BY DAVID RICHO, author of Daring to Trust and 14 other books about spirituality and psychology — Annual planting among ancient peoples began with prayer that recalled how the gods performed this same task at the beginning of time. The human lifecycle, thus, became a repetition of a primal religious event.

Whatever happens every year becomes a promise in perpetuity, and thereby the phases of life and the seasons fit into a spiritual framework.

Among ancient peoples this fostered a sense of belonging here on earth.

Repetition and participation give humans roots: “I am real because I am part of something. I have a grander meaning than is outlined by my fragile body.”

Primitive religious peoples lived in a world that had an alternative meaning to the given one.

Pre-Columbian meso-Americans, 400 B.C.

Belief in a mirror universe to this one gives oppressed people a special hope which is missing from the society in which they live. In that other world rank, status, and hierarchy are all reversed.

This is the apocalyptic vision of a future equality in which goodness and justice triumphs. Here the persecuted will inherit the kingdom and will finally be honored. Such an anticipation and hearkens back to a primordial state, e.g., Eden.

The early Christians believed fervently in a parallel kingdom that defied and abrogated the Roman empire and all its power. In the apocalyptic kingdom God will fully approve the unapproved and the last shall be first.

In our contemporary world we do not have beliefs quite like this. But the collective unconscious can weave a web of myth and symbol that reconnects us with our origins. In the Jungian perspective the psyche is a source, not simply a depository of knowledge. This reflects the ancient views, especially those of Gnostics and alchemists.

Psychologically, we all have a need to trust that we are supported by powers that resemble us, nurture us in our life pursuits, and understand us compassionately.

Our modern egos may balk at this. They often drive us to want autonomy and independence at the cost of connection.

Actually, the ego does not have the ability to sustain itself independently. In addition, the ego fears independence and true freedom.

With independence it would lose its entitlement to be taken care of. With freedom it would lose its escape hatch of blaming others for what goes wrong. So we are searching for and demanding the impossible.

Left to ourselves, we homo-sapiens will spiral down into a cycle of destruction. Relying only on what is innate gives humanity no hope for survival. This is why spiritual teachers come along, so that we can survive and open to other wonderful possibilities in our nature. We were born with a proclivity toward spiritual practice just as we were born with an inclination to dance.

Huston Smith says that religions are to spirituality as universities are to education. You can get there without it but you will be traveling uphill. A spiritually-aware religion provides a platform, a framework in which to understand the world and ourselves. Then it can show us a path to love of the world and ourselves. In addition, when crisis hits, religion may not have an answer but when we come to believe that our suffering is shared by God, it becomes tolerable. Faith also promises that our power to love will not be lost no matter what occurs. In the Void, all of this may be hard to believe, but that, like everything, is temporary.

Religious beliefs are meant to help us accept reality as it is—including death and chance. Indeed we can learn from life itself which shows us so much when we use religious teachings as pointers. Our sacrifice is to give up the craving for absolutes and certitudes as our forms of safety and to use religion as a source and treasury of perennial wisdom and as a coping mechanism in a stressed and stressing world.

David Richo is the author of 15 books, including How to Be an Adult. A formerly active Catholic priest who has made Buddhism his personal practice, he is also a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in individual and couples counseling. Dave divides his practice between San Francisco and Santa Barbara, CA.

Shari Arison's yacht, "My Shanti," for sale: $103 million

SPECIAL TO SOUL’S CODE: SHARI ARISON, excerpted from BIRTH

— In my decades of seeking inner peace, I have become increasingly aware of the fierce battle raging within me — between sadness and happiness, between acceptance and frustration, between praise and envy, between strength and lack of confidence, between the adult and the child. I have recognized the evil inclination within me. The dark side. The closer we get to our inner essence, to the divine spark that resides in every human being, the closer we get to the basis of the evil within us.

Just as I saw God within me, the Garden of Eden within me, so I saw Satan and hell within me. This can be a harrowing experience; it is exceedingly difficult to accept that we have within us something that is evil. Acknowledging this can be painful, but to be able to choose the good, to opt for life, we must reach this place.

When I would tell people that happiness, tranquility, and peace are not connected to anything external but flow from within, they would always respond: “Ah, that’s easy enough Shari Arison for you to say. You’ve got money, you’ve got a yacht, you’ve got a plane.”

No one understood that none of this is connected to anything. On the contrary. For a long time, I was tormented by possessions like my yacht or my private jet, things that are supposed to bring me pleasure, but which I never truly enjoyed. I possess these things for reasons that are external to me: for my children, for my husband, for the status, for entertaining guests.

But I suffer from the fact that they are in my possession. From an ecological perspective, from the standpoint of sustainability, I feel that it simply isn’t right to own these things; they are too flashy, too extravagant, too wasteful. In short, they are not consistent with my values. Not that I have anything against private jets or yachts as a matter of principle. There is nothing wrong with being content with what you have, and if this is what you have — that’s terrific. But I was never able to be happy about material things. In fact, just the opposite is true.

