The Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the Sikh sacred text) opens up with the Mul Mantra, a prayer that is foundational to the Sikh faith and theology. This prayer describes the nature of God (Waheguru) and is repeated often by practitioners of the Sikh faith. I first found it sometime in 2007 or 2008, in … More Mul Mantra
I don’t remember what grade I was in – middle or high school – the first time I learned about Sikhism. I was sitting at the little laptop computer, and I decided to look up something that I’d seen years before on a Teletubbies episode that had always stuck with me. It turned out that … More Sikhism
Over the years, I have had this recurring question pop up in my head: What would the world look like if every ethnic group had been able to keep its indigenous religion? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what this might look like. It’s interesting to me that there are so many similarities … More What If Every Culture Still Had Its Indigenous Religion?
“Jesus said, “Recognize what is before you, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you; for there is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest.”” My mom used to have this rectangular crocheted blue and white optical illusion stitching. At first glance, it just looked like random crocheted blue and white … More The Gospel of Thomas, Saying 5
I’m new to Gnostic literature. This is one of the very few spiritual paths that I never explored. Growing up, I’d heard warnings against Gnosticism but never quite knew what it was. And surprisingly, never looked into it. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago when I saw three nearly back-to-back posts by three people … More The Gospel of Thomas, Saying 2
One of my first introductions to Taoism had to do with the idea that without one concept, there could be no full understanding of its opposite. For example, we wouldn’t truly understand happiness unless there was sadness. If everything were happy all the time, we wouldn’t consider it happy – it would just be normal. … More 30 Days of Tao: Surrender
Several weeks ago, I was scrolling on Facebook and saw a post by a Wiccan woman. In her post, she explained that Eve’s eating from the tree in Genesis was not sin or rebellion, but a step toward wisdom. I read through the post and though I appreciated her point of view – I did … More A Discovery of Gnostic Texts
As I did with Tao Te Ching, I have been posting quotes from the Qur’an on my social media pages for the last few weeks. The Qur’an is much longer than Tao Te Ching, so I’ll definitely have to return to the Qur’an at some point to continue posting the scriptures that stand out to … More Quoting Qur’an: Surah Al Baqarah, 255
I really like this verse from Tao Te Ching. It’s really that last line about stepping back from all of one’s understanding that makes me love this verse so much. But I think it’s only fair to write about the verse in the order in which it was written. So I’ll start at the beginning. … More 30 Days of Tao: Acceptance
A Diverse Upbringing I grew up in a very diverse area. I always understood that my peers spoke various languages, ate different types of foods, and came from various places around the world. And although I’ve always been fascinated with spirituality, it wasn’t until middle school that I started talking to peers about their faith. … More A Middle School Conversion Story
