Spirituality & Practice

In a cogent piece for The New York Times, David Kreider writes about the battles taking place in Amtrak's silent cars, usually situated right behind business class on the train, as devotees of silence stand-up for "this last bastion of civility and calm, in a society drenched in noise pollution." As David Foster Wallace put it: "It seems significant that we don't want things to be quiet, ever, anymore." Think about the constant play of music in stores and restaurants or television news reports emanating from the screens of cabs, airports, and doctors' waiting rooms. Even libraries are no longer refuges of silence; there are now designated areas for "quiet study."

It's only natural that silence . . .

Anyone who is a rock person will take delight in this tribute to them. This glorious article by Patricia Adams Farmer, author of Embracing a Beautiful God appears on the inventive and beautifully visual website www.jesusjazzbuddhism.org, run by Jay McDaniel.

And if you aren't into admiring rocks as a spiritual practice, Farmer's beguiling essay will definitely convince you to try it.

The author and her husband . . .

We remember how long it took us to see that scrubbing the bathroom floor, taking out the garbage, and dusting the bookcases were not meaningless housework but spiritual tasks which are no less important than doing a film review, reading a book, or writing a blog.

But now prosperous businesses are giving new perks to their employees – including paying for someone to clean their houses for them twice a month. In an article for The New York Times, Matt Richtel also points to a project where the Stanford School of Medicine will be providing doctors with free housecleaning and in-home dinner delivery.

The goals of these benefits are . . .

Phil Patton writes in an article in The New York Times about the American obsession with lists. They are found in every cultural endeavor and are part and parcel of our everyday lives. At work we make out "to do" lists to organize our days and at home we make shopping lists to keep track of what we need at stores. In our culture, we have the Netflix queue, best of the year lists in films, books, and music. Businesses have checklists to insure the proper way to do things. And, of course bird watchers across the country have their lists which are a source of pride an achievement. Last but not least, Patton classifies menus as lists.

"The bucket list" has become . . .

Ethics is what makes and keeps life human. As the headlines remind us, however, we do not always take the time to consciously consider our choices about how we could and should behave. Living an ethical life is like practicing an instrument; it takes practice.

In a timely article in The New York Times, Howard Gardner, professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, takes a hard look at the ethical disarray in America where traditional morality has broken down and professionals of all stripes no longer feel the need to serve the common good.

He points out that . . .

It rattles us that there is too much noise and too little silence in our society. Of course we live in New York City, a wild and raucous place where jack-hammers are tearing up the streets for new projects and garbage trucks work into the night grinding away the refuse. It is almost impossible to read in airports any more because of cell-phone loud mouths and blaring television monitors. The only refuge and sanctuary are pocket parks in the city and quiet cars in trains.

In an article in The New York Times, Tara Parker-Pope reports that changes are on the horizon for hospitals where the noise level is too high. For a long time administrators of these institutions thought that having the latest technology to monitor patients was more important than the peace and quiet that is part of the healing process. Now they are more interested in meeting the needs of patients who have complained about their inability to sleep in the hospital. Anxiety and anger about this problem could send a person's blood pressure up six points.

We are happy to hear about . . .

Why do we spend so much time and energy on worrying? We are reluctant to admit that we can't control everything and make what we want happen. We have trouble accepting the idea that things do go wrong. And, compounding the problem, we have been brainwashed by our culture to believe that nothing good can come out of failure, setbacks, tragedy, or messes.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Shirley S. Wang, researchers are studying how people deal with worry at different stages of life. The findings were quite surprising: "Older people for the most part have far fewer negative feelings, such as worry and stress, than do younger people."

These same older people . . .

We believe that the spiritual practice of generosity pulls out the spaces that separate people from each other. Many of the world's religions see it as the "mother of kindness." Buddha named generosity as the first of 10 qualities of the perfected mind. The art of serving and giving to others is its own reward.

An interdisciplinary team of faculty working with Arizona State University's Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict are exploring what animates Catholics and Muslims in Dublin, Milan, Paris, and Istanbul to be charitable to others. Does it stem from a sense of religious duty, a love of God or Jesus, or their feelings of being blessed and wanting to share with others?

Reporting on the study . . .

In an article for The New York Times, Norimitsu Onishi writes about the challenges facing the legendary Esalen Institute with its glorious views of California's coastline. At one time it was the only game in town as far as spiritual retreat centers were concerned with its mix of courses on mind, body, the emotions, and personal growth. But nowadays critics are concerned that Esalen has not kept up with the times with a predictable mix of programs offered by other retreat centers across the country, not to mention all the yoga studios and street corner ashrams in major cities. Other supporters worry that only the rich will be able to attend when prices range from $405 for sleeping bag accommodations for a weekend workshop to $1,395 for a luxury room.

Gordon Wheeler, a Gestalt psychologist and the center's president, points to the timely programs and workshops which appeal to the spiritual but not religious crowd: "We've always said we're about personal and social transformation. If anything, we've stepped up the social. The world is more demanding now. The call of the world is more urgent. And we looked at each other and said we have to step it up."

We wish Esalen and other retreat centers well . . .

In an article in The New York Times, Diane Ackerman refers to the phenomenon of "nature deficit" in children who spend very little time in the natural world and a lot of time with their technological toys. Adults seem to be following suit with millions of men and women watching a mother bird feeding her young ones in a nest that is being photographed live on two webcams.

Ackerman writes . . .