Tuesdays with Muerte

Plot summary: Last night I dreamt I was a participant on a reality show run by heavenly angels and produced by atheists. (Weird things happened, and we had no idea what was going on, or why.)  We all lived in shared house, but I had a private bedroom with a connecting bathroom.  Every morning, I woke up to a mystery deuce in my toilet. Analysis: Without giving too much away, this plot is somewhat similar to the plot of  The Good Place  (starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson on Netflix). I have been using that show as a procrastination technique to actively avoid working on my dissertation for the past couple of weeks ago. (I loved it! I felt really connected to Chidi, the moral philosopher.) Also, I've been worrying a lot about where I'm going to end up living this upcoming school year. In fact, the last thing I remember from last night is receiving a rental contract from my property manager. The poop aspect of the dream may...

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Introduction After participating in some thought-provoking LDS church meetings today, I felt a personal desire to allow Christ greater influence in my life. Prepared with an open heart ( 2 Nephi 33:1-2 ), I received two messages which motivated me to want to spend more time with God: The Problem During the first hour of our worship service, my mind caught hold of something shared by Madeleine Hoyt, a young woman in my ward. She felt that 90% of the messages she typically receives throughout her school day are from the Adversary, and that God’s messages only squeak through 10% of the time. She concluded that she needed to "make the most of those Godly messages.” I later discovered Madeleine‘s stat was inspired by an address by Elder Eyring in his April 1999 LDS General Conference entitled,  The Power of Tea...

Introduction This post is an exploration of the tension that exists between the two seemingly contradictory commandments, (a) Love thy neighbor as they self, and (b) sustain Church doctrine, officers, and policies. As Buddhists (and Stephen Covey) say, there is a "middle way" to the Christian dilemma of feeling like one must either love their neighbor or support the Church. Three Contemporary Examples of The "Love-Law" Paradox These three stories illustrate real-life struggles of people whom I know. When I hear emotionally-charged stories like these, my knee-jerk reaction is to hide from the controversial issue. (a) "The Church or My Sons" An LDS mother had two gay sons. After a few years of wrestling with supporting her sons' lifestyles while still supporting the teachings of the Church, she ultimately left the Church. While she claimed to have a number of other faith-based concerns, it seemed like her main concern stemmed from this one issue, and wh...

Come see me perform with the Millennial Choirs & Orchestras May 18th. I am aware of no event that facilitates personal healing more quickly than an MCO concert. If you've attended one, you know this already. Like a sauna and massage for the soul, the MCO concert experience opens the pours and muscles of the heart and prepares the attendee to receive divine healing in their lives. Through exciting arrangements of familiar sacred music, our full, professional orchestra and 400+ trained voices of all ages expertly take the audience on a emotional rollercoaster of fear and doubt, as well as impassioned testimony, which leave individuals changed forever. (I'm not exaggerating.) Without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite pieces from our Spring concert: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty Summary:   Praise to the Lord is a powerful show-opener, and attention focuser for the audience! I won't give away any details, but prepare your hearts; because this one might...

PARSHVA HASTA EKA PADA KOUNDINYASANA The Problem: Finding Balance For many Latter-day Saints, the day after  General Conference is a lot like the day after New Years—it’s when our personal resolutions begin to fall apart. There are two main reasons why I have lost my motivation only hours after feeling so stoked: 1) I end up either trying too hard and burn out, or 2) I balk at my mammoth spiritual goals and give up in exasperation.  I call this tragic pattern— The  Zeal  Cycle . It  begins with a moment of inspiration that then leads to a spasm of fervor ( or feelings of guilt ) for not having accomplished one's goal. This results in discouragement and  complacency.   After some time has passed, we seek inspiration again. As a yogi, I have dealt with "The Zeal Cycle” as well.  I often feel intense feelings of inspiration right after an especially cleansing yoga class, or witnessing someone demonstrate an INSANE yoga pose. I'...

Here are some GIFs of pranks to get you motivated for April Fools Day. Warning : Most of these are pretty mean. But I think two of them are funny. Classic Dandy-lyn' Prank Headless drivethru. The Return of the Hamburglar. Snip, snip. Prank combo. (R.I.P. glasses) The Long Con. The Reach Around. Trash. "Hey, try to jump over me." "Hey, how strong are you?" "Hey, it's not your turn!" "Hey, hold this." K.O. Hunting initiation hazing. How to make cars stop in the middle of a highway. New school rule: no masks  Could you resist this fun social experiment? "Kick this basketball into my crotch, it'll be hilarious!" The mirror makes it better. When the Banana-Gift prank backfires. I don't control life, but I can control how to react to it. — Macklemore, Musician

This is the second post in my LDS Yogis  series, meant to demystify the idea of yoga for Latter-day Saints.  In this post, I discuss what yogis and Mormons are and are NOT suppose to eat (specifically regarding meat). Ahiṃsā vs. Word of Wisdom For some schools of hatha yoga, the issue of vegetarianism  is a central tenant, while for others it hardly receives mention.  For the majority of yoga practitioners, diet is a less of a dictated set of laws to be followed and more of a deeply-personal way to draw closer to the divine.  For others, it is also a cultural issue regarding how we treat the other beings on our planet.  Similarly, in the LDS faith, we have been given a doctrinal code of health referred to as the  Word of Wisdom  for our own physical, mental, social and spiritual benefit, as well as a way to show respect the gifts God has created for us. Both in yoga and in the LDS faith, disagreements on the morality of what is permissible...