It is common medical knowledge that the vast majority of visits to the family doctor are stress-related. Moreover, we know with scientific certainty that stress, a sense of despair, and/or a lack of motivation can complicate most any surgery and aggravate nearly any condition. One of the core messages in my book Inspiration Deficit Disorder is that a sense of joy, inner peace and purpose are not luxuries or qualities reserved for the psychologically inclined - such qualities are critical to health in every sense of the word.

Among the many tools I teach and use are three simple questions that could change your life. You can ask yourself these questions when you feel stuck to gain perspective, you can sit quietly and review them every morning, you can review these questions when you are on retreat, or when faced with a big decision. The questions are:

Who am I - really? (Do...

Where do we find the beginning of your life or any life? Birth? Conception? Adulthood? Your job? Place? History? Ancestry? The Garden of Eden? Protoplasm? The big bang?

It really doesn't matter what you believe about the origins of life because there's a single fact that unites us: it is a mystery. The fact that we're here at all is a total, mind-boggling mystery. No matter how far back you can imagine, the arrow of time continues infinitely. Before everything that exists today,...

It is hard to admit but love and loving are not the same thing, and most of us are naturally good at 'love' but struggle more with 'loving.' To love someone is to feel that deep connection, affection, and even sense of completion with someone. We can love friends, family, lovers, coworkers, pets and more. Love is an inexplicable feeling that implies a quality of connection and enduring devotion, though not implicitly exclusively. For example, you might say, 'I don't always like them, but I'll love my family no matter what and for the rest of my days.' Or you might say, 'I haven't spoken to my best friend from high school in ten years, but I still love her.' Some unfortunate times, we realize that we love our spouse, but may never really like them again.

Loving on the other hand is the active expression of love-rooted qualities in a relationshi...

Lately I have been paying attention to the news items that involve people's claims that their faith allowed them to succeed, survive or triumph in otherwise adverse conditions. Such claims and stories never get too much attention, yet they are always sprinkled throughout our daily awareness. Faith is a word for something amazingly powerful and yet more often misunderstood and even misused.

Defining Faith

I think of faith, perhaps idealistically, as the absolute trust that there is wisdom and power beyond what we can measure, know or control, and that the mysterious nature of the universe (God included) can actually work in our favor if we welcome it. For some, this literally means they have faith that God will intervene or take over their situation for the better. For others faith is more of a sense of assurance that th...

Since the horrible tragedy involving 3 deaths and more than 20 injuries relating to a Sweat Lodge at a James Ray retreat in October of 2009, I have been contacted widely for commentary and education about sweat lodges and ceremonial steam baths. I continue to get questions by email and from the media and so I am posting here my answers to some of the more common and critical questions. You can read my answers and come to your own conclusions. If you know someone who has been hurt by a lodge or has fears about lodges and you think I can be of support, they are welcome to contact me through my website www.jonathanellerby.com.

What went wrong at the James Ray event?

Having not been there, nor had a chance to meet or interview witnesses or James Ray, there is really no way for me to be able to know for certain...

A Tragic Call To Attention

The recent and tragic events that involved three deaths and more than 19 injured and emotionally traumatized at a James Ray 'Spiritual Warrior Retreat' deserves to be treated with some gentleness for this is more than a news item, but a horrific experience of loss and suffering that is impacting far more people than only those who were there. It is also a criminal investigation and a man's career under scrutiny. This 'event' brings up some critical issues in our society, and this is one of those important times where we can either learn something that will serve everyone, or fall into the kind of blame and stereotyping that helps no one.

Sweat Lodges: Good. Cultural Appropriation: Bad

To be c...

I'd like to begin by qualifying my comments: I have had the privilege and pleasure of being involved in various forms of traditional Indigenous 'sweat lodges' and similar ceremonies for over 20 years now. I have personally experienced hundreds, maybe over a thousand and from cultures as diverse as Ojibway, Cress, Blackfoot, Lakota, Aztec, and even in Africa with two different African tribes. I have studied lodges from an academic perspective and have researched and a been a part of their use in hospital and prison treatment programs. I spent 12 years earning the right to run a Native American type of lodge, mentored by a Native American healer. I do not run Native lodges for non-Native people. I do run an interfaith form of lodge that welcomes men and women of all faiths and cultural backgrounds.

I don't think anyone in the general public knows enough about what happened...

All genuine meditation has no destination and you can't get there! This of course sounds like nonsense but is in fact the literal truth. Meditation teachers will talk about there being 'nowhere to get to, nothing to attain.' In my book, 'Return to the Sacred: Ancient Pathways to Spiritual Awakening,' I talk of the 'Pathless Path' - a phrase from the Zen Buddhist tradition that points to the same thing. There is nowhere to get to, nothing to attain, no-one to attain it. A revered Japanese Zen Master - Hakuin, put it this way in his 'Song of Meditation':

And if we...

It is awful to have to face it, but the end of summer is near. Most years people are dreading the end of beautiful weather and the grace of less commitments. This year is a bit different due to unusual uncomfortable weather in many parts of the country and the stress of a difficult economy. But summer is wonderful all the same - it's a season most people wait all year for. In many cases summer is the one time of the year people expect the stress of life to relax a little. Which leads me to wonder, what is it about summer that we love so much and how can we carry those qualities without throughout the year?

First of all, I suppose we have to admit 'weather' is a big factor. But its really more than weather, its spending time outside. In the summer we go to parks, lakes, oceans, rivers, forests, RV parks, campgrounds, National parks, city parks, basketball courts, golf cours...