(SLI),on campus for highschool studentsand Caldwells undergraduate spiritual mentors.The major focus was tostudytheological worksandtoexaminehow their faith calls them to lives ofservice.SLI has introducedhigh school and undergraduate students to spiritual disciplines as leadership practices and helped them develop as young citizens who promote public justice and seek the common good.

With the newDisciples on the Wayprogram, participantswill be immersedin intellectual, spiritual, and practical waysof livingas theyfocus and build on different aspectsof discipleship,such asleadership, arts and spirituality, and prayer methods. Allprogramming will beaimed at helpingyoung peoplehave a greater understanding of their ability to be disciples in todays world andtohavean initial full experienceexperimentingwithandusing the suggesteddiscernmenttools.The program will helpyouthintensify connections to their faith in areas of interest and envision how they can becomefaith leaders in their community, school, church, family, workplace, and even online through social media.

Colleen OBrien,Caldwell Universitysdirector ofcampusministry,is a seasoned youth minister in higher education, whowill lead this effort supported by an array of CU spiritual mentorsandanassistant youth minister. She hopes it will help students deepen their faith. We are working to engage current and future faith leaders in our community and help them discover the many ways God is calling them to live and be in the world.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. The Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education, and community development. Lilly Endowments religion grantmaking is designed to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes.

Read more from the original source:

Lilly Endowment Grant Will Fund Youth Disciples on the Way Program - Caldwell University News

By Dr. Jeff Mirus (bio - articles - email) | Jul 22, 2020

Over the past year, even before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, I have received emails from people extolling spiritual communion as even better than the physical reception of communion. A recent article by Nathaniel Peters in First Things (Spiritual Communion) attempts to explore the theology which underlies both Communion and spiritual communion and, while Peters essay is definitely balanced, I find myself wondering whether it is always worded quite carefully enough, as when he writes: Physical reception is good, but spiritual reception is most important.

I will return to this in a moment, but what follows is not intended to be a critique of Peters essay. In fact I recommend reading and reflecting on it. He understands that physical reception of Communion is to be preferred over an exclusively spiritual reception, and he raises interesting questions about the pastoral practice of encouraging those who are forbidden to receive sacramentally to instead receive spirituallyrecognizing at least a potential incoherence in this advice. Indeed, Peters primary emphasis seems to be to encourage us to recognize that our own deliberate spiritual dispositions as we receive sacramentally are important to reaping the full benefit of the Holy Eucharist, a point which is inarguable.

But spiritual reception is an unfortunate term, as we will see, and occasional sentences in the article could be taken out of context in ways which support some of the claims I have received by email. There seems to be a movement afoot to elevate spiritual communion to and even beyond the level of The Real Thing. Thats typical of modernity, unfortunately, and it is a huge error.

The divorce of spiritual and material

It is perhaps the greatest temptation of all of us in the current cultural moment to be so aware of our own thought processes that we elevate the subjective over the objective. This can take many forms, from the notion that our intentions alone determine whether something is right or wrong to the assertion that a man can be a woman or a woman can be man if s/he wants to be. Nobody will have to look far for other examples.

Because of this sweeping cultural tendency, which lies at the heart of the contemporary loss of meaning and the resulting moral crisis of our time, we must be very careful how we deal with the Eucharist. Our priest columnist, Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, warned against the dangers of an excessive reliance on virtual Masses (even those that are live-streamed) in a prescient essay early in the Pandemic Period (see The dangers of live-streaming Masses). I followed this by adding further comments on the nature of sacramentality (see Beware: Sacramental Presence is always person-to-person).

My point is that we live not in an earthy age but in a manipulative technocratic age which insulates our thoughts from material reality, including our own bodies. Our circumstances tend to create within us a mindset which over-emphasizes how we want things to beand leads us to believe that things can be whatever we want. Yet in comparison with all the many religious or quasi-spiritual impulses which seem to be so largely ignored by God, Catholic religious longing is definitively answered by God the Son assuming a human nature, including a human body, and by the consequent principle of sacramentality.

In other words, with both remarkable condescension and shrewd psychology, God has chosen to communicate His life to us through material signs that are very much more than mere symbols. The greatest of these reality signs is Jesus Christ, and the extension of Jesus Christ on earth through history is the great sacrament of the Catholic Church, including the seven specific sacraments which constitute her sacramental system.

Compared with this, every other religious aspiration is just wishful thinking. Or, to be more specific, spiritual communion voluntarily divorced for no good reason from sacramental communion is an exercise in human mythology.

Communion

There is only one real reception of Communion. It occurs when we receive the body and blood of Christ in sacramental form. Not only is this what divinizes us, by assimilating ourselves to Christ, but also the very possibility of reception is inextricably linked to Christs bodily sacrifice on the cross, which is re-presented each time the Eucharist is confected by a priest. Without that connection, there is no Eucharist to receive. It is, then, first and foremost through the tangible reception of Communion that our incorporation into the death and resurrection of Christ, which we receive as an unmerited gift at baptism, is renewed and strengthened within us.

Note that while Catholics recognize the importance of a personal spiritual element in the reception of Holy Communion, they usually do not speak of receiving Communion spiritually but of making a spiritual communionwhich is to express a yearning for Christs presence in the hope that He will respond to that yearning by entering into us and continuing to draw us to Himself, even if we cannot at present receive the Sacrament. Our Lord can certainly do this. But by the economy of salvation established by God and implemented through His Church, even this depends on Christs very real sacrifice, His very real presence in the Church and, in signally unique ways, His very real presence in the Churchs sacraments.

Therefore, while we can agree with Peters thatin the reception of the actual sacrament of Christs body and bloodspiritual reception is most important, we can agree only in the subjective sense (which he doubtless intends), the sense of our own limited role, that is, the spiritual importance for us of an earnest participation in the sacrament. But it is never more important in toto that we receive spiritually. It is only that once we have put ourselves in position to receive the sacrament, we benefit from it most immediately if we receive with genuine personal awareness and the right dispositions.

We know from St. Paul himself that we can eat and drink unto condemnation if we fail to discern the true body and blood of Christ in Communion; we know also that if we receive without a certain sacred recollection we will not immediately receive the greatest benefit from the sacrament. But we also know, when it comes to the sacraments, that we can later unlock those sacramental graces of which we have been imperfectly aware simply by ardently desiring to respond to Our Lords call to conversion, just as we can gain heaven by seeking to work in the vineyard only at the last hour.

The most significant elementindeed, the infinitely most important elementin Communion is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine, which we are privileged to receive. Absent that, any discussion of the most important aspect of reception is meaningless.

Final clarifications

Can God draw us to Himself without our receiving the Catholic sacraments? Certainly, but the graces used are nonetheless the fruits of His sacramental plan for our salvation, beginning with the Incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and continuing through His sacramental Presence in the Catholic Church. Surely this plan is not merely arbitrary! Our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves; He knows that redemption and salvation are open only to human persons; He made us as persons who are a composite of body and soul; and He engraces or divinizes us in and through the fullness of our human nature.

Can those barred from reception of Communion make spiritual communions with profit? Certainly. Their genuine desire is a sufficient starting point, for they are barred by law and not by a final judgment on their souls. It is God who reads hearts. Which of us has not needed a season of prayer and yearning so that we might be opened to a better understanding of Gods will to the point that we are ready to follow it more fully? This prayer and yearning offer no affront to our Blessed Lord. What we call a spiritual communion is possible to make without fully understanding our situation, but it is impossible to make insincerely. Indeed, the highest elements of any prayerthe elements added by the Holy Spirit to our confused sinceritiesare to seek first the wisdom to know Gods will and then the courage to do it.

Finally, we must again grasp the main pointthat our own spiritual impetus in the reception of Communion is most important only when considering our own part in the sacrament. But our part is by far the lesser part when it comes to any of the sacraments, and that is what makes loose talk about spiritual communion so potentially confusing. The objective element of a sacrament is what carries its true power, by which I mean the active Presence, specific to each sacrament, of Jesus Christ Himself.

