Meet Julia Davis, Curator of the We the People Book Club
As part of The Practicing Democracy Project (PDP) our partners at Spirituality & Practice just kicked off the "We the People Book Club," a yearlong discussion to explore the themes of democracy. Julia (Julie) Davis, a fellow with PDP is our guide for this exploration. We caught up...
Decades of Chronicling Spirituality in Everyday Life
I have been so inspired by the lives and work of Frederic and Mary Ann (whom I have come to know through my work as a program officer at Fetzer) for "tracking down the sacred in the nooks and crannies...
September Practice: Not Knowing
We get so firm in our positions on issues of all kinds that we assume we know best. Adopting an attitude of "not knowing" supports an attitude of openness and awareness of complexity. This practice is from Everyday Soul by...
October Practice: Feeling Heard, Seen, Useful in Community
The very essence of democracy is the absolute faith that while people must cooperate, the first function of democracy, its peculiar gift, is to develop each individual into everything that [one] might be. —Edwin H. Land Think about the many small...
February Practice: Consider Interbeing
Everything relies on everything else in the cosmos in order to manifest—whether a star, a cloud, a flower, a tree, or you and me. —Thich Nhat Hanh A key principle of democracy is that individuals seek to advance the common...
April Practice: Clean Up Day
Our surroundings mirror our attitudes towards ourselves, our communities, and our nation at large. It is important that we care for our streets, highways, fields, forests, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Organize a clean-up day; Earth Day on April 22 is...
September Practice: Open to Others
The freedoms and rights stipulated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution necessitate that we listen to points of view that differ from ours. In The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction, Rebecca Shafir offers practices...
October Practice: Kindness
Perhaps the foremost value that Americans cite as central to democracy is equality—that we’re all created equal. Americans also value placing the good of the country and its collective citizenry above individual interests. A third core value of American democracy...
January Practice: Pause
Many Americans highly value professional achievement, which is reflected in such democratic virtues as the pursuit of excellence, determination, assertiveness, and love of learning and knowledge. At the same time, momentarily setting aside an achievement orientation helps us tune into...
April Practice: Unity
While the news continues to call our attention to political divisions, we are mindful of the spiritual teaching of “one hand, one heart” —that all our individual appearances are specific manifestations of the Whole Essence. This concept of Divine Oneness—of...