Jan 19th, 2010
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
h.koppdelaney on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
Last week, I was sitting cross-legged on my plump little black cushion on the floor of the Zendo I visit regularly and listening to a talk about cleaning incense burners. And as I listened, the very deep and profound thought that came to me was, "I seriously [...]
Dec 31st, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
The Gifted Photographer on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
Two years ago, I gave up on New Year's resolutions. What do those ever lead to but disappointment anyway? Maybe I keep them, but mostly I don't. And when I don't, I feel like a failure. So, I picked a single word as my [...]
Dec 15th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image by: catdancing on Flickr
Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
After really struggling last week between my need to sleep and my desire not to sleep, I decided that this week on my day of spirituality I would spend one day throwing out my to do list and letting go of all the things I "should" do [...]
Dec 3rd, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
Ashley Dinges on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
"I don't want to get up and I don't want to go to school!" my daughter Janie yelled when she heard me chime "Time to get up!" this morning. ("Well, maybe tonight you will go to sleep on time so you won't be tired tomorrow," I [...]
Nov 15th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
Saad.Akhtar
Licensed under Creative Commons
Last week, oddly inspired by the humorous book The Year of Living Biblically, I decided I wanted to try to add a little Sabbath into my own life. Couldn't I use a day of rest once a week, even if I didn't have an organized religion backing me up? [...]
Nov 9th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
fd on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
"The level of sexual imagery in modern life is astounding. I knew intuitively this was true, but when you tune into it, you just can't believe it. I click on the Yahoo! finance page, and there's this blond model in a low-cut dress looking [...]
Nov 9th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
Vanessa Pike-Russell on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
Spiritual inspiration can come from the oddest bits of serendipity. I was at a talk a few months ago by a Zen Buddhist who talked about making each moment sacred, about how we could light incense before doing the dishes and make the washing of [...]
Sep 26th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
funkypancake on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
Sometimes people ask me (and frankly, sometimes I ask myself) how I went from being very vocal in my rejection of God to someone who now talks about God all the damn time. The short and simple answer is: 12 Step recovery (which is probably one [...]
Aug 2nd, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
jam343 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
When I first started blogging, a little over two years ago, "God" was not part of my spirituality. The word still smacked of the old school God of my youth: that wrathful, angry-looking old white guy on the Sistine Chapel roof. I was hated that image of [...]
Jul 10th, 2009
by Mary P Jones.
Image credit: Photo by
Frank Peters on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons
I shared in a meeting recently about my fear around my husband's business trips and how that fear is a reminder to me to connect with my Higher Power. After the meeting a newcomer asked me what I'm going to do now: I mean, he's [...]