Transcendent reality – Understanding it

transcendent reality

  By Stephen Russell-Lacy. During meditation one is not engrossed in bodily and worldly things but the mind is detached from them. In this state people may be more open to spiritual intuition. For example that there is a hidden life force and design within nature. Not measurable by science but felt as something universal … Continue reading Transcendent reality – Understanding it

Christmas –  Not looking forward to it?

Christmas

  By Stephen Russell-Lacy. Do you have mixed feelings about the Christmas season? Typically, people say that they had a stressful time, despite also being satisfied. The very phrase ‘the spirit of Christmas’ evokes a sense of goodwill and cheer. Yet the idea can sound a bit hollow if we live alone and have no … Continue reading Christmas –  Not looking forward to it?

Promises – Is it okay to break them?

promises

By Stephen Russell-Lacy. In politics people don’t always keep their promises. In the 2010 election to the House of Commons, all the Liberal Democrat Party candidates took a pledge to oppose any increase in university tuition fees and to campaign for their abolition. However, after forming a coalition government with the Conservatives, 21 of 57 … Continue reading Promises – Is it okay to break them?

Religion – Does it have anything to offer?

religion

I am a deeply religious nonbeliever – this is a somewhat new kind of religion. (Albert Einstein) If you are spiritually orientated, you may welcome the notion of a deeper universal truth that applies to all people in all circumstances. However these days there is often an uncertainty about religion. North-western Europe is no longer … Continue reading Religion – Does it have anything to offer?

Spiritual awakening in children – Is this possible?

spiritual awakening children

At times children seem untidy, noisy, and demanding. Some appear even empty-headed, selfish, and endlessly bickering. At the same time many of us feel a sense of vague longing for our own childhood. There is something about being a child that pulls at our heart strings. Probably this is to do with how in children the … Continue reading Spiritual awakening in children – Is this possible?

Materialistic thinking – rational?

materialistic

A materialistic way of thinking assumes that science is the be-all and end-all of human knowledge. Those who have this outlook claim that the methods of science are the only reliable ways to secure knowledge of anything “Science provides all the significant truths about reality and knowing such truths is what real understanding is about.” (Alex Rosenberg, … Continue reading Materialistic thinking – rational?

Mental health – Same as spiritual health?

mental health

For over thirty years I worked as a psychological therapist in the British National Health Service. I helped patients start to manage and deal with their mental health problems. The service expected me to discharge each case as soon as possible so I could see the next patient on the long public waiting list. Following … Continue reading Mental health – Same as spiritual health?

Abstract Art – Can It Evoke The Spiritual?

abstract art

Traditionally, a sense of the spiritual has been evoked in the depiction of religious themes. For example the humanity of the divine shown in Christian pictures of Christ on the Cross, the image of meditation expressed in Buddhist images of the Buddha, and the ideal of order shown in Islamic decorative art-work using repeated geometrical … Continue reading Abstract Art – Can It Evoke The Spiritual?

Spiritual but not religious – Good or bad?

spiritual

Some school governors in Birmingham England have been accused of attempting to impose and promote a narrow faith-based ideology in secular schools. Should we be encouraging spiritual rather than religious education? What does spiritual mean? The word spiritual is something to do with individual issues of human identity and personal development: hence seeking the sacred … Continue reading Spiritual but not religious – Good or bad?

What can I learn from nature?

nature

Nature is a wonderful thing. Individuals and governments are committed to showing more respect for the environment rather than carelessly destroying it. Concern about the sustainability of the planet and its protection is a contemporary attitude that is becoming quite common. I feel it reflects a spiritual sensitivity to the goodness of the unspoilt natural … Continue reading What can I learn from nature?