Saying that our spiritual intentions are the most important element in a fruitful Communion is like saying that the love, desire and romantic endearments between a husband and wife are the most important element in the procreation of a child. No analogy is perfect, but perhaps if we think seriously about that statement, we will at last begin to understand the nature and power of a sacrament. For a sacrament is always the sacrificial self-donation of Our Lord and Saviorthe tangible gift of life from Life Himself.

We are privileged to nurture the Divine life which the sacraments communicate to us just as we are privileged to nurture the children that are born of our coupling. But we do not singularly create that life, any more than we can alter reality to make it something other than it is. As creatures of God, we are completely embraced by the deepest Love, which is the foundation of reality itself. We do not yearn our way into our own heaven. When we are thinking clearly about this reality, we do not call it the Vision of Man and brag of either our wonderful aspirations or our stupendous powers. We call it the Law of the Gift, and we praise our Creator and Lord.

Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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Spiritual Communion: The real thing? - Catholic Culture

Within the Christian life, there are many pillars of truth which are critical to our spiritual development and one of these is discernment. The word may have several meanings, but mostly its associated with having spiritual sensitivity. Within the Biblical view it is used to identify whether something is is good or evil and being able to interpret and understand Gods voice. You see, we cannot hear what He is saying if we are not walking close to Him or even aware of His presence. Its elementary that the closer we are to God, the more clearly we will perceive what He wants us to do. Im convinced that becoming aware of Gods presence is the key to dwelling in His Spirit, which by the way is the foundation of our salvation. If we do not have any intention of walking in His Spirit, just what do we believe the Christian life is about? Grace does not mean we have been excused from the responsibility to walk holy, its an opportunity to know Him and develop an understanding of who He is.

With being surrounded by deception in this fallen world, we cannot overemphasize the importance of our ability to perceive what is going on around us. Recently, I found myself in a situation where I could have used a stronger sense of discernment, but discovered that my perception was lacking. Lets just say, I was approached by an individual through email who seemed to have good intentions. They said they were a messenger of God and began to relay a few things that was supposedly from the Lord. Its true, Ive encountered people through the years who have prophesied to me and given me good advice, so I was not really alarmed. This person appeared intelligent and had some good things to say, however they also included certain ideas which I sensed were red flags. Nonetheless, we continued to exchange dialogue until I finally came to a point where I realized this was not exactly what I had hoped it would be. Yes, I was disappointed that this was not one of those once in a lifetime spiritual experiences, but even more concerning, I realized that I should have had a stronger spiritual insight and recognized the signs much earlier than I did.

I have thought about this since then and it has reminded me of how we all need to develop our discernment. Gods word warns us that deception will increase and along with the chaos of so many conflicting voices, we should awaken to the fact that we need to know truth from error. Satan is very clever when it comes to mixing truth with fallacy and is the master of lying, fraud, deviousness, pretense, and trickery. His mission is steal every soul he can, and unfortunately he is the leader of many dangerous wolves who are skilled in the art of wearing sheep costumes. Since we know this is true, how can we ignore the danger of not developing our intuition? Building a stronger discernment has everything to do with our priorities and how serious we are about serving the Lord. When a person proclaims to be a believer in God, but has a distant relationship with Him, they are already backslidden and are living in spiritual lukewarmness. This detachment from Gods presence causes the individual to become numb to the conviction of Gods Spirit and unfortunately more receptive to rebellion and carnality. As this cold and callous attitude is personally accepted as a normal way of living, the person continues to fall away from the basic fundamentals of their faith and commitment to Christ. Everyone decides what they will believe and who they will serve.

So how do we maintain the intensity and enthusiasm of our relationship with God which will also keep our discernment on high alert? With much perseverance and determination! We must see our need to abide with God as a lifestyle which is much deeper than just a religious ritual. It will require a fervent passion to be a constant reflection of His attributes. This has everything to do with being obedient and willing to surrender our will to His control while allowing Him to renew our mind. What does renewing our mind mean? Surrendering the independence of our thoughts and embracing His desire for our life. Its learning what it means to love and trust Him with all of our mind, strength, and soul.

Dr. Holland lives in Central Kentucky with his wife Cheryl, where he is a Christian minister, author and community chaplain. To learn more visit: billyhollandministries.com or email him at psalmz103@gmail.com.

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LIVING ON PURPOSE: The constant need for spiritual discernment - Times Tribune of Corbin

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them? -- Psalm 8:3

Look at up the sky. Look up at the night sky. And then lose yourself, for just a moment, in the wonder and the miracle that is the universe.

Look for comet NEOWISE.

No, its not the most romantic nor roll off the tongue kind of name for such an amazing celestial object. NEOWISE is named for the NASA spacecraft and mission that discovered the comet March 27: Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. This speeding heavenly object that is dropping by to visit planet Earth, is one of only a handful of comets that will be viewable by the naked eye this century.

I know I need something like NEOWISE to give me perspective on the times we are living in, a break from the intensity of the news cycle, and a chance to just pause and breathe and remember how wonderfully mysterious and mystical Creation and all that is within it, truly is. Ive read enough and then some about COVID and the roiling of Americas social fabric and the ugly general election right around the corner and the economy and so on and so on and so on.

All important, certainly and yet, even in the midst of these intense days, NEOWISE teaches us that we little humans living on this little blue ball hurtling through space in an unfathomably huge universe we are just one of so many worlds in the heavens. Scientists report that there are more than 10 septillion planets in our observable universe, and thats only counting planets that are orbiting stars.

The gift of something like NEOWISE reminds us of the relative short stay of humankind in the universe and of each of us on this earth. Our lives matter, absolutely, but we are also just one generation among a vast parade of life, human and otherwise. NEOWISE is actually a remnant from when the universe was created and came into being, which means it is upwards of 13.77 billion years old. It wont return to our solar system again for 6,800 years. And so, me complaining about turning 60 next year: I might want to rethink that!

NEOWISE also reminds us of just how awe-inspiring Creation can be: from comets moving at 40 miles per second or 144,000 miles per hour, to viruses that seem to come out of nowhere, to a species like homo sapiens, who have found some way to adapt and thrive in our environment. A people who for tens of thousands of years have faced into wars and pandemics and revolutions and somehow come through on the other side of that history, sometimes come through the worst, even better than before.

So, heres the way to see NEOWISE. Pick a night very soon when the sky is clear. Find a part of your community relatively dark and free of light pollution: a hill, a field, a dark corner to camp out in, any time after dark. Bring a telescope or a pair of binoculars. Look towards the northeast sky and search out the Big Dipper. Then look just below that constellation and NEOWISE should be visible.

Then look up at the sky. Look up at the night sky. And watch what may be the greatest show both on earth and off earth. Remind yourself that you are a part of the universe, that you are meant to be here, that you have been made by the same power that hurled NEOWISE racing across the cosmos. Let all the anxiety and worries of the day recede. Remember that folks were here before you and that folks will follow you too, and so our job while on terra firma is to do our best and maybe even leave this planet a little better than when we found it.

As Max Ehrman, the author of the poem Desiderata once wrote, Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

It is a beautiful world and universe. Thanks, NEOWISE, for reminding us of this eternal truth.

The Rev. John F. Hudson is senior pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn (pilgrimsherborn.org). If you have a word or idea youd like defined in a future column or have comments, please send them to pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or in care of The Press (Dover-Sherborn@wickedlocal.com).

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Spiritually Speaking: Look to the sky and behold its wonders - Wicked Local Norwood

For people of every faith or none whether you take alcohol or drugs is a big deal. But the rules vary wildly, even within a tradition. Some Christians include alcohol as a core part of their most sacred ritual, but other Christians forbid its use altogether. How come?

James Carleton dives into what helps people choose to use, and how to stop.

In this episode

Is drug addiction a medical issue, or a criminal one? Anglican commentator Peter Hitchens says drug users are a blight on society, and punishments for drug use should be more severe, not less.