For years, I debated whether or not to sell certain items like the yacht and the jet, and when the global economic crisis hit, I felt, among many other things, a certain sense of relief. It provided me with the perfect excuse to put them up for sale, in addition to sharpening my understanding that we do not have to consume more than we really need. I saw that many people, myself included, had lost a sense of proportion, behaving as if there is no end to material desire without being fully aware of the consequences of this excessive consumption upon their soul, and upon the world.

The ultimate letting go: “we cannot take money to the grave”

I’ve always thanked God for the many gifts I have received, and I’ve never taken material things too seriously, because I know that what’s here today will not necessarily be here tomorrow. I realize that whatever happens to me, I will see it as a part of my mission, my path, something that had to occur, a lesson. We cannot take money to the grave; we can take only our values with us to the world beyond. This is the only “commodity” the soul accumulates.

During most of my life, I have been very sad and very frustrated, and all the money in the world could not have helped me get rid of those negative feelings. Because just as the good begins and ends within me, so does the bad. I could be on a dream vacation — blue skies and sunshine, parties galore, crystal-clear water, plus quiet and tranquility — and within a split second, I could be in hell, despite having the best room and the best food and the best of everything. Because hell or heaven is within, and each of us can choose in which of them we wish to spend our lives.

Read the first excerpt from Shari Arison’s candid memoir here.

To order Birth: When the Spiritual and the Material Come Together, go to:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607477254

From the early 1990s until September 2009, Shari Arison served as the chairman of the Arison Group, Arison Investments and the Ted Arison Family Foundation. For an overview of Shari’s good works, visit: www.arison.com

Spiritual IQ Quiz

It’s hard to imagine a topic any more obscure than the ancient languages and elaborate invented mythologies of author J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe.

After the improbable success of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, however, it’s hard to imagine a hotter Hollywood property — if anything Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a much more cinematic tale than his Rings epic.

The entertainment and gossip rags are abuzz with every piece of news connected to the two-part film production. This week’s development: actor Elijah Wood has agreed to reprise his role as Frodo.

There’s another strand running through this cultural event, however. Tolkien had a deep spiritual life, and his tales are a rich expression of it. Take this quiz to find out how much you know about the spiritual world Tolkien created, a world that will very soon generate yet another Hollywood blockbuster.

A new novel about a baby boomer’s spiritual post-9/11 lessons illustrates that even after the worst tragedies, love, faith, hope and charity survive.

SoulsCode: The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center had a profound impact not only on the world at large, but also on individuals in a solitary way. Some of those individuals have tried to make sense of the tragedy through art. Call it a diamond in the rough or the calm after the storm, but author Ronald Louis Peterson  has found spiritual enlightenment through 9/11.

A novel published on paperback in February, 2011, “A TIME TO… — A Baby Boomer’s Spiritual Adventures Heal 9/11’s Wounds” is dedicated to families who lost loved ones on 9/11, and to those who have called NYC home. Peterson was inspired to write about 9/11 in a very personal way because, he says, “that’s the way most people experienced it.”  A New Yorker by birth, Peterson weaves the Twin Towers tragedy around flashbacks of the characters’ lives from the 1950s to the millennium.

The excerpt below takes place when the main character, Al, was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia during the 70s. Al has a strained relationship with God. He is angry about a high school tragedy involving his friend Tommy, who killed a gang rival in Al’s defence and is spending the rest of his life in jail – all because of a misunderstanding that was partly Al’s own fault.

Now, as a young adult, Al is in the bewildering position of being called upon to heal Serranen, a sick peasant farmer, who was being treated for pneumonia at a shelter for famine victims. Al hears this from Berhanu, an Ethiopian colleague at the shelter…

Ronald Louis Peterson writes: “The land he had farmed was owned by a prince. Serranen’s family had worked that land for many generations for the same royal family. The prince had decided to sell his land to another royal family because he needed the money to continue living his privileged life. Harvests had been bad in recent years, and then this draught put him in debt. The new land owner had his own farmers, so he told Serranen to leave. But where could he go when all he knew was farming and he didn’t know anyone with land who could put him to work?

Al listened intently as Berhanu spoke, grimacing at times.

9 Ways to Deal with Loss: A Soul’s Code Slideshow

“He and his family were walking for two days, looking for work, when some thieves took the few things they owned, including all their food. In the fight, Serranen broke his foot. The next day, their son wandered off into the wilderness to find food for his family. He returned a few hours later with a sack of berries,” Berhanu said ominously. “He had eaten his fill before filling the sack for his family. But by the time he had returned, he had become very sick. His mother rushed to him when she saw him struggling to walk and breathe. Within a few hours, he was dead.

…Later, a truck headed to the shelter picks up Serranen and his wife and daughter. The little girl, Almaz, believes her and her mother’s prayers have been answered and that the man at the shelter, the first white person she’s ever seen, is an angel. That man happens to be Al…

“I can’t do this. How can I help him when I feel the same way about God? I don’t blame Serranen for feeling as he does” Al told Berhanu.

