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"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud" (Proverbs 16:18-19). Comment: Our own human powers and abilities are limited, no matter how much we may feel we have accomplished with them. Our only Source of true Power is the Presence of the divine within us.

Tikeisha Harris and Janelle Harris Dixon discuss their book, Headphones and Heartbreaks, exploring how music and spirituality helped them heal from heartbreak. Experience deep self-connection at I am Divine: Body, Mind, and Soul. Explore beingness through story, music, prayer, meditation, artmaking, and nature.

While playing in the backyard of her Ohio home, sunlight streaming through a crabapple tree, then 3-year-old Rachel Taber-Hamilton realized she was part of creation. “I recognized that just as creation is generous and Creator is generous, we are of creation and need to reflect what creation does,” says Taber-Hamilton, now an Episcopal priest and rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Everett, Washington.

In 2007 I felt eager for my life to change. I had grown bored and restless living on the East Coast and was ready to realize my dream of living out West. Thing was, I had never attempted a move of that magnitude before. I owned my home and would have to sell it. I had never done that before either. I would also be leaving an area where I had deep roots and lots of friends to relocate to a place where I had no ties and only a few casual acquaintances.

Spirituality vs. Religiosity Dear Dr. Tom: You’re a doctor, right? May I have your prescription, please? I have heard people describe themselves as “spiritual, not religious.” I like the sound of that, but I don’t fully understand the difference. I grew up in a home where church attendance was mandatory. It was a regular duty; to avoid it was sin. Now I seldom attend because the traditional church clings to old beliefs that don’t work for me anymore.

A lilac bloomed one autumn day ’Mid gold and russet glow. How strange of it to bloom that way, A springtime blossom show. O lilac inappropriate It’s not a vernal time The blossom you regenerate Lacks reason and lacks rhyme. But in the lilac’s fragrant flower A revelation told. Renewal knows no date or hour Nor season to unfold. I am the bud; my faith the flume As cocreating kin. Revealed in autumn lilac’s bloom: Renewal dwells within.

Fear is a universal feeling and it’s central to the Christmas story. The shepherds stood in a dark field, frightened and wary, when angels first appeared. But the angels reassured them: Be not afraid.

I’ve always loved printed messages—on greeting cards and other personal notes, bookmarks and other mementos—and the gesture of choosing just the right sentiment for a special person and hoping it would touch the recipient in just the right way. But the importance of these messages took on a deeper meaning when I lost my 37-year-old daughter, Elisha, to suicide. We both loved written greetings and exchanged many over the years.

Beauty can emerge even in the untidiest life moments. I admire the lotus flower not only for its beauty but for the symbolic story behind its growth process. The pure white petals suggest it may originate in a pristine pond. It’s quite the opposite. Instead, they emerge from the murkiest of waters. It reminds me that the Creator has an amazing way of using the messiness in our lives to birth the most beautiful things if we’re open to trusting the process.

Some Prayer Methods Might Surprise You Our thoughts are prayers, as the song says, and indeed our thoughts can be considered one method of prayer. But there are many more ways we can seek higher consciousness and know that God is with us. What are some of the ways we can pray? Some are tools we use to bring ourselves into a space of stillness and peace, where the presence of God can be more fully known. Others involve activity and outright joy. First, we can take time to pray in the traditional way.