As the war on drugs rages, some Christian churches are moving away from Puritanical attitudes of the past, and its having an effect on government policy. Safe injecting rooms and medical marijuana are two policy areas endorsed by some religious groups but of course not everyone agrees.

Meanwhile at Alcoholics Anonymous, members pray the Serenity Prayer but many members are atheists. So, who are they praying to?

Some faiths are incredibly strict when it comes to substance use. For Bahais drugs, and alcohol are absolutely forbidden, and Mormons even swear off tea and coffee.

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Addiction how spiritual practices help with seeking sobriety - ABC News

Lifes most persistent and urgent question is this: what are you doing for others?

- The Rev. Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.

Its just a mask and its just 6 feet.

Thats what Im having trouble understanding, as I watch the country I love fall further and further into the black hole of a virus, spreading like wildfire, while a large percentage of my fellow citizens still refuse to either don that mask or stay 6 feet distant.

Its just a mask and its just 6 feet.

And so, on the day I write this, about four months after our nation first woke up to the threat of this once-in-a-century pandemic, Im sad. Sad at the fact the United States recorded an unprecedented 57,789 new cases of the coronavirus just yesterday, July 12. Thats the highest number of infected folks weve ever faced into in a single day. Multiply that out by a month and thats a possible worst case scenario of 1.7 million new sick folks. Divide that by a conservative infection fatality rate of .5 percent (50 deaths for every 1,000 infected) and that means by mid-August we could be seeing upwards of 10,000 new deaths, on top of the 135,000 who have already died. To put that into perspective: thats as if the city of Cambridge, Mass., or Springfield, Mass., were wiped out overnight. Every last man, woman and child.

Its just a mask and its just 6 feet.

And yet it took our President until this past weekend to actually be photographed wearing a mask in public. Why his reluctance? Doesnt fit into his self-inflated oversized ego? Or his insistence at various times that COVID is overblown, or a plot by the Democrats to defeat him, or a weaponized virus created in some secret Chinese labs to destroy America? And now we are hearing of a coordinated effort on the part of this administration, to contradict and even discredit the nations highest and best scientific civil servant, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Words and actions from a leader have consequences. These can either inspire a people to step up and unite and do their part for a greater good like public health (thank you, Governor Baker); or these can tear a country apart, sabotage any sense that as Americans we are all in this together. No thank you, Mr. President.

Its just a mask and its just 6 feet.

Makes me wonder what might happen if tomorrow, the United States faced an actual war, a real threat from an outside enemy, that called for the mustering of all of us, to do our parts, to unite, to be as one nation, ready to make sacrifices for a common good. Could we meet that test, now, in 2020, given our fractured and piecemeal response as a country to COVID-19? Do we still have within our civic DNA the willingness to sacrifice, or would too many of us balk? Not my fight! You are not taking away my right to do nothing! Have we as a people just spent so much time on the couch, watching Netflix, that we could not even be bothered to get up and do something, do anything, to help our nation!?

Its just a mask and its just 6 feet.

I want to believe, I need to believe, that somehow we will pull it together as a country. Make what is really a tiny sacrifice of discomfort, to just wear a mask and to just stay 72 inches away from others, and all to ensure that the least among us wont get sick, wont die. Why is this so hard for so many? Why do some folk actually think this is a partisan request, somehow tied up in our political fights? Does anyone think COVID cares if we are a Democrat or a Republican? I just dont get it. Why is this request twisted by some into the absurd idea that by actually following these public health mandates, we are somehow giving up our civil liberties? Are you serious? Is it really all that hard?

Its just a mask and its just 6 feet, people!!

Makes me thank God that I live in Massachusetts, that though our track record on wearing a mask and physically distancing is far from perfect, still, weve done a good job of flattening the curve and preparing for the worst and caring for each other as citizens and neighbors and friends.

And all that has taken is this: wise and prudent governmental leadership. A shared sense that yes, we are all in this together, and what I do or do not do: this can help or hurt another. And a mutual commitment to walk with each other, through the best and the worst, of these strange and amazing days.

Wear a mask. Stay 6 feet apart. Repeat, until a vaccine is discovered and distributed.

Now that isnt so hard, is it?

The Rev. John F. Hudson is senior pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn (pilgrimsherborn.org). If you have a word or idea youd like defined in a future column or have comments, please send them to pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or in care of The Press (Dover-Sherborn@wickedlocal.com).

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SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING: Wear the mask and keep your distance - Wicked Local Plymouth

As a teenager, Paddy Slattery recalls being a bit of a rogue, but only a bit, hopping walls and robbing apples. He lived very much in his body as he puts it, playing football, boxing and he smiles at the thought chasing girls.

At 15, Slattery, the eldest of eight siblings, left school and headed for London to work on the building sites.

I loved hard work, he says. I loved working on the bog from an early age. And I saw my mother and the work she had to do: she raised the eight of us on the childrens allowance and odd jobs. So working on the building sites, I was able to send money home. But I missed my mas cooking and I missed my family and there was a girl back here that I fancied . . . There was no social media then so you were kind of cut off once youre over there. So I packed my bags and came back and got an apprenticeship painting and decorating with a local company in Tullamore. It wasnt much money but at least I was at home.

On Monday, October 14th, 1996, Slattery and two friends set out from his native village of Clonbullogue. Ordinarily, the gang headed to Dublin at weekends in their work van. On this occasion, however, the van was in the garage. Slattery could hardly believe his luck when a stranger pulled up offering a lift. But not too far into the journey, the car crashed.

On the operating table, thinking he would be returning to football practice in a matter of weeks, a doctor informed him that he would never walk again.

You can imagine that at 17 and youre in a crash and youre left paralysed, your whole world changes, says Slattery. Suddenly you are in the head and you are relying on emotional experience as opposed to physical experience. So that alone was a shock. But as Ive said before and I say to this day: I genuinely feel like that was the moment when my body switched off and my imagination on. Because once that happened, it sent me on a psychological quest. I had to dig deep inside myself to figure out who I was and where I was going. I think thats where the real journey started for me. Thats where the real magic happened.

This isnt some kind of positive spin gleaned in hindsight. Speaking from his family home in Clonbullogue, Co Offaly the same one where he was born and reared Paddy Slattery recounts his accident and the years of rehabilitation that followed with a smile on his face. He was, he says, simply happy to be alive. You do get second chances in life, he insists. Even the tedium of extensive periods in hospitals proved to have an upside.

There were a few years of sheer boredom to be honest, he says. Initially, after the crash, I was in Dn Laoghaire rehabilitation hospital for a year. And then I was in other hospitals for maybe a year after that for lots of physical therapy. So that was three years of my life that was eat, sleep, exercise and watch telly. I started watching movies and listening to music during those years.

Initially, I was driven by the desire to walk again. I was trying to learn different ways figuring out mind over matter. I was learning kinesiology and reiki and all this kind of stuff. I learned lucid dreaming. I started wandering off into my imagination a lot. And slowly, during that time, I started to fall in love with movies.

That love, at first, was for what he calls lads movies. From rewatching Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver and Quentin Tarantinos Pulp Fiction, he developed a taste for DVD extras, and from there, he discovered the Artificial Eye imprint.

I started buying films made by Tarkovsky, Werner Herzog, Ingmar Bergman, Alejandro Jodorowsky and they just blew my mind, says Slattery. Because suddenly I realised that film wasnt just about popcorn. It could be poetic. It could be spiritual. I started to look at the medium completely differently.

As another avenue of escape, Slattery began writing poetry and short stories. When friends and family were impressed with his doodlings, he graduated to music and screenplays. His debut album, Stand and Deliver, was completed in 2006.

People started to say: you should consider maybe making a short film, he says.

I had so much pent-up frustration from doing nothing and so many frustrations about the world. I started to think that if I could make something then someone might watch it or listen to it and maybe be inspired or entertained. Thinking that felt like a power had been handed to me.

