Philip GoldbergI’m writing this on July Fourth, feeling thankful that the American Founders declared themselves free not only from political tyranny but from religious tyranny as well. The freedom to exercise the religious impulse as each of us sees fit is...
I recently learned that the word heretic derives from the Greek word hairetikos, which means “able to choose.” Well, if that’s the definition, I’m proud to be called a heretic, and I suspect I’m in very good company. Of course, “heretic” is still...
My wife says I watch too many ballgames on television. I tell her it’s an important part of my spiritual life. She rolls her eyes and laughs. Not without justification, I have to admit. Sometimes I watch sports with all the spirituality of couch...
I was on a radio talk show to speak about the role of spirituality in dealing with chronic pain. In preparing for the interview, I spoke to some medical experts and to colleagues who are familiar with the research on spirituality and health outcomes...
There are traps in trying to be all good all the time. In "How Good Is Good Enough?" Philip Goldberg discusses finding the delicate balance between two opposite positions: accepting who and what we are at every point along the path; and always...
It's that time of year when we think about giving (at least when we’re not thinking about what we want for holiday gifts) but our ideas about giving usually focus on material objects, how much they cost and what the recipients will think of us when...
In the wake of the Gulf Coast devastation, the website Beliefnet.com asked its constituents this question: “Has Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath weakened or strengthened your faith in God?” The choices were: greatly strengthened...
Every wisdom teaching calls upon us to behave toward others with love, compassion, generosity, kindness and other familiar virtues. Piece of cake, right? The standards held up to us are pretty high: Jesus and Buddha, for instance, and a host of...
Doubt can be a magnificent blessing; if you handle it well, a crisis of faith can be a steppingstone to higher truth, stronger conviction and even deeper faith.
“There are eighty thousand books on Buddhism, and if you should read all of them and still not see your own nature, you will not understand even this letter.” I read those wise words, of course, in one of those 80,000 books. Therein lies...
