Q05

Have you had any particularly spiritual experiences this past year? How has this experience affected you? "Spiritual" can be broadly defined to include secular spiritual experiences: artistic, cultural, and so forth.

Finding true love at last. Oh my - so spiritual!

I went to Israel. I got a tattoo of Hebrew scripture. I know my roots and I appreciate them more.

Being in South Africa was incredibly spiritual for me. I had so many experiences there that changed me forever. In particular, meditating on the Cape of Good Hope, eating umgqoshu, sunsets- particularly in Tshabo, and walking up and down Wale Street to and from Bo Kaap. These little moments have made me more appreciative of little moments and everything that I have. They make me happy to be alive.

My month spent as a monk. Meditation. Sunrise. Singing with friends. Looking up at the starry Maine sky every night of camp.

I had a vision of my son who passed away. I also dreamed about a painting of my granddaughters and was able to paint them kind of like the dream. :)

Really, I learned the power of healing stones. They just help in general, whether it's really a physical change or a more mental one. I just find comfort in them.

I saw the Dalai Lama speak last year in Washington, DC and that has inspired me to try to integrate more compassion into my life for both myself and others.

I don't think I have, which is kind of sad, isn't it? I took kids on the March, but that felt more like work to me.

Christ Jesus and God have been with me and communicated messages to me directly and through others. I think they are with everyone always and it's about opening to them...

When my son was born and I named his middle name after my grandfather. Sometimes I wonder if I named him after the right grandfather.

Every day some small thing happens that reminds me that Krssna and my Guru have me covered. Some small kindness, some unexpected struggle, they all serve to remind me that there is a purpose here for me, and that I am sheltered, and loved.

I helped my partner through the loss of a parent. His father's unveiling and the family moments surrounding it were incredibly opening for me.

Some premonitions, like feeling strongly I had to move house. After moving house, there was a fire in my old place. So I am trying to listen to these gut feelings more

Anticipating my father's visits from across the world often bring anxiety. This year, I had a realization that it is not ALL of him that makes me anxious, it is one small part of him, his overreactiveness. I was able to then relax and we had one of the best visits ever. I believe in part b/c I had changed and in part b/c as he is getting older and facing his mortality, he too has changed and mellowed.

Visiting Dachau was an emotional exprience. It made an everslasting impression.

My artistic muse came to me in the form of getting me to sew different costumes together from games to movies. I now have an appreciation (well more appreciation for the sewing) that goes into the costumes. I love parading around in my costumes and saying yes I made this!

I decided to learn French to communicate with my new Inlaws hope it will change my life and enrich it. For now I'm finding it boring so the challenge is even greater

At times during prayer, feeling the continuity with past and present of Jewish people.

Everything about this past year has been spiritually based. Everything that I have done has served to teach me who and what I am. Everyone I have met has provided a lesson in truth - especially the one I love. He has been my greatest challenge, my clearest mirror. He has been the one to show me how to trust my wise and beautiful spirit and my gifts. Through him I have learned lessons of integrity and honesty. I have learned to understand, accept and love, in a way that brings peace and happiness to my life.

I have felt very warm welcomes at our new shul, and have connected through Jewish texts to the depth of our tradition in new ways. I've chanted torah twice this year and my Hebrew is gradually improving, by baby steps. When I can read and understand the scripture in Hebrew, I feel a jolt of connection to our forefathers and mothers.

Hey! I got engaged last night!

nothing really spiritual happened to me this year

Too many to list. SO many choir things, funerals sung, weddings, etc. Being present during full-to-the-rafters services - like Easter... the opportunity to be part of worship on a regular basis is something I am extremely grateful for. I also point to a friend's ordination, saying Compline in my home and having my cat sit patiently and watch, and the sparkling colors of stained glass. But if there's one - I'd have to point to a day in the spring. I was sitting in the choir stalls and had the distinct feeling that I was being called - called in a very spiritual and vocational way - to do something with my life that was faith based or had something more to do with helping people than what I currently do. It was amazing. It was like getting directions for the next step and it was very much outside myself.

Good gravy! This year has been absolutely full of spiritual experiences. Since Christmas last year, when I had a vision of being given a huge set of wings, and then following through with learning to channel, my life has expanded immensely into the spiritual realm. I routinely have visions now, at work, in my dream life, with my family... I have consciously sought out more ways of accessing that knowledge as i work, and find that the added dimension has enhanced my abilities to facilitate for my clients. It lets me 'tune in' to different things that may be affecting their healing, from something as small as their attitude coming in, to 'demons' or whatever those things are, to soul retrievals. this new ability allows me to discern what is helping or what is hindering the client -- to break out energetic cysts -- and i can see the results in very dramatic ways. i quit the Church this year as well. our congregation was being encouraged to go harass women at health clinics, and i resigned my commission as lector as well as just quitting altogether. it was wrenching, but at the same time, i felt that it was time. ten years almost to the month. another factor in my decision was all the visions i had been having, because it became so clear to me that we have so many chances to come back to this earth and live as a human, that we do not need to live in fear, only learn how to be kind and how to love without expectation. and there were a few priests that i encountered that 'got it' but our own priest and deacon, and most of our parish, treated me with suspicion and fear if i spoke of these things.

Wow. So many! I live my life in touch with the world in a spiritual way almost all the time. This year reinforced for me that even if I am having a terrible week and I want to curl up in bed and hide from the world by Friday night, if I instead go to Shabbat services and sing my heart out, I will feel reconnected to myself, my community and the Divine.

I can't think of a more spiritual experience than my first few minutes with my son. I don't know how else to describe it - my whole being felt different (and not just physically...).

I was in yoga class, crying as I was confronting my inner wisdom that my marriage was no longer viable, and that I needed to ask for a divorce. I prayed for God to help me know what to do, to give me a sign. Suddenly I noticed an "EXIT" sign over the back door of the classroom, which I had never noticed in all the times I had gone to that class. I suddenly knew there was, indeed, an "EXIT" from my painful marriage, that I could walk through the exit and I would be okay. We would all be okay. And that has been true ... my divorce was final on the first day of 5773, which I took as another auspicious sign. This will be a year of spiritual renewal for me, a deepening of faith.

I don't define many of my experiences as spiritual. Being in Europe on the Culloden Battlefield connected me to the past events that happened there, and the longevity of history. I felt the pain and loss that took place as a result of religious, social, and political conflict. Connection to the humanity of the past, and being there on a calm, quiet day in the present felt spiritual to me. The experience took me to another place in time, and caused me to reflect on today.

Nothing

I learned how to meditate via a formal practice mindfulness. I'm terrible at it, but I'm so much calmer and kinder than I used to be

Several! Mildly terrifying, yet necessary. I felt comfortable, there.

I am an atheist, so I can't define a spiritual experience as one that is religious. However, as I continue to work on my manuscript for my MFA program, a collection of memoir-style essays, I continue to have epiphanies about the themes and the writing style of the project. Having a book proposal agent class as well has helped this along. I feel like the more and more I write, the more and more artistically I'm having those spiritual ascendant experiences where I'm moved by inspiration and by language. Reading does this a lot to me as well.

There are moments when I see how much my children have grown, and how fabulous they are, that I just try to hold on to. It's just amazing to me that time goes so quickly when you're not paying attention. Those moments of attention are very spiritual to me.

I have what I consider spiritual experiences often and sometimes don't even find them remarkable, just common and expected. When it is significant, it is like everything in my world comes together in a moment into perfect clarity, and leaves me knowing everything is all right with the world, no matter what the media and politicians are saying. This could happen while viewing a cactus flower (white Saguaro are some of my favorite) or driving through tall trees with a clear blue lake visible behind them. It usually is related to being in nature.

Being in Myanmar with my deaf guide. I was in a part of Myanmar that is rarely visited by foreigners, and I feel I got a real idea of how people lived there. I met my guide on the beach, and we became fast friends, moving past our language barrier quite easily. I got to visit his home and meet his family, spend a day with him showing me his village and surroundings, and another day just hanging out at the beach, swapping stories about growing up, getting a job, etc... All the normal stuff people talk about. The fact that I was doing this with a poor Burmese deaf man didn't really seem that special to me at the time, but as I look back on it, it was one of the most powerfully spiritual periods of time in my life.

I found the entire process of having majory surgery and recovering, a spiritual experience. My corporeal body was tested and I needed to draw on both my inner reserves and strengths (persistence, faith) and most importantly, the love I received during the process. I KNOW that my healing was directly and positively impacted because I had the love and care of my parents and the love and concern of so many friends and family and the extended love and support of friends of friends and friends of family. The whole experience was profound. And simply amazing, too: your body is cut open and it seams itself together. Parts are removed, and your body compensates. Blood and bruise and pain and weakness slowly make way for strenght and stamina.

No, I haven't had any particularly spiritual experiences this past year. But that's fine.

Being pregnant, however briefly. Though I had to terminate, I remember my body just hummed with meaning and purpose. It gave me the ability to view families differently. It gave me the perspective to see a more clear future for myself. It made me feel connected with women and womanhood in a way I never had before. It made me embrace all those things with a passion utterly new to me. I'd like to do it again. I'd like for the next time it happens to be intentional, with the ability to keep it.

I almost always have spiritual experiences working in my garden, walking in the woods, and handling food. No particular moment stands out, but my very direct connection with the world feels tangible amidst things growing and grown. I am opened to this "contact with the divine" with the sensory experiences: the wafting odor of bruised mint, the breath of breeze, the knowledge without thinking where the sun is from the warmth on one side of my body, the damp earth under my knees, even the sharp thorns. If I have sufficient time to to just be in the work rather than rushing through a task of weeding or harvesting the connection with something "larger" is always palpable.

I was working in the library at a women's prison on the evening of the Trasit of Venus. I had a pair of eclipse shades with me and was able to share this once in a lifetime event with my inmate workers and inmates in the law library. These women, while confined behind bars, were nevertheless able to connect with the cosmos. The stars are indeed without borders.

We took our boys to Israel. It was wonderful to share the land with them, even if they are young. I also realized that living in Israel would be more difficult for me than the young version of me thought. On Shabbat, there was not a community where I felt comfortable. Too frum or not frum enough....America has the shabbat options I want and need at this point. That was a bit surprising for me, but also welcoming to know that I was in the place I needed to be.

I had the chance to try something that would lead me to a more direct path of a 'spiritual' experience, but out of fear I declined. I may try it in the future depending on if it is still available. As for organic spiritual experiences I have started to become more mindful of my emotions and where they take me.

Got to know one of my friends and she believes in God, I went to some of her university meetings where they studied the bible. But god did not reach out for me, as they say he did for them. I believe i'm too logical or have been too far apart from that kind of spiritual bond with "someone". Even though my mom is buddhist and really wants me to have some spiritual bond/belief/connection of some sort, I don't think I can relate to that right now, though I'm not closing any door.

My son's musical development is nothing short of breathtaking. Seeing his gift grow all year has been amazing.

I had the urge this year to help change people's lives. I got a chance to put the ego aside and write a book that will help change the way people attack their goals. It feels good to know that I'm making a difference.

I've learned that deep connection is achieved only through vulnerability. Scary, soul stretching vulnerability.

I didn't really have any spiritual experiences this year. I've come to know myself better and my needs. There have been a lot of rough times this year that have promoted my growth of self. These experiences have made me have a greater appreciation for my life and for myself. I'm trying to simplify my life right now. I'm cutting out excess and trying to live freely and take care of myself.

Being asked to create a special blessing for Josh & Esther's wedding. I am crying even as I write this, the emotion of that "being seen" flooding over me. Having my sister-in-law give me a blessing that I should not allow my fear (of speaking in front of people) to keep me from being fully present & in the joy

I have had two substantive ones: The first was during running the marathon, I was in a meditative state for large portions of it and felt really spiritually connected to the ground, the people around me, and to myself. It made me revel in the realization that everything is connected - and is all in how you yourself see the things around you. The second was the death of my friend Leo. When I came to the funeral home and it was just myself, the coffin, and my husband i had a very spiritual experience, recognizing that in the end, we all end up like that. It is hard to see, but it really shows that all the emotions we experience are part of this greater spirituality, rather than the physical form that can just be put in a box.

I think every time I go to the doctor's office and hear the sound of my baby's heartbeat its a spiritual experience because I close my eyes and thank G-d that the baby is still there doing well, growing, and getting ready to join us out here in the world. My husband assure me I am crazy and that everything will be fine but every single time just before the heartbeat comes through loud and clear I have a short moment of doubt followed by a wave of overwhelming relief and gratitude.

I've had quite a few spiritual experiences this year and a lot of them have been because I've really been exploring the kind of person I want to be and how to get there. I've read a lot about other people's journeys and learned a lot about what I need to do to be the kind of strong, independent, courageous person I want to be. I've thought a lot about it too and I would have to say that this process has been, in its totality, a very spiritual experience for me.

More artistic than religious spirituality, it mainly involves a very recent introduction to an artist who I believe I am falling in love with. It's been very quick but very powerful so far - alarmingly so, to some extent - but also very freeing and highly spiritual. Interspersed with this are all of the spiritual experiences I have whenever I see live music played passionately and well - I believe that's my new "church" and the way I now experience the numinous.

Getting to know myself has been incredible. I have been finding myself pulling away from organized religion for several reasons, but I feel god/energy/the supernatural around and in me. It's been an interesting journey.

I sat with a person and helped them offer confessions before they died. I then got to comfort her family and help do her funeral. Sometimes being present for people with compassion in their most important moments allows us to elevate our own normal into the spiritual.

Yes- but so many it will be hard for me to select only one. The goddess, full moon/blue moon celebratin was incredible and life changing. So was the 4 some who took Storm King by storm (Maggie, Ali, Kara). Above all, shabbat dinners at my apartment, shabbat expierences in Cornwall, and every gathering of special people when energies and optimism and gratitude have been shared have been special. I am grateful! I am more aware of my surroundings and feel empowered by all the goodness in my life.

I definitely felt close to G-d at my nephew's Bar Mitzvah, I felt a devine presence, something larger than any human experience, a sort of lifting. In October 2011, we held a dedication service for our family's capital campaign gift. I spoke and chanted Bereisheit. While chanting Torah I felt a divine presence.

Finding out that my wife and I were expecting began a series of spiritual and introspective experiences for me. Seeing the ultrasounds, hearing her heartbeat, and planning for her arrival all made the miracle of new life more poignant and immediate for me. They instilled in a me a strong connection with life, in the universal, human sense, flowing from the past, through us, into the future.

While my father in law lay in a coma the day he passed away, my brother in law asked me to read a psalm in Hebrew to him. I could barely get through the words through my tears and yet I felt as if I was escorting him from this world to the next. There was a powerful sense of connecting to G-d and to the mysteries of life and death.

I as still in awe of where my journey is taking me I am working in a world that I never knew existed, yet it is very much to my skills, intellect, and position in my life. I pray on it everyday, and know that there is involvement from God in every move.

The Days of Awe came at an interesting time in my life. I'm taking stock and trying to be spiritual in my everyday life instead of just when I have time to think about it. Not an event but significant nonetheless.

I have lost touch of my spiritual side these last few years. I am still a believer, but don't go to church anymore. I don't know what I' m more concerned about---the fact that I don't go to church or the fact that I don't care if I don't go to church.

God has not failed me. When I ran away, when I turned my back, when I pretended like I didn't exist so that He wouldn't see what I was doing and be disappointed He stayed as my foundation. He did not desert me, He stayed. And I can only hope to one day be able to replicate and understand that kind of love. Even when I didn't stay, He stayed. And sometimes just staying is enough.

I found my daughter's christening more meaningful than I thought. At first, I wanted to do it as it's just something you do when you have a baby - I was christened as was my husband and so the idea came naturally. But actually on the day of the service I felt so strongly that the protection and guardianship from the church and from her godparents was so important both to me as her mother and also on her behalf as an individual. Knowing that God will be looking after her and she will be saved, and that for her entire life she has our friends and family guiding her and teaching her right from wrong as well as us, her parents, was particularly moving. As I sang Be Thou My Vision, the same hymn we had at our wedding, I felt calm and reassured.

Strange one but purchasing our town home. With the hassle from the previous homeowner, I just accepted that if it was G-d's wish it would happen. With prayers, it happen. Still adjusting to life here, community is beautiful including the new Jewish family that I have joined.

Cultural - going to New York City and Washington DC with my boyfriend. It was an amazing trip and I feel so lucky to have seen those amazing places!

I'm not very spiritual, but I did do something recently that helps me meditate and think clearly--I drove out to the middle of nowhere just to see the stars. I hadn't done it in a while, probably a year, and I had forgotten how great it made me feel to "drive" and not "be driven". I do love driving around at night on quiet roads with the windows open, stopping at small gas stations and enjoying the hills and trees, the open night sky. When I headed over the JB Bridge into Illinois I figured I should stop at a gas station and buy a map, in case my phone lost the signal. While I looked at the map in the light of the gas station, the attendant said "Where are you going?" I said, "I don't know yet..." He said (like he had experience in this sort of thing) "Oh, you're a drifter." I sort of took it as a compliment. I explained that I liked driving around at night and he seemed doubtful that I had all of my marbles because he said "...but you can't see anything." I realized how goofy it sounded but I told him I liked seeing the night sky and getting out of the city. I bought my energy drink and my snack and got the heck out of there, but I loved that experience. The drive that night was lovely, at one point I drove through a small town that had fog settling in the fields around it, and as the road dipped down my car would go below the fog, then as it would rise my car would go through the fog and above it so that I could see the field around me. It looked like I was surrounded by lots of little islands, with fog as the ocean and the moon bright above. It was just gorgeous. It wasn't 'spiritual' exactly, but it made me feel very at peace with myself and my surroundings. Its inspired me to go camping on my own, a solo trip just to get back into my own head and enjoy a few calm days.

Nope, still not spiritual. I did, however go to the funereal of a childhood friend's mom. It was nice to see those people again and a little weird. It reminded me to remember where I grew up, though I am not very far away.

Yes. Many. The main was the death of Robert. Thinking about him, his soul, musing on where he's gone, Mom's endless interesting musings and conversations about where he is, how he's still in the house. Then the ashes--oh those ashes. And then, for me in my life the most poignant was how that led me more deeply toward birth. It was about rebirth. I felt his ashes go into the soil, and I thought about the universe's movement, the cycle of life, the profundity of it all and the deep compelling need to be a part of the cycle, to let life be birthed through me; in the soil, through the earth, through my body, in the world. I felt so much a part of it, or at least a need to be a part of it after that experience and for months afterwards. And maybe still. And then so much else as well, with the break with Lee and how I'm processing that and my work in the world and what it all means and where will we go. I have no idea, when I read this next year, if I'll be with him or I'll be pregnant or I'll be singing lullabies to my frozen eggs...

I had a spiritual experience a few days ago - at synagogue, actually. My synagogue has a choir, only they sit in the rows around all the congregants. I felt like I was in the music - it surrounded me, flowed over me. I felt so connected to that music, to the sounds of prayer.

I think that my search for a new career is turning out to be a spiritual experience of sorts. It feels life changing, at least.

We were invited to a casual dinner under the Sukkah this time last year. We got involved in discussions about religion, ways to believe in God, or not, and how to live a Jewish life with all of those different beliefs and doubts. The conversation was really rich, judgement free, and personal. I have also been to my first b'nei mitzvoth this past year and have really gotten a lot out of watching young people make this incredible emotional, scholarly, and leadership milestone in their lives. Even if the child grows up not practicing Judaism, I believe they will be enriched the rest of their lives by seeing their family and community's joy at welcoming them into adult membership.

I don't know if it counts as spiritual, but I was blown away by my husband's dedication to me while I was sick this year. For almost a year he single-handedly drove me to doctor's appointments, cooked and took care of the house, and kept me from losing my mind. He kept joking that it was in the ketubah, but he really went above and beyond. He proved how much I can rely on him and how devoted he is to me and our marriage.

Watching Avraham bench during Bennett's Bar Mitzvah. And then watching him hold the Torah after the Torah service. Outdoors, overlooking a lake, with a large group of young adults with disabilities, and their very talented counselors. This brought me in touch with parts of my soul that had been absent in my everyday life.

I had a spiritual experience was saying the Avinu Malkeinu this Rosh Hashanah. I heard a new teaching that gave a reason for singing the last verse quietly, instead of loudly like it is usually done. The whole congregation sang the last verse in an undertone. It was particularly prayerful and inspiring.

Flying on an airplane is always spiritual for me. Especially if it is a bumpy ride. I don't pray often, but on take off and landing, I resort to my Catholic upbringing and silently pray - and I pray as if I really mean it. We went on a plane ride to Boston. We had turbulence and I prayed. Even though I don't attend church anymore, I do not fee like a hypocrite while praying. I really feel that God wraps his arms around me during this time.

I've started dating a Jewish man... and that has made a very huge difference on how I view religion being a "spiritual" but not religiously-identified person. I've begun reading the Torah in an effort to understand the history behind Judiasm, though everyone is telling me not to read the Torah, but instead real-life books and a few others. I've started speaking to friends and even him about the religion to better understand my boyfriend, his friends, his family... his life. Being Jewish is a large part of his core and who he is and why he is that way today and it's extremely important to me to understand this part of his life. I'm starting Jewish 101 courses at the synagogue in two weeks (without him knowing) because if I think this man might be the last person I ever date, I think it's important to know where he comes from and where I am venturing to spiritually for potentially the rest of my life. One great thing that's come from it after only one or two readings is I'm able to teach him things about Judaism. Being born into it and studying it as I am are two very different experiences, so we're able to learn and grow together by me doing the readings.

I had a nine month relationship this year with my first real boyfriend from high school. For the first months it was like being lifted up, to be loved by him in such an attentive and generous way. After the romance began to wain, I realized that this "moment in time" could only have happened because of our history and my circumstances at the time. Under other circumstances it wouldn't have worked for me from the beginning. What we did have while it was good was magical, thrilling, and I am so grateful to have had the experience. I am also very able to leave it in the past.

"The Dream" continues to haunt me together with "Edge Hill". Their sadness and chilliness focuses my brain. It feels good.

Learning how to be alone in nature and not be afraid. I am a woman who was taught to fear the woods. Now when I walk alone on a trail, I feel connected to something outside of myself.

I think definitely my returning to using the mikveh since last year. Practically it has been challenging in a number of ways, but there is a certain awe and mystery to it (and as a woman, sense of being "the real deal" among mitzvot) that is pretty hard to duplicated with anything else.

I haven't been really connected to the spiritual aspect of myself this year. I've felt like surviving was more important. This year I intend to spend time seeking growth in my physical needs by losing weight and my spiritual needs by seeking out new sources of enlightenment.

I read many books on attracting your soulmate over the past 2 years including The Soulmate Secret, Calling in the One, and Getting to I Do. I also read Dr. John Gray's Mars and Venus on a Date - which was the best book that happened to me last year - and Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. As an alpha female, I learnt so much about becoming a feminine woman and attracting the right man instead of chasing the wrong ones. I had to become the kind of woman who attracted a wonderful relationship and being on that path was very important for my spiritual growth. I attracted a wonderful guy to me in November 2011, who turned out not to be the right one, but who opened my heart to meeting my current boyfriend, who is the most wonderful guy I have ever dated. I hope we get married.

My most spiritual moments are erev shabbat when my family and I gather around the table and sing zmirot. What gives me a feeling of spirituality as a parent is that my children care profoundly about their Jewish identities and really enjoy sharing these moments with my husband and me. We sing but also get up and dance with eachother during the shabbat meal. Another spiritual moment was when my teenage daughter went to Israel for her first time. She had always said that she didn't get why everyone wanted to make alliyah and got so excited about Israel. While she was on her trip I received a text message from her that said "Now I understand what you mean". It was simply but it meant everything to me that she had been infused with that connection.

Going to Israel was an amazing experience that was top of my bucket list. I will always remember standing at the Kotel, my head pressed against the cool stones, adding my prayers to the thousands of others crammed into any available spot. I felt a connection to my ancestors who didn't live such a privileged life, who were persecuted for their beliefs while I can travel comfortably and can pray to whomever I want freely.

Surprisingly, yes. One morning, as I was sitting on the front porch, a hummingbird flew up and just hovered in front of me for several seconds. I'd been mired in a mental bog of stress and worry, and didn't notice the bird until it was right in front of me. I was struck by the physicality of the bird: how green it was, how fast its wings moved, how unafraid of me it seemed. I also noticed, for the first time, what a beautiful morning it was. How blue the sky was against the green of the bird. How the sunlight looked in the trees. How the air felt on my skin. Then, in the space of a few breaths, it was gone. And I had forgotten what I was worrying about. The appearance of this bird made me realize that, despite my efforts to the contrary, I was failing miserably at living in the moment. That I kept living in tomorrow, next week, next year. And that I'd basically wasted half of my life this way. I vowed to work harder at living in the present day, to let tomorrow take care of itself. It's too soon to tell if it will, but my shoulders ache less now. The bird has reappeared a few times since then, though it's never come as close as it did that first day. Each time I see it, I stop, take a breath, and appreciate the moment I'm in.

yess.. I've found my passion... Helping women with issues I already 've overcomed ! it just fills my heart! I feel passionate and blissfull when I'm doing this.. I've been learning to enjoy life as it comes and my life is changing. I recognize the menaning of everything that happens in my life. If I don't know it right away.. then life brings me the answers quickly and I just let it flow.. it feels sooo great!

The passing of my Grandfather, and his acceptance of Jesus into his life after 94 years of finding excuse after excuse and doing this his way, rather than letting go and accepting what his plans are. His health had declined greatly due to kidney failure and he struggled to understand why he could not fix it. His final few days were so peaceful and my parents were so thankful to have that time with him and witness that acceptance and transformation of his inner peace, that it made losing our last grandparent almost calming; knowing what he had accomplished and what was waiting for him. Surely an answer to our family's prayers.

At the second day of Rosh Hashannah services, I watched the leaves blow on a tree. The light was shimmering and I felt a sense of peace that can only come from the solidity of a tree, with its roots burried deeply in the ground. I looked around the congregation and at my wife and I felt a sense of kinship, of belonging and, for a brief moment, not feeling that the all-seeing eye was staring down at me in disappointment.

Spiritually, I was introduced to Jamie Winship, who ministers to Muslims in the US and Middle East. His stuff is extremely encouraging for living a life of faith that leads to amazing experiences with God. It also is very eye-opening about the relationship between Christians and Muslims, and how that can exits. I've also been very into my Jewish roots as a Christian, and recently bought a Jewish bible to read. I'm pretty passionate about that and am interested to see where it leads.

During pregnancy, I attended a pre-natal yoga class on Saturday mornings; often, I would look forward to this class all week. It functioned as part support group, part exercise. We started each session by sharing -- # of weeks pregnant, where we planned to deliver and other "state of pregnancy" topics. In addition to making new friends, I learned so much about being present with who I am and where I am in life. When someone in the class was 39 or 40 weeks, and presumably about to have their baby, we would dance, shaking our pregnant bellies with abandon, to an inspiring, inner-goddess boosting song at the end of the class. When I earned my dance, I, along with several of my new momma friends, were in tears. The first night after my son was born in the hospital, my husband and I and our new addition listened to the "dance" song, called "Beautiful Am I" on repeat until the wee hours of the morning. Between smiles, tears, pain and fear, and what seemed like endless interruptions from hospital staff, that song kept us grounded, present. We now remember that grueling night as one of the best of our lives, with an echo of the song weaved into our memory.

Yes my trip Israel Jerusalem.was a powerful place .it deepened.my spirituality if you want to feel the presence of the lord spend time in Jerusalem.

I made an amazing connection with my boyfriend. We met and connected, and I felt as if I had known him in previous lives and finally found him again in this life (this coming from someone who is very anti-new-agy hullaballoo!). Everything with him is different from previous relationships. It's profound but also really relaxed and fun. Finding the one has been a spiritual experience.

Attended a 10 day Vipassana retreat. The quiet and solitude increased my awareness of the interconnectedness of the universe.

I fought and am winning.

This past summer I went on a Vision Quest where I fasted for 4 days, while staying in a 10 foot circle. When I emerged and began integrating everything that happened, it was as if my eyes were cleaned and I was seeing the world anew.

I suppose you could say that it was a spiritual experience to attend (for the first time) the Sisters Folk Festival, which included music from a gentleman named Justin Roth. His music moved me to tears, which I would define as spiritual, because it spoke to me deeply and reminded me that all of us want to shine, and not feel limited.

Watching my best friend be the bravest person I know deciding not to do any more chemo. Then after she passed, I had to spread her ashes in two places. I knew she was with me both times. At the second place(ocean side) we spread her ashes, my gifted singer songwriter friend and another great friend came with me. The wind shifted and a storm rolled in as we spread the ashes. We left and went to get some clams at my favorite place as the storm became fierce . While waiting in the rain for our food, my friend breaks into the most beautiful song about my best friend. It was so moving and inspiring, I will never forget that moment.

Established a much closer relationship and dialogue with God. Began a daily Bible reading program, Bible study, reflection and meditation period with wife. Also began studying The Course on Miracles . My journey has given me inner peace and a sense of perspective regarding life and success...

Overall, my beliefs haven't changed much over the past year. They have fluctuated from belief in certain things to wishful belief to doubt and disbelief. I have pared it down to simply that I believe in what I don't know. There is so much yet to know and be discovered that I can't claim to have any of the answers. I fear and revere the unknown as a whole, and I offer small pleas and prayers to anything that might listen.

I have starting having experiences where I can "feel" the presence of special people in my life with me even though they may be up to thousands of miles away! This has been very touching in a positive way and has sometimes "filled" me to the point of tears. It has helped me to greatly increaee my spiritual life and the quality of my prayer. In addition, it has been very moving to see how my rayers are answered in a very tangible way.

yes totally!

just the usual stuff

Daily since I decided to take off the mask I lived behind for the last 44 years. The moments since take my breath away.

I have been able to hear the "small, still voice". For so long I wasn't able to hear it and it was a joy for it to come back, to know that I was sufficiently still and connected that it could be heard.

My trip to Tanzania for a 15 day safari was quite spiritual. Roaming in the Serengeti and three other National Parks for up to 8 hours/day made me realize just how insignificant we are - I saw millions of animals wandering an endless plain, interacting with and against one another with every day a new day wondering if they'll find food or be eaten as food. Somehow the animal kingdom just works. We, as humans, blessed with brains (are we?) continue to have issues getting along with others, both as individuals and as countries; we're blessed with daily food and shelter yet never are satisfied; we're able to travel all around, witness how others live. I feel very blessed I was able to make the trip.

This year and in fact every year, I think of the quote "Man plans and G-d laughs". Sometimes it's with joy that G-d joins you to share in your joy with laughter. And sometimes--it's to let you know that you think you can plan for every contingency--wrong! But I am with you during every event to help you through. You just have to open your heart to feel the presents.

Learning to work through chronic pain has been a spiritual experience for me. Not resisting, but accepting, moving away from anger and personal resentment, grief and shame that my lifestyle has contributed to the pain are all things I am working through. I hope this will turn out to be a growth experience in the end.

On assignment for a cancer research foundation, I met a very special woman who was undergoing treatment in a clinical trial for myeloma. It is difficult to describe how meeting and speaking with her was spiritual, but her strength, courage and perseverance really affected me. She continued to draw and sketch despite her illness. She was engaged in life to the fullest extent possible. She was an inspiration to me.

This entire year marks my spiritual awakening. I have found the power of meditation and the healing nature of self love. I am not at all religious but spirituality for me isn't at all about that. For me it has been getting to know myself and and others on a soul level. This experience had led me to understand the power of my intuition believing that the universe will never steer me in te wrong direction. I have learned to find mening in both the good and bad experiences and not to take myself too seriously. My eyes have been opened and now more then ever I feel the world is a big bright place full of possibilities. I am happier, more optomistic and overall a better person because of the spiritual growth I've experienced over the past year.

I'm very blessed that this year has been filled with many spiritual experiences. The most recent one that comes to mind is practicing yoga with five great friends I met through my studio. The sun was shining, the music was uplifting, the teacher was inspiring and the energy of all of us practicing in the front room carried me through 90 minutes of sweat, movement, joy and love. I came to a life-changing decision because of that class.

I have been doing a lot more yoga lately. This summer, I did dvd and on demand programs in my living room, but just got a pass for a hot yoga studio. While I do it more for the exercise than the spiritual element, I do find it relaxes me and helps me to de-stress. I just feel generally better about all things overall. It puts me in a better mood, helps me sleep at night, and gives me almost an hour an a half where I am not thinking about anything but breathing.

A colleague from my office was killed earlier this week. His name was Peter. He was on his way home from chorus practice when he was shot in the head and chest in front of his house. Police don't have any suspects, but they think it was a robbery attempt , and he may have been mistaken for a food delivery person. Evidently Baltimore has had a rash of robberies of food delivery people this summer. But he wasn't a food delivery person, he was a scientist and a father and a colleague and a friend. He was just trying to get home from chorus practice. Why does this kind of thing happen? There are no satisfying answers to this question. I've never had a strong belief in god. I think god is who people often turn to when terrible things happen to good people. They invent explanations like, it was god's will, or, god has a plan even if we don't understand it. That sounds like a crappy god to me, even though I'm envious of the comfort those beliefs can offer. I'm angry and scared by being confronted with the fragility of life and the senselessness with which it can end. No one ever said life was fair, but no one said it was going to be this shittily unfair, either. Peter was a good guy, and he didn't deserve this. Most people don't deserve the awful things that happen to them. Knowing this, how do we keep going? I have zero answers, but in a way that feels like the right place to start. I am reminded to love the people I love, and to appreciate what I have while I have it. It's all temporary, but that has to be enough.

I wrote in my journal for 100 Days, specifically looking for spiritual answers. I saw The Secret. I started meditating and then attended a meditation 2 day retreat. I am still seeking but have some clarity for now....

I was at the shiva for a friend who had lost her mother. I looked around her cozy living room, and saw it packed with members of our temple, standing shoulder to shoulder, davenning. It was very moving, the sense of our community gathering in support of our friend, sharing t'fillot.

Wrapping tfillin at the wall on my first wedding anniversary was exceptionally powerful.

I moved into my own flat this year, living in it alone for a few months before my boyfriend moved in. The whole experience was quite stressful, especially as I've been doing everything myself. I started noticing that when I got really stressed, just thinking about the power of PMA helped. I've got it tattooed on my finger for that very reason!

My spiritual experiences this past year have included singing and dancing. When I'm singing or dancing, I forget about everything but the voice or movement and lose myself in the music. That is what I like most.

I was introduced to the 4 statements of compassion: May I be safe May I be healthy May I be happy May I live with ease. Applying these to myself and others often reduces stress.

Being able to raise $2300 for Heifer International through our Lenten almsgiving project that I headed was amazing for me. I did a lot of reflection during it and honestly felt the Holy Spirit was working through me for these people. I was so amazed that the community was so generous and we pretty much doubled our goal. I think we did it in a truly prayerful way too. It helped me to realize how much power I actually have to help others and that I want to use it as much as possible.

Meeting my girlfriend in Warsaw honestly felt like a spiritual experience - like karmic forces were conspiring to bring us together and we'd met in a past life. I also feel I learned a lot about myself, my family line, my ego and the highest self I can be when I was on two 5Rhythms workshops in Europe this summer. The effect is incremental but perhaps I'm more open, confident and self-accepting now.

I can't tell you how many times I've lain with my sleeping son in my arms, just memorizing every detail of his sweet face, noting the little changes every day has left. It's small, quiet moments like that that affect me, that change me and have made me a better person. His warm breath on my neck. His head heavy on my shoulder. His tiny hands on my cheek. His sleep is the most spiritual thing that I've experienced in my life. I'm so grateful for him.