There were, of course, logistics to consider. Slattery accordingly reached out to director Declan Recks, who shot Pure Mule on Slatterys LaoisOffaly home turf, to ask for advice.

I sent him an email, recalls Slattery. I told him I was quadriplegic and that I wanted to be a director. And he said, Paddy, with the technology we have today, theres always a way to direct a film. You can direct on a wireless monitor.

Since he completed his first short film, Out of Tune, in 2006, Slattery has amassed more than a dozen credits as a writer, director and producer. To date he has won awards at Indie Cork, the Royal Television Society, and the Mexico International Film Festival. In 2015 he produced the IFTA-nominated Skunky Dog starring John Connors.

Connors, alongside upcoming actor and director Tristan Heanue and Slattery, have formed an unofficial collective as they wander in and out of each others projects. Heanue has directed Connors in the 2015 short, Today. All three parties are involved in Slatterys hotly tipped debut feature, Broken Law.

I worked with Tristan back in 2012 on my second short film, says Slattery. And from the minute I met him, I saw young Henry Fonda. It wasnt really even an audition; he had the gig immediately. So Ive produced some of his shorts. And I always knew he was going to be in Broken Law. I worked with John on a short film called Skunky Dog. And I immediately hit it off with John. Hes an old head on young shoulders. He has the soul of a Celtic warrior. We could sit and talk for hours. Especially after the days shoot when youre back in the hotel lobby having a few nightcaps and sneaky sing songs.

It has taken more than a decade for Slatterys debut feature Broken Law to make it to a cinema near you. First conceived as a choral drama in the style of Paul Thomas Andersons Magnolia, Slattery put what was then called The Broken Law of Attraction back in the drawer in order to learn the trade. Over the years, it morphed into a Dublin-set noir concerning two very different brothers.

Joe (Graham Earley) is released from prison and is immediately picked up by his neer-do-well chums, Wallace and Pete (John Connors and Ryan Lincoln bring the bickering). Like many of the movieverses ex-convicts, Joe wants to go straight, if not quite as straight as his respectable garda brother David (Heanue). Schemes and shenanigans ensue.

I have three brothers myself, says Slattery. One of my brothers, James, and I hope he doesnt mind me saying this hes sort of the black sheep of the family. So I was inspired by that dynamic between myself and James. Because he was always the scallywag and I was the golden boy because I was the eldest son and I was out earning.

The production was a seat-of-the-pants affair. Following a few years stuck in development limbo or possibly development hell a crowdfunding campaign, lots of called-in favours, and the assistance of the Centre for Independent Living, the cameras started rolling in 2018.

We shot in August and September for four weeks in East Wall, says the writer-director. It was brilliant crack but hard work. Leading up to the whole thing, there were a few times that my family looked at me and I was just physically, mentally, emotionally and financially broke.But I somehow persevered even through many moments where I thought, this is insane.

But once the train left the station, once we were shooting, I knew there was no going back. And then we had to beg, steal and borrow again for post-production. And then we are racing for the finishing line for a Dublin premiere in February.

Following some last minutes edits to reduce the number of swear words from 173 to 131, Broken Law debuted at the Dublin International Film Festival, where it picked up a Special Jury Award from the Dublin Film Critics Circle, the Aer Lingus Discovery Award and a positive notice from The Guardian.

I cried like a baby at the premiere, says Slattery. I have no shame in telling you. A couple of months leading into Dublin we were already in very advanced talks for distribution and with an international sales agent. So we were already getting those pinch-me moments. And then we were in the Imax at the premiere.

Honestly, the sense of accomplishment and the sense of relief knowing we did it; its like a massive weight taken off my shoulders. It was unreal. I cant even remember the Q&A afterwards.

Broken Law is in cinemas from July 31st

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Paddy Slattery: Film could be poetic. It could be spiritual - The Irish Times

UNITED STATES, 07-22-2020 (PRDistribution.com) Nancy Lynne Harris, Shaman, Spiritual Teacher & Author, of GodSpirits United LLC, was recently selected as Top Shaman & Spiritual Teacher of the Year for 2020 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for her outstanding leadership and commitment to the industry.

Inclusion with the International Association of Top Professionals is an honor in itself, only a few members in each discipline are chosen for this distinction. These special honorees are distinguished based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership abilities, longevity in the field, other affiliations and contributions to their communities. All honorees are invited to attend IAOTPs Annual Awards Gala at the end of this year for a night to honor their achievements.www.iaotp.com/award-gala With over 25 years of professional experience as a Spiritual Counselor and Shaman, Nancy has certainly proven herself as an accomplished professional and expert in her field. She is a dynamic, results-driven leader who specializes in spiritual counseling and shamanic treatments. Nancy is widely known for her ability to heal depression and glaucoma.She is the Founder of GodSpirits United, LLC, a company that helps people recover from medically incurable illness and addictions by teaching them how to shift their energy for healing. Nancy offers energy treatments and spiritual readings in person or remotely by telephone. She offers training by internet entitled 12 Steps to Heal Yourself Without Medicine.Nancys deep understanding of how Jesus moved energy led her to the highlight of her career. She was able to heal herself after her left femur (leg bone) separated from her hip bone shortly after the suicide of her oldest son, Jeff. After several months of limping in great pain, she healed herself by realizing that she felt disconnected from her son, and her attitude was manifesting on her body. By thinking Nothing can separate me from the love of God she reversed her feelings of disconnection, and her bones reconnected almost instantly. Nancy healed her son Michael of congenital glaucoma, which is medically incurable, after the doctors had performed eye surgery twice to prevent high pressure from damaging his optic nerve, which would have resulted in blindness if left untreated.Before embarking on her current career path, Nancy graduated from The Four Winds Society, the worlds most extensive professional training in Andean energy healing and shamanism. She completed advanced training in Theta Healing, and also received training in spiritual healing through the Eschatology Foundation in Los Angeles, CA. Nancy has worked with mentors such as Dr. Alberto Villoldo, Don Oscar Miro-Quesada, James VanPraagh, and Dr. Hank Wesselman. In addition to her spiritual achievements, Nancy holds a Master of Arts Degree in Music Theory and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Piano Performance. She is also Nationally Certified as a Teacher of Piano by Music Teachers National Assn.The President of IAOTP, Stephanie Cirami, stated Choosing Nancy for this award was an easy decision for our panel to make. She is brilliant at what she does, empathetic to those she serves and is a highly skilled Healer. We felt she would make an amazing asset to our organization. We are looking forward to meeting her at our Annual Awards Gala being held at the magnificent Plaza Hotel in New York City this December.Throughout her illustrious career, Nancy has received awards and accolades and has been recognized worldwide for her notable leadership and dedication to the profession. This year she will be considered for a feature article in TIP (Top Industry Professional) Magazine and was selected as Top Shaman and Spiritual Teacher of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP). For 2021 she will be considered for the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award given by IAOTP. In past years, Nancy received an award from Worldwide Whos Who for excellence in energy medicine. She also belongs to the Oregon Music Teachers Association.Aside from her successful career, Nancy is a sought-after speaker who helps people understand how to shift the creative energy to change their blood chemistry and heal themselves. She also conducts educational workshops that focus on thinking specific positive thoughts to help bathe the bodily organs in nourishing healthy fluids, which regulate body chemistry and shift the energy to heal your illness.As a published author through Amazon.com, Nancy has written numerous books on these subjects. Her publications include, Miracles Master the Art: Healing Medically Incurable Illness; Mental Illness Heal Yourself; Invasion Revealed: Healing Alcoholism, Mental illness & Drug Addiction; Heal Yourself of Anything: Example Glaucoma; COMI: How to Consciously Overcome Mental Illness; and How to Heal Your Hang-Ups: Depression, Alcohol and Drug Addiction.Looking back, Nancy attributes her success to her training, insightfulness, and her unique ability to teach others how to heal themselves without medicine. When not working, Nancy enjoys playing jazz piano. For the future, she hopes to continue helping people stay healthy and free of pain while freeing the body and aura from negative emotional energy. For more information on Nancy Lynne Harris please visit: www,nancylynneharris.comAbout IAOTPThe International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) is an international boutique networking organization who handpicks the worlds finest, most prestigious top professionals from different industries. These top professionals are given an opportunity to collaborate, share their ideas, be keynote speakers and to help influence others in their fields. This organization is not a membership that anyone can join. You have to be asked by the President or be nominated by a distinguished honorary member after a brief interview.IAOTPs experts have given thousands of top prestigious professionals around the world, the recognition and credibility that they deserve and have helped in building their branding empires. IAOTP prides itself to be a one of a kind boutique networking organization that hand picks only the best of the best and creates a networking platform that connects and brings these top professionals together.For More Information on IAOTP please visit: http://www.iaotp.com

Media Contacts:

Company Name: IaotpFull Name: Stephanie CiramiPhone: 212 634 4427Email Address: Send EmailWebsite: http://www.iaotp.com

For the original news story, please visit https://prdistribution.com/news/nancy-lynne-harris-selected-as-top-shaman-spiritual-teacher-of-the-year-by-the-international-association-of-top-professionals-iaotp.html.

