At the Good Men Project we are all about having the conversation no one else is having — in all areas relevant to being a male in the 21st century, from work to relationships to gender and sexuality. Now we’ve decided to take that conversation to the heart of spirituality and faith.
To do this, we are renaming our In Good Faith section Good for the Soul, and expanding the section’s scope and depth beyond the context of traditional institutional religion. While we still embrace content about theology and faith, we now also want to spur dialogue about what is most useful to men in terms of spirituality. It’s about making spirituality/mindfulness/personal growth relevant to men in the 21st century. It’s about making soulful living, practical.
We are a team of two editors at this section. Ross Steinborn, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School will be leading the charge to find stimulating, provocative and insightful material on issues of traditional faith as practiced in church, temple, mosque or synagogue.
Ross is especially interested in questions of the genderization of the Divine; what faith looks like when we leave behind our roots and leave our places of worship but still use the language of those roots; and what role community plays in our spiritual life. Can we really be soulful in a way that impacts the collective when we are going solo? And, of course, he is open to any ideas you have. Pitch them to Ross at [email protected].
My focus will center on articles that bring fresh and challenging insights and suggestions to what it means to be “spiritual but not religious.” I am open to content that spans all wisdom traditions, from indigenous to mystical (Kabbalah, Sufism) to Zen to Non-Duality teachings. In this context, I am most intrigued by how we bring our ‘soul’ to work, purpose, relationships, or even sex our life. How can we make spirituality a tool for betterment or a path to wholeness? And how is this especially relevant to men (or women who love men)? Send your ideas and articles to me at [email protected].
And to both Ross and Lori, please send your soulful, spiritual, mystical poetry. There is a rich tradition of eastern and western inspirational poetry from Rumi and Hafiz, to St. Francis of Assisi and St Thomas Aquinas, not to mention the women mystics, St Catherine of Siena and Mira. In honor of this tradition, every Sunday we will run a poem versus an article, a poem we hope will inspire, uplift, provoke and even make you laugh.
Last note: We welcome all viewpoints from all angles. That includes those who declare a lack of faith, from agnostic to atheist. We want to have a conversation, and that includes the fire of a good debate.
Image Courtesy of: Moyan Brenn