Fifty years ago, California and elsewhere in the US and around the globe were roiling, creative, hopeful, and passionately dynamic places where many of those currently active in feminism and feminist religion and spirituality found their voices and lives’ work…. Read More ›
spirituality
Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: ON NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT AND LEARNING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE
Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. To honor her legacy, as well as allow as many people as possible to… Read More ›
A Mystical Journey: Psalm 93 by Janet Rudolph MaiKa’i
Sometimes I’m asked where I get my inspirations for verses to explore. In this case it was from the God Squad’s Rabbi Marc Gellman who discussed Psalm 93 in a recent column. In his analysis, he used Psalm 93 to… Read More ›
Occult Adventures with Walter Troll – A Truly True Story Part 2 by Barbara Ardinger
Read Part 1 of this story here We want you as our earth slave. I put the pendulum away. I went into Charles’s bedroom and watched TV with him. But I was addicted. First thing Saturday morning—back to the pendulum…. Read More ›
The Sacred HU by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. Psalm 30:4 (New Living Translation) Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. 2 Sam 22:50… Read More ›
Forward, Upward, Inward: A Spiritual Response to Right Now by Rachel Hollander
Brother Francesco, known to the world as Saint Francis of Assisi, left us many sweet and lovely poems and songs. In “The Canticle of the Sun,” he wrote about the gifts of nature. Brother Sun, his light and radiance. Sister… Read More ›
Fierce Grace in Frightening Times by Mary Sharratt
The Covid 19 pandemic had turned our lives upside down on a global scale. What we as a collective could not possibly have anticipated ever happening to privileged Western people has become our new normal as we are forced… Read More ›
Spirituality and Happiness by Gina Messina
A course on happiness at Harvard University is the most popular class in the nation right now. It is taught by Tal Ben-Shahar who also wrote the book Happier based on his curriculum. “What does it mean to be happy?”… Read More ›
Becoming Scrub by Sara Wright
In the precious hour before dawn I walk down to a river that no longer empties into the sea – the circle of life has been broken – the earth’s veins and arteries are hopelessly clogged by human interference (stupidity)… Read More ›
The Feast of Santo Tomas by Sara Wright
This morning I went up to the village plaza in Abiquiu to watch the dancers parade around the church with their saint who is also honored at this village festival held every year at the end of November. This is… Read More ›
Me and Brother Francesco by Rachel Hollander
At the age of nine, I was taken to see the film Brother Sun, Sister Moon. It is a gorgeous film about the early life – and spiritual revelation – of Saint Francis of Assisi, or as I like to… Read More ›
Independence Day? by Sara Wright
She haunts me little bear, too slight, too wary to seek seed I cast for her under White Pine in whose strong arms she finds comfort and safety, if only for one night. The animals are innocent Where… Read More ›
Finding God in Music by Gina Messina
We cannot force a connection with God through a faulty conduit. What is important is that we affirm ourselves when we find it — when we feel it. Embrace those experiences, name them for what they are and recognize that you are sacred and the divine – whatever that means to you – is present.
Marianne Williamson. . . I’m Sacredly Smitten by Lache S.