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Nancy Lynne Harris selected as Top Shaman & Spiritual Teacher of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) - Life...

Eisner Institute for Professional Studies (EIPS) is proud to announce affordable new graduate programs in Buddhist Therapy and Spiritual Therapy.

Los Angeles, CA, July 28, 2020 --(PR.com)-- The spiritual psychology programs are offered at the MA and Doctorate of Psychology Psy.D. level, and the Buddhist psychology program is offered as a Doctorate of Psychology (Psy.D.).

Don Eisner, PhD, Dean says, "Our programs allow for expansion and integration of a graduate practice by integration various psychotherapeutic and counseling modalities with Buddhist principles and concepts. The programs are particularly beneficial to graduates who are involved in alternative therapies, counseling, life coaching, consulting and teaching.

EIPS understands the needs of students who may be working part or full time. Thus, the 100% on-line program accommodates students who otherwise would need to travel long distances, or give up their current employment.

There is no dissertation or thesis, but rather a capstone. Each program can be completed in two years. There is no residency requirement.

Some of the course offerings are as follows:

Buddhist Psychology and TherapyBuddhist Pathway, Transcendence and Self Actualization, Spirituality and Mental Health, Mindfulness based cognitive behavior therapy Buddhism and Analytic therapy, Intuition and counseling, Applied Cognitive Behavior therapy, Law and Ethics,

Spiritual Psychology and TherapyIntuition and counseling, Shamanism and Spirituality, Spirituality and Mental Health, Law and Ethics, Mind, Brain and Consciousness, Wellness Coaching.

The mission of the Eisner Institute for Professional Studies (EIPS) is to provide high-quality, on-line instruction in the field of psychology at the master degree level, as well as instruction for those who want to learn more about the field of psychology. EIPS is dedicated to promoting a culturally and an intellectually diverse learning environment for students who are educationally qualified and motivated to work independently.

For further information please telephone Eisner Institute for Professional Studies: (818) 380-0185 or visit: http://www.eisnerinstitute.org.

Contact Information:Eisner Institute for Professional StudiesDon Eisner, Ph.D.818-788-6512Contact via Emailwww.eisnerinstitute.org

Read the full story here: https://www.pr.com/press-release/817851

Press Release Distributed by PR.com

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Buddhist Psychology and Spiritual Psychology 100% Online Graduate Programs Announced by Eisner Institute for Professional Studies - Benzinga

Jesus is the most important human being who has ever existed. I miss Him.-Chuck Templeton, former evangelist/atheist

Ive been heavily deconstructing for the past couple of years. Mine wasnt a planned deconstruction. I didnt decide one day that Id put myself through an orderly doctrine by doctrine rethinking of my faith. Mine was more spontaneous than that. You can read more about my overall story here, but the gist of it is this: I started walking around the indoor track at my local gym believing in Hell, eternal conscious torment, and that some of us are saved and others are not. At the end of that thirty minute walk, I could no longer believe in those things. I had an encounter with the white hot love of God that melted away that central piece of my theology and set me free from the fear that kept me imprisoned. The ramifications were endless.

As my theology shifted, the theology of the sermons I preached changed along with it. I was intentionally vague at first because I knew how traumatic it could be to have such a central doctrine fall like a spiritual Jenga tower, but people could tell a difference and began asking questions. Some of my closest friends and coworkers at the church asked some specific questions about sin, hell, and the spiritual state of our LGBTQ+ friends. My friends didnt care for my answers and left the church. Not long after that, my views on the inerrancy of scripture also evolved and many of my spiritual dominoes began to fall in very short order.

I realized early in my deconstruction that I had to at least be willing to reexamine everything I believed without holding back any sacred cows: even Jesus. It was hard for me to even think of maintaining a faith at all apart from Jesus. He was the one constant about my faith. When I originally prayed a sinners prayer as a seven year old and asked Him into my heart hoping to avoid an eternity in Hell, Jesus was there. During my near death experience at age twelve, I encountered Him in a deeply personal way. I had seen glimpses of Him several times in the years since as well. Still though, I knew I had to at least be willing to set my beliefs about Jesus aside to engage in an honest deconstruction of faith.

A surprising thing happened. Jesus wouldnt leave. When church members walked away, He was there. As I worked with the few congregants who remained to stop having church services and start a free grocery market for our low income neighbors in our old sanctuary, I saw Jesus at work even more frequently. And when the church eventually ran out of money and had to shut down, He made it clear that no matter how much my theology evolved, He wasnt going anywhere.

Thats not to say that my beliefs about Jesus never changed. They did. I no longer see Jesus as a mediator between a sinful world and an angry God whose holiness demanded blood. Today, I see Jesus as the best representation of what the love of God looks like in human flesh. I also see Him as offering us a new way to be human by inviting us to follow His way. While I know that my faith will continue to evolve for the rest of my life, Im starting to think that my one constantJesusisnt going anywhere.

Toxic Bathwater

I know that many of you who are deconstructing are doing so because of horrific abuse and trauma that you have endured in settings that proudly proclaimed themselves to be Christian. The most natural reaction in the world would be to throw baby Jesus out with the toxic bathwater. I certainly couldnt blame you for doing that. But while there are many wounded and toxic people out there calling themselves Christians who are causing great pain, there are also many some Christians who love and accept you as you are and have no agenda for your life other than for you to know how loved you are.

Im one of them. And there are many, many more.

Honest deconstruction requires us to at least be willing to give up absolutely every theological construct. But dont be surprised if Jesus just sits down in the shadows of your life waiting for a time when you can be comforted by Him again.

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Throwing Baby Jesus Out With the Bathwater - Patheos

"I can't breathe!'" the crowd chanted, invoking the dying words spoken by George Floyd as a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck.

Kianna Ruff yelled it over and over along with hundreds of fellow protesters as they marched for hours through New York City, a kind of collective mantra that touched someplace deep inside those present.

"I just started choking and I broke down," the 28-year-old activist and minister said. "And I do feel like that that was also a spiritual experience that I've never experienced before."

The demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism that have raged in the wake of Floyd's killing are often led by young people who find a sense of purpose, ritual and community on the streets. Many involved say the protests deepen spiritual connections and embody familiar elements of traditional faith.

The demonstrators kneel. They observe mournful moments of silence. They break into call-and-response: "What do we want?" and "Justice!" From Los Angeles to New York, Milwaukee to Minneapolis, they stand shoulder-to-shoulder and find common cause in their shared fervor.

"I can say this is liturgy in the street," said the Rev. Jacqueline Lewis, pastor of the Middle Collegiate Church in New York's East Village. "This is church in the street, it is song in the street, it is lament in the street. The tears are in the street."

"When the kids say, 'Black Lives Matter!'" Lewis continued, "that's a prayer."

