A Teacher of Life Among Us

2022-01-12T09:14:04-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We All Need Teachers for the Spiritual Journey

Last updated on: January 12, 2022 at 9:14 am By Andrew Lang

As a high school teacher, I have the immense responsibility and privilege to mentor young people and support their emotional and academic growth and development. Every day is a new beginning – a new opportunity to model any number of things, including healthy behavior, characteristics of engaged adulting, and conflict resolution. (Oh, and to teach content!) Working with young people is an opportunity to provide a healthy adult they can rely on, someone outside their family with whom they... Read more

Wisdom Teachers

Spiritual Formation

2022-01-24T06:13:42-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How to Practice Embodiment: The Right Sizing Practice

Last updated on: January 24, 2022 at 6:13 am By Andrew Lang

Many years ago I was on a retreat with a group of men here in the Pacific Northwest. It wasn’t a religious retreat, but we all had a sense of spiritual connection, whatever that meant for each of us individually. In the midst of this retreat, one of the group leaders offered to lead us in a “body practice” – something I had little to no experience with. I immediately thought of yoga or some form of meditative stretching. Both... Read more

Body Practices

Spiritual Practice

2022-01-16T15:12:45-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

HELD: blessings for the depths (Book Recommendation!)

Last updated on: January 16, 2022 at 3:12 pm By Andrew Lang

Every once in a while, I stumble upon an organization or collective that opens me up and gives me hope for the world. It happened when I found the Center for Action and Contemplation. And then when I found the Mystic Soul Project and the Hive. A few months ago, I was navigating the terrain of Instagram when I found myself paused and looking at a page I hadn’t seen before: enfleshed. All over it were spiritual quotes: deeply body-positive,... Read more

Book Recommendation

Spiritual Formation

2022-01-17T09:37:06-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Living a Palms Up Life w/ Jenny Smith

Last updated on: January 17, 2022 at 9:37 am By Andrew Lang

At the beginning of 2020, I had the immense honor of speaking at the UMC LEAD Conference, mere months before our lives were upended by the COVID-19 Pandemic. I spoke on the impact of small group settings and communities with no idea that I would soon be unable to meet in those kinds of spaces for more than a year. During the event, I also had the chance to listen to my friend Jenny Smith present on embodying a “palms... Read more

Conversations

2022-01-12T09:13:24-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How We Might Embody a Holistic Approach to Harm and Justice

Last updated on: January 12, 2022 at 9:13 am By Andrew Lang

A few weeks ago, I began to explore my evolving sense that an embodied spirituality is one in which we develop the capacity to become faithful questioners and social poets. And for the past week or so, we have really focused on the social poet aspect of this: how do we engage the world around us as social poets? Today, I’d like to explore the final sphere of influence – the social or societal sphere – and how we can... Read more

Spheres of Influence

2022-01-12T08:30:32-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Doing Small Things With Great Love in Our Community Spheres of Influence

Last updated on: January 12, 2022 at 8:30 am By Andrew Lang

I recently wrote about spheres of influence here. It will give more context for this post! For many of us, the most obvious spheres of influence we operate within are our community spheres: our faith communities, workplaces, volunteer organizations, etc. Generally speaking, if we’re not alone or in our personal spheres of influence, we’re probably in our community ones. These are the areas of our life where we can make the largest impact and work toward justice daily,... Read more

Spheres of Influence

2022-01-13T18:23:36-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How We Can Embody Love in Our Personal Spheres of Influence

Last updated on: January 13, 2022 at 6:23 pm By Andrew Lang

This is part one of a three-part series. You can find part two here and part three here. For me, talking about politics and religion is a bit of a family tradition. Whenever we get together, it rarely takes more than 30 minutes before the conversation begins to weave together the political activities of the day and my dad’s latest religious and spiritual quandary. Ah, the sounds of home. I love that my family is so thoughtful and willing to... Read more

Spheres of Influence

2021-12-21T08:47:26-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How Action and Contemplation Work in Us, According to Thomas Merton

Last updated on: December 21, 2021 at 8:47 am By Andrew Lang

In 2014, I joined a political campaign as a volunteer and committed to spending my weeknights and weekends to doorknocking, asking for money, and placing yard signs all over the central district of Seattle. It was awesome. There was so much energy throughout the campaign, a hodgepodge of young 20-40 year olds running around with a sense of righteous purpose. Everything we did had an air of intensity because we all believed this one election could change everything. (And for... Read more