I've started meditating this year, and I've been able to contact my higher self on a couple of occasions. No biggie, but it was a very spiritual thing for me to experience. I also made myself a natal horoscope a a couple of months ago and it has opened my eyes to some karmic patterns, so now I have a new understanding of my personality and my role in this life. I've also been to a Coldplay gig. It was something I'd wanted to do for years. It helped me let go of some old habits and self-destructive thoughts and for that I'm grateful .

When have I not had a spiritual experience. Evey day is a spiritual experience of love, oneness, synchronicity. I love looking at the world this way because it feels truly magical and it also keeps me going when things are challenging. It is easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle but the energy remains.

I have a lot of scares this year with both my parents. My mother has Alzheimer's and she has her good times and bad. But every once in awhile we make a real connection and I see a little of my old mom inside and it makes me feel really good.

I experienced a very painful and confusing break up with the man I love, and days later left for Europe. While there, feeling heartbroken, I was comforted by the kindness and generosity of new friends, and soothed by the natural beauty of some of the places I visited. Spiritual experiences can happen, I realized, when I am most shattered, when the ground has really fallen out from under me. I was reminded that despair can connect me to others who have also felt it, it can connect me deeper to myself and my patterns, and to the world around me, which still contains beauty even when things feel their worst.

Muchas. Sueños, pesadillas, eventos. El choque del auto, la muerte de Tomasito, mis pesadillas que se convirtieron en sueños, la fuerza que ha venido para aterrizar lo que antes solo pensaba, la pasion que se ha despertado en mi por luchar para ver esos sueños a corto, mediano y largo plazo hacerse realidad, con la confianza y la fe necesaria que me dan la tranqulidad y la certeza de que todo sera mucho mas enriquecedor y prospero para miles y miles de personas, se que sucederan cosas que jamas soñe. Pido naturalidad, sencillez y guia interna para distinguir las bendiciones ocultas y las bendiciones "casuales o aparentes". Asi sea.

Oh, goodness, yes! So many. Moments of beauty and power while davening -- there is one I remember particularly, when I was blessed to be leading prayer with two dear friends, and during the bar'chu our voices joined together and I felt suddenly connected with them, with our whole community, with God. Moments of beauty and wonder at the glory of the world -- sunrise and sunset and moon and mist in the valleys. Moments of deep awareness of the miracle which is my son. I am grateful for all of them. I try to remain attentive enough to notice these moments of holiness, these moments of connection, as they happen each day. I know I don't always succeed.

I think this past year has been one of many spiritual awakenings for me as I continue on my journey of spiritual evolution. Deepening my understanding of who I really am - an expression of divine Love - has really aided me in going about my life with its joys and challenges. I have become aware of how much greater I really am than who and what I appear to be.

I used to go to the Church across the street with my roommate because she didn't know anyone there and I usually don't mind going. But this particular visit was very spiritually draining. The church is literally called "a Jesus church", which doesn't usually bother me. However, I've taken big leaps in regards to my Jewish faith and so for the first time in any church, I felt completely isolated and alone. They spoke of Jesus and their community and although they are very accepting of my beliefs, I couldn't help but feel I did not belong and the love they preached really was not for me. Sad, yes, but it actually gave me the push to start meeting with the Rabbis in the community and get myself into a spiritual community where I feel at home.

Given that I'm already in the theatre, just performing, or watching my work being performed is always an extraordinarily spiritual experience. Watching words on the page jump into life and breathe is an amazing feat to watch....and is always astounding. Going from not knowing words to having them slide off my tongue in front of an audience makes me think maybe there is a "god". Same thing for writing...where do these ideas come from but from a creative force.

Nothing really this year... I am not an exceptionally spiritual person, butI do feel like I have seen more and experienced more in people this year than before. I'm not sure I am particularly happy or impressed with what i have experienced in others or myself, but it has all opened my eyes. I hope everyone can learn from the good and bad in their lives and pursue what is best for themselves and those they love.

watching other people's skepticism, awareness and realization of the beyond on the "long island medium" tv show was the closest i got to a spiritual experience this year. i coaxed my husband, the overly-rational-disbelieving engineer, to watch it with me to see if he can open his mind to unquantifiable, non-provable things... there seems to be a glimmer of hope.

i've had little moments, but they mean a lot to me. they happen usually when i'm in the middle of a great conversation with somebody. talking about anything---a movie, a book, types of people, mexican food---and suddenly we're just on another level of happiness... man i'm vague. but mostly i guess it's when i'm talking about artistic, creative things. stories, writing, etc. how art like that affects my outlook of the world. i should make a map going back over the years of all my best conversations. i bet it'd be fun to look at and maybe i'd see patterns---"you always have the most interesting convos in this location, or with these types of people, or of rainy days, or right before fall, etc."

Well, again, the birth of my son was certainly a life-changing and spiritual event. And I think a better understanding of what needs to be in place in my life for me to be more creative has helped too.

The death of my wife this year, was an extremely spiritual experience. My sister, a very spiritual person, was with me when she passed, and together we felt her soul pass from her body. It is not an experience I wish to have again, but watching someone you love pass from this world, was an experience I have never felt before. The hospice nurse, told me that not every death is peaceful, but her death was extremely peaceful. I felt the kiss of God as she took her last breath.

This year I learned to meditate with Rabbi Ruth Sohn. Over the past 6 months, I noticed that Jewish meditation has made a significant impact in the way I pray, behave and react. The meditation has helped me slow down and be more thoughtful throughout the week. Following meditation, we study the weekly text and this learning has also been an incredible experience. The generosity of spirit, the sharing of stories and the non-judgement for all has made the experience itself spiritual. I had always felt as though I did not fit in at shul, and now I have found my minyan.

The decision to get pregnant was a very spiritual one for me. I see motherhood differently now. The fear has gone away and is replaced with the knowledge that everything will work out and be okay.

Being able to write again, even for short periods of time, has been an immensely spiritual experience. I want more of it.

It has been a struggle this year. So many disappointments. I have been struggling to not lose my faith in God or people generally. Not a good year world-wide.

The healing of my husbands brain bleed and the sense of safety and calm I felt being with him during his Survival Flight Heliocopter ride.I don't like to fly.

This may sound strange, but turning 40 this year has given me pause and made me take stock of my whole life, including the spiritual side. That and becoming a Sunday school teacher at our temple has put me more in touch with my Jewish roots than I ever have been before. And it's a trend I want to continue.

The most spiritual experience I've had this year was the moment I anointed our new Bishop with ashes. I felt like what I was doing was right and good. I also felt like it was confirmation that I will be a good pastor one day.

Going to see The Magic Flute at the opera. The Queen of the Night aria is so incredible to hear in person--my husband and I were close to tears. The production we saw had whimsical costumes and colorful animations. It was magical experience.

My life has slowly and steadily evolved into a more spiritual direction since I began to believe in God and Jesus (as Messiah) almost 32 years ago. I more and more allow and see God in everything that occurs. Hence everything is a "spiritual" experience. Therefore it is difficult to point out any one experience as "spiritual," as everything is "spiritual" at this point in my life. By the way, I do believe in and try to live by the written Law of Moses. Hence my belief in Jesus in no way deletes or eliminates my belief in Moses.

I enjoy the church experience and the singing, but I don't really agree with the theology. Church is beautiful and at times transformative, but my brain refuses to turn off and I can't abide by archaic church doctrine that specifically discriminates.

I would say that visiting the sequoia and redwood forests of California was a very spiritual and humbling experience for me. Being among the largest and oldest living things on Earth really helps put a lot of things into perspective.

During a bussiness trip, I visited the tomb of a national hero. It got me thinking about his history, his principles, his moral and his life, and also to review what we all did ever since and in the current days. All of it added a lot to my thinking and the way I see things.

Visiting Carsten Hoeller's "Giant Psycho Tank" at the New Museum was a pretty awesome and spiritual experience. I had never had a floatation tank experience and I visited when I had just left my job in finance and was alone in NYC, unemployed. I waited on line for 3 or 4 hours and when it was finally my turn, I undressed myself and floated for about fifteen minutes. I was fascinated by the fact that when you first stepped into the tank, there were a few vantage points in the museum from which spectators could peer in and sort of see you undressing. It was the ultimate sensory experience - wondering if strangers could see you naked, feeling exposed, vulnerable and weird for this. All the tricks I learned as a teenage girl in catholic school of masking nudity while changing for gym class were useless. I felt this heightened vulnerability prior to stepping in and then once I sat down to float, I immersed my ears and checked out from the world. I closed my eyes, heard nothing, saw nothing and felt nothing. I lost all sense of time due to the sensory deprivation that occurred. The security guard knocked on the outside of the tank, notifying me it was time to get out. I felt awesome when I got out. After having researched the idea of floatation tanks and sensory deprivation, I found it really interesting to learn that this is used as therapy for patients with high levels of anxiety. When deprived of your senses, you apparently "lose" the barrier that exists between yourself and the universe; allowing your ego to deflate which permits you to become "one" with the elements. I absolutely loved this idea and realised that it was exactly what I needed at the time. I look back on this experience fondly, and I kept it in mind when I went to float in the Dead Sea this summer. As someone who can be self-centered from time to time, I found it really useful to have this experience.

Sadly -- no. I've felt spiritually adrift for quite some time now. Not "lost" so much as just feeling alone or maybe apart for a time.

While attending my college reunion, a friend and I walked down to the WaterFire event in downtown Providence. It was unlike anything I had previously experienced, with big barges on the water filled with fire and music pouring from speakers all around us. There were fairy lights in the trees, and crowds of people sitting or strolling. It was so special to me to be spending time and talking with this old friend, whom I had not seen in a very long time, in this amazing and inspiring environment. It felt like I was in another world, totaling outside of my normal routine. I felt so alive.

I think my most spiritual event was taking charge of my health. Since starting five weeks ago, I've lost 4 kilos and have learned more about my eating and lifestyle habits that makes me feel like I can be a better person. I've learned how to set goals and to achieve them. I've also learned to set meaningful rewards that encourage change rather than just treating myself. I feel responsible and more mature.

My spiritual experience was that there was a lack of one. Made me question some things because I didn't feel close to Gd anymore. I reached out to my congregation, and my Rabbi was very helpful and concerned and spent a lot of time talking to me while I dealt with some very hard life lessons...but the presence of Gd seemed to wane over the course of the year, for which I am very sad and regretful.

On a several occasions the sudden unexplained fragrance of an unknown perfume in this old century house. Many things going missing since living here - more than is usual. The feeling that someone who has passed (my dad?) is watching out for my safety in little ways. The anteater thing with my daughter (don't ask) lol. Coincidence? I think not.

I wish, but not really.

My spiritual journey has been a very positive experience this year. I started regular therapy with someone I can totally trust who is also very inspirational. I am learning to let go of anger, revealing that I control my future, I can make things happen. I have studied Reiki and am applying it on a daily basis. I know this job is coming to an end sooner than expected and that something amazing and positive will arrive. I truly believe that this is why Rick cannot find work. our future together holds something much more worthy of ourselves and will allow us to explore our true calling.

Watching my daughter grow continues to be a spiritual experience. The difference between last year at this time and today is unbelievable.

Past year in August, I Applied and got a management position. It has been in many ways difficult and yet rewarding. I have meet some awesome people. I have attended so many good classes and have learnt in many ways to deal with difficult people. This has made me grow spiritually. I came across Mindvalley and through them my spiritual knowledge has been increasingly growing . I had also signed up last July for an on line nutrition course which I graduated from this July. The course has developed me overall to become a better more healthier well rounded person. I have just started this journey. I have so much more potential to grow. Thank you

Any spiritual experiences this year? Whoa. My everyday life is a spiritual experience. Period. After staring down death for much of the last decade, watching do much of my world slip away, I had to learn to hang on tightly to Life Itself. When every breath is its own miracle, everything I see is beautiful. And perhaps it's the very perception of beauty and connectedness that defines spiritual experience anyway. Simple!

I am slowly beginning once more to feel G-d's presence in my life as I work as a hospital chaplain. It's an odd thing, feeling as though I'm faking it, trying to help patients and their families find something I'm not sure it there, but the more I pray, the more I trust that I will find words of comfort, the more I feel holy presence. Otherwise it has been a bleak year; it's nice to feel the slow dawn instead of a bleak night.

No, and that's a shame. I've been a working dog, and I'm out of touch with my body and mind. I want to seek more spiritual experiences...I am hoping to find those in nature. I'm hoping my trip to Zion will be a catalyst.

My 18th birthday was very spiritually changing for me. I became an adult and I don't know how but somehow something in me changed and I can see clearly for the first time in a long time. I'm standing stronger than I have in a long time and though my life is still not easy I can finally say that it's mine. Though I still have a few battles to win, I can see my strength now and I can see the road that I've always known I was going to take but I can finally say that I see the light at the end of This very long dark tunnel. Somehow turning eighteen meant everything I thought it would mean and I am finally starting to see my own value.

Seeing the Carribean sea - the azure sea, white sand and true blue dream of a sky - an experience I had never thought I'd have ie I can have amazing experiences I don't even know about yet.

Last year, my life changed so dramatically with the birth of my son -- what an enormous moment that was spiritually -- and this year, absolutely nothing compares. It actually saddens me a lot that I haven't had many spiritually fulfilling moments over the past year...I've just been so caught up in the frenzy, and have struggled to allow myself quiet time for myself. The big exception is this: I've taken up yoga. It has changed my life, and I am addicted! It is spiritual, but in a very "un-dramatic" way. It forces me to calm myself, slow myself, empty my mind (as much as possible!) and exist in the moment. It has been such a tremendous challenge for a hyperactive worrywart such as myself....but SO beneficial.

My husband's medical condition. The severity and the prognosis has brought us closer to our Judaism and we have become more observant because of it.

No.

Waiting for dawn in a crane blind on the Platte river, listening to the cranes waking up to greet the day--the progression from the wait in darkness and silence to the overwhelming sight and sounds of the birds at sunrise.

The past two years I have been president of a small Renewal congregation. We have only a part time out of town rabbi so to keep things afloat we speak on the phone every two weeks and email A LOT!! I have always had a tendancy to engage in self deprecation. In a communication in between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur I made one of my typical swelf deprecating remarks The rabbi issued what she called a spiritual challenge--to not put myself down in between the Jewish and the secular new years. At first i treated it almost like AA--no self put downs just for today. Soon it became a spiritual revleation that we all are imperfect and make mistakes but that we all have somethoing to offer to the world and are truly interconnected and what we do matters beyond those directly affected.

I can't say that I have had any particularly spiritual experiences. I do feel that my awareness of being connected to nature, air, light is deepening.

There are many spiritual experiences I have, every year. They can be as simple as a beautiful sunset or a clear, crisp autumn day, or the ear-to-ear smile on my face when I step off my bicycle after a hard ride. They can be as profound as connecting with someone on a soul-to-soul level, or finding myself in a situation that calls upon my life experience to-date to help someone in a way that someone with a different set of experiences could not. These experiences allow me to examine the world from different perspectives, and to hopefully provide insight to others through them.

My supervisor asked me to pray on behalf of her relation who was unwell. We don't often let spirituality into our workspaces, or let our guard down enough to ask for help - especially the kind of help that is immaterial. It was a spiritual time of sorts.

I was really upset this summer...about a miscarriage and my husband taking an unstable job that would cause him to be gone for 6-18 months and then travel beyond that. I really connected through music. Certain songs would take my breath away or cause me to immediately tear up, sometimes even just full on crying...even if there were people around. I think I held everything in and the sound of certain music and the lyrics would force me to feel the emotion that I was holding inside. It always felt good...and sad and a little powerful.

I think it's the sharing of my spiritual self that had increased over the past year. Gathering with family and friends and not shying away from including others in my spiritual life.

Meditation moments...I have been privileged to be a part of those who seek. I feel more and more people are seeking this path. My only wish is that the practice of meditation could find it's way into every school, job, situation. Imagine what it would be like if Congress meditated everyday before it began it's sessions, or school children used it routinely at the beginning of class...more peace, more focus, more love.

Yes. Since moving to Arizona where there are churches on nearly every corner, I have been thinking a lot about what I believe. After months of pondering, meditating and reflecting, I finally arrived at an answer, which I shared with my husband. I decided that I didn't believe in God. The very next day when I was on a morning walk and listening to "Be Thy Grace" and had a profound feeling of someone smiling at me and telling me that I am loved and there is infinite patience in my search for truth. Certainly, that experience changed my recent conclusion that there is no God. Now I know, there is!

My spirituality has definitely been in a flux. I don't know if I'll ever find a place where I stand. I know that you can't prove that there is a God, but I know that you can't prove that there isn't a God. It's all very subjective and confusing and I don't know where I stand. I mean I pray, and I ask God (if God is really there) to help me find a standing point. Solid ground. I don't think I'll ever get that. I just have to keep questioning.

I really haven't been as attuned to the spiritual world this past year. The odd moment of insight or awe, but nothing memorable enough to write down.

For years I have maintained a prayer/meditation practice--davening each morning and offering traditional prayers in Hebrew and English and other gratitudes and praises I have put together myself with the help of many teachers, and writing a short daily poem. My focus during this practice varies depending on events in my life, and my physical state and distractability. My kavanah is to be fully present to every word I pray/speak/read/write as well as with everything around me. Every so often, for moments and sometimes full minutes at a time, I sense the Oneness in her/his full mystery and wonder and also the multiplicity of the Many continuously nurtured and arising within the Oneness. I believe that this year this practice helped me be present with friends (some in need, two who were dying), with my children and grandchildren, and my husband while conscious of the "spirituality"--the "this is what is wonderousness" underlying our combined presence in the moments we shared. For me this is the most worthwhile effort of my days.

I can't think of anything off hand -although I really did enjoy going to Rosh Hashanah services. I have been periodically trying to see beauty is the stuff I see and do everyday -but it is so easy to forget!

Probably getting engaged. It means changing my life in every way to accommodate a second person permenatly. It is something that I am ready for but took prayer and extent thought to come to the conclusion that I was not only ready but I was eager.

Sitting with my grandson in synagogue---watching him watch the cantor and the shofar blower---was the closest I have felt to God all year long.

I'm not a spiritual person. The only thing vaguely close to having a spiritual experience this year is that I've become more in tune with my body. I've dedicated a lot more time at the gym and not only am I seeing results, but others a noticing too - which I guess has lead to a string of 'spiritual' experiences in bed, which is always nice.

Being at my father's bedside when he died was pretty profound - listening as his breath changed tempo and sound and eventually stopped, and watching his pulse stop. It's been nearly a year (last October) and I'm still digesting how that has and will affect me for the rest of my life. It was very peaceful and I treasure that memory. I was unexpectedly quite sad for my husband's family that they weren't present when his grandmother, the family matriarch, died in July. Saying Kaddish for my Catholic father was also moving, and a comfort. Having structure for the 11 months of mourning was helpful as I moved from extreme sadness to not thinking about it/almost forgetting and back again to sadness. Standing up for the last time was as much a milestone as the first. I honor Judaism for this gift it has given me.

Seeing the Grand Canyon was a very spiritual experience. I felt my problems fade when faced with the perspective of the vista. It's also amazing that water can carve that much stone over so many years, and you can see the striations of history in the sides of the canyon. It also helped me realize what a great country we live in. It looks like another planet but it's part of the great diversity of the United States--a country I am glad to call home.

The loss of my "adopted" dad. One minute he was fine, the next minute he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. It was 6 weeks to the day from diagnosis to his death. It also reminded me that 23 years ago, when my own daddy passed away, I was too busy being the mom to 4 young children to take the time for my own grief.

Feeling the presence of what might be God when a patient and I connect heart to heart.

Oh my goodness, what good timing this 10Q has! Less than a week ago I went to a Zen Buddhism center for the first time in my life. I felt so overwhelmed by the kind, happy people who were there, & my own emotional struggles that were brought up by my need to be there. It was such a good experience. I can see myself utilizing it as a great tool, a spiritual "home"--this is something I've been looking for for a long time, never having been raised with structured religion. It's nice to feel like I have somewhere, a sanctuary for my mind, to fall back on.

Like this question and the way it has made me think back about the incredibly amazing experiences that i had this year. I literally, saw the world. Ecuador for New Years. Chamonix for skiing. Hawaii. These experiences created visuals that drew goosebumps. Getting them now, just thinking back on them. Maybe the most spiritual moment for me was last weekend, though. One afternoon. I got to see my godkids, my best friends, my mom and all of my best friends children. A reminder that they are so important to me. A reminder how much they love me and that i am loved. and a reminder of how truly rich my life is.

I took a Philosophy 101 class last semester. With the various philosophers that we discussed (my favorites included Descartes, Sartre, Kierkegaard and Berkeley) and their various points of view on life, it was very eye-opening experience. More than anything, the course has made me aware of how often we take life, reality and all of its bizarreness for granted.

My most spiritual experience took place during yoga teacher training. That was where I learned to really love and be connected to meditation and meditative practice. We did one exercise where we all practiced a rolling ohm, each of us ohming at our own pace. The ohm is meant to symbolize the vibrations of the universe, and in this case it was both that and a source of amazing connection throughout our small community. When I feel unbalanced, I think of that feeling and it brings me a new calm.

The catharsis of representing myself in court and giving the judge my story and being heard and my words read by the judge lifted a fog of "Nobody Listens to Andrew" . The judge's orders exonerated me and the freeing felt fabulous.

I don't consider myself a spiritual person, however, this year I have made a lot of strides towards being a more centered and thoughtful person in the style of Buddhist and yogic principles. Through practicing yoga, attempting meditation (it's such a process...), reading, listening to audiobooks, etc. I'm trying to take control of my inner workings and make myself a more stable, happy person.

I have a lot of music that I like to listen to as a way to worship and connect spiritually. Last week I listened to a CD I hadn't heard in years and was moved to tears as I closed my eyes and just let it all sink in.

This is probably a strange answer but one morning, when I was making the bed, I wasn't watching where I was walking and stepped on the doggie steps next to the bed. The steps got stuck on my foot and everything became slow motion as I lost my balance and started falling head first into the mirrored closet doors. Suddenly, for no reason I can explain, I managed to stop myself when my head was about 3" from the mirror. Amazing. Someone was watching out for me. :)

No, I'm still mad at the Catholic Church. Especially with the demands they are making on their Sisters, and the whole birth control issue. Right now I think a lot of awful miserable things are done in the name of religion.

I think visiting Europe had some spiritual significance. Seeing all the old buildings and churchs and the pretty countryside made me feel connected and in awe of God's creation and how long we have been in this planet.

As I rubbed the face of an elephant and he began drifting to sleep, I felt a rare bond with the moment and with nature. It was serene and blissful for all parties.

My most spiritual experiences occur when I hear our children's laughter...

This is a hard one to answer. I tend to feel more spiritual during times I am feeling helpless and need to find a way to keep things in perspective, maintain a positive attitude, and block negative emotions from taking over. My mom's declining health and escalating family problems have certainly changed my degree of spirituality.

No. And in fact my lack of spiritualism/faith was enforced at the funeral of my grandad, it has no bearing on my life and doesn't comfort me. I have no use for it.

Unexpected financial difficulties have revealed a progressive breakdown in my marriage and perhaps even the demise of my mate into debilitating illness. In the middle of managing loneliness and want, I discovered Ellen Davis' book Scripture, Culture and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. The book introduced a new understanding of ancient text and of the concept of manna. Resting in a new understanding of "enough" has made this one of the richest years of my personal and professional life.

I've come to realize that I shy away from Christianity and the organization of Churches. I actually resent it and I think the fundamental reason is the anger I hold against it. Without digging into too many details, the death of my Dad and my Mum's amputation are two key events where I felt the God that I believed in was torturing my family. I kept questioning why us, why my Dad, why my Mum, why take a father away from his family like that in that way? In the end, I realized that Christianity really is not for me at this moment of time, whether being because of the anger that I still continue to hold or because of the overbearing rituals it continues to force upon its followers. Instead, I have become interested in Rumi writings, Seik teachings, Yoga, Meditation, and Buddhism. I don't necessary align myself with any particular belief system, but I have found that without Yoga and meditation, I feel weighted down by my stress. I have realized the chanting of Buddhism has made me calm and collected. And with the words of Rumi and Seik teachings, I gather more knowledge and now am at a better balance than I was before. This is actually interesting, since I have rejuvenated myself this past week with concentrating on these actions again and restarting a better focus on these different pathways for inner balance. I am hoping to continue this for years to come and maybe then I won't feel the burden of stress and past experiences anymore.

I had a very spiritual experience a few weeks ago when I went to the Great Synagogue for Shabbat. The service was so beautiful that it almost made me want to be come Orthodox. In fact, I am not even sure that I like Reform services all that much anymore.

Teaching cross-culturally was spiritual, in that I made a connection to the participants, articulated the philosophy of my material as well as modeled it, then transmitted it. How it changed me and them is a testament to the spiritual nature of what happened. We created a beloved learning community.

In Jerusalem in our top-floor east-facing hotel room, we had a great view of sunrise over the city. Since my hours were still off, I was awake the first few days to see it. BCC was streaming video of Friday night Shabbat services, which coincided with early Saturday morning in Jerusalem. At the exact moment I was joining my Los Angeles congregation saying the evening Shema, the sun was rising over Jerusalem and I was also saying the morning Shema in Israel. Truly an awesome experience.

Whenever I hear Gustavo Dudamel conduct, I am taken to a place that is best described by T.S. Eliot"Music heard so deeply,that it is not music at all, but you are the music while the music lasts."

I don't really think I've had any particularly spiritual experiences. I did have a meaningful moment when I was walking down the hill from hillside. I started to cry because I was so happy. I was so happy because I knew, finally what I was going to be. Applying to grad school was really hard and I had been accepted/knew I was going to UIndy. As I was walking, I realized I was able to visualize my future. I was going to be a psychologist. That vision, while simple, meant a lot. All my life, many of those around me (my peers) have tried to fit into a mold or have tried to force their interests because it would look good. I was much more interested in growing and developing just as is. I feel like psychology found me, not the other way around. Knowing that I've been able to just grow into the person I am now who knows who they will be, and that it has been a natural process, was what hit me as I was walking. I am a person I am proud of and I will be who I will be because of life, not because I tried to make myself fit.

I dedicated most of my free time to Tumblr this year and it was a truly spiritual experience.

One particular spiritual experience happened at a funeral of one of my mother's friends, Margaret. She had been an avid walker during her life, and I'm currently training for a 500-mile pilgrimage walk. During the funeral, I asked Margaret if she would be willing to be my walking angel, watching over me and keeping me safe during my training and during the pilgrimage. I felt a sense of peace and joy come over me, along with a knowingness that Margaret would watch over me.

I have a new baby. The miracles of his adoption and being in our lives has been a daily spiritual experience.

Seeing lions in a state of nature has to qualify as a spiritual experience. It made me ponder circumstances that placed these magnificent yet not noble creatures in an environment that both provided prey for them and simultaneously gave prey advantages that could enable them to survive. Pondering the nature of the universe is either beyond my capabilities or my notions of humility, but seeing the lions and experiencing their existence made it much easier to contemplate and even consider the possibility of a higher plan.

Making stronger ties with my parents. Understanding myself better and what I want. Finding out what makes me happy and feel so refreshed when I am able to begin anew from an event that devastated my entire being. Embracing my faith more for support. I feel that these have made me a stronger person, spiritually.

I reaffirmed my Buddhist practice by focusing on the 8 steps one week at a time and writing about them in my blog. This helped me to remember who I am and what my life is about.

I made a family at the shul I joined in Boston. They were so supportive and present and uplifting. I'm looking to start fresh now and it's a bit daunting.

This summer I visited the cabin of Sigurd Olsen - one of America's most famous naturalists. His cabin sits on Listening Point (also the title of one of his books) on Burntside Lake just outside Ely, Minnesota. I work and attend two YMCA summer camps on another part of the lake and many of the things we are taught and teach are Olsen's lessons of harmony and respect for our surroundings. One of the camps even has a Sigurd Olsen Center - dedicated to him. Listening Point and his cabin were beautiful. I could easily picture him sitting there, watching the sun set over the lake as the nightly music of the forest raised up around him.

I think I had something like that when I was visiting La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I'm not religious, I don't even believe in something. But that was art. True art. Architecture in it's most finest way. The way Gaudi made even the inside of that church, that looked like a forest, with the tall pilars who seemed to be having branches, was amazing. It was a sort of epiphany.

Writing my novel. I felt in touch with the infinite.

Not really, unfortunately. Some books felt "magical" though in their inspiration and their setting.

I was able to let go of some anger toward people and situations in my life that had been isolating me and have been rewarded by an influx of positivity both personally and professionally. My life is much richer now.

Came completely to Christ this year, and hope to be baptized in the next few weeks by Pastor Dave at Church of the Beloved in Chicago! http://www.facebook.com/thebelovedchurch http://www.thebelovedchurch.org/

I feel like I'm losing my spirituality. I still believe in God and the good he has done in my life. Somedays I feel like the Lutheran church is nothing more than a business full of power hungry phonies. And our government is no better. I feel adrift. I know God has my back, but can't say the same about the people from my old church. Or anyone for that matter.

I have never thought I was a spiritual person. But that was because I defined spirituality as being religious. By broadening the definition to include finding a calm inside brought on by nature or music or meditation, I realize that I am a very spiritual person. The trick is in giving myself the time, space and presence to find that place.

I attended church with my Mom for mother's day, during the service it dawned on me that I am finally free from the chains of religion that I was raised with. In that moment I felt so free!!

I went to visit my friend's grave ten years after he died, since after everything I had been through this year I wanted to be near him. I got very upset because it had been a long time since I had been there and couldn't find the grave. Eventually, someone helped me find it, and it was under a sprinkler. It was a hot day, so I didn't mind standing underneath. I started laughing and crying all at once, and I looked down at my waist, and saw a beautiful rainbow encircling my body. I couldn't believe it, and I kept twirling around to see if I was just seeing things, but I wasn't. I don't believe it's scientifically possible for something like that to happen. However, it did give me faith that those who love us never leave us, and are there to remind us that sometimes we are the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

This is perhaps a little more anticipatory than experienced but the overall experience of being single for the first time basically in 3 and a half years. I'm really enjoying/looking forward to getting to know myself as a single person; how I operate when no one else is demanding of my time or attention. I'm really trying to respect the dating ritual, be up front and honest, and have as much fun with it as possible. Who knows, maybe I'll be a different person at the other end of it.

I would say that the biggest spiritual movement that I had was a lack of belief in a higher power and just thinking that most actions are just people moving around and living on impulses and doing what they are compelled to do. But I also feel like there is a great amount of amazing intricacy to these very interconnected actions.

Starting to meditate has been my spiritual experience. Also, having my mom care for me after having a lumpectomy was very moving and healing.

When my dad had a stroke it was a spiritual experience for the whole family. In a moment that was particularly hard, my mom asked me to help her talk to G-d. No one has ever asked me to do to that before, and to hear that request from my own mother, in a moment that was so difficult for both of us, was an experience that I will remember vividly for a long, long time.

This year I did not pray a lot but I felt Him guiding me all year. The timing of things were perfect. I was blessed beyond what I deserved. And it was awesome. I had some inner compass that strongly told me what worked and what didn't. Doors were opened even when I did not expect them. I know that I am being invited to come closer again. I hope I can start over and have true gratitude for all that has transpired.

I've become more perceptive. I'm experiencing more of a connection between mind and body. I am recognizing there is a shorter time between what I think and it's manifestation. I see God in all things. That is most spiritual.

I took a course in Buddhism and started a practice of everyday spending 20 minutes reading/meditating/journaling. When I do it - I feel so much more centered and present in the moment. Services @ temple never had that effect on me.

I think visiting New Orleans was pretty significant. Even 7 years after Katrina, the devastation is still large and widespread. Makes you realize the magnitude and effect that mother nature has. And how no matter who you are, you can be affected by it.

My Nana died this year. It did not bring me closer to God or anything like that, but it was the first time I have lost anyone really close to me and made me realize that we are not here forever and we had better make the most of the time we have by spending it with the people we care about the most.

In contemplating my answer to this question, I realize my most spiritual experiences in the past year have been through prayer, alone, in my own living room. Prayer causes connections, between this world and the next, and between souls still in this world with each other (if you are praying for them). After praying consistently for some souls, we start running into each other, & friendships have been further developed. It is through the effect of prayer. I often ask those who have already gone on, for their assistance in this world. Communication alone, me with God, is when I can really let down my barriers & open my heart, to the One I know will always love and accept me for exactly who I am, no more no less. My responsibility is to love Him, open my heart to Him, and strive. Oftentimes, I have thoughts during prayer & have learned to appreciate those as inspiration and take action on them, no matter how small they are, immediately after prayers have ended, or I forget about them.

It feels weird writing it now having ended the romantic relationship that can from it, but shooting my movie in January for John Hamburg's class, Roomie, was the closest thing to a spiritual experience I've had so far. I think what made it so was that I made a film that both mattered to me greatly and yet from which I felt removed. I discovered in this space amazing room for collaboration and growth was possible. I met the man who I'd date for six months, however turbulently, and he woke me from what felt like a long cold slumber of self-involvement. Also I met a DP I hope to work with for a lifetime and experienced the benefits of paying a producer and a production designer to do their jobs excellently. Then watching the film and people responding to it by laughing out loud was one of the best feelings I've had creatively yet. If that's not a spiritual experience, to look around a set and realize all these people are working towards manifesting a shared creative vision you helped create, then I don't think I've had one yet.

Last year I decided that for my senior year I would commit to remaining single so that I could focus on growing in my relationship with Christ. That whole thing is over now and it has been truly amazing to watch God work in and through me. I also experienced my first miracle this year. This wasn't any resurrection or medical anomaly but it seriously impacted me. I didn't gag, didn't even feel the swab in my throat... God is so good!

I kinda hate this question. The answer is no.

I learned more about Judaism and Catholicism as a means to expand my knowledge and also to bond with my grandparents more. I've also recently developed a slight fascination with LDS and Mormons, and I'm currently trying to track down a copy of the Book of Mormon to study (the Joseph Smith kind, not the musical!)

There have been moments at temple services where I feel transcendant and spiritually touched. Sometimes it's the music, othertimes the meditation or prayer. Also, the trip to Crystal Bridges Art Musuem resonated deeply.

Yes I have sometime my grandmother comes in my dream even though she has passed over since 2006. She came in my dream to just let me know that she is okay and I dont have to worry about her. Sometimes when I wake up from my dreams I wish she was still here but I know sje is okay

I'll tell ya what. The first one that came to mind was a stretch, which was "living with my parents," because that will challenge a person's spiritual growth in a different way than anything else. It reminds me of the quote "My parents hate me when I'm a Buddhist, but they love me when I'm a Buddha!" But I'm neither. I spent four weeks living at the Sivananda Yoga Ranch, an Ashram in the Catskills, for a teacher training program. I went into this experience with anxiety about balancing my Jewish ritual practice (which is not fixed or steady) with the Ashram culture. What really blew my mind was to find out that my roommate -- a guy my age, who grew up with his Mayan father in NYC -- was estranged from his mother at a young age, and his mother is a Jew. So I told him that, according to the traditional perspective, he is considered a Jew, regardless of his level of knowledge or practice. Later that month, we had a Pesach Seder at the ashram. Oh boy, the look on his face across the room when we sang "Heveinu Shalom Aleichem"... he was ecstatic. After the Seder he excitedly told me he had to call his mother to tell her he was just at his first...what's it called? Seder. It warmed my heart to see him connect with his distant mother through the ritual, and that strange notion of "matrilineal descent" as a ticket to Jewish identity.

