We encourage such things as meditation, yoga, visualization, worship, singing, healing prayer, lament and other practices that support us in connecting with our perception of the Higher Power.

Vision: Please join me in picturing this:

Our spiritual practices bind our community together in so many ways. Even though some of have different paths, we are finding ways to connect with the commonalities of our spiritual paths. We pause daily 7 times during the day honoring the sacred times that many in monasteries of old have tuned into as being times to focus on certain topics. The bell rings resonantly throughout the community at these times, and even if only pausing one minute, the pause helps us all return back to center. We aspire to practice the presence of our Higher Power constantly, being present to the light each moment. 

Weekly we have a lament session where we grieve all the tragedies on the planet, including of course the torture and pain that our animal friends endure. Our cries lift up to the heavens in prayers of yearning for world where all life is honored, and that our community can ever increasingly embody that principle. 

Each of us feel supported on our faith journey, including me on my Jesus walk. We love to encourage each other and honor each others paths. 

Our morning and evening mediations stabilize us, helping us to stay ever more centered and more easily able to resolve the conflicts that inevitably occur in communities. But daily, as we do all of the spiritual practices we have found valuable, we see improvement in our abilities to be centered in time of strive. 

Healing our trauma through spiritual practices like the Immanuel Approach assist us all in being able to let go of the triggers that often are the cause of disagreements. Being there for each other in unconditional love as we do the inner healing, accessing our inner guides, gurus and teachers, including Jesus–gives the extra advantage of the healing power of helping our psyches know that we are really safe in the arms of people who love us.

The chants and worship songs from different traditions give us a rich musical experience. We have found that there are songs from the different spiritual paths that can resonate with us all, and have a beautiful songbook and recordings that our choir (which is comprised of all of the community because now everyone can sing in tune with our special training) have produced in our wonderful studio. 

We have beautiful written prayers that we pray aloud together, as well as spontaneous prayers coming straight from our hearts. Sometimes we can get pentecostal, dancing, shouting, laughing and even speaking in tongues! Other times we are more Buddhist, quietly meditating. Yet other times we find ourselves practicing Ramadan, fasting in the Muslim way that helps us to release our attachment to food. Learning from the different traditions helps us to connect to the universal desire of the people who follow these paths to know Truth and to transform our earth into paradise. 

Studying the different scriptures is enlightening as we use the principles of apologetics and hermaneutics to learn more about the validity of the teachings. We also discern for ourselves–what is the universal teaching, and what seems to be inserted by the ego of the writer. 

We are sharing our explorations with the world with live Facebook streams, Youtube and podcasts. People are finding faith, including vegans who have become atheists and agnostics, because they see the fruits of our labors of a community that embodies a vegan ethic as well as spiritual beliefs. 

Open Heart, Open Mind: A book which is highly recommended by a friend who I respect. “Open Mind, Open Heart will take you into a world where God can do anything, into a realm of the greatest adventure -“Where one is open to the Infinite and hence to infinite possibilities”. — Thomas Keating. Learn more here.

Universal and Apostolic Church: A vegan, Christ-centered, Christian universalist church I am looking into learning more about. I love what I am reading in this rendition of the gospels here.   Their mission is