Contemplative Awareness in Love and Life
9th annual dialogue with Cistercian contemplatives who visit Fetzer each year while attending the Medieval Congress at WMU. This year, Fr. Isaac Slater and Norman Fischer, both authors, poets, and priests, will lead a conversation on the creative imagination and spiritual practice.
The World Could Be Otherwise Book Release with Norman Fischer
Poet, writer, and Soto Zen priest Norman Fisher discusses his new book, The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path.
Jane Goodall on saving the planet
When we notice and connect with the natural world, we are reminded of how interdependent we are. In our busyness and amidst everyday distractions, it’s easy to forget that connection. Take some time to notice the exquisite natural world and consider ways to extend your love to the living planet we call home.
Growing up Black in America: We the People Book Club Focus for April
This month the We the People Book Club is reading what book club curator Julia Davis describes as "remarkably candid reflections on growing up black in America:" James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time and Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me.
Practicing Democracy with the Earth
Seventeen ways to honor our home, the Earth. These practices help strengthen democratic values and virtues through our connection with the Earth, its current inhabitants, and its future generations.
Developed with Spirituality and Practice as part of the Practicing Democracy Project.
April Practice: Clean Up Day
Our surroundings mirror our attitudes towards ourselves, our communities, and our nation at large. It is important that we care for our streets, highways, fields, forests, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Organize a clean-up day; Earth Day on April 22 is one good time. Or you may want to join the efforts of the Keep America Beautiful. This nonprofit works with local officials and community members to beautify our towns and cities. As a bonus, you will meet your neighbors and discover what is worth saving and protecting in your environment.
Festival of Faiths
The 2019 festival will explore wisdom present at the intersection of faith and science; ancient and modern questions at the heart of human existence; and space where reason and revelation co-exist.
Dialogue, music, poetry, film, and art with spiritual leaders, teachers, and practitioners.
Explore Spiritual Resilience
The Spirit of Humanity Forum for 2019 asks important questions to support greater harmony and peace in our interconnected world. What relational practices can we foster? How might leaders actively nurture spiritual qualities? What stories can we share to transcend difference? Here are just a few resources to encourage reflection and support those on this journey toward more generative and peaceful relationships among individuals, communities, and society.
Puddnhead Wilson Reading Guide
Explore the themes of identity, race, nobility, and violence in this guide to Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson. Part of the We the People Book Club, a year-long program contemplating America’s past and possibilities, this guide was created for individual and group use. Questions within each theme facilitate (1) your interpretation of the text, (2) your personal reflections inspired by your reading, and (3) practices for you to try that animate the book's democratic values.
Guides for Practicing Democracy
Democracy is more than a form of government. It is a way of life that can be strengthened through spiritual practices—both those traditionally considered to be “inner work” and those that encourage active engagement with our neighbors and communities. The Practicing Democracy Guides give you specific ways to practice democracy at home, at work, on the Internet, and in other settings.