This is a very tough question. I feel like a very spiritual person and yet I feel disconnected from spirit a lot. My family gives me a deeper sense of spirit and my friends as well. I spend a great deal of my focus projecting into the future and trying to imagine my daughters lives'. I try to see our lives' on a continuum, imagining what has come before and what might be.

I participated in a Mondo Zen transmission that has been helpful toward gaining a more peaceful and less attached attitude, particularly in areas that have been troubling for me in recent months/years.

Normally, I'm not one to have spiritual experiences seeing as how I've never been a spiritual person but even though this experience was a bit cliche, I felt it was a bit of a step forward in my way of seeing things. An told me she didn't want to see me anymore and that we should stop talking to each other. I felt things were falling down around me and I just laid on my bed for a good 2 hours just thinking to myself and I eventually ended up talking to what my family raised me to believe was God. It was a comforting feeling that I didn't think I would've gotten before that happened.

I cannot say I have had any kind of spiritual experiences outside a self-realization of my mortality and the self-delusions and illusions one is able to manufacture.

I prayed at my grandmother's bedside when she was extremely sick. The doctors didn't know how to treat her and told us that we should say goodbye. She was named the miracle on the floor when she was able to wake up and make a strong recovery. I had an overwhelming sense of faith, knowing that G-d had heard my prayers.

I was asked this year to give one of the four High Holy Day Appeals. I must admit that I felt what I had to say was important and connected with many of the congregation. I am hopeful it moved others to take action. I know it made me feel humbled that others said my speech touched home with them. Hopefully we will all be moved to action.

It wasn't a very spiritual year, but that's okay. I think my most spiritual moments were everyday appreciations of things like the view from our balcony over the sea, or sitting on the porch of my old house and looking at my garden. Russia this last summer, with the quiet forests on either side of the boat, the endless twilight, the quiet -- that satisfied something in my soul so my usual fidgetiness, my need to being always doing something, relaxed and gave up for hours at a time. I realize that I do need to be around growing, living things. Music does it too, beauty both natural and man made. The sense of awe when I read something particularly brilliant -- by which I mean bright and shiny with bells and whistles pointing to cleverness -- but also poignant, sweet, human. And just looking at my children. That does it too, more often than I'd ever thought possible.

Israel was truly spiritual. I feel connected to the land and to the people and I want to go back. We chanted in the tunnels underneath Ir David and held Israel for extra emphasis while stumbling in pitch black 1-person-wide tunnels, sloshing in water halfway up our calves and I got to pray with a Chabad house. I'm just not the same person I was since I got home. I'm so much nicer and feel so extremely proud to be Jewish.

Spiritual for me has been early in the morning when I am walking while on a directed meditation. While I am crossing a little bridge, I look up at the sky, see the stars with the sky dark right before dawn and it heightens the spiritual experience for me.

I have had a number of them, in fact. I should spend more time reflecting on these moments. - I gave a speech for my community that came together only hours before I was scheduled to go up. Everything I had written before then was tossed out and the speech flowed through my fingers onto the page in nearly ready form the night before with slight tweaking and read alouds the morning of. It was truly a spiritual moment for me because something outside of my normal self (whether that is from me, from my ancestors, from my friends, my family or all of the above and then some) guided me. And when I gave the speech was probably the most spiritual moment of the whole experience because that was when I actually knew the speech and made it my own. And the feedback I got from the crowd (there were hundreds) both before I spoke and afterward was overwhelming. The feedback I continue to get suggests that whatever I channeled translated into my delivery and everyone who listened was able to share that experience. That humbles me and gives me hope. - I have had minor moments of intense spiritual connection with my writing this year. - I had an intense, gradual connection with a friend which was very clearly tapping into something outside of ourselves and our understanding of the universe. Telepathic connections are possible - I can prove it. And yes, I know how silly that sounds to some but I don't have a better way to describe it. -

No distinctive experience. In fact, I've been skipping out of church services quite often even though I pray often and do my daily devotion. It's been more of a gradual process of trusting god more and not seeing pain, failure and disappointment around every corner. Also realizing how many prayers God has answered without me even realizing it.

Yes, way beyond I ever imagined. My spiritual life has become a wonderfully happy way to live. I'm now what may might call awakened, enlightened, new age religion. It sounds fake or hokey but it isn't. It's looking positive, being thankful for everything in your life, living mindfully, worshiping God but also recognizing that there is a Mother Earth, the Moon goddess, being connected to nature and myself. I've never been happier.

Being present for the birth of my nephew was the closest thing to a spiritual experience I've had, maybe, ever.

I had one of my beautiful rescued kitties die in my arms this year. She got very sick, very quickly. I was trying to give her medicine and special food and special care at home (the vet had warned me that it was probably futile) and she had a seisure. I rushed her to the Vet and they had to put her to sleep. This was the first time I had to deal with the loss of a pet as an adult. The cost, the stress, the pain. It was almost too much. She was a rescue that my (then) husband rescued out of a gutter in the rain. She was so small her eyes weren't even open yet. We had to bottle feed her. To be there at the beginning and then to be there at the end of her life was a complete blessing. To know that I gave her the best life I could, made me feel ok in that vets office. It helped me bear with the pain, deal with my 10 year old step son, his tears and questions about life and death. I was glad in that moment that I have such a strong belief in God. I know my kitty is in a happy place meowing her head off, as she commonly liked to do.

My trip to Israel was spiritual in ways I couldn't have imagined! Standing on a terrace in Sfat singing Lacha Dodi with 40 people from my temple community still brings a chill even thinking about it! It was one of those moments when you realize the interconnectedness of all things. That maybe time and space isn't linear and that we are in some way "always here."

I was very worried about my daughter settling in the USA, she was having a lot of problems. I prayed for her every night as each problem occurred. Within a few day she would ring me and say it was sorted. I know a lot of my prayers are answered but this was so fast. It has reinforced my faith in the power of prayer.

I have found myself in a cycle of believing in a kind of Jewish-oriented deism alternating with a disappointed kind of atheism. I don't know how this will ultimately be resolved, but I am keeping myself open for any indications from within or without that will point me in one definite direction

I'm not sure. I continue to cry during prayer at temple. I find the music so haunting.

I went from dating a person with no faith or spirituality to a person with great faith and spirituality. It has made a great, powerful, positive impact on my day-to-day life. I have more confidence and strength. "things happen for a reason" is not scary; it's my mantra now.

At Christmas we were out of money and I was getting ready to take back some of my gifts so we could have cash to make it through the month. As I was boxing up my presents, someone knocked on our doorbell and gave us a card. We didn't know the person, and we opened the card and it wasn't signed. But it had $100 in cash in it. It saved our lives and our Christmas. The Lord is mindful of us and will take care of us if we trust in Him.

I am Jewish by ancestry ( my mother all ancestors, and my father some). I was raised a Presbyterian and have joined a liberal thinking ecumenical protestant church. I have become more related to my Jewish ancestry and do see how protestant beliefs relate to the old testament, and more fully aware of my Jewish ancestry and it's meaning in religion and its importance in my life . Unfortunately the church is closing and are on track to find a like minded church.

I went w/o a kitchen sinf for 4.5 mo. and ID'd w/ women in Africa who leave the village for water and get raped in the process of going for water. I ended up loving the inconvenience.

Last year it was art, this year it was music . The music was the jazz in New Orleans.Being there, for the first time since Katrina, I understood, for the first time, how music could be transcendent and hopeful and alive, and how it could withstand tragedy and loss. Music had never been all of those things for me until then, and it was as powerful and wonderful as an experience can be. I will be going back !

I'm not particularly religious, but I do think I am spiritual. The last year has been pretty rough, and there were times I thought "God, please get me through this." I guess that is pretty typical of most people, though. When Fred was in the hospital, I contacted our friend who is an assistant pastor, and he prayed with me all the way from the mountains in Alabama where he was hunting...his faith and mine are not the same, but when it comes to spiritual matters, he is the one I trust. It made me realize that we can come together across beliefs, in the end they aren't so different after all. It gives me comfort, though I know I should develop some spiritual roots.

Went camping in Northern Arizona with my husband. Was awakened during the night by the sound of elk calling to one another. Made me feel so part of the planet. Created a wonderful sense of calm that lasted for most of the following week.

The past few months I have decided to take my spiritual walk more seriously. By praying for God to strengthen my family and daily communing with him before bed.

I was at a fund-raising concert for Kindred Spirits, an organization that chooses one charity to support each year. The concert was artistically beautiful but most importantly it unified people (attendees as well as performers) of all colors, races and religions in a single purpose (which this year was Jewish World Watch, which provides support for those victimized by out-of-control militias in Congo and the attempted genocide going on in Darfur, Sudan and works to raise public awareness of these issues), which I found very moving -- I thought a divine presence was palpable in the concert hall.

Returning to synagogue for Rosh Hashana services with the Rabbi leading the Reform Jewish movement was particularly powerful for me since I have struggled with my Jewish identity while in college. It was a true pleasure to reconnect again - at least in a small way.

my artwork as been a spiritual experience, a place of peace, expresssion and a way to tell the world and those that love ans support me how i appreciate them. and the more my spirit feels calmer and intune, the more like minded and karmic people seam to filter into my orbit. like truly does attract like. love and light! :)

I've been working on my family tree ever since I was twelve years old, and how it's affected me is by making me bond with the family members I do have and allowing us to spend time together.

Yes I have have a spiritual experience. I was at the airport last year right around Christmas and I met my boyfriend, we had a moment that only the two of us can understand but even though it was the first time we had ever met it was like we knew we were going to be together. Sounds stupid and I would never have thought this could happen...I still don't think it is real at times but we were just talking about engagement rings yesterday :). Finally after 33 years there is someone out there that loves me for me and want to be with me.

Every moment of every day is a spiritual experience for me...it would be impossible to chose anything in particular. My life's journey is that of a spirit experiencing the physical, so it's a daily 'wow!' :) That said, I was on the acupuncture table, enjoying the physical experience of energy through my body when my spirit 'left' - the physical energy was so intense it propelled me out of the physical body. This left me much more aware of how fragile is the connection between spiritual and physical...and that when the time is right, letting go is perhaps easier than we know...:)

My mom spent the last month with me after my back was broken in a bus accident. She nursed me and helped me 24/7. This was the longest time we have spent together since I was teenager. Now at 35, I got to expereince my mom in a whole new way. I don't feel the overwhelming teenager anger and angst any more. I feel tremendous love towards my mom and understand her path a bit more. Breaking my back was awful, but I'm so grateful for this time together.

I finally found a religion that means something to me and that I could really understand and feel. I became a Lokean completely by accident but for the first time in my life I understood what every religious and spiritual person was talking about. It just clicked for me and its lead me down a path to be a better person.

Eleven years ago I had the impression to visit "eleven o'clock at the four corners." I knew nothing about the area and after I researched it I knew that someone else would have to pay for the trip. This past May a friend offered to pay for my airfare and expenses to come visit her. She lives a days drive from the 4 corners area. I realized that the eleven year wait was perfect because this was a journey of release. The Navajo Indians we met and visited with, a woman on the plane who lent us her condo, all the circumstances that had passed during the eleven year wait, even to the number 11 being a Master number...all confirmed that this was the ideal time for the journey.

Loss of a good friend.

The birth of my granddaughter. The intervention of my kids to tell me I can't make decisions unilaterally that affect all of us. My spiritual eldering class, awakening me to the joy of this time of life.

Our house was spared during the freak October 2011 snowstorm. Many others were damaged. The awesome power of G-d, vis-a-vis nature, hit home as a huge tree branch came crashing down just off the side of the house.

Don't think so! Still waiting to be knoocked off my feet and fall head over heels in love with some pretty lady. A connection is desired! A deep one! Similar to how ifelt when I met Michelle last year.

Every time I curl up with my partner, I feel washed over with the feeling that all is right with the world.

I have been more tuned in to nature this year. I have found myself enjoying flowers, blue skies, and clouds more than I ever have. I am more aware of the changing of days and months.

I try to avoid thinking of anything in my life as spiritual. It's just not me. But the closest thing I can think of is how I feel when I look out on a sweeping vista, touch something human-made that is hundreds of years old, or see my girlfriend after being away for a length of time. I have done all of these several times this past year.

At Ghost Ranch, I met other young adults from a wide variety of backgrounds, yet we have all found ourselves with complementary ideas about faith and spirituality. We spent a week with John Philip Newell, living in community and exploring the idea that We Are All Connected. I cannot be whole if you are not whole. Brokenness in one part of creation cannot exist in isolation. Profound stuff. One thing that came of this, two weeks after, happened when I visited Camp Cross to counsel Senior High, as I have done for many years. The counselors took turns giving little talks during morning program to an audience of high schoolers, and I decided to read a passage by John Philip Newell about fundamentalism, i.e. "perceiving reality in hard-edged terms." I talked about how fundamentalism is a very closed-minded box to live in, and how breaking down the walls allows us to see (1) the world's needs are inextricably linked with ours as individuals, and (2) change is costly and hard, but also necessary. I linked this to "santosha" - the idea of contentment, even if you are well outside your comfort zone. You don't have to know all the answers, but if you seek santosha in not knowing, then you are better equipped to live in community and face the world and heal its brokenness. Going into this little talk, I was afraid how people might react. It is pretty deep stuff, somewhat radical even, and I have come to realize it is at the very core of my belief system. Sharing it was powerful. The reception was wonderful. I was shaking when I finished, but as I spoke I was able to channel all the nervous energy into what apparently came across as passion. I felt the most like I've ever felt God speaking through me, and it was exhilarating and humbling and exhausting all at once.

September 20, 2012 I think that this year I really got to connect with more Judaism. If that makes sense. I felt closer to my religion. I've been feeling closer every year but this year was a new step. I worked a hebrew school and I helped lead services. Its really nice to know your religion and feel close to it.

I tried as much as possible to use the gift of each day for new personal discoveries and opening the door to new spiritual achievements.

I think this year has been a long, quiet conversation with myself about my belief system and where I want my life to go, what's most important to me, what old habits I want to break. I'm alone with my dog quite a bit, which I typically love, but it does lend more time to introspection. I'm slowly redefining me - both solidifying old priorities and making new ones - and while it's been incredibly tough, it's been a long time coming and hopefully will lead me to the next stage in my life (whatever that is).

Doing Reiki on hospice patients as a volunteer. Sometimes life is about letting go instead of holding on.

I have been having very spiritual experiences in the woods of Montana. Just walking around, observing plants and a memory of its name or medicinal usage will just come to me. I am relearning the landscapes of my childhood and discovering new ways to relate to things I had written off.

I gave my confirmation speech this year at Rosh Hashanah services to my entire congregation. My speech was about how it is our duty as Jewish teenagers to preserve our religion and instill its beliefs in the next generation; as I was presenting it and looking at the people's facial expressions I spoke, I felt one with God. I felt that I had a special connection because I vowed to keep my faith strong and persistent. I'd never felt so close to God or the Jewish people.

It was after my second or third time teaching yoga, I felt so powerful, so capable of extending all the love that I had to others, it was an amazing moment.

No.

The birth of my son was almost an out of body experience, but also incredibly spiritual. Taking the birthing classes, reading everything I could, and trying to mentally prepare myself only took me so far. It wasn't until I let go of the control and listened to my body that progress was made and he was finally delivered. It was absolutely bizarre to loose control of my physical body and yet still be in active labor, pushing my son into this world. I kept being told that 'your body will know what to do' and I didn't believe it. Yet, once I let go everything suddenly started happening very fast and Joseph came out screaming. It was such a beautiful, empowering, and awe-inspiring moment. Not only because of my son being born but because of what my body and myself had just accomplished.

I have had a remarkably unspiritual year actually and I've kind of felt like I was drifting away from God and it didn't feel good. But then finally last week as I was sitting in services at erev Rosh Hashanah I felt something creep back in, slowly but surely. And it kind of hit me that a relationship with God is like any other relationship - you have to work at it. It doesn't just happen. So now I know.

Going to Humboldt County, and especially walking through Fern Canyon, was a spiritual experience for me. While we don't get out and hike very much, I am so glad that we took this walk to be together as a family. Fern Canyon was so peaceful and gorgeous. It was spiritual in that I could forget about all of the daily nonsense that usually gets in the way, and focus on the beauty of our surroundings and the joy of experiencing nature with my husband and daughter.

Since my mom died, I have a total spiritual belief beyond doubt that she is with me all the time. I hate that I can't talk to her or see her but I know she is there not only for me but for my family when we need her. It is very comforting.

As I write this, I feel very jumpy and disconnected. That's typical for how I've felt over the past year or years to be more specific. I think I'm searching for something spiritual, something that will make me feel grounded, less like a failure. I feel like I have a lot of masks on that limits me from transcending pedestrian, every-day life.

My meditation becomes increasingly a source of spiritual renewal. I continue to search for my belief in God, for a comprehension of God to which I can be sincere, for a comprehension of God I believe is true. When I am disturbed, I am calmed. When I am at peace, I offer gratitude.

My husband has 8 months until he is ordained a Catholic Deacon.It is a 4 1/2 year process that has been very difficult in some ways but oh so rewarding in others. I have found a better relationship with my God and I have great hope for whatever lies ahead for us. I find that I can listen to a song about Jesus and his sacrifice for us and it can bring me to tears. I am forever changed by this journey.

A little over a year ago, I went to Camp Barney for my final year. This year, I went on two summer programs with my youth group. The environment at the three camps was so free and understanding. For once in my life, I had been proud to be Jewish and be myself.

Being in Israel and at the wall with my son, grandsons and son-in-law and watching them put on tefilin brought tears to my eyes. As the Rabbi helped and instructed my eldest grandson in the laying of tefilin, I noticed out of the corner of my eye my son watching the process and watched him well up with emotion at this process. For me it was the valadation I hoped would be part of the trip to Israel. Latter when we all sat together I knew that everyone of my family had the same feeling as me, I am not a stranger amongst my people. In a great respect we were home for Chanukah. As the distance between coming home increases, I only hear everyone talk about Israel and the desire to someday return!

i really haven't honestly. i have had a very non spiritual year which is odd for me.

Ethiopia and all that that experience brought me. I felt connected to a past that is not a part of my life (both for the better and the worse) and the flow of the Nile from ancient land into Egypt. The beauty of the Coptic church paintings. The struggle of its people. Also, as a passionate (if elderly) scuba diver, when I am swimming through ocean kelp, with shards of sun streaking through the water and the excitement and privilege of seeing sea life all around me--truly a spiritual experience

After my battle with depression and anxiety this year, I realized how beautiful the world can be. I have been able to appreciate the little things in life for how spectacular they can be, and it's made me a better (and happier) person.

Yes--both in the death of my mother and the succeeding disability. I felt that was a strong message from her that I needed to stop doing something I hate and get on with living and loving my life! I also felt that I have formed some sort of unseen connection with someone that he may not be aware of, but it is so obvious to me that it freaks me out sometimes (like, is he speaking to me? Is he reading my mind???) he seems to talk about things to me that came straight out of my diary, or head or household...just minutes or days earlier. Very odd, but reassuring in that I'm beginning to believe that we are all more connected than we can understand.

Having come out to my dad this year for the first time I've had the mental reserves to explore my own spirituality.

I said goodbye to my sweet aunt who laid in a coma in the hospital. She was dying and I stayed with her and held her hand. It was so cold. I wasn't sure how to be with her, except to just be with her. There were so many noises from all the machines around her and the ventilator that it lacked the peace I wished for. So I began to sing aloud one of her favorite hymns. I had given up my faith and my spiritual life for 10 years. I wasn't even sure I would remember the words to the song. But I did. And as I was singing for her, I felt such a warmth and a feeling of overwhelming love, that it moved me to tears. Just thinking about it now, brings tears to my eyes. It was beautiful.

Yes, yes, and yes. I Bat Mitzvahed as an adult, and it really just marked a returning to my community. I'm so grateful and recently my artistry has been reignited, so I'm very grateful for that too.

I started going to church for the first time. I went on my own, of my own accord. I feel proud to be myself, clean and somehow whole. Calm. Centered. I like the ritual of it, the family atmosphere, the way everyone might be there for different reasons but it doesn't matter what they are. Everyone's just accepted and maybe the reason I like going is that it's the only time and the only place that I don't feel I have to live up to anything or be anything. I can just be. God makes me feel safe. Maybe it's not God, maybe it's just church, but I love that it's the only thing in my life I don;t have to justify.

I was on a Spiritual Direction Retreat in Montecito, CA and fell in love with a beautiful Beech tree. It still haunts my mind.

Spiritual experiences have included my own inner peace. Letting go of everything I possibly can let go of...not holding anger, frustrations.

I don't know what spiritual means at this point. I have been delighted by egrets, charmed by serpentine, rejoiced in the beaches, laughed with pleasure at witnessing first hand a rockfall. I was awed when my family pulled together to help a stranger in trouble, all of us using our skills for her benefit. I saw breathtaking mosaics and ate breathtaking chocolate, and read Hebrew I didn't know I could read. But the spiritual connection is down, and sitting in services for 5+ hours didn't do diddly to help me get it back up.

My first solo delivery. I was so in touch with my patient, myself and hashem.

I felt somehow compelled to check out my local synagogue a little over a year ago and I started making friends there. When I later went to the Rabbi's wedding, it was one of the most beautiful events I've ever witnessed. I didn't want the day to end. I felt a peace that I had never associated with marriage and community.

The presence of beauty or generosity in any form always affects me spiritually and deeply making me want to create more of it and appreciate it even more.

During the last week of Elul I was awakened in the middle of the night by a particularly vivid dream. I had been seeking some answers. I sat straight up in bed as I heard a voice say "if you want to hear the voice of God, you have to find a way to talk to God"

I spent a night outside staring up at the stars and felt an amazing calm wash over me; there was an unseasonably warm breeze and it was completely quiet - it was an incredible experience. All of my questions felt answered, all my fears alleviated.

I say Anne Lamott's favorite prayers a lot. Help me help me help me Thank you thank you thank you. Without fail they work. Immediately I feel calmed and they are answered soon. A few weeks after dad died I was out early in the morning walking the dogs. Its a very small town I live in and usually I see no one out at that time of the morning. Someone caught my eye across the street. It was my dad dressed for a jog. He looked happy to see us. I felt better then about his passing because he looked so good like he was in a better place.

Oh yeah. It's notable for its contrasts - people who think that Religion is Law and call that spirituality. Then there's the way I take it up - energies flow all around and through us - we can choose, to a degree, what we tap into. With so much freedom to be a good and productive person, why would someone choose to follow someone else's rules? Miracles happen all around me and to me every day - a message from my dead friend David on the photocopier, the ipod as oracle, that sudden desire to surrender in front of Buddha statues to things I cannot change - and then things all started to change!

Going on a slightly different tack than might be expected from this question considering my vocation, but going to see Les Mis with friends in Knoxville. It's an extremely familiar show to me by this point, but always moving to see.

I think the only one I had was during Musaf amidah on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, when the choir were singing the Meir Finkelstein version of "On Rosh Hashanah they will be written down And on Yom Kippur they will be sealed: How many will pass on and how many will be created, Who will live and who will die, Who at their end and who not at their end, Who by fire and who by water, Who by warfare and who by wildlife, Who by hunger and who by thirst, Who by earthquake and who by plague, Who by strangling and who by stoning, Who will rest and who will wander, Who will be tranquil and who will be troubled, Who will be calm and who will be tormented, Who will be exalted and who humbled, Who will be rich and who will be poor?" The thought of being tormented, humbled and poor, of having to wander, saddened and choked me.

I went on my 1st. real vacation in a few years that wasn't to visit anyone. I went with a close friend. She likes to attend Friday nite services. We went in 2 different cities. One was conservative & the other was Reconstructive, which was a first for both of us. In both synagogs we were immediately recognized as strangers & welcomed warmly. It reconfirmed my faith that a jew will always be made welcome by another jew. You are never a stranger among your own people. It also opened my eyes to the fact that when you travel, stop in at your local synagog, you'll be surprised at all the friends you'll find.

Yes --- have learned more about myself... as in... learning about the ways in which I am quite imperfect. I consider this spiritual growth.

Does a week go by with no spiritual experience? This has been a trust walk year - learning that I walk with the divine. Each step I take is into invisible space but there is always a solid stepping stone that appears just as my foot lands. I get to choose the placing of my foot and the Divine is always there for me. Even after my marriage ended, I lost my house, my mother, my black cat. Still the divine has held me up and continues to ensure I am taken care of. I have learned to ask for help, receive it, see how well I manifest what I need and have come home at last. TO ME!!!!

Being with my daughter in Maine especially affected me because it isolated for me the pure joy of being with her when there were none of our usual distractions: email, TV, phone calls and all the other ways in which technology destroys family bonding.

I don't know. I've deliberately turned my back on spirituality over the last five years or so, but now maybe there are gleams of something more substantial than my previous affiliation coming through. Like the magic 8-ball says--future cloudy, try again later.

An experience connecting me to "spirit" this year - every time I look around, inside and outside, take a breath, and just let what is, be. Sitting in whatever I might want to change and "clean up" and just let it all be, what it is in this moment and the sense of freedom that I get from not having to fix or change is both scary because I feel space and a relief. Remembering that I don't have to do....just being and feeling is the change. That is my "spirit"ual experience this year and every moment that I can come back to that place.

N/A

I have wholly embraced the therapy I get out of journaling. It has been an essential part of this past year to deal with the ups and downs (mostly ups). Whenever I feel down or need to "think something out" writing it out has done wonders to my mental health and well-being.

Perhaps our first hike in Costa Rica- where we were just alone with the family, the naming of our grand daughter and our youngest daughter's wedding weekend were all spiritual highs.

No. I hate the term "spiritual." I've had emotional experiences, and experiences that affected me, and inspirational experiences, but I stopped believing in the tooth fairy a long time ago. "Spiritual" is a dumb word, and to me it's used by a mind too small to categorize something with a more descriptive term, and in a more rational perspective that describes a real basis for where amazing experiences come from.

No... I have however been reminded yet again that the cosmos may not give me what I want but it will, if I sit quietly and listen, bring me want I need.

I got a tattoo in memory of my grandpa. He was one of my biggest inspirations, taught me some of the best life lessons, and was always there for anyone that needed him. My best friend and I went to get our tattoos together, and it was so helpful having her there to hold my hand through the pain, and I did the same for it. The whole thing was really meaningful for me because I was remembering Grandpa, feeling thankful for Siiri, and realizing that I would permanently have this reminder on my body.

I was riding a bike along a beautiful lake this summer, thinking about the love and loss that have run through my life this year, and about how I struggle to feel powerful and joyful in my life sometimes. And I understood, with a kind of crystal clarity, that my own sense of self, or my self consciousness, was the worst enemy of growth and change in my life. That rather than thinking all the time about how I'm perceived, how I look, what others think of me, I need to instead be focused on what I want to say, how I want to look, and what I think about the ideas and people that are important to me. It was a very liberating thought. I can't say that I'm there yet. But I'm working on it.

Rosh Hashanah dinner was particularly meaningful. A small group of close friends came for dinner and stayed to play music, sing and laugh! It was the most wonderful way to start these Days of Awe - awe-inspiring. It reminds me to celebrate these moments and treasure them, keep them close to lean on in times of need.

I have had NO spiritual experience this year. If I have, it's connected with beautiful music, which brings tears to my eyes. Especially "Shalom Rav"

Probably general sense of people around me. I'm able to tell where they're at. Not something I'd been able to do a lot in my life, then it all just kicked in, almost to the point of clairvoyance.

I went to London this year. It was my first overseas trip on my own, for myself. I have always wanted to see London ever since I was a little girl. My favorite poem is Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach. I ended up visiting the White Cliffs of Dover. It was a clear day, clearer than any that my friend had ever seen. I could see all the way to the port of Calais. As I stood there for a moment, I heard God clearly say to me, "I am the one who has brought you so far. From a distant dream when you were 15, to reality. Standing here on the White Cliffs of Dover."That made me clearly see God's hand on my life and his guidance even during those years that I didn't really see it.

I am not interested in spiritual experiences.

I've struggled to continue to find spirituality within the context of my own religion. But I have increased the amount of poetry I read and I am believing more that there is less coincidence and randomness and more of a "plan" in the universe. I feel like I am on a path in the choices I've been making and am moved by the people who are coming into my life. This all seems vague even as i write it but i am in the midst of something so maybe that is the most spiritual thing I have experienced, the sense that we are not just drifting through or that things are so random or pointless.

Artistically, I feel like a caterpillar finally blooming into a butterfly. I was able to come to terms that I love acting, really truly love it for its numerous perks and fulfillments. I have admitted that I want to be rich and famous. I never knew that about myself before, or if I did -- I never accepted that as a part of me. I love films, I love acting, I love it! To have been blessed to book my first commercial after coming back from Europe (with the determination to pursue my dreams and goals) was mindblowing and such a great opportunity. I loved being on set, I felt so happy, at peace and excited. Not like I was dreading something or anything of that sort. I was truly happy to be there. Which was such a stark contrast to how I felt waking up to go to Johnson. So that definitely was a huge factor in me decided to quit working there and follow my dreams full time. I'll be taking headshots next week, will begin actively looking for an agent, plan to get to get my US Visa to ensure agreeable opportunities across the border. I had another booking this week -- non paid and very brief but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It frightens me which is why I've delayed pursuing this but it will break my heart if I give in to the fear. I trust God, and my God is supernatural and knows not fear therefore I trust my decision to pursue this. Culturally, spending the summer in Europe was enlightening. Actually, that's a major understatement. Rome was gorgeous with all of its ancient buildings and romantic (and practical) fountains. The food was supreme, pizza delicious and the men absolutely delectable...I practically fell in love every day. Paris has my heart -- despite everything that's happened. It is the light to my darkness, incensing every sense in me, inspiring everything in me. I aspire to return to Europe and visit more countries. Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Greece and of course, Paris. Spiritually, I broke down a few things this year -- very severely and everytime, every single time, God was there to pick me up, to lift me higher, stronger, better. I have never been more convinced of the greatness of my eternal Father for he is with me every minute of every day, watching over me, protecting me, guiding me, sheltering me from harm, loving me, supporting me even when the rest of the world including those close to me fail to. After going through heartbreak and extreme loneliness for a few months, he was the one holding me, easing the pain from my heart, asking me to let go of the grudges and the anger and hatred. I cannot praise God enough, he is now a part of me as I've always been a part of him. I love him. I thank him. I worship him. He is everything.

Today. September 20, 2012. In an A.A. meeting. That I am loved by God. That I can accept being loved by God. That I need no longer fear loving or being loved by God. That I have the capacity to love and be loved.

I visited Amritsar last August. I found this to be intensely spiritual. In fact the whole trip to India was somewhat spiritual. I stayed in the Golden Temple for 2 nights and was totally humbled by the compassion and love shown by the Sikh community. I ate with people, cooked with them, peeled garlic with them and washed dishes later on. I was so accepted and it was this sense of acceptance that penetrated the entire building. I just could not believe such a love was possible. It made me want to believe in God.

Hmmm, can't say I've had too many spiritual experiences recently, but that said, I'd love to remain open to appreciating any that might come my way. Maybe a few moments of deep breathing when taking a walk through the wooded area of Prospect Park.

Yes. My relationship with God was flipped upside down. "He is, I am not." I do not have a God who needs me, I need a God who wants me.

Coming to terms with my anxiety and losing the need to quantify/qualify my "agnosticism" - which was really just me being scared of feeling okay as an atheist. Now, I feel like a weight is off my shoulders with it. Artistically, continuing my school career is helping expand and refine my skills and making me feel more well-rounded.

i can come up with any excuse to skip my swim workouts. on one such occasion ripe for me to skip i decided to suck it up and go to the pool. the rain started on my way, a pretty decent storm. when i reached the pool deck they told me they were closing the power had gone out. normally this would have been my "sign" to not swim. instead i decided to go to the other pool and try there. it was open but i was a little early and would have to wait 5 mins before it would open. i stood at the doors with a line up of old men... they seemed eager to swim, me not so much. one of these men struck up a conversation and we discussed my dislike for swimming, my not being good at it... and dreams. this man happened to be a sports psychologist! just my luck. as the lifeguard approached to tell us our wait would be another ten minutes, another sign for me to leave, i was forced to stay because of this man and his conversation. we shared a lane, and he shared some great words, not to help me like to swim per se, but to help me be ok with where i was at. people bounce into each other's lives like atoms pushing each other off into other directions. never more real than that morning. we are all connected we just don't know when the bounce will happen.

I realized that I am spiritual when I said that I believe in the soul and in karma.

I went on a spiritual retreat with some people to Joshua Tree and found the whole experience to be very grounding. It was over Easter weekend, so a sort of significant time in my lapsed-Catholic sort of perspective.

This year has been very "spiritual" in all the ways mentioned. I've questioned a lot of the beliefs I was raised with, and have come to some of my own conclusions. I am an agnostic, but I differ/agree with the Catholic Church in several ways. Gay marriage? Yes. Abortion? Personally, no, generally, pro choice. God? Questioning? Friendships? Essential and everlasting. Art? Also essential and everlasting. Additionally, very personal. Culturally, still attempting to think outside the American box! Living in England challenges me every day, and makes me realize how lucky (blessed?) I am to have this experience. Overall: LIFE (and maybe GOD) is GOOD!!!!!!

There have been times I've ruminated - about being lonely, about feeling left behind, self-doubt, etc. Prayer has always helped me find my center and transferred my state of mind to one of empowerment.

I like to practice martial arts and I most of the time I practice in a gym but one day I practiced in a forrest clearing, I felt kind of silly doing it thinking only of cheesy shaolin films but once I cleared my mind and wasn't embarrassed anymore I felt so alive, I was doing something that people on the other side of the world have been doing for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. I felt intuned with people and I came to realize that we are not all that different. A normal christian just trying to make sense of the world and his purpose enjoys the same things as a buddhist monk. Sure we may have different ideas about where we go when we die but we are both human. Then I came to think about my religion, I finally understood that I wanted to tell others about my religion not because I was spiritually or morally superior to others, but because I love people so much and I believe in what I believe in so much that I want to spend eternity to them. After I finished my training I vowed never to judge a man or woman wrongly and to live with eternity in mind.

Visiting the graves of my former in-laws (my parents are buried 3,000 miles away). Made amends to them for not being the best husband for their daughter,

The birth of my son was a transformative experience. I finally understood what it was to know how to do something without knowing how I know.

I love the sun and blue sky while floating on a raft in the pool. That's about as spiritual as I get.

I honestly wish I had a spiritual experience in the past year. Perhaps I've just forgotten how to look for them, but spiritual experiences aren't real to me. They are not a part of my everyday life. Things happen that are both good and bad, but spirituality isn't a part of it.

