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My local paper sent a notice around to all the local clergy asking the question: “What relevance does Easter have in the world today?” What world? In the Buddhist, Jewish, Jain, Zoroastrian, Shinto, Zen, Islamic, Sikh, Wiccan, Atheist and Secularist worlds, Easter has as much relevance, I think, as the widely celebrated Hindu holy day called Holi has to me. Never heard of it? Me neither. The first time I learned of this ancient, and apparently fun, holy day was in the gorgeous color photos on HuffPost’s Hindu page. It is important to recognize that the world at large is not Christian, and that America, in particular is changing

This weekend, roughly 2 billion Christians around the world will celebrate one of the most important religious holidays of the year. Along with the celebration of Resurrection, many of those celebrations will involve chocolate rabbits, brunch, new spring outfits, dyed eggs, plastic grass or jellybeans. In the United States, Easter is on the rise in capturing consumer dollars (this year is estimated to bring in a whopping $16 billion for retailers)
I have fond memories of my Easter celebrations and baskets growing up. But when I step back and look at the bigger picture, I have to wonder: is this really how we want to spend all $16 billion?
Without being terribly grim and boring you with a load of statistics, maybe I can be a tiny voice of reason during the lead-up to Easter: there are a lot of problems out there that could use your attention, and, yes, some of your

For the past month, demonstrators around the country, including, civil rights activists, politicians and celebrities have chanted “Justice for Trayvon” and “No justice, no peace.” Over 2.2 million people have signed a petition on Change.org calling for the state of Florida to charge George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Most people emotionally and intellectually engaged in this tragedy, anxiously await the decision as to the whether Angela Corey, the special prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Scott, will bring this matter before the grand jury on April 10, 2012. Corey, the state attorney in the Duval, Clay and Nassau counties in Florida, told the Miami Herald, “I always lean towards moving forward without needing the grand jury in a case like this. I foresee us being able to make a decision and move on it on our own.” However, as the clock continues to tick closer towards April 10, and reports swirl that two district attorneys, appointed by Corey, have interviewed Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend within the last couple of days, it looks more likely that the grand jury will make the ultimate recommendation as to whether or not to indict George

We are constantly hearing of people who have been traumatized by such situations as childhood abuse, or being in war zones, and then suffering for years afterward with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and exhibiting such problems as depression, anxiety, nightmares, insomnia, impaired relationships and inability to hold down a job. We see “shell-shocked” veterans who leap up in panic at the sound of a car backfiring or even at the sound of a load of dishes being dropped in a restaurant, as I recently saw. We are now looking at new and effective solutions.
There is an emerging new category of therapies known as “energy psychology”

Usually, when you are feeling stressed out, you have good reason. Life can throw things at you — unexpected circumstances, loss, relationships turning out badly, discovering things are worse than you expected, being separated from loved ones — that can be overwhelming and cause anguish. At times, it can feel like you barely pick yourself up from one emotional crisis when the next hits.
As much as we’d like to avoid the stress caused by these painful situations, they are a part of life. It’s impossible to fully anticipate, plan for or avoid loss and other circumstances that can stress you

A new passion I have is creating Pinterest boards with images that inspire me. On my board “Words I Love” I pinned “Get Addicted — To Loving Yourself” with the title: Whatever the question, love is the answer. Words from me to me.
In the 10 years that I held the vision that March 15 be celebrated annually and globally as International Forgiving Day, the primary intention was to open the conversation on forgiving.
Why? Because at that time, forgiving was a hard

In order for us to know how to commit, we need to understand what it means to be committed. People’s needs are changing, and we live in a society where our individuality is a big part of our growth process and who we are. As a result, the world commitment is reshaping itself while keeping its foundation. Commitment means making something strong and

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This week, the branches of government traded checks and balances for sticks and stones. First, President Obama fired a shot across the Supreme Court’s bow, saying that to strike down his health care law would be “an unprecedented, extraordinary step.” Though not actually unprecedented, it would, in fact, be extraordinary — but not as extraordinary as what came next: a Court of Appeals judge, hearing a related case, asked the Justice Department to turn in a three-page, single-spaced letter, signed by Eric Holder, explaining the executive branch’s position on judicial review, a move that embarrassed even some conservative legal experts.
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In 2001, when Sarah Schulman and I co-founded the ACT UP Oral History Project, ACT UP was largely erased from public memory. It lived in the hearts and minds of those who had fought the AIDS epidemic, but there was no easily available information, no renewed public discussion of the achievements of the AIDS activist movement. In an attempt to redress that loss, we have interviewed 128 surviving members of ACT UP and made the transcripts and video clips from those interviews available on our website, actuporalhistory.org.
These interviews complemented the collection of AIDS activist video at the New York Public