Americans are becoming less religious in the formal, traditional sense, and the trend is more marked among young adults, according to Pew Research Center surveys from recent years. Young people, who make up a core part of the protesters, are less likely to pray daily, attend religious services or believe in God.

Still, surveys show younger Americans are just as spiritual as their older counterparts, and many have found other expressions of faith outside formal religion.

In its "How We Gather" study, Harvard Divinity School researchers documented wide-ranging spiritual communities for the young ranging from Afro Flow Yoga and dinner churches to public meditation groups.

Fears about the future have also led many to activism. Tens of thousands walked out of schools in 2018 to demand action on gun violence in one of the biggest student protests since the Vietnam era. Inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, hundreds of thousands marched worldwide in 2019 demanding urgent action on climate change.

This year that has manifested in the struggle against police brutality and racism.

"All of these issues intersect because they all disproportionately impact Black people," said 19-year-old Aalayah Eastmond, who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, became a gun-control activist and is now organizing protests against racial injustice with the group Concerned Citizens of D.C.

Her group begins demonstrations with a collective prayer that's inclusive of nonbelievers, she said - the point is closeness and togetherness.

"We stand in a circle and one person just prays for us to one, be safe in the middle of these protests, because they can get very violent. ... And for folks to really feel empowered and moved while they're protesting," Eastmond said.

Nationwide, the demonstrations have tended to be diverse in terms of markers like generation, ethnicity and gender, but Ruff, a graduate of the divinity school at Union Theological Seminary in New York, said community thrives despite such differences.

It's about "being in those groups and feeling that energy, you know, that God wants you there," Ruff said.

"And there's so many people," she added. "Whether they believe what you believe or not, that's not what's important. What's important is the common goal."

During a recent "Buddhists For Black Lives Matter" march in Los Angeles, Tahil Sharma walked with others in a slow, wordless procession whose silence had a similarly powerful effect as the ritual chanting of other demonstrations.

"That march was so different. ... The emotional swelling that we felt of every second passing as we were breathing and praying was a reminder of the seconds of air that George Floyd was gasping for," said Sharma, a 28-year-old interfaith activist born to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother.

Many demonstrations have seen protesters honoring the dead by reciting their names in what resembles a litany.

Another common element is the creation of spaces explicitly or implicitly spiritual in nature and symbolism: In Minneapolis, protesters set up a floral altar memorial at the site where Floyd died, while in Houston, a newly painted mural depicts him with an angelic halo and wings.

"People bring in pictures, flowers, they're burning candles, incense, making music and really kind of creating a physical space where they're holding the spirit of a loved one," said Casper ter Kuile, author of "The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices."

"There's a really interesting kind of lived religion, as sociologists would call it, on the streets within these protests," ter Kuile said.

In Milwaukee, a Muslims artists' collective recently spent hours painting a mural depicting a family on a sofa under the words: "Our Kids Will Not Be Next," as passing drivers honked horns in solidarity.

"Art is a perfect middle ground for people to unite," said Amal Azzam, the 27-year-old co-founder of Fanana Banana, which organized the event. "Milwaukee is a very segregated city. ... These are the things that help connect the communities."

That's a sentiment shared by Sharma, in Los Angeles, who became involved in interfaith literacy and social justice following the 2012 deadly shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

"When I see that entire world marching with me to fight for the rights of others, I feel I am in prayer," he said. "When we shut down systems of oppression together, acknowledging our differences for a common cause, that's when I know my prayers are being answered."

Read the rest here:

Faith in protest as young people find fervor on the street - Minneapolis Star Tribune

By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer

METAIRIE, La. (LBM) Mateo Alvarez experienced plenty of fun and games at the 2019 CentriKid summer camp, but in the end also came away with something much greater the gift of salvation.

During an evening worship session at Timber Creek Camp in Polanski, Mississippi, Alvarez, who was 10 at the time, realized the need to confess his sins and stepped forward to publicly declare Jesus as Lord.

The decision just made sense, Alvarez told the Baptist Message. That evening was something I never will forget because that was the day that I shared with everyone there that I am someone who is a new creation in Christ.

Alvarez had completed the churchs foundational course on discipleship and subsequently set a date to be baptized in the spring.

But COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings interrupted his plan.

Finally, on July 5, Alvarez was able to step down into the baptistery with the double blessing to have his mom, Mary, by his side. She had accepted Christ 20 years ago, but was baptized then under another denominationsdoctrinal beliefs about baptism.

She wanted to follow through in believers baptism an act of obediencesymbolizing her faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, as well as her own death to sin, the burial of her old life, and her resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

This day allowed for an extra special connection, she said. It reaffirmed we are going to the same place. Not only are we mother and son but brother and sister in Christ.

The baptisms were the first for Memorial Baptist since they stopped meeting for in-person services in mid-March. Pastor Dan Pritchett said the baptisms were an encouragement that reminded him God is moving despite the uncertainty of COVID-19.

The day when we had the baptisms was like a party, he said. How exciting it was to have two people come and say they need to share their faith through baptism.

The congregations enthusiasm for Christ has not been limited to the baptisms.

Since March 12, the church has broadcast its services online, even while gathering for drive-in services in May and worshiping inside their facilities in early June. Technology also has allowed small groups to remain connected through use of the Zoom video conferencing platform.

COVID-19 has not stopped ministry efforts around the community,either. Members have repaired the home of an elderly couple, distributed roses to widows on Mothers Day, helped pay rent for needy individuals and handed out paper towels and toilet paper to neighbors throughout the last several months.

Our members have kept their ears to the ground and been receptive to needs, he said. There is a holy restlessness by our people. We wont be held back and will serve no matter what. People have really sacrificed to give and minister and get the Gospel message out. They understand the opportunities at hand and dont want to miss what God has before us.

Continued here:

Baptisms celebrate son's and mother's spiritual bond at Memorial in Metairie - The Baptist Message

COMMENTARY

The COVID pandemic has left many of people in quarantine and/or isolated from friends, family, loved ones and, for some, ourselves. This article will provide reflections on the influence of the pandemic on various components of our psychology and faith.

On an intellectual level, it might be easy for an individual with COVID (or a similar life-threatening disorder) to understand they have a serious illness that might cause death. Yet, mandated isolation or even quarantine may be difficult to conceive, especially for those who are seemingly healthy. Quarantine can foster strong feelings dehumanization and helplessness.

The essence of feeling dehumanized is amplified if one is unable to receive proper treatment, their problems are minimized, or they reacted to as if they are a threat. This could feel like a punishment, and without a clear understanding of the reason for punishment. One could struggle with feeling guilty over past deeds either conscious or not. One would ultimately struggle with feelings of panic, an alarm signal that their body is being threatened. In this state, one might easily feel dissociated or disconnected from their body, loved ones, and life itself.

For many in isolation, they believe they are in quarantine. This sends a message to their body that they are dangerous and infectious. It is important, therefore, that we accurately use the terms, since the words we use and how we think shape our being and responses. Can you imagine the mind of a person that is quarantined who does not have the virus? It can be puzzling, frustrating, and add to the anxiousness and uncertainties.

Here are a few brief interactions demonstrating intense anxiety, uncertainty, and confusion.

Patient 1: I dont want to go around people. I dont want to infect anyone and have that on my conscience.

Patient 2: I'm staying away from people now. I dont know who is who. I dont want to catch anything.

Dr Winfrey: As Im listening to you, it appears you are imagining catching more than the virus. Is that true?

Patient 2: Well, I didnt think of it that way consciously until you pointed it out, but I guess so.

Dr Winfrey: It appears that you feel the danger of others will enter inside you and infect you whether it be COVID or not?

Patient 2: You cant be too careful nowadays.

Theological perspective

Some patients who experience mental agony and uncertainty turn to their religious beliefs to help cope with the COVID pandemic. They may look to passages in the scripture or a faith leader for guidance. The stories in religious teachings and their symbolism may help patients better make sense of their world and their experiences, which may help patients address the anxieties, fears, and guilt.

