French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil, in Gravity and Grace, says forgiveness is knowing I am other than what I imagine myself to be (9). For Weil, our true selves seem to be inextricably intertwined with each other, with the… Read More ›
Lachelle Schilling
Religious Studies is Too [?] for Education by Lache S.
Since I am teaching in a charter high school this year, this is the level of education I am speaking about. I teach college English, and often craft my writing classes in thematic ways. This semester, I did units on… Read More ›
Gas-lighting on Al Franken(stein)’s Street by Lache S.
I will add my #metoo, but don’t feel like going into details. I will just say that in light of my past experience and Al Franken’s statement of apology, I’m realizing why some of us don’t tell at an even… Read More ›
The Feminine Mystique and Marx by Lache S.
Betty Friedan interviewed the unhappy housewives, their human potential unfulfilled by a lack of vocation outside the home. I wonder if her claim was just a premise of the lawn being more manicured on the other side. The book received… Read More ›
Earth Liturgies for Healing and Hope by Lache S.
In the times of our environmental crisis, I long for rituals, literature, music that can help me navigate the challenge of figuring out how to help, that can inspire me, keep this reality in my mind. I would love to… Read More ›
The Gendered Cost of Fast-Fashion by Lache S.
This last week, my students watched True Cost (2015), a documentary about the environmental impacts and human casualties of the fashion industry. According to the film, fashion is the number two most polluting industry in the world (oil is number… Read More ›
The Authentic Self? No-Self by Lache S.
When I was in high school, I remember being preoccupied with being my “authentic” self. I am quite sure I had little idea of what that meant because I think it was akin to knowing the content of my ego,… Read More ›
The Upanishads and Work-Life Balance by Lache S.
My idleness has been cured as I take a new job teaching college English to high school students at a charter school for eight hours a day. At exactly my 80th and last job application since January 2017, I received… Read More ›
The Blue No Gaia Wants: Protecting the Sacred through our Lawns by Lache S.
If Gaia is a living body, why are we painting her blue? Whether it is public parks or residential lawns, when there is that special odor in the air, I know to look down and there it is, an endless… Read More ›
The Last Man on Earth, Noah, and the Fantasy of Humanity’s Destruction by Lache S.
There are quite a few post-apocalyptic shows out these days. The Last Man on Earth is one example, a television series that is set in 2020, a year after a deadly virus has wiped (almost) everyone out. A handful of… Read More ›
Suggestions of Self-Restraint to Male Monks in the Acaranga Sutra by Lache S.
Sometimes there are tricky statements in wisdom literature, as we all too-well know. For instance, in Acaranga Sutra—a Jain text on the teachings of Mahavira—the author says, “The world is greatly troubled by women. They (viz. men) forsooth say, ‘These… Read More ›
Earth-Spirituality in the Qur’an and Green Muslims by Lache S.
There is some very helpful guidance in the Qur’an for how we should and should not treat the earth. In my exploration of Qur’anic verses on the environment, I have found a great deal of Earth-love that I want to… Read More ›
Desierto Divino: Messages from the Earth by Lache S.
I have been thinking about deserts lately, what places are desired, which ones are deserted, and by whom. Cabo de Gata of Andalusia is one of the four deserts in Spain. In 2010, it became public knowledge that the Ministry… Read More ›
Confessions of the Yoga Sutras: Guidelines for Life by Lache S.
Back in August when I was applying for yoga certification, I discovered, in my search for our textbooks, the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, 196 aphorisms. I had no idea what a gem of wisdom they would be, especially the first… Read More ›
The Sacred and the Marketplace: A Political Story by Lache S.
John Henrik Clarke has said, “The most dangerous of all dependencies is to depend on your powerful oppressor to free you and share power with you, because powerful people never train powerless people to take their power away from them…. Read More ›
Hard Work without Getting Anywhere by Lache S.
When my students read about the Buddhist concepts of non-resistance, non-attachment, and living in the present, one of the first protests I end up addressing is how these ideas seem to negate progress, goal-setting, or success. What my students don’t… Read More ›
A Maternal Perspective Towards the Body by Lache S.
Separatism and dualism do not usually serve me. I understand that denying unity and reducing the multi-prismatic complexity of existence muddies up our vision of reality and can sometimes clog up the channels to compassion. So knowing that this perspective… Read More ›
A Sacred Urban Menstruation Ritual by Lache S.
If I had such an opportunity, I would not hesitate to bleed free in a moonlit forest with other women during the flow of blood from our wombs in sacred ritual. This said, I currently take on a nurturing and… Read More ›
Sustaining Feminist Spiritualities in the Seeming Absence of Community by Lache S.
The spirituality I cultivated during my teens through evangelistic Pentecostal Christianity was based on possession, hierarchy, and exclusivity, although I would not have said that at the time. As I gradually moved away from that faith community in my mid-20s, no… Read More ›
Luke 12:51-53: On the Verge of a Paradigm Shift by Lache S.
I remember being quite happy when my values about body, faith, and purpose lined up with those of my parents. With the support of my Protestant evangelistic community as well, I was “bold and fearless,” not caring who might judge… Read More ›
The Need for Asexuality in Theological Discourse by Lache S.
Asexuality is an orientation that is misunderstood and marginalized. That is, if it is allowed a presence at all. I consider myself to be sensual, loving to receive and give pleasure, affectionate and romantic, and longing for a relationship that… Read More ›
