Religion on Other Earth

Perhaps the most striking example of the extravagance of the Other Men was the part played by religion in their more advanced societies. Religion was a much greater power than on my own planet; and the religious teachings of the prophets of old were able to kindle even my alien and sluggish heart with fervor. Yet religion, as it occurred around me in contemporary society, was far from edifying. I must begin by explaining that in the development of religion on the Other Earth gustatory sensat...

 The Whole Child Mantra

Recently, I have been struck by the research concerning mindfulness. Just allowing our children time at the beginning of the day to meditate seems to do wonders in focusing them for the day. Even something as simple as repeating a phrase seems to alter our brainwaves and wire us for success. So I posit, after all we know, both through research and our own experiences, that we check ourselves every day and ask, Did I support the whole child today? Let it be our mantra—healthy, safe, engaged...

 Pastafarianism

Most of us do not believe a religion – Christianity, Islam, Pastafarianiasm – requires literal belief in order to provide spiritual enlightenment. That is, we can be part of a community without becoming indoctrinated. There are many levels of belief. By design, the only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma. That is, there are no strict rules and regulations, there are no rote rituals and prayers and other nonsense. Every member has a say i...

 The Not-Believing-In-God-Glasses

But then I thought, "But I don't know how to not believe in God. I don't know how you do it. How do you get up, how do you get through the day?" I thought, "Okay, calm down. Let's just try on the not-believing-in-God glasses for a moment, just for a second. Just put on the no-God glasses and take a quick look around and then immediately throw them off. So I put them on and I looked around. I'm embarrassed to report that I initially felt dizzy. I actually had the thought, "Well, how does the...