For instance, we can look to the Genesis narrative of the Fall of Adam and Eve. In the text, Adam and Eve did not see their environment or God as a threat to their life before they ate from the Tree of Good and Evil. Indeed, they were isolated from any threat to their body and mind.

After they ate from the Tree of Good and Evil, they were quarantined, in other words, not allowed in the Garden of Eden until they repented and were healed spiritually, bodily, and mentally.Their behavior changed. They covered themselves with fig leaves. During that time, they were not very close to each other, and they were distant from God. After being quarantined, they continued to struggle, and so goes the essence of the story as the Fall of Man.

What does this passage reveal about ones environment, where they live, learn, heal, work, play, and pray? What if that environment makes them feel the need to quarantine or isolate themselves from God and others? This is no longer the Garden of Eden, and ones body is not protected, which makes our minds vulnerable. In turn, greater vulnerability to ones body weakens ones ability to defend ourselves from infections and other physical insults. Yet, how one frames their experience will influence how they respond. And the nature of ones body will influence their ability to frame their experiences.

Conclusions

Bodily compromises lead to mental compromise as expressed in susceptibility to thoughts of doubt, fear, panic, and the like. The COVID pandemic has caused us to feel unsafe not only in our homes, schools, workplaces, and recreational and religious spaces but also our minds and souls.

Nonetheless, concerns about the COVID-19 virus are legitimate. We can help people understand that their minds processes using representations or symbols, such as those in the scripture. The virus might symbolize danger, feelings of being alien (or seeing others as aliens), among other meanings.

As we continue to live in this COVID world, it is important to ask patients, when we are using the word quarantine, from what are we quarantining? This discussion can help patients put the fears, anxieties, and concerns into perspective.

Dr Winfrey is in private practice in Marlton, NJ. Mr Saafir is Co-founder of The Southern Renaissance and Group 6:22.

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Psychological and Spiritual Reflections on the COVID-19 Pandemic - Psychiatric Times

A modern take on Job, memories of Jewish Salonica under Nazi occupation, and a theologian's musing on the natural world, faith and wonder are among the religion and spirituality books publishing in August.

Nonfiction

August 1

Religion and Sight, edited by Louise Child and Aaron Rosen (Equinox, $32 paper ISBN 978-1-78179-749-5) Sight is both celebrated as a source of revelation and demonized as a road to idolatry. Scholars from many disciplines explore, What do we see and how do we see when we study religion.

The Buddha's Path of Peace: A Step-By-Step Guide by Geoffrey Hunt (Equinox, $32 paper ISBN 978-1-78179-963-5). Hunt presents the life-changing way of the Buddha in the context of contemporary and everyday life, personal experience, human relationships, work, environmental concern and the human wish for peace.

Buddhist Responses to Religious Diversity: Theravada and Tibetan Perspectives, edited by Douglas Duckworth, Elizabeth Harris and Abraham Velez de Cea (Equinox, $32 paper, ISBN 978-1-78179-905-5). Buddhist identities are being renegotiated in the age of globalization, raising questions of religious tolerance and whether only Buddhists can attain nirvana.

Beyond Belief, Beyond Conscience: The Radical Significance of the Free Exercise of Religion by Jack N. Rakove (Oxford Univ., $22.95, ISBN 978-0-19-530581-4). Pulitzer winner Rakove explains why American ideas of religious freedom are more constitutionally significant than many modern commentators understand.

Well, Girl: An Inside-Out Journey to Wellness by Jami Amerine (Shiloh Run, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64352-558-7). Blogger Amerine shares her own wellness routine intended to help Christian women gain confidence in their physical appearance and welcome the love of God.

Exploring Shinto edited by Michael Pye (Eqjuinox, $34 paper, ISBN 978-1-78179-960-4) Scholars delve into the ideas and divinities underlying Shinto, which permeates the religious landscape of Japan and is a major key to the understanding of Japanese culture and society.

August 4

Job: A New Translation by Edward L. Greenstein (Yale, $18 paper ISBN 978-0-300-25524-9). A leading authority on Job offers a major reinterpretation based on nearly half a century of study.

Born to Wonder: Exploring Our Deepest Questions Why Are We Here and Why Does It Matter? by Alister McGrath (Tyndale Momentum, $16.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-3620-7). The Oxford scholar and theologian explores the deepest mysteries of life itself. The experience and examination of wonder fuels much of humanitys creativity and its search for understanding.

Searching for the Messiah: Unlocking the Psalms of Solomon and Humanitys Quest for a Savior by Barrie Wilson (Pegasus, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-64313-450-5). Religious scholar Wilson examines the role a messiah plays in Western culture, tracing it from pre-Christian roots through to modern interpretations of a savior.

The Way of the Monk: How to Find Purpose, Balance, and Lasting Happiness by Guar Gopal Das (Sounds True, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-68364-662-4). Hare Krishna monk Gopal Das follows up Lifes Amazing Secrets with a collection of spiritual and life tools such as diagramming ones passion and mission.

The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place by David Sheff (Simon and Schuster, $27, 978-1-9821-2845-6). Sheff (Beautiful Boy), spent five years interviewing a convicted killer who converted to Buddhism, and recounts how Jarvis Jay Masters came to learn, to endure, and to live with compassion on death row.

Jesus Politics: How to Win Back the Soul of America by Phil Robertson (Thomas Nelson, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-4002-1006-0). Duck Dynasty star Robertson calls on Christians to use their resources and votes to protect American religious freedoms from socialist policies.

Take Back Your Life: A 40-Day Interactive Journey to Thinking Right So You Can Live Right by Levi Lusko (Thomas Nelson, $28.99, ISBN 978-0-7852-3276-6). Lusko, a pastor, explores ways to overcome personal challenges and mental loops of anxiety and fear, including an action plan, journaling space, and Bible teachings.

Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best by Irwyn L. Ince (IVP, $16 paper, ISBN 978-0-8308-4831-7). Ince, a pastor and theologian, argues that the church is at its best when it pursues the biblical value of unity in diversity.

August 11

Mindfulness Through the Stars: A Wellness Guide by Ashley Flores (Mango, $22.95, ISBN 978-1-64250-311-1). An astrology book written by an African-American Latina YouTuber and zodiac expert with a different perspective than Western astrology.

Cleanse Your Body, Reveal Your Soul: Sustainable Well-Being Through the Ancient Power of Ayurveda Panchakarma Therapy by Judith E. Pentz (Mango, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64250-378-4). Psychiatrist Pentz details her travels to Nagpur, India, and what she learned of Ayurvedic Panchakarma detoxicification and rejuvenation therapy.

A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva by Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, trans. by Christopher Stagg (Snow Lion, $27.95, ISBN 978-1-55939-491-8). Norbu offers a new translation and commentary to the central Mahayana text The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas.

August 15

Antoine Frdric Ozanam by Raymond Sickinger, Univ. Notre Dame, $38 paperback ISBN 978-0-268-10143-5). Sickinger, history and classics chair at Providence College, unveils the life of an early-19th-century Catholic scholar, and the principal founder of the lay Catholic charity St. Vincent de Paul.

August 18

S. N. Goenka: Emissary of Insight by Daniel Stuart (Shambhala, $19.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-61180-818-6). A biography of S. N. Goenka, one of the most influential meditation masters of the twentieth century.

Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming by Andrew Holecek (Sounds True, $18.99 paper ISBN 978-1-68364-435-4). Holecek leads a step-by-step guide to the insights, meditations, and actions that help people realize the dreamlike nature of life.

Emerging Gender Identities: Understanding the Diverse Experiences of Todays Youth by Mark Yarhouse and Julie Sadusky (Brazos, $19,99 paper, ISBN 978-1-58743-434-1). The authors offer a measured Christian response to the diverse gender identities being embraced by an increasing number of adolescents.

Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now by Brenda Salter McNeil (Brazos, $19.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-58743-447-1). McNeil offers a Christian framework for addressing systemic injustice and challenging the status quo.

