(6187,38,'2012-05-16 08:00:31','2012-05-16 15:00:31','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief,” he said.\r\n<h2>About Shining Lakes Grove</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6698\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG Banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SLG_banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6698\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SLG_banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h2>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h2>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6203\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A maypole during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6203\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h2>Misconceptions</h2>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6208\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Druids out for a dance during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6208 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6205\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Druid at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice (2009)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6205 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em><strong>Find out what robins have to do with Christianity in our next article with a pastor and author from Troy, and a teacher and elder from Waterford, Michigan.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/intangible/2467735011/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">IntangibleArts</a> (Maypole), <em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowgate/3512844987/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Shadowgate</a> (Beltaine dancing),</em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagedept/3645742207/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">vintagedepot</a> (Stonehenge Druid)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druid','','publish','open','open','','faith-interview-series-neopagan-druid','','','2012-05-17 19:09:56','2012-05-18 02:09:56','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6187',0,'post','',0),(6188,38,'2012-04-23 21:55:44','2012-04-24 04:55:44','','rob-henderson_stand','Rev. Rob Henderson','inherit','open','open','','rob-henderson_stand','','','2012-04-23 21:55:44','2012-04-24 04:55:44','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6189,38,'2012-04-23 21:56:16','2012-04-24 04:56:16','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\n\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\n\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\n\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\n\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\n\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\n\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\n\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\n\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\n\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\n</ul>\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\n\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\n\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\n\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy </em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\n\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\n\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\n\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\n\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\n\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\n\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\n\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\n\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\n\n<em>Photo credit: </em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision','','','2012-04-23 21:56:16','2012-04-24 04:56:16','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision/',0,'revision','',0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (6190,38,'2012-04-23 21:56:37','2012-04-24 04:56:37','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy </em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: </em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-2','','','2012-04-23 21:56:37','2012-04-24 04:56:37','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6191,38,'2012-04-23 22:00:14','2012-04-24 05:00:14','','manannanshrine15','','inherit','open','open','','manannanshrine15','','','2012-04-23 22:00:14','2012-04-24 05:00:14','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/manannanshrine15.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6192,38,'2012-04-23 21:59:16','2012-04-24 04:59:16','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: </em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-3','','','2012-04-23 21:59:16','2012-04-24 04:59:16','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6699,38,'2012-05-06 22:44:45','2012-05-07 05:44:45','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h2>About Shining Lakes Grove</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h2>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h2>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\r\n\r\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6203\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A maypole during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6203\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h2>Misconceptions</h2>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6208\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Druids out for a dance during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6208 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6205\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Druid at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice (2009)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6205 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em><strong>Find out what robins have to do with Christianity in our next article with a pastor and author from Troy, and a teacher and elder from Waterford, Michigan.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/intangible/2467735011/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">IntangibleArts</a> (Maypole), <em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowgate/3512844987/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Shadowgate</a> (Beltaine dancing),</em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagedept/3645742207/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">vintagedepot</a> (Stonehenge Druid)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druid','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-24','','','2012-05-06 22:44:45','2012-05-07 05:44:45','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/06/6187-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(6194,38,'2012-04-23 22:00:27','2012-04-24 05:00:27','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: </em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-4','','','2012-04-23 22:00:27','2012-04-24 05:00:27','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6196,38,'2012-04-23 22:06:37','2012-04-24 05:06:37','','trillium_flickr_tasitch','\"It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!\"','inherit','open','open','','trillium_flickr_tasitch','','','2012-04-23 22:06:37','2012-04-24 05:06:37','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6197,38,'2012-04-23 22:02:21','2012-04-24 05:02:21','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: </em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-5','','','2012-04-23 22:02:21','2012-04-24 05:02:21','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6199,38,'2012-04-23 22:08:02','2012-04-24 05:08:02','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-7','','','2012-04-23 22:08:02','2012-04-24 05:08:02','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6198,38,'2012-04-23 22:07:44','2012-04-24 05:07:44','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n</dd></dl></div>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are collectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-6','','','2012-04-23 22:07:44','2012-04-24 05:07:44','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6203,38,'2012-04-23 22:20:16','2012-04-24 05:20:16','','maypole_flickr_intangiblearts','A maypole during Beltaine','inherit','open','open','','maypole_flickr_intangiblearts','','','2012-04-23 22:20:16','2012-04-24 05:20:16','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6200,38,'2012-04-23 22:08:33','2012-04-24 05:08:33','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-8','','','2012-04-23 22:08:33','2012-04-24 05:08:33','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6201,38,'2012-04-23 22:09:03','2012-04-24 05:09:03','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\r\n\r\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-9','','','2012-04-23 22:09:03','2012-04-24 05:09:03','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6202,38,'2012-04-23 22:09:48','2012-04-24 05:09:48','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-300x294.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"294\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\r\n\r\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-10','','','2012-04-23 22:09:48','2012-04-24 05:09:48','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(6204,38,'2012-04-23 22:11:25','2012-04-24 05:11:25','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\n\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\n\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\n\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\n\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\n\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\n\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\n\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\n</ul>\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\n\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\n\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\n\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\n\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\n\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\n\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\n\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\n\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\n\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\n\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-11','','','2012-04-23 22:11:25','2012-04-24 05:11:25','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(6205,38,'2012-04-23 22:25:03','2012-04-24 05:25:03','','druid_flickr_vintagedepot','A Druid at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice (2009)','inherit','open','open','','druid_flickr_vintagedepot','','','2012-04-23 22:25:03','2012-04-24 05:25:03','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6206,38,'2012-04-23 22:21:24','2012-04-24 05:21:24','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\n\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\n\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\n\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\n\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\n\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\n\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\n\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\n</ul>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6203\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A maypole during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6203\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\n\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\n\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\n\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\n\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\n\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\n\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\n\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\n\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\n\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\n\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums), Flickr / IntangibleArts (</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-12','','','2012-04-23 22:21:24','2012-04-24 05:21:24','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(6208,38,'2012-04-23 22:31:19','2012-04-24 05:31:19','','druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate','Druids out for a dance during Beltaine','inherit','open','open','','druids-dance_flickr_shadowgate','','','2012-04-23 22:31:19','2012-04-24 05:31:19','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6209,38,'2012-04-23 22:26:45','2012-04-24 05:26:45','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\r\n\r\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6203\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A maypole during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6203\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6205\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Druid at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice (2009)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6205\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/intangible/2467735011/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">IntangibleArts</a> (Maypole), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagedept/3645742207/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">vintagedepot</a> (Stonehenge Druid)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-13','','','2012-04-23 22:26:45','2012-04-24 05:26:45','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(6210,38,'2012-04-23 22:31:55','2012-04-24 05:31:55','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\r\n\r\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6203\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A maypole during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6203\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6208\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Druids out for a dance during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6208 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6205\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Druid at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice (2009)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6205 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/intangible/2467735011/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">IntangibleArts</a> (Maypole), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagedept/3645742207/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">vintagedepot</a> (Stonehenge Druid), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowgate/3512844987/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Shadowgate</a> (Beltaine dancing)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-14','','','2012-04-23 22:31:55','2012-04-24 05:31:55','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(6229,1,'2012-05-06 22:46:24','2012-05-07 05:46:24','For the section about Christianity, I ended up talking to two different men, a pastor and interfaith leader, and a former pastor who is now an elder and school teacher. Both of them serve very different roles in their community, but they both have been affected greatly by Christianity and have devoted their lives to it.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nDr. Bob Cornwall, pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan. He is a Disciples of Christ pastor who has been ordained for 25 years and has been pastoring for about 14 of them. He’s a graduate of Fuller Seminary with a PhD in Historical Theology.\n\nHis passion is ecumenical interfaith conversation and building bridges between people of different faiths. He also does a lot of writing for a living. Along with being a pastor of a church, he has written a couple of books, done a lot of academic writing, and a few years ago he wrote a regular column in a local newspaper.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6113\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Curt Motsinger\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/curt-and-family-fb.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6113\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/curt-and-family-fb-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Curt Motsinger\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nCurt Motsinger is a school teacher and an elder at Grace Chapel Church in Waterford, Michigan. He spent his teenage years living at a youth camp that his parents ran in Rose City. He attended Liberty University. “I had hoped to get onto the wrestling team, but since I had to pay my bills somehow I auditioned for a student missionary singing team,” he said. He met his wife Arli, a Philippine woman, while travelling on tour with the team.\n\nHe used to be a full-time pastor at Shepherd Fellowship Church, but he left a couple of years ago and now teaches a class for adults and is an elder at a small, non-denomination church called Grace Chapel. He also teaches K-12<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">th</span> Physical Education and 7<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">th </span>and 8<span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">th</span> grade Math and Science for a classical style school.\n<h2>Coming to Faith</h2>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6115\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"The Holy Land of Jerusalem, Israel\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/jerusalem_flickr_swallroth.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6115\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/jerusalem_flickr_swallroth-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nDr. Bob’s family was Episcopalian growing up and he doesn’t remember having a moment where he came to faith specifically. However, in high school he did have a type of conversion experience which lead to him leaving his Episcopalian background and become a Pentecostal.\n\n“Changing from being an Episcopalian to being a Pentecostal was a major change for me. It came out of a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously (which I didn’t feel what happening at the Episcopalian church),” he said. Episcopalians are much more liturgically based than Baptist or non-denominational churches. Pentecostal churches are charismatic, which often have boisterous worship services, and practice things like speaking in tongues and healing (which is generally unique to their denomination).\n\nDr. Bob said, “I pretty much went from one extreme to another.”\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6123\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"224\" caption=\"Jesus depicted in stained glass\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/StJohnsAshfield_StainedGlass-Wikimedia-Commons.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6123\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/StJohnsAshfield_StainedGlass-Wikimedia-Commons-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nDr. Bob eventually found the Pentecostals to be overly emotional and not very intellectual based. He knew he needed to go someplace else, but he wasn’t quite ready to go back to the Episcopalians. “So that’s how I ended up with the Disciples of Christ, who are non-creedal, so it has a lot of freedom. It allowed me to be me.”\n\nCurt was also raised in the faith, but he remembers one moment from his childhood that changed his understanding of life.\n\n“When I was eight years old I was given a BB gun for Christmas. One afternoon I was hunting big game in my backyard. I squeezed the trigger and a robin dropped onto her nest. I ran over and picked up the nest and she was just lying there over those powder blue eggs. I gave it to my mom and she said, ‘Oh Curty, that’s the Michigan state bird!’ And I just knew the cops were coming to take me away.”\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6125\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A church in New England\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/new-england-church_flickr_aliwest44.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6125\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/new-england-church_flickr_aliwest44-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nCurt explained that he was a good kid, so the concept of sin didn’t make much sense to him at the time. “I believed that Jesus died on the cross for me, but I didn’t <em>need</em> him at that point, and then suddenly I did.  And that was what showed me my need for a savior. I knew all I needed to do was trust in him.”\n\nA few weeks after this happened, there was a man who came to Curt’s church to preach on the different levels of Hell. He said that <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain\">Cain</a> would be hanging onto the bars saying “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The man went through a few more examples when he came to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrippa_I\">King Agrippa</a>. Paul gives his testimony to Agrippa and he responds, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” (<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+26&amp;version=NKJV\">Acts 26:28</a>) The speaker said that’s what Agrippa would be saying in his room in Hell. The message was concluded with the question: “What would you be saying?”\n\n“I wanted to jump up and say, ‘I didn’t know it was the state bird!’” Curt said.\n<h2>About Christianity</h2>\nChristianity is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion which claims 2.07 billion people across the globe. This makes it the largest religion in the world with over 32% of the world’s citizenship. Below are some of the basic beliefs that Christian adherents believe (there are variations and exceptions between sects):\n<ul>\n	<li>God is the creator of the universe</li>\n	<li>God is omnipresent (always present), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipotent (all-powerful)</li>\n	<li>God sent his son, Jesus, to be born into the human world</li>\n	<li>Jesus was born fully God and fully human from a virgin woman</li>\n	<li>Since Jesus was fully God, he was incapable of sinning in his lifetime. When he was put to death by the religious leaders and people of his time, this meant he died 100% innocent. Because he was 100% innocent when he died, he was punished undeserving.</li>\n	<li>Jesus was put to death on a cross and came back to life three days later and ascended into Heaven, showing that even Death has no power of God</li>\n	<li>Sin is anything that separates man from God (sin means crime, “missing the target,” or an act that violates the nature of man or God) and all people have sinned</li>\n	<li>The penalty for sin is eternal death (Hell)</li>\n	<li>God is holy, meaning he cannot have sin in his presence (Heaven). Since all people have sinned, they cannot ever be with God. But since Jesus was took a punishment he didn’t deserve, he took the punishment for the sin of people across the world so that they would not be sent to Hell and could enter into Heaven</li>\n	<li>Salvation is not obligatory or automatic. Christians say things like “Salvation is a gift. You can accept the gift, or deny the gift.”</li>\n	<li>To be saved you must believe that Jesus is the savior of the world and is the way to God and eternal life</li>\n</ul>\nThe holy scriptures of the Christian religion is the Bible, which is made up of 66 books. Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God (meaning man wrote it, but God spoke through them) and that it is infallible text. Christians also believe that salvation isn’t just a once-and-done, but a living part of their life. Thus, they strive to have a personal relationship with God.\n<h2>Daily Practice</h2>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6136\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Garden Grove Church, also known as The Crystal Cathedral\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/ikkoskinen/334450012/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6136\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/megachurch_flickr_IKs-world-trip-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n“Back in the day there was a computer term called ‘GIGO’ (Garbage In, Garbage Out),” Curt said. “My dad always said that the world feed us all kinds of garbage and we needed offset that with scripture. Romans 12 says to continually renew our minds. So I try to do that on a regular basis,” he added. He explained to me that he tries to live out the scripture in his life and express it to his students as well.\n\nDr. Bob answered, “I’m professionally religious. So everything I do is rooted in and connected to that.” He tries to pray often and study as much as he can. “I read and work with scripture all the time for teaching and studying.”\n\nHe said that he loves Christianity because he feels grounded and like he has a vision for his life. “I’m not in this on my own, and I know God is with me. It gives me comfort and confidence,” he added.\n\nCurt loves being a Christian because of the brotherhood. In college he had some friends that met together for a Bible study, called the Agape group, which turned into a close-knit group of friends. He has remained in constant contact with them through adulthood and they have been there for each other through immense difficulties.\n<h2>Misconceptions about Christianity</h2>\nDr. Bob mentioned that one misconception is that people think Christianity is narrow, and that Christians are narrow-minded and bigots. “I mean, a lot of them <em>are</em>. But the misconception is that people think that Christians are all the same, that Jerry Falwell or Rick Santorum represent everybody. Well, they don’t represent me and they don’t represent a lot of people.”\n\nCurt says that there’s a misconception in the political arena that Christians are mean, angry, self-righteous and hypocritical. “Some of which is deserved, and I think some of mainline Christianity has created that,” he said. “But I hope to prove that wrong in my life.”\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6139\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A cross, a Christian symbol\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cross_flickr_steve-snodgrass.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6139 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cross_flickr_steve-snodgrass-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nDr. Bob and Curt are two people who seem to really be living out their faith. Dr. Bob is very active with the Troy Interfaith Group (along with Padma Kuppa) and he is bringing members of his congregation with other faith groups across metro Detroit together. Through TIG he is promoting understanding, education, and is helping others see how they can find good causes to work together on for make this world a better place. He was immediately willing to talk to me and invited me to stay for a TIG event after our conversation.\n\nCurt and his wife tried for 7 years to have children, after which they decided to adopt a baby girl from a friend from high school who had a dream that she gave them her child. “We were on our way to get her when we found out that she had spina bifida. But we already felt that God had given her to us so we went and got her, and that was 18 years ago.” They are incredible parents to her and one of the reasons that Curt stepped down from being a pastor was to spend more time with his daughter, Abbey.\n\nCurt has been very influential in my husband’s life and is a living example of the love that Christians aim to show. He also conducted our marriage counseling and presided over our wedding. Through it all it he was very kind to us and imparted practical wisdom for being better spouses and people.\n\nI appreciate Curt and Dr. Bob taking time to talk to me, and for being the kind of people who are not armchair Christians. They don’t just give lip service; they are working every day to live out the kind of change they wish to see in the world.\n\n<strong>Thank you to Dr. Bob Cornwall and Curt Motsinger for meeting with me. Also, if you’ve liked what you have read so far of Dr. Bob, check out his <a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">blog</a> and his recently released book, “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1335057353&amp;sr=8-1\">Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</a>”. </strong>\n\n<strong><em>Why do Muslim women wear their headscarves and what is Sharia really about? Find out in our next article with two Muslims from Detroit, Saeed Khan and Tuba Rizvi.</em></strong>\n\n<em>Photo credit: Dr. Bob Cornwall (used with permission), Curt Motsinger (used with permission), Flickr / swallroth (<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/swallroth/6022372857/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Jerusalem</a>), <a href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StJohnsAshfield_StainedGlass_GoodShepherd_Portrait_cropped.