My Faith
Speaking about Spirituality with...
On the following pages, explorefaith presents a variety of conversations—with writers, scholars, artists, musicians, teachers, scientists and students—as a way to create a kaleidoscope of faith. The people with whom we’ve talked are not necessarily known for their faith—they are not all involved in callings such as priest or pastoral counselor that the outside world associates with a religious vocation. Yet they all see themselves as people whose faith makes a significant impact on their lives—perhaps the most significant force of all. By talking to people about their faith, we hope to discern how it steers their decisions, relationships, work and play—what difference it makes in who they are. We will trace the outlines of faith surrounding these peoples’ lives and explore how they have filled in those outlines with the rich color of their being.
Robert Benson and Praying with Words
Popular spiritual author Robert Benson has been writing
books,
leading retreats and workshops, and sharing his experiences of
faith for more
than 25 years. He’s a passionate guy about many
things, but most of
all we wanted to talk with him
about praying with words.
Father Gregory Fruehwirth
"…find an empty church to sneak into on one
of these
cold and dark days of early winter. Sit in a pew. Let
go of the burden
of your life, the anxious rattling of your
thoughts, if only for a
moment.
Listen to the sleet tapping
away at the windows. What a
miraculous sound! Sit
before an
icon or picture of Christ or the
Trinity and offer your life to God.
Then sit there, watching your
breath as you breathe in and
breathe out. Let the
prayers come and go
as they may. Discover
how you actually do feel and tell God
about that.
God is
interested. God cares."--Father Gregory Fruehwirth
Rabbi Phil Miller
What are the Jewish High Holy Days, how are they observed and why are they significant as times of assessment, repentance and repair?
Elizabeth Hamilton
Zen teacher and Untrain Your Parrot author talks about how to wake up to reality
Marcus Borg
Jesus scholar and renowned author Marcus Borg speaks of a Christianity that emphasizes transformation, compassion and a responsibility to working for justice and peace. Though his conclusions are controversial for some, Borg calls us to think, to question and to trust in God's limitless love.
Juris Rubenis
During the Soviet regime pastors … could get fired at any
moment, get arrested. There was no tangible security to rely on.…
But in such circumstances valuable experience was born, the
experience of what
it means to rely on God alone.
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Frederica Mathewes-Green, author of Facing East: A Pilgrim's Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy, discusses the spiritual practices of Orthodox Christianity.
Eboo Patel
The Founder of the Interfaith Youth Core talks about helping young people embrace their spiritual side and live into the possibility of
interfaith collaboration.
Luci Shaw
On discovering God's presence in poetry and the natural world … "My happiest moments, which affirm that God’s Spirit is alive
in me,
are when a poem is coming and moving me into a different
dimension."
MARJORIE CORBMAN
Corbman's book recounts her search for meaning, truth, identity and connection, both as an individual and as an American teen growing up in our materialistic culture.
LEONARD SWEET
on signs, signals and Jesus sightings, plus how our churches relate to the current state of Starbucks
RABBI SANDY EISENBERG SASSO
The world's second female rabbi talks about her writing, celebrating the spirituality of children, and what led to her decision to become ordained.
SWAMI ADISWARANANDA
Swami Adiswarananda speaks on the practice of Vedanta.
RABBI LAWRENCE KUSHNER ON JEWISH SPIRITUALITY
Lawrence Kushner has been recognized as one of the most interesting spiritual teachers on the planet ...
DR. FRANCIS S. COLLINS
Dr. Francis S. Collins, M.D. Ph.D., the director of the Human Genome Project at the National Institutes of Health and author of the award-winning book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, discusses being a scientist and a "believer."
ANISA MEHDI
Emmy-award winnning journalist Anisa Mehdi talks about being Muslim in
America today.
CEDRIC JENNINGS
The subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind's national best seller A Hope in the Unseen, Cedric Jennings talks about following God from the inner city to the Ivy League.
FILM AND TELEVISION COMPOSER GARY MALKIN
One of my mentors is Thomas Moore. He says, Don't look for the happy ending or the silver cloud when you're in the midst of the dark night. You need to go through it, you need to experience it.
