spiritual insights on religion, social justice and comparative theology
Vincent Harding, the former speechwriter for MLK, talks about “human signposts.” A human signpost is those people in our lives who direct us to where we need to go on our journeys. They are the light that show us the way. Harding was on to something significant. I thought about this concept and thought about … Continue reading Human Signposts by William Klein
The Psychology of Resurrection I once heard a Buddhist priest remark, “There’s nothing unusual about resurrection. It happens every day. I was resurrected this morning. I was asleep, I woke up and saw the world as it was given to me.” He went on to use a familiar allusion when discussing resurrection, “A seed is … Continue reading The Psychology of Resurrection by William Klein
We all live a “crabbing” life to some extent. We drift, as if on a boat, from the highest ideals we can imagine to the harsh realities of life and hope we can make our way to the safe edge of the dry dock land of some kind of certainty. We hear the word “crabbing” … Continue reading “Crabbing” to Become a Realist by William Klein
The first time I ever meditated was at a Buddhist temple in Cleveland. I was fulfilling an assignment for my “World Religions” class and attended a service there. I remember the Buddhist priest carrying a stick to keep practicioners honest. He was wielding it to ensure they stayed awake during the meditation and would gently … Continue reading Meditation and The Art of Dying by William Klein
The principle of spiritual atrophy and its consequences is a daunting prospect. The dictionary definition of “atrophy” that I’m using is the “gradual decline or ineffectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect.” If you do not exercise your muscles, you tend to lose strength in the muscle. This is the case with spiritual development … Continue reading Spiritual Atrophy by William Klein
This past year we lost a spiritual giant. The globally renowned poet, activist and Buddhist spiritual teacher Thich Nhat Hahn passed away in January at the age of 95. Hahn arrived on the scene and rose to world prominence during the Vietnam War which desecrated his sacred homeland. He inspired some of the greatest spiritual … Continue reading Zen on a Treadmill by William Klein
It has been said that “The journey is the goal.” It may sound cliché, but it is true and sometimes a good cliché is “worth its weight in gold.” Sacred scriptures document for practitioners ways to cope with the challenges of life. These wisdom teachings are blueprints or road maps for us to enjoy the … Continue reading The Journey Is The Goal by William Klein
The act of birth itself is traumatic. We enter from a womb of comfort and security into a bold, daunting and dissonant, chaotic, hurried fluorescent lit world – bloodied and wet, sticky, being handed from one to another and relying on multiple sensibilities to hold a frantic awareness calmly, serenely with understanding and poignant culpability. … Continue reading Coping With Trauma by William Klein
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