YES, Rob had me go on a shaman experience. While in it, I was feeling horrible, could not poop or throw up yet I so wanted to. Once I started to come out of the pain I thought I was in, He had me try a video game. I was amazed in what I could do, my thinking process was actually correcting all my mistakes so I could get better at that moment. It was a incredible experience. To actually feel and see and be that person going through that experience was incredible. It gave me so much more faith in what is inside of me. If I can do that, it would be infinite what I would be able to do with my life. And it also gave me a better understanding of what others are capable of and see that others have gifts I do not. Others are smarter than me if they can respond with that type of clarity and accuracy and self adjustment. I had forgotten about that experience and its a blessing to remember it and feel that possibility in me. That its okay that things are not perfect because I am capable of adjusting and solving the problems at hand. WOW, I just realized that my need to control and perfection was to find some kind of peace, that naturally comes from faith and logical powers allowing themselves to take care of themselves . Just like I felt that moment where I was challenged to drive the video car racing game where I felt that my whole body was integrated, mind solutions and body doing as told, in a seem less manner. ALL OF ME WORKING TOGETHER. On that same topic of control, today at NSA, I had the realization of my own self micro manager in side my self. Trying to micro manage my body. The one picture I created in High School of a Girl with her Blue hair projecting above, while a picture of my childhood doll being handled by two hands, while the body of the girl looks up at what is happening. My original thought of that piece of art work, is how I felt that I was CONTROLLED by others especially my father. But one of my spiritual lessons have been my constant denial of my own issues in a subconscious manner that I project my issue to others. This control, and anger, rage towards those who I felt controlling me was really / is really me internally controlling myself own self. Question that I ask to myself in wonderment, what would drive me to live in a self controlling, self limiting way? To have to control each part of me and not allow them to work in their natural symphony and capability. Another spiritual question. RIGHT now I am in FLOW in allowing myself feel the good. I have felt much of the frustration and anger this week and today in Session I felt part of the acceptance of not understanding and trusting someone else's words even though I did not see it or feel it. Is that part of it; TRUST in another as well as in myself and in the universe. TRUST= US TRUST my body

Love. Opening to it. Loving and accepting myself in new ways. Letting people see and feel me more. Not running away from myself and my imperfections, but standing up and saying these are mine...love it or hate it. I don't care. It feels so much better.

Camping on the Debsconeag Lakes two weeks ago. 45000 pristine acres of Northern Maine, protected in perpetuity. Watching the dawn emerge over the lake, the mist dancing on the water surface, the sunshine edging down the mountain. The last few loons congregate and fly away. Three terns skim the water in the mornings. My thoughts expand from the moment lived to the ineffable. Thinking about writing again and believing it was possible. In wildness is the preservation not only of the world, but of the soul.

On our Alaskan cruise, I was in awe on the natural beauty and wonders of the world. Seeing Hubbard glacier was the highlight of my trip -- we approached to a distance of a half-mile, and it was still magnificently humungous.

Yes, I did a Yoga course at the end of last year which lead me to a Yoga retreat over new years. It was really grounding and good for my soul, for lack of better words. I made some really good friends there which I am thankful for. They have given me love and friendship which I felt was lacking in my life for so long. I hope future self is doing yoga regularly, if not, remember how good it makes you feel.

The greatest spiritual awakening I have experienced in my life so far occurred last June, during the arrival of the first Uranus square Pluto transit. Before that transit though, I started to get involved into astrology and how it has affected and continues to affect my life in a deep way. The alignment of the planets of the exact time of my birth is a guide; an outline of my life. One that I can choose to live up to or not. Reading up on my natal birth chart and the numerology of my name and date of birth, I have found my goal in life is one that I truly wish to pursue. To change the world by way of inspiring the youth to follow their dreams and to express their own brand of love and creativity. My spiritual awakening has shown me that the path ahead is a tough one, but it is also one that I can walk successfully and confidently. That I can leave behind the mark and legacy of my contributions that I wish to create. It is a new power within me that will continue to grow until the day that I day. It has affected me heavily and for the better. It will help me become the person that I want to be, one who helps, inspires and shares his stories to the world.

Coming out of the pouring rain into Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and seeing the incredible Rose window and the hushed sound of all the people marveling at the incredible architecture made me think about how much devotion to god the artisans must have had to build that amazing structure. I walked around the cathedral and lit a candle and sent a prayer out to the universe and felt a certain kind of peace that I sometimes get in beautiful old churches.

Sitting with Ben the morning after Lois died, with her body in the room. It was so stark that her body was there, but her spirit had left. Ben was so charged up about what would come next in his life. This passage was just like a birth in the opposite direction, and knowing that we must all take this passage requires good attention.

Coming to the place where my parents lived for a long time and both are now deceased is a very special occurrence for me. It brings back many memories, both positive and negative, and my emotions are very close to the surface. My family is here, too and we have lots of sharing with each other. I hope that we are building more positive than negative memories.

I've enjoyed my connection with nature....this connection has brought me peace through a very busy time in my life.

Losing Althea was an overwhelming experience. Knowing that I had to make the choice and seeing how much life force and love can keep something alive beyond when their body wants to go. She gave me so much love and forgiveness and I unfortunately couldn't let her go. The grief in those final days was debilitating. On her last day, after Dave and I had finally returned from a unusually busy and hard work week, we began to laugh talking about her and she let out a moan that said, it's time. When I picked her and Dave up in the middle of the night to head to the vet, I felt this strange peacefulness as we got a few blocks away. I looked at her body and asked Dave if she was gone. She was. I understood then what made her spirit so special. It was so different from just her body that I felt reassured to know that it had simply passed on, not left, but just passed on. I feel keenly aware of how much I need to try to stay in the moment and appreciate Teddy and my parents and my health now. But, it's hard not to think ahead. A great challenge for me.

DEFINATELY! Both the march of the living and Kallah were very spiritual, but I'd have to say the most spiritual moment of this year came during Kallah, at Nfty's camp kutz. We surprised nfty for color wars and after a long, rainy day, we had a service with them on a gorgeous porch-like structure in a lake. It was so musical and spiritual and I felt very comfortable, sitting next to a new nfty friend! The white curtains and frog croaks completed the picture to make the experience one of the most spiritual services I've ever been a part of!

I've felt my husband's presence a few times since he died. Once was at his funeral service where I automatically left a space at the end of the pew for him b/c it almost felt like he was sitting there next to me. A couple of times was when I was driving and I felt like he was sitting in the passenger seat next to me. I've smelled his deoderant once while hiking in the woods and once when I was driving and telling him how angry I was about his death and a lot of other stuff and the song "Don't Look Back In Anger" came on the radio. Coincidence perhaps, but it made me smile.

I tried biofeedback for the first time, and that's as close as I am going to come to a spiritual experience any time in the forseeable future. It is supposed to help you relax. I find the process of driving to USF St. Pete, parking my car, finding the time to do so, and then driving home, to be a cost outweighing the "spiritual" benefits of this, because if you aren't already stressed out enough, then trying to fit that into your day will push you right to your breaking point. So, the answer is, my spiritual experiences have been limited to biofeedback which did not help me sleep better like I expected it to. I did learn that I can make myself laugh at will though, and that was kind of cool because my laughter made the icons on the screen float up in the air and I successfully completed that much of biofeedback.

Travelling to Turkey, i found sailing through the crystal water totally spiritual, calming and relaxing. i felt so at peace, it was culturally breathtaking and serene. Ohhh and the Florence and Machine concert, wow, i have never been so effected by music before. Her presence was breathtaking, haunting, and mesmerising. All the hairs on my arms stood on stilts, and she brought me back to life 'post-breakup'. WOW!!!

When I went camping again to the Wild Plum with my family and our family friends, I was overcome with emotion and an enlightened spirit inside of me that I hadn't experienced before. This was the seventh year we made this camping trip yet I felt a deep connection with the environment and atmosphere that linked me to the area. I feel as if part of me is now left in that place and my true spiritual bliss is only accessible when I'm near there.

I have come out to myself as an atheist. I define spiritual as "some great energy or force", and I used to say I was spiritual but not religious. I don't even believe in that anymore. I believe that man is capable of ethical behavior without religion. In fact, I think the primary real contribution of religion is the sense of community that it gives people, and if we could replicate that we maybe could be freed from the superstition and divisiveness of religions.

It may be since last high holidays that I've been davvening in the morning; not sure. Since then, Adam AND Evan have been given and trained in using t'fillin...but only I use it. They each tried it a few times. My morning davvening has replaced what was a lousy sadhana practice. But...in recent days (weeks ago), I did order and received a replacement Vajrayogini sadhana...for it having gone missing about 2 years from our house disaster (room caving in from toilet caused flood while we were away on vacation). Right for now...my sadhana sits on my practice table. I did one morning go through part of the emergency sadhana. I'll need to find how to get back to bringing that part of my life back. Meanwhile, a tantrika curriculum is starting up at the Shambhala Center, too, so that's promising. And, today, I saw posted for the first time the class I proposed a few months ago: Non-dual Judaism through Liturgy. It will go from October - December via the Jewish Study Center, in 3 sessions. I'm only in the latter 1/2 of Michaelson's book now. Hopefully, I'll be ready.

I have found a profound connection to the Hudson River while kayaking. Out on the water, I have had intense spiritual experiences, with the physicality and immediacy that I require.

yes, I receive messages when I pray quite a bit. Recently while praying, I was only a line into the Our Father when I received the answer I was looking for and an immediate calm came over me. I've been told I am a very spiritual person and my aura reflects this. I do know that I have to be still and open to hear the messages. I know they are not just something I thought up because they are not something I would think up on my own, but when I hear true messages, I know they are and not just my own thoughts. It is a sense, a feeling, a knowing they are messages.

I attended two Catholic funerals this year, spiritually noteworthy primarily in their ability to be a microcosm of all that is sublime (the music, the fellowship) and all that is stultifying (the ritual, the detachment of the clergy) about Catholicism. For me they were nearly anti-spiritual experiences -- each time I found myself immersed in a transcendent moment, there came the stilted rigor mortis of Mother Church to remind me why I gave up on this nonsense. In the end I attended because I felt each of the people being remembered would have been glad for me to be there, and would have attended in my memory had the situations been reversed. The memorials reminded me that if there is god's love manifest on Earth, it comes to us from the people around us and the love they give to us (or don't) and accept from us (or don't). That's something I can believe in even if I don't place any faith in the deity.

I went to a few different shows that included concerts, art exhibits, and food vendors that were all interesting. The one that is most memorable for me is the Underground Market put on by Forage SF. They pull together various food vendors from the city and bay area and have musicians/bands/DJs play throughout the night. It is great because you can taste a lot of different things in one night for cheap and listen to some great music.

Yes, I have to say it coincided with the annual eclipse.

When I pray, I am often distracted by random thoughts, stray sounds, and internal dialogue. When I can pray in silence, without words, I feel connected to G-d more than when my words clank and clatter and bump into each other.

Not that I can remember. How sad.

no

I guess the day we went to spread my dad's ashes was about as spiritual as it gets. There were so many weird coincidences that happened that day that you really had to believe that someone (Bud) was trying to send a signal of some sort. From the tree being down and making us go back to a different location for our plan to getting there and seeing a mama bear and her cubs just across the street, to the Bud Light bottle cap on the ground. All of that really felt like 'signs." But being there with my entire family and feeling as close to them and loved by them as I did in those days was really pure and meaningful and therefore spiritual, too.

I prayed with my religious (Muslim) cousins for the first time in my life and thought that would be a sort of spiritual awakening but it didn't have much of an effect on me. In lieu of that I had a cultural awakening of sorts when I attended a sign language camp where speaking was not permitted for the week. I didn't actually make it a whole week but it was an amazing experience being immersed into the deaf culture and living life from their perspective. It reminded me to constantly be grateful for all that I have in life.

About a year ago, I took an intro to Zen meditation hoping that it would help me calm my type-a personality down a little. It really opened a whole new world that was always there, but that I'd never seen or, perhaps, had forgotten. I'm a very non-religious person, really disliking religions most of the time because I find followers are often arrogant, cruel, smug, and terribly self-centered. The Christianity that I grew up with was oriented to serving God by being kind and serving others, but it became unrecognizable to me and I completely left it behind in the eighties. Now as I am learning more of the Mahayana Buddism and am practicing sitting, I have experienced some of the most amazing moments of my life. They are very brief, but in the few seconds that I able to fully focus, I feel I am interconnected to everything. I've found I am more kind, loving, patient, and less judgmental when I sit. It sounds so much more complicated when I try to describe it. I guess what sums it up for me is: There is no for. There is no against. There is. And, I'm so much happier when I accept that.

I have developed more of a hefty desire to attend services for Friday night and want to employ some kind of havdalah service in my life. I'm not sure what that will look like on a regular basis but I like the idea.

No particular experiences, but I must say that I seem to be meditating more regularly, and some of the out of body experiences 'in the gap' are sorta cool.

Yes. A total stranger dropped dead right next to me. He had a heart attack and was gone within minutes. It made me realize how precious life is and how anything can happen at any moment. I felt most spiritually connected to the moment when I was able to convey to his wife that though he was not surrounded by loved ones, neither was he completely alone.

My spiritual experiences this past year have been apart of my daily life and what gets me through each day. My daily connection with a higher being has allowed me to find peace within this year's struggles and challenges. They come to me through prayer, dreams, and other arbitrary signs that remind me that I am connected to a spiritual world and a higher power.

Is the trust in intuitive understanding spiritual? How wll we trust the decisions we have to make with mother and baby's heAlfh?

I feel closest to G-D when I am studying the Torah. I hate to read,but live to read the Torah and other religious materials. I enjoy listening to Israeli children's music. I play it in my home and it calms me. I want to have more time to study, but being a mom of five boys and a wife, I am overwhelmed most of every day.

I find my most spiritual moments are those spent alone in nature, either walking by the coast or in centennial park I cherish these almost daily moments. I also find singing and music spiritual and soul replenishing.

While having a conversation with a healer I was visited by my nephew who committed suicide 22 years ago at age nineteen. I am sure he visited me many years ago and felt at that time he was there to reassure me that he knew we all loved him. This time, the healer told me he was here because he was ready to be released and needed someone to give him permission to go. He said he was happy and wanted us all to know that he was happy and ready to move on. I realize many people do not believe in visitations such as these but there is no doubt in my mind that he was there and is now happily on to the next realm. I feel it was a blessing to me that he chose me in that moment to release him. Thank you Josh, we all love you still.

I light up like a Christmas tree inside when I Acolyte at my church and serve communion. I watch the faces of those who are regaded as second best, not worthy and considered outcast as they recieve a kind of love that is immeasurable. It has led me to appreciate the unconditional love of God and the radical inclusiveness of Jesus! I know now I am being called to service and have begun the process for the next part of my journey.......

yes, with the financial woes of our family, due to a debilitating accident, my husband cannot work. We've been fighting for insurance money that hasn't come yet. With God's grace, friends that I haven't interacted with in over 20 years have without pause, stepped in to assist in ways that I would never have imagine to help me with my children, money and food. It has helped renew my faith in mankind considering how "ugly" the world seems to be now.

I dont think ive had many spiritual experiences this year. It may be because im not really looking for all those instances in life where you can feel spiritual connections. Im whizzing by them not paying attention

I asked that i would meet new people & talent & guided into a new career. It happened. I asked for a great project idea & it happened. The career is not for sure & the project is not done yet; but i am hoping to take this all to a higher level & succeed. Iam still open to new ideas & work..iam letting it flow. Grace.

I got divorced last year, that was sort of anti spiritual, but have been feeling called to visit church in search of some greater family, mate.

I am slowly coming back to catholicism but my behavior toward rituals is having a crisis....I'm faithful, but too liberal in terms of religion practice....and I like it.

I've been participating in a meditation class for the past year that has helped me practice being in the present. I find that I notice things differently - I notice more and am more "peaceful." I also am able to use my breathing to center myself.

I think that friendships shed light on the meaning of culture and connection. I used to think that my closest friends would be those who grew up in the same environment as me. But I know feel like its not a predetermined factor that shapes who you become close with.

A friend was diagnosed with a very rare cancer. She is my age, with two young kids and a kind, loving husband. This diagnosis was a shock & required major surgery that left her unable to speak clearly. She accepted the diagnosis with determination, treatment with fire in her eyes, and was still able to laugh. She successfully went through treatment and recently had a clear PET scan. It really made me stop and think how fragile life is & reminded me again that life may look brighter on the other side but we all have our ups and downs. She is an amazing woman and a true inspiration.

Back in February, my church had a 3 day mission with an amazing friar? brother? who came and talked to us about the kingdom of God vs. the kingdom of man. He reminded us that in the Our Father it says, "Thy will be done." God's will, not our human will. He also said that God is all around us and we should look for signs of God in everyday life. I have been trying to do these 2 things since then. The first I'm still not so good at...it's so easy to get wrapped up in my will and forget about God's will. But the second one I have really been doing and I have seen God's hand in things or realized something He was trying to tell me. The other thing he emphasized was that we often forget God's will or to look for God because we are too busy in human things. Whether it's electronics or friends or traveling or whatever . It's ok to say no to things, we don't have to go to everything that we get invited to. I thought that I was doing better with this, but as I look at my fall weekends quickly filling up, I'm now not so sure...

Two very different things come to mind. The first is the feeling of elation that crossed my mind when I was standing in Zuccotti Park when we managed to avoid eviction. There was a collective sigh of tired relief, people from the community showed up and packed into the park. It was a beautiful moment. Our hearts beat as one. The second was more recent. I was driving at night past a row of buildings and I suddenly felt this creepy spookey feeling. I turned to my partner and told him that I thought we had just driven past an insane asylum. We arrived at our destination and I asked people about it. They explained to me that it is in fact an insane asylum but that it has been abandoned for years.... creepy.

There was this moment where I saw a bobcat mother and her two cubs crossing the road right in front of my car on the parkway. I felt like they came to me as a sign that this year I am going to be a ferocious wildcat. No more wasted evenings zoning off too scared to move forward. This is my year to blossom. To use my brain. To be passionate about having direction in life. And to use that direction to go where I want to go, mentally and physically and geographically.

I finally accepted me. The weirdo, the freak. I realized that I Must take my journey or suffer this existential pain for the rest of my meager existence, I will also say that miracles don't happen people make them happen.

Yes. I have begun practicing Buddhism. It has helped me to accept life as it is.

oh yes. this. exactly. Not sure how to explain this one, I have had to kind of restart....I was left in a place with nothing to cling to, my long standing friend gone and since my husband's death, I had not really moved on. I had my one friend and I had my 'battle' to get custody of my grandson. yep, I had nothing. so through a series of misadventures, clues, whatever I somehow began meditating. well, I'm trying to. It is very hard as my mind is very active. I had decided that I was too negative (I am) and that I wanted to change this. that began the whole quest....I am on this complete transformation path right now. I want my grandson here, that is number one, but I want to live a life w/purpose. I want to serve and to live my life fully. I don't know where I will be by the time I read this...but it is very exciting

yes, I went to venice and went to the ghetto and it was Yom kippur. I just so happened to get there as services were starting. The man at the door was turning people away because they did not make prior plans. I asked if I might attend services. He asked if I had my passport, I showed him a "photo copy", he said, Oh yes! I recognize you. I was allowed to attend.

This whole year was a spiritual experience. This was my first full year of being "jewishly identified," beginning with attending my first Rosh Hashanah services. I feel like everything I do now is filled with a different purpose.

yes! at the moment spiritual for me means connecting to my "true nature" - the stillness and compassion that is in me - i locate somewhere in my lower belly with a zippy heart feeling. but also behind my eyes. anyway, it gives me a sense of calm, acceptance, compassion for myself that translates into acceptance of others. feeling of generosity. i did all kinds of "spiritual" things this summer like sitting meditation, silent kayaking, etc. mostly i get it from debira's guidance. 12 steps from deepak chopra worked for a little while. i know it is what i need in order to be released from my inner fear-driven pressure to please, win approval, eat and exercise with control in order to have the right body, etc.

Simply living in Israel during our first year here has been a very spiritual experience. Not because we spend a lot of time in synagogues, but merely by living in our homeland has helped my spiritual life. I find it far easier to be grateful, to be more patient, and to forgive more quickly, than I did when I have lived elsewhere. My sense of gratitude and appreciation has definitely improved considerably, and I owe that to the positive, uplifting, spiritual energies of Israel.

Baruch Hashem, yes yes The shrooms/enlightenment experience opened me to experiencing God as feminine, relaxing about halacha, relaxing about 'knowing' things in some way. easing up on the reigns of objective right and wrong existing. tapping into unlimitedness, to being so strong and whole. Working with chevra kaddisha has made death more real. Sometimes I feel extremely present in that space.

I took part in a guided DMT meditation the week before leaving la. To say it was a spiritual experience is an understatement, I was faced with my core in such a real and psychedelic form that it really made me reflect on who I am and how I manage my own intentions. How much I wrote down is a true testament to how it effected me at such a crucial time.

My boyfriend (silly word for mature people aged 45 and 53 to use, but that's what he was) of 3 years and 3 months decided he was going to leave me. I found out he was still on dating sites, and following the invites. This made me feel like he was just using me, untill something better comes along. I thought we actually had a good relationship eventhough we weren't committed by ways of engagement or marriage. I relaised I had build my world around him, when he leaves, I have no house, no car, no phone (my income) no camera (my hobby) no internet connection. I had nothing, everything was his. I remembered God's words: "Don't put your trust in man." From that incident I have recommitted my life to Christ, and will put my heart and soul into that relationship, because He will never disappoint me or forsake me. Oh, I still see my boyfriend, and we are trying to rebuild a relationship of trust and mutual respect without sleeping in the same room. It is challenging, but spiritually awakening.

The moment when Jonathan proposed, even though I didn't expect it, I knew the answer in my heart. And through the process of getting married, through family hardships and the challenge of losing our jobs, I have felt nothing but the rightness of this relationship. When we lie down together at night and it feels so serene, so comforting, so blissful, it is the closest thing to a miracle I have ever experienced. I truly feel the presence of God in my life when we share a glance and I see in his eyes that we are together, untied, and a team.

I haven't had any particular spiritual experiences this year but I have gotten to the point where I decided that spirituality or religion is important to me as an individual. I want to be sure that spiritual experiences are a part of my life

My Ex, died once, and her dreams repeated the silence she couldn't scream for relief, now the words 'rest in peace' are a prayer. But she stopped praying, she stopped praying because no one answered. We all have our moments of disbelief some of us are just stuck there, in between childlike faith and broken promises, a step past innocence and a step away from chasms of the unkown. we are afraid of the dark, never knowing if there is an edge to it, any end to it. She dreamed death and woke alive every morning. What does a person do with "sweet dreams" when all the memories are sour. Does she pour her heart into jars and hang them like lanterns letting them drip their hope into her mouth like the dripping dripping dripping of Novocaine rush over her mind replaces her thoughts with what calms them, replacing her memories with lies easier to believe and actually worth dreaming about. I tried to write my heart on her mind, i tried to stick my finger on her pulse and rearrange her beats until they lined up with my love, but my love was just a branch shaking in the wind, calling out to the invisible and begging for it to sweep her off her feet. I remember hours trying to retell her history, revealing mysterious like they were Truth, erasing the pain that severed her hope, shaking her with my words until the grime rose to the top so I could eviscerate it. I was burning forests to rebuild gardens, crushing rocks for the mortar, building houses a midst ashes, I was her precious architect. and on the seventh day, she dreamed. This time instead of black there was white. Furry beasts from arctic bleached lands, like blurs out of the snow. Two white washed Polar bears. A mother and a child, a lover and her expression of love. even in these peaceful dreams, death finds its mark and mother is left alone without answers,but instead of letting death settle waiting for the force of morning to resurrect her mind, the mother bear, breathing in the cold and breathing out determination takes her cub in her mouth and begins to drag, each step taking her baby through blankets of snow to the ocean, i know you know this story. The water is frozen but its message is fluid, she dips her lost child into the water until nothing can be seen but her arms reaching out to all creation begging for life to begin again underneath the ocean where a mothers cry is like an echo for miles and each sound wave like icicles in earths frozen heart. let it burn until your plea yields result. 3 years ago, you died. And in your dreams you resurrected your soul into something pure as snow. I got to see you act out this dream in a lake by our city, little city, chapel hill. How big you looked in that lake like an angel in an ocean, there were angels in motion above your head and I remember them plucking their feathers and letting them fall around you begging you to take their wings so that you could never feel weighed down again. We will never again know faith so re birthed as then. Its the process of remembering, the precious pace of healing, and the great grace of God that led us to that waters edge.

I had a spiritual moment last night. My wife and I were watching Mad Men. It was a good episode. It ended with Peggy quitting her job. She was feeling sad about her departure and walked to the elevator. The elevator door opens, and her mood changes -- she is excited about the possibilities before her -- and on comes the Kinks "You Really Got Me"... My wife and I started bopping are heads to the beat, then we really starting bouncing, then we started singing the words - "Girl, you really got me going -- you got me so I can't sleep at night". It was so fun, we rewound the tape and started the song over. It was spiritual moment for me because I felt my wife and I were completely on the same page, in the moment together, singing, laughing, loving each others company.

I have been reading a book called "First Things First." This book has really made my focus my life on principles, as opposed to "urgencies." Reading the book has helped me maintain a more balanced, happier life.

I had an artistic moment when I was in Almost Maine and Into the Woods my senior year. During my Almost Maine performance, I tripped and minorly sprained my ankle and I prayed that I would get through this performance and I did. No one noticed I was hurt the whole scene. Then in Into the Woods I realized that acting was my passion and every day I would strive to become the best that I could be. I loved Into the Woods because with it being my last high school show it was a nice transition from high school to college and taking the memories with me.

Yom Ha'atzmut this year was one of the most profound experiences for me. I bought myself an Israeli flag and took it with me everywhere at the party. I was so proud to be celebrating with other Jews and Israelis and for the first time in my life I felt as though this was truly my home. It was a spiritual high for me because when it came time to sign Hatikva I stood tall and proud and sung with my friends the anthem of our land and I had never felt so connected before.

Many. This has been the most spectacular September in terms of natural beauty. The weather, skies, wind have made the sweetness of life and the glory of the creation particularly noticeable, moving me to wonder and gratitude. I have also had a number of cosmic lessons lately. Today, I was speeding to work when, on the long winding drive up the hill to my building in the corporate park, I was stuck behind a car inching along at about 10 miles an hour. I was outraged, and I knew things weren't likely to improve, because the two heads barely visible above the headrests in the car were very low and the hair was white. I waited for my chance and zoomed around them, sweeping into the jammed parking lot and finding a space amazingly close to the front door. As I was walking into the building, congratulating myself on my mastery and good fortune, I saw a car slowly and tentatively trawling the lot. It was my tiny elderly couple, looking for a spot. If I hadn't illegally swooped past them, they would have gotten the good space and not have had to walk so far (tottering laboriously and unsteadily in my cringing imagination) to the door. The universe, the Creator, my good angels have been letting me see the results of acting against my best inclinations by showing me how my actions hurt others. I am grateful and hope for everyone's sake that I don't have repeat the same lessons!

I had a brief and life altering moment when I felt the very real presence and deep love of Jesus with me. Life altering because I yearn to feel that sweetness again.

Well, certainly. A myriad of inspirations, revelations and communions -- a most noteworthy year in my spiritual journey. Without being glib, I am not sure what I would want to type online about something so deeply personal. May I say that I feel I have been blessed with the graceful merciful presence of God in my life and with the guidance of dear spiritual devout people. I am grateful for the love and support this gives me. I am grateful for the care and tender mercies I have found this past year, through trials and tribulations. I have found much solace, guidance and patience through prayer. My life will be forever changed by what this past year has been in any/all spiritual sense.

this summer i went to burning man. i live in reno so all things burning man is just a part of growing up in our community. i have heard stories of burning man from every which way. it was art, it was drugs, it was escape, it was a way of life. you name it. so going in, i wasn't sure what to expect and given my current life situations, i wasn't sure what burning man was going to be for me. just the escape i needed? or more fuel to the flame? i had been in a downward spiral for the past 6 months leading up to my maiden voyage. i had experienced every kind of heartache imaginable and began my playa journey in a very poor and dark state of mind. four days prior to my arrival at burning man, i had been up doing coke. the days following, i went a little overboard with my usage which resulted in my being "vegged" out for the full time leading up to my departure from reno. i was so strung out that i didn't eat, drink, talk, or sleep for 4 days. as you can imagine, transitioning from an extremely bad trip into an extreme desert environment would be no walk in the park... for the first 3 days i was at burning man, i was horrendously sick (my immune system having shut down from the lack of food/sleep. not to mention, i had chewed up my entire mouth while high so eating/drinking was torturous!) like i said, a poor and dark state of mind. but continuing on, as a gained my health and barrings, i began to live and allow myself to be fully immersed in playa culture. there was no social class, no monetary value, no conception of time, no obligation to anyone or anything. for the first time, i was genuinely living. i did whatever the fuck i wanted whenever the fuck i wanted with whomever the fuck i wanted. the best part was, no one gave a shit! i felt so unbelievably free and beautiful. covered in dust, no shower, no makeup: i felt more confident and content in that one week than i have my whole lifetime combined. i entered the brc in a rotten, negative, and dark dark place. and over the course of one week, all of it was lifted. i felt as if my soul had been cleansed. try as i might, and as outside forces might, i couldn't feel anger. i couldn't be negative. i was so overwhelmed by positive energy, that i couldn't feel anything but love and happiness. to me, burning man was my utopia. to experience that, to be unable to explain the sheer sensory overload and joy that i experienced over the course of that week, that was spiritual.

Finding a stillness in yoga class has become incredibly important to refocus the mind and re-energise my body. Although I often struggle with stopping the internal dialogue, its been important to try nevertheless.

walking on the beach on my own, feeling that place with all of my senses. it wasn't spiritual in any religious sense of the word. i just felt closer to my Self than i have for a long, long time.

Watching my 22 year-old niece get married. Wow. She was as young as her mother getting married... me still single and not able to marry.

So many, on a daily basis. I live a very spiritual life these days, and hallelujah for that.

I went and talked to a psychic for the first time. It wasn't what I would call a spiritual experience, but it has made me think a lot.

YES! My entire life has taken a spiritual turn and I am on the verge of learning how to communicate from the heart and vocalize my true voice. I had a very spiritual connection with a man who taught me so much about connecting with nature, about expressing myself and my spiritual powers, and about putting my heart into something to fully manifest it. I have also tapped into putting intention into my life and using my body through dance to express that out. It is amazing to reflect on how much I have developed spiritually this year - and as I am off to India I will only build upon that foundation.

Having a son has helped me be more spiritual. There are so many more small moments of joy, and so many more reasons to praise God. Being pregnant also inspired me to pray. It is the first time where I've been through something that truly mattered so much, but where the desired outcome (a healthy, normal baby) was completely out of my control. I have also seen my sister in law go through a protracted illness and recover, mostly. I think health is one of the most appropriate (and traditional) things to pray for. Finally, I have been saying a prayer to thank God every time I see the ocean. It has really injected a lot of gratitude into my life.

Can't think of anything.

The moment that sent shivers up my spine was hearing Brahms "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place" at my wedding. My three-year-old nephew sealing his approval with the words "Peppa Pig" only made it more memorable!

I'd say that seeing the Grand Canyon was a really big deal for me. Living in Italy I am always amazed at how big things are in America. I felt so small...

I have an old friend who is suffering from the first stages of Alzheimer's. He is sentient, albeit easily confused, tends to repeat himself, but is mobile and able to get around pretty well. His girlfriend has arranged with some of his friends to spend an afternoon with him periodically and accompany him to free concerts, museums, movies, some kind of event. I have a great time with him; we both have similar senses of humor and his is pretty well intact. One afternoon, we went up to the Metropolitan Museum to participate in one of their "Met Escapes"--a program designed for Alzheimer's patients and their companions. The program on this day was an exploration of Japanese calligraphy and included a lecture on the history of Japan as it related to the art of calligraphy as well as a demonstration of Japanese music. I forget the name of the instrument--a large, long stringed affair, played horizontally, both plucked and struck with a small mallet. As we were listening to the music, a string was struck that touched me deeply. I can only explain it as feeling like I heard that note profoundly--it was as if I had never actually heard a string being plucked before, so new was the experience. I sat, as the music continued, in a state of intense quiet, aware of my surroundings but not distracted by them, as in a deep meditation. It was a spiritual response, I believe, to that one note that opened my ears, so to speak....

I have discovered mindfulness and the idea of 'the pathless path' or striving contendtedly. This is about being present in the moment with acceptance which opens you up to experiencing moments as they happen. But it is also about trying to be yourself and become the best person you can- reaching your potential with trying to be someone you're not. In practice this is so hard. I have tried guided relaxation without to much success but now I have discovered guided hypnosis and hope that this will lead me to knew discoveries about mindfulness.

No. I've not any spiritual experiences. All that I experienced was very material.

This may be a grandparent's typical, clich'ed response, but getting a grandson in 2011 & getting to watch Thomas grow and learn and brighten the lives of everyone that meets him can only be described as spiritual. Seeing my Son & daughter in law grow along with him is a humbling, beautiful thing. Experiencing unconditional love, both given & received, is a gift from a Higher Power that immediately transcends the issues of the World and whatever petty things are bouncing around in my head. "All you need is Love". And some irony is found in the fact that modern technology plays a large part in this experience: Thomas & his Los Angelas parents keep us in their loop through FaceTime, SKYPE, text videos/pictures, Facebook posts, telephone calls & cross-country plane rides. What a trip to sit and watch Thomas play, get a bath, laugh/cry, build a stack of blocks, learn to walk & talk........on & on and in real time! Who says World is going to hell? I haven't given up yet. Whatever you call the Higher Power out there in the Universe, I believe if we stay in today, check where our feet are & then look around from there, we will see that She/He loves us. And the act of discovery of that alone, is worth living.

I have discovered the beauty of another religion and understood the universality of 'spirituality.' I was raised a Catholic but my boyfriend is Jewish, and we are discovering the beauty in how our religions overlap. We believe in a positive universal moral ground that grows off tradition rather than being hindered by it, and cherishes family above all else.

No I have not.

Weds, Aug 22, 2012: At 6:05 am as I walked from home to the bus stop, facing me in the sky to the east was the beginning of a beautiful sunrise with the sky in layers of blues, pinks and peaches before the sun was visible. Of course, God did not create the sunrise just for me. But I am blessed that God gave me the opportunity to see it.

My spirituality is all in community, it is coming together with others to make and find meaning. I do reflection a lot on my own, but it feels less spiritual, more intellectual. So this question makes me think of all of the experiences of building and celebrating Jewish community, and finding meaning from it. The shabbat dinners where we shared from our week, the service where a friend converted and gave a beautiful drash, the Pride shabbat service at CBST where Kate Bornstein talked about the creation story in a truly new way, my first seder with my girlfriend, which included her family and my mother and another with her and a group of radical friends... singing together at Rosh Hashonah, the reflection gathering I hosted last week. No one of these experiences stands out necessarily, it is the combination of them all, the flow of community meaning making and letting that touch me deeply.

I haven't had a lot of conventionally spiritual moments, but I feel like I've suffered a lot, emotionally, which can feel a spiritual in a way because of the sheer intensity of the experience.

I am leaning to the side of atheist, but since I'm so open-minded all religions intrigue me. I had a dream a couple of months ago about Jesus. My siblings and I were all in the same car and then we all got into a car crash. I was the only one alive and I saw my sister's foot. I cried for so long and then finally some weird voice came into my head. "I let you live, because you believed in me." I really didn't know how to interpret this dream, so I told my Christian friend about it and she gave me an unclear response. I don't know what to make of it. I was frozen for at most two days, and then I went on with my life, denying the faith but I've held it within me ever since.

I went to the art museum one day, early in the day, and wandered the galleries by myself -- there was no one else there, and few security guards. I love art, and being there with no pressure from anyone or anything beyond my own desire was spirit-lifting. But what made it truly transcendent was the feeling that my mother was with me there -- she who died this year -- she who was an artist and who talked with me about art and taught me about art. When I was a child, she took me and my siblings to many art museums... we never understood why she took so much time to look at each and every painting and sculpture... But now I understand, for art connects me, too, to the Holy. And it connects me to my mom's "spirit" too.