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia Commons</a> (Jesus in stained glass), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/alismith44/4086845511/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">aliwest44</a> (New England church), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/ikkoskinen/334450012/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">IK\'s World Trip</a> (Megachurch), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/francisteresa/2619711259/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">fradaveccs</a> (Jesus on cross), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensnodgrass/4035421598/sizes/z/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Steve Snodgrass</a> (Cross)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Christian','','inherit','open','open','','6110-autosave','','','2012-05-06 22:46:24','2012-05-07 05:46:24','',6110,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6110-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6211,38,'2012-04-23 22:32:53','2012-04-24 05:32:53','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\r\n\r\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\r\n\r\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\r\n\r\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\r\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\r\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\r\n\r\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\r\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\r\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\r\n\r\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\r\n\r\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6203\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A maypole during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6203\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\r\n\r\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\r\n\r\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\r\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\r\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6208\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Druids out for a dance during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6208 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\r\n\r\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\r\n\r\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6205\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Druid at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice (2009)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6205 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\r\n\r\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\r\n\r\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/intangible/2467735011/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">IntangibleArts</a> (Maypole), <em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowgate/3512844987/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Shadowgate</a> (Beltaine dancing),</em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagedept/3645742207/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">vintagedepot</a> (Stonehenge Druid)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-15','','','2012-04-23 22:32:53','2012-04-24 05:32:53','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6187-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(6216,38,'2012-04-24 11:12:00','2012-04-24 18:12:00','[caption id=\"attachment_6172\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Saeed Khan\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6172\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed Khan is a professor at Wayne State University, a PhD candidate, and a Muslim living in greater Detroit.  Saeed was born in Pakistan, raised in England, but has lived in the United States most of his life. He spent time in Houston, New York City, and then moved to Michigan where he is now. He attended Michigan University for his undergraduate degree and practiced law for a while after receiving a law degree from Cooley Law School.\r\n\r\n“Once 9/11 happened, I realized there was a need for not only getting into the public debate, but helping to really reshape the contours of the public debate.”\r\n<h2>The Transformative Power of Education</h2>\r\nSaeed developed a relationship with some of the professors at Rochester College, a local evangelical Christian university, and has been teaching once a quarter at the school for their World Religions class.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6170\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A mosque in Ghadames\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6170 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"A mosque in Ghadames\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“My policy—which is the same wherever I go—is that no question is out-of-bounds and I’ll be there to answer the last question. I would not it want it to be said of us that we were being evasive, or lecturing at length but avoiding the 800-pound gorillas in the room.”\r\n\r\nLast year Rochester College had a “Muslim and Christian Interaction” course based on Miroslav Volf’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Allah-Christian-Response-Miroslav-Volf/dp/0061927082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1335241235&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">Allah: A Christian Response</a>”. It was such a successful course that they will be having it again at the Rochester College campus in the fall and they will using it as a model to open similar classes at evangelical universities across the country. Saeed told me about an incredible story about one student who was dramatically changed by this course.\r\n<blockquote>One gentleman in his first journal entry (one of the required assignments) wrote \"I can’t help but think that I see the devil standing next to Professor Khan when he lectures.” I couldn’t put a name to face, however, as to who had written the entry. A few weeks later, one of the students came up to me and asked if he could talk to me after class. I put two and two together and realized that this was the author of the journal entry. After witnessing to me and telling me his testimony, he said that he felt he had become a better Christian and a better person as a result of the class. And he actually admitted his flaws of having been so judgmental and so sanctimonious that he was alienating people. From going from the start where he thought the devil was standing next to me lecturing to having that kind of moment, and being honest about it was to me one of the most powerful things I’ve experienced in a long time. It’s something that I talk about when I talk about this class and the transformative power that it’s had.\"</blockquote>\r\n<h2>About Islam</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6174\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The Quran, the Islamic holy scriptures\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6174\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIslam is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion with roughly 1.25 billion followers spread throughout the world. It is the second largest religion with 21% of the Earth’s population, meaning almost 1 in 5 people are Muslim, with the highest concentrations of adherents being in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Iran.\r\n\r\nI also interviewed Tuba Rizvi, a young Muslim woman who I met through school. Tuba was born in Pakistan, was raised in Saudi Arabia, and then came to the United States as a sophomore in high school.\r\n\r\n“The foundation of Islam is believing in the Oneness of God: the fact that God has no preceding or succeeding family and the fact that he is All-Knowing and has control over everything. Muslims are required to pray five times a day, we have several rules we are to abide by,” she said. A few of which are: not eating meats that aren’t slaughtered properly (called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallal#Dhabiha:_method_of_slaughter\"><em>halal</em></a>, similar to the Jewish <em>kosher</em>), abstaining from alcohol and keeping sex within the bounds of marriage. “Islam also has several sects, just like many other religions do. The two most common ones are the Sunni, the more dominant sect, and the Shia, which I belong to.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Everyday Life</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6169\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Tuba Rizvi\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6169\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nUnlike Saeed who said that he was practically born into Islam, Tuba has a slightly different story. While she has been Muslim her whole life, she has only been a <em>fully practicing</em> Muslim since December 2011. She decided to embrace her Muslim roots during the first month of the lunar Islamic calendar, Muharram, which is a time of mourning for the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson for Shias.\r\n\r\n“During Muharram, I just sat there and thought to myself, if someone as great as the grandson of our Prophet sacrificed his entire family just to save Islam in its true form, then I don’t understand why I should give up on my religion so quickly.”\r\n\r\nHer new commitment to Islam changed her a lot as a person, as it affects almost everything she does during the day. “It made me more aware of my choices as a Muslim. What I wear, what I do during the day, what I eat, basically everything I do is influenced by my faith. Islam is not just a religion, it is a lifestyle.”\r\n\r\nTuba said that she had a hard time deciding to wear her Hijab (the Arabic word for the Islamic headscarf). “I was so scared to go out there with a scarf on my head, especially in America, a country with so many islamophobes,” she said. “It took everything in me to start wearing the Hijab here. Thankfully though, I have yet to face severe discrimination. Mostly I have met people who are really great about everything. They ask me questions, which makes me happy because they are not jumping to conclusions but instead trying to learn more about my religion.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Femininity</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6181\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Muslim women out on the town with friends\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6181\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI asked her how she felt when someone told her that she is oppressed because she is wearing her Hijab. She said, “At first I used to find it annoying … Now I just find it humorous. It’s funny someone would tell me that my personal decision to cover my body was more oppressive than a woman struggling to fit into societal standards of beauty.” Tuba continued:\r\n<blockquote>I do not think I am being oppressed, if anything I am the opposite of oppressed. A hijab is my <em>choice</em>. Despite the stigma attached to that little piece of cloth I carry around with me, my decision to wear the hijab liberates me. My body is mine, and I choose not to share it with anybody except the man I plan to fall in love with. I want to be judged by what is <em>in</em> my head, not by what’s on it. If trying not to fit into the plastic mold that our society has carved for us is oppressive, then I guess I am oppressed.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>Islam and Terrorism</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6177\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim woman and her boy\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6177\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTuba said something very poignant to me about this subject:\r\n<blockquote>Muslims are <em>not</em> terrorists. In fact, terrorism has no religion. There have been so many times I have seen people crack bomb jokes and think it is funny. It’s not. I would also like to let everybody know that we are overly sensitive to this topic, and people still seem to push our buttons, knowing that we are sensitive. This is because, like I said, Islam is not just our religion, it is our lifestyle, and making fun of our religion is like making fun of our lives. No one likes being told that their whole life is a joke. People are always misquoting the Quran, saying that it promotes violence and the killing of everyone who is not Muslim, when in actuality our Holy Book says that a man who kills another man is not a Muslim at all.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>About Sharia</h2>\r\nOne of the big messages being heralded throughout the political landscape is the attempt to ban the Sharia. I knew enough about the Sharia to know the perception of it was incorrect, but I asked Saeed to explain it a little bit better to me. “<em>Sharia</em> basically means ‘law’. I would say it’s more of a code, but it’s a fairly encompassing code which has in it dimensions of the legal and dimensions of ethics,” he said. The Sharia was instrumental in reshaping culture during the time of Muhammad.\r\n\r\n“Generally when a non-Muslim hears about Sharia, they tend to think corporal or capital punishment, cutting off the hands for thefts, cutting off the head for murder, stoning to death for adultery. And then it extends into ‘Well then, what would be asked of a non-Muslim?’ If you as a Muslim what they think of Sharia, he or she will say that it conducts their code of conduct, it tells them when and how to pray, when and how to fast, how to deal with my family and community, and what to eat and what not to eat. It’s much more of an ethical impetus.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6178\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The star and crescent, a symbol of Islam\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons.png\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6178\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed said that the trouble in the debate about Sharia comes when Muslims tell people not to think of Sharia so violently and Americans say “No, we know what Sharia is about,” the trouble is that both parties are right. He said: “The ideas about the corporal punished <em>are</em> part of Sharia the same way that up until recently in the arc of American history, a black man and a white woman couldn’t get married in Mississippi.”\r\n<blockquote>One of the things that scares people about Sharia is the enforcement issue. There is no enforcement of Sharia in America except through the honor system of the individual. I mean, even the local imam has no authoritative jurisdiction over you. And they are also worried that maybe Muslims here will be taking direction from Saudi Arabia or Iran which are considered the centers of Islamic culture, but no one would even give them the respect to do that. So what I think it comes down to is ‘What provisions does the American legal system make for Sharia?’ And it does already in the same way it does Jewish law and Christian law. I mean, people don’t find it a contradiction in this conversation that people have off for Easter. They are worried that sharing the space with others will mean the eroding of Christian culture, and I don’t really see that being under threat by anyone other than Christians.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6179\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim man praying\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6179\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne thing that I love about Islam is the commitment to prayer. It makes me feel weird sometimes about my own faith because if Muslims stop what they are doing five times a day and stop and pray… That’s quite a bit of commitment. Why aren’t I doing that?\r\n\r\nBoth Saeed and Tuba are remarkable, personable people. Saeed is doing so much good work speaking all over the world on behalf of Muslims and interfaith efforts.  Tuba has infectious laughter, is wonderful to be around and is incredibly smart.\r\n\r\nSaeed and Tuba answered any questions I had to ask them, which is key to building a healthy and loving respect that can exist between people of very different backgrounds. I know this is only scratching the surface and I can’t wait to get to know both of them and their cultures better.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thank you to Saeed Khan and Tuba Rizvi for talking to me about themselves, their beliefs, and their beautiful cultures.</strong>\r\n\r\nPhoto credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hashir/363218273/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">hashmil</a> (Nimal Road Mosque in Colomo), Saeed Khan (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/5282815849/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">David Stanley</a> (Mosque in Ghadames), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47018070@N08/4412748105/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">insansains</a> (the Qur\'an), Tuba Rizvi (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/txh62/3177087544/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">taufiq @ eyecreation</a> (Muslim girls wearing hijab), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">amrufm</a> (Muslim woman and boy), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia Commons</a> (the star and crescent), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/6074152050/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">DVIDSHUB</a> (Muslim man praying)','Faith Interview Series: Islam','','inherit','open','open','','6166-revision-12','','','2012-04-24 11:12:00','2012-04-24 18:12:00','',6166,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6166-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(6215,38,'2012-04-23 21:20:51','2012-04-24 04:20:51','[caption id=\"attachment_6172\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Saeed Khan\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6172\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed Khan is a professor at Wayne State University, a PhD candidate, and a Muslim living in greater Detroit.  Saeed was born in Pakistan, raised in England, but has lived in the United States most of his life. He spent time in Houston, New York City, and then moved to Michigan where he is now. He attended Michigan University for his undergraduate degree and practiced law for a while after receiving a law degree from Cooley Law School.\r\n\r\n“Once 9/11 happened, I realized there was a need for not only getting into the public debate, but helping to really reshape the contours of the public debate.”\r\n<h2>The Transformative Power of Education</h2>\r\nSaeed developed a relationship with some of the professors at Rochester College, a local evangelical Christian university, and has been teaching once a quarter at the school for their World Religions class.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6170\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A mosque in Ghadames\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6170 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"A mosque in Ghadames\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“My policy—which is the same wherever I go—is that no question is out-of-bounds and I’ll be there to answer the last question. I would not it want it to be said of us that we were being evasive, or lecturing at length but avoiding the 800-pound gorillas in the room.”\r\n\r\nLast year Rochester College had a “Muslim and Christian Interaction” course based on Miroslav Volf’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Allah-Christian-Response-Miroslav-Volf/dp/0061927082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1335241235&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">Allah: A Christian Response</a>”. It was such a successful course that will be having it again at the Rochester College campus in the fall and will using it as a model to open similar classes at evangelical universities across the country. Saeed told me about an incredible story about one student who was dramatically changed by this course.\r\n\r\nOne gentleman in his first journal entry (one of the required assignments) wrote \"I can’t help but think that I see the devil standing next to Professor Khan when he lectures.” I couldn’t put a name to face, however, as to who had written the entry. A few weeks later, one of the students came up to me and asked if he could talk to me after class. I put two and two together and realized that this was the author of the journal entry. After witnessing to me and telling me his testimony, he said that he felt he had become a better Christian and a better person as a result of the class. And he actually admitted his flaws of having been so judgmental and so sanctimonious that he was alienating people. From going from the start where he thought the devil was standing next to me lecturing to having that kind of moment, and being honest about it was to me one of the most powerful things I’ve experienced in a long time. It’s something that I talk about when I talk about this class and the transformative power that it’s had.\"\r\n<h2>About Islam</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6174\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The Quran, the Islamic holy scriptures\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6174\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIslam is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion with roughly 1.25 billion followers spread throughout the world. It is the second largest religion with 21% of the Earth’s population, meaning almost 1 in 5 people are Muslim, with the highest concentrations of adherents being in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Iran.\r\n\r\nI also interviewed Tuba Rizvi, a young Muslim woman who I met through school. Tuba was born in Pakistan, was raised in Saudi Arabia, and then came to the United States as a sophomore in high school.\r\n\r\n“The foundation of Islam is believing in the Oneness of God: the fact that God has no preceding or succeeding family and the fact that he is All-Knowing and has control over everything. Muslims are required to pray five times a day, we have several rules we are to abide by,” she said. A few of which are: not eating meats that aren’t slaughtered properly (called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallal#Dhabiha:_method_of_slaughter\"><em>halal</em></a>, similar to the Jewish <em>kosher</em>), abstaining from alcohol and keeping sex within the bounds of marriage. “Islam also has several sects, just like many other religions do. The two most common ones are the Sunni, the more dominant sect, and the Shia, which I belong to.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Everyday Life</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6169\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Tuba Rizvi\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6169\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nUnlike Saeed who said that he was practically born into Islam, Tuba has a slightly different story. While she has been Muslim her whole life, she has only been a <em>fully practicing</em> Muslim since December 2011. She decided to embrace her Muslim roots during the first month of the lunar Islamic calendar, Muharram, which is a time of mourning for the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson for Shias.\r\n\r\n“During Muharram, I just sat there and thought to myself, if someone as great as the grandson of our Prophet sacrificed his entire family just to save Islam in its true form, then I don’t understand why I should give up on my religion so quickly.”\r\n\r\nHer new commitment to Islam changed her a lot as a person, as it affected almost everything she does during the day. “It made me more aware of my choices as a Muslim. What I wear, what I do during the day, what I eat, basically everything I do is influenced by my faith. Islam is not just a religion, it is a lifestyle.”\r\n\r\nTuba said that she had a hard time deciding to wear her Hijab (the Arabic word for the Islamic headscarf). “I was so scared to go out there with a scarf on my head, especially in America, a country with so many islamophobes,” she said. “It took everything in me to start wearing the Hijab here. Thankfully though, I have yet to face severe discrimination. Mostly I have met people who are really great about everything. They ask me questions, which makes me happy because they are not jumping to conclusions but instead trying to learn more about my religion.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Femininity</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6181\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Muslim women out on the town with friends\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6181\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nI asked her how she felt when someone told her that she is oppressed because she is wearing her Hijab. She said, “At first I used to find it annoying … Now I just find it humorous. It’s funny someone would tell me that my personal decision to cover my body was more oppressive than a woman struggling to fit into societal standards of beauty.” Tuba continued:\r\n\r\nI do not think I am being oppressed, if anything I am the opposite of oppressed. A hijab is my <em>choice</em>. Despite the stigma attached to that little piece of cloth I carry around with me, my decision to wear the hijab liberates me. My body is mine, and I choose not to share it with anybody except the man I plan to fall in love with. I want to be judged by what is <em>in</em> my head, not by what’s on it. If trying not to fit into the plastic mold that our society has carved for us is oppressive, then I guess I am oppressed.\r\n<h2>Islam and Terrorism</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6177\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim woman and her boy\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6177\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTuba said something very poignant to me about this subject:\r\n\r\nMuslims are <em>not</em> terrorists. In fact, terrorism has no religion. There have been so many times I have seen people crack bomb jokes and think it is funny. It’s not. I would also like to let everybody know that we are overly sensitive to this topic, and people still seem to push our buttons, knowing that we are sensitive. This is because, like I said, Islam is not just our religion, it is our lifestyle, and making fun of our religion is like making fun of our lives. No one likes being told that their whole life is a joke. People are always misquoting the Quran, saying that it promotes violence and the killing of everyone who is not Muslim, when in actuality our Holy Book says that a man who kills another man is not a Muslim at all.\r\n<h2>About Sharia</h2>\r\nOne of the big messages being heralded throughout the political landscape is the attempt to ban the Sharia. I knew enough about the Sharia to know the perception of it was incorrect, but I asked Saeed to explain it a little bit better to me. “<em>Sharia</em> basically means ‘law’. I would say it’s more of a code, but it’s a fairly encompassing code which has in it dimensions of the legal and dimensions of ethics,” he said. The Sharia was instrumental in reshaping culture during the time of Muhammad.\r\n\r\n“Generally when a non-Muslim hears about Sharia, they tend to think corporal or capital punishment, cutting off the hands for thefts, cutting off the head for murder, stoning to death for adultery. And then it extends into ‘Well then, what would be asked of a non-Muslim?’ If you as a Muslim what they think of Sharia, he or she will say that it conducts their code of conduct, it tells them when and how to pray, when and how to fast, how to deal with my family and community, and what to eat and what not to eat. It’s much more of an ethical impetus.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6178\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The star and crescent, a symbol of Islam\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons.png\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6178\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed said that the trouble in the debate about Sharia comes when Muslims tell people not to think of Sharia so violently and Americans say “No, we know what Sharia is about,” the trouble is that both parties are right. He said: “The ideas about the corporal punished <em>are</em> part of Sharia the same way that up until recently in the arc of American history, a black man and a white woman couldn’t get married in Mississippi.”\r\n\r\nOne of the things that scares people about Sharia is the enforcement issue. There is no enforcement of Sharia in America except through the honor system of the individual. I mean, even the local imam has no authoritative jurisdiction over you. And they are also worried that maybe Muslims here will be taking direction from Saudi Arabia or Iran which are considered the centers of Islamic culture, but no one would even give them the respect to do that. So what I think it comes down to is ‘What provisions does the American legal system make for Sharia?’ And it does already in the same way it does Jewish law and Christian law. I mean, people don’t find it a contradiction in this conversation that people have off for Easter. They are worried that sharing the space with others will mean the eroding of Christian culture, and I don’t really see that being under threat by anyone other than Christians.\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6179\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim man praying\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6179\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne thing that I love about Islam is the commitment to prayer. It makes me feel weird sometimes about my own faith because if Muslims stop what they are doing five times a day and stop and pray… That’s quite a bit of commitment. Why aren’t I doing that?