MSI Press Blog

  Arthur Yavelberg, author of the award-winning book,  A Theology for the Rest of Us , was recently interviewed on the Daily Soul Bytes podcast: "Exploring Definitions in Authenticity." This is the essence of Hinduism--that we are all part of the dream of Brahman/God. That needs to be properly understood. It doesn't mean, for example, that we "don't exist" and that we "disappear" when Brahman "wakes up." Having been "dreamt" ("created," to use Western terms) by Brahman, we become part of his consciousness--which is eternal. In that context, when the material part of us recognizes its eternal source, our realization and  Brahman's are two sides of the same coin. Put another way, just because our dreams are "dreams" doesn't mean they don't "exist." Such dreams become a part of us and may even be expressions of our natures and unconscious that, until the dream, of which we are not aware. Yo...

  Chanukah  is an eight-day Jewish celebration commemorating the rededication of the second temple by the Maccabees in Jerusalem in the second century B.C.  While there is so much more to learn about the Maccabees and the events at the time, why we celebrate Chanukah, is the result of the miracle they experienced.  Under the cruel leadership of Seleucids King Antiochus IV, the Jews, at the time, were not allowed to practice their own religion openly.  In fact, in their own country, they were faced with slavery and their religion was being eradicated. The Maccabees organized a successful rebellion against Antiochus and were trying to reestablish the temple in Jerusalem by sanctifying it while they were still under siege.    To sanctify the temple, the Maccabees were going to light a menorah lamp. They, however, only had enough oil for one day. But while they were only a small group of rebels, they a...

  winter solstice at Old Mission San Juan Bautista Thanks to Arthur Yavelberg, author of A Theology for the Rest of Us , for this post: Religion has a bad rap these days for all kinds of reasons--many of which are more than fair. Unfortunately, what often gets lost in these issues is the basic nature of true faith and spirituality--hope.   After all, the alternative is bleak--an uncaring, arbitrary universe in which everything has arisen by accident and will eventually dissolve just as randomly.  As the Psalmist writes, our lives are as so many blades of grass and, once we are gone, our footsteps will disappear and it will be as if we never were. Compare that with the fundamental message of the spirit: there is not only design in our universe, but a divine purpose that, while perhaps mysterious, exists nevertheless.  Our lives may be limited, but we can sense the infinite--both in terms of time and the love and compassion that are the essence of what it means to...