Pamela Wilson asks: When you worry, or feel fear, can you say this to the anxious voice in your head? “You are welcome here!”

BEING THERE: PAUL KAIHLA — Pamela Wilson has many moving parts — part poet, part Gestalt Therapist and part enchantress, in the sense that she can induct an audience into an expansive [...]

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An interviewer asked me if I knew the meaning and purpose of life. I answered in the affirmative, footnoted by Monty Python, Boston Legal, Animal House and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg

GUEST COLUMN: VAISHALI — The interviewer was somewhat taken aback. He admitted that he did not fully expect me to be able to answer that question. [...]

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The Secret’s wishful thinking, versus the reality of 7 million American jobs lost. Soul’s Code introduces its own guide to balancing, job — and inner, security

BY PAUL KAIHLA —  Oprah’s endorsement helped make a viral, online video called, The Secret, a mainstream hit a couple of years ago.
The theme of The Secret is that the good [...]

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“As a psychotherapist and Episcopal priest, I have counseled hundreds of couples. What I’ve learned: There is no such thing as relationship problems.”
BY DAVID RICKEY — Most of us, when we fall in love, think we have arrived at a true and ultimate “answer” to all of our personal pains and aspirations.
Sooner or later, we [...]

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“At that moment, language, distance and time were transcended. Where the sacred brings the past and present together is the point at which each experienced traveler knows that any one of us is open to meeting the next person.”
BY KOHL GLAU — When traveling abroad, I strive not to be just another tourist, either [...]

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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed tried to use 9/11 to send a message to the world; Let’s use his trial to send a higher-minded one back

BY DAVID RICKEY — Whoever put the words “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” into God’s mouth may have thought they were attempting to remove revenge from the human heart, but they [...]

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At Twilight, it will be a New Moon for Vampire fans everywhere
We mere mortals are obsessed with the undead. Dating from time of the Persians, there have been tales of Blood-Sucking Fiends who strolled the earth under the full moon. But it wasn’t until the 18th century that the term “vampire” came into popular usage. And it [...]

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On this First Day of Advent of Barack Obama’s presidency, The Great Litany has a new ring
That it may please thee so to rule the hearts of thy servants, the President of the United States, and all others in authority, that they may do justice, and love mercy, and walk in the ways of truth.
PAUL KAIHLA [...]

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A former street involved youth shares what gets him though a season that for many, is less than merry
GUEST COLUMN: MICHAEL LARDIE — Today, as Christmas fast approaches, I  sit in a café, reflecting.  I’m thinking about why I am not fond of Christmas and trying to remember the good qualities I used to enjoy [...]

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Try releasing your “control issues” to make New Year’s Eve more enjoyable
GUEST COLUMN: PHYLLIS KING — Often, when our lives are running smoothly, and seemingly at the will of our command, without warning we are surprised when a person or an event throws our life into chaos or anger. Our choice in that moment is [...]

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Agassi confesses he “hated tennis and took meth” and Dr. M reveals his demons while struggling to help addicts on Vancouver’s mean streets
CYNDI INGLE — Are you now, or have you ever been, in the realm of the “Hungry Ghosts”?  The Hungry Ghosts is one of the six realms in the Buddhist Wheel of Life [...]

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Answer: the real Santa was a Byzantine monk. Yup, Old Saint Nick evolved from a bishop in present-day Turkey who treated opponents harshly but championed the cause of the powerless
BY KOHL GLAU — Santa Claus’ real story begins nearly 1,700 years ago as the powerful Roman empire was quickly becoming Christian. He lived in a moderate [...]

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A hypnotherapist describes a case where, by resolving a childhood trauma with hypnotherapy, a client learns to live in the present

GUEST COLUMN: SURJA JESSUP — As a hypnotherapist, body-worker and holistic practitioner, I am frequently challenged in sessions with clients by resistance to change due to experiences in their past.
Thanks to a life-changing trip to [...]

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The success of Paranormal Activity has eclipsed Dr. Charles T. Tart, the psychologist who turned the concept of the paranormal into a new branch of science
SOUL’S CODE — Paranormal Activity is now the most profitable movie in history ($15,000 to make, it’s earned more than $100 million in box office) but the inventor of the [...]

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Pagan feasts, pious observances, drunken revelry, family get-togethers: The celebration of Christmas is thought to be an age-old tradition. But from which age does this tradition actually derive?

Christmas has evolved from a pagan celebration of the solstice; to a Christian honoring of the birth of Jesus; to a raucous, drunken Mardi Gras-like roving street party; to a [...]

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When my little brother said I was like a T-shirt for women who shack up with abusers, I knew I had hit rock bottom
ANONYMOUS — Sometimes I feel fondly — even grateful — for hitting what I consider rock bottom . . . so long as I never have to visit there again.
If there’s a [...]

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“We are flying by the seat of our collective, cosmic pants around a relatively insignificant sun, that is in turn hurtling through the provincial backwaters of a massive galaxy, anchored by a hellishly ravenous black hole.”

GUEST COLUMN: H. C. Hummel — I was raised on a grape ranch in Northern California during the 1950’s in [...]

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Like Pilates, Nia started out as a secret of the dance community. Drawing on yoga, martial arts and ecstatic movement, it gives you the same kind of body-rush

GUEST COLUMN: KATY LEASK— I stood in the doorway of the studio, barefoot and skeptical. After a brutal day at a draining job, I had dragged myself to [...]

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Vatican takes on New Moon while Pope courts artists; Mel Gibson goes rogue; Marriage myths busted

The Vatican demonstrates full on hate-on for New Moon
We are as (not) shocked as you are to hear that The Vatican condemns New Moon.  The Vatican’s Culture Council leader, Monsignor Franco Perazzolo isn’t down with the film’s “deviant” message to [...]

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Thanksgiving, more than turkey, football and the annual Macy’s parade . . . it’s a spiritual tradition
The Thanksgiving celebration is not uniquely American (or if you’re Canadian, an October thing). Festivities expressing gratitude for prosperity and abundance occur in practically every culture, dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, and beyond.
So if you need an escape [...]

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