I've been questioning my faith and my belief in G-d a great deal.

Having left my church last year, I've come to believe church doesn't take place in a box. We've spent a lot of time outdoors, and time drawing or otherwise creating, and time with others that we might not have had the time or inclination to do otherwise, and those kinds of activities have helped us reconnect with ourselves, on both a personal and relational level, and with the world at large--to be more involved in it.

Well I am not sure if this fits this question, but everytime I sit behind my drum set and just do improvised playing it feels spiritual. I feel as if I am overcome by the art of playing and that is the only place I am.

I think our Saturday study group has helped me form a better moral compass

I (finally) came to the realization that I--and probably few others, don't really fit into organized religion perfectly. It's a pick and choose sort of thing. I realized this in my head previously, but not in my heart, as I kept trying to find a church that I "fit" perfectly!

This has not been a year of spiritual experiences. In fact, it has been more of a year of hard work - nose to the grind stone kind of year. I think I forgot to find my spiritual side because things were so stressful and I didn't think I could rely on my "spirit" to get me through some of these rough patches. I felt strongly that I needed to stay grounded and not let my mind wander into the unknown. I do remember turning to music from time to time to find messages and hear words that were comforting - like in Band of Horses or so OK GO - All is Not Lost.

I volunteer at a center where raptors are rehabilitated and released back to the wild. Some of the birds are injured in ways that won't allow them to be released, so they have a permanent home here. On my very first day this summer, a Swainson's Hawk was ready to go and I was given the privilege of releasing her back to the sky. It was a breathtaking experience; first to hold the contained energy of that beautiful creature; second, to feel it take flight; third, to watch it soar away up into the open blue of the sky that beckoned. I felt for a moment connected to all of life and its mystery. There is something outside the human experience that I rarely consider; that moment with that bird opened up my soul.

I suppose when I did my mikvah should have been a huge transformative experience, but that wasn't when I became Jewish to me. The night I spent with B and S at my dad's house. We were outside. They were on the patio, I was on the ground, it was still warm from the sun. I was looking up at the stars. I thought about how many generations of women had done that; looked at the stars and dreamed. I thought about the matriarchs in the Torah and how I am a new link in the line of strong, Jewish women. I am so honored to count myself among them, I hope I can make them proud.

Nope. Fuck spirits.

Clearly, my spiritual experiences have been my outdoor reveries with the birds, the trees, the water. On the water, in the water. This outdoors environment is my new synagogue.

I try to live a spiritual life. There's not one main spiritual event, just a daily sense of spirituality. I did fall in love, so that was pretty amazing.

Everyday when I get my chanting grove going I have a spiritual experience of feeling connected to the entire Universe. Those days aren't as frequent as I'd like.

This was a year of recovery and renewal for me, and a great part of that renewal was the comfort i take in my faith. Revisiting my spiritual connection to God, and to the history of my faith and people has been a gift.

between yoga and reading some meditations and just through talking to friends who are spiritual, i feel like i've become a little more open to my own spirituality. for me, it's not always (usually) religious in nature, but instead, it's about connecting with something greater than me. it's about connecting with community and the earth. and i've been blessed to being more in touch with that over the past year.

Always the music. It feeds my soul. It is my joy, my comfort, my understanding.

The surprise birthday trip I took Kris on to Palm Springs was pretty spiritual! Yes yes, it sounds like a jaunt into debauchery but really we hiked, had a fantastic dinner and relaxed while reading comics. The spiritual experience was hiking in the snow in April and havin more fun outside with a non-family member than I've had in a LONG LONG time, maybe ever! He's soooo fun to hike with! We followed up that mini-vacation with hiking weekend in Zion. I absolutely love that when he and I say we're going to do something, we do it! I'm sooo happy with myself, life, him and everything... All because of his positive vibes. :) I'm excited to spend the rest of my life with him.

Nope. Nothing. I tried to attend church, I went through a phase of wanting that *something* people seem to get from it, but it wasn't for me.

Seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert is always a spiritual experience for me...a sense of communal connection and deep emotional connection with myself through the energy, poetry and power of his music. This year's concert was particularly moving....he so captured all the theme's of life's struggles, sadness and joyful abandon....

When my grandson came to visit this past summer, he sat down at the piano and started playing so beautifully. Very early on in his lessons so it wasn't anything extraordinary but we were such an influence in his pursuing playing that it really touched me.

There is no one particular moment that springs to mind. I can have a spiritual moment pretty much any time I want - I think of God, and I feel God here with me.

I have felt far from God and far from Pat until my week on Holy Island at the end of July 2012. After trekking over the dunes to the coast I felt so strongly that Pat could experience it with me in a way he never could before. I also felt God speaking to me, reassuring me, loving me. Both these things I have struggled to hold on to in these following months.

I suppose I've had two, both of which occurred when I witnessed a teacher discuss something that I suddenly realized was a great and universal truth. The first occurred when my therapy group leader talked about acceptance....that "acceptance" occurs when, for instance, someone close to you makes a decision which you think is terrible, and which you would NEVER make, but which you determine is their decision to make. And that if they feel it is right for them, then it IS right for them. I never even knew such a concept existed; it struck me like a bolt of lightning. The second occurred when the same leader got involved in a conflict with another group member. I witnessed her discuss, very calmly and with love in her heart, what her needs were in the situation. I never realized that it might be possible to remain true to myself and state my needs, without crying, becoming angry, or feeling like I need to be responsible for the other person's feelings. Both were tremendously powerful moments for me, and I felt for those moments that I was open to the truth of the universe.

I began watching Oprah's "Soulful Sundays" and it reawakened a want to have a relationship with God. I am finally reading" A Course in Miracles".

Not much has occurred that has affected me spiritually. The only thing that I can think of is my training to be a docent for school tours at the Skirball Cultural Center, and getting a little more in touch with my Judiasm.

I have tried to become more spiritual and be closed to G'd. This last year when I pray I talk to G'd as his child. I ask him to protect me just like a parent protects its child. I have also started lighting the shabbat candles and that always makes me feel good.

The powerful reminder ton live in the present provided by turning 50 has proven to be a spiritual incentive. I continue to be mindful although not as muc as needed to "get busy living".

Not really. I don't consider myself a particularly spiritual person, and this year was no different.

Delving into Yoga this year actually allowed me to become much more introspective than I had been able to previously. I am still quite young, but at age 22 I feel that Yoga, and spiritual Yoga, has enabled me to gain much more control of my life. At the same time, I don't feel quite as stressed about overwhelming events. I am able to take a step back, evaluate what is important - in both the short term and the long term, and then go forward from there.

Sadly, nothing comes to mind. Maybe the film, "Beasts of the Southern Wild," is the closest to anything spiritual I've felt this year. I cried tears of artistic joy at the end of it. I think I'm coming to grips with the fact that certain past experiences—primarily the premature deaths of some very close friends—has steeled me to much of what is spiritual in life, probably as a defense mechanism. It's not that I don't feel extreme joy at times (I do), it's just my existentialist / atheist worldview seems to get more entrenched as life goes on. It's the only way for me to deal with it, and art (and the shared experience of it with loved ones, too) provides the only temporary outlet, it seems.

Nature has surrounded me with signs. Mourning doves, sunsets and sunrises.

No single moment stands out, but I've had several of deep gratitude that I am no longer stuck in my active drug addiction. I celebrated 5 years in April this year.

20 years ago, I was told that I would never be able to have children due to an illness. And, this year I did conceive! I remember feeling the moment that it happened. I was driving on Friday July 27, 2012 at about 11:15 AM and felt it happen. I turned down the radio and thought, "Wow. I think I've just become pregnant." And, I was right. I do believe in miracles.

I experienced a few dreadful things at the 1st & 2nd quarter of this year, be it in love and at work. One thing I learn from the lesson is: never rush into things. Grasp what lies beneath, and then respond accordingly in a suitable pace of time. Just like Phil Collins song: "You can't hurry love. No, you'll just have to wait. Just trust in a good time. No matter how long it takes." I think it applies not just in matters of love but in life generally. This experience taught me to gain control of yourself emotionally, and to let God do the rest. Whatever plans God has for you, just believe that it'll be the most perfect plans for you.

I connected on an intensely deep level with someone. I have never felt so accepted and encouraged by anyone in my life.

There really wasn't a particular experience of a spiritual nature, maybe when I lost my virginity. That was, I guess a bit of a spiritual experience, giving all of yourself to your partner is an extremely loving, trusting experience.

I've realized that Christianity isn't for me. I don't believe one man created the world and all it's people. Something else..something fantastic..is at work here.

Being in charge of a national election campaign...has made me look at pride and spirituality and how success is defined. It's mind blowing.

When my home was robbed from me, I remember during the process of moving out, standing and looking at the breathtaking view. I was overcome with the feeling of calm and peace. I knew on a certain level that I was going through a devastating experience. But at the same time I felt - if I can attempt to put it into words - "There is nothing that is mine. Everything belongs to everyone. Don't be angry or afraid that you have been robbed. Instead appreciate the beautiful moments you experienced in this house. And don't be afraid. You'll be fine."

I think I've become more patient (in practice, if not internally); more willing to put up with the slow and the inept (Obama volunteers); more accepting of people's foibles most of the time; a little more relaxed about not trying to fix everything myself; satisfied that I'm currently working as hard as I can for what I think is right.

Nothing really spiritual things have happened. I do believe I feel the most spiritual when I pray. Being Jewish really helps me do that. Jewish pluralism showed me I can have Judaism my way, thats when it got spiritual.

It has been a difficult and painful year.... I yearned for a spiritual experience, but have not as yet experienced anything.

None , Not a very spiritual person I guess .

I had no ecstatic experiences or spiritual high points this past year. That said, I became more aware of the work that goes into spiritual upkeep. Like a workout routine, long term spiritual health demands that I prioritize time each day for the practice of prayer and meditation. Generally, I did well with this, and felt good about my success. I davened every day (with very rare exceptions), even during stretches when I felt unmoved by the practice. Additionally, I began laying tefillin early on in 5772, after my fiancee and her family gave me some Chabad tefillin that weren't being used. A dear friend who has of late been exploring his Jewish identity taught me how to don it and say the appropriate blessings. The practice is a welcome addition to my morning prayer routine; it's like "strapping in" for prayer, another bit of spiritual prep.

I haven't really had a specific time where I felt really spiritual but this year I definitely felt more spiritual than I ever have. I like going to services more than ever, and was sad that i could not go to Kallah. I also realized this year that I want to raise my gamily more Jewish than I am now

We visited Glastonbury this August. As an Episcopalian with Jewish ancestry and a strongly feminist/pagan base, I found Glastonbury to be a bizarrely spiritual place for me. My own spirituality shies away from "Christians" the way they have come to be known in our socio-political conversation as a country, and I very rarely mention that I am a church-goer to people my age unless they bring it up first. I'm also quick to mention how LGBT-friendly, feminist, and un-hateful my church is - and how much I love that we remove gender from discussions of God. so to be standing on consecrated ground, where (maybe) Jesus (might have) been as a child, where (maybe) King Arthur is buried, and where (probably) any number of first religion, pagan people were killed because of their beliefs was in no small way, spiritually fraught and tingly. While we were there, I also received a txt message from a dear friend we were in England to visit, who is in dire ill health and struggling just to get through each day. The message was emotional, angry, sad, and hurt, and I stood there reading and feeling the weight of so much misery, loss, suffering and sorrow. I suppose that's really a big part of what life is about - and what we make of it is the spiritual part.

Last summer, at CLTC, I felt such a strong connection to Judaism and G-d. This summer I was a counselor at Camp JCC and I LOVED it. It was completely different from my experience last summer, however I still felt a strong connection to my Jewish heritage and to Israel especially. We sang HaTikvah each morning and learned about Israel at camp and it was just great to see these kids learning about Israel and the Hebrew language and their heritages. I also went on an Israel advocacy conference, and that strengthened my love for Israel even more.

Besides the births of our 2 new grandbabies, and the near death of our daughter from her birth, mostly it was as if G-d was watching over the family and all was good. I also visited some very old aunts with my sister - and saw how close that family is and that was very inspiring and spiritual for me

I think I feel the most spiritual when praying. I usually don't feel it when i'm at my synagogue but when i'm at camp. This past year I was not, so the absence hit me pretty hard. I had to look for another spiritual aspect of my life and unfortunately did not find it...Camp provides the right atmosphere.

I have been so caught up with work and small kids that I feel very removed from Religious spiritual life. The closest I have had to spiritual experience is the very uplifting and satisfying relationship developing with the twins, feeling very close and bonded in a way that has not been able to happen till their current age. Previously it felt like they were bound to us by dependence, now it has become very real and personal and loving. Beautiful.

I think my biggest spiritual experiences have involved the continued evolution of my relationships with Sarah and Kirsten - my two higher powers for so long. They've both taken more of a back seat in my life, which has forced me to find more of a true higher power. My relationship with Kelly also feels very spiritual, in a sense - she's so committed to me, and actually encourages me to make her my higher power in a way. I don't know if I agree with that yet, but somehow it's working so far. I can't write about my year without mentioning her. She's the best thing that's happened to me all year, I think. That and my job.

There is no easy answer here. I have done a lot in the past year to improve my health and well-being. I feel more centered and aware. If there is any ephipany here it's that small steps make the journey.

Conceiving a child with my soulmate. I can't even describe the feelings that come with it...joy, surprise, overwhelm, bliss, expansion, the sense that I am now a part of something so much bigger than myself and loving it. This has been such a long time coming for both of us and I truly feel that we are stepping into the people we're supposed to be. To do that consciously is really amazing and rewarding. I am constantly grateful and humbled that I'm getting to do this under the most ideal of circumstances - with love, support, intention and joy.

Not really, unfortunately. I keep meaning to look into religion, but it's just so time consuming.

Since I've been focussing so much already on our wedding, which was incredibly spiritual, I'm going to focus on the artistic for this question. Seeing Baryshnikov perform earlier this year at the Broad Stage in a very subtle yet powerful play was quite transformative. Not only is he just mesmerizing to watch, he's also incredibly generous, allowing everyone else on stage with him to shine. It was moving on so many levels.

I had to sleep on this question and I still haven't come up with anything, which is disappointing. I'd say I was an incredibly spiritual young person and I'm sad to say I've become less-so, maybe. It helps explain a sense of emptiness, and I'm gonna work on it this year. I do have a strong sense of the connectedness of all beings and the distinct presence of God in my life. I've feel watched over, cared for, loved. I cherish people and all living beings. I'm in awe often, especially in the presence of found beauty in nature and in gestures, talent and kindness. I've always loved and believed in myself, a love that comes, I believe, from the consistent love I've always received. I've felt like I'm following a path set out for me by an unknown source and I haven't taken many missteps, but I suppose there's been a bit of despair in the past few years, fleeting glimpses of disbelief, lack of faith, anger at large about the loneliness and lack of direction in my life. I'd love to renew my faith in a formal way, meaning I give back in a real way and receive gifts the way I did in the past--opportunities, rewards. That sounds so shallow, but I mean good times with friends, celebrations, chances to see places I've never been, do things that expand my horizons. I feel like a door shut and I'm stuck in a box with only a window. I love the window, but i want to go outside!

Many times when I have been in the synagogue it has become much more than a service. The prayers crept into my heart and soul and when they were finished I felt rejuvinated and spiritualy uplifted.

Just the way my life has worked out, with challenges and all, it feels more and more that God has an active part if protecting me and guiding me. It has reinforced my faith, and belief that I am on the right path.

I always find this a difficult question to answer because I connote the word 'spiritual' with various parts of life that I tend to divorce myself from. Perhaps that should be something I aspire to in the coming year, being open to the 'spiritual'.

The closest I have had to a "spiritual" experience this year has been the intense connection that I have had with my new partner, who truly feels like the soul mate that I have always dreamed of finding. I feel so incredibly held, loved, and whole with him, whether we are in the midst of a perfect kiss or chatting across the country from each other on skype. He makes my heart blissful.

Sitting with my father while he was very ill, in the hospital. I was able to forget his flaws, ignore the events of my youth, and see him as a human being, bravely facing his illness, struggling to survive. I realized that many of the things he did were not malicious, but just hasty decisions made to ease his immediate discomfort at whatever the situation was. I found compassion for him. I was glad to see him recover and go home.

I think leading ruach at USY conventions this year was spiritual - I was truly able to focus on being in the moment and try to let go of my inhibitions. I think I was largely successful.

For the past few years, I've visited Arlington National Cemetery, where my grandparents are buried, on July 23, the day of their death 14 years ago. This year I went alone. I took the day off work and drove into DC/VA. Due to a road closure and getting a bit lost, it took longer than expected, but when I first saw the gates, that didn't matter. I was waved through, thanks to my special parking pass, and knew immediately which side roads to take and just how far to go. It's funny that with the miles and miles of white tombstones I don't even need the street signs to guide my way. I parked outside Section 6 of the Cremated stone sites. As usual, I brought with me several beautiful rocks from my parents and a letter from myself. When I arrived at their stone marker, I wiped off any dirt/cobwebs with a Kleenex, also being sure to wipe off their "neighbors'" stones. I then sat on the ground in front of their stone and fell into my own thoughts. Things over the past year that they had missed, things in the future that they would miss, memories from the past. I then took a walk around the area, just appreciating the beauty of Arlington National Cemetery. It's so well taken care of, it's so peaceful, it's exactly where I want them to be.

No, I don't think I have.

None specific t this year, but past experiences like the first time I held each grandchild, or my AIDS work, holding someone as they die, or watching others miraculously recover, or saying the exact words a participant in my workshops need to hear…all of these were spiritual experiences. So were the coming together of neighbors in Chelsea to help those fleeing the World Trade Center, and being ordained in the wake of that event. Beyond that I have such gratitude for each miraculous moment and the lessons learned; surely these are spiritual moments.

for my HSC art major work, I created a work in memory of my grandfathers sisters who were murdered in the holocaust, it made me appriciate my judaism as well as my family a whole lot more, and will be forever grateful to the lives they have given me

I had an experience recently which wasn't really spiritual but revelatory. A foal was born at the property I keep my horse. I looked and saw how hard it was to take a step, balance, walk, feed. To me the foal looked like a celestial creature or an alien completely helpless and reliant but utterly beautiful and full of promise. I realised we have all been like that foal and we rely on so many things to keep us safe and nurture us through life. All the people, structures, laws that allow us our start in life. Some of us are luckier than others when it comes to the environment we are born into.

Praying at IKAR, mediating at kundalini yoga, talking to God at the beach on Memorial Day, dancing in my room, journaling my prayers, and reading A Return to Love. There are many ways in- I'm exploring all that I connect to.

My whole life is a spiritual experience. I am open to synchronicity and I commune with Ancestors, Angels, and Saints!

I guess the biggest spiritual thing this year is how absent spirituality was. I am not where I should be spiritually and I feel it weighing on me. I need to set aside more time to pray and talk to God. Also, it would probably be good to make it to church at least every now and then.

No. This has been a low year on obvious forms of spiritual experiences. Anything is just the general level of contentness and peace that I've been starting to feel in my life. I've also realized that i was up and form with my emotions when I didn't need to be. I've been working on staying even keel with my emotions. Not being too happy or too sad about anything.

No one event, but I do feel I'm starting to accept myself in new ways. I'm getting better at being patient with myself, in part because I'm embracing the idea that mistakes equal success not failure (you can't get where you want to go until you hone your ideas).

I have witnessed cloud formations completely unlike anything I have ever seen before. One time I got off the freeway and tried to get to a spot to take photos of the sky, but before I got to a stopping place with a view, it had changed. And the second time I left my camera at home. I also had extended moments of awe/completely indescribable, at Erev Rosh Hashanah services last year and at the morning service this year.

Being truly moved by my son's growth and awed and humbled by my responsibility to him as his parent. All of a sudden he's got a mind of his own, and I have to help shape it.

Naaaa.

When my grandfather was dying I felt the urge to go visit St Paul's and breathe in. I don't know why I felt it on that day but it was very calming. When I got back from lunch my mother emailed to say that he had died.

In the last year i haven't really had anything spiritual. Though, sitting at a shabbos table with the Bnei Shaliach and their family with some close friends (and other friends from the same year group) is always something incredible. There's nothing more heartwarming and connecting than sitting under the stars singing psalms to beautiful tunes (and being out of tune) with people who just want to sit and bond. Its times like these i feel connected to my religion through it's culture. I'm not specifically religious. I'm not sure what i believe, but i know that whenever i am under the stars singing these beautiful old tunes to words of a language older than any, it gives me shivers

I was struck by an idea that stated that understanding things through arts is more easier than through rigorous science and math. For example, a picture denoting some idea seemed much more powerful than than the idea in words.. The picture somehow seemed to directly get my brain into resonance with it, no processing required! It was sooo cool...:) I get elated by any such artistic accurate depiction of ideas. It could reshape the education system I guess; I am actually on it..

I recently had to move to the US for my studies. Travelling thousands of miles away from my home country made me realize how alone we all are in the world. Leaving all that I had known and all I had grown up with in my life and starting afresh made me understand how large our world is and how larger the universe itself is. This experience put me in awe of my own mortality and has me questioning our purpose on earth more and more

I turned 60. And I have a job in the field to which I am called and for which I trained late in life. I feel settled - in a good way. My mother's death a year or so ago has also contributed to my feeling like an adult, grounded in my self, whole.

I've been moving toward a totally secular philosophy for several years, but this past year my thoughts have crystallized and become clear in my own mind. If I must label myself, I am a Secular Humanist. Although I still attend the mormon church every Sunday, that is for my wife. Long ago we agreed to attend church together, so I stand by that commitment. I guess I also agreed to "believe the mormon church is true" over the long haul, but it is impossible to control one's thought's after one has seen the light and determined that the mormon church, along with other religions, is a crock of baloney (to state it kindly).

Yes, I have these moments when I know that my Frank is right next to me. It could be a certain aroma, word that pops up, or just a feeling that comes over me that tells me he is here.

The experience that comes most quickly to mind is going to the National Havurah Committee Summer Institute, but, as I thought about it some other times came to mind. Being in spirituality track workshops at the Trans Health Conference, the Shabbat Service at the Trans Health Conference, Nomy Lamm's speech at the Femme Conference. The whole femme conference felt like a spiritual experience. The conversation/conversations I set up with Katie O. also felt like important spiritual experiences. I had a feeling of connectedness and pain that felt like it only happens in those spaces. It was almost like I was scared of it. The queer spirituality discussion I led at the NHC Summer Institute also felt like that kind of space. Rebecca Ennen, with, of course, the smartest thing to say, talked about spirituality and connection with G-d as a way of moving through loneliness. Joelle talked about understanding our relationship to G-d through the metaphor of our personal relationships. I guess, I wonder what other way there is to understand it? But I hadn't thought of that before. And it really made me feel like...there is this connection between my spirituality and my mental health, between my loneliness and G-d. The whole NHC Summer Institute felt like an opening though, in addition to the queer spirituality discussion. I loved the classes; I loved reading the Torah in that context; swimming in the lake with others who were exploring their connections with G-d; getting a chance to talk about G-d; learning deeply from my peers; attending that Shabbat service Friday night with the entire NHC; dancing on the wet ground Saturday night. Everything. It felt so good and like a place I could connect easily, and I learned so much about myself. I almost wish I could go back. I do wish I could go back.

I think that learning that my body is capable of bearing life has been in a way "spiritual" and definitely has affected me. I want this pregnancy to continue so badly (I was just told that I will likely miscarry). Having to wait, not knowing what will happen, has been extremely difficult for me. In a way learning to be able to wait has been (and I'm sure will continue to be) a spiritual experience.

Partecipare a Biografilm, così come scrivere la mia tesi di laurea, mi ha ricordato quanto la cultura sia importante, quante cose ci siano da imparare, quante non ne conosciamo..

My father passed away seven years ago this September. Some years are harder than others when it comes to reflecting on his loss. This year, I felt especially sad and heart broken thinking about how much I miss his voice, his encouragement, his example. I know that our relationship wasn't perfect, and I know he wasn't perfect, but he provided a moral and ethical compass that guided me through both monumental and daily decisions. He made me believe in myself; he taught me about work ethic; he made me understand the value each person on this earth has - and to find the good in everyone. How much I miss him. How much I hope that embody what he taught me, and how much I hope that I'm making him proud.

I have felt nothing spiritual. I often dream about Mum, and when I wake I forget that she died for a moment then it hits me like a steam train. You really don't ever get over things like the death of a loved one. Spiritual, no. I wish, but no. I feel empty and detached about the whole subject.

The biggest spiritual event in my life was entering the mikveh after appearing before the beit din. I thought I was prepared for the experience, but it was deeper than I'd anticipated. I had my beit din in tears, so we were all emotional as we went next door to the mikveh. As I showered, I thought about my father, my grandmother, the recent trip to Portugal to explore my Jewish roots. And then I was so full of peace. I did the first two dunks and blessings without a hitch. However, as I said the Shehecheyanu, my voice cracked, and I began to cry. Something in me knew my soul was about to be reborn AND return to its roots. I could barely choke out the last part of the blessing. My witness stated "kasher" for the third time, and I was left alone in the mikveh. I let the silence of the room and the sweet softness of the water wash over me, and I reflected upon the journey that had led me there. At that moment, a quiet and steady confidence came over me. I was fully a Jew. I had returned to my ancestral home after 500 years of my family keeping the secret. I became who I was meant to be.

I completely broke down at the end of Ne'ilah services last year. I don't know why. I don't know if it was all the praying, the fasting, the light-headedness but for a moment I felt like I'd touch something deep and powerful and profound and sad inside me. And yet, it was liberating. Wish I'd known how to channel it afterwards, though.

I had one just the other day: the culmination of a series of thoughts I've been working through over the course of the year. In writing "God in the Room" I've struggled with atheist vs. Christian ideas. How an educated religious person, knowing they only believe in Christ because they were raised in a society that believed in Christ; knowing that they don't have (nor will most likely ever have) any evidence for the truth of it beyond that; and yet still going forward in their belief... it didn't seem heroic to me, it seemed stubborn. We are afraid to change, it's true, and the deeper we go into our own foundation, the more stubborn the stones. From all that came this feeling of "science is like religion, except it's real." There are mysteries and questions and once you can get over the question "why?" there is magnificence to behold. But it wasn't easy, and a part of me always was left asking, "Why this? Why anything? Why try?" I was in the Griffith Observatory, after a mediocre date with Tawkify, and I decided I didn't want to go directly home. I was going to see one of the shows. And as I am currently writing a movie about man's place in the Universe and why he exists at all, their planetarium show "Centered" appealed to me. I was moved near to tears. The narrator was a woman, a redhead, of between 30 and 40 years. She carried with her a glowing sphere that she could illuminate or dim through a remote in her other hand, and the "hands free" nature gave the ball a seeming life of its own. She spoke with a wry, concessionary tone, as if to say, "These things are amazing, and I'm going to have to just give in and accept it." She spoke about our place in the universe, and the way we used to perceive ourselves. She drew the audience with her across time and space as she charted the history of man's knowledge of the universe. She took us on circles around the Moon and the Milky Way, and finally out to stars and galaxies billions of light years away, before taking us home, to the Griffith Observatory, in present day, right where we started. Something moved me to see that. I was near tears several times during the performance. To think of the endless oceans of time and space we have ridden through, we human people, clutching to our simple hundred-year-lives and our little organic thinking machines and our little ball of life. Each generation moves our knowledge forward just a little. Each generation discovers and rediscovers wonders for itself and its children. We don't know why we are here but we are so fervently _here_ and trying to be here more fully that the idea took my breath away multiple times. Life, I wrote later, is the ultimate religion. It almost invalidates the question. The night sky, the real knowledge of what is out there in the night sky, is an answer that mutes all questions of "why" and "how." It's as powerful as gods, but doubly so, because the stars don't disappear when you stop thinking of them. It becomes necessary that we try our best at whatever we do because this is the only chance we'll have to do it. We can make guesses at the "whys", we can design fashionable furniture or write stories about wizards or cure diseases, but the only imperative is that we _do_ it. We are all magic and we are all multifaceted and as similar as we may seem we are each only this flavor, only now, only here. And it is our charge and our birthright to be as much ourselves as we can, if only to see how brightly we may shine for the moment we are here. The world is full of wonders, and it's all real, I thought. Joy is real and experience is real, and this is the time to have it. I went out and had an amazing Italian dinner afterward.

Not totally. I've been a little out of touch this year. Playing guitar and hiking has been nice a few times. But I am really looking forward to reconnecting this year. I'm ready to move on.

I learned, but now sometimes forget, the power of being in the present. I began to meditate this year and it truly helped quiet the noise of anticipation, stress and negative thinking. I learned via this practice to listen to myself and my body - hugely effective.

I feel as though this year has been extremely spiritually difficult for me. There have been a lot of good things but there have been a lot of struggles and I have lost some of my faith in myself. This year, also being the first year of my marriage, has shown how strong my marriage is and just how much faith in me my husband has. We lived out of boxes for two months while waiting for a lender to come through on our house and I found myself getting pulled closer and closer to my Jewish traditions, but unable to fully participate in them which broke my heart. All that being said, I feel closer to my spirituality through it all and, because of some major health problems I've had, I feel somewhat more in tune with what my body needs and more ready to listen to it. It's been a year of ups and downs.

There was a moment when, of all things, I was going to buy a newspaper late in the evening in Jerusalem. And this bat flew into a tree right across the street from me, next to the Muslim graveyard. I crossed, and the bat did not seem bothered at all as I stood there and watched him eat. It was an amazing experience, I remember thinking what a gift it was, that I had a chance to be so close (just a meter away) to such an amazing, beautiful, wild creature.

I was up late one night, talking to God and reflecting on the past few months and I had an epiphany of sorts. Instead of waiting for something good to happen, I could just go out and make it happen. I feel that is what God wants for us anyway, for us to go and make mistakes and have experiences and learn from them.

Seeing polar bears in the wild in Churchill Manitoba was one of the most moving experiences of my life. To think that the actions of humankind are dooming these magnificent creatures to extinction makes me weep. It also makes me think more deeply about what I can do to reduce my environmental impact.

My most spiritual experience was on one night at a music festival where they had an open piano stage. I played and I played. Before I knew it, I had 70-80 people singing a long with me and 90 minutes had past

I went to our cabin in the Pecos Canyon by myself to spend a couple of weeks writing and painting. I hadn't painted for several years and the smell of the oil paints and the medium, the feel of the brushes and the sound of the bristles moving across the canvas were like prayer to me. I painted outside on the patio, under the trees and New Mexico's bright blue sky and I felt so at peace. It was a meditation of sorts. My retreat was cut short when my dog became very ill and I had to rush home. She survived that catastrophic event but now she has cancer, so I'm going back with her in a few weeks to try it again. While she is still active and happy, this will probably be her last visit to this place she loves. I will feel fortunate to hold in my heart the sight of her running around the yard like a maniac, in pure joy. It will be my last gift to her before I give her the ultimate gift, of freeing her from pain and releasing her from suffering, at the end.

Not that I can recall! Have enjoyed some great plays though...

Attending the 1st International Jazz Day at the United Nations was a spiritual connection to the power and potential for peace music provides...blessed to be part of a historical event.

I think I spent a lot of time alone last year. And because of that I had a lot of time to think about my life and things that were going on and what not. I think the spiritual part about being alive kinda struck me last year. We are alive only for so long but we live on in the things we do and in the things we say.

Spiritual makes me think of communing with others and helping others even in ways like being a reference for a resume or helping a person with their resume. This the main element of my spiritual fabric. I think we can only really influence what we can see and be answerable to each living being as they cross our path in the present moment. I do believe in the idea of creating and sharing positive energy for the overall better of the Universe.

Riding my bicycle across the country was deeply spiritual for me. I learned to pray and meditate while pedaling. It was an exercise in the present moment and mindfulness. I hope that this perspective stays in my life as I get back to the busyness of the day to day not on the road.

Hmmm, not really - being pregnant and looking after one small boy and then having two small boys didn't lend itself to a lot of quiet time or going out :)

My Jewish spirituality is constantly changing but at CLTC i loved experienced Judaism in a way where i was choosing to love it. I liked choosing to not go to shacharit but i also loved services when i went. Some of the rotations as well helped me to define my spirituality. my spiritual side is closely connected to my love for Judaism. However i am very back and forth about it. Ultimately, though, i love being Jewish and i am grateful that i can express my Judaism freely!

I still don't know about this whole "spiritual" thing. I feel like I've gotten kind of lost or removed from it even more this year. It's been this growing divide, and I'm so far away from it, I don't know if I'd recognize it if I felt it. Maybe I just haven't been open to it, or interested in it. Maybe my academic focus on it has made me disparage it, or side-eye it warily. I'm not sure, but I don't know if something is missing - or not.

Watching Rev Michael share his spiritual healing with my daughter was an incredibly moving experience. It reminded me of the power of faith and also reminded me I'm not alone and can share the burdens of life with God & my community.

Being on retreat with Pema Chodron in October, at Omega during the "Halloween snowstorm." I have begun a meditation practice in earnest, learning from Susan Piver and the Open Heart Project. I feel as though this will continue to support me as I move through the next phase of my life.

I'm making this post public because I want to take the opportunity to give my opinion. Everything is spiritual. The phrase "secular spiritual" is like saying "spiritual spiritual." In Jesus' worldview and mind there is no between the "Secular" and "spiritual." God taking on our humanity in the person of Jesus is a dynamic affirmation of the physical world and the routine of everyday. Plumbing, sex, art, culture, truck driving, teaching, cooking, community...EVERYTHING is spiritual. That being said. The spiritual experience I had was one of descent. It is too hard to explain in a little box here, but I am learning to live into my true self, in ways that I did not before.

This is the first year our family did Tashlich. Throwing bread crumbs into a creek to symbolize throwing away our regrets or sins. I would love to continue this tradition. I love being in nature, feeling G-d that way. I also loved the symbolism of throwing away regrets and sins, so that the water carries them away. It felt so special to take the time to do it together .

I was able to go to Israel this summer for a seminar. Usually visiting the Western Wall has been a mediocre experience for me (I've been going there since 1970). This time, I sat in a chair toward the front, closed my eyes, and suddenly found myself chanting, "Adonai, Adonai, El rahum v'chanun, erech apa'im v'rav chesed v'emet..." This is a phrase that "came to me" during meditation. It was the first time I felt connected to the Wall. I also felt connected to all the women sitting and standing there, although I recognized that each of us had our own understanding of what spiritual connection to that space meant.

Going to Sequoia National Park and seeing the sequoias. They are grand and old and I couldn't help but wonder at all they had lived through. I tried to take pictures to capture them, but realized that the focus on that activity was taking me away from just enjoying and appreciating their grandeur.

Getting mono in early 2012 was an incredibly spiritual experience. Finishing my 4th step in Al-Anon was another spiritual experience. Having experiences that showed that my intuition was correct (June 12) verified my belief in my spiritual self. Even more negative things like messy club nights and dreams of my subconscious screaming at me to stop my destructive behavior have been spiritual. I have been living a spiritual life, and it's incredibly fulfilling.

The closest I got is Yom Kippur, great music, running, and my granddaughter's smile.

I can't think of anything in particular, but my dreams have been more vivid and meaningful over the past year. I've had more of a sense of calm recently too.

Perhaps my most spiritual experience this year is the recognition that I have lost touch with my Higher Power, whom I call God. It wasn't spiritual in the nature of elevating me to a better place. But it made me realize that, unless I take action to stay in close contact with God, the consequences are severe. I did meditate recently and did feel a calm coming over me. I have not felt that way since, but perhaps have not given it enough of a chance.

