Every so often, I put out a "musing" that is a guide to my writings and videos. It's that time when churches make plans for their program year, so this is a good moment to share links to my materials for worship, study, and spiritual practice.  Use freely.  All I ask is attribution!

An index of resources posted each day on the Spirituality & Practice homepage — practices, readings, films, quotes, and more to help you navigate these times.

“At the center of the Christmas story is hope…hope which comes to us in the form of a vulnerable, poor baby. A child, not a king, changes the world. God appears to us as a marginalized, Afro-Semitic, Jewish child from Nazareth in Palestine. A child who grows up to teach us to welcome the stranger. How would our world be different if we loved our neighbors as ourselves?” asks the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister of Middle Collegiate Church.

This award-winning film is a meditative exploration of our relationship with silence, sound, and the impact of noise on our lives. Be inspired to experience silence and celebrate the wonders of our world.

We all know yoga is good for us, but what are the real benefits of having a daily practice? From dealing with stress to spiritual transformation, Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., explains the profound changes that come from a regular yoga practice.

We're celebrating 10 years this summer, and this stunning new video has us all sorts of sentimental. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for this family and can't wait to reunite with you on August 11th-14th for the best Beloved yet.

We offer this timepiece on a day that ushers in a new era for all protectors and people alike. An era that will need music to act as the thread between front lines and front doors. Stay in the prayer. We stand with you. For all our relations.

A film I made last night based on my favorite quotes from Alan Watts about how the way of looking at your life as a journey can be the most destructive way. Please have a listen to his wise words.

In May 2017, people from all over the world will gather in Portland, Oregon to share knowledge and wisdom, learn from each other, celebrate, be inspired, and find the tools needed to create and enliven local movements within our communities. Together we will explore sacred oneness, Christ consciousness, eco-spirituality, social justice and the way of universal and personal transformation that honors the Divine in all.

Thich Nhat Hanh explains the Four Qualities of Love that can bring deep meaning to our lives.

Yaima will be playing at our Embrace Festival, May 4-6

When you live in nature, in the scent of flowers, in the blessed light of the day and the sweet dew of the morning, you don't have questions, you simply live and joy together with them. Your heart opens, you cry, cry, and your eyes are wet with dew. This is how this song was born, when your body, mind, and soul opens, God steps next to you in an unguarded moment, and pours her treasures into you.

For a few minutes during filming the Global Sadhana "The Illuminated Path" videos, Ashana played the crystal singing bowls for us so we could relax. Under the powerful gaze of Mt. Shasta, Ramdesh Kaur began to meditate quietly to hold space. It was all captured on film...

"Earth My Body" was written and performed by Nicole Sangsuree though the opening and closing chant is a very old song with an unknown author. The song was recorded and produced by Jeremy Davidson in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., and the video was filmed at many locations in Thailand by producer and filmmaker Emma Carroll (Wee Earthlings). The experience of writing, recording and then filming this song has been part of a healing awakening for Nicole.

"Without contemplation people just don't really grow because they're so addicted to their way of thinking. That's the universal addiction. Your way of thinking is what you're addicted to...I am, too. And without contemplation I wouldn't have known how to loosen my grip on my way of thinking."

Through the Earth, Through the Sky, Through the Water, Through mist in my eyes, Your presence

Keynote speech by Jason Silva at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas - which took place at the concert hall of the Sydney Opera House.

How many times have we circled this fire, a prayer upon our lips? How many times have we gone to the water's edge to give thanks for these gifts? And we will rise again, we will rise again. My people will rise again, We'll rise. So many times I've looked out across the ocean, wondered what is it all for?

Deep peace to you, deep peace to you. Deep peace of the running wave to you. Deep peace of the quiet earth to you. Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

Our prayers igniting, cast out into the shire and the song of our struggle came straight from the fire, it goes: holy holy grandmother, we sing wash us clean of our pain and suffering give us strength for our new beginnings From my deepest grace I sing wash away, it will wash away

Jesus Seminar scholars (Marcus Borg, Karen Armstrong, John Spong) talk about the panentheism beyond traditional monotheistic faith. We can love and cherish the concepts of trinity, atonement, substitutionary faith without taking them literally. God is too big for any one religion.

meditative spiritual music, which puts ancient Sanskrit mantras into atmospheric, contemporary settings. Praise to the source of all things. It is due to you that we attain true happiness on the planes of earth, astral, causal. It is due to your transcendent nature that you are worthy of being worshipped and adored. Ignite us with your all pervading light.

I used to think that A Christmas Carol was the story of Scrooge’s metamorphosis. The scene in the movie were Scrooge realizes that it is Christmas morning and that life doesn’t have to be the way it has always been and he does that wonderful dance and sings: “I don’t know anything! I never did know anything all on a Christmas morning!” I always thought of that wonderful dance as the culmination of Scrooge’s metamorphosis, like a butterfly bursting forth from a cocoon. But now I see it for what it really is. It is a dance of resurrection. For Scrooge was dead. Dead and gazing at his own tombstone, when suddenly, and suddenly for me always indicates the work of the Spirit, suddenly, Scrooge realizes that what he is seeing are only the shadows of things that might be. Suddenly, Scrooge knows “that men’s deeds foreshadow certain ends. But if the deeds be departed from surely the ends will change!” Scrooge is born again and is able to declare with confidence, “I’m not the man I was.” And so, the resurrected Scrooge becomes all that God intended him to be.

This sacred music is absolutely ethereal and enchanting. with a voice like an angel, Peia takes us on a journey that is a meditation, a prayer and a celebration weaved into one. This song speaks of healing power and medicine of Woman, the Moon and the Earth Herself. A Machi is a medicine woman and sometime also a medicine man. May the images here remind us all what a miracle this life is. May we see that though tender and vulnerable our Earth is wise and resilliant beyond all measure. "Where there is Love there is Life " and here there is a lot of Love. Blessed Be.

Through the ages, we have called upon the One for Whom we yearn in countless ways, through myriad names. The term, “The Beloved” embraces all of these names and forms of the Divine, affirming their Unity. Beloved is also a 4 day camping, art, and music festival on the Oregon Coast. We intend to present sacred music to help eradicate the illusion of separation from each other, from the earth and from The Beloved.

"A Sensual Hip-notic journey of World beats infused with Maternal Soul..." 'Purify' is a powerful fresh sound of strong dance beats mixed with emotional layers and tapestries of percussion. The sound imbies influences from reggae to R n' B - to tribal and street roots infused with an undeniable feminine essence.

Nobody's Fault But Mine is old well known blues-gospel song. In honor of all the mothers and in honor that all of us can continue to carry music in such a spirit.

Published on Sep 29, 2014 When you no longer believe that God is a cosmic puppeteer, why pray? An exploration of progressive Christian ideas about prayer. In the stories handed down to us from our ancestors, we hear the disciples of Jesus ask, "Lord teach us to pray!" For generations Christians have continued to seek ways to communicate with the ONE we call God. Progressive Christians seek new ways of understanding God and notions of God as a cosmic puppeteer who lives in the sky are being replaced with images which point toward the Reality which lies at the heart of all that is. As we begin to see God as the ONE who lives and breathes in, with, through, and beyond us, our understanding of prayer is evolving. This Keynote presentation includes youtube videos of John Shebly Spong - Honest Prayer Parts I and II, and Fred Plumer on Prayer and Progressive Christianity.

Marcus Borg, Brian McLaren, Diana Butler Bass and Others on Progressive Christianity

Wisdom from 13 Traditions on 9 Universal Themes: Justice, Gratitude, Peace, Service, Compassion, Forgiveness, Healing, Nature, Prayer