\r\n\r\nBoth Saeed and Tuba are remarkable, personable people. Saeed is doing so much good work speaking all over the world on behalf of Muslims and interfaith efforts.  Tuba has infectious laughter, is wonderful to be around and is incredibly smart.\r\n\r\nSaeed and Tuba answered any questions I had to ask them, which is key to building a healthy and loving respect that can exist between people of very different backgrounds. I know this is only scratching the surface and I can’t wait to get to know both of them and their cultures better.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thank you to Saeed Khan and Tuba Rizvi for talking to me about themselves, their beliefs, and their beautiful cultures.</strong>\r\n\r\nPhoto credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hashir/363218273/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">hashmil</a> (Nimal Road Mosque in Colomo), Saeed Khan (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/5282815849/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">David Stanley</a> (Mosque in Ghadames), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47018070@N08/4412748105/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">insansains</a> (the Qur\'an), Tuba Rizvi (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/txh62/3177087544/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">taufiq @ eyecreation</a> (Muslim girls wearing hijab), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">amrufm</a> (Muslim woman and boy), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia Commons</a> (the star and crescent), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/6074152050/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">DVIDSHUB</a> (Muslim man praying)','Faith Interview Series: Islam','','inherit','open','open','','6166-revision-11','','','2012-04-23 21:20:51','2012-04-24 04:20:51','',6166,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6166-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(6218,38,'2012-04-24 11:17:15','2012-04-24 18:17:15','[caption id=\"attachment_6172\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Saeed Khan\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6172\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed Khan is a professor at Wayne State University, a PhD candidate, and a Muslim living in greater Detroit.  Saeed was born in Pakistan, raised in England, but has lived in the United States most of his life. He spent time in Houston, New York City, and then moved to Michigan where he is now. He attended Michigan University for his undergraduate degree and practiced law for a while after receiving a law degree from Cooley Law School.\r\n\r\n“Once 9/11 happened, I realized there was a need for not only getting into the public debate, but helping to really reshape the contours of the public debate.”\r\n<h2>The Transformative Power of Education</h2>\r\nSaeed developed a relationship with some of the professors at Rochester College, a local evangelical Christian university, and has been teaching once a quarter at the school for their World Religions class.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6170\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A mosque in Ghadames\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6170 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"A mosque in Ghadames\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“My policy—which is the same wherever I go—is that no question is out-of-bounds and I’ll be there to answer the last question. I would not it want it to be said of us that we were being evasive, or lecturing at length but avoiding the 800-pound gorillas in the room.”\r\n\r\nLast year Rochester College had a “Muslim and Christian Interaction” course based on Miroslav Volf’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Allah-Christian-Response-Miroslav-Volf/dp/0061927082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1335241235&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">Allah: A Christian Response</a>”. It was such a successful course that they will be having it again at the Rochester College campus in the fall and they will using it as a model to open similar classes at evangelical universities across the country. Saeed told me about an incredible story about one student who was dramatically changed by this course.\r\n<blockquote>One gentleman in his first journal entry (one of the required assignments) wrote \"I can’t help but think that I see the devil standing next to Professor Khan when he lectures.” I couldn’t put a name to face, however, as to who had written the entry. A few weeks later, one of the students came up to me and asked if he could talk to me after class. I put two and two together and realized that this was the author of the journal entry. After witnessing to me and telling me his testimony, he said that he felt he had become a better Christian and a better person as a result of the class. And he actually admitted his flaws of having been so judgmental and so sanctimonious that he was alienating people. From going from the start where he thought the devil was standing next to me lecturing to having that kind of moment, and being honest about it was to me one of the most powerful things I’ve experienced in a long time. It’s something that I talk about when I talk about this class and the transformative power that it’s had.\"</blockquote>\r\n<h2>About Islam</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6174\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The Quran, the Islamic holy scriptures\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6174\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIslam is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion with roughly 1.25 billion followers spread throughout the world. It is the second largest religion with 21% of the Earth’s population, meaning almost 1 in 5 people are Muslim, with the highest concentrations of adherents being in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Iran.\r\n\r\nI also interviewed Tuba Rizvi, a young Muslim woman who I met through school. Tuba was born in Pakistan, was raised in Saudi Arabia, and then came to the United States as a sophomore in high school.\r\n\r\n“The foundation of Islam is believing in the Oneness of God: the fact that God has no preceding or succeeding family and the fact that he is All-Knowing and has control over everything. Muslims are required to pray five times a day, we have several rules we are to abide by,” she said. A few of which are: not eating meats that aren’t slaughtered properly (called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallal#Dhabiha:_method_of_slaughter\"><em>halal</em></a>, similar to the Jewish <em>kosher</em>), abstaining from alcohol and keeping sex within the bounds of marriage. “Islam also has several sects, just like many other religions do. The two most common ones are the Sunni, the more dominant sect, and the Shia, which I belong to.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Everyday Life</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6169\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Tuba Rizvi\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6169\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nUnlike Saeed who said that he was practically born into Islam, Tuba has a slightly different story. While she has been Muslim her whole life, she has only been a <em>fully practicing</em> Muslim since December 2011. She decided to embrace her Muslim roots during the first month of the lunar Islamic calendar, Muharram, which is a time of mourning for the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson for Shias.\r\n\r\n“During Muharram, I just sat there and thought to myself, if someone as great as the grandson of our Prophet sacrificed his entire family just to save Islam in its true form, then I don’t understand why I should give up on my religion so quickly.”\r\n\r\nHer new commitment to Islam changed her a lot as a person, as it affects almost everything she does during the day. “It made me more aware of my choices as a Muslim. What I wear, what I do during the day, what I eat, basically everything I do is influenced by my faith. Islam is not just a religion, it is a lifestyle.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6181\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Muslim women out on the town with friends\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6181\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTuba said that she had a hard time deciding to wear her Hijab (the Arabic word for the Islamic headscarf). “I was so scared to go out there with a scarf on my head, especially in America, a country with so many islamophobes,” she said. “It took everything in me to start wearing the Hijab here. Thankfully though, I have yet to face severe discrimination. Mostly I have met people who are really great about everything. They ask me questions, which makes me happy because they are not jumping to conclusions but instead trying to learn more about my religion.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Femininity</h2>\r\nI asked her how she felt when someone told her that she is oppressed because she is wearing her Hijab. She said, “At first I used to find it annoying … Now I just find it humorous. It’s funny someone would tell me that my personal decision to cover my body was more oppressive than a woman struggling to fit into societal standards of beauty.” Tuba continued:\r\n<blockquote>I do not think I am being oppressed, if anything I am the opposite of oppressed. A hijab is my <em>choice</em>. Despite the stigma attached to that little piece of cloth I carry around with me, my decision to wear the hijab liberates me. My body is mine, and I choose not to share it with anybody except the man I plan to fall in love with. I want to be judged by what is <em>in</em> my head, not by what’s on it. If trying not to fit into the plastic mold that our society has carved for us is oppressive, then I guess I am oppressed.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>Islam and Terrorism</h2>\r\nTuba said something very poignant to me about this subject:\r\n<blockquote>Muslims are <em>not</em> terrorists. In fact, terrorism has no religion. There have been so many times I have seen people crack bomb jokes and think it is funny. It’s not. I would also like to let everybody know that we are overly sensitive to this topic, and people still seem to push our buttons, knowing that we are sensitive. This is because, like I said, Islam is not just our religion, it is our lifestyle, and making fun of our religion is like making fun of our lives. No one likes being told that their whole life is a joke. People are always misquoting the Quran, saying that it promotes violence and the killing of everyone who is not Muslim, when in actuality our Holy Book says that a man who kills another man is not a Muslim at all.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>About Sharia</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6177\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim woman and her boy\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6177\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne of the big messages being heralded throughout the political landscape is the attempt to ban the Sharia. I knew enough about the Sharia to know the perception of it was incorrect, but I asked Saeed to explain it a little bit better to me. “<em>Sharia</em> basically means ‘law’. I would say it’s more of a code, but it’s a fairly encompassing code which has in it dimensions of the legal and dimensions of ethics,” he said. The Sharia was instrumental in reshaping culture during the time of Muhammad.\r\n\r\n“Generally when a non-Muslim hears about Sharia, they tend to think corporal or capital punishment, cutting off the hands for thefts, cutting off the head for murder, stoning to death for adultery. And then it extends into ‘Well then, what would be asked of a non-Muslim?’ If you as a Muslim what they think of Sharia, he or she will say that it conducts their code of conduct, it tells them when and how to pray, when and how to fast, how to deal with my family and community, and what to eat and what not to eat. It’s much more of an ethical impetus.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6178\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"105\" caption=\"The star and crescent, a symbol of Islam\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons.png\"><img class=\" wp-image-6178 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"105\" height=\"105\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed said that the trouble in the debate about Sharia comes when Muslims tell people not to think of Sharia so violently and Americans say “No, we know what Sharia is about,” the trouble is that both parties are right. He said: “The ideas about the corporal punished <em>are</em> part of Sharia the same way that up until recently in the arc of American history, a black man and a white woman couldn’t get married in Mississippi.”\r\n<blockquote>One of the things that scares people about Sharia is the enforcement issue. There is no enforcement of Sharia in America except through the honor system of the individual. I mean, even the local imam has no authoritative jurisdiction over you. And they are also worried that maybe Muslims here will be taking direction from Saudi Arabia or Iran which are considered the centers of Islamic culture, but no one would even give them the respect to do that. So what I think it comes down to is ‘What provisions does the American legal system make for Sharia?’ And it does already in the same way it does Jewish law and Christian law. I mean, people don’t find it a contradiction in this conversation that people have off for Easter. They are worried that sharing the space with others will mean the eroding of Christian culture, and I don’t really see that being under threat by anyone other than Christians.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6179\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim man praying\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6179\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne thing that I love about Islam is the commitment to prayer. It makes me feel weird sometimes about my own faith because if Muslims stop what they are doing five times a day and stop and pray… That’s quite a bit of commitment. Why aren’t I doing that?\r\n\r\nBoth Saeed and Tuba are remarkable, personable people. Saeed is doing so much good work speaking all over the world on behalf of Muslims and interfaith efforts.  Tuba has infectious laughter, is wonderful to be around and is incredibly smart.\r\n\r\nSaeed and Tuba answered any questions I had to ask them, which is key to building a healthy and loving respect that can exist between people of very different backgrounds. I know this is only scratching the surface and I can’t wait to get to know both of them and their cultures better.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thank you to Saeed Khan and Tuba Rizvi for talking to me about themselves, their beliefs, and their beautiful cultures.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hashir/363218273/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">hashmil</a> (Nimal Road Mosque in Colomo), Saeed Khan (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/5282815849/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">David Stanley</a> (Mosque in Ghadames), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47018070@N08/4412748105/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">insansains</a> (the Qur\'an), Tuba Rizvi (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/txh62/3177087544/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">taufiq @ eyecreation</a> (Muslim girls wearing hijab), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">amrufm</a> (Muslim woman and boy), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia Commons</a> (the star and crescent), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/6074152050/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">DVIDSHUB</a> (Muslim man praying)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Islam','','inherit','open','open','','6166-revision-14','','','2012-04-24 11:17:15','2012-04-24 18:17:15','',6166,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6166-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(6217,38,'2012-04-24 11:16:18','2012-04-24 18:16:18','[caption id=\"attachment_6172\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Saeed Khan\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6172\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/S.Khan-photo-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed Khan is a professor at Wayne State University, a PhD candidate, and a Muslim living in greater Detroit.  Saeed was born in Pakistan, raised in England, but has lived in the United States most of his life. He spent time in Houston, New York City, and then moved to Michigan where he is now. He attended Michigan University for his undergraduate degree and practiced law for a while after receiving a law degree from Cooley Law School.\r\n\r\n“Once 9/11 happened, I realized there was a need for not only getting into the public debate, but helping to really reshape the contours of the public debate.”\r\n<h2>The Transformative Power of Education</h2>\r\nSaeed developed a relationship with some of the professors at Rochester College, a local evangelical Christian university, and has been teaching once a quarter at the school for their World Religions class.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6170\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A mosque in Ghadames\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6170 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/mosque-ghadames_flickr_david-stanley-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"A mosque in Ghadames\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“My policy—which is the same wherever I go—is that no question is out-of-bounds and I’ll be there to answer the last question. I would not it want it to be said of us that we were being evasive, or lecturing at length but avoiding the 800-pound gorillas in the room.”\r\n\r\nLast year Rochester College had a “Muslim and Christian Interaction” course based on Miroslav Volf’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Allah-Christian-Response-Miroslav-Volf/dp/0061927082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1335241235&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">Allah: A Christian Response</a>”. It was such a successful course that they will be having it again at the Rochester College campus in the fall and they will using it as a model to open similar classes at evangelical universities across the country. Saeed told me about an incredible story about one student who was dramatically changed by this course.\r\n<blockquote>One gentleman in his first journal entry (one of the required assignments) wrote \"I can’t help but think that I see the devil standing next to Professor Khan when he lectures.” I couldn’t put a name to face, however, as to who had written the entry. A few weeks later, one of the students came up to me and asked if he could talk to me after class. I put two and two together and realized that this was the author of the journal entry. After witnessing to me and telling me his testimony, he said that he felt he had become a better Christian and a better person as a result of the class. And he actually admitted his flaws of having been so judgmental and so sanctimonious that he was alienating people. From going from the start where he thought the devil was standing next to me lecturing to having that kind of moment, and being honest about it was to me one of the most powerful things I’ve experienced in a long time. It’s something that I talk about when I talk about this class and the transformative power that it’s had.\"</blockquote>\r\n<h2>About Islam</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6174\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The Quran, the Islamic holy scriptures\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6174\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/quran_flickr_insansains-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIslam is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion with roughly 1.25 billion followers spread throughout the world. It is the second largest religion with 21% of the Earth’s population, meaning almost 1 in 5 people are Muslim, with the highest concentrations of adherents being in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Iran.\r\n\r\nI also interviewed Tuba Rizvi, a young Muslim woman who I met through school. Tuba was born in Pakistan, was raised in Saudi Arabia, and then came to the United States as a sophomore in high school.\r\n\r\n“The foundation of Islam is believing in the Oneness of God: the fact that God has no preceding or succeeding family and the fact that he is All-Knowing and has control over everything. Muslims are required to pray five times a day, we have several rules we are to abide by,” she said. A few of which are: not eating meats that aren’t slaughtered properly (called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallal#Dhabiha:_method_of_slaughter\"><em>halal</em></a>, similar to the Jewish <em>kosher</em>), abstaining from alcohol and keeping sex within the bounds of marriage. “Islam also has several sects, just like many other religions do. The two most common ones are the Sunni, the more dominant sect, and the Shia, which I belong to.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Everyday Life</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6169\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Tuba Rizvi\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6169\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tubarizvi-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nUnlike Saeed who said that he was practically born into Islam, Tuba has a slightly different story. While she has been Muslim her whole life, she has only been a <em>fully practicing</em> Muslim since December 2011. She decided to embrace her Muslim roots during the first month of the lunar Islamic calendar, Muharram, which is a time of mourning for the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson for Shias.\r\n\r\n“During Muharram, I just sat there and thought to myself, if someone as great as the grandson of our Prophet sacrificed his entire family just to save Islam in its true form, then I don’t understand why I should give up on my religion so quickly.”\r\n\r\nHer new commitment to Islam changed her a lot as a person, as it affects almost everything she does during the day. “It made me more aware of my choices as a Muslim. What I wear, what I do during the day, what I eat, basically everything I do is influenced by my faith. Islam is not just a religion, it is a lifestyle.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6181\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Muslim women out on the town with friends\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6181\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-women-hijab_flickr_taufiq-at-eyecreation-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nTuba said that she had a hard time deciding to wear her Hijab (the Arabic word for the Islamic headscarf). “I was so scared to go out there with a scarf on my head, especially in America, a country with so many islamophobes,” she said. “It took everything in me to start wearing the Hijab here. Thankfully though, I have yet to face severe discrimination. Mostly I have met people who are really great about everything. They ask me questions, which makes me happy because they are not jumping to conclusions but instead trying to learn more about my religion.”\r\n<h2>Islam and Femininity</h2>\r\nI asked her how she felt when someone told her that she is oppressed because she is wearing her Hijab. She said, “At first I used to find it annoying … Now I just find it humorous. It’s funny someone would tell me that my personal decision to cover my body was more oppressive than a woman struggling to fit into societal standards of beauty.” Tuba continued:\r\n<blockquote>I do not think I am being oppressed, if anything I am the opposite of oppressed. A hijab is my <em>choice</em>. Despite the stigma attached to that little piece of cloth I carry around with me, my decision to wear the hijab liberates me. My body is mine, and I choose not to share it with anybody except the man I plan to fall in love with. I want to be judged by what is <em>in</em> my head, not by what’s on it. If trying not to fit into the plastic mold that our society has carved for us is oppressive, then I guess I am oppressed.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>Islam and Terrorism</h2>\r\nTuba said something very poignant to me about this subject:\r\n<blockquote>Muslims are <em>not</em> terrorists. In fact, terrorism has no religion. There have been so many times I have seen people crack bomb jokes and think it is funny. It’s not. I would also like to let everybody know that we are overly sensitive to this topic, and people still seem to push our buttons, knowing that we are sensitive. This is because, like I said, Islam is not just our religion, it is our lifestyle, and making fun of our religion is like making fun of our lives. No one likes being told that their whole life is a joke. People are always misquoting the Quran, saying that it promotes violence and the killing of everyone who is not Muslim, when in actuality our Holy Book says that a man who kills another man is not a Muslim at all.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>About Sharia</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6177\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim woman and her boy\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6177\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-woman-boy_flickr_amrufm-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne of the big messages being heralded throughout the political landscape is the attempt to ban the Sharia. I knew enough about the Sharia to know the perception of it was incorrect, but I asked Saeed to explain it a little bit better to me. “<em>Sharia</em> basically means ‘law’. I would say it’s more of a code, but it’s a fairly encompassing code which has in it dimensions of the legal and dimensions of ethics,” he said. The Sharia was instrumental in reshaping culture during the time of Muhammad.\r\n\r\n“Generally when a non-Muslim hears about Sharia, they tend to think corporal or capital punishment, cutting off the hands for thefts, cutting off the head for murder, stoning to death for adultery. And then it extends into ‘Well then, what would be asked of a non-Muslim?’ If you as a Muslim what they think of Sharia, he or she will say that it conducts their code of conduct, it tells them when and how to pray, when and how to fast, how to deal with my family and community, and what to eat and what not to eat. It’s much more of an ethical impetus.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6178\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The star and crescent, a symbol of Islam\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons.png\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6178\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-and-crescent_wikipedia-commons-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nSaeed said that the trouble in the debate about Sharia comes when Muslims tell people not to think of Sharia so violently and Americans say “No, we know what Sharia is about,” the trouble is that both parties are right. He said: “The ideas about the corporal punished <em>are</em> part of Sharia the same way that up until recently in the arc of American history, a black man and a white woman couldn’t get married in Mississippi.”\r\n<blockquote>One of the things that scares people about Sharia is the enforcement issue. There is no enforcement of Sharia in America except through the honor system of the individual. I mean, even the local imam has no authoritative jurisdiction over you. And they are also worried that maybe Muslims here will be taking direction from Saudi Arabia or Iran which are considered the centers of Islamic culture, but no one would even give them the respect to do that. So what I think it comes down to is ‘What provisions does the American legal system make for Sharia?’ And it does already in the same way it does Jewish law and Christian law. I mean, people don’t find it a contradiction in this conversation that people have off for Easter. They are worried that sharing the space with others will mean the eroding of Christian culture, and I don’t really see that being under threat by anyone other than Christians.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6179\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Muslim man praying\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6179\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/muslim-man-praying_flickr_dvidshub-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne thing that I love about Islam is the commitment to prayer. It makes me feel weird sometimes about my own faith because if Muslims stop what they are doing five times a day and stop and pray… That’s quite a bit of commitment. Why aren’t I doing that?