This article also appeared over at Patheos (click on the link and to the right of my piece you can see a whole list of articles for their discussion this week on religion & the body): Here I am. This is the body-like-no-other that my life has shaped. I live here. This is my soul’s address. -Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith Two summers ago I was traveling in Austria and visited the tiny village of Hallstatt. Perched between a mountain and a lake, Hallstatt is best known for its early Celtic heritage and

I just got the cover design in the mail for my book Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements from Ave Maria Press (coming in March 2010!).  I really like the design a lot, especially the four symbols for the elements in the upper right (not as clear to see in the image). Very exciting to begin to imagine what this will look like – the container for all of my hard work and passion! I am also delighted at the advance reviews/blurbs from some of my favorite authors: “For too many centuries, too many Christians

This trip sounds amazing and I would be signing up if it didn’t conflict with a major event I coordinate for one of my jobs.  So I am encouraging any of you who might be interested in traveling with a group of pilgrims for an experience that is sure to be filled with creative inspiration and spiritual depth: One Equal Heart Foundation and the Grünewald Guild are co-sponsoring a trip to Chiapas, Mexico, March 6-21, 2010, for artists and people interested in exploring creativity and spirituality in this rich and ancient place. We will have two wonderful women artists accompany

Do you have a body? Don’t sit on the porch! Go out and walk in the rain! If you are in love, then why are you asleep? Wake up, wake up! You have slept millions of years Why not wake up this morning -Kabir “In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life.” (xvi) “Here I am.  This is the body-like-no-other that my life has shaped. I live here.  This is my soul’s address.” (38) from An Altar in the World: A Geography of

I always find these end of summer days difficult.  There is the last spate of hot weather which I really dislike.  My sweet husband, a high school teacher, has summers off and so these slow days of spending time together will be coming to an end soon.  And probably most significant (more so than I used to give credit), the end of August and beginning of September bring both my father’s and mother’s birthdays.  Having lost both of them, this time is always filled with a spectrum of feelings: grief, sorrow, anger, rage, gratitude, wonder.  I am an only child, so

I rested into a quiet weekend which did my spirit good.  It is challenging to slow down after a long period of fullness and so I am being present with curiosity to all those internal judgments about the value of my downtime — where do those voices come from?  Living a contemplative life is at the heart of my call in the world and so I laugh when I am confronted again with those same voices many of us struggle with in an ongoing way.  My father was a workaholic, allowing multiple compulsions to numb him from his pain.  I

Spring is the season when the earth awakens after her long slumber. It is the season associated with the element of air and breath.  That moment of inhale, of breathing in the fullness of divine life, is the moment of dawn when the sun scatters the long night and the day begins. It is always such a privilege to do this work.  I am so incredibly blessed to be able to offer this kind of transformative space for others, to have wonderful women with whom I work and facilitate, and to welcome in participants longing to dive deep and discover what