Like me, you may have only thought of Islam as a religion filled with rituals and rules. Perhaps, like me, you found it hard to understand how a Muslim could have a personal spiritual experience in the midst of so many rigorous practices. Perhaps, instead, you imagined every Muslim to be just like the many extremist “Islamists” we hear about in the media involved in brutality and terrorist activities. It
In my card reading for this week, I spoke of my feeling that it was going to be a bit of turbulent week. Unfortunately this proved correct on a national level, but also on a personal level, and I think the two are related. Unless you have been living in a bubble this week, you would have heard about the siege in Sydney. I am sure that this was particularly
I found the inspiration for this week’s blog while cleaning my teeth this morning. I have one solitary wisdom tooth, but it still resides within my gum. Every few weeks, within the last year or so, it moves around a bit, enough for me to think that it might be about to make its way to the surface. Then it becomes dormant again for another few weeks, before it starts
I started a new course this week at AIHT (American Institute of Holistic Theology) called Feminist Theology. I was speaking about it in my French class, and the teacher asked me why I wanted to do that course. I told her, as best I could in my limited French, that my reason was because there are lots of women living under oppression. I explained that the book I am reading
During my studies of other religions, particularly Islam, I have been reading about the history of nations and societies. In the process, I have come to consider the freedoms which we sometimes take for granted in this country, Australia, and without which life could be less than fulfilling, or perhaps even miserable. As I considered all of our freedoms, I wondered firstly how much do we really appreciate
My recent Chaplaincy course caused me to consider the differences between the various religions, which has led me to ponder the differences between all of the cultures of the world, and the billions of individual humans which constitute those cultures. With so many different influences on our lives, it is no surprise that the differences between individuals of one culture or religion, and those of another, appear to be vast. And yet,