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Dear Lord,
I kneel in a moment of reverent silence seeking words, finding none to express the wonderment my soul experiences in the face of such unfathomable love.
How does one approach you in this season when we commemorate your suffering service to a lost and dying world?
No matter how opulent my expression of praise may be, it cannot convey the enormity of my appreciation.
It is with great introspection that I recognize my wretchedness was the catalyst through which your righteousness was offered up – my sacrificial lamb in bloody recompense for justice sentence on my soul.
How could you forsake the sanctity of the celestial, the trajectory of the triumphant, and the magnificence of heavenly mansions only to immerse yourself into our injurious sinful and chaotic world?
Your all-encompassing love enabled you to give the ultimate sacrifice for we who are the consummate failures. Not one continent escaped sin, a fallen and depraved humanity lost and without hope in this present world and yet you redeemed the rejected, restored the wayward, procured the pathetic and empowered the incompetent.
Yes, with every pulsating laceration cutting deeper into your spotless flesh, your precious blood made streams in my desert places, pouring from your body washing down into my sins like mudslides into the ocean of your grace. It was you that submerged me into the sea of your love.
My praise goes ever upward like bubbles dancing in the air.
Your timing was so impeccable that before hell could announce its victory, you arose with the stealth of a lion, snatching the sting from death and yanking the victory from the grave.
Early before daybreak you arose, folding your grave clothes, rolling back stones and with the gallantry of the prince you are; you were seen strolling through the garden in time for a Sunday morning stroll.
That is why this day and every day we cast our crowns before you and give all glory to you. You are the Christ, the hero of all who have ever fallen in the battle to sin.
You are the CEO of Heaven, the Master of the Universe and the Redeemer of the

NBC news anchor Matt Lauer will do something most women on television try desperately not to do. He will age before our eyes.
Of course there are women of a certain age in strong powerful roles on television — Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters and Katie Couric to name a few. But none has gone there without fighting to stay younger

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In his Newsweek cover story, “Forget the Church, Follow Jesus,” Andrew Sullivan dissects the crisis of American Christianity–it has become hypocritical and irrelevant to millions. Organized religion is collapsing; atheism is rising. The wounded, lapsed, and doubting seek shelter in spirituality, away from the buildings and traditions that once housed faith.
None of this particularly surprised me, as I wrote several weeks ago about the end of church, here on Huffington

For some people having a credit card handy is like an alcoholic near an open bottle of booze–they just can’t leave it alone. And while I like to think I have more restraint than Lindsay Lohan at an open bar, I have been known to go on shopping benders.
There was a period of time I was enjoying the high life: new gadgets, designer shoes, Mexico vacations, all paid for using borrowed money. Meanwhile, my total credit card balance crept up to almost $30,000 at its highest

This week began with Mitt Romney getting pranked on April Fools’ Day before he almost, finally eliminated rival Rick Santorum in Tuesday’s less-than-thrilling primaries. The highlight of the week was no doubt Sarah Palin’s infiltration of the “lamestream media” on the Today Show.
These stories and more fueled this week’s late night shows. Below are my favorite clips of the

I first noticed signs of my mother’s dementia during a trip home to Minnesota. I remember feeling panicked. You see, my dad had Alzheimer’s disease and needed full-time care for more than five years. That long, awful journey took a terrible toll on him as well as my mom, who was his primary

There are ghosts swirling about the Marquis Theater. That’s where a new revival of the soaring Andrew Lloyd Webber (Music) and Tim Rice (Lyrics) musical is in previews 33 years after it first tore into Broadway like a runaway tornado. It was unlike anything that had been seen in Musical Theater up to that point — a modern day opera and the true life compelling story of a dictator’s wife who changed the course of Argentine history. The ghosts I am talking about are the Ghosts of Performances Past — namely Patti Lupone (Evita), Mandy Patinkin (Narrator/Che) and Juan Peron (Bob

California’s youngest governor since it was barely a state back in the 19th century turned 74 on Saturday. Jerry Brown, back for a third term after his fascinating two terms as governor in the 1970s and ’80s is now California’s oldest governor, with little sign of slowing down.
It’s not a surprise. Brown’s father, the legendary Governor Pat Brown, lived into his 90s and his idea of exercise, in contrast to his very fit son, was splashing around in his pool. Brown’s mother, the ever sharp Bernice Brown, also lived into her

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I have a friend whose husband said he would divorce her if her weight ever reached Pretty Big Number (PBN). The woman in question is five feet tall, currently weighs 110, and is in relative control of her health. There’s no immediate sign that she plans to reach PBN, nor do any factors indicate she’s on her way there. Sure, she has gained The Newlywed 15 since the pair married four years ago, but that’s no major offense considering she lost weight for the