“You don’t really know someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”
To read Minefields and Miracles: Why God and Allah Need to Talk by Ruth Broyde Sharone is to walk in the shoes of a serious and accomplished interfaith activist. Readers will see the difference that one person can and is making in this world. I happen to know Ruth and I can tell you that conversations with her are as inspiring as her memoir, if not more. Continue reading “Minefields & Miracles” Reviewed
Given my perhaps naive belief that interfaith orientations and integral philosophies are part of humanity’s next evolutionary step in spiritual development, I wondered what kind of music would show up in our culture to reflect this transition in consciousness? Then I turned on the radio and, Voila!
NPR was doing a story on polyrhythms or many rhythms happening at the same time “creating a different shape in the sound”. One example of a polyrhythm is Fake Empire which played during an Obama 2008 election campaign ad. It has two simultaneous beats, 3 and 4. There are plenty of songs with polyrhythms and while it’s not something totally new, we might ask: How can polyrhythms help us develop spiritually?
“The point of [polyrhythm] is to make listening to two rhythms at once feel natural, as easy as talking while you walk. LaFrae Sci says, that’s a life skill.”
Here’s my analogy: If we can learn to hear two or more rhythms simultaneously in music, we can learn to empathize with two or more belief systems simultaneously. Doing so might help us to hear the many sides of a story, appreciate the different points of views in a conflict, and even feel comfortable with learning about and from more than one religion. We might even develop the social equivalent of harmony – justice. In other words, polyrhythms could very well accompany an expansion of consciousness.
You can read here how I teach youth to hold and harmonize multiple ideas about faith, identity, and community so that they will have the life skills to solve practical, global problems with peers from many faiths and cultures for the benefit of all humanity. That may be a tall order. But at the very least, polyrhythms ask us to change the way we listen to music. In the process, they might help us to change the way we listen to each other.
Explore the Resources my this website to learn more about interspiritual ideas and programs.
Memoirs are crossing my desk lately and this one was delightful. The story of an interfaith courtship from the 1960’s, Star Crossed by Bette Isacoff, tells of a Catholic-Jewish relationship with several counts against it before it even gets started. The book succeeds on several levels, including time-specific and time-eternal. Let me explain.
Don’t worry: I don’t give away the story. I understand that the book on which Philomena is based, starring Judi Dench, goes into greater detail regarding the Catholic Church’s role in suppressing information and extending the emotional pain and suffering of a woman searching for her 50 year old son whom she has not seen since he was taken away at age three. But the film is about more than what happens when she searches for him; it encourages us to look at our own relationship to organized religion and the spiritual quality of faith. Continue reading “Philomena” and Faith
I was not initially excited by the book, Mixed Up Love, written by Jon Sweeney and Michal Woll, telling 
about their interfaith union. For while I am all for sharing stories about successful intermarriage (being in one for over 25 years), I was not sure what the hype was about. But as I read and reflected on what they had to say and experienced, I came to appreciate the nuances of their story and the courage of their commitment. It is one that stands on the cusp of a larger opportunity.
Not only is one partner in this interfaith marriage Jewish, but she is also a Rabbi. This alone was not enough to bowl me over as there are many intermarried clergy who faced similar situations. I too am ordained but as an Interfaith Minister. My seminary was founded by an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi AND I completed the coursework for Rabbinic Seminary International. BUT… Continue reading Mixed-Up Love
Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family, by Susan Katz Miller, is a preview of how everyone’s ideas about religion may be significantly influenced as a direct result of intermarriage. And while not all intermarried families choose to raise their children with both parent’s religion, the experience of those who do is well worth a look.
Being Both sheds light on why an increasing number of families choose to practice two religions and how they do it. Continue reading Religious Schools Teaching More Than One Religion?