by Doug Pedersen

I was afraid to take showers when I was a kid.

I believed that a werewolf would attack through the bathroom window—100%.

Thank God I faced that fear. My family thanks me, as well!

Fear pollutes the senses and clouds the mind. It's spiritual poison.

Fear will delay and possibly deter God's plan for your life.

Have faith instead.

Live and work more cheerfully. Endure hardships more patiently—persistently.

Meditate on God's Courage.

I say: Face