The Olympics; being part of something done well in Britain, something to be proud of, and also the athletes were so inspiring.

I can't for certain say that there has been a singular spiritual experience that has happened to me this past year. However, I do believe that I continue to challenge and amaze myself. I tell myself so often that I am not good enough or there is no way I can do that. And then, I just do it. And even though it scares me, it feels good. I like knowing that I can talk myself into doing something outside of my comfort zone. I don't always do a great job, but at least I did it.

Standing next to Devil's Tower, in the dead of night, and watching the stars was such a spiritual experience. It's a huge part of Native American folk lore and it was almost like you could feel another presence there with you. To the future you: Did you switch out of your Theology class? If so, do you regret it? If not, do you have a new appreciation for religion?

Doing yoga especially as part of a 30 day challenge has given me a reference point for u derstanding in a way I never have before how concrete black and white thinking is really most likely leading to unnecessary stress and reactivity.

I was never one of those little girls that intricately planned out her wedding. In fact, I've never even considered the possibility of being married... until recently. I could see myself being with him. I could see us starting a family. I could see us growing old together. For the first time, I can easily see it. It makes sense with him.

I can't think of any particularly spiritual experiences this year. It has been all about learning to live without two friends and learning how to recover from my husband's serious injury. We depend on each other a great deal and this experience has heightened that relationship. I can't imagine going through life alone, without my partner.

This is what I learned about sharing messages with my congregation: the thing I need to hear, sometimes, is the thing I need to say. I don't need to figure out what they need to hear, as if my people are a separate species from myself. People only consistently thank me for the message shared when it was, primarily, meaningful to me. I don't know why this is true, yet, but I know it.

I've become much more accepting of people being at Emerson. I still definitely carry my perceptions and stereotypes, and some of the characters here have highlighted my prejudices, but I'm realizing how people's interests extend far beyond what I ever knew to exist. I'm understanding that just because I don't have an appreciation for, let's say, musical theatre, doesn't mean somebody else shouldn't do it. Everyone is brilliant at something, and I'd like each person to have the opportunity to pursue it. Additionally, I'm been submerged in a new culture. Emerson is not mainstream; it includes every kind of stereotype in existence and that's been an adjustment to grow accustomed to. Now weird/diverse/exotic is the new norm. I definitely am more thankful to God or whoever/whatever divine beings are guiding me. I definitely feel loved and protected, and I'm taking that feeling and carrying it with me wherever I go.

No.but I feel it coming. Change has to happen and I think it will be a spiritual experience that spurs it on.

Spending the week at Knesset Israel in Alabama was spiritual and amazing. I learned to read Hebrew, kissed the Torah for the first time, kept kosher, talked with an Orthodox Rabbi every day, did tikkun olam, had shabbos dinner at the rabbi's house, and lived on a Jewish clock for a whole week. It was fantastic. I wish I could go back this year. It really boosted my Jewish learning and it has made such a difference in every experience since then.

This is kind of an odd one... My entire life, I have been absolutely terrified of death. Considering the fact that I was raised Catholic - you know, that whole heaven thing ...the very idea of death was one of my first panic triggers, from such an early age. For the very first time ever, within the last few weeks, it's not only no longer a terrifying concept, it has comfort to it...

I have been greatly moved by my younger son's reported experiences of spiritual advancement which he describes as a indispensable part of his " working" the Twelve Step Program. Although I have not managed to forge enough of a connection to God/my Higher Power to find the strength and guidance I need, I am beginning to wonder if - as one member of my Al-Anon group commented last week - our group itself might not be my Higher Power (What she said about herself). This is comforting, especially as it provides hope for the future and finding greater strength and support as I interact with them.

I do not think I am a particularly spiritual person, but I do feel a surge of love for my children at unexpected times

Joined the building move team.

Took me a while to think of anything spiritual this year, then a few just came to mind one after the other: Attending the bi-annual Reform convention, right after the supreme court decided in favor of non-Orthodox rabbies, watching 2 of my favorite Israeli artists (musician Shlomo Gronich & authour Yochi Brandes) receive rewards from the movement, and realizing that we are part of something special and important going on in this country. Being there 3 generations (mom, sis, kids & nephew) gave a sense of continuity. I accompanied a group of teenagers, Israeli hosts (including my 2 older ones) and American guests who were here for 2 weeks, on their 2-day trip to Jerusalem. The first day was Tisha Be'av and we went to the Old City and the Wall. Next day Yad Vashem, Mt. Herzl & the market. Places I went to a lot at their age, but had barely been since. My youngest daughter's Bat Mitzva in the same congrigation where I had mine, with live music and lighting Hanuka candles. A lot of family and friends and circles coming together. One of my mother's best freinds past away. When she was first hospitalized, her daughter asked my mom if she could pray for her, which she did and so did I. Shortly after that there was significant improvement and it felt as though our prayers helped. It was just enough for her to communicate a bit, but then things got complicated. It was very sad but visiting the family at Shiva with my sister was very meaningful.

Spiritual experiences- hmm, I think it was having the time and resources to travel and see our beautiful country a bit and getting to do it with the exact perfect people for each place. In LA, I got to spend time with Marqui and see him doing so well out there and totally understood how people put up with LA for the beauty of it. In Chicago, I got to touch base with my long lost pal Bill and ride a motorcycle, then get sicker than ever and have a great friend like Sam take care of me, and the fact that I got to go to MJ's statue with him was so perfect. And Wrigley was definitely a scratch off the bucketlist place. Going to Boston and Fenway with Kelly was perfect. Fenway is baseball heaven, if that place isn't spiritual, well I don't know where is. Going to Maine and just hanging with Sydnie and and my sister and the cutest lab puppy, smelling the ocean and spending time in the quaint little towns and reliving the childhood joy of setting off fireworks was great.Then getting to spend time with my family in Colorado and seeing the majesty of the Rocky Mountains and walking the pups in the Garden of the Gods, which I renamed Garden of the Dogs. And capping it off with an inspiring trip to the birthplace of our country where I was reinforced with the spirit of living out your dreams because this is a place where anything truly is possible. And throughout all of these trips, coming back to NY each time was also beautiful.

Is it really sad that I can't think of an answer to this? I have felt more disconnected to my spirituality this year than I ever have before- I sincerely hope this changes in this new year..

I don't really believe in spirituality. The thing that makes me feel something close to spirituality is music. Being at concerts and festivals is a very special and overwhelming experience.

I'm still struggling with my tefillin. Breaking my tefillin - the tefillin I bought with my father in that dusty Judaica shop on Irvington Ave when I was 12 years old - the same shop I later went to to buy my kittel - broke me up in a way I wasn't prepared for. Like Saturn return or something, a whole wave of nostalgia swept over me and I'm still trying to shake it off. Who would have thought that turning 48 would be such a drama?

Holding our grandson, hearing him laugh, watching his eyes widen with wonder--joy and sadness all rolled into one, that I was having those moments and how very much I still miss my own mother and father, and how deeply all of our lives are intertwined--these were my spiritual experiences.

I've realized that I get pleasure from the most simple things. I don't need a huge house, a luxurious car, or the latest gadget to fulfill me. I am happiest when I spend time with people that I care about, or travel to new places and meet new people and see different cultures. Material possessions can quickly be stripped from you, but memories and feelings that those memories evoke cannot.

My spirit is empty.

I cannot remember anything that is of large proportion, what does strike me is that I have been appreciating the natural world both inside and outside my house. I have some spiders living right outside my door, one with a very large web right beside the door handle; my cat has brought into the house a 'friend', so I have been living with a chipmunk in the house. I love looking at the sky to see what is going on up there- it is beautiful. Because both my brother and my mother have died, I wonder if they can appreciate it- I doubt it and that makes me sad.

I just recently participated in a liturgical dance group with other Presbyterian women. We danced to the all-presbyterian choir singing "all good gifts". It was a remarkable experience to be "out there" with my worship. It occurred to me after getting good news about my breast biopsy and a dance experience at a yoga workshop with Joy. It just seemed to be something I was supposed to do. I thoroughly enjoyed it and listening to the choir sing as I danced out the words truly felt spiritual.

If happiness is next to godliness, then I did have a spiritual experience. This year I got back into painting and discovered photography. For me, art is a way to connect with the world on a deeper level. Making art makes me whole. And in filling some of the creative voids left in my life from the last few years, I rediscovered happiness. That's huge! I've been really good at being depressed or self deprecating, but rarely have I excelled at doing things that keep me smiling. I'd like to keep this up for the rest of my life.

OK, this qualifies, I think. I've been in the performing arts my entire life, so I tend to be rather blase about the art the I see, as it is all just part for the course. I went to see a play called Red, about the painter Mark Rothko, which I loved so much I brought a date to see it a second time. It is a fast-paced, funny, at times tragic, but always engaging production. My date was disinterested in the show, the subject matter, the entire experience. He checked his watch 10 times during a 90 minute show. I became so incensed by his behaviour, I gave him an impassioned speech about how much the arts - theatre, music, dance, visual arts - matter to me, how proud I am to participate in the creation of these pieces, how fortunate I am to be paid for something I love doing, how much I love it all, and how the world would be a horrible place if the arts did not exist. The funny thing is, I've been becoming quite a bit jaded about my life and art in general, and this incident crystallized how important the arts are to me.

Everyday feels ( in comparison to previous mind sets) more spiritual. I guess the spiritual moments are in the small things. Standing on the beach and appreciating the magnitude of the ocean, listening to Seth talk, swuggling my G. Spending time with Chelsea. Even washing dishes at work. But I welcome spiritual experiences. I'm currently standing in line at the Susan g Komen walk. Happy to be

I was able to be in the presence of great musicians both Jewish (Kirtan Rabbi, Craig Taubman, Dan Nichols, Rabbi Shefa Gold) and non-Jewish (of Montreal, The Polyphonic Spree). Music leaves me with a deep spiritual feeling, especially when there is deep harmony between the musicians and audience, and that brief amazing moment of silence after a huge crescendo of harmony. Also hiking with my synagogue community in the hills and to the beach. I experience great joy at synagogue when I am able to sing out, dance, or be in nature. I also had the privelege of being a shomer again this year. Psalms, silence, and kavanah to be the guardian of a soul in transition is powerful. I spent a few days at a conference at American Jewish University. It was powerful and liberating to be able to constantly wear my kippah and to have mezuzot to kiss on every door.

I was at a Hadar class during the summer. One class stood out in particular: we were supposed to sing as a spiritual practice, with the whole class. It was the first time in a long time that I got to sing loudly without being ashamed. I miss music. I don't go out of my way enough to incorporate music into my life.

Wandering around the Art Institute of Chicago, first with friends and then with a lover, was a profoundly spiritual experience. Those days taught me what I value, what I appreciate, what I need and what I am. I discovered art that speaks to my soul, and a forged visual-emotional connections that will endure for all time. The pieces at this museum have become tied to experiences, and thus to my very sense of self. Walking there again would be like wandering through the pages of a very private diary.

I went to Israel last January on Birthright. It was among the many spiritual experiences I have had this year, by no means the most powerful, only the most distinctive. One of my favorite spiritual moments in Israel was welcoming in Shabbat at the Western Wall. I loved watching the sun set, and singing and dancing with all the other women, then walking home through the beautifully lit old city. In addition to Israel, my most spiritual experiences repeatedly occur Friday nights at the Bayit. I love the community, I love praying and singing together, I love sitting in a circle and seeing everyone's supportive faces.

We finally joined a synagogue! While this seems like a cliche example. I had a wonderful moment where my husband and I left services and spoke for hours about what was lectured about. I have always loved this about Judaism and I finally felt that my husband experienced and understood my love for the religious discussions I missed since high school. I hope this continues!

In June I went to Quaker Meeting while visiting with my parents on the East Coast. It had been years since I had gone to meeting - I had always enjoyed it in the past, but I was a little anxious about going after so much time had passed. Would I be able to sit in silence for an hour? Would I fall asleep? Become agitated? Somehow embarrass myself or my parents? The experience, however, was quite lovely. The hour of meditative silence was just what I needed to calm my mind, to sort through anxieties, and - perhaps more than anything - to remember myself and to really listen to what the little voice inside me really wanted and desired. It was a chance to re-center, to re-connect, and to re-invigorate. I noticed things in the Meeting House that I would not have noticed otherwise: the way the shadows over across the room over the course of the hour, the green of the shrubs outside the windows, the joyous sound of birds and animals, the whoosh of the ceiling fans, the artistry of the molding around the doorways, the people in the room. I heard the steadiness of my parents' breath as the sat on either side of me and thankfulness washed over me and I felt connected with the immediate world around me and more connected to myself. I told myself that I would try to continue to go to meeting when I got back home to the West Coast, but my previous lifestyle has taken over and numerous Sunday mornings have come and gone. Just writing about the experience makes me want to go again, however - perhaps next Sunday will the time I return to Quakerism. Or the Sunday after that. I will try to stay mindful of the experience and to believe that I can, indeed, have it again.

I am writing this from Jordan, Aman, and today we went to the Dead Sea and saw where Moses was last said to have been. It was mentioned that Christianity builds on Judaism and Islam builds on Christianity. In point of fact, Islam believes in both Moses and Jesus as prophets. It seems all the more absurd to have such fierce battles with people who share such similar history.

Sharing a home with my housemates. Community and the trust and sharing that can take place within community is moving to me. And this I consider to be 'spiritual' if one defines a 'spiritual' experience as being moved by the sense of something greater than oneself.

Nope.

I have been blessed with the ability to walk out of my home and feel the daylight enfold me and draw my eyes to the Heavens. I am inspired to say thank you and recognize the deity who brings me close. This experience brings me a great sense of peace and well being. Even when things are rough-I know they will get better.

I started going to synagogue again and trying to go on a regular basis. It was weird and awkward at first but I met a lot of cool people even if most of them weren't my age. Even though I didn't always know what was going on I found services to be calming and enjoyable and I'd sit and read the portion in English and the notes in the weekly bulletin. I also attended some adult Ed classes which were very interesting and I did another community dinners Seder which I really enjoyed. I learned about Judaism and the culture and definitely understand and appreciate more of the religious traditions.

Dancing and yoga is often a spiritual experience for me. It just tells me I'm in the right place and doing the right thing when I'm dancing and it's definitely my outlet.

Rosh Hashanah this year was pretty powerful. Being able to help people reach higher spiritual planes with a talented co-leader.

I feel spirtual every day, very connected and at peace.

Sadly, no. I have felt a strong connection to God, or the Universe, or the Forces this year. It has been a busy year, with very little time to smell the roses, read, or even catch a movie. There was this one time, recently, when someone played Mumford and Sons' After the storm during a Bar Mitvah, and I could not hold back the tears. Although I cannot explain it, that's about as spiritual as it got this year.

Spiritual experiences are a way of life with me -- being a minister that's a good thing! I am so grateful for all that has been given to me this year -- furniture, money, a chance to see the President, a trip to Ocean City, lunches, and so much more!! I love the way God shows off in my life!!

None that I can think of.

I read a lot by Anne Lamott this year, which really made me crave a spiritual community. Rather than a church, I'm interested in developing a community of friends who like to experience and talk spirituality together...and who support and take care of one another. Teaching felt very spiritual and transformative for me this year. And, of course, the birth of our son. Hearing his first cry is a memory I will never, ever forget - it was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

my belief systems r being torn down artistically being torn down yeah learning how to fail and succeeding at it still going thru the dark knight of the soul going on 3 1/2yrs

I am overwhelmed with the interconnectedness of the world around us. The tiny microscopic webs of life that work behind the scenes. Invisible to our naked eye. Working in communion with this process, which is billions of years old, has been one of my most fundamental spiritual experiences.

The realisation of how important it is for me to be creative in my daily life - whether it be creating an art piece or simply cooking dinner.

No. But I also don't feel particularly challenged by that. I had several positive, personally enriching experiences - including spending a week studying Torah. I remember answering this question with sadness this year, but I don't feel that way this year.

I love being outdoors camping and hiking. I find those times to be really spiritual. I hope I dedicate more time to spending in nature.

No spiritual experiences, but I am reading a lot about other faiths, trying to become more educated. I want to understand why "people of faith" can often be the most violent and intolerant. It just doesn't make sense to me. "My religion is better than your religion." Oh, sorry, for those of you who aren't religious let me rephrase: "my relationship with Christ is better than your relationship with Christ". Ooops, my sarcasm-cynisism is showing. I've tried to stretch my artistic muscles this year, but they seem to be pretty resistant. Still, I do feel like I've made some headway. Teeny, tiny baby steps.

I don't know if this is spiritual, but I've been reading a bit about Spinoza - his philosophy and his life - and I am finding that wrapping my head around his philosophy is both challenging and spiritual, in the sense that he is talking about G-d as the full explanation of all that exists in nature, even though it is beyond our own individual comprehension. It is hard to understand, and sometimes I believe it and sometimes I reject what he is saying, because to believe him would mean to reject all that I know and understand from my small vantage point. However, this way of thinking has opened up my consciousness to a whole new level of what G-d is, and how I can relate to G-d. For that, I'm humbled and thankful.

Religiously, the most spiritual thing I've done this year was the praying at CLTC. I've gotten more appreciative of going to services this last year because I don't get to do it as often. In terms of other things, I've gotten more aware of my own spirit and health. Dating Ben, trying not to stress, etc.

We saw a transformative play at the Geffen Playhouse-"The Pianist of Willesden Lane" Mona Golabek played her mother Lisa Jura. She was an incredible pianist and storyteller. It was a beautiful play/monologue- both because it was a moving story about the kindness of strangers during WWII- but also about how following your passion can help you get through anything.

At camp there during one of the overnights I was sitting with my co- Emily and our other staff members watching the sun set. This created a feeling of not only unity but also belonging. Having Emily by my side as a best friend who knows everything about me means a lot and makes me feel spiritual in the sense that I know I have someone who "gets it." When we work together, both about ready to cry over something that happened and are just able to silently hold each other's hand knowing what the other is thinking it is a deep moment.

I can't think of any spiritual experiences in the last year. If anything, this last year has been characterized by a sort of spiritual numbness - devoid of even significantly moving secular experiences - at a time when spiritual guidance/comfort/contact would be most welcome. The acts that I've expected to evoke some sort of spiritual experience don't - I'm reading everything through jaded eyes, even texts I want to embrace.

Thrilled to be with my bashert! After a year apart, living together has been as wonderful as I expected.

I'm still not living my life anywhere near where I was or should be, but I think throughout all of that, I still know where my true peace lies. Going to church and listening to worship music hasn't had the same meaning for me as it has in years part but it is still what keeps me grounded and gives me peace. I have continued to faithfully pay my tithes and God has continued to faithfully bless me, give me favor and opportunities, and protect me. I feel like we are in a holding pattern. God knows that I know my true destination and the path I should be on and yet He patiently waits for me to return to Him while I choose to fly around in circles, bumbling around, thinking I can make it on my own.

Nope. Nothing like that really happened.

Some of my most spiritual experiences have been through dreams. I dream a lot in general and even more so, I dream about death. I used to be afraid of dreaming about death but over the years I have come to understand my dreams about death do not necessarily mean someone will die, but they are more of a reflection of my chaotic life struggle that I am going through at the time. Recently I had a dream my brother was speaking to me and then I noticed he had a spider web all around his mouth and there was a huge black widow on the inside of the web open to his mouth. I have been worried about the health of my brother, he has been getting into a little trouble and this dream really frightened me. I'm still trying to interpret it...

Yes- I've started going to yoga and really feeling the benefits of letting go and meditation. It's shocking to me how calm I can feel in that room, just simply breathing. As someone who tends toward anxiety, knowing that I have some control over my anxiety is really very calming.

This year I have made meditation a consistent part of my life, and I think as a result, I am more aware of the spirit. I feel renewed and refreshed by it, and am much happier all the time,. have had some moments of 'bliss' too - usually connected to nature in some way. It is good.

Spiritual experiences have come to me in many ways this year- listening to Krista Tippet ask a profound question I would like to ask myself, going to the Botanical Gardens and using my breath and my sense of smell to take in what it wonderous, making home visits to my old patients with young medical students and watching the profound connections that can happen those have been particularly wonderful this year. The experience of opening myself up to such moments and then remembering them when I need grounding has been very powerful

YOSEMITE. I think about Yosemite every day! Our hikes, the mountains, the moon, the smells, the sounds, the sun. The distance from everything else. Ahhhhhhh. I LOVED it!

I have so so neglected my spiritual side for the last two years in favor of this crazy business schedule that i live by. Part of it is being married to a person with very little spirituality but I don't blame him, just me.

This year I have tried to focus more on mindfulness. I want to be a person who can focus, who can turn inward, who can be silent. I have started going regularly to yoga practice, and working on intentionality and meditation. It's interesting, because sometimes when I meditate, when my heart opens her eye, she sees things that are very frightening or deeply sad. But other days there is so much joy. I try to reflect as much as I can, talk to God as much as I can, to learn more about myself and my soul.

This is a difficult question for me to answer in the space I'm in right now. I had a moment at my mfa program on Whidbey, when I was standing outside the lecture hall with my husband and 2 other people. We were in the ante-room, in the "wings" with a wonderful young man who is a non fiction writer and a wonderful young woman who writes fiction and who was holding her new son -- a child she had tried to have for quite a while. We were just TOGETHER somehow. I do not feel connected to others very much, but I felt an incredible feeling of connection to these people who were all in this interim space, neither outside nor inside, but THERE/HERE.

I don't recall that I've ever had a spiritual experience - although perhaps I define it by too high a standard. I don't know if I ever will, but I keep on hoping and keep open to the possibility.

All my worry and stress about my boss has been completely removed because HaSh-m made a miracle. She is gone. Poof! Just as if she had never been. Apparently (and completely unexpectedly) she took another job. All my fears and obsessive thinking were for nothing. I believe HaSh-m is teaching me to leave matters that are not in my control in G-d's hands. My worry did nothing, except hurt me. I could not resolve the situation no matter how much effort and attention I gave it. It was only by HaSh-m's will that this problem was removed: Poof!

During some really bad weeks, turning everything over to God in a two word prayer was all the faith and energy I could muster. I am amazed and so greatful that God sees and hears beyond our babbling.

I think the appreciation of all that I can do - the power and strength that I have within myself, and the recognition of that power and strength has allowed me to be more in harmony with the universe and to be closer to God.

Disappointingly absent from my immediate recollection

Yes, on Pentecost. Nancy preached a sermon right to be. It was a story we could find ourselves in about God being a language we share. I almost had to stand up and yell, "I'm listening already!" I was filled with the Holy Spirit. In Denver, I decided I had to finish my SLP program. One needs resources to be generous. and I was terrified about telling my dad I wanted to go into ministry. But now that I am working in a hospital where people die and suffer tragedy and need care, I feel ministerial and scientific. I want to do both. But maybe my ministry will always be part of my every day work and not a separate academic entity.

I converted to Judaism in April of this year. I spent nearly two years studying. Now, only 6 months later, I feel remarkably the same. My secular side is stronger than any other. My Jewish learning, aside from the emails with the same name, is limited. My understanding of the deeper texts, of the traditions, rooted, are unclear. Finding the motivation, beyond my blog (www.heebavore.com) -- which I hope still exists next year! -- is limited. My attention span short. I keep thinking of that Sylvia Plath quote from The Bell Jar about sitting under a fig tree. Each fig is an opportunity. As she sits there, looking up at all the figs, they grow ripe and begin to fall at her feet. Not knowing, waiting, agonizing over decisions, they disappear.

Earlier this year I decided to go trough with apostasy. I have no confidence in Catholic church, I dint' they do more harm than good. I have not done it yet, I might not do it at all, but the fact that I don't consider myself to be a catholic anymore, is not likely to change

Well, as I'm constantly trying to remind myself of the good things that having this dog brings, what comes to mind is the things I've noticed on my walks with her. Did you know that when you walk by the same budding hosta plant 4 times in one day, you can see how it changes practically from hour to hour? And in early fall, the leaves of some plants change from green to completely yellow in the span of 1 day. Wow. I'm not a big outdoor person, but it is amazing what goes on every day out there--and most of the time, we don't notice about 99% of it.

I am with a man that encourages me to go to church with him and willing to explore spirituality with me. Though I've found I'm still not comfortable with some churches, I look forward to being able to explore more options.

Realized I had neglected the things that are fundamental to me in order to seem more acceptable to my family. Went with an old friend to see the relics, I had missed them when they had been on tour in the US. Wonderful day. Met up with former friends and finally found the retreat I had been looking for this year. Just a weekend but it's a start.

I have had two different weekends in the last month and a half, where the Lord engaged in a conversation that has blown my mind with how much He loves and ares and is in fact invested in my life. 1-TerraNova-The conversation about not losing myself in my relationship. That in keeping God central, and having my completeness in him, so that I am already made whole, and am complimented by a man that is the same. 2-Leadership Advance- That God's promises are not forgotten, that I am a 10 talent person, that I am being called into that future, to create it and not shy away from it. Also, that my identity is not found in my career, my idea of how it would play out, how I would be the one doing it, on my own steam. That my identity is in Christ as His daughter and his beloved, and neither career or motherhood would be my complete definition, but that I would be able to slip into them, with the freedom of the Lord as the foundation.

Because I try to find spirituality in the repetitive flow of life, the decision to spend each morning studying some talmud has been the most spiritual thing I've done. The Talmud is mostly legalistic but in communing with generations of scholars who were trying to create a just society through understanding and interpreting the Torah, I am reminded that being Jewish means being part of something much larger than myself or my own time frame. It's a little bit of transcendence each morning.

My relationship w Adonai has gotten deeper. I never really realized that when it comes to Him i weigh His Words as to whether or not i did them. Lord means owner, master...and for me much more. Yeshua said in Scripture that if you love Me you will obey My commandments and He also said why do you call me Lord when you won't obey me...though i had seen this scripture before time and again in fact, He spoke through my pastors sermons as well as very deeply touched my innermost being. It wasnt something i did on purpose...in fact prior to this year life was running me around and i was not constantly pursuing my choices. For man, yes i weigh what he says to see whether the fruit is good or bad but for Adoni i trust Him implicitly and i know to my core His Word is truth ...and so i will obey.

The first thing I thought of was actually reading my responses to 10Q from last year. My answer to question number 9 was very short, all it said was that I have a fear of rejection and I am going to face it head on this year. I didn't even remember my answer to that question; it was not the kind of goal that I thought about. Yet, I had faced it head on and I had come out more than alive: invigorated and enthused to do it again; proud that I had done it more than once.

Not as of Sept.

My appreciation for music and art and listening to my grandchildren develop their talents in this arena is particularly joyful. They are choosing the highest qualities in music education and I am grateful.

Listening to Dan Mangan's music. His songs really speak to certain parts of my life, especially "Basket" and "Road Regrets." I also visited the Visionary Museum in Baltimore and it made me realize that I do have value as an artist. Just because I do not fit inside a particular box, it does not mean that my art is not meaningful.

Rediscovering novels - even silly novels - has meant a lot. I need to be careful with it, but losing myself in books is just so important to who I am. Also on the list: sleep-deprived wanderings through German churches, impending marriage, my neighbors' baby, growing my own tomatoes.

When my husband was diagnosed with a seizure disorder this year. I remember rushing to the hospital, and watching the first seizure unravel all of its fury on him. Pain was written all over his face, and though he could look at me, he could barely stutter a few words. I felt such a loss of control, a fear that he would never be normal or be able to speak to me again. How could I take care of him? How could I be so selfish to even ask myself that? What would I do if I lost my best friend? Though his seizures have passed, I always wonder about them returning. And what I need to do to better love and support him, no matter what...

As usual, I can't say I have. I enjoy my daydreaming when running and dreaming of being a star footballer or something, but really that's about it.

After our sons multiple heart attacks and when we were waiting to hear word of his state at the Royal Children's Hospital I found myself not only praying to God but also to my deceased mother who I feel looks over me and my family to this day. I can't help but feel that she had something to do with him still being here and now having the opportunity to grow up and enjoy the gift of life.

I had what I can only describe as a revelation about gender segregation in orthodoxy at the beginning of the year. I still have an image burned into my head of a male rabbi pontificating about the importance of women to a group of men from a bimah that only a man could ever stand at in a room where all of the women had been forced to the back and were hidden behind a veil. That may not have been 'spiritual' per se, but it definitely changed my approach to spirituality. Mostly because it feels entirely un-spiritual to create that kind of dynamic.

I went to the Bienniel with Rabbi Josh, Cynthia and Molly. I thought I would like the meditative prayer class, but found that the music and singing during prayer was more my style. I find myself singing prayers from the sabbath all week long. Music has become a very spiritual thing for me.

I've really enjoyed going to the Symphony. I feel like it is such an uplifting, spiritual event.

I went to the Kotel on Birthright and had an unexpectedly spiritual experience. Given the tone of the rest of my trip to Israel, when I felt often alienated and out-of-place as an American going abroad for the first time, the minute I looked up and saw the Kotel I felt right at home. Though I told myself I would walk straight past the Chabadniks who were looking to get young Jewish boys to wrap tefillin, I gave in and wrapped tefillin for maybe the first time, and had a surreal experience touching and feeling and praying to the Wall. The political situation, all the injustices that the Kotel brings with it, just went away. I guess I realized how transformative having a set place to pray and congregate can be for a religion. It grounds us.

I haven't dedicated as much time to tending my spiritual growth this year, and I think it shows in my overall stress level and dissatisfaction with my own behavior.

I have decided to explore my faith this year. I was raised Jewish but have begun to believe that there might be something else for me. I've tried to talk to God every day and it hasn't been easy, but it feels right. I'm hoping to learn more about Jesus this next year and see if this is what I have been waiting for all along.

I have become intensely involved in my church. It has become very important to me. That is something I never thought I would say, because I certainly never believed in organized religion as I was growing up. However, I have become to understand what faith means to me. It doesn't include any notion of miracles, and it certainly doesn't mean that I'm laying down before any all powerful being. But I have come to feel like I am part of something larger than myself, and it includes all life and everything in the universe.

Mi trabajo en el jardín Marie Curie. Definitivamente, me sentí muy agradecida, además de que este trabajo me aportó mucho. Nunca voy a olvidar a mis chaparritos hermosos. Por otro lado, el no participar en el CONIAM de Puebla fue raro, sentí como un vacío en mi vida.

No, I have been out of touch with my inner self for a very long time but I am trying to rectify that situation this year. Stop, breath, evaluate myself and find my inner peace and happiness again. It's been a long time and will be a long journey.

At Ben Gurion airport on the way to Rome, I saw a print of an Anna Ticho painting. I stopped to take it in. It's the first time in my life that a painting has entered me and had an effect.

I've spent many wonderful, quiet hours holding my newborn son while he sleeps. I've felt peaceful and calm in those moments.

I suppose being around my Dad whilst he was in the cancer ward etc. It highlighted the fragility of life, how young I am but how sickly I feel. I realised just how much I would miss him, and Mum, if they passed away. How I am still such a child and still need that parental love and support.

My faith has grown tremendously. It has been a joy.

Carrying my children for nine months and bringing them into this world was such an amazing experience. In many ways I want to do it again because the feeling of bonding with my kids for those first moments was so unbelievable.

I prayed more,felt the need for God in my life more than I ever have and felt His presence in my life more.I am a lot braver about what I want to do with my life.

I have attempted to take up meditation, with somewhat limited success (I'm not very regular at it yet). I do take some "quiet time" each day, which is energizing and focusing. I am more firmly an agnostic/atheist now, so no supernatural or invisible being experiences have occurred in the past year. It is very freeing, also a little bit sad.

I actually lost my faith in religion within the past year. This experience affected my relationship with my dad. He was a born and raised Catholic with parents straight off the boat from Ireland. He grew up saying the rosary every night and attending church Sunday afternoon. I was baptized and raised to be Catholic. But when I was younger I would have to guess eleven or twelve, there was a scandal among the Catholic churches. Upon knowledge of this I was under a looser religious schedule. Last year, faced with Confirmation, I decided that I do not support Catholicism. I don't know what I believe in but I experience life in the present and changed my focus to current situations that have more relevance to me.

I've begun to say both the Hamotzi and Loca Samasta before every meal. The Hamotzi gives me a chance to reflect on being grateful for what the world has to offer. Loca gives me a chance to speculate on how I can be of service to others in the future. Both give me a chance to pause, set out of the hubbub of the day, and reflect on the bigger picture and my place in it.

My spiritual experiences tend to be little moments. I find myself looking at the pink accents in the sky during a sunset or the beauty in the trees changing colors. Although these minor changes in nature are things I have witness all my life, they are the moments that remind me of God's greatness. Even a moment to roll down the windows while I drive and take in the rushing of the wind, allows me to strengthens my belief that it is all in His hands. So there is not one particular experience because He surprises me with powerful small moments daily.

This is the year I found God and asked him to enter my heart. While at the ps3 office I was getting into my car one day and an elderly gentleman appeared out of nowhere and said he had something for me. It was a religious pamphlet with the name and address torn off. The man told me Jesus loved me and waved to walk away. I turned back to tell him something but he was nowhere to be found. There is no way in that brief moment he moved anywhere out of my line of vision. I knew in that moment God was truly calling me home. He had blessed me so much this year.

Recently I have begun meditating more frequently and it has added a sense of clarity to my life that is indescribable. I feel closer to God when I meditate; I feel closer to all people in the world; I feel a great connection to everyone. I've never felt that way before. I feel like what I do matters to the greater good of the group, so it makes me want to be more responsible, more intentional about my actions and how they can affect or effect someone.

I recently began meditating, only for a few minutes each morning. I was hoping for improved focus. I find I am happier, more content, and that meditating is a link to the spiritual. I include prayers for people in need while meditating and feel a real connection.

Hard to limit this, it's been a very soul shaking/affirming year. After shoulder surgery and my boy friend caring for me the first week (better care than anyone gave me even after babies!), my mother came for the second week. She has Parkinsons and is always so busy, but for the first time in a very long time she made the effort to come be with me during a difficult time. We haven't spent that much time together in a long time. The other piece of this realization came from a parenting experience. After a long talk with by BF, I had made a concerted effort to change my parenting style with my youngest, the only one still at home. Putting responsibility on him to solve life's challenges and changing my expectations of how we interact. How this all comes together, well I apologized to my mother for not treating her with more respect and kindness while growing up and even as an adult child. I now require this from my children, and if they can't be nice let them know I don't need/want to be around them. I'm even more appreciative for loving people in my life, and realize that acts of service are the best gifts of all. It's never too late to learn and change and grow. All starts with MAITRI, unconditional compassion and love for oneself and to be extended towards others. It's become the backbone of my existence.

We had a staff lunch and learn with Rabbi Beals recently. A lot of what he said resonated with me - the idea of praying before we eat, because we are not animals and can appreciate the joy of having food. The idea of forgiveness and asking for forgiveness and forgiving. I can hold grudges and I am going to try to let the things that have happened in the past go. The idea of working to improve oneself and trying harder in the new year. I also really enjoyed the spiritual discussions I had with my colleagues about it.

Reading books on yoga and Buddhism this past year is as close as I've felt to something spiritual. Will do more of it this next year.

Does getting a "hole in one" count as a spiritual event? I truly believe that G-d had something to do with it. He was looking out for me as he always does. Does my mother changing her plans to come back north count? She was hard and fast as to the circumstances that would go into independent living. She has softened. Thank you

My spiritual awakenings come from listening to my son recite simple prayers that he has learned in pre-school.

