On Winter Solstice, I hosted a Return of the Sun event at the local healing arts center where I do my Circles. We had offerings and presentations all night long. It was the first time I have ever done anything… Read More ›
meditation
In Memoriam: Thich Nhat Hanh by Elizabeth Ann Bartlett
Yet another of my great spiritual teachers has died. Buddhist monk, peace activist, author, and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh died on January 22nd at Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam. I have found wisdom in so many of his books, but it… Read More ›
Gratitude and Hope: With a Lot of Help from My Friends by Carol P. Christ
Last Friday my oncologist gave me the best birthday present I could have imagined. (My birthday was 7:30 pm last night December 20, California time.) Without going into details, my latest CT scan was so much more positive than the… Read More ›
Election Musings by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
On Friday, Nov. 6th, the day before the Biden/Harris race was called I spent a day in a deeply meditative state. I live in the NY City metropolitan area and it was a beautiful day. I mostly sat in my… Read More ›
Navigating Meaning in Unchartered Ways by Natalie Weaver
The ideas that here follow are an effort to organize insights from meditation practice over the past several months. I submit them to FAR not because they are particularly profound or even well-developed but because I am, as everyone is, navigating… Read More ›
Corona: Reclaiming Sovereignty in a Culture of Addiction by Eirini Delaki
The moment we live right now is one of its kind in the history of humanity. There´s an expansive wave of uncertainty, fear of death, panic and, at the same time, an expansive wave of creativity, hope, compassion and unity…. Read More ›
Where the Dance Is . . . On Cultivating a Daily Practice by Joyce Zonana
Although Goddess traditions invite us to embrace a world of immanence and change, rather than to seek to escape into transcendence—which some yoga teachings seem to point toward—I have come to believe that the “still point,” is, as Eliot writes, where “the dance is.” In other words, daily practice might grant us the capacity to always move through the world with grace and joy. The mind will be steady as it encounters and embraces the turning world. We will be whole.
A Meditation on Revolution In the Vagina Monologues by Marie Cartier
“It’s like feminist summer camp, except it’s in February,” said Shaina, the director, “I’m not sure how to re-enter the world.” I agreed. How to re-enter the world where vaginas have little voice? Where asking a woman what her vagina… Read More ›
Mantra and Meditation in Buddhist Hospice Chaplaincy to Alleviate Anxiety by Karen Nelson Villanueva
Mantras are not just the prescribed sound formulas or sentences found in Eastern religions, but they can also be thought of as the words or phrases that we continually repeat to ourselves. The word mantra comes from Sanskrit and its… Read More ›
Inner Garbage (Fear) vs. Inner Goddess (Love) by Vanessa Soriano
I’m sitting on my meditation pillow for the thousandth time searching for clarity. Initially, going within feels like traversing a jungle; swinging from one thought branch to another. I’m itching for some peace and I’m almost certain this isn’t the… Read More ›
In the footprints of Machig Lapdron by Mary Sharratt
Machig Lapdron, female Tantric Buddhist mystic and lineage founder I’ve just returned from an illuminating trip to Bhutan, high in the Himalayas. Bhutan is a Buddhist kingdom and the world’s youngest democracy. On our last full day in this… Read More ›
Babies and Bathwater by Oxana Poberejnaia
Since patriarchy is atrocious, and capitalism is currently driving the earth to a very real catastrophe, we can get passionate about these issues. We can get angry. We can get self-righteous. However, as one of the most famous verses of… Read More ›
Mindful of the Bond We Share in these Trying Times by Vibha Shetiya
I’m sitting in my parents’ balcony in Pune, India, on a quiet morning. Well, this being a bustling Indian city of six million, it can’t really be quiet. As I sit with cup of tea in hand, I try and… Read More ›
Meditating on Woman by Oxana Poberejnaia
I decided to run a little experiment and to explore the notion “woman” from inside meditation. I practice Anapanasati Meditation, or mindfulness of breath. I learnt it from Theravada teachers. However, through my Buddhist career I have studied in various… Read More ›
Meditating on Oneness by Amy Wright Glenn
At the age of fourteen, I began to question the Mormon faith of my family. I embarked on a life long personal and scholarly quest for truth. While teaching comparative religion and philosophy, I was drawn to the work of… Read More ›
Buttons and Hooks by Oxana Poberejnaia
I have a problem. Some women push my buttons. Some men anger me, but in the context of feminism it is different. I usually dismiss men’s offensive actions and words as expressions of patriarchy. I take action, when I can… Read More ›
Cleaning My “House” by Sara Frykenberg
Prompted by a dear friend of mine during the new moon, last month I set an intention to “clean my house.” This intention does, to a degree, involve the actual “house,” aka, apartment in which I live. Great—fantastic even, and… Read More ›
Menstruation for Buddhist Women by Oxana Poberejnaia
Not all, but many women menstruate. The menstrual cycle is a contentious areas for feminists. Even men who aspire to be a feminist tend to find it difficult to deal with it. Inappropriate jokes ensue, and completely ignoring the issue… Read More ›
Are Buddhist Women Happy? by Oxana Poberejnaia
The basic question is the same as in a “A Bit of Fry and Laurie” sketch about a sour-faced champion car racer: “Are you happy?” Are we, Buddhist women, happy with Buddhism? Are Buddhist men happy with the position of… Read More ›
Your Body is the Body of the Goddess by Marie Cartier
My body is the body of the goddess—witches and shamans and other magical beings (including humans) chant this in spring ritual …and other times of the year as well. But as we prepare for spring equinox, I thought I would… Read More ›
Goddess Meditation: Pattini by Laura Loomis
I first became interested in Goddess spirituality because of my love of storytelling. Centuries-old stories yield multiple layers of meaning, and can be told many different ways to get at different truths. In this respect, the written word is both… Read More ›
ADI SHAKTI! : A MEDITATION ON A MANTRA BY Sara Frykenberg, Ph.D.
Aaadee shaktee, namo, namo: I bow to the primal power (which is female and divine). My Kundalini yoga teacher training required that each student complete a 30 minute daily meditation for forty days straight at some point during our course. … Read More ›
A Meditation on a Mantra: Sat-Nam By Sara Frykenberg
The following is a guest post written by Sara Frykenberg, Ph.D., graduate of the women studies in religion program at Claremont Graduate University. Her research considers the way in which process feminist theo/alogies reveal a kind transitory violence present in the liminal space between abusive paradigms and… Read More ›