5 Books Your Pastor Should be Reading With Your Church

2022-12-14T06:55:59-08:00

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.

2 Simple, Life-Changing Practices For Starting Your Inner Work

Last updated on: December 14, 2022 at 6:55 am By Andrew Lang

Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start with our inner work. We’ve each got a lot going on: work, errands, kids – the good ole fashioned chaos of life. If you’re feeling a bit strapped for time, here are two quick throughout-the-day practices you can engage in with the power to make a huge impact in your life. They are both super simple, but do require some intention and attention, so it might be helpful to carry... Read more

Contemplative

Body Practices

2022-12-14T06:43:53-08:00

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.

4 Core Components of Contemplative Practice

Last updated on: December 14, 2022 at 6:43 am By Andrew Lang

When people first encounter the phrases “embodied spirituality” or “contemplative practices,” there are usually questions. These are terms foreign to many of us who grew up in the Global North, approaches to spirituality not often emphasized in our local churches and parishes. And yet, here I am rooting most of my life in these teachings and experiences. So, what are contemplative practices? At their core, I believe contemplative practices are rooted in the experience of the world being infused with... Read more

Contemplative

2022-12-06T09:30:41-08:00

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.

The Best Way I’ve Learned to Meditate

Last updated on: December 6, 2022 at 9:30 am By Andrew Lang

Over the past ten years, I’ve tried to meditate about a billion times. Every time I start, I love it. And then I leave it. But there’s one method for meditation that has continuously been a source of refuge for me: Centering Prayer. It’s simple to understand, quick to internalize, and while the process of meditation itself is a challenge (like anything that shifts our mindsets), Centering Prayer is the most potent method I’ve ever found to slip into the... Read more

Contemplative

2022-12-06T06:01:36-08:00

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.

Centering Prayer Is a Form of Meditation You Can Stick With

Last updated on: December 6, 2022 at 6:01 am By Andrew Lang

The 2023 Centering Prayer Summit is coming up! Register before December 10th and receive a gift registration for a family member or friend! Learn from some of our deepest of wisdom teachers: Cynthia Bourgeault, Phileena Nikole, Adam Bucko, Carl McColman, and more! Check it out by clicking here. I remember the first moment it all clicked for me. I was sitting in a small chapel, the lights down low, and the soft candlelight flickering against the walls.... Read more

Contemplative

2022-12-04T10:00:07-08:00

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 Can Spiritual Formation Help Us Connect with Our Inner Lives?

Last updated on: December 4, 2022 at 10:00 am By Andrew Lang

A few years ago, I sat in a packed auditorium surrounded by hundreds of others listening intently to a disheveled looking man speaking on the stage. His hair unkempt and his body bent as if permanently in the middle of a grateful bow, he sat on a wooden chair behind a small table with a singing bowl resting atop it. A clinical psychologist and former monk, James Finley speaks with a natural authority given him not just by training but... Read more

Contemplative

Faithful Questioners

2022-11-27T13:32:51-08:00

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.

“Wow, there’s beauty here.”

Last updated on: November 27, 2022 at 1:32 pm By Andrew Lang

“Wow, there’s beauty here.” It’s a simple phrase, but it’s led to a massive shift in my life. As a person with a deep love for dark humor, it’s not difficult for me to flirt with some seriously curmudgeonly energy. I often respond to life’s seeming chaos with a deadpan look and a happily dread-filled “nothing matters,” “this sucks,” or a good, solid “whatever.” But it’s never my actual attitude toward pretty much anything. And that’s because I also have... Read more

2022-12-04T09:57:57-08:00

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.

The Disillusionment of Church: Why Even Bother?

Last updated on: December 4, 2022 at 9:57 am By Andrew Lang

I sat in the front row of my childhood church in what I knew to be my family’s final service with the community I had grown up with. Now at 18, I had spent more than ten years here and many of my formative memories had taken place within these walls. As community members wished us well and shared stories from eleven years of friendship and connection, I felt increasingly overwhelmed by the transition that was taking place. One church... Read more

Faithful Questioners

Church

2022-11-05T09:40:17-07:00

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.

There is No Such Thing as a “Calling”

Last updated on: November 5, 2022 at 9:40 am By Andrew Lang

I wasn’t “called” to be a high school teacher. In my experience, every time that word has been used that way – someone “having a calling” – it has implied a god-figure somewhere “out there” drawing the person to it through their profession. It has implied the person was “called” toward the correct option, the righteous option, the holy option – what they were “supposed to” or “meant” to do. It implies a clear path forward. That hasn’t been my... Read more

Image of the Divine

2022-11-05T09:24:28-07:00

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.

4 Steps for Questioning Your Inner Critic

Last updated on: November 5, 2022 at 9:24 am By Andrew Lang

Here’s a simple method for questioning your inner critic. In education, there is a process called the Question Formulation Technique (QFT). We use it to help students and teachers brainstorm and develop high-quality questions. And as it turns out – it works great in the context of inner work! Identify one statement your inner critic often says within you. This might be “I’m not good enough” or “I’m not lovable” or something else entirely. Write that statement at the top... Read more

Faithful Questioners

Unmasking the Inner Critic