Story is the mother of us all, for we become who we say we are.

Words are how we think; stories are how we link.

Despair is our chance to wrestle with fire and come through.

History is what scholars and conquerors say happened; story is what it was like to live on the ground.

Ritual consists of the external practices of spirituality that help us become more receptive and aware of the closeness of our lives to the sacred. Ritual is the act of sanctifying action - even ordinary action - so that it has meaning. I can light a candle because I need the light or because the candle represents the light I need.

Spiritual life is contractual. The sacred cannot dialogue with the unresponsive.

With compassion, we see benevolently our own human condition and the condition of our fellow beings. We drop prejudice. We withhold judgment.