…Eventually a voice in Al’s head tells him God didn’t cause those bad things in his past. Al argues with the voice in his head: God didn’t prevent them, either. After a few moments of reflection he remembers something a wise man  once said about the bitterness Al carries around. Suddenly humbled, he covers his eyes with his hands, bows his head and wipes away a tear…

“I will do everything I can to help Serranen live,” Al said just as an idea came to mind. “Tsehye is a landowner. Perhaps Serranen can work for him.”

“What will you do?”

“I will try to be in spirit the angel Almaz thought God had sent to save them. I hope to show Serranen that God is with him to help restore his faith and his health. And I hope to move on with my life and not be held back anymore by a mistake I had made years ago,” Al whispered.

Ronald Louis Peterson is an author, award-winning broadcast journalist who has worked as a public relations executive and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia. He lives in Westland, Michigan. A TIME TO… is available at www.ronaldlouispeterson.blogspot.com.

Soul’s Code — A well-dressed TV reporter is seated on a park bench next to a man who looks homeless. Guardians of nearby children eye the pair with suspicion. Ball players grin mockingly at them through a fence. But by now the reporter, Valerie, is more intrigued by the man than wary of him.

That’s one of the poignant scenes from The Miraculous Plot of Leiter & Lott, author Jonathan Lowe’s fictional tribute to Eckhart Tolle, inspired by the bestseller The Power of Now. The novel begins with a man’s near-suicide – much like Tolle’s real-life experience that led to his international acclaim as a spiritual author, teacher and speaker.

BOOK EXCERPT: BY JONATHAN LOWE — Unexpectedly, he took both of her hands gently, and clasped them together, lacing her fingers, making a ball.

“What are you doing?” Val asked, tensing.

“Imagine that this is your mind. It’s about the same size too, by the way.” He repositioned her hands, gently. “Now try imagining that your thoughts come out this hole made by the thumbs.”

The wary guardian turned, stopped, and then watched from a safe distance, her disapproval hardening into borderline horror. Val tried smiling, albeit nervously. Yet the woman continued to stare.

“Watch the hole for the next thought that escapes,” David continued.  “Concentrate on it, and nothing else. The very next thought.”

He released her hands slowly, as if a bomb was inside them. Val looked down. She blinked, staring. After a moment she looked up again.

“Well?” asked David.

“I don’t. . .”  She glanced up to see who else might be watching. “What’s supposed to happen?”

“Try again. Empty your mind.”

She concentrated this time, closing her eyes until her face relaxed and she felt somewhat calmer. Then she reopened her eyes, and finally shrugged.

“I’m not sure. I had an idea. Sorry.”

“I’m not judging you.”

“Everyone judges,” she heard herself say, then realized she’d almost sounded like a teenager. With the added word me, she would have. “Or prejudges,” she quickly added, instead.

David just looked at her. “Only because they trust their thoughts.”

Rather than instantaneously take on the quiet aura of a Buddhist monk, Valerie lets her reporter self take over. She tries to dig a story out of this stranger who lives in the moment and professes to have no past…

They began to walk together toward the Reid Park lake, which was really only a manmade pond, but called a lake due to the scarcity of water in the desert. Val fought against any discomfiture, walking so closely to a man who looked homeless, even if he wasn’t. Yet the fight wasn’t difficult. Although she looked for reaction in the faces of the few retirees they passed, there wasn’t much of it. Not even from the old geezer who left the lake’s edge, carrying a fishing rod in one hand and an empty bucket in the other. The old man only seemed to smile wryly at the incongruity of their apparent association.

Which wasn’t much to endure, was it? she wondered. For an interesting new friend?

Soul’s Code Pain-Body Index: A Slideshow

“Would it help to give you the Reader’s Digest version about me?” Val asked, in an attempt to ignore the distraction of being observed. “I studied journalism at Columbia. A sonority brat, you might say. My dad was a newspaper man before he retired last year to travel. Only child, so you can imagine how that was too, right?”

“I suppose,” David said, a hint of suspicion in his tone.

“Yeah, I guess that’s a stretch. Mom and I didn’t get along much. Argued over the men I chose. We won’t get into that, though. Much. Anyway, suffice it to. . . what I mean to say is. . . I wasn’t good at that.”

“At what?”

“Romance.  I was pursued, of course.”

“Of course.”

Val laughed.  “No, but I mean just knowing how men think.”

“Too much.”

“Right. And not just with their minds. But, I mean, the one track, it’s not like us at all. I’m not really complaining, though. Or maybe I am. It’s pretty obvious, they’re more ‘focused.’ Simple surface creatures, men.”

“Like me?”

“Well, sure, in a way. ‘Don’t think, just be?’ Nice work if you can get it.”

Jonathan Lowe’s book The Miraculous Plot of Leiter & Lott will be released as an audiobook and ebook in April, 2011.