Nothing in particular. I enjoy learning about spiritual things from my friends and other people and do agree with lots of the thought processes etc that I am told/learn about . Would like to try meditation, maybe that will come next year, it has a lot of benefits, I was reading about it the other day.

I try to make everyday an opportunity for spirit in my life, but I need to try harder and use the proven tools - yoga, prayer, song...

I always feel God in the forest and near the ocean and I've had several good experiences in nature. A couple of weekends ago I took a class on Shamanic journeying which was very opening. After each journey I feel safer and more confident for a while. That feeling of safety is something I need as I tend to be overly anxious.

In the end of the summer, I read the book "Tuesdays With Morrie." No one had ever told me anything about it, other than that it's great. It completely changed my life. I now ask myself every day when I wake up, "Is today the day I die?" This is not a morbid thought, but quite the contrary. Facing mortality, even though I have not been forced to personally do it, is the most liberating thing, and has fully motivated me to live my life to the fullest; to treat my friends kindly; to show my family how much I love them; to take the reigns of my life and not live passively; to not hold a grudge; to greet every face, stranger and friend, with a smile and kind words. This mentality has made me a happy person such that every day is better than the one before. Instead of laying in bed watching tv shows, I play with friends and engage in various activities and social experiences. I engage with new people on a daily basis, and it has had a profound impact on my life. If you're living life with negativity or a chip on your shoulder, carrying around negativity, and not experiencing new things, then you are not really living.

I'm not sure if i have had a spiritual experience in the past year because I wouldn't be able to know if i had one or not.

I think I had a few spiritual moments. Going to Israel on birthright was definitely one of them. Discovering the land with a diverse group of girls helped me appreciate the diversity of the Jewish people. It has helped me connect to so many people. Another great experience was ice skating. Visiting the alternate universe of Bryant Park during my semester break was an amazing reprieve from my usually schedule.

Yes, I have experienced a spiritual low which is just as important to one's growth as the elation everyone seems to be seeking these days.

I think I realized recently that I don't know how to be spiritual. Why don't I identify with Judaism spiritually? I kid myself often and pretend that I do, but really it's a hollow feeling. What is spiritual? How can I get there? Is it that tingly feeling I get when something really special happens? The knot in my stomach in a difficult situation? The sense of excitement and awe I sometimes feel for events or people? If so: perhaps I'm wrong... I am spiritual. But it still feels a little hollow...

My spirituality has not changed particularly over the past year. I feel connected to nature and my fellow man, but have found myself disheartened at the lack of spiritual connections to be felt when people use religion to justify acts that serve only to drive a wedge between cultures and beliefs. And yet, despite plenty of examples of people hurting one another, my home town, itself home to plenty of violence, is also such a great source of support and camaraderie that the sense of connection is quite tangible.

I have always been a spiritual person and have been very connected to my Judaism, however I have recently learned to appreciate the spirituality in other religions and in art forms. Since I have been Interfaith chair for Hillel I have realized just how similar Judaism is to Islam and Christianity, and how much we can learn from one another. I have learned to see spirituality as a separate entity from religion, although they sometimes go hand-in-hand. And I have found spirituality in nature and when I am creating art as well.

I have come to enjoy the friendships that I have made at the shul this year. It has been many years since we have been a member anywhere and I think that it has been beneficial for us. It has added another dimension in our lives and I particularly enjoy the leadership of the rabbi and cantor in the community.

This year has been spiritually shallow for me. I feel numb to the world around me.

I have not experienced any particularly spiritual incidences or events this past year. However, I do feel that I am adding to my spiritual growth through continuous efforts on a daily basis to become aware of the infinite presence that is in myself, everyone on earth and beyond. The choice to stop and become one with this presence always gives my physical body a peace that it cannot attain through any other activity available to me.

I'm religious; not spiritual.

My spiritual experiences revolve around deep, powerful sexual connections and the sometimes sublime, sometimes soul-shaking confrontations with music and the visual arts.

That time I tried yoga for the first time and spent the entire session crying because I realized that my relationship was *not* going to work out...

Okay, so this isn't particularly spiritual, but here you go. Tom Hiddleston is an actor I became obsessed with after seeing him in the Avengers. I was delighted to find out he wasn't just very (véry) pretty, but also a very intelligent man. I absolutely adore and envy him. He went to Cambridge, speaks besides English also Spanish, French and a bit of Greek, and keeps his private life out of the spotlights. He's not someone you'll read scandals about. But most of all - and this has stayed in my head ever since - he once talked in an interview about how underrated he thinks kindness is. This was the moment that I understood why I really found him so special. He seems absolutely sincere, and he is kind. Kind. It's something I keep in my head and try to think of every single day. I get great satisfaction out of being kind to people. In this fucked up world, it's sometimes the least we can do. Be kind, be kind.

I felt very blessed to have had a chance to positively impact my Mom's passing: we were leaving to go home (to return in a few days) not knowing that she would be gone the following day. We stopped at the hospital and I leaned over and sang The Teddy Bear's Picnic to my Mom--she used to sing that to us when we were little. She actually came 'round a bit and tried to sing it along with me.... When we learned she had not regained knowledge of her surroundings and then passed, I felt like God gave me one last gift to be able to make her feel like I was singing her to the ultimate sleep....I carry that thought with me every single day.

i believe i learned how to see myself as a part of all of creation, not just as the small i that i've been taught to believe in all my life

While I was working on my thesis and trying to figure where I was going to after I defend my thesis I became really stressed out and angry. However once I realized I was acting like a stubborn 5-year-old who refused to take a nap, I decided to hand everything over to God and to put my faith and trust truly in him. Once I did this I felt this giant weight lifted off of my shoulders and a peace within my soul. Soon thereafter things just started to fall into place and I no longer had to worry about being in control of the situation because I knew that God was. So often I want to be in control and do things on my own but this experience showed me that I can't always do that, and that I need to trust God more with the things in my life.

It was super windy outside when I was walking to class and 'Nottingham Burns' from Robin Hood came on and it was just so profoundly perfect I was grinning like an idiot for a good minute.

I travel to Turkey (Istanbul and Izmir) with the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee back in March 2012. This was an incredibly eye opening experience for me. First, I was in a Muslim country where being Jewish is not the safest thing and 2) this was the first time I had been to a country that I did not speak the language and could not communicate. I was completely out of my comfort zone - but hey, don't they say that is where life begins?? We spent a week there. Our first stop was to Izmir. This was by far the most touching part of the trip for me. Here, in this bustling city, is a Jewish community of about 1500, decreasing by 250 per year. 250 per year! It took me a few seconds to grapple with that number...that number means that by 2023 the culture, community, and Jews here may be gone...wow! The Jews here are afraid to use their names, they do not speak of Judaism or Israel and they are always on guard. Their synagogues are disguised within open air markets behind unnorate doors which lead to tremendous beauty of old world shul. They live a life of fear but also a life of extreme connection to one another. It was truly remarkable to see how against all odds these Jews were thriving and never lost their connection to Judaism! Our next stop was Istanbul. A tremendous metropolitan city teaming with history. I got to see the initial marker where all maps were measured from, because before Rome all roads led to Istanbul, I got to go into the Blue Mosque (I remember my feet being cold and the overwhelming smell of, well feet! - beautiful none the less), we got to do and see so many things. The Jews in Istanbul were different than the ones in Izmir, they were less afraid, more involved with the surrounding Muslim community, but there still was an air of caution. The most dramatic part of this trip was when we visited the Neve Shalom Synagogue, which was bombed on Shabbat 2003. Being in the same place where many years prior such devastation occurred was very humbling. I could go on for hours about my spiritual experience in Turkey but really the couple things this experience left me with are these: 1. Life is short 2. We must maintain our Jewish Roots again the most severe of odds, we are a shrinking people and we must preserve our culture, our people, our religion 3. We are so tremendously lucky to live in a country where freedom is a way of life and we do not have to live in fear. I pray we stay humble and grateful and that this continues.

My wife falling asleep during labor, in a dark hospital room overlooking West Hollywood, in the still o the night, listening to this tune on repeat for hours: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClkDvNEWKu0

I am answering these all on my birthday. I have been offering blessings and realize how much I miss that spiritual connection. I'm glad I'm resolved to before connected this year

No, not really. And that's pretty depressing.

When I find the calm all seeing all knowing center of myself by whatever means possible (usually solitude and introspection) I feel aligned, at peace with myself and accepting of my world. This is the place from which right action, good advice (to self or others) and clarity comes from.

Nothing that sticks in my mind.

I used to think of myself a a spiritual person but this year has been my least spiritual year. Maybe because i turn to my spiritual side when i'm unhappy and i've been at my happiest this year.

I haven't necessarily seen any burning bushes over the past year but I do know that the path to buying my own home was a long & difficult one. I listened to my heart the whole time to be pointed in the right direction. I have not regretted my decision to buy my home, even when all of the appliances needed to be fixed! I feel somehow like this was meant to be...

Being a septuagenerian, who has spent most of my life in faith, I find that faith now wavering. It seems to no longer make any sense to me. And surprisingly it's not distressing, in fact it's quite calming. I just accept that it's all beyond my comprehension.

Having the kids from Colombia come and stay in my home. It was such a miracle and a blessing.

it is hard to put my finger on what this means. perhaps there have been so many experiences that might qualify...aaah. but there was swimming in the maine lake at 5.30 in the morning, fog floating on the surface, everything sooo quiet, streaks of sunrise still in the clouds and the end of a much needed vacation from death, dying and moving house and the revelation, that perhaps next year i would do this early morning thing at least a couple of times next year to experience such beauty.

this year has been all about spirit for me. last 6 months i have barely been able to ambulate at all. more and more i looked to spirit and metaphysics to support and encourage during this difficult time in physical body.

Our first Shabbat service on the Feinstein lawn at HUC. Praying together as a newly formed community, looking out over the old city, and then hearing the shabbat siren go off right before barchu - perfect!

I can't think of anything specific, apart from going to places that I have wanted to go for so long and feeling complete (New York and Paris). Other than that, I have started to pray again in the last 6 months or so. Not daily or anything, but when I am thinking of someone or am worried, I ask for help for them or myself, and it does make me feel better. The power of prayer is a wonderful thing when it "works", but the strength is to keep believing that it helps even if the outcome isn't as you want it to be/hope it will be. This is something that I am trying hard to take on board.

This has not been a spiritual year for me at all. My focus as been the practical: work, taking glasses. I'm ok with this.

On the same day that I destroyed my shoulder sailing, I had been looking at the sky (out at sea, on the boat), and had the profound sense that all of my ancestors who had passed were looking down at me, smiling. It was as if I was remembering being in the crib, while they were all still alive, and they were just so happy with me just for existing. It was a silently powerful experience, subtle, but strong, profound. Later that day our boat was hit by another boat, and it was very intense, going into emergency mode, and saving ourselves. I had also been seriously injured earlier (though I didn't know it), and my neighbor/close friend died the next day. I can only imagine that the experience was connected somehow to all the changes that I have been put through these last 7 months, and remembering it has given me strength while everything has been turned over, and shaken up.

We went to this place in Arizona, a bell museum. I don't remember it clearly now. An architect created a prototype of a city cause he thought we will drastically be changing the way we live. And he also has a huge community which shares his belief. But he was wrong, yet he and many others lived their lives serving to that belief. We might think of it as a failure but in reality they lives such a purposeful life.

Kallah was beyond a spiritual experience for me, it was a period of reflection and education that has really changed my lifestyle. In addition to the program itself, the people made the entire experience revolutionary

I think reading Steve Jobs was kind of a spiritual experience. He's a dick, a lot of the time, but he also has this keen sense of spirituality, intuition, and the "I-Just-Know-What's-Right" thing that I can sometimes identify with. Not that I'm always right, of course, I just can identify with the value he places on intuition rather than data and facts and market research and stuff like that. And also the value he places on FOCUS. I wonder if all visionaries have to kind of be egomaniacs and dicks too. I don't know exactly why I found this to be spiritual. This answer doesn't make much sense. But also part of it was just not being able to put the book down and being so into it that the outside world seemed to disappear.

many. at burning man having the most sweet interaction with a man i've ever had in my life, and it was the best of many moments of feeling the universe sending men my way to show me that love and support exist in ways beyond what i've yet experienced, and it's coming. it's here. i get messages from my passed-away loved ones - finding items of theirs at strangely crucial times and knowing what they meant for me to feel and know when I found it.

I'm still waiting to see a sign from G-d, to establish an understanding of why He has led me on this particular path and what my purpose truly is in this world. I will continue to study Bible, as I began in many of my JST classes, and will keep faith.

None. :(

One of the most spiritual experiences last year has been opening up to friends. Letting go without thinking of anything. It only happened twice, but I think I need to work on that much more. Another was realizing that I've been a bad girlfriend like most of the time since last year. I've neglected many things in my relationship .. also I've been too stressed out and cranky last year. So I know I need to work on that to sustain my relationship with my boyfriend.

I don't do spiritual in the traditional sense. Sorry. I'm very much stuck in reality because I believe it's the only way to be. I'm not religious. I don't pray or meditate. I don't see the point. I guess football is spiritual. Well for many it is. Many will probably see this as tragic but then that's because their lives are painfully dull. If you want spirituality or religion in your lives, go to football. It's much more reliable, you probably won't be killed and you get Sunday mornings off. You sit in a much bigger and well-catered church, scream your head off with likewise people and occasionally see something really fucking astounding. I've yet to find anything other than the feeling of being in love that compares with it. It's deeply affecting. Once you feel it, you understand why people go mad over the sport. Those that haven't never will understand but that's fine because they're the ones missing out.

My daughter's friend died from a cerebral hemorrage just the other day. I couldn't stop crying even though I didn't know him or any member of his family and even she is not terribly close with him. What surprised me was not my out-of-proportion grief, but that it was the first time I felt a connection to my faith after such a tragedy instead of it giving me more ammunition to reject any spiritual feelings I'd allowed myself to accept.

spending a year in Israel provided me with many spiritual moments. learning about the beit hamikdash and the flourishing jewish life of that period and then going to the southern wall excavations, seeing models of what it all looked like back then and then going to the ruins and to the wall enabled my to picture what it was all like and that was so powerful. going to poland twice and learning about the holocaust, something i had not been ready to do until that point, while difficult, made me a feel a real connection with the jewish people and those that suffered so terribly there. i am starting to appreciate the spirituality that i can find in the outdoors. the natural beauty and alone time can be such a great place for reflection and thought

I have recently gotten in yoga. It is such a stress relieving practice. It really is helping me get in touch with myself and I'm trying to work harder on it to be a better version of me.

I feel that I have been at a spiritual stand still over the past year. The most important moments for me have come during my darkest hours and I feel that perhaps I need to change things in order to see the bigger picture to my life. My faith is important to me and I am steadfast in my journey through this life.

None come to mind. I think this largely has to do with living with people with whom I don't share any common cultural/spiritual, or even intellectual, background or interests. Becoming part of a community where I feel at home would be a big deal for me.

Nothing, I cannot think of one thing that I would classify as spiritual this past year. This is pretty disappointing to me. I have regular, ordinary spiritual experiences, like praying to St. Anthony when I've lost something. But, no major revelations other than watching Long Island Medium. (ha)

My mother became Bat Mitzvah in June and my eldest son became Bar Mitzvah on September 1. They bookended my summer, impacted every day of 2012, and brought me to a new comfortable and beautiful space with our community, our family and friends, and our synagogue.

About a month ago, I found a Torah pendant in my jewelry box. No one seems to know where it came from, including my husband, mother and mother-in law. It's vintage. And it has my birthstone in it. This happened at a time when I was about to throw in the towel on finding proof of my Jewish ancestry. We suspect that the pendant was hidden in a small jewelry box of my grandmothers. I don't believe in god in that way. Not as an active force. But I do believe in ancestors. I believe those 28 grams are... Something. So, this discovery of the pendant is curious and it's enough to continue searching for my link to Judaism.

Seeing the yellow butterflies fluttering around and making me feel a sense of peace. The butterfly has always been a sign of someone that has passed on and is around to protect me.

I think the most spiritual event I had this year was my blessing by Bruce Brown. I struggled so much and after I had the stroke it was so nice to feel loved by God, and know I had a reprieve from everything.

I find myself struggling with my spirituality this past year. I pulled away from my beliefs and have been clouded with my personal struggles this past year. I hope to reconnect and regain spiritual strength this upcoming year.

Spiritual struggles. The time at the lake was spiritual, a reconnection, but in general I feel as though this has been a hard fought year and that extends to spirit.

My therapist has introduced me to energy healing, which has become a significant help, even a lifeline, for me during a very difficult period. I am learning to trust and to help my body and to listen to and depend on its wisdom. I have also been wondering about my religious life for some years. I continue to be interested in Judaism and am now dating a Jewish woman. I am curious as to what the future holds for me in this regard.

i dont fuck w religion. i wanna try dmt/athuasycaha or however u spell it.

I don't think I could say I've had any "spiritual" experiences this year. I guess the closest thing I've had is some small realizations about life. I have been to the bottom this year, I've wanted to die, and I've tried to end my life. But I'm still here, and I know there's a reason for that. It may not be because some divine power is looking out for me. It could be as simple as my subconscious knows I have too much life to live to stop now. But no matter what it is, it's made me realize how important life is and how much I have to offer. I am not done yet.

I had a recent breakthrough in the desert that led to a complete severing of a cord with someone who was unhealthy for me, but needed me very much & poured a lot of guilt on me for trying to create a safe boundary for myself. I sobbed in the moment I cut it, and a friend caught me in her arms as I fell. It was a complete release of negativity, which put me forth on a new path of inspiration. I meditated and came up with these mantras: "to be inspired rather than intimidated" "I am limitless" "to nourish myself so that I can be full to nourish others with my playful magical qualities that can only come to fruition when I am fully clear"

I started meditating, and it has created some space in my mind.. teaching me that my thoughts are not reality.

I don't think I can point to one particular experience. In general since we joined our Reform congregation I have tried to pay attention to small moments- like a rainbow or a beautiful sky. The times I make sure to notice the beauty in nature are probably the times I feel most close to G_d, the most spiritual.

I have had a particularly spiritual moment but I do constantly have gratitude for all the love and amazing things in my life. I feel this almost every day joined with a sense of being happy to be alive another day.

perhaps it is the law of recentcy but what comes to mind is our recent trip to Yosemite. The mountains and vistas were amazing but what was truly awe-inspiring, before the word became over used were the giant sequoias. It was a spiritual experience to be in thier presence. They have a magnificcence that can take your breath away. It opened me up to a beauty in nature that I had once know on a smaller scale but has lost an awareness of in a life lived largely now in cities. This returned me to my childhood awe of the woods and brook that I would explore for hours in those early years. I wish that I had a more religious spirtual experience in the past year but my religious life has not given me that although there have been some highs like studying mussar for several months. That is something that I will do again and thing that in the coming year, I will befinaitely be having more spiritual experiences.

Phil's illness (cancer) has pushed me into becoming more prayerful. I feel my creator's presence whenever I am outside in the garden, it is so calming, peaceful, I just feel grateful.

Went into the woods with Gabriel and got a message from nature that my feeling stuck between is only an illusion. That we are all like blades of grass in a field. All separate, and all connected.

Having my daughter graduate and come home. She was a 360 different person than I thought she would be. She has matured and grown into the person I hoped she would become. I am so very proud of her!

Yes, I started attending lectures by Marianne Williamson and I am connecting to my spirituality more than ever before.

I have probably had more spiritual experiences than ever this year, most of them having to do with the JOIN fellowship. Leading shabbat at our first retreat with AL and RB was one of them. Sitting cross-legged on a pillow, I put my palms on the floor and felt like I could feel all of our energy coming through it and that we were, all together, g-d. At our second retreat, my most spiritual experiences were the sh'ma meditation that AF led, and studying the Zohar with DL after staying up until 3am the night before with him and a group of other people talking about related subjects - light, color, the concept of revelation, strange and scary and couldn't-be-just-a-coincidence moments that had happened to all of us. Kol Nidre and Sukkot at Occupy Boston. Shabbat in the Negev desert. When I closed my eyes, despite knowing that I was with a group of twenty people surrounded by cliffs and rocks, I felt like I was all alone in an infinite space.

Reading uplifting books.. trying to be more in touch with self.. with others.. trying to be a better person

I have some spiritual experiences every year. They are minor and sometimes I don't remember them for days. But they often happen in my dreams. But not all of them extend to the dream world. The effect that these spiritual feelings bring me is usually a good one. Years back on Yom Kippur, I was in the hot tub at 10 Kite Hill Lane in Mill Valley and I was thinking about my dad and other Yom Kippurish things and staring at the stars. And then I saw this beautiful falling star, as though my dad said he heard me. I sat there amazed for a few minutes and then I said out loud, okay now that my dad announce his presence, how about Claire doing the same thing. Claire, Jon's mom had just died a few months ago. And after I said that, I saw another falling star. It was their way of wishing me luck, because my husband was leaving me then.

I don't like talking about spirituality to myself. I can talk about it to others, but when it comes to what I believe and why, I freeze up. It's like I'm afraid of biting my own cheek or regretting making a definitive statement about just about anything. I'll keep it to two. Just about every Om during teacher training. The Temple of Heaven in China. Om namah shivaya.

Nia has been my main pathway to Spirit over this past year. I have had countless experiences of mind/body/spirit transcendence through music and movement in a 1 hour journey: www.Nianow.com There is a release that happens for me through Nia which frees my soul easily, regularly and consistently, which is for me, a great spiritual gift.

I stopped resisting the thing that I know I need to do to fulfill my sacred purpose. It has been a great relief and I don't know why I expended so much energy trying to avoid it.

Well my answers for yesterday ironically already talked about my church. In any case, I would say that the regular attendance at church, and involvement in the leadership, has deepened my spiritual commitment and exploration.

I was brought up Christian and eventhough I distanced myself from the church, my feelings about it have only really changed this year. I think this is because I've spent a lot of my time on my own and have been reflecting more about it. I feel a sense of guilt on losing this tradition and I also have a sense of freefall...not sure that's a good thing, but it's something to think about more.

I gave the eulogy at my Grandmother's funeral. I've never felt so honoured or present.

The universe has often seemed to open up to meet our needs this year, so I have often thought there must be a God.

Not really but I did things I always wanted to do. I started to do postcrossing, writing beautiful sencentes in a book, reading books, do some cooking etc

I can't think of one particular experience that stands out but I am much more attuned with the small miracles of the day to day with a toddler in the house. It's awesome to see the world through her eyes and re-notice all that is fascinating about nature and human bodies - a fallen leaf, a puddle or trickle of water, the sound of your own feet stomping the pavement. I really loved watching her explore the fountain at Sister Cities Park with a combination of fear and fascination and ultimately deciding to jump in and get all wet!

I try to evaluate my relationship with all beings as regularly as I can through meditation and practice, that's sprituality as broadly as can conceive of it. Some relationships seem more influential such as my wife, my sons, my father and my mother. But they all matter. But I don't have one particularly influence experience I can name this year. The last time that happened to me was when I had stroke in 2009. That just influenced how much I value my life and my family.

I define spiritual for me as primarily spending time in nature, and I've certainly done a lot of that in the past year. I still need to ruminate on this topic- I feel kind of confused as to what I believe spiritually, and would like to explore that further. Traditional belief in God doesn't speak to me in the slightest, but some kind of spiritual community does.

Cultural and artistic I think. This is from going over to Europe and gazing lovingly at all of the artworks on display in their museums and churches. Also the architecture. I so want to go back and soak it all up again.

Yes, but too many to count. I work with children and I'm a parent. Need I say more?

I have left my spiritual practice and find at times that I am quite lonely without the weekly connections. I hope at some point I can reconnect in a meaningful way. On a secular note, I have begun again to look for meaningful experiences that do not require a synagogue or prayer to feel important.

New York was my greatest spiritual experience of the year. Visiting the Ground Zero memorial was very humbling and reflective. Seeing how the best of the best operate on a daily basis, eating wonderful foods, smelling often unbearable smells, and visiting important architectural offices. By far the best moments were times when I was alone, like my nighttime stroll along 5th avenue past Rockefeller Center and couture shops to the Apple store and then along Central Park, past the rear of Carnegie Hall to Columbus Circle. Alone in such a vast place, but somehow feeling totally found.

Other than moments of serenity when looking up at the sun streaming through clouds, nothing excessively 'spiritual' occurred. But I do appreciate these smaller moments when it feels like there is an energy and I just have to stop and smile.

Sadly, this year has not been particularly spiritual, be it artistic, emotional or cultural. If anything, it has been quite sad in general. I believe it is because I held on, too long, to insecurities about myself, instead of engaging in healthy social interactions with others. I have relied upon movies and escapist opportunities to feel "spiritual", broadly defined, and I miss creating those moments by myself. I need to read more poetry and write a little more, even if it's just in a journal.

I can't say that I have...and I wish I had. I think I have to put this on my TTD list. I would like to be more spiritual. I discovered one minute meditation, that has been a help.

I have had many spiritual experiences this year, and I have missed several experiences (due to lack of awareness, or fog from alcohol, or numerous other reasons). I try at least once every day to connect with my Higher Self, either through morning meditation, or breathing or simply receiving a message from Me ("Pay Attention!"). I know what I am supposed to do. I know simply need to do it. Not try. DO.

When I was in the helicopter , in the first 5-10 minutes, we were going over mountains and I could feel Kirby with me as we flew. The last week with her, from the night before she died when we all sat around the CW's table and they decided to shut down the visitors except for a chosen few, of which I was one, to the funeral but even more so having all her friends back at mom and dad's house that night, was a series of amazing events. Every Friday night, at Shabbat, that lives on because of her.

Not really full on. I guess i did go to Jerusalem and had my connection with the wall. Asked it to always bring me back. I did go a few times to shabbat to the synagog Bnei Jeshrum and the singing was just so touching.

I've sought help for my ongoing low mood and irritability. It makes me feel weak, but I know that in the end asking for and seeking help will make me better and help me be happy and fully-functioning again. I'm not me right now. When I think back to last year it seems like a whole different person. I feel like I'm being smothered or life has been muffled for me or there's frosted glass between me and my life. I'm going through the motions but most of the time I feel quite numb or melancholic. It's been hard to be hopeful for a happy future but I'm hoping that with perseverance I'll get there.

After losing Nana, I've given a great deal of thought to dying. We have made huge strides when it comes to medical advancements and technology - yet we still can't euthenize human beings when they are at the end of their life and suffering. When you are sick - all you want to do is feel better and sleep. Yet we try so hard to keep people alive - FOR OUR OWN PURPOSES because we can't let them go.

yes. san francisco is one giant fucking spiritual experience. they have health care for their people, art is happening on the street, friends are interested in your life, costume parties are a norm, people are not afraid to fly their freak flag high and proud, people genuinely want to know you and dont ask you to change. it is a safe bubble of glitter and love, leather and mimosas, sunday afternoons in the sun, long kisses with a friend. it has taught me to say thank you, it was the mirror that shown back nothing but love, beauty, courage when all i thought i saw was nothingness.

Kallah and ILTC as a whole was very spiritual. For me, the most spiritual experience specifically at ILTC was when i was doing my yom shishi amidah at perlman, I chose to do it in front of the memorial which had Daniel Arato's name on it, and after only a few lines, i started crying and had the most spiritual connection i have ever had. I was surrounded by people i love, and made a true spiritual connection with G-D. It was one of the most meaningful experiences i've ever went through.

I've rekindled my belief in God. I tried late last year and the early part of this year to re-embrace Catholicism and to find the good in it instead of the bad (and yes, there is a lot of good as well as bad). The way I see it, "God" is not just one, God is all and embraces believers of all types, whether or not they adhere to a specific set of doctrine/beliefs. Another experience came shortly after the death of my father. I was cleaning out his room. Exhausted by the task, I sat on the floor and asked for a sign that he was OK and with my mom, who had died 9 years previously. Within a couple of minutes, the sky darkened ominously, and it was difficult to see. As I rose to turn on the light, my eye was caught by a flash of bird wings: a female cardinal, who'd been gone form the yard for weeks, alighted on the feeder and stared straight at me. This was unusual for her as she is normally a ground-feeder. A sudden wind sprang out of nowhere and the trees started to wildly bend and twist. Then, the male cardinal appeared (he'd also been gone for weeks) and alighted next to her, also staring straight at me. We stayed that way for some moments regarding each other, and I felt it was a message from my parents, telling me that Dad had joined Mom and that all was well. In the next instant, a curtain of rain descended all at once and the birds flew off. I have felt OK with things since then.

I guess attending Reboot was, in some way, spiritual considering I ran from anything with religious affiliation in the past. I went in kicking and screaming and came out with a new appreciation for my heritage and community. I even enrolled my daughter in a Jewish pre-school this fall! I wish I could say I had some spiritual or religious epiphany but it has been more of a slow burn that is now beginning to sizzle...and I haven't called the fire department yet.

Not much in that realm has effected me. I have felt more growth in interpersonal relationships than in spiritual or cultural areas of my life.

As usual, I've been searching for some kind of spiritual connection, but haven't found one. In fact as recently as last week, I decided to try and get on top of my life physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. But, I keep coming up with the same old things. There's nothing new under the sun, as it were. Perhaps the closest I've come this year was walking around New Orleans this past July by myself. I truly was on my own for the first time in almost a year. I had no one to answer to, nowhere I had to be. It felt freeing and at the same time allowed me to experience life in a bigger way than I ever have before. I ended up talking with dozens of people and hearing their life stories. It made me realize how blessed my life really is. So, for me the spiritual has come from other people and not directly from God. It's a tragic and at times beautiful world we live in, and we all have a story to share.

Nope

I often feel the spirit of my ex-husband and others close to me that I have lost in the last 6 years I listen to my inner self more now than ever.

The most spiritual experience for me this year was definitely getting married. It wasn't just the actual day of the wedding that was spiritual, although it absolutely was. But it was also the preparations, conversations and ideas that went into the wedding. We asked ourselves a lot of questions about what was important to us through planning the wedding. It all culminated in a day where we got to express our love for each other and everyone there also expressed their love for each other.

Playing a reunion show with my high school band and the days that led up to it -- the preparation, the spending time with old friends, the show itself, the aftermath -- it was the best reminder that my youth remains very much with me and within me.

I read a book about faith this year that blew my mind, and has given me a new understanding of how to go forward in my spiritual quest. The keys to the process (for me, now) are belief in the possibility of enlightenment, rock-solid belief in one's own verified truths, and participation in a supportive community. I now see the calm that can come from being grounded in these elements, and see a path toward making my spiritual development more about joy. Thank you, Sharon Salzburg!

I've actually been questioning my spirituality as of late...but my last Chapter Convention with Ko'ach BBG #2529 was very meaningful to me. I saw all of these young girls, eight graders and freshmen, about the enter the world of BBYO, and I was so excited for them to begin their journey, no matter how they defined it. I had an amazing experience in BBYO, and I hope these girls find something meaningful in their last four years of childhood too.

Some of my friends from www.hai.org suggested an event called Sacred World Interdependence Day (SWID), which sounded a little too "hippy" for me. But I went anyway and had a fantastic time! There were workshops, drumming circles, incredibly good music. The best experience of the weekend was having my sons join me on Sunday to listen to a friend's band. It helped me to realize that we need to do more spiritual things together as a family.

I went back to Maine with my mother. She grew up there and when she returns, it's like her soul is rebooting. It's relaxing and recharging to be with her like that. It really is the most beautiful place in the world, a place where I can close my eyes, listen to the ocean and feel the worries of the world slipping away. I was able to see my aunt and uncle, who I have not seen in years, and it was almost shocking how easily we could be around each other. And I had an odd experience of having it click in my mind that they are not just my aunt and uncle - they are husband and wife, my mom's brother and sister-in-law, parents, grandparents. Guess I finally outgrew the Id.

Yes, absolutely. My husband and I have been reading and listening to a lot of motivational speakers and psychologists this past year. Out of this, we have begun to delve deeper into the sources of these people's messages, and in the process discovered our own inner source of tremendous strength, peace and faith. We are on to something, both of us growing spiritually, seeking God and finding Him as well as our own great potential. Personally, I have been finding deeper and deeper ways of looking at life, love, and faith. I'm learning that it is more important to just LOVE, not expecting anything in return. It's also truly important to have faith and trust that you will move toward what you think about and good things will happen, that it's a law of nature.

I discovered meditation at Green Gulch this year. it is having huge impact in my life and I am working to establish a practice every single day for meditation. It has shaped the way I think and feel. And the more I do it the better I get. I have realized that it's not about how well you meditate, it's the coming back every time your mind wanders that counts. Even if it's 1000 times.

Randy and I have been singing the Shema together each night. He has recently started to sing it with me. Sometimes it is the most off-key thing I have ever heard, but it is always beautiful. I want to integrate more prayer into my life and the life of my family.

From being so ill for so long, I've come to a renewed understanding of -- now here's a cliche -- how precious health and how precious life are. I'm feeling the fragility and short duration of anyone's life, so I've been thinking about how I've lived and how I want to live from now on. I mean to make substantial changes, but we'll have to see what will actually happen.

Michael's funeral. I didn't want to step up to the coffin, but I gathered up my courage and eventually went up. I knelt down on the bench and I cried and I prayed, for the first time since I was little. Ever since then, I've been thinking about going back to church, but I can't seem to make myself bridge that gap.

I think that every moment can be spiritual in its own way if we slow down and pay attention to the details.

Just praying in synagogue during these last high holidays has allowed me to connect with God in ways I didn't think possible, and allowed me some inner reflection about the person I've been this past year. It was nice to take a quiet moment in synagogue just to look introspectively amidst the frenetic activity of daily life.

I was invited to speak at a school for people trying to get into my field of work. I was asked to speak for an hour about anything I wanted and I was very nervous about both speaking and filling up the hour. This was my FIRST TIME speaking to a group of people this large -- 150! I finished the speech at 2am the night before, anxious to merely finish SOMETHING, and I had given up on focusing on its content. When I gave the talk, there was laughter, applause, suprise, everything I hoped for. Afterward, all the administration congratulated me on such an amazing and helpful talk, and the director of the school personally wrote me a letter referencing ideas I put forth to the crowd. It made me feel accomplished, and worthy of sharing my experiences and myself.

When i sat in the boboli gardens one afternoon, just taking in how beautiful the world was. after hearing certain songs i have been in tears. at the end of some anime i felt especially moved. when i read ender's game. when i was at chabad at school enjoying shabbos and yom tov. when i hosted my own meal in florence.

I have really enjoyed working at Altamont Bakery. Working with formally homeless, Mentally ill people has given me some perspective, I hope.

not really - other than my dreams which have always been intense. maybe i should be disappointed? I have made a point of more music in my life - both in terms of live concerts and listening more - that has been very fulfilling and connects me with more joy in my daily life - the concerts help me add more memories and round out my life

The love I feel for my son. It is a deep, penetration love, that goes beyond anything I have ever felt before. I never knew love like this before, just didnt even know it existed, and I thought the strongest love I had was for my mother, now I realize that it is even stronger for a child, which makes me realize that my mother must have loved me this much too. I wish I had realized this when she was alive.

Maybe I'm not the most spiritual guy, but I have moments when I can sense that my deceased parents are looking out for me. Sometimes I can feel it when I'm out in the woods and small animals or birds cross my path. Other times, it's in the way events work out that save me from disaster or help me keep details together to make things work out in my day to day life.

This year my greatest spiritual teacher has been the ordinary. I love finding the divine in the simplest and smallest movement, object, thought, and action. When I honor the everyday, the tasks and chores, the teeny-tiny, and the little whispers, I am always in the right place at the right time and that is when I feel expansive and connected to source.