August 25

Ancient Jewish and Christian Scriptures: New Developments in Canon Controversy by John J. Collins, Craig, A. Evans, and Lee Martin McDonald (WJK, $40 paper, ISBN 978-0-664-26597-7) The authors delve in to the reasons writings are included or excluded from the canon.

Talking Until Nightfall: Remembering Jewish Salonica, 194144 by Isaac Matarasso, trans. by Pauline Matarasso (Bloomsbury Continuum, $28, ISBN 978-1-4729-7588-1) Matarasso provides a multi-generational account of the Nazi occupation of Salonica, shedding light on the little-known story of the Holocaust in Northern Greece.

Welcoming and Affirming: A Guide to Supporting and Working with Lgbtq+ Christian Youth, edited by Leigh Finke (Broadleaf, $18.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-5064-6498-5). The writers offer concrete Christian tools for dealing with urgent questions about gender, sexuality, mental health and more.

After Evangelicalism: The Path to a New Christianity by David Gushee (WJK, $19 paper, ISBN 978-0-664-26611-0). Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics, offers a way for disillusioned evangelicals, unhappy with the political turn their leaders have taken, to find a relationship with Christ and an intellectually cogent, morally robust evangelicalism.

From Widows to Warriors: Women's Stories from the Old Testament by Lynn Japina (WJK, $18, ISBN 978-0-664-26569-4). Japina delves into the lives of women such as Eve, Ruth, Deborah, and Yael, presenting them as complex, sometimes flawed, fierce or tragic in their messy, yet redeemable, humanity according to the publisher. A look at New Testament women follows in September.

Fiction

August 1

The Soldiers Lady: 4 Stories of Frontier Adventures by Susanne Dietze et al. (Barbour, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64352-605-8). Dietze features four stories of women on Americas frontier forts trying to bring civility and order to stubborn men.

Sea Glass Castle by T.I. Lowe (Tyndale, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-4050-1). In Lowe's tale, single mother Sophia Prescott, still mending from the embarrassment of a highly publicized divorce, returns to her support network in Sunset Cove, S.C.

The Black Midnight by Kathleen YBarbo (Barbour $12.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-64352-595-2) Book 7 in the True Colors series brings a detective out of retirement to see if unsolved murders in Texas might connect to killings in London in 1899.

August 4

A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham (Revell, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-3539-5) Fordham (Yours Truly, Thomas) portrays a young woman fleeing her secrets. But her new life in a dusty 1880s western town as an old maid schoolteacher is threatened when a man from her past arrives.

Acceptable Risk by Lynette Eason (Revell, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-2935-6). Eason pens a nail-biting adventure of a military journalist whose search for the truth about her brother's death could get her killed as well.

A Dazzle of Diamonds by Liz Johnson (Revell, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-2942-4) An events manager struggles with love and the pressures of a local social matriarch to make the right choice.

August 8

Love and a Little White Lie by Tammy L. Gray (Bethany Aug. 8, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7642-3795-9). When Gray's heroine, skeptic January, takes a job at her aunts church, its a minor deceptionuntil she meets the churchs guitarist and sparks fly.

August 25

Jebs Wife by Patricia Johns (Zebra, $7.99, mass market, ISBN 978-1-4201-4913-5). An Amish woman, who was unable to give her ex-husband the children he desires, embarks on a marriage with the gruff farmer next door.

See the article here:

Religion and Spirituality Books Preview: August 2020 - Publishers Weekly

In response to I am spiritually Finnish (Opinion, July 17) by Alex Beam (thats Beamanen with the Finnish suffix), I hardly know where to begin.

Being genetically 51 percent Finnish (23andMe says 48.3 percent, but what do they know), I attest to Beams being right on the markka (Finnish currency before the euro). While I agree that the Finns eschew small talk and avoid crowds, they love to talk, just not in person. The cellphone quickly became wildly popular in Finland, not just because Nokia (a Finnish company) made them, but because you could talk while socially distant. Finns speak fast to get in all those lengthy Finnish words, even continuing vocal sounds while inhaling, somehow.

The paradox of being satisfied and depressed simultaneously parallels Finnish humor, which is written in a serious tone or spoken low-key, with a straight face. Just check out Finnish comedian Ismo describing our confusing use of English words or search references to Finland and leaf-raking, after Donald Trumps 2018 statement that Finns keep forests clean by raking the leaves.

Rick Mattila

Hull

Speaking as an actual Finn, Id like to say to Alex Beam that he does not need my permission to drink at home in his underwear. Go to it, and have fun.

Jon Kiparsky

Belmont

View original post here:

Being Finnish, spiritually and otherwise - The Boston Globe

Image by Lorri Lang from PixabayThe start of the topic

Source: zen.yandex.ru

If all your ancestors of the same nationality

Your pros. No doubt the psychological stability. This man has some conservatism, traditionalist. He will give children to national school and will go to their Church. His strength is in his wholeness. If you think that we belong to one nation, the chosen one, the most typical method of solving problems and behaviour and always adhere to it. In you there is no contradiction. Youre predictable, youre easy to communicate.

Your cons. The narrow-mindedness. You go through life with a template youre the man!. You find it hard to come up with something new. Constantly responding to stress in the same way, you put yourself in the position of the ancient Prussians, who have always fought the same way never yielded to the superior forces of the enemy, for which he was these forces wiped off the face of the earth. But it could be to make diplomatic efforts to bargain or prisoner to surrender and save themselves for centuries.

How to negotiate with the voice of the blood

Find her assistants. Study foreign languages and, through them, digested the thinking of other Nations. Travel and see how other people live, get in their way of life details of the other world the African painted folk rug, Spanish shawls. Listen to the music of different peoples, and not rock and not pop, and the tunes of the Andes or flamenco. Meet read the Vedas or Confucius. Do some yoga. In the end, your thinking lose their narrowness, you will learn to adapt to new conditions and become more creative. And you will be easier to stay close with the younger children. After all, they always go forward, very different from us and often conflict with conservative and closed on one idea moms.

For residents of Luxembourg native speaker of the language. In the family they speak the native dialect, in elementary school, learn German in the middle of moving to French. And in the end, a unique nation with three ways of thinking. When they talk about home, food and fishing, the use of dialect. Talking about trade and repair of cars, switching to German. About art, music and soul talk in French. Knowledge of languages is very stimulating enterprise and intelligence: the Luxembourg income per capita is 3.5 times higher than the European average.

Says Inga Yanovskaya, the master of Tao:

Our personality consists of three parts: the first is the soul that entered the body at birth; the second is the molecular memory of our ancestors encased in the liquid portion of blood; and the third is your personal memory about everything that happened after your birth. Sometimes they are all the same your soul before the reincarnation lived in the same area your ancestors were from him originally, and your blood carries information only about them, and you birth not budge. A man inherits the nationality of his parents.

But most of all in man are mixed a lot of things: soul belongs to one country, the memory of our ancestors memories about others, and their own memory of experiences coupled with intelligence he slips a third tradition. What part of the personality he would be the strongest, depends on his nationality. It may differ from the nationality of all his ancestors and be a complete surprise for the parents.

Someone still strong memories of his immortal soul lives on somewhere in Germany, and a person feels an unexplained attraction to this language and culture, though there is not a drop of German blood. Someone got the bright memory of our ancestors about the desert is it pulls to the East. Someone comes under the influence of previously unfamiliar religions such as Hinduism, and willingly accepts his rules with all national traditions.

On a pure one-nation blood in Europe, it is difficult to speak of the territory it small, it saw war, whole Nations have changed their place of residence, it was divided and rearranged, passed from hand to hand . As recently proved by genetics that studies the structure of the DNA of any two randomly taken Europeans of different nationalities five generations ago was the common ancestor who gave them their genes. National they different, and part of genes in common. What kind of purity of blood?

Our consultant, Valdis Pirags, immunologist, Professor (Latvia)

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All the ancestors of the same nationality? How to expand your consciousness. Tips Professor and spirituality - The Saxon