\r\n\r\nBoth Saeed and Tuba are remarkable, personable people. Saeed is doing so much good work speaking all over the world on behalf of Muslims and interfaith efforts.  Tuba has infectious laughter, is wonderful to be around and is incredibly smart.\r\n\r\nSaeed and Tuba answered any questions I had to ask them, which is key to building a healthy and loving respect that can exist between people of very different backgrounds. I know this is only scratching the surface and I can’t wait to get to know both of them and their cultures better.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thank you to Saeed Khan and Tuba Rizvi for talking to me about themselves, their beliefs, and their beautiful cultures.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hashir/363218273/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">hashmil</a> (Nimal Road Mosque in Colomo), Saeed Khan (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/5282815849/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">David Stanley</a> (Mosque in Ghadames), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47018070@N08/4412748105/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">insansains</a> (the Qur\'an), Tuba Rizvi (used with permission), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/txh62/3177087544/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">taufiq @ eyecreation</a> (Muslim girls wearing hijab), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">amrufm</a> (Muslim woman and boy), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrufm/578107847/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia Commons</a> (the star and crescent), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/6074152050/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">DVIDSHUB</a> (Muslim man praying)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Islam','','inherit','open','open','','6166-revision-13','','','2012-04-24 11:16:18','2012-04-24 18:16:18','',6166,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6166-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(6219,38,'2012-05-16 07:08:53','2012-05-16 14:08:53','[caption id=\"attachment_6153\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6153 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nRabbi Jason Miller grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan. He attended James Madison College at Michigan State University where he graduated with a degree in International Relations. He then went to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York where he became an ordained Rabbi and earned a master’s degree in Education.\n\nI asked Rabbi Jason how he came to the Jewish faith. “I was raised in the Jewish faith,” he told me. When he was in college he became involved in the Jewish community on campus. “That led me to make the decision that after I graduated I would attend rabbinical school instead of law school.”\n\nHow does one practice the Jewish faith on a daily basis? Rabbi Jason replied: “I’m an observant Jew. I have daily prayer, I keep kosher, Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays.”\n\nA misconception that people have about him when he talks about being a Rabbi is that people automatically think he must be in charge of a large congregation. He is not, but is instead a businessman and social media guru. “I’m a teacher, entrepreneur, businessman, visiting Rabbi at several congregations, and I perform ceremonies for life cycle events,” Rabbi Jason said.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6151\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Synagogue of Pécs in Hungary\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6151\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe Huffington post named Rabbi Jason as one of the top ten most influential Jews in social media and he recently won a Jewish Influencer award from the National Jewish Outreach Program. He <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller\">writes articles</a> for The Huffington Post and has a <a href=\"http://blog.rabbijason.com/\">personal blog</a> which he has run since 2003. He took over the family business, Access Computer Technology, from his father in 2010. The company began in 1994 and provides IT support, social media marketing, and website design/build. He also owns Kosher Michigan, a kosher certification agency.\n\nI asked him how social media interacts with his faith and he said, “Through social media, the global Jewish community appears smaller than it used to be. Traditional borders and barriers that have kept us from each other have virtually disappeared. We’re becoming much more interconnected educationally, religiously, socially, and culturally.”\n<h2>About Judaism</h2>\nJudaism is an Abrahamic faith and is one of the oldest surviving monotheistic faiths in the world. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism\">According to Wikipedia</a>, in 2010 there were an estimated 13.4 million Jews around the world, 42% of which live in Jerusalem and another 42% of which live in the United States or Canada.\n\nLife cycle events in the Jewish faith include things like birth and the first month of life (ritual circumcision on the eighth day for baby boys), bar and bat mitzvahs, divorce, marriage, and death and grieving.\n\nRabbi Jason Miller loves being a part of the Jewish faith. He said “I love the time-honored traditions, celebrations, and also the emphasis on education.”\n\nJudaism does not have a set of things you absolutely have to believe to be a Jew, but there is a list of 13 principles that encompass the most widely accepted principles written by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon.  These principles work hand-in-hand with the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Commandments\">10 Commandments</a>.\n<h2><strong>13 Principles of Faith</strong></h2>\n<ol>\n	<li>God exists</li>\n	<li>God is one and unique</li>\n	<li>God is incorporeal</li>\n	<li>God is eternal</li>\n	<li>Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other</li>\n	<li>The words of the prophets are true</li>\n	<li>Moses\' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets</li>\n	<li>The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses</li>\n	<li>There will be no other Torah</li>\n	<li>God knows the thoughts and deeds of men</li>\n	<li>God will reward the good and punish the wicked</li>\n	<li>The Messiah will come</li>\n	<li>The dead will be resurrected</li>\n</ol>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6157\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A synagogue in Budapest\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6157 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nRabbi Jason does not believe this personally, but the reason you will sometimes see the word “God” written by Jews with the dash in place of the “o” is because according to some Jewish traditions one should not speak or write the name of God frivolously, which is the fourth commandment. Also, it is rooted in a respect for God; His name is to remain sacred and not spoken unless in prayer or recitation. Substitutions like “Hashem” are sometimes used in place of God’s name.\n\nOne of the core tenets of the Jewish faith is that Jews do not believe that Jesus was/is the Messiah (which is a Christian belief). In one of his most recent articles written for The Huffington Post called “<a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller/jesus-we-can-finally-talk_b_1241538.html\">Jesus, We Can Finally Talk about Jesus</a>”, Rabbi Jason Miller talked about how at the end of his time at the Jewish Theological Seminary, he was asked to do a presentation for a group of undergrads at The College of St. Elizabeth.\n<blockquote>In preparation for my visit [the teacher] asked the students to submit a list of five questions each that they would like me to consider. Without any exaggeration, a full 90 percent of the students included at least one question about Jesus Christ in their list. […] Many of the women in that class at the College of St. Elizabeth were surprised to learn that Jews do not consider Jesus to be the messiah and the entire class was shocked to discover that Jesus\' teachings were not part of the required coursework I was doing in my rabbinical school studies.</blockquote>\n<em>Kosher</em> (“kashrut” in Hebrew) is a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods\">set of dietary laws</a> for those of the Jewish faith to ensure that their food is fit to eat, though the work can also mean things that are proper, legitimate, or approved for use. From a historical context, this code was a way of ensuring <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods#Ritual_slaughter\">humane slaughtering</a>, kept the Jews from eating animals prone to infection, and kept their food disease free.\n<h2><strong>Holidays</strong></h2>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6160\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Rabbi in traditional dress\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6160 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nJews celebrate a lot of holidays throughout the year and the celebrations can vary from group to group, but here are a few of the top holidays that are celebrated by almost all of them.\n\n<strong>Passover</strong> – This holiday commemorates the Israelite’s exodus from a tyrannical reign in Egypt. This holiday lasts seven days for Israel and for the Reform Movement, and eight days for all other Jews. Passover begins on the first full moon in April.\n\n<strong>Rosh Hashanah</strong> – This is the Jewish New Year according to the Judaic calendar. It lasts between one to two days and falls between Labor Day and Columbus Day. (On the site <a href=\"http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayg.htm\">JewFAQ.org</a>, they mention that ‘You\'ve heard of \"twice-a-year Christians’ who go to church only on Christmas and Easter? ‘Twice-a-year Jews’ go to synagogue only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.”\n\n<strong>Yom Kippur</strong> – This holiday occurs on the ninth day after the first day of Rosh Hashanah. It is a somber holiday that is used as an annual day of repentance for sins that have been committed throughout the previous year.\n\n<strong>Chanukkah (Hanukkah)</strong> – This is the festival of lights which starts sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chanukkah is in memory of the Israelites\' rededication the temple in Jerusalem after a successful revolt against Seleucid Greeks.\n\nHis faith has helped him through difficult times in his life through learning what it means to truly engage with faith, through connecting with G-d in prayer, and through reliance on the community. He said, “Here in Detroit we have a very close-knit community that transcends denominations and different walks of life. It’s wonderful.”\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6161\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Star of David, a symbol of Judaism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6161 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nOne of the central ideas that originates from Jewish culture is that of <em>chesed</em>, which roughly means “loving-kindness” and going the extra mile to take care of others. I have heard translated to mean “Love God, Love Man”. Another key idea is <em>tikkun olam</em> which means “repairing the world”. Basically, Jews aren’t supposed to simply focus on self-preservation but work for the healing and restoration of the world we live in. Followers of the Jewish faith are to build their lives on these two ideas and show love and kindness to everyone they interact with.\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\nRabbi Jason Miller has devoted his life to the Jewish way of life and connecting the community. Through social media he is doing his part to bring the Jewish world together. Through his companies he is working to better the lives of Jews and non-Jews alike in Detroit. And through his writing he is challenging and inspiring fellow Jews and Detroiters.\n\n<strong>I appreciate Rabbi Jason taking the time to talk to me and I hope that someday it is be said of me that I have done even a fraction of what he has for his community.</strong>\n\n<em><strong>Ever met a Druid? Now you\'ll get the chance to! We\'ll hear from Robert, a Neopagan Druid from Plymouth, Michigan.</strong></em>\n\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/3380936274/\" target=\"_blank\">david_shankbone</a> (A Jew kissing the Wailing Wall) <a href=\"http://www.rabbijason.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Miller</a> (used with permission), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmanueldyan/5131506614/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Emmanuel Dyan</a> (Syangogue in Hungary), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/14599621@N02/4185625144/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Chatham University JKM Library</a> (Nazareth), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/parisharing/6809648392/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">ParisSharing</a> (synagogue in Budapest), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/molotalk/5895823303/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">molotalk</a> (Rabbi), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/3065649911/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Klearchos Kapoutsis</a> (Star of David)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Jew','','inherit','open','open','','6108-autosave','','','2012-05-16 07:08:53','2012-05-16 14:08:53','',6108,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6108-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6689,38,'2012-05-06 22:43:15','2012-05-07 05:43:15','[caption id=\"attachment_6153\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6153 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan. He attended James Madison College at Michigan State University where he graduated with a degree in International Relations. He then went to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York where he became an ordained Rabbi and earned a master’s degree in Education.\r\n\r\nI asked Rabbi Jason how he came to the Jewish faith. “I was raised in the Jewish faith,” he told me. When he was in college he became involved in the Jewish community on campus. “That led me to make the decision that after I graduated I would attend rabbinical school instead of law school.”\r\n\r\nHow does one practice the Jewish faith on a daily basis? Rabbi Jason replied: “I’m an observant Jew. I have daily prayer, I keep kosher, Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays.”\r\n\r\nA misconception that people have about him when he talks about being a Rabbi is that people automatically think he must be in charge of a large congregation. He is not, but is instead a businessman and social media guru. “I’m a teacher, entrepreneur, businessman, visiting Rabbi at several congregations, and I perform ceremonies for life cycle events,” Rabbi Jason said.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6151\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Synagogue of Pécs in Hungary\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6151\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Huffington post named Rabbi Jason as one of the top ten most influential Jews in social media and he recently won a Jewish Influencer award from the National Jewish Outreach Program. He <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller\">writes articles</a> for The Huffington Post and has a <a href=\"http://blog.rabbijason.com/\">personal blog</a> which he has run since 2006. He took over the family business, Access Computer Technology, from his father in 2010. The company began in 1994 and provides IT support, social media marketing, and website design/build. He also owns Kosher Michigan, a kosher certification agency.\r\n\r\nI asked him how social media interacts with his faith and he said, “Through social media, the global Jewish community appears smaller than it used to be. Traditional borders and barriers that have kept us from each other have virtually disappeared. We’re becoming much more interconnected educationally, religiously, socially, and culturally.”\r\n<h2>About Judaism</h2>\r\nJudaism is an Abrahamic faith and is one of the oldest surviving monotheistic faiths in the world. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism\">According to Wikipedia</a>, in 2010 there were an estimated 13.4 million Jews around the world, 42% of which live in Jerusalem and another 42% of which live in the United States or Canada.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6155\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university-300x281.jpg\" alt=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\" width=\"300\" height=\"281\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLife cycle events in the Jewish faith include things like birth and the first month of life (ritual circumcision on the eighth day for baby boys), bar and bat mitzvahs, divorce, marriage, and death and grieving.\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller loves being a part of the Jewish faith. He said “I love the time-honored traditions, celebrations, and also the emphasis on education.”\r\n\r\nJudaism does not have a set of things you absolutely have to believe to be a Jew, but there is a list of 13 principles that encompass the most widely accepted principles written by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon.  These principles work hand-in-hand with the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Commandments\">10 Commandments</a>.\r\n<h2><strong>13 Principles of Faith</strong></h2>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>God exists</li>\r\n	<li>God is one and unique</li>\r\n	<li>God is incorporeal</li>\r\n	<li>God is eternal</li>\r\n	<li>Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other</li>\r\n	<li>The words of the prophets are true</li>\r\n	<li>Moses\' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets</li>\r\n	<li>The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses</li>\r\n	<li>There will be no other Torah</li>\r\n	<li>God knows the thoughts and deeds of men</li>\r\n	<li>God will reward the good and punish the wicked</li>\r\n	<li>The Messiah will come</li>\r\n	<li>The dead will be resurrected</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6157\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A synagogue in Budapest\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6157\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason does not believe this personally, but the reason you will sometimes see the word “God” written by Jews with the dash in place of the “o” is because according to some Jewish traditions one should not speak or write the name of God frivolously, which is the fourth commandment. Also, it is rooted in a respect for God; His name is to remain sacred and not spoken unless in prayer or recitation. Substitutions like “Adonai” are often used in place of God’s name.\r\n\r\nThe majority of Jews do not read the New Testament or believe Jesus was the Messiah, which is where Christianity and Judaism part ways. In one of his most recent articles written for The Huffington Post called “<a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller/jesus-we-can-finally-talk_b_1241538.html\">Jesus, We Can Finally Talk about Jesus</a>”, Rabbi Jason Miller talked about how at the end of his time at the Jewish Theological Seminary, he was asked to do a presentation for a group of undergrads at The College of St. Elizabeth.\r\n<blockquote>In preparation for my visit [the teacher] asked the students to submit a list of five questions each that they would like me to consider. Without any exaggeration, a full 90 percent of the students included at least one question about Jesus Christ in their list. […] Many of the women in that class at the College of St. Elizabeth were surprised to learn that Jews do not consider Jesus to be the messiah and the entire class was shocked to discover that Jesus\' teachings were not part of the required coursework I was doing in my rabbinical school studies.</blockquote>\r\n<em>Kosher</em> (“kashrut” in Hebrew) is a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods\">set of dietary laws</a> for those of the Jewish faith to ensure that their food is fit to eat, though the work can also mean things that are proper, legitimate, or approved for use. From a historical context, this code was a way of ensuring <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods#Ritual_slaughter\">humane slaughtering</a>, kept the Jews from eating animals prone to infection, and kept their food disease free.\r\n<h2><strong>Holidays</strong></h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6160\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Rabbi in traditional dress\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6160\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nJews celebrate a lot of holidays throughout the year and the celebrations can vary from group to group, but here are a few of the top holidays that are celebrated by almost all of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Passover</strong> – This holiday commemorates the Israelite’s exodus from a tyrannical reign in Egypt. This holiday typical lasts from seven to eight days and starts on the first full moon in April.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rosh Hashanah</strong> – This is the Jewish New Year according to the Judaic calendar. It lasts between one to two days and falls between Labor Day and Columbus Day. (On the site <a href=\"http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayg.htm\">JewFAQ.org</a>, they mention that ‘You\'ve heard of \"twice-a-year Christians’ who go to church only on Christmas and Easter? ‘Twice-a-year Jews’ go to synagogue only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Yom Kippur</strong> – This holiday occurs on the ninth day after the first day of Rosh Hashanah. It is a somber holiday that is used as an annual day of repentance for sins that have been committed throughout the previous year.\r\n\r\n<strong>Chanukkah (Hanukkah)</strong> – This is the festival of lights which starts sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chanukkah is in memory of the Israelites\' rededication the temple in Jerusalem after a successful revolt against Seleucid Greeks.\r\n\r\nHis faith has helped him through difficult times in his life through learning what it means to truly engage with faith, through connecting with G-d in prayer, and through reliance on the community. He said, “Here in Detroit we have a very close-knit community that transcends denominations and different walks of life. It’s wonderful.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6161\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Star of David, a symbol of Judaism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6161\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne of the central ideas that originates from Jewish culture is that of <em>chesed</em>, which roughly means “loving-kindness” and going the extra mile to take care of others. I have heard translated to mean “Love G-d, Love Man”. Another key idea is <em>tikkun olam</em> which means “repairing the world”. Basically, Jews aren’t supposed to simply focus on self-preservation but work for the healing and restoration of the world we live in. Followers of the Jewish faith are to build their lives on these two ideas and show love and kindness to everyone they interact with.\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nRabbi Jason Miller has devoted his life to the Jewish way of life and connecting the community. Through social media he is doing his part to bring the Jewish world together. Through his companies he is working to better the lives of Jews and non-Jews alike in Detroit. And through his writing he is challenging and inspiring fellow Jews and Detroiters.\r\n\r\n<strong>I appreciate Rabbi Jason taking the time to talk to me and I hope that someday it be said of me that I have done even a fraction of what he has for his community.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em><strong>Ever met a Druid? Now you\'ll get the chance to! We\'ll hear from Robert, a Neopagan Druid from Plymouth, Michigan.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/3380936274/\" target=\"_blank\">david_shankbone</a> (A Jew kissing the Wailing Wall) <a href=\"http://www.rabbijason.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Miller</a> (used with permission), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmanueldyan/5131506614/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Emmanuel Dyan</a> (Syangogue in Hungary), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/14599621@N02/4185625144/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Chatham University JKM Library</a> (Nazareth), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/parisharing/6809648392/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">ParisSharing</a> (synagogue in Budapest), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/molotalk/5895823303/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">molotalk</a> (Rabbi), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/3065649911/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Klearchos Kapoutsis</a> (Star of David)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Jew','','inherit','open','open','','6108-revision-21','','','2012-05-06 22:43:15','2012-05-07 05:43:15','',6108,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/06/6108-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(6220,38,'2012-04-23 17:53:48','2012-04-24 00:53:48','[caption id=\"attachment_6153\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6153 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan. He attended James Madison College at Michigan State University where he graduated with a degree in International Relations. He then went to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York where he became an ordained Rabbi and earned a master’s degree in Education.\r\n\r\nI asked Rabbi Jason how he came to the Jewish faith. “I was raised in the Jewish faith,” he told me. When he was in college he became involved in the Jewish community on campus. “That led me to make the decision that after I graduated I would attend rabbinical school instead of law school.”\r\n\r\nHow does one practice the Jewish faith on a daily basis? Rabbi Jason replied: “I’m an observant Jew. I have daily prayer, I keep kosher, Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays.”\r\n\r\nA misconception that people have about him when he talks about being a Rabbi is that people automatically think he must be in charge of a large congregation. He is not, but is instead a businessman and social media guru. “I’m a teacher, entrepreneur, businessman, visiting Rabbi at several congregations, and I perform ceremonies for life cycle events,” Rabbi Jason said.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6151\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Synagogue of Pécs in Hungary\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6151\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Huffington post named Rabbi Jason as one of the top ten most influential Jews in social media and he recently won a Jewish Influencer award from the National Jewish Outreach Program. He <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller\">writes articles</a> for The Huffington Post and has a <a href=\"http://blog.rabbijason.com/\">personal blog</a> which he has run since 2006. He took over the family business, Access Computer Technology, from his father in 2010. The company began in 1994 and provides IT support, social media marketing, and website design/build. He also owns Kosher Michigan, a kosher certification agency.\r\n\r\nI asked him how social media interacts with his faith and he said, “Through social media, the global Jewish community appears smaller than it used to be. Traditional borders and barriers that have kept us from each other have virtually disappeared. We’re becoming much more interconnected educationally, religiously, socially, and culturally.”\r\n<h3>About Judaism</h3>\r\nJudaism is an Abrahamic faith and is one of the oldest surviving monotheistic faiths in the world. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism\">According to Wikipedia</a>, in 2010 there were an estimated 13.4 million Jews around the world, 42% of which live in Jerusalem and another 42% of which live in the United States or Canada.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6155\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university-300x281.jpg\" alt=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\" width=\"300\" height=\"281\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLife cycle events in the Jewish faith include things like birth and the first month of life (ritual circumcision on the eighth day for baby boys), bar and bat mitzvahs, divorce, marriage, and death and grieving.\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller loves being a part of the Jewish faith. He said “I love the time-honored traditions, celebrations, and also the emphasis on education.”