September 30, 2011. I was part of a 3,000+ person protest against Bank of America. I chose to be arrested that day, blocking the entrances to the Bank in Boston. I've never been so nervous in my life. I was scared of everything--that we wouldn't be successful, that people wouldn't be where they needed to, that I would walk up to the bank doors too early or too late, but mostly, I was scared of being arrested. Instead, I was surprised to find that it was the most spiritual moment I have ever experienced. Sitting there holding hands and throwing my fist into the air, I felt the struggles of all the families that have fought so hard to stay in their homes and felt connected to every one of them and everybody that was there. I looked out and saw my best friends, my lover, my members, my co-workers, and felt like I was one with them. I felt part of something so big and felt incredibly touched by their dedication and emotions. When I got handcuffed the crowds parted and all of these people reached out to touch me and I knew that this was exactly where I was supposed to be and that we were held up by love and by a belief that another world is possible.

I was at the catholic church and there was some scary feeling there. Maybe someone wanted to tell me something.

Seeing Audra McDonald in Porgy and Bess on Broadway. She glowed with this charismatic energy. I couldn't take my eyes off her. This was the spark that reignited my flame and passion for being a theatre performer.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my mortality. It’s frightening and I don’t think I’ll ever “get over it.” But my fears are beginning to awaken some experiences for me. Yes, I sit awake each night with countdowns of how many days, weeks, summers and Christmases I still have to experience. But thinking that way has also led me to appreciate things more. At Music Midtown recently, watching the Foo Fighters play, I began to feel so thankful that I got to share my brief time on Earth with a visionary like Dave Grohl. He sang a beautiful song about love and dying (no doubt inspired my thoughts similar to mine). I don’t know what it was called, I’d never heard it before and I might never hear it again. It’s not the type of song to last generations. My grandchildren and great grandchildren might know about the Foo Fighters, but they will probably never hear that song, or even know it existed. But because my brief lifespan managed to overlap with Dave Grohl’s in the incomprehensibly massive timeline of existence, I heard that song and felt touched. My legs will give out one day. My hair will gray. My mind might dull. The things I’ve owned will break. But I will always have my heart and my feelings, and for a brief moment I felt what is probably a pinnacle of human emotion. A feeling that is impossible to describe, but feels as though everything is right in the world and everything is in perspective and like you can feel your entire existence as if it was a transparent block. Also, I was high for all of that. Probably helped.

I'll say butterflies. There is a saying/belief in the Philippines (or maybe that's just my family) that a butterfly appears when somebody passes. Apparently when my dad died, there was a big butterfly hanging around the house for a long time. When we opened up his tomb so that we could prepare it for my brother's funeral, a butterfly appeared. There was also a butterfly at the church the day of the funeral.

Every day is spiritual for me. spiritual seems more real than physical, and not seperate. My greatest spiritual lesson was increased acceptance of differences between individuals at very core levels. The way Heidi fought cancer, and Joe fought with her was hard for me to understand. It was so different from the way Kerry and i were with his dying - so much fiercer. Now that I've seen them keep their vows to love "til death them part", just as we did but with a different style, I am deeply touched and more accepting that there is no one right way for anything.

Going to Shabbat dinner for once and feeling more in touch with my faith than I have in 19 years of life. Fasting, right now, at this very minute, has eased me into a calmer place. Also, this might be silly, but seeing Ed Sheeran...feeling him sing through me...I don't know how to describe it. It was life changing, for sure.

Yes - participating in Jews in the Woods in March was an incredible spiritual experience!

Spiritual experiences include seeing beautiful places, the joy of living without alcohol, the beauty of snorkeling in Cancun and just seeing how much love I have in my life.

When my friend's cancer defied her treatments, she asked me to officiate at her funeral. I agreed, though I had never done that before. Her faith and confidence in me gave me the courage to feel that I could honor her properly. It was hard to watch someone who has always been kind and generous to me fade before my eyes. But to see how she stayed 'herself' as much as she could, planning and running things even as she knew she was dying, how she cherished her friendships and how she held on to give her husband time to accept her death - that was a gift that she offered me, knowingly or not, of how a true mentsch lives...and dies. I give thanks for the twin gifts of her faith in me and her example of being an eshet chayil.

Our newly purchased rural cabin. Nature allows me to feel connected to something bigger than myself and my traditional urban world. Celebrating the sabbath there is even more special, but connecting with the natural world in a peaceful, contemplative way feels very spiritual and helps to nourish my soul.

I have had several dreams since my father passed away a year ago, but none of them have been comforting. All of the dreams included him just being around in a familiar setting, but not speaking. These dreams kind of bothered me because I felt that he hadn't moved on or was having difficulty leaving. On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, I finally had a comforting dream. My father spoke to me in this dream. It was almost like a phone call but with no phone. He asked me "so how are you doing?" and I honestly replied not very well. That it has been hard with him gone and my boys and I miss him very much. He said he understood but was proud of us all. I had the sense that he was above me, but could not see him, just sensed that he was speaking to me. I woke up and tried to go back to sleep to continue the conversation, but he wasn't there.

Nothing.

I learnt to re-focus. I learnt to acknowledge what I have rather than focusing on the material things and status that I don't have. It has brought an inner calm which I wish I had during previous years.

My spirituality is growing on. I am more focus on yoga and meditation, living my life one at time. My experience was to find my life partner, the girl next to me to my heart change my life.

Living in NYC. Being superficial, I could say that I discovered an affinity for independent films, but it was more than that. I made a new best friend and learned to be open with her – and to accept her awful (fashion) choices. More importantly, it inspired me reconsider who I am – a gay, confused 21 year old – and to, if only partially, accept that. I met people who were everything that I wanted to be, but feared I could not, and found that I really could be that. It is my sincere hope that this summer will allow me to become a better person.

Completing a residency in pastoral care has in itself been a particularly spiritual experience, not to mention numerous spiritual encounters in the midst of that work. It is particularly meaningful to recognize that I have stayed and completed the program and didn't have to run away for fear of my past catching up with me.

Observing the Venus Transit was a powerful spiritual shift. We shared the experience with folks from Google and Nasa on top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco. A tremendous and awesome vision to see the tiny Planet Venus as a dot moving across the massive sun.

I started going to church in center city. Regular. And met solid friends. I started talking about it more with friends...they know my priority on sundays.

I reconnected with several friends from high school -- most of whom I hadn't been in touch with for 25 years. Wow! What a thrill. It is so exciting and moving to learn what's been going on -- good and bad -- in people's lives. It has been a spiritual experience for me with one gal pal in particular -- Cindy. She and I had forged a close bond in senior year of high school and then we lost touch and I was always very sad about that. I had wanted very much to invite her to my wedding seven years ago, but I didn't know where or how to find her, which was a real sore point for me. It was really something to reconnect with her because she told me that her home life had been a total mess in school and she'd been a very angry person. I had no idea! Some people are very good at hiding things... Anyway, she said and has proven repeatedly that since then she's become a deeply introspective, insightful woman. I feel like I've learned and grown and become a more forgiving, peaceful person from getting back in touch with her. I feel deeply blessed for this opportunity.

I feel as though this year has especially been spiritually deplete. With so much angst in my life, I have not been paying enough attention to this area in my life. The greatest spiritual gift has been my circle of friends who have lifted my spirits.

My spiritual experiences came during the Olympics. In rehearsals I had some major highs. One was Wet Thursday, so called because we were on the field of play in the stadium, rehearsing for the athletes' parade in the pouring rain. I came prepared with a good rain coat, waterproof trousers and beanie hat. I was warm and dry. And very happy. Some people were missing. Others left after the tea break. But for those of us who stayed, we were rewarded with an amazing lifting of mood. Instead of getting more tired and dreary after the tea break, they started to play the music and it gave everyone this amazing energy and pep. I didn't care about the rain. I was comfortable, happy, excited, having an insider's experience of the world's biggest creative, cultural secret. It was blissful. There were others, such as hearing the poppies music properly for the first time, making me cry. Seeing the Olympic rings fizz with pyro - a thing so, so beautiful, like the beautiful French women describing how beautiful the high wire walker looked when walking between the two towers of the World Trade Center. There's this aching, bursting feeling of joy and wonder and love. Hard to describe. Wonderful to feel.

When I was in Spain during the high holidays last year I could have easily spent them like any normal day. Instead I decided to seek out a synagogue that meant going to a new city where I didn't know anyone. It ended up that it was a tiny Jewish community with an extremely enthusiastic Rabbi in an old synagogue from the time of the inquisition. The shofar hadn't been blown there for 50 years and I felt an extreme connection to my Judaism at that moment.

God has been talking to my soul through His word. I'ts been amazing to share this time with Him. I just hope I never forget nor lose this relationship.

I've been thinking a lot about fate. I don't believe in organised religion. But sometimes I think that there seem to be patterns in life.. some things which seem like they were supposed to happen. Some moments which seem so meaningful, you think they can't just be ordinary. The everyday sometimes appears to become transcendent, to something higher. I wonder if it's all perception, or if there's really a truth behind that. Being in love, I thought I sensed something of that, that we were meant to be together - but I was apparently wrong. So perhaps my perception that there is some sort of fate underwriting everything is wrong. I don't know.

On Rosh Hashana, I did the "great aleynu" for the first time, prostrating myself on the floor. I didn't think it would have such a profound effect on me, but it did. Being in that position made me think about how small and weak I am, in comparison to the power and infinity of God. In an instant, I connected with everything that I feel powerless to control - my best friend's cancer, my own high cancer risk, my financial insecurity, my son's behavior. I started to cry. It was so intense. It was completely unexpected. (Then, when I got up, I had to laugh, because I am trained in experiential therapy, which is premised on the idea that physical action is a way to get in touch with unconscious emotions, so you'd think I might have had an inkling of what might happen.)

I cannot think of anything specific but I know that I am always growing in my faith. I see God working in my life as well as those around me. It is a great thing to witness.

As mentioned previously YES. I've DOVEN into yoga again; this time mainly with Shiva and some other influences. My evolution of yoga has taken shift; i now TEACH yoga and DEEP CONNECTION and SENSING to individuals; or at least GUIDE THEM BACK TO THEIR OWN INHERENT KNOWING OF THIS. Also, I went to Kol Nidre services last night at Jewish renewal synogogue and enjoyed the connection of Jewish custom/religious belief (mystical- kabbalah) with Yoga practice and scripture. I have also begun observing the cycles of the moon and the affects it has on life & energies- and the ability to harness energies for life activation; which is ultimately in alignment with the business I am creating. I also discovered recently the "New Society" which I'm not sure how to describe; meeting each other at our POTENTIAL and not at our histories...

A concise conclusion drawn from the myriad spiritual experiences I've had this year: it seems that spirit comes through in moments where commitment, imagination, patience, and surrender meet. Breath is the medium through which consciousness enters reality. So learning different modalities of breathwork have been among the most powerful spiritual experiences and ways to induce a "Spiritual NOSOC" -- Vivation, circular, shamanic, and so on. Uzazu. It makes sense that spirit is so often related to wind: prana, chi, pneuma...

Well, hmmmmmmm...I don't know........I'm reading the sample answers and I'm like, "Something like that hasn't happened to me. Yet." Well. I was almost in a tornado earlier this year. Let me tell you, I was terrified. But I took my I Pod downstairs with me when we were going into duck and cover. I just played music and I calmed down. Now, I don't think that this counts as spiritual, but you get the gist.

I planned my Regional Kallah. It was a great time and a time of great introspection. I've learned a lot about prayer and Judaism this past year. I've also learned a lot about silent meditation.

Its ironic because this past year I have been trying so hard to have some sort of meaning come into my life. I've been trying to have epiphanies all year long, to make myself less horribly of myself and think of myself as a human being full of worth. Artistically I've come to realize what it really is that I want to do with my life. I've realized that following my dream is the one and only option. I've made decisions regarding my future that propel me further in my plans than ever before. I know now that a conventional lifestyle is something I can't live at the moment, and I've come to realize the depths of seriousness this means for me--my life will be hard but hopefully incredibly fulfilling. Its a very scary thing to become aware of your path to adulthood and learning how treacherous it will be. In some ways though I feel incredibly liberated that I've finally given in and decided to do what my heart really wants. Slowly but surely I'm beginning to realize that I really can do things within my life that I'm proud of.

I am really starting to understand Qi and the energy of others. I've started to feel it as a tingle in my hands. My hands have become such incredible tools. It's creepy, but it's almost like I can feel people's spirits. That's as close to believing in religion as I've ever gotten. Life has truly become astounding.

One of my answers from last year that just hasn't changed: Having an ongoing spiritual crisis that I feel intense amounts of guilt about. I try to keep it secret. I might be failing at that.

Artistic and cultural and so forth are three things that I definitely experienced. Maybe even mystical! I just remembered a pile of all those things. I went to see Brandi Carlisle at the House of Blues in Anaheim. I was on a Tuesday night, so I said I wasn't going to my former horrible job and went to Disneyland with Erin instead. Michelle met us later and we headed over. The sound quality of the room and the mix and everything audible was great. The place did not look like it was built to be a venue for people to watch things. And I know what it was. It looked like a double scale version of old Mississippi blues shacks, where the cooking was done outside on a wood and brick fire cause there weren't no room for a bar and a band and a kitchen. And I know they bring a little Mississippi mud and put it into the foundation of everyone of those buildings. I have never before felt like something was withdrawing energy from a room. Not that it was all focused in one direction, more like it was being snatched away. And I saw people doing the tell tale concert things. I was doing things I consider to be concert energy projecting. And it wasn't there. It was spooky. I hope I'm wrong, but I think they took the mud from the wrong crossroads.

i have no idea what to say for this.. spiritual.. i guesss... this year ive really felt God actually talking to me, and through me, through His word.. its amazing. dont let that slip away, future emily

"Hair" was a fairly transcendent experience overall, but being naked on stage was also pretty transformative in and of itself. There is something amazing about being completely trusting to the purity of gaze of another (the audience). And plenty of that trust might have been misplaced, but still -- it is so freeing. It amps your emotions and awareness to a whole 'nother level, and especially in the emotional moment it takes place in during "Hair", is such a transcendental moment. There's really no other word -- you're completely in and aware of your body, but you feel the energy of the person next to you, and of the audience there with you. In particular, feeling comfortable enough with my body to do that was so meaningful to me, and I am endlessly grateful that it was a part of the show.

Spiritual, hm. Its funny thats a question really. I don't know how i feel about my spiritual life. I feel almost as if I want to believe in God, or a higher power. A bigger reason as to why im here, and why we're all here. But honestly I can't. Daily I try to find meaning to why we have been put on the earth, but to be honest I don't think their is a reason. Furthermore, I don't think their needs to be a reason. The problem with that is our generation is slowly drifting from the church and synagoge scene. And has become the "yolo" (you only live once) generation. Instead of only living once and trying to make an amazing impact and further our society, people take this as "I only live once, I might as well drink till I passout and wake up with no recollection of what happened last night." Though that is an extreme, it really is hard to decide what side I want to be on. In some cases, I want to further the world. Find a cure to cancer, research ways to create better and cleaner energy. And in other cases, I kind of want to dedicate my life to being a cheer coach, working on magazines, being a radio host, or doing something else fun and creative. I need to figure out what side I'm on because its driving me absolutely crazy. No particularly spiritual things have happened to me, though I have found strength in myself to grow as a person and as a cheerleader. No one can always stand behind you and push you to tell you that you, in fact, can do it. You have to be your own motivation. not really answering the question but...yolo, righte?

Clowning is spiritual. Doing physical work, especially theatre, is centering. Yoga. Finding Catholic spirituality this year is ongoing. Being among redwoods.

Soul Retrieval for past trauma in Hypnotherapy. Had a message that 'I am the Peace in the World!' after asking if the world will live in peace one day. I had Peace Beamed at me, which felt amazing & asked some questions about my future. I decided to do a hypnotherapy course so I could help people in their lives by having a skill to do help people with finding their peace & being 'healed'. And so my Journey Begins x :)

Poetry has been an absolute revelation for me over the past year and I might venture to say a spiritual experience at time (if it has been it's been my only memorable one). I've dabbled in poetry since Shnat but looking back at that material - well - it's shit. With various techniques, movements, individuals now explored I can see the potential spiritual force of poetry. Whilst that is quite a pre-modern conception of poetry (the poet as the spiritual mediator between the Heavens and Humanity) it has nevertheless been extremely joyous to put words together so as to create an alternate reality. Perhaps that's what spirituality is - any way of forging an alternate reality to your own...a reality that creates possibilities other than your own. And how has it affected me? It's tought me what I'm capable of (winning the Monash Poetry prize although insignificant because probably no one else submitted; but getting great grades) has shown me that I do have potential and can use this tool for further spiritual exploration...

Running when drunk. Odd, but there was an amazing amount of clarity, freedom and joy. And the sadness bled away. Literally. Or something.

It was so interesting to me when there was an energetic protection from listening to negative soul poisoning poetry at a reading. There is protection that comes from a source that is not in the physical,

Playing at Cypress Point with my Father was truly magical. Probably, one of the most exclusive courses in the world, if not the most, and I got to experience it with my Dad. Yes, it is a golf course, but it was so breathtaking! Our surroundings are so often taken for granted; Cypress reminded me of how important it is to appreciate our beautiful earth. This will be an experience I will cherish my entire life. The beauty will stick in my head, and remind me daily to seek something naturally beautiful. I hope to instill in my children, the importance of our beautiful surroundings and preserving them.

No! I haven't quite had something like that for a very long time, and in a way I miss it. It feels like I have missed out on a big part of human experience.

Discovering anew photographs of places that had tremendous, strong lights and patterns ... very different from the 'normal' photos I'd taken at the same time, directly before or after -- when thinking of my mother who had passed away some years ago. Also, having to put down my 20-year-old cat ... it was very hard to send him on his new journey. And it was hard to remind myself that he was going to a better place.

I don't fear death. I expect I will deal with it comfortably. I will treat it as an experience. I do however feel a responsibility to live longer. I have responsibilities to Carolyn, Hank, Lizzie, Katie, Amanda and Emily.While they are baked cakes, each, for different reasons needs me for at least a few more years. I love Ann, Ellen, Wendy and Kevin deeply and only exclude them because I believe it will be easier for them to deal with my death. (yes girls it's all about me; narcissism to the end) Mostly of course it is about my 9 surviving grandchildren( and despite the saddest event of my life, precious Vivian) I have so much to share with them. Every time I am in their presence I profoundly experience a sense of my own eternal life. I want, with a bit of desperation, for them to have more of me and I of them.

After I quit my job, I felt my desires and my sense of self come back. I just hadn't realized the degree I'd turned myself into a cipher and an empty space just to do the job the way I was told to do it. I remembered that wanting to become something is one of the most exciting feelings ever... and one of the most painful. Around the same time, the brother of a good friend of mine died unexpectedly. She was a wreck, understandably, and after several weeks, she really wanted to give her life some sense of normalcy again. She and I are both musicians, and she asked me to sit in with her at a show -- she normally plays solo, but she didn't trust her mindset at the time to pull off a performance by herself. We spent a lot of time together before and just after. Some of it we spent playing music, but a lot of it we just spent talking. I was able to give her something she needed that perhaps other people in her life couldn't, and in those moments, it wasn't about me. I felt this pronounced sense of presence, but also of selflessness. That all tied in with the sort of rediscovery of ego I had after I quit my job. I was able to see what I can give to myself and what I can give to others simply by doing the things that come most naturally to me.

No, but I really wish I had. The depressing part is I had the exact same response last year.

My realization of how people view my talents may not be "spiritual", but I felt this a few times this year. A friend told me, in so many words, that I am capable of doing wonderfully creative things. This has affected by my finally believing it. I feel more confident to do great things now.

Yes, I moved more deeply into samadhi training, most importantly doing a difficult but rewarding 9-day retreat wherein I had to work a significant amount on 7 of the 9 days. The experience of shifting back and forth between work and concentration showed me that concentration is much more powerful than I realized; the mind is ready to adapt and remain in the clearer mind state. Changing between these states may be painful, but c'est la vie.

I have had numerous small "spiritual" moments that have been important to my feeling a shift in perspective, more at peace, more connected, more appreciative, having greater faith, feeling stronger, etc. These have occurred in places of natural beauty, of human connection, of groups of people coming together for a shared cause.

lots. Some experiencing the indwelling of Shechinah energies that i had been keeping exiled. Our NVC group often has very powerful experiences when we connect with the "beauty of needs" Helps me to remember that this is an aspect of our being and living that can be remembered....

Singing on the bima has brought my spirituality front and center. It has affected me so much that I am in the process of changing jobs so I can focus on my spirituality.

It has not been a very spiritual year. My meditation practice is almost non-existent. Hopefully next year!

Israel was truly amazing. I realized this obligation I felt towards education myself and actually living in Israel. Also, I decided that Judaism means questioning everything and not just accepting what you are told to believe. I was amazed to learn on Impact that Reconstructionism is uncommon and the more I learned about other sects of Judaism, the more I appreciated the accepting, tolerant, crunchy-granola, simplistic, Adat Shalom that I make fun of so often. I really appreciate the values instilled in the community. When we went to The Wall, I was overcome with emotions and just stood there and cried feeling completely awe struck being there. I thought of the countless times I, and all other Jews turn to this exact spot to pray and felt so much energy surrounding me. It was truly amazing. I LOVE ISRAEL AND ALL IT STANDS FOR. Also, I LOVE that Reconstructionist Judaism has no definition of a "good" or "ideal" Jew. That I feel is so important. What is the point of doing anything if it doesn't mean anything to you? Ie: fasting on Yom Kippur. (I did it the whole day for the first time this year!) And HURRAYYY I found out that I was accepted to AIPAC today!!

No particularly spiritual experiences this year, or any year. Does this make me a lesser person? I am so pragmatic, I see nothing as spiritual.

I've actually felt myself drift away from spiritualism this past year as it's taken a back seat to all of the other things I have on my plate. I look forward to a day when I can engage myself in peaceful acts of spiritual refinement without the burden of daily life to weigh me down.

I have had too few spiritual experiences in the past year. I have been trying to reconnect through study, prayer, and music but haven't been trying that hard. I do experience spirituality when i am looking into my childrens eyes... those are special moments.

I made my first spiritually inspired oil painting in my life. I love it. It is truely essentially from my psyche and describes me "Chicken woman". I made it in one evening, with Maureen and Jennifer.

The most spiritual experience I've had this year has been an ongoing exploration into myself. I've always prided myself on being self-aware only to realize at 33 that I was hiding myself even from myself. Every day I am getting to know myself better and that's helped me actually live outside of my own headspace much more. I see things every day that I've been missing and I am increasingly grateful for that.

This year for the first time, at age 68, I stood at the Wailing Wall. My first trip to Israel has resulted in a desire to be more honest about my beliefs. It's easier for me to believe in a supreme being than in a particularly caring supreme being. So maybe it's we humans who are left to supply the mercy and justice.

Visiting home in late August was a vital and re-energizing experience for me. This was the first time I was home in late summer in 10 years, and I had ample time to speak with family and friends, reflect on the people and experiences that got me to this place and point in time, and to think about who and where I want to be in the coming year. I am forever in debt to the friends I had during high school, the most difficult years of my life. They supported me in ways I can't remember, and continue to support me today despite the 5,000+ miles between us. Because of this, I am still determined to find a way to give back to the people who gave so much of themselves to me. And the journey for just that continues....

On April 21, 2012, we "officially" welcomed our daughter into the Jewish faith. It was incredibly meaningful for me - she and I will hopefully have wonderful experiences together as we bond through our faith. It was also a wonderful teaching moment for me. My husband is Christian, and he is wonderfully supportive of this. Although our daughter will be raised as a Jew, I know that our family will make every effort to be inclusive around the Christian holidays that make up the spiritual fabric of my husband's life.

I read the book "Bad Religion" by Ross Douthat that broadened my understanding of Catholicism and its place in American history, as well as gave me an appreciation for more traditional or conservative readings of theology. I continue to discover that I'm not as morally liberal as I assume.

Helping a friend through the death of her mother, savoring what are probably my last few months with a beloved pet, watching my marriage evolve - no white lights or angels, but the simple essence of life.

Going on March of the Living and lighting a candle at Majdanek was one of the most spiritual experiences for me. I felt like I was helping carry on our generation. Am Yisrael Chai.

Many times I am reminded to have faith in the power of the individual to alter and effect the whole for the good (and thus also for the bad). This means that we all must strive to believe in the possibility of the highest ideals, and act in their service, no matter how unreasonable they may seem.

I was asked to read Torah at a friend's community in Colorado. I was learning and practicing the reading on the flight to CO, using an iPhone app. I was sitting in a window seat on the plane, and found it to be spiritual and meaningful to be learning a Torah reading from 30,000 feet above land, while soaring over the clouds.

Sadly I have not had any experiences that felt impactful in that way. It feels like a void I'm not yet sure how to fill.

Israel. Inherently spiritual. Flawed, but holy.

YES ~ A W A K E N I N G . Complete connection and discovery of my inner, true authentic self. Realized i AM more strong , wise, confident, beautiful with vision and inner strength ~ i have the abaility and power to do ANYTHING !! Iam clear, activated and taking steps evey day to expand my knowledge and step in further inlign with my divine purpose.

Meditation has become an important part of my life, although I can't say it feels particularly spiritual. It has made me more aware of the workings of my mind and the difference between that and the reality of life...which may, in itself, be a spiritual discovery. Time will tell.

i think that being pregnant and becoming a mother has been transformative. there were definite moments that felt spiritual. it was uncanny knowing there were three of us inside me. as sick as i was things seemed to make sense and i would talk to them all the time. i also had a strong sense of who each of them was when they were inside and this has been true since they've joined the world.

lost my best friend to re-born buddhism. she has "detoxed herself" from all the bad emotions in her Self -- anger, rage, jealousy, etc.... .....and can't tolerate hearing about them from others. from friends. from me. lost my Pooh. hope i see her again some day.

None. I hardly have had an opportunity for this and I'd really like to make time for this. It could be something as simple as attending classical music concerts.

I think attention to my physical well-being is a step I've not taken too seriously in the past. It is doing wonders for me as I walk even taller, my mind is slightly sharper, and is pushing me closer to being a more complete soul...in this life. I'm not "maxed-out" when it comes to my spiritual development, but it doesn't feel like I'm progressing at the rapid pace I once felt. Of course, it is more likely to come through experiences rather and those can be slower to develop. I expect more to come, of course.

More contact with my dead granddaughter. hopeful and less sad.

St. Patrick's Day has always been my family's holiday. This year, I went elsewhere. I went to Savannah to be with my best friend. At first I felt a large sense of guilt. Maybe like if someone didn't get to see family on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Passover, what have you. But, once I got there. Once I started to spend time with Billy, I realized that family isn't just those who are blood related to you. You can choose them too.

I continue to meditate regularly and go on extended retreats. Nothing special except continued growing capacity for love and happiness. Hmm - actually that is special!

I can whistle! And as I do, I channel Dad. His wonderful tunefulness courses through me. I entertain myself; I pray through the song. I connect with energy that is greater than myself. I transport to another place.

I took time to meditate in an open field, which reminded me of what a little time taken to collect oneself can do for how we progress as a more grounded self who can in turn deliver greater value to both oneself and their surrounding world. Because of this experience, I seek to continue this practice as a regular part of my daily life.

I feel like I'm getting scooped out of trouble by something or someone out there. My life this year has been not that great, but it could have been so much worse given my stupidity. I know there's something out there helping me out and that's reinvigorated my spirit a little.

I once heard that love does not die or disappear when someone passes away, and I have experienced that this past year. It's like it's all around us, all the time. Love, love, love.

I went to bed meditating with Moldavite oil on and felt complete peace, happiness, oneness and relaxation for the first time in my life. I also realized in that moment that my biggest fear is not being good enough

In terms of the commonly defined way of describing "spiritual" the answer is no. Not one. However, at the same time I don't feel like this is leaving any sort of void in my life by not having these spiritual experiences and answering this question the same every year. I see this as great news because I'm not having a feeling of need to reach out to the unknown for answers. I still strongly feel like I've been following my Personal Legend (The Alchemist) for 18 months or so and the universe is helping me fulfill my mission. It's giving me a life I strive for, and a life I'm proud - and happy - to be a part of. In terms of artistic experiences - I've been working on becoming a song writer again. To be a musician. I don't feel like this is something I necessarily need to push to get done in a certain timeframe, as I would rather prefer the timing to be so obvious that I can't wait to share the result with the World.

I am not sure. I have had moments where I have been extremely proud of myself and of others. And I have had moments where I have been just happy in the moment. But I am not sure that I would consider these to be spiritual experiences. Maybe i am just setting the bar too high, but I would like an experience that just rocks me to the core. So while I am very happy to live and experience life for what it is, I am still waiting for that moment that I can unequivocally call spiritual.

Giving birth felt like a mystical and spiritual experience. I felt as if in the balance between life and death.

I think i've really stepped up my surfing and am able to interact with a wave a little better then I have before. Interacting with something so big and powerful as the ocean makes me feel very connected to the rest of the world. Joining our temple is also huge. I really feel that building a strong Jewish community is really important and I'm really happy that we took some real big steps to further that.

Last September/October I went to London and that was when I realised that my true calling was theatre when I went to the west end. I realised that I should have taken theatre all along and that was why I wasn't happy on my life because jobs are a big part of you. That was the most low point in my life but also the most enlightening.

I think my break up with Josh, combined with my close work relationship with Tracy has spiritually transformed the way I view the world, and therefore, affected how I respond to the changes and challenges that life presents me. I am finally taking time to hear and listen to my breath. And my inner voice. I am slowly learning how to silence the chaos and drown out the background noise that always seems to creep over my shoulder. I am taking time to "do me" - something I haven't experiences in years - and it has given me a light, effortless kind of happiness, that I hope to always hold onto. I feel empowered, independent, hopeful, and most importantly: happy.

Yes, I've been to the Schoentatts college missions which put me in contact with people beliefs in God.

Havasupai Falls. I learned about the person I want to become. it made me want to get back up and dust myself off. To become a good man who helps people, not brings them down.

A spiritual experience for me this year was moving to Mississippi. I say Mississippi and not Memphis because I don't think I've fully moved into Memphis, but my heart lived and still lives in Mississippi. It was spiritual in the way of beating me down into humility to travel here. I thought of the ways I am so small. I thought of the ways I am so alone. And in some weird way that I will never fully understand with my mind I found God. God spoke to me directly, various times. I prayed very fervently and asked friends to pray for me when trying to make my decision, and felt God's hand telling me to stay. Since then, I made a decision to follow my intuition. So many times I've found it's led me in the right direction, just going with the thought that just popped into my head. I trust my gut. I do what I love and what I deeply want. I don't do it all the time, I do it much more than I ever did before. And when I do, God speaks to me and sits right next to me, inside my head, guiding me. I know it sounds crazy. But he told me two very distinct things, about two different boys: "He is here to teach you how to let someone make you happy," and "if you want to be with him, you will have to learn to die to yourself." Pretty damn good advice.

No, I don't believe I have.

I have had so many spiritual experiences. My intuition and understanding of God and the workings of his creation has grown. My connection to my guide has grown... My journey to being a moral and responsible person has been a huge journey in itself. I always feel like I am spiritually growing, but this year feltespcially amazing in terms of how much I have grown since my last break up. The best decision I ever made in my life was breaking up with my ex boyfriend a year and a half ago, and I really saw so much change this whole last year. The second best decision I ever made was being with him for two and a half years. I have learned so much over all this time, Mostly about how to be in lvoe with me and complete with myself and utterly self-contained. I am not all there yet, but I was put on the right path this year, and I have made significant progress. The rehabituating to being a better person with better habits is taking time... And I do still miss him... but the growing continues and I am so proud of myself for all I ahve accomplished this last year. :)

No particular event. I have had a very stressful year. When I come to services or adult education at my synagogue, I slowly destress and become not just mentally refreshed, but also spiritually.

My faith in my Creator carries me through the days, knowing he will be there to guide me through all...both good and bad.

I've rediscovered how important my faith is and how much it's kept me going while my marriage is in flux. Been praying the rosary daily and just putting more trust in G-d's will. Without my faith - and my sense of humor - I'd likely be in the psych ward right now.

Only that my path is even broader than I once thought. I have more connections and feelings and leanings than I knew. I find it makes things simple and not complicated and allows me to relate to even more.

I would have to say that I have spiritual experiences almost on a daily basis. Through the practice of meditation and prayer, I am able to experience what I call the "magic" in this life. I get to see the0 synchronicity work in my life in so many amazing ways. The Jeremiah 33:3 event was pretty amazing. That morning, I meditated and prayed at my mom's house. I asked my "God" to please reveal Himself to me and to show me the magic. As we were driving to the track meet for Diondre in Pagosa Springs, I looked over and saw the above passage on the billboard. While I thought the "333" was interested and definitely a number that I believe that Universe tries to get my attention with, I really didn't want to pay it much attention. So, my mom and I kept driving and as we approached another town, I saw verse Jeremiah 33:3 again. I looked up the Bible verse on my phone and this is essentially what it said, "Call to me and I will answer and reveal to you things that you did not know." Synchronicity is all around me on a daily basis. Through daily prayer and meditation, it has opened up a world to me that allows me to experience life on a magical basis. I truly believe that now that I'm sober, I'm able to have the relationship with my Higher Power that I've always sought. I feel like more and more is being revealed to me all the time.

I try very hard to find the spiritual things in everyday life. The rush of wind on the back of a motorcycle and how it blocks out everything else in the world so all you feel is the energy of the bike and the road; The feeling of the sun on an outcropping that it took hours to hike to; holding a family friend's five-hour old baby girl. They're all spiritual in their own way.

I Geocache, and my goal was to do more hiking and exploring. I am excited for every trip we take. I feel like I am living the life I always wanted.

I think my first session with Scott was profoundly spiritual -- partly because I didn't anticipate any of it. It opened my heart to nearly instant compassion and gratitude, at a depth I'd never felt before. It's hard to hold on to that in day-to-day life, but now I know it exists and I strive for it.

i feel like it was a searchy year but not feely year - i looked for a lot of spiritual experiences, hired all sorts of healers and didn't 'feel' it... the real spiritual experiences have been so simple, at home with my beloved and babe, feeling so connected to love/god/universe

I've had glimpses of what it's like to be serene in the face of others' anger and to not take it personally. This is something that's occurring more frequently and with a wider range of people - including now ones that I have a stake in their good opinion of me. I think if I can develop this ability it will help me to be more present with the people in my life and less frightened when things go wrong.

My husband and I have found renewed love. We remember why and how much we love each other and respect each other for who we are and what we stand for. This is spiritual because I feel that there were outside forces that saw our pain and sadness and helped us to rethink how we view each others behavior. We suddenly were able to see our own parts that we were playing in laying blame in each other rather than see it as both of us doing it to each other. suddenly, one day we both realized how sad and lonely we were. Now we are learning to say I'm sorry and mean it.

i went to secular humanist jewish services for rosh hashana and yom kipur. as the song goes, 'i still haven't found what i'm looking for,' but this is the closest i've come. not going to burning man was also a spiritual experience. my heart was out there, but it was just different knowing it was happening rather than being part of it. also, i was taught the loving kindness meditation and that has enhanced my yoga practice.

I haven't really done anything spiritual, but Katherine read my Tarot cards which was really cool. I bought some and want to get into it when I find the time.

I feel like I haven't. I wanted to this year, I talked about spending more time wondering, meditating, and being creative... But I have spent a lot of time working. It's been a busy year.