Every Wednesday at 7 o’clock, a voice breaks through the quiet murmur of the SAC pit. Some tables have been snatched up after various students have wandered away, and now they are covered with red checkered tablecloths and big pieces of paper — for doodling, of course. And a diverse group of students gather for free food, and more or less importantly, conversation. Coming from different faith backgrounds, traditions, spiritual paths, ethic systems and/or philosophical ideas, we are there to open our hearts and minds, share our stories and discuss the deep human questions. Because it is a university, after all. Continue reading →

I am sitting by myself on an old wooden porch in Northwest Indiana. The porch falls out into a brief stretch of sandy forest and beyond that, the vast and desolate shore of Lake Michigan. The sky here, only an hour and a half outside of Chicago, is a blank and empty canvas. Like many people do when left alone in nature, I begin to think. The lake, peeking out of the woods, is an impossible stretch of blue; I try to understand the meaning for it all but am eventually pinned. Frustrated, my eyes wander to the Japanese Kiso acoustic guitar that lies vacantly beside my chair. I pick it up and begin plucking away. Meditating on the sounds echoing into the woods, I retreat far within my soul and am at perfect peace. Continue reading →