So I've been alluding to some major life changes on the horizon. It's time to come clean: Sometime in early 2011 I'm moving back to the San Francisco Bay Area. It's something I have been pondering for the past year or so. Over there I've got a wonderful (an enormous) extended family that I feel…
Category: The Spirit
Learning to Slow Down and Embrace the Silence
The following is the message I delivered at Quaker Meeting this morning: So I was talking with my friend Rafi, who is a practicing Buddhist, about the recent month-long silent retreat he just came back from. I asked Rafi how it went. He replied that it was great but that he wished that he had…
If I have learned one thing in my 41 years on this planet, it is this…
DON'T POSTPONE JOY. Seen at Luna Park in Coney Island.
Quakers March for Justice & Equality in Pride Parade! (video)
I was proud to march with a group of about a dozen New York Quakers in the Gay Pride Parade yesterday in Manhattan, along with hundreds of other groups and tens of thousands of onlookers. It was a glorious, if hot, day in the city, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Local Quakers…
“Abraham’s Children” Chronicles Lives of Muslim Youth in NYC (video)
My friend Nina sends out word that the premiere of her new documentary "Abraham's Children" last week was a big success. "Abraham's Children" tells some of the stories of the thousands of young people in New York City, where every 10th child is Muslim. I'm sad I missed the premiere, but hoping that I can…
Living the Quaker Values: Wrap-Up
So over the past week, I've re-examined some of the core values of Quakerism, trying to be honest about my own feelings and experiences with each of them. I think I've a long way to go in fully integrating silence, worship, truth, simplicity, service and nonviolence into my daily life. At best I have flashes…
Living the Quaker Values: Nonviolence
One of the most emblematic and powerful values of the Quaker faith is nonviolence. From our earliest days in England, Quakers stance against physical violence as a means of solving disputes has put us in jeopardy and difficulties both with the local government and others in the community. Quakers have at great personal inconvenience and…
Living the Quaker Values: Simplicity
The Quaker value of Simplicity is probably the one that I struggle with the most. Traditionally, Quakers have sought to live simple lives of devotion to God in everything that they do. This manifests in a number of outward forms, from Quakers former distrust of the arts for "exciting the senses" to the "Plain Dress"…
Living the Quaker Values: Service (video)
Here's a video post that's part of my ongoing series ruminating about the different Quaker values and how I've integrated them into my life. This one focuses on Service. I hope you like it.
Living the Quaker Values: Truth
Today I am considering the all-important Quaker value of Truth. Speaking Truth is one of the bedrock principles of Quakerism that undergirds much of our actions in the world. Quakers have traditionally refused to take oaths, even when required by law, because we believe that swearing upon a Bible pre-supposes two different standards for telling…