Recently returned from a trip to New Zealand, where I was heartened and intrigued to note that traditional Māori cultural/spiritual symbolism is increasingly being incorporated into public space design. The photo above is of Te Ātea (“the Space”) on the Lake Taupo foreshore: There are a number of different elements that come together to form … Read moreTe Ātea and the Potentials of Civic Mythopoetics in New Zealand
Pavol Kosnáč writes for the Abide University and Institute website – AUI itself being the laid-back academic branch of the Dudeist faith – on the subject of pop-culture religions; As Terry Pratchett once said, religion requires believers – if there is no religion, the god is not believed in, and ceases to be ‘god’ to … Read more“Pop Culture – a New Source of Spirituality?”
In the aftermath of the 2024 American elections, Lucien Greaves writes: It is often mystifying to me that people come to us and say, if only it were not Satan. But it is Satan, because we are Satanists. Do not ask us to discard Satanism, just accept that Satanism is not for you. You can support … Read more“Looking Ahead”: a new essay by Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves
M.L Clark writes for OnlySky: One unspoken tenet of anti-theist discourse is that we are limited by the religious stories at the core of our culture. For that slice of the nonreligious spectrum, it’s not enough not to believe, personally, in a god. The nature of religion poses a narrative problem that anti-theists feel must … Read more“Solarpunk humanism: How we dream bigger than despair”
Host Aviv Shahar of the Portals podcast interviews Layman Pascal and Brendan Graham Dempsey, organizers of the Metamodern Spirituality Labs at Brendan’s Sky Meadow Retreat in Vermont. My own memoir of attending the Spring 2024 Lab is available here.
Patrick Barry writes: “Living wisdom” carries this idea of a dynamic, growing, becoming, manifesting sort of project. It’s not just what some wise dudes wrote a long time ago. It’s ongoing, a living project. It, itself, can and will evolve over time, as we slowly, collectively learn. We can be less confused, more wise, more … Read more“Call it ‘Living Wisdom’”
In this episode of Brian James’ Howl in the Wilderness podcast, Brian and myself discuss the potentials of CultPunk and Poetic Faith as new arts of meaning-making, as well as the philosophy of memento mori ergo carpe diem – “remember death and therefore seize the day”.
Morgan Shipley writes for Psyche: What is a spiritual practice, exactly? It is a regular discipline or ritual undertaken with intention to cultivate and enhance spiritual growth. Some common examples include mindfulness meditation, yoga, journaling, communing with nature, manifesting and affirmation cycles, or the use of tarot or astrology. A routine practice that promotes wellbeing … Read more“How to find new spiritual practices”
Selected passages from Edgar Morin’s Homeland Earth : A Manifesto for the New Millennium (1999): I would expand the line from Hölderlin by saying: We dwell on Earth both prosaically and poetically. Prosaically (when we work, aim at practical targets, try to survive), and poetically (when we sing, dream, enjoy and love, admire). Human life … Read more“Life for life’s sake” (from “Homeland Earth: A Manifesto for a New Millennium”)