Office of Religious and Spiritual Life - A proud member of <a href="http://www.mcgill.ca/studentservices/">±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą Student Services</a> /morsl/articles/rss en The Ultimate Saint /morsl/article/ecospirituality-spiritual-wellness/ultimate-saint &lt;p&gt;Last weekend I went to the woods. I left the city for a place where there are more trees than cars, and I came back feeling renewed. Something about being surrounded by nature fills me up so that I have more to give to others. As I walked alone through a whispering forest, I was reminded of all the millions of people who cam before me, who lived off the land and knew how to survive with nature, and I felt at peace.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 18:13:33 +0000 Carolyn Ross 2797 at /morsl Awakening in Fusion /morsl/article/interfaith-dialogue-spiritual-wellness/awakening-fusion &lt;p&gt;In Jewish traditions, religion and artistic creativity are complimentary forms of spiritual enrichment. They both serve a similar purpose, which is to attach the self to G_d as manifested in human experience. Creation is a manifestation of G_dliness. “In the beginning G_d created” (Genesis 1:1). When human beings create, we experience awe and shame. We are in awe of G_d when we realize the amount of thought and energy it takes to create something from something else. Imagine creating something from nothing—it’s beyond human comprehension.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 18:10:53 +0000 Ariella 2796 at /morsl Increase the Peace /morsl/article/interfaith-dialogue-spiritual-wellness/increase-peace &lt;p&gt;The day I was invited to write this article, I entered a washroom in the MacDonald-Harrington building. On the door of my stall was scrawled, “increase the peace.” I could not agree more, but the anonymous author left no more suggestions than does our culture on how to go about increasing peace. Thank goodness Jesus is not so vague! “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it unto you. Do not let your hearts by troubled or afraid” (Luke 14:27). Now there is a message that I can understand! How comforting! Jesus gives us peace. He is perfect peace.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 18:09:01 +0000 Emily Bessette 2795 at /morsl The Experience of God /morsl/article/interfaith-dialogue-spiritual-wellness/experience-god &lt;p&gt;Transcendence. Experiencing the divine. Tasting that sweet essence of God. For the Sikh, God has no form. God has no shape, age, race, or gender. God was never born and will never cease to be. God is. That’s it. The Sikh definition of God, found in the beginning of the Sikh scripture (the Aad Guru Granth Sahib) and the main Sikh prayer (the Mool Mantra) is not so much a definition as an anti-definition. God is told to be timeless. The face of God? Guru Nanak says the face of God is immortality. The enemy of God? God has no enemy, and God holds no enmity. So what is this God then?&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:57:10 +0000 Santbir Singh Santbir 2794 at /morsl Religion /morsl/article/interfaith-dialogue-spiritual-wellness/religion &lt;p&gt;It looks at me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It hears me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It feels me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It judges me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It helps me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It enlightens me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It traps me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It bothers me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It soothes me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It produces for me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It nurtures me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It reasons for me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It kills me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It talks for me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It wrecks me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It develops me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It wounds me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It loves me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It ____________ me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It kills me&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;It is me...&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:54:44 +0000 Hardip Singh Manku 2793 at /morsl Labyrinth Walks /morsl/article/ecospirituality-meditation-spiritual-wellness/labyrinth-walks &lt;p&gt;In &lt;i&gt;Waiting for God&lt;/i&gt;, Simone Weil writes: “The beauty of the world is the mouth of a labyrinth,” referring to the mystical path that has been walked for centuries in contemplation. These ritual and symbolic pathways are found around the world in different cultures, but are perhaps best known in the Western world from their use during medieval times. In the last 30 years, there has been renewed interest in labyrinths as a contemplative practice accessible to all. A labyrinth is not a maze, but rather a single path, and there is no “right or wrong” way to walk a labyrinth.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:52:23 +0000 Carlene Gardner 2792 at /morsl On Imagination as Spiritual Experience /morsl/article/meditation-queerness-and-faith-spiritual-wellness/imagination-spiritual-experience &lt;p&gt;In the film &lt;em&gt;All of Us Strangers&lt;/em&gt;, main character Adam uses creative and personalized ways to initiate his own healing journey. Adam’s parents passed unexpectedly when he was eleven years old. Since then, he has struggled with intense feelings of being alone. Adam imagines and writes about what could happen if he could visit his parents in his childhood home as they were the year of their death, 1987. What would it be like if parents and son could reunite 36 years later, now that Adam is a professional writer in his late 40’s?&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:45:43 +0000 Candice Wendt 2791 at /morsl Passion in Action; Love in Form /morsl/article/interfaith-dialogue-queerness-and-faith-spiritual-wellness/passion-action-love-form &lt;p&gt;the Imam, the Priest, the Monk;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;all of them at once endorsing&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;love between two men&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;not only as acceptable&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;but as sacred.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;the power of the moment&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;as metaphor for love&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;for what’s possible with love&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;overshadowed only&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;by its immanent beauty.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;right then in front of my eyes&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;a union transcending boundaries&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;subverting history&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;and empowering faith&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;all at once&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;passion in action; love in form.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:41:44 +0000 Ryan Brown 2790 at /morsl I Am... /morsl/article/interfaith-dialogue-spiritual-wellness/i-am &lt;p&gt;Unique. That word has grown up with me throughout the years… From kindergarten, high school, and finally through university, unique has always been the word that has been entrenched in the back of my mind. I was different, I was “unique,” or so everyone said. Maybe they were being polite. Maybe I was unique.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:35:40 +0000 Hardip Manku 2789 at /morsl Do Ye Remember Me; I Will Remember You /morsl/article/interfaith-dialogue-spiritual-wellness/do-ye-remember-me-i-will-remember-you &lt;p&gt;I feel stressed about my upcoming biology exam. I’m saddened by the death of my friend’s mother. My grandparents’ declining health worries me. I’ve overjoyed by my recent academic accomplishment. The injustices in the world pain me. I’m confused and in need of help and guidance. What do I do in all of these situations? I calm myself, take a deep break and pray.&lt;/p&gt; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:32:32 +0000 Memuna A. Jamal 2788 at /morsl