I walked through my house in the dark, found my piano, and that was my prayer: May I not drop out. It was not written, but prayed. I knew more than anything that I wanted to continue in faith with the movement. — Carolyn McDade, about the night she wrote "Spirit of Life"

In Today's Workshop...

We explored the meaning of spirituality and how spirituality operates in our lives. We looked at the song "Spirit of Life" and thought about what it tells us about spirituality and spiritual practice. We also looked at the Circles of Spirituality and how different spiritual practices relate to each other and help make us whole.

Explore further with family and friends...

• Carolyn McDade wrote "Spirit of Life" as a prayer. She was feeling worn down by the injustice in the world and all the work she had been doing to fight that injustice. The song was her prayer to stay committed to that work. Are you feeling worn down? Or, are you feeling jubilant or joyous? Sit down and write a prayer about it. It does not need to be poetic but it should represent how you feel in your heart. When you are done, share it with your family and friends if you like. You can also keep it just for yourself.
• Beliefnet.com has an online survey called "What's your spiritual type?" Take the survey and then share the results with your family and friends on Facebook, MySpace, or other social networking websites. Do you think the results of the survey are accurate? What do you think of the questions that the survey asked? Are they helpful in understanding your personal spirituality? What questions would you ask in such a survey?
• You might be surprised that many of your family or friends have spiritual practices. Ask them what their spiritual practices are and ask them to teach them to you. If you have a spiritual practice of your own, think about teaching it to your friends and family.
• Meals are an everyday activity that can also be deeply spiritual. Plan an intentional meal with family or friends. Work together to make the menu, shop for the food, and cook. Then say a grace or prayer before the meal. A simple grace is "Thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you god (earth) for everything." As you eat the meal, ask your friends and family to talk about what spirituality means to them.