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This past week I met a young man from Jordan who introduced me to the dhikir, a form of meditative prayer where one recites aloud or silently the 99 sacred names of God. Thumbing his prayer beads, I watched as my new friend remembered God, one bead, one holy
Continue ReadingHarvard is studying it, Pharrell is singing about it, and my husband is working on a new app named it. What's all the hoopla with happy? Research claims the degree of happiness in our lives directly impacts our longevity. Happy people live longer! I wish I had known my grandmother. My mother always lights
Continue ReadingIf you were walking along the Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles on a warm Saturday afternoon, you might come upon Mikey's deli. Be warned, this is not your ordinary deli serving corned beef hash or hot dogs loaded with mustard and sauerkraut. Mikey's deli only serves hugs. For the
Continue ReadingI promised some inspiring ways to invite the spirit of the monastery into your own life without getting tonsured or donning a monk's habit! For the spirit: Following is a prayer written by the famous Trappist monk, Thomas Merton. I have it pinned to my wall next to where I write. It
Continue ReadingI have a curious spirit. I am like a hound dog trying in earnest to sniff out a bone. I know there is a deeper experience of this sacred world and all its mysteries waiting to be discovered. So, like that hound dog, I put my nose to the earth
Continue ReadingI believe, help my unbelief. That is my faith. Today is Palm Sunday, and it was quite a parade at church! Over one hundred children processed down the aisle, all smiles, and waved their palm branches. You could call it the pre-party before the big show! You have no idea how much I
Continue ReadingA pilgrim is simply a soul in search of God. In secret, we all long for an experience of the Transcendent. And yet we live in a world that does its best to turn us into cynics. The mere mention of the word miracle and our first reflex is a nervous
Continue ReadingEinstein once said, "There are two ways to live your life: One as though nothing is a miracle; the other as though everything is." A little over ten years ago, I made my first religious pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of Lourdes. Six million people make the same journey every year
Continue ReadingIn the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there will never be another like it again. Today is the point to which all your yesterdays have been leading since the hour of your birth. It
Continue ReadingI am not a fan of the "selfie."* Call it vanity. There is nothing good about seeing your every imperfection so up close and personal. The crow's feet, sun spots, laugh lines, and deep furrowed brow all serve as visible reminders of our human flaws. I wonder what we would see
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