I caution myself to be critical and nuanced. I’m sorry, folks. I just haven’t had such dazzling hope or remote interest in politics since. . . well, since I was a puppet junior high evangelist for an independent candidate my… Read More ›
Who is God? by Gina Messina
I often say I am a theologian who is uncomfortable with prayer and does not have a relationship with God. What I mean is that I am still trying to figure out how I understand the divine; conventional prayers feel… Read More ›
Pleasure, Touch, and Spirituality by Christy Croft
Sitting in front of the computer, I slowly and intentionally insert earbuds, click to start my favorite writing playlist, and open up Microsoft Word. I feel the tips of my fingers resting lightly on the keys, and notice the slight… Read More ›
Witness by Sara Wright
Witness It was dark when I first heard Her whooing overhead bearing witness, ushering in the First of the Harvest Moons. The seasonal wheel turning towards ripe fruit and swelling seeds. Summer’s Bounty. This goddess is cloaked in feathery… Read More ›
Women’s Ritual Dances and the Nine Touchstones of Goddess Spirituality-Part Three by Laura Shannon
In Rebirth of the Goddess, Carol P Christ offered Nine Touchstones of Goddess Spirituality as an alternative to the Ten Commandments. The Nine Touchstones are intended to inform all our relationships, whether personal, communal, social, or political.[1] In this series… Read More ›
Women’s Ritual Dances and the Nine Touchstones of Goddess Spirituality-Part Two by Laura Shannon
In the first part of this article, I looked at how Carol P Christ’s Nine Touchstones of Goddess Spirituality from Rebirth of the Goddess are related to traditional women’s ritual dances of the Balkans. After more than thirty years of… Read More ›
Queen of Pentacles: Sensual Materiality by Lache S.
Most of us are trying to make it to a place of material comfort where we are living in a way that feels honorable. Some of us feel we could have made better decisions in the past so that we… Read More ›
La Llorona by Sara Wright
The legend of La Llorona has been a part of Hispanic culture in the Southwest since the days of the conquistadores. Though the tales vary from source to source, the one common thread is that La Llorona is a woman named… Read More ›
Emergence: Poem to a Plant Goddess by Sara Wright
Her name is Datura. Delicate fluted deep-throated trumpets open to humming honey bees and summer rains. She communicates through scent. In the fall I collect her sharp-needled pods. They rattle like dry bones. I chill them. In the… Read More ›
Spiritual Ideas, Existential and Eastern, in Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Lache S.
After my year of teaching high school students, I found a kinship with them in their frustrations, longing, apathy, hopelessness, and hope. Fortunately, we studied together Jean Paul Sartre, whom I want to get to know more intimately, but we,… Read More ›
When Spirit Speaks by Katey Zeh
Though I couldn’t call myself a skeptic in general, I’m always a bit dubious when someone claims to have an audible connection with the divine. I’ve found sacred guidance to be more subtle than that, revealed slowly over time through… Read More ›
The Practices of Forgiveness and Yoga by Vanessa Soriano
Forgiveness and yoga require consistent practice. As we engage in each, healing unfolds in the body, mind, and soul. Forgiveness and yoga exist in a symbiotic relationship: forgiveness allows us to release emotional blockages that affect the body/mind, and yoga… Read More ›
Priestessing the Priestesses by Christy Croft
Last week, I had the incredible privilege of sitting vigil with a friend in hospice in her final hours on this earth. She slept for most of the time I was there, but her waking moments were lucid, if brief…. Read More ›
Hooray! The Holiday Season Is At Hand! by Barbara Ardinger
December seems to have more holidays than the rest of the year put together. Days to honor Ix Chel, the Virgin of Guadalupe, St. Lucy (aka Santa Lucia), the Declaration of Human Rights, and the publication of the Rider-Waite Tarot…. Read More ›
Holy Women Icons Bearing the Light of Advent by Angela Yarber
There’s nothing like the holiday season to bring out everyone’s least feminist self. In one of the courses that I teach—Gender, Food, and the Body in Popular Culture—students are assigned to examine gender roles throughout the holiday season through the… Read More ›
Religion, Race, and Feminism in an Era of Elusive Enlightenment by Salaam Green
The warrior spirit is not only the coherent ability to resist circumstances outside of one’s making; but the ability to fight the war within all of us thus managing discomfort and chaos with the force of authenticity. Recently an enlightened… Read More ›
Creativity as Spirituality by Jassy Watson
According to Robert. C. Fuller author of Spiritual not Religious, “an idea or practice is ‘spiritual’ when it reveals our personal desire to establish a felt-relationship with the deepest meanings or powers governing life” (2001, p. 2). According to this… Read More ›