\r\n\r\nJudaism does not have a set of things you absolutely have to believe to be a Jew, but there is a list of 13 principles that encompass the most widely accepted principles written by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon.  These principles work hand-in-hand with the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Commandments\">10 Commandments</a>.\r\n<h3><strong>13 Principles of Faith</strong></h3>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>God exists</li>\r\n	<li>God is one and unique</li>\r\n	<li>God is incorporeal</li>\r\n	<li>God is eternal</li>\r\n	<li>Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other</li>\r\n	<li>The words of the prophets are true</li>\r\n	<li>Moses\' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets</li>\r\n	<li>The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses</li>\r\n	<li>There will be no other Torah</li>\r\n	<li>God knows the thoughts and deeds of men</li>\r\n	<li>God will reward the good and punish the wicked</li>\r\n	<li>The Messiah will come</li>\r\n	<li>The dead will be resurrected</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6157\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A synagogue in Budapest\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6157\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason does not believe this personally, but the reason you will sometimes see the word “God” written by Jews with the dash in place of the “o” is because according to some Jewish traditions one should not speak or write the name of God frivolously, which is the fourth commandment. Also, it is rooted in a respect for God; His name is to remain sacred and not spoken unless in prayer or recitation. Substitutions like “Adonai” are often used in place of God’s name.\r\n\r\nThe majority of Jews do not read the New Testament or believe Jesus was the Messiah, which is where Christianity and Judaism part ways. In one of his most recent articles written for The Huffington Post called “<a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller/jesus-we-can-finally-talk_b_1241538.html\">Jesus, We Can Finally Talk about Jesus</a>”, Rabbi Jason Miller talked about how at the end of his time at the Jewish Theological Seminary, he was asked to do a presentation for a group of undergrads at The College of St. Elizabeth.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6160\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Rabbi in traditional dress\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6160\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIn preparation for my visit [the teacher] asked the students to submit a list of five questions each that they would like me to consider. Without any exaggeration, a full 90 percent of the students included at least one question about Jesus Christ in their list. […] Many of the women in that class at the College of St. Elizabeth were surprised to learn that Jews do not consider Jesus to be the messiah and the entire class was shocked to discover that Jesus\' teachings were not part of the required coursework I was doing in my rabbinical school studies.\r\n\r\n<em>Kosher</em> (“kashrut” in Hebrew) is a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods\">set of dietary laws</a> for those of the Jewish faith to ensure that their food is fit to eat, though the work can also mean things that are proper, legitimate, or approved for use. From a historical context, this code was a way of ensuring <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods#Ritual_slaughter\">humane slaughtering</a>, kept the Jews from eating animals prone to infection, and kept their food disease free.\r\n<h3><strong>Holidays</strong></h3>\r\nJews celebrate a lot of holidays throughout the year and the celebrations can vary from group to group, but here are a few of the top holidays that are celebrated by almost all of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Passover</strong> – This holiday commemorates the Israelite’s exodus from a tyrannical reign in Egypt. This holiday typical lasts from seven to eight days and starts on the first full moon in April.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rosh Hashanah</strong> – This is the Jewish New Year according to the Judaic calendar. It lasts between one to two days and falls between Labor Day and Columbus Day. (On the site <a href=\"http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayg.htm\">JewFAQ.org</a>, they mention that ‘You\'ve heard of \"twice-a-year Christians’ who go to church only on Christmas and Easter? ‘Twice-a-year Jews’ go to synagogue only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Yom Kippur</strong> – This holiday occurs on the ninth day after the first day of Rosh Hashanah. It is a somber holiday that is used as an annual day of repentance for sins that have been committed throughout the previous year.\r\n\r\n<strong>Chanukkah (Hanukkah)</strong> – This is the festival of lights which starts sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chanukkah is in memory of the Israelites\' rededication the temple in Jerusalem after a successful revolt against Seleucid Greeks.\r\n\r\nHis faith has helped him through difficult times in his life through learning what it means to truly engage with faith, through connecting with G-d in prayer, and through reliance on the community. He said, “Here in Detroit we have a very close-knit community that transcends denominations and different walks of life. It’s wonderful.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6161\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Star of David, a symbol of Judaism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6161\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne of the central ideas that originates from Jewish culture is that of <em>chesed</em>, which roughly means “loving-kindness” and going the extra mile to take care of others. I have heard translated to mean “Love G-d, Love Man”. Another key idea is <em>tikkun olam</em> which means “repairing the world”. Basically, Jews aren’t supposed to simply focus on self-preservation but work for the healing and restoration of the world we live in. Followers of the Jewish faith are to build their lives on these two ideas and show love and kindness to everyone they interact with.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nRabbi Jason Miller has devoted his life to the Jewish way of life and connecting the community. Through social media he is doing his part to bring the Jewish world together. Through his companies he is working to better the lives of Jews and non-Jews alike in Detroit. And through his writing he is challenging and inspiring fellow Jews and Detroiters.\r\n\r\nI appreciate him taking the time to talk to me and I hope that someday it be said of me that I have done even a fraction of what he has for his community.\r\n\r\nPhoto credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/3380936274/\" target=\"_blank\">david_shankbone</a> (A Jew kissing the Wailing Wall) <a href=\"http://www.rabbijason.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Miller</a> (used with permission), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmanueldyan/5131506614/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Emmanuel Dyan</a> (Syangogue in Hungary), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/14599621@N02/4185625144/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Chatham University JKM Library</a> (Nazareth), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/parisharing/6809648392/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">ParisSharing</a> (synagogue in Budapest), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/molotalk/5895823303/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">molotalk</a> (Rabbi), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/3065649911/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Klearchos Kapoutsis</a> (Star of David)','Faith Interview Series: Judaism','','inherit','open','open','','6108-revision-11','','','2012-04-23 17:53:48','2012-04-24 00:53:48','',6108,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/23/6108-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(6221,38,'2012-04-24 11:26:24','2012-04-24 18:26:24','[caption id=\"attachment_6153\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6153 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan. He attended James Madison College at Michigan State University where he graduated with a degree in International Relations. He then went to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York where he became an ordained Rabbi and earned a master’s degree in Education.\r\n\r\nI asked Rabbi Jason how he came to the Jewish faith. “I was raised in the Jewish faith,” he told me. When he was in college he became involved in the Jewish community on campus. “That led me to make the decision that after I graduated I would attend rabbinical school instead of law school.”\r\n\r\nHow does one practice the Jewish faith on a daily basis? Rabbi Jason replied: “I’m an observant Jew. I have daily prayer, I keep kosher, Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays.”\r\n\r\nA misconception that people have about him when he talks about being a Rabbi is that people automatically think he must be in charge of a large congregation. He is not, but is instead a businessman and social media guru. “I’m a teacher, entrepreneur, businessman, visiting Rabbi at several congregations, and I perform ceremonies for life cycle events,” Rabbi Jason said.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6151\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Synagogue of Pécs in Hungary\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6151\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Huffington post named Rabbi Jason as one of the top ten most influential Jews in social media and he recently won a Jewish Influencer award from the National Jewish Outreach Program. He <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller\">writes articles</a> for The Huffington Post and has a <a href=\"http://blog.rabbijason.com/\">personal blog</a> which he has run since 2006. He took over the family business, Access Computer Technology, from his father in 2010. The company began in 1994 and provides IT support, social media marketing, and website design/build. He also owns Kosher Michigan, a kosher certification agency.\r\n\r\nI asked him how social media interacts with his faith and he said, “Through social media, the global Jewish community appears smaller than it used to be. Traditional borders and barriers that have kept us from each other have virtually disappeared. We’re becoming much more interconnected educationally, religiously, socially, and culturally.”\r\n<h3>About Judaism</h3>\r\nJudaism is an Abrahamic faith and is one of the oldest surviving monotheistic faiths in the world. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism\">According to Wikipedia</a>, in 2010 there were an estimated 13.4 million Jews around the world, 42% of which live in Jerusalem and another 42% of which live in the United States or Canada.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6155\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university-300x281.jpg\" alt=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\" width=\"300\" height=\"281\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLife cycle events in the Jewish faith include things like birth and the first month of life (ritual circumcision on the eighth day for baby boys), bar and bat mitzvahs, divorce, marriage, and death and grieving.\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller loves being a part of the Jewish faith. He said “I love the time-honored traditions, celebrations, and also the emphasis on education.”\r\n\r\nJudaism does not have a set of things you absolutely have to believe to be a Jew, but there is a list of 13 principles that encompass the most widely accepted principles written by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon.  These principles work hand-in-hand with the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Commandments\">10 Commandments</a>.\r\n<h3><strong>13 Principles of Faith</strong></h3>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>God exists</li>\r\n	<li>God is one and unique</li>\r\n	<li>God is incorporeal</li>\r\n	<li>God is eternal</li>\r\n	<li>Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other</li>\r\n	<li>The words of the prophets are true</li>\r\n	<li>Moses\' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets</li>\r\n	<li>The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses</li>\r\n	<li>There will be no other Torah</li>\r\n	<li>God knows the thoughts and deeds of men</li>\r\n	<li>God will reward the good and punish the wicked</li>\r\n	<li>The Messiah will come</li>\r\n	<li>The dead will be resurrected</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6157\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A synagogue in Budapest\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6157\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason does not believe this personally, but the reason you will sometimes see the word “God” written by Jews with the dash in place of the “o” is because according to some Jewish traditions one should not speak or write the name of God frivolously, which is the fourth commandment. Also, it is rooted in a respect for God; His name is to remain sacred and not spoken unless in prayer or recitation. Substitutions like “Adonai” are often used in place of God’s name.\r\n\r\nThe majority of Jews do not read the New Testament or believe Jesus was the Messiah, which is where Christianity and Judaism part ways. In one of his most recent articles written for The Huffington Post called “<a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller/jesus-we-can-finally-talk_b_1241538.html\">Jesus, We Can Finally Talk about Jesus</a>”, Rabbi Jason Miller talked about how at the end of his time at the Jewish Theological Seminary, he was asked to do a presentation for a group of undergrads at The College of St. Elizabeth.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6160\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Rabbi in traditional dress\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6160\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n<blockquote>In preparation for my visit [the teacher] asked the students to submit a list of five questions each that they would like me to consider. Without any exaggeration, a full 90 percent of the students included at least one question about Jesus Christ in their list. […] Many of the women in that class at the College of St. Elizabeth were surprised to learn that Jews do not consider Jesus to be the messiah and the entire class was shocked to discover that Jesus\' teachings were not part of the required coursework I was doing in my rabbinical school studies.</blockquote>\r\n<em>Kosher</em> (“kashrut” in Hebrew) is a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods\">set of dietary laws</a> for those of the Jewish faith to ensure that their food is fit to eat, though the work can also mean things that are proper, legitimate, or approved for use. From a historical context, this code was a way of ensuring <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods#Ritual_slaughter\">humane slaughtering</a>, kept the Jews from eating animals prone to infection, and kept their food disease free.\r\n<h3><strong>Holidays</strong></h3>\r\nJews celebrate a lot of holidays throughout the year and the celebrations can vary from group to group, but here are a few of the top holidays that are celebrated by almost all of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Passover</strong> – This holiday commemorates the Israelite’s exodus from a tyrannical reign in Egypt. This holiday typical lasts from seven to eight days and starts on the first full moon in April.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rosh Hashanah</strong> – This is the Jewish New Year according to the Judaic calendar. It lasts between one to two days and falls between Labor Day and Columbus Day. (On the site <a href=\"http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayg.htm\">JewFAQ.org</a>, they mention that ‘You\'ve heard of \"twice-a-year Christians’ who go to church only on Christmas and Easter? ‘Twice-a-year Jews’ go to synagogue only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Yom Kippur</strong> – This holiday occurs on the ninth day after the first day of Rosh Hashanah. It is a somber holiday that is used as an annual day of repentance for sins that have been committed throughout the previous year.\r\n\r\n<strong>Chanukkah (Hanukkah)</strong> – This is the festival of lights which starts sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chanukkah is in memory of the Israelites\' rededication the temple in Jerusalem after a successful revolt against Seleucid Greeks.\r\n\r\nHis faith has helped him through difficult times in his life through learning what it means to truly engage with faith, through connecting with G-d in prayer, and through reliance on the community. He said, “Here in Detroit we have a very close-knit community that transcends denominations and different walks of life. It’s wonderful.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6161\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Star of David, a symbol of Judaism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6161\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne of the central ideas that originates from Jewish culture is that of <em>chesed</em>, which roughly means “loving-kindness” and going the extra mile to take care of others. I have heard translated to mean “Love G-d, Love Man”. Another key idea is <em>tikkun olam</em> which means “repairing the world”. Basically, Jews aren’t supposed to simply focus on self-preservation but work for the healing and restoration of the world we live in. Followers of the Jewish faith are to build their lives on these two ideas and show love and kindness to everyone they interact with.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nRabbi Jason Miller has devoted his life to the Jewish way of life and connecting the community. Through social media he is doing his part to bring the Jewish world together. Through his companies he is working to better the lives of Jews and non-Jews alike in Detroit. And through his writing he is challenging and inspiring fellow Jews and Detroiters.\r\n\r\nI appreciate him taking the time to talk to me and I hope that someday it be said of me that I have done even a fraction of what he has for his community.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/3380936274/\" target=\"_blank\">david_shankbone</a> (A Jew kissing the Wailing Wall) <a href=\"http://www.rabbijason.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Miller</a> (used with permission), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmanueldyan/5131506614/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Emmanuel Dyan</a> (Syangogue in Hungary), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/14599621@N02/4185625144/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Chatham University JKM Library</a> (Nazareth), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/parisharing/6809648392/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">ParisSharing</a> (synagogue in Budapest), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/molotalk/5895823303/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">molotalk</a> (Rabbi), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/3065649911/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Klearchos Kapoutsis</a> (Star of David)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Judaism','','inherit','open','open','','6108-revision-12','','','2012-04-24 11:26:24','2012-04-24 18:26:24','',6108,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6108-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(6222,38,'2012-04-07 12:35:35','2012-04-07 19:35:35','I pulled up to the Gurdwara in Rochester Hills, a small white and brick building. “Gurdwara” is the term for a place of worship for those of the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism\" target=\"_blank\">Sikh faith</a>. “God is One” was printed prominently on their sign near the road. Two boys playing in the parking lot pointed me to the right door and I entered the gurdwara. I was greeted by Mandheer Singh, a tall gentleman with electric brown eyes and a warm smile. Mandheer Singh is a real estate agent, is married and has two children. (Singh is the last name adopted by Sikh men to signify brotherhood and it means “lion”. Women use “Kaur” which means “Princess”).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5852\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A Gurdwara\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47450200@N02/4350484055/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5852 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gurdwara_flickr_sohoandproud-300x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"184\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“Now, the first thing we do is we take off our shoes and cover our hair.” I removed my shoes and he handed me a cream-colored scarf to wear, which I place over the top of my hair and wrapped the excess around each shoulder. Mandheer Singh was wearing a black turban. “The reason we take off our shoes is because we believe God is everywhere and so this is a holy place. And the reason we cover our hair is to show modesty and respect.”\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh first gave me a tour of the gurdwara. Down one hallway was a kitchen. “This kitchen is used to make food that we serve every week for free. Everyone is welcome to eat with us. And this is consistent all across the world, so if you are traveling in a city and need food, or if you are homeless and need a meal, go to a gurdwara and they will take care of you. This is one way we give back to the community, and is one of our core beliefs.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5858\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Sikh women and children\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphia/5662116967/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5858\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sikh-children_flickr_graphia-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe then showed me to the room at the end of the hall. There were several women and children sitting on the floor. “This is where the meal will be served after the service. Everyone sits on the floor during the meal to symbolize equality.” In Sikhism, women are not considered any less than men, but are regarded as complete equals in the congregation.\r\n\r\nHe then showed me to the main room down the other hallway where a service was in process, where everyone was sitting on the floor in two main sections with an aisle down the middle.  In the front of the room there was a Sikh man, a Granthi, sitting and reading from scripture.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5860\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Inside a gurdwara\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hari_singh/6523149179/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5860\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gurdwara_flickr_hari-singh-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“They just finished about an hour and a half of singing hymns which are directly taken from our scriptures, and now will go for about another half hour of reading and reciting from the Guru Granth Sahib,” (which is their sacred scriptures). There is a screen with the English translation for those who aren’t familiar with Gurmukhi (the Punjabi language alphabet).\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh wasn’t always a practicing Sikh, he told me. Mandheer Singh’s parents moved from India to the US. He was born in Sacramento, and grew up in a small town in Ohio where his father worked for the Air Force as a civilian. “I grew up in Ohio, so I grew up like any other American. I watched Hulk Hogan, listened to Led Zeppelin, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, all of that.”\r\n\r\nSo how did he come to the Sikh faith? His family came into contact with a few Sikhs who were very dedicated and knowledgable about the religion, and then they went on to introduce his family to more Sikhs in the US and Canada. When he looked around he saw them were being doctors, artists, athletes, professors—fully participating citizens. “I mean, I looked at myself,” said Mandheer Singh. “I have brown skin and dark hair. I was never really going to blend in completely. So it was alright for me to blend in just a little bit less to join this faith. There was something that compelled me to it, and as I learned more about it I felt it was who I really was on the inside.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5871\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"The Golden Temple (Amritsar) in the Sikhism capital, Punjab in India\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/azwegers/6289556477/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5871  \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/golden-temple_flickr_arian-zwegers-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh and his brother embraced the faith before their parents in to the faith. “He and I stopped cutting our hair and starting wearing our turbans. In fact, I remember chiding my father by saying things like ‘Why do you keep cutting your hair? Don’t you want to be respectful to the faith?’” Mandheer Singh’s father starting making notes when he would talk to people or learn about the Sikh faith. Those notes turned into a folder, which turned into a binder of its own, and now his father is one of the most highly regarded speakers and scholars of Sikhism.\r\n\r\nThe strengthening of his faith changed his desires as a person. “I stopped listening to all the bands that I used to. Like, if you were to play Run DMC right now, I’ll still know all the words, but it doesn’t feel the same to me anymore. I started listening to our hymns all the time and I just wanted to listen to them even more than everything else.”\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh went on to explain the things that Sikh men have on them at all times, known as the Five Ks.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesh_(Sikhism)\" target=\"_blank\">Kesh</a> – Uncut hair</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanga_(Sikhism)\" target=\"_blank\">Kanga</a> – A small, wooden comb (“The comb is basically supposed to show us that we are not to cut our hair, but that we are also supposed to take care of it and ourselves out of respect”)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_(Sikhism)\" target=\"_blank\">Kara</a> – A metal bracelet (which Mandheer Singh said is very much like a wedding ring)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachera\" target=\"_blank\">Kachera</a> – A specific type of cotton briefs (which represent chastity and preparedness)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirpan\" target=\"_blank\">Kirpan</a> – A small dagger (you may only fight in <em>defense</em>, never offense)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5864\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A Sikh couple\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/petercastleton/5018035205/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5864\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sikh-couple_flickr_petercastleton-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Five Ks give Sikhs a unique outward identity. “I could go into a bar or a club,” (Sikhs are not allowed to drink alcohol) “but I know that I am a walking image of the Gurus and their teachings,” he said. “I could take off my turban and bracelet, but it’s the same thing as if you were to go into a club and take off your wedding rings.”\r\n\r\nI asked about cross-discrimination and racism since September 11<sup>th</sup>, which he said did affect the Sikh community. There were some profane things written on a nearby gurdwara just a few weeks ago.\r\n\r\n“It thought it was unfair that an image I had associated all my life as holy was hijacked; literally hijacked.”\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh remembers the looks he got when he went to the gym after 9/11. He has a Sikh friend in NYC who was attacked on a subway because someone thought he was a Muslim. (“It wouldn’t be right even he had been a Muslim,” Mandheer Singh added.) The judge wanted to send the attacker to jail, but Mandheer Singh’s friend insisted instead that he serve community service at their gurdwara. After getting to know the people and who they were, the man who attacked him apologized and said, “I am so sorry, I didn’t know who you were. Had I known ... I am <em>so</em> sorry.”\r\n\r\n“I have a confession,” Mandheer Singh said to me.\r\n\r\n“I remember going to a Chinese restaurant with a bunch of people and on our way in there were two very white people coming our direction. You know, blonde hair, blue eyes. They were just staring at us. I could feel myself tensing up and I just knew what they were thinking. As we got closer, they said, ‘Hello!’ And I thought, ‘I just did it to them!’ My prejudgment of them was no better than what others had done to me. And that was when I knew I couldn’t live like that anymore. I can’t assume those kinds of things of people. Walking around with a chip on my shoulder just makes things worse.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5856\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Khanda, a Sikh symbol\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/sikhiwiki/2300262427/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5856 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/khanda_flickr_sikhiwiki-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen I asked him what he loved about being a Sikh, he said sheepishly, “As cliché as it is … everything. I love everything about it. It gives me such a sense of purpose and meaning in my life.”\r\n\r\nEveryone I interacted with at the gurdwara made sure I felt comfortable and explained whatever I wanted to know. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into before going in, as I had only studied Sikhism through a World Religion class, but the kindness of the Sikh community I visited was overwhelming. My conversation with Mandheer Singh lasted a long time and he was open to any question I had to ask.\r\n\r\nWhat’s interesting is that the kindness they displayed has been consistent across the few other Sikhs I’ve met. (For instance, my doctor is a Sikh and his is great at putting me at ease, helping me not freak out, and is very good at his job.) I was moved by their hospitality and by their emphasis on equality and community service, and I am proud to count them as my friends.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Manheer Singh, Mandeep Singh, Kulwinder Singh, and the Sikh Gurdwara of Rochester Hills for allowing me the chance to get to know them and see into their community.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: </em><em>Flickr / <em><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphia/5648545143/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">graphia</a> (Sikh young man), </em><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47450200@N02/4350484055/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">sohoandproud</a> (gurdwara), </em><em><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/sikhiwiki/2300262427/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">sikhiwiki</a> (khanda, a Sikh symbol), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphia/5662116967/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">graphia</a> (Sikh children), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hari_singh/6523149179/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Hari Singh</a> (inside a gurdwara), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/azwegers/6289556477/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Arian Zwegers</a> (Amritsar, the Golden Temple in Punjab)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Sikhism','','inherit','open','open','','5851-revision-18','','','2012-04-07 12:35:35','2012-04-07 19:35:35','',5851,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/07/5851-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(6223,38,'2012-04-24 11:35:16','2012-04-24 18:35:16','I pulled up to the Gurdwara in Rochester Hills, a small white and brick building. “Gurdwara” is the term for a place of worship for those of the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism\" target=\"_blank\">Sikh faith</a>. “God is One” was printed prominently on their sign near the road. Two boys playing in the parking lot pointed me to the right door and I entered the gurdwara. I was greeted by Mandheer Singh, a tall gentleman with electric brown eyes and a warm smile. Mandheer Singh is a real estate agent, is married and has two children. (Singh is the last name adopted by Sikh men to signify brotherhood and it means “lion\". Women use “Kaur” which means “Princess”.)\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5852\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A Gurdwara\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47450200@N02/4350484055/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5852 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gurdwara_flickr_sohoandproud-300x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"184\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“Now, the first thing we do is we take off our shoes and cover our hair.” I removed my shoes and he handed me a cream-colored scarf to wear, which I place over the top of my hair and wrapped the excess around each shoulder. Mandheer Singh was wearing a black turban. “The reason we take off our shoes is because we believe God is everywhere and so this is a holy place. And the reason we cover our hair is to show modesty and respect.”\r\n<h3>About the Gurdwara</h3>\r\nMandheer Singh first gave me a tour of the gurdwara. Down one hallway was a kitchen. “This kitchen is used to make food that we serve every week for free. Everyone is welcome to eat with us. And this is consistent all across the world, so if you are traveling in a city and need food, or if you are homeless and need a meal, go to a gurdwara and they will take care of you. This is one way we give back to the community, and is one of our core beliefs.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5858\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Sikh women and children\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphia/5662116967/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5858\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sikh-children_flickr_graphia-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe then showed me to the room at the end of the hall. There were several women and children sitting on the floor. “This is where the meal will be served after the service. Everyone sits on the floor during the meal to symbolize equality.” In Sikhism, women are not considered any less than men, but are regarded as complete equals in the congregation.\r\n\r\nHe then showed me to the main room down the other hallway where a service was in process, where everyone was sitting on the floor in two main sections with an aisle down the middle.  In the front of the room there was a Sikh man, a Granthi, sitting and reading from scripture.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5860\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Inside a gurdwara\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hari_singh/6523149179/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5860\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/gurdwara_flickr_hari-singh-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“They just finished about an hour and a half of singing hymns which are directly taken from our scriptures, and now will go for about another half hour of reading and reciting from the Guru Granth Sahib,” (which is their sacred scriptures). There is a screen with the English translation for those who aren’t familiar with Gurmukhi (the Punjabi language alphabet).\r\n<h3>Life as a Sikh</h3>\r\nMandheer Singh wasn’t always a practicing Sikh, he told me. Mandheer Singh’s parents moved from India to the US. He was born in Sacramento, and grew up in a small town in Ohio where his father worked for the Air Force as a civilian. “I grew up in Ohio, so I grew up like any other American. I watched Hulk Hogan, listened to Led Zeppelin, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, all of that.”\r\n\r\nSo how did he come to the Sikh faith? His family came into contact with a few Sikhs who were very dedicated and knowledgable about the religion, and then they went on to introduce his family to more Sikhs in the US and Canada. When he looked around he saw them were being doctors, artists, athletes, professors—fully participating citizens. “I mean, I looked at myself,” said Mandheer Singh. “I have brown skin and dark hair. I was never really going to blend in completely. So it was alright for me to blend in just a little bit less to join this faith. There was something that compelled me to it, and as I learned more about it I felt it was who I really was on the inside.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5871\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"The Golden Temple (Amritsar) in the Sikhism capital, Punjab in India\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/azwegers/6289556477/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5871  \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/golden-temple_flickr_arian-zwegers-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh and his brother embraced the faith before their parents in to the faith. “He and I stopped cutting our hair and starting wearing our turbans. In fact, I remember chiding my father by saying things like ‘Why do you keep cutting your hair? Don’t you want to be respectful to the faith?’” Mandheer Singh’s father starting making notes when he would talk to people or learn about the Sikh faith. Those notes turned into a folder, which turned into a binder of its own, and now his father is one of the most highly regarded speakers and scholars of Sikhism.\r\n\r\nThe strengthening of his faith changed his desires as a person. “I stopped listening to all the bands that I used to. Like, if you were to play Run DMC right now, I’ll still know all the words, but it doesn’t feel the same to me anymore. I started listening to our hymns all the time and I just wanted to listen to them even more than everything else.”\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh went on to explain the things that Sikh men have on them at all times, known as the Five Ks.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesh_(Sikhism)\" target=\"_blank\">Kesh</a> – Uncut hair</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanga_(Sikhism)\" target=\"_blank\">Kanga</a> – A small, wooden comb (“The comb is basically supposed to show us that we are not to cut our hair, but that we are also supposed to take care of it and ourselves out of respect”)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_(Sikhism)\" target=\"_blank\">Kara</a> – A metal bracelet (which Mandheer Singh said is very much like a wedding ring)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachera\" target=\"_blank\">Kachera</a> – A specific type of cotton briefs (which represent chastity and preparedness)</li>\r\n	<li><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirpan\" target=\"_blank\">Kirpan</a> – A small dagger (you may only fight in <em>defense</em>, never offense)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5864\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A Sikh couple\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/petercastleton/5018035205/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5864\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sikh-couple_flickr_petercastleton-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Five Ks give Sikhs a unique outward identity. “I could go into a bar or a club,” (Sikhs are not allowed to drink alcohol) “but I know that I am a walking image of the Gurus and their teachings,” he said. “I could take off my turban and bracelet, but it’s the same thing as if you were to go into a club and take off your wedding rings.”\r\n<h3>How 9/11 Affected the Sikh Community</h3>\r\nI asked about cross-discrimination and racism since September 11<sup>th</sup>, which he said did affect the Sikh community. There were some profane things written on a nearby gurdwara just a few weeks ago.\r\n\r\n“It thought it was unfair that an image I had associated all my life as holy was hijacked; literally hijacked.”\r\n\r\nMandheer Singh remembers the looks he got when he went to the gym after 9/11. He has a Sikh friend in NYC who was attacked on a subway because someone thought he was a Muslim. (“It wouldn’t be right even he had been a Muslim,” Mandheer Singh added.) The judge wanted to send the attacker to jail, but Mandheer Singh’s friend insisted instead that he serve community service at their gurdwara. After getting to know the people and who they were, the man who attacked him apologized and said, “I am so sorry, I didn’t know who you were. Had I known ... I am <em>so</em> sorry.”\r\n\r\n“I have a confession,” Mandheer Singh said to me.\r\n<blockquote>I remember going to a Chinese restaurant with a bunch of people and on our way in there were two very white people coming our direction. You know, blonde hair, blue eyes. They were just staring at us. I could feel myself tensing up and I just knew what they were thinking. As we got closer, they said, \"Hello!\" And I thought, \"I just did it to them!\" My prejudgment of them was no better than what others had done to me. And that was when I knew I couldn’t live like that anymore. I can’t assume those kinds of things of people. Walking around with a chip on my shoulder just makes things worse.</blockquote>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5856\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Khanda, a Sikh symbol\"]<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/sikhiwiki/2300262427/in/photostream/\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5856 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/khanda_flickr_sikhiwiki-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen I asked him what he loved about being a Sikh, he said sheepishly, “As cliché as it is … everything. I love everything about it. It gives me such a sense of purpose and meaning in my life.”\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nEveryone I interacted with at the gurdwara made sure I felt comfortable and explained whatever I wanted to know. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into before going in, as I had only studied Sikhism through a World Religion class, but the kindness of the Sikh community I visited was overwhelming. My conversation with Mandheer Singh lasted a long time and he was open to any question I had to ask.\r\n\r\nWhat’s interesting is that the kindness they displayed has been consistent across the few other Sikhs I’ve met. (For instance, my doctor is a Sikh. His kind smile puts me at ease and he very good at his job.) I was moved by their hospitality and by their emphasis on equality and community service, and I am proud to count them as my friends.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Manheer Singh, Mandeep Singh, Kulwinder Singh, and the Sikh Gurdwara of Rochester Hills for allowing me the chance to get to know them and see into their community.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: </em><em>Flickr / <em><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphia/5648545143/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">graphia</a> (Sikh young man), </em><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/47450200@N02/4350484055/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">sohoandproud</a> (gurdwara), </em><em><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/sikhiwiki/2300262427/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">sikhiwiki</a> (khanda, a Sikh symbol), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphia/5662116967/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">graphia</a> (Sikh children), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hari_singh/6523149179/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Hari Singh</a> (inside a gurdwara), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/azwegers/6289556477/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Arian Zwegers</a> (Amritsar, the Golden Temple in Punjab)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Sikhism','','inherit','open','open','','5851-revision-19','','','2012-04-24 11:35:16','2012-04-24 18:35:16','',5851,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/5851-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(6226,38,'2012-05-25 08:00:26','2012-05-25 15:00:26','<div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A lotus flower, a common symbol in Buddhism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6231\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\r\n\r\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6233\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Thich Nhat Hanh at the Huong Son Temple\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6233\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate-brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\r\n\r\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\r\n\r\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Nhat Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6238\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"174\" caption=\"A statue of the Buddha in the snow\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buddha_flickr_edward-dalmulder_v2.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-6238 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buddha_flickr_edward-dalmulder_v2-290x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"180\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\r\n\r\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\r\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\r\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\r\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6241\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"90\" caption=\"The Dharma Wheel, a symbol of Buddhism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dharma-wheel_wikimedia-commons.png\"><img class=\" wp-image-6241 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dharma-wheel_wikimedia-commons-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"90\" height=\"90\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barbara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition) and writer for About.com says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>T<strong>he truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>) – </strong>Most of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>) – </strong>This truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied. Humans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>) – </strong>Barbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>)</strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\r\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of a orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6244\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"His Holiness the Dalai Lama\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dalai-lama_flickr_abhikram.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6244\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dalai-lama_flickr_abhikram-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\r\n\r\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\r\n\r\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\r\n<ol start=\"1\">\r\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\r\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\r\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Nhat Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\r\n\r\nIn Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\r\n<blockquote>Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.</blockquote>\r\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they value Peace, <em>even elevating it above the survival of their own religion</em>.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6246\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Buddhist Temple in Sikkim\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buddhist-temple_flickr_devadath.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6246\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buddhist-temple_flickr_devadath-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\r\n\r\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\r\n\r\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\r\n\r\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\r\n\r\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high-strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6248\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Ven. Thich Thong Hai rings the peace bell\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/peace-bell_flickr_ferdy001.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6248\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/peace-bell_flickr_ferdy001-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\r\n\r\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\r\n\r\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\r\n\r\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\r\n\r\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Next, hear from an interfaith leader in Detroit, Michigan and find out how you can take this knowledge and put it into action in our final article coming up.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/28096801@N05/3251271485/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">DieselDemon</a> (Buddha), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzlu/377947069/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">George Lu</a> (Lotus), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/rezdog/450398263/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">d nelson</a> (Thich Nhat Hanh), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/edwarddalmulder/4195135224/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Edward Dalmulder</a> (snowy Buddha), <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dharma_Wheel.svg\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia Commons</a> (Dharma Wheel), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/36668473@N05/4133002232/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">abhikrama</a> (His Holiness the Dalai Lama), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/devadath/238333921/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">devadath</a> (Buddhist temple), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/26524277@N04/6698468445/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">ferdy001</a> (Ringing the peace bell)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhist','','publish','open','open','','faith-interview-series-zen-buddhist','','','2012-05-06 23:07:46','2012-05-07 06:07:46','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6226',0,'post','',2),(6227,38,'2012-04-24 16:19:34','2012-04-24 23:19:34','<div>\n\nFaith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism\n\n</div>\nBy Deanna Ogle\nApril 15, 2012\n\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\n\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\n\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\n\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\n\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\n\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\n\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\n\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Naht Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\n\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\n\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\n\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barabara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Naht Hanh tradition) says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\n\n<strong>1) The truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>)</strong>\n\nMost of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”\n\n<strong>2) The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>)</strong>\n\nThis truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied.\n\nHumans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.\n\n<strong>3) The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>)</strong>\n\nBarbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”\n\n<strong>4) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>) </strong>\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of an orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\n\n<strong>1)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong>\n\n<strong>2)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong>\n\n<strong>3)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a></strong>\n\n<strong>4)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a></strong>\n\n<strong>5)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a></strong>\n\n<strong>6)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong>\n\n<strong>7)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a></strong>\n\n<strong>8)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\n\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\n\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\n<ol start=\"1\">\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\n</ol>\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Naht Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\n\nIn Thich Naht Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\n\nAware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.\n\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they put peace <em>over the survival of their own religion</em>.\n\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Naht Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\n\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\n\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\n\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\n\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\n\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\n\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\n\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\n\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\n\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Naht Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\n\n<em>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</em>\n\n&nbsp;','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism','','inherit','open','open','','6226-revision','','','2012-04-24 16:19:34','2012-04-24 23:19:34','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6226-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6228,38,'2012-04-24 11:27:23','2012-04-24 18:27:23','[caption id=\"attachment_6153\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6153 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi-jason-miller-2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Rabbi Jason Miller\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan. He attended James Madison College at Michigan State University where he graduated with a degree in International Relations. He then went to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York where he became an ordained Rabbi and earned a master’s degree in Education.\r\n\r\nI asked Rabbi Jason how he came to the Jewish faith. “I was raised in the Jewish faith,” he told me. When he was in college he became involved in the Jewish community on campus. “That led me to make the decision that after I graduated I would attend rabbinical school instead of law school.”\r\n\r\nHow does one practice the Jewish faith on a daily basis? Rabbi Jason replied: “I’m an observant Jew. I have daily prayer, I keep kosher, Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays.”\r\n\r\nA misconception that people have about him when he talks about being a Rabbi is that people automatically think he must be in charge of a large congregation. He is not, but is instead a businessman and social media guru. “I’m a teacher, entrepreneur, businessman, visiting Rabbi at several congregations, and I perform ceremonies for life cycle events,” Rabbi Jason said.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6151\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Synagogue of Pécs in Hungary\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6151\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagogue-hungary_flickr_Emmanuel-Dyan-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Huffington post named Rabbi Jason as one of the top ten most influential Jews in social media and he recently won a Jewish Influencer award from the National Jewish Outreach Program. He <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller\">writes articles</a> for The Huffington Post and has a <a href=\"http://blog.rabbijason.com/\">personal blog</a> which he has run since 2006. He took over the family business, Access Computer Technology, from his father in 2010. The company began in 1994 and provides IT support, social media marketing, and website design/build. He also owns Kosher Michigan, a kosher certification agency.\r\n\r\nI asked him how social media interacts with his faith and he said, “Through social media, the global Jewish community appears smaller than it used to be. Traditional borders and barriers that have kept us from each other have virtually disappeared. We’re becoming much more interconnected educationally, religiously, socially, and culturally.”\r\n<h3>About Judaism</h3>\r\nJudaism is an Abrahamic faith and is one of the oldest surviving monotheistic faiths in the world. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism\">According to Wikipedia</a>, in 2010 there were an estimated 13.4 million Jews around the world, 42% of which live in Jerusalem and another 42% of which live in the United States or Canada.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6155\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\" caption=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nazareth_flickr_chatham-university-300x281.jpg\" alt=\"A street view of Nazareth, the Holy Land, circa 1880-1900\" width=\"300\" height=\"281\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nLife cycle events in the Jewish faith include things like birth and the first month of life (ritual circumcision on the eighth day for baby boys), bar and bat mitzvahs, divorce, marriage, and death and grieving.\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason Miller loves being a part of the Jewish faith. He said “I love the time-honored traditions, celebrations, and also the emphasis on education.”\r\n\r\nJudaism does not have a set of things you absolutely have to believe to be a Jew, but there is a list of 13 principles that encompass the most widely accepted principles written by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon.  These principles work hand-in-hand with the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Commandments\">10 Commandments</a>.\r\n<h3><strong>13 Principles of Faith</strong></h3>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>God exists</li>\r\n	<li>God is one and unique</li>\r\n	<li>God is incorporeal</li>\r\n	<li>God is eternal</li>\r\n	<li>Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other</li>\r\n	<li>The words of the prophets are true</li>\r\n	<li>Moses\' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets</li>\r\n	<li>The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses</li>\r\n	<li>There will be no other Torah</li>\r\n	<li>God knows the thoughts and deeds of men</li>\r\n	<li>God will reward the good and punish the wicked</li>\r\n	<li>The Messiah will come</li>\r\n	<li>The dead will be resurrected</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6157\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A synagogue in Budapest\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6157\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/synagoge_flickr_parissharing-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRabbi Jason does not believe this personally, but the reason you will sometimes see the word “God” written by Jews with the dash in place of the “o” is because according to some Jewish traditions one should not speak or write the name of God frivolously, which is the fourth commandment. Also, it is rooted in a respect for God; His name is to remain sacred and not spoken unless in prayer or recitation. Substitutions like “Adonai” are often used in place of God’s name.\r\n\r\nThe majority of Jews do not read the New Testament or believe Jesus was the Messiah, which is where Christianity and Judaism part ways. In one of his most recent articles written for The Huffington Post called “<a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jason-miller/jesus-we-can-finally-talk_b_1241538.html\">Jesus, We Can Finally Talk about Jesus</a>”, Rabbi Jason Miller talked about how at the end of his time at the Jewish Theological Seminary, he was asked to do a presentation for a group of undergrads at The College of St. Elizabeth.\r\n<blockquote>In preparation for my visit [the teacher] asked the students to submit a list of five questions each that they would like me to consider. Without any exaggeration, a full 90 percent of the students included at least one question about Jesus Christ in their list. […] Many of the women in that class at the College of St. Elizabeth were surprised to learn that Jews do not consider Jesus to be the messiah and the entire class was shocked to discover that Jesus\' teachings were not part of the required coursework I was doing in my rabbinical school studies.</blockquote>\r\n<em>Kosher</em> (“kashrut” in Hebrew) is a <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods\">set of dietary laws</a> for those of the Jewish faith to ensure that their food is fit to eat, though the work can also mean things that are proper, legitimate, or approved for use. From a historical context, this code was a way of ensuring <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods#Ritual_slaughter\">humane slaughtering</a>, kept the Jews from eating animals prone to infection, and kept their food disease free.\r\n<h3><strong>Holidays</strong></h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6160\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Rabbi in traditional dress\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6160\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbi_flickr_molotalk-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nJews celebrate a lot of holidays throughout the year and the celebrations can vary from group to group, but here are a few of the top holidays that are celebrated by almost all of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Passover</strong> – This holiday commemorates the Israelite’s exodus from a tyrannical reign in Egypt. This holiday typical lasts from seven to eight days and starts on the first full moon in April.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rosh Hashanah</strong> – This is the Jewish New Year according to the Judaic calendar. It lasts between one to two days and falls between Labor Day and Columbus Day. (On the site <a href=\"http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayg.htm\">JewFAQ.org</a>, they mention that ‘You\'ve heard of \"twice-a-year Christians’ who go to church only on Christmas and Easter? ‘Twice-a-year Jews’ go to synagogue only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Yom Kippur</strong> – This holiday occurs on the ninth day after the first day of Rosh Hashanah. It is a somber holiday that is used as an annual day of repentance for sins that have been committed throughout the previous year.\r\n\r\n<strong>Chanukkah (Hanukkah)</strong> – This is the festival of lights which starts sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chanukkah is in memory of the Israelites\' rededication the temple in Jerusalem after a successful revolt against Seleucid Greeks.\r\n\r\nHis faith has helped him through difficult times in his life through learning what it means to truly engage with faith, through connecting with G-d in prayer, and through reliance on the community. He said, “Here in Detroit we have a very close-knit community that transcends denominations and different walks of life. It’s wonderful.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6161\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Star of David, a symbol of Judaism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6161\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/star-david_flickr_Klearchos-Kapoutsis-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nOne of the central ideas that originates from Jewish culture is that of <em>chesed</em>, which roughly means “loving-kindness” and going the extra mile to take care of others. I have heard translated to mean “Love G-d, Love Man”. Another key idea is <em>tikkun olam</em> which means “repairing the world”. Basically, Jews aren’t supposed to simply focus on self-preservation but work for the healing and restoration of the world we live in. Followers of the Jewish faith are to build their lives on these two ideas and show love and kindness to everyone they interact with.\r\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\r\nRabbi Jason Miller has devoted his life to the Jewish way of life and connecting the community. Through social media he is doing his part to bring the Jewish world together. Through his companies he is working to better the lives of Jews and non-Jews alike in Detroit. And through his writing he is challenging and inspiring fellow Jews and Detroiters.\r\n\r\nI appreciate him taking the time to talk to me and I hope that someday it be said of me that I have done even a fraction of what he has for his community.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/3380936274/\" target=\"_blank\">david_shankbone</a> (A Jew kissing the Wailing Wall) <a href=\"http://www.rabbijason.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Miller</a> (used with permission), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmanueldyan/5131506614/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Emmanuel Dyan</a> (Syangogue in Hungary), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/14599621@N02/4185625144/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Chatham University JKM Library</a> (Nazareth), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/parisharing/6809648392/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">ParisSharing</a> (synagogue in Budapest), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/molotalk/5895823303/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">molotalk</a> (Rabbi), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/3065649911/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Klearchos Kapoutsis</a> (Star of David)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Judaism','','inherit','open','open','','6108-revision-13','','','2012-04-24 11:27:23','2012-04-24 18:27:23','',6108,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6108-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(6230,38,'2012-04-24 16:22:53','2012-04-24 23:22:53','[caption id=\"attachment_6188\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Rev. Rob Henderson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6188\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rob-henderson_stand-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThe sun was out in Downtown Plymouth. The town was full of people bearing possibility and happiness. It was late Saturday afternoon the day before the Christian holiday, Easter. The park in the center of town was full of dogs, families, and people climbing in trees and the restaurants had their sidewalk tables out. The sun warmed the skin on my face as I walked down the street to Starbucks.\n\nI found Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid of <a href=\"http://www.shininglakes.org/\">Shining Lakes Grove, ADF</a> sitting to one side of the store on his laptop. He has lived in Michigan as long as he can remember. He grew up in the Ann Arbor area and studied Computer Science at the University of Michigan.\n\nShining Lakes Grove was founded in 1993 and it was well established by the time Rob joined the group in 1996. They currently have about fifteen members spread across lower Michigan. He was raised Catholic but his family “had pretty much exited the faith by the time I was ten or eleven, and then I wandered around aimlessly for a bit,” he told me.\n\nRob first became interested in Druidism when he met some pagans in his teen years. They told him about paganism and explained the beliefs. “It seemed to be who I was, and I thought ‘Well, they seem like nice, stable, well-adjusted people,’” Rob chuckled. “You know, I think I’ve reached the point where I’ve been a Druid for half my lifetime.” He also dabbled in occultist/ceremonial magic for a while, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him before moving completely into Neopagan Druidism.\n\n“So, what exactly do you believe?” I asked him.\n“Well, we are a orthopraxis belief system, so it’s more about right worship and practice than right belief.”\n<h3>About Shining Lakes Grove</h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6193\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"The SLG banner\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6193\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/convo02banner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShining Lakes Grove is a part of the ADF, which stands for A Druid Fellowship, the largest Neopagan Druidism organization in the world. According to <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/\">their website</a> ADF is “a completely independent Druid tradition” with over 4500 cumulative and 1100 current members across the globe.\n\nOn their website, <a href=\"http://www.adf.org/about/basics/beliefs.html\">ADF says</a> that “We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. […] While some of us believe in a ‘Supreme Being,’ Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic.”\n<h3>Neopagan Druid Beliefs</h3>\nRob explained to me that there are three types of entities that he and his fellow Druids worship, which are\n\ncollectively referred to as “the Kindreds”: nature spirits, ancestors (direct, inspired, local, etc.), and deities, the latter of which includes Indo-European gods of the Celtic, Norse, Hellenic, Roman, Vedic and Slavic traditions.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6196\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"&quot;It must be Beltaine, the trilliums are everywhere!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6196\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trillium_flickr_tasitch-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nDruids have home worship on a weekly—or in Rob’s case, daily—basis by doing things like burning incense or lighting and candle and praying or meditation. They don’t gather as a group on a weekly basis because distance is an obstacle, so they gather for eight High Days throughout the year.\n\nThree Cranes Grove, another ADF Grove located in Columbus, Ohio explains what the eight High Days celebrate:\n<ul>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#samhain\">Samhain</a> (November 1<sup>st</sup>) – The New Year celebration related to Halloween, The Festival of the Dead, and in the Greek tradition the beginning of Demeter’s mourning during her daughter’s six month spell in Hades</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#wisolstice\">Winter Solstice</a> (around December 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The celebration of the return from darkness and rituals are performed to bring back the sun that has been hidden, and God was conceived on the Winter Solstice</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#imbolc\">Imbolc</a> (February 1<sup>st</sup>) – This celebration focused on the fact that the first signs of life are starting to come back into the world, and it’s important to join with friends to warm your heart even if the Earth will remain cold for a while.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#spequinox\">Spring Equinox</a> (around March 21<sup>st</sup>) – This is the celebration of the start of the light half of the year, gardening and planting is commenced, and according to some traditions, the God begins to court the Goddess.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#beltaine\">Beltaine</a> (May 1<sup>st</sup>) – This holiday focuses around fertility and the joining of new life (which is said to be the marriage date of God and Goddess and is chosen to be the wedding day of many Neopagans), many times includes a maypole dance.</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#susolstice\">Summer Solstice</a> (June 22<sup>nd</sup>) – Height of the year, celebration of the middle of the year and the hill downward toward Autumn and Samhain</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#lughnassad\">Lughnassad</a> (August 1<sup>st</sup>) - Beginning of the harvest, is associated with the god Laugh, and the continuing marriage of the God and Goddess</li>\n	<li><a href=\"http://www.threecranes.org/hhd.html#auequinox\">Autumnal Equinox</a> (around September 22<sup>nd</sup>) – The beginning of the dark half of the year, the approach and the beauty of Fall, and preparations for the chill that is coming.</li>\n</ul>\n[caption id=\"attachment_6203\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A maypole during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6203\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/maypole_flickr_intangiblearts-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nShining Lakes Grove is about to celebrate Beltaine in a few weeks. “We just celebrated Spring Equinox a couple of weeks ago, so my friends and I remark that we were confused when grocery stores still had egg dying kits around. ‘Why are these still here? We already celebrated! Oh, that’s right, Easter!’”\n\n“Is Beltaine the one with the Maypole?” I asked. Rob said, “Yes!” He told me the Norse had a mythical concept of a World Tree, which in modern times is represented by a wooden pole, called a bilé, used in all Druid rituals including the Maypole celebrations. According to Norse traditions the bilé was made out of an Ash tree, but the members of the Shining Lakes Grove didn’t want to kill a tree to create one. Instead, they used a Quaking Aspen, which has multiple trunks, so they were able to create a bilé while leaving the tree remain intact and alive.\n\nRob isn’t sure whether or not his community will have a maypole dance as the owner of their sacred grove passed away and they have to relocate, “which is a shame, because I really liked the owner and we had developed good relationships with the land spirits there.”\n<h3>Misconceptions</h3>\nHe talked about how people were kind towards him when they find out he is a pagan, but he thinks that might be part of living in Ann Arbor, a rather spiritually open city. I mentioned that the influx of college students from the nearby university probably helped, but he said, “Actually, we don’t get that many college-aged students. It seems like college-aged people want more <em>energy-</em>based types of spirituality, with stuff like Chi and combining personal energy and focusing it on something.”\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6208\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Druids out for a dance during Beltaine\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6208 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druids-dance_flickr_Shadowgate-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nEnergy combining was the only concept of paganism that I really had, so I asked Rob how the energy-based types differed from Druidism. He said “We are building a modern religion based on Indo-European cultures by incorporating elements from their languages, beliefs and practices because none of them really left us a robust enough system to have a standalone religion. Druidism is based on of the concept of giving and receiving and building relationships.” Giving and receiving is exhibited through giving offerings and forms of worship (which include song, dance, group and individual praise) so the Kindreds will help the Druids in their lives. The building of relationships takes place with the Kindreds and with each other as a community.\n\nThere are several misconceptions about the Neopagan Druid community, one of which is that all Druids are men. “There is evidence in ancient texts that there were female Druids. We believe in the equality of women. They are welcome to participate equally and be clergy,” which almost half of the Shining Lakes Grove Clergy are. Druids have no prejudice as far as race, gender, or sexual orientation. “All are welcome to be a part of our community,” he told me.\n\nThe other misconception is that people think when Druids use the words “offerings” or “sacrifices” that they mean blood offerings. “The ADF specifically bans blood offerings. Any kind of blood offering: animal, human, and even cutting yourself for rituals is prohibited. One of the ADF’s main goals is to be a religion for the 21<span style=\"font-size: 11px\">st </span>century.” ADF Druids use grains, incense, oils, and even art as offerings.\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\nOn <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">ADF’s Livejournal</a>, a member by the username <em>filiavallis</em> <a href=\"http://adf.livejournal.com/151342.html\">said</a>:\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6205\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A Druid at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice (2009)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6205 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/druid_flickr_vintagedepot-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n“And the last time a couple of representatives of one of our local churches came around […] we stood and talked about Druidism for about forty-five minutes. They’d never met or talked to anyone on a Druid path before. So now, for good or ill, whatever preconceptions they had of ‘Pagan’ are at least partially superseded by the picture of a slightly grubby, cheerfully talkative, and generally rather ordinary suburban housewife-and-mom with some unusual but rational &amp; understandable ideas &amp; beliefs.”\n\nThis is what I found in Rob Henderson. While I was completely unfamiliar with the Druid path before speaking to him, I found Rob to be a very thoughtful, kind, and intelligent person. His beliefs, while very different from the traditions I grew up in, were rooted in the understanding and study of ancient cultures that allow him to appreciate nature, seasons, history and the way the world works together.\n\nRight before we parted ways, Rob added that Shining Lakes Groves is open and welcomes visitors even if they are unfamiliar with pagan practices. “You don’t have to know how to do rituals or know how to meditate to be a part of our community. We want people to know that we welcome them and that you don’t have to be an experienced Druid to join.”\n\n<strong>Thanks to Rob Henderson for being willing to meet with me, and for talking to be about the Druid path, ADF, and his own community, Shining Lakes Grove, ADF. I look forward to future interactions and conversations with him and his fellow Druids.</strong>\n\n<em>Photo credit: Mannanan Shrine, Rev. Rob Henderson, SLG Banner (used with permission courtesy of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF), Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasitch/24606530/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Tasitch</a> (Trilliums), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/intangible/2467735011/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">IntangibleArts</a> (Maypole), <em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowgate/3512844987/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Shadowgate</a> (Beltaine dancing),</em> <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagedept/3645742207/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">vintagedepot</a> (Stonehenge Druid)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Neopagan Druidism','','inherit','open','open','','6187-revision-16','','','2012-04-24 16:22:53','2012-04-24 23:22:53','',6187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6187-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(6231,38,'2012-04-24 16:34:39','2012-04-24 23:34:39','','lotus_flickr_george-lu','A lotus flower, a common symbol in Buddhism','inherit','open','open','','lotus_flickr_george-lu','','','2012-04-24 16:34:39','2012-04-24 23:34:39','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6232,38,'2012-04-24 16:22:03','2012-04-24 23:22:03','<div>\r\n\r\nFaith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nBy Deanna Ogle\r\nApril 15, 2012\r\n\r\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\r\n\r\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\r\n\r\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\r\n\r\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\r\n\r\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\r\n\r\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Naht Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\r\n\r\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\r\n\r\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\r\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\r\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\r\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\r\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barabara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Naht Hanh tradition) says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\r\n\r\n<strong>1) The truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nMost of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”\r\n\r\n<strong>2) The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nThis truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied.\r\n\r\nHumans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.\r\n\r\n<strong>3) The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nBarbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”\r\n\r\n<strong>4) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>) </strong>\r\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\r\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of an orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\r\n\r\n<strong>1)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>2)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>3)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>4)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>5)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>6)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>7)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>8)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\r\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\r\n\r\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\r\n\r\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\r\n<ol start=\"1\">\r\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\r\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\r\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Naht Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\r\n\r\nIn Thich Naht Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\r\n\r\nAware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.\r\n\r\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they put peace <em>over the survival of their own religion</em>.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Naht Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\r\n\r\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\r\n\r\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\r\n\r\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\r\n\r\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\r\n\r\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\r\n\r\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\r\n\r\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\r\n\r\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\r\n\r\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Naht Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\r\n\r\n<em>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism','','inherit','open','open','','6226-revision-2','','','2012-04-24 16:22:03','2012-04-24 23:22:03','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6226-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6233,38,'2012-04-24 16:36:03','2012-04-24 23:36:03','','tnh_flickr_d-nelson','Thich Nhat Hanh at the Huong Son Temple','inherit','open','open','','tnh_flickr_d-nelson','','','2012-04-24 16:36:03','2012-04-24 23:36:03','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6234,38,'2012-04-24 16:35:02','2012-04-24 23:35:02','<div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A lotus flower, a common symbol in Buddhism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6231\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\r\n\r\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\r\n\r\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\r\n\r\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\r\n\r\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Naht Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\r\n\r\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\r\n\r\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\r\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\r\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\r\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\r\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barabara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Naht Hanh tradition) says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\r\n\r\n<strong>1) The truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nMost of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”\r\n\r\n<strong>2) The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nThis truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied.\r\n\r\nHumans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.\r\n\r\n<strong>3) The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nBarbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”\r\n\r\n<strong>4) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>) </strong>\r\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\r\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of an orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\r\n\r\n<strong>1)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>2)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>3)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>4)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>5)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>6)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>7)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>8)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\r\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\r\n\r\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\r\n\r\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\r\n<ol start=\"1\">\r\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\r\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\r\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Naht Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\r\n\r\nIn Thich Naht Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\r\n\r\nAware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.\r\n\r\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they put peace <em>over the survival of their own religion</em>.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Naht Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\r\n\r\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\r\n\r\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\r\n\r\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\r\n\r\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\r\n\r\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\r\n\r\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\r\n\r\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\r\n\r\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\r\n\r\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Naht Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzlu/377947069/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">George Lu</a> (Lotus),</em>','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism','','inherit','open','open','','6226-revision-3','','','2012-04-24 16:35:02','2012-04-24 23:35:02','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6226-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6236,38,'2012-04-24 16:38:39','2012-04-24 23:38:39','<div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A lotus flower, a common symbol in Buddhism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6231\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\r\n\r\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6233\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Thich Nhat Hanh at the Huong Son Temple\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6233\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\r\n\r\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\r\n\r\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Naht Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\r\n\r\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\r\n\r\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\r\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\r\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\r\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\r\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barabara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Naht Hanh tradition) says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\r\n\r\n<strong>1) The truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nMost of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”\r\n\r\n<strong>2) The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nThis truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied.\r\n\r\nHumans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.\r\n\r\n<strong>3) The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nBarbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”\r\n\r\n<strong>4) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>) </strong>\r\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\r\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of an orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\r\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\r\n\r\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\r\n\r\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\r\n<ol start=\"1\">\r\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\r\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\r\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Naht Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\r\n\r\nIn Thich Naht Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\r\n\r\nAware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.\r\n\r\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they put peace <em>over the survival of their own religion</em>.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Naht Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\r\n\r\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\r\n\r\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\r\n\r\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\r\n\r\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\r\n\r\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\r\n\r\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\r\n\r\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\r\n\r\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\r\n\r\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Naht Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzlu/377947069/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">George Lu</a> (Lotus), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/rezdog/450398263/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">d nelson</a> (Thich Nhat Hanh)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism','','inherit','open','open','','6226-revision-5','','','2012-04-24 16:38:39','2012-04-24 23:38:39','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6226-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6235,38,'2012-04-24 16:37:35','2012-04-24 23:37:35','<div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A lotus flower, a common symbol in Buddhism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6231\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\r\n\r\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6233\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Thich Nhat Hanh at the Huong Son Temple\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6233\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\r\n\r\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\r\n\r\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Naht Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\r\n\r\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\r\n\r\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\r\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\r\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\r\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\r\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barabara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Naht Hanh tradition) says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\r\n\r\n<strong>1) The truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nMost of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”\r\n\r\n<strong>2) The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nThis truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied.\r\n\r\nHumans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.\r\n\r\n<strong>3) The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>)</strong>\r\n\r\nBarbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”\r\n\r\n<strong>4) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>) </strong>\r\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\r\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of an orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\r\n\r\n<strong>1)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>2)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>3)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>4)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>5)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>6)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>7)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>8)      </strong><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\r\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\r\n\r\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\r\n\r\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\r\n<ol start=\"1\">\r\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\r\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\r\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Naht Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\r\n\r\nIn Thich Naht Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\r\n\r\nAware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.\r\n\r\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they put peace <em>over the survival of their own religion</em>.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Naht Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\r\n\r\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\r\n\r\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\r\n\r\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\r\n\r\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\r\n\r\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\r\n\r\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\r\n\r\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\r\n\r\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\r\n\r\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Naht Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzlu/377947069/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">George Lu</a> (Lotus), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/rezdog/450398263/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">d nelson</a> (Thich Nhat Hanh)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism','','inherit','open','open','','6226-revision-4','','','2012-04-24 16:37:35','2012-04-24 23:37:35','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6226-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6238,38,'2012-04-24 17:20:41','2012-04-25 00:20:41','','buddha_flickr_edward-dalmulder_v2','A statue of the Buddha in the snow','inherit','open','open','','buddha_flickr_edward-dalmulder_v2','','','2012-04-24 17:20:41','2012-04-25 00:20:41','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buddha_flickr_edward-dalmulder_v2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6239,38,'2012-04-24 16:40:46','2012-04-24 23:40:46','<div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A lotus flower, a common symbol in Buddhism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6231\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\r\n\r\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6233\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Thich Nhat Hanh at the Huong Son Temple\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6233\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\r\n\r\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\r\n\r\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Naht Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\r\n\r\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\r\n\r\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\r\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\r\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\r\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\r\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barabara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Naht Hanh tradition) and writer for About.com says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>T<strong>he truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>) – </strong>Most of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>) – </strong>This truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied. Humans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>) – </strong>Barbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>)</strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\r\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of an orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\r\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\r\n\r\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\r\n\r\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\r\n<ol start=\"1\">\r\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\r\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\r\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Naht Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\r\n\r\nIn Thich Naht Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\r\n\r\nAware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.\r\n\r\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they put peace <em>over the survival of their own religion</em>.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Naht Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\r\n\r\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\r\n\r\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\r\n\r\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\r\n\r\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\r\n\r\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\r\n\r\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\r\n\r\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\r\n\r\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\r\n\r\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Naht Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzlu/377947069/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">George Lu</a> (Lotus), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/rezdog/450398263/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">d nelson</a> (Thich Nhat Hanh)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism','','inherit','open','open','','6226-revision-6','','','2012-04-24 16:40:46','2012-04-24 23:40:46','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6226-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6240,38,'2012-04-24 17:21:12','2012-04-25 00:21:12','<div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\" caption=\"A lotus flower, a common symbol in Buddhism\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6231\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/lotus_flickr_george-lu-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe house was filling with white light from the humid, but serene Sunday afternoon. I was sitting at kitchen table listening to three women and a gentleman from the Detroit Lotus Sangha, a Zen Buddhism group, talk through the remainder of their lesson together. They talked about practicing a Mindfulness Day as I munched on the deliciously tangy split pea and tomato soup that Gwen, the host, offered me.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nNancy, one of the women at the table who is a recently retired special education teacher from Troy, Michigan, told me that she first came to the Sangha (a Buddhist word for “community”) about a year ago. After going on a retreat she came home and discovered the group. “I was sort of hooked,” she said. “Jaye, the owner of the studio where the Sangha meets, the members … They seemed to have integrity. And I felt comfortable there. Being there with them was gratifying and inspiring.”\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha was founded by a Vietnamese gentleman named Si Mo about four and a half years ago. They meet every Sunday at a martial arts studio in Ferndale, Michigan. They have about one dozen regulars week-to-week and 40 members altogether.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the most well-known Buddhist in the West next to the Dalai Lama. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher who has written over one-hundred books, many of which are in English. He was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards non-violence during the Vietnam War.\r\n\r\nZen Buddhism is a section of the Mahayana school of Buddhism whose goal is to alleviate the suffering of all beings and social engagement from a non-violent perspective. “I’ve read a lot of Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which can be kind of obscure and difficult to understand. What Thich Nhat Hanh has done is he has written books with the Western perspective in mind. It makes it practical and extremely accessible for people like you and me to practice,” said Jaye.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6233\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Thich Nhat Hanh at the Huong Son Temple\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6233\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tnh_flickr_d-nelson-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThich Nhat Hanh is one of the first real leaders for what Gwen referred to as <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism\">Engaged Buddhism</a>. “We aren’t a group of people just sitting on our cushions contemplating things.” Nancy, who is sitting on the other side of the table, stood up to show me the text on her Detroit Lotus Sangha chocolate brown shirt: “Compassion is a verb.”\r\n\r\n“Well, it’s actually a noun,” Nancy said, “but that’s what it’s all about. It’s becoming aware of suffering around us, finding ways to alleviate for other beings and ourselves, and it’s about the call to nonviolence and social justice.”\r\n\r\nOne of the ways that the Sangha engages in social justice is by working with local charities. One of the local charities they will be working with soon is a farmer in Detroit. They will help prepare fields, plant organic crops, and distribute food. They also work with FernCare, a set of clinics for people without health insurance, and at the year’s end they donate to a fund that Thich Naht Hanh established for post-Vietnam war children.\r\n\r\nGwen has been regularly meditating since late 2000. She found Thich Nhat Hanh’s books in 2004 and then found the Sangha just a few short years later. “His books made Buddhism so much more doable. It provides meditation techniques and everyday practices to help with negative emotions.”\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6238\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"174\" caption=\"A statue of the Buddha in the snow\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buddha_flickr_edward-dalmulder_v2.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-6238 \" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buddha_flickr_edward-dalmulder_v2-290x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"180\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n“It’s not just about sitting until your legs go numb. It’s about becoming more peaceful and involved in social movement in my life,” said Jaye. She said that for her the Sangha is an important part of her practice for building relationships with other people and hearing their struggles, thoughts and ideas to better themselves with.\r\n<h2>About Buddhism</h2>\r\nBuddhism is a nontheistic religion, with roughly 350 million followers across the globe, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. Zen Buddhism is a part of the Mahayana school of Buddhism.  The main goals of Mahayana Buddhism are: <strong>to do no evil, to do good, and save all beings.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere are three main sections of beliefs for Buddhists: the <strong>Four Noble Truths</strong>, the <strong>Eightfold Path</strong>, and the <strong>Ten Grand Precepts</strong>.\r\n<h2>The Four Noble Truths</h2>\r\nBuddhists believe in a set of four principles called the Four Noble Truths that explain the universe and all that is in it. Barabara O’Brien, a practicing Zen Buddhist (but not one of the Thich Naht Hanh tradition) and writer for About.com says <a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/fournobletruths.htm\">this</a>: “The Buddha\'s teachings on the Four Noble Truths are sometimes compared to a physician diagnosing an illness and prescribing a treatment. The first truth tells us what the illness is, and the second truth tells us what causes the illness. The Third Noble Truth holds out hope for a cure.”\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>T<strong>he truth of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha\">Dukkha</a>) – </strong>Most of the time, the first truth is translated as “Life is suffering.” But <em>dukkha</em>, the word used for “suffering” in this case refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or passing. So, another way of looking at this is “Life is temporary.”</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the cause of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudaya\">Samudaya</a>) – </strong>This truth means that suffering comes from a craving or thirst. We go through life trying to desperately find something to quench those cravings to fill the holes in our souls. We try to do this through things like relationships, food, clothing, power, etc. However, as much as we try, we are never satisfied. Humans have a tendency to latch onto things, whether they be material or ideas about the world. When these things come up empty and don’t satisfy our thirst, we only thirst more.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the end of suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirodha\">Nirodha</a>) – </strong>Barbara O’Brien put it succinctly: “The Buddha taught that through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment.”</li>\r\n	<li><strong>The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magga\">Magga</a>)</strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>The Eightfold Path</h2>\r\nThe last of the Four Noble Truths refers to a path called the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of principles that lay out the way to enlightenment. Since Buddhism is more of an orthopraxy religion than orthodoxy, they focus on <em>right action</em> instead of <em>right belief</em>. Thus, the Eightfold Path serves as an impetus and a way to equip you with a focused heart and mind (click any of the following items to learn more about them):\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightview.htm\">Right View</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-intention.htm\">Right Intention</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightspeech.htm\">Right Speech</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-action.htm\">Right Action</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/rightlivelihood.htm\">Right Livelihood</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Effort.htm\">Right Effort</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm\">Right Mindfulness</a> </strong></li>\r\n	<li><strong><a href=\"http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/Right-Concentration.htm\">Right Concentration</a></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>The Five Mindfulness Trainings</h2>\r\nGwen told me, “I think one of the misconceptions that people have about Buddhism is they think anything goes, like we have no moral compass. We aren’t here to condemn anyone, however we do have a set of principles regarding things like sexuality remaining within the bounds of a committed, loving, long-term relationship that has been made known to friends and family, being careful of the kinds of movies that we watch, being mindful of what we eat, etc.”\r\n\r\n“Basically we try to avoid junk food of any kind, whether that be ideas, food, how we spend our time online, entertainment—that sort of thing,” Nancy added. The set of principles that she and Gwen were referring to is contained in the Five Mindfulness Trainings (other sects of Buddhism may have more or less depending on the group).\r\n\r\nThe Five Mindfulness Trainings are expressions of the principles of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path:\r\n<ol start=\"1\">\r\n	<li><strong>Reverence for Life </strong>– Any form of killing to any living being is causing suffering to others, therefore causing more strife, emptiness, and harm to others, which is strictly against Buddhist goals and principles</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Happiness </strong>– Somewhat related to the Reverence for Life, true happiness comes from helping eliminate and reduce the suffering of others</li>\r\n	<li><strong>True Love</strong> – The recognition that sexual desires and healthy, true love are very different things, one must strive to find the latter that can fill and express the former</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Loving Speech and Deep Listening</strong> – Words can damage or heal, and so the goal is to have loving, kind, and compassionate speech. Along with giving healing and warm words, one should also receive words from others in the same manner</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Nourishment and Healing – </strong>This is the principle that Nancy was speaking of when she said they try to avoid consuming junk. Toxins of all sorts are all around us, and the way to the clearest mind and spirit are to diligently fill our bodies and lives with things that promote health and clarity, not bog us down and make us sick.<strong></strong></li>\r\n</ol>\r\nI asked Gwen and Nancy if the “not killing” principle lead to vegetarianism for Buddhists. Nancy said, “It does a lot of the time. Whatever people are—vegetarian, vegan—they end up eating with more awareness.” Gwen added, “However, Buddhists leaders recognize that the principles can’t be followed 100%. Even as vegetarians by boiling vegetables we’re killing hundreds of micro-organisms.”\r\n<h2>How Buddhism Principles Are Practical for Everyone</h2>\r\nGwen said, “It might be useful for your readers to know that you don’t have to be a Buddhist to meditate. Dharma, which means ‘doctrine, teacher,’ or ‘the way to enlightenment,’ can be used to harmonize. In fact, Thich Naht Hanh said if your beliefs don’t lead you to Buddhism, then ‘Be a better ____.’ Be a better Christian, be a better Muslim. He wasn’t trying to convert anyone.”\r\n\r\nIn Thich Naht Hanh’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Interbeing-Fourteen-Guidelines-Engaged-Buddhism/dp/0938077597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334980566&amp;sr=8-1\">Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism</a>” he says the following:\r\n\r\nAware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding mean to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.\r\n\r\nThis quote was significant to Nancy because it means they put peace <em>over the survival of their own religion</em>.\r\n\r\nThe Detroit Lotus Sangha is currently working through another one of Thich Naht Hanh’s book called “Anger”.  Jaye said, “It’s not about how to suppress anger, but how to not cause ourselves and others suffering from it. It’s not just ‘Don’t be angry, so cut it out,’ but finding out <em>why</em> we’re angry, learning to process those emotions, and trying to not let it run rampant.”\r\n\r\n“Today [at the Sangha] we used the word ‘pause’,” Nancy said.\r\n\r\n“The idea is: just stop. Stop the talking. Stop the thinking. Stop and be present. Breath,” Jaye said.\r\n\r\n“Otherwise,” Nancy added, “we have a tendency to give into Habit Energy.” (Habit Energy is any kind of emotional pattern we fall into, such as the Habit Energy to be anxious.)\r\n<h2>Conclusion</h2>\r\nJaye had to leave before the interview had concluded, but I asked Gwen and Nancy how practicing Buddhism has affected them as a person.\r\n\r\nGwen said, “I am much calmer now. I used to be very high strung, compulsively working all the time. Now, I try to express things in a much more loving, compassionate way.”\r\n\r\nNancy struggled to come up with the words, but then she said something really beautiful: “I can’t say I’ve arrived, but I think I’m more aware of my challenges. I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I used to be. Does that count for something?”\r\n\r\nWhen I first walked into Gwen’s house I was immediately struck by the group’s kindness. They offered me food, allowed me to sit at the table with them while they finished their lesson from earlier in the day, and there was great sense of serenity in the house as we talked.\r\n\r\nOne thing that made my heart warm was the fact that all three women at the table were quick to admit their own flaws. They didn’t pretend to have it all together, didn’t try to convince me they had all the answers, and didn’t try to ignore real life. Gwen, Nancy, and Jaye emphasized throughout the entire conversation that they were trying to be better.\r\n\r\nWhen Jaye left, the three women exchanged tips on how to set aside time for meditation. They spoke sweetly to each other and were completely honest about their lives and schedules. This kind of conversation spoke to me because it’s the kind of honest, constructive, and supportive conversation I want in my own life.\r\n\r\nI do plan on reading some of Thich Naht Hanh’s books because I want to emulate many of the principles  in my own life. I am so grateful for Gwen’s hospitality and the warmth and openness that she, Nancy and Jaye showed me.  I look forward to learning even more the example that they lead in their lives.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thanks to Gwen, Nancy, Jaye, Dave, Sean, and the Detroit Lotus Sangha for being so generous and for talking with me.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzlu/377947069/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">George Lu</a> (Lotus), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/rezdog/450398263/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">d nelson</a> (Thich Nhat Hanh), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/edwarddalmulder/4195135224/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Edward Dalmulder</a> (snowy Buddha)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Zen Buddhism','','inherit','open','open','','6226-revision-7','','','2012-04-24 17:21:12','2012-04-25 00:21:12','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/04/24/6226-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6241,38,'2012-04-24 17:23:57','2012-04-25 00:23:57','','dharma-wheel_wikimedia-commons','The Dharma Wheel, a symbol of Buddhism','inherit','open','open','','dharma-wheel_wikimedia-commons','','','2012-04-24 17:23:57','2012-04-25 00:23:57','',6226,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dharma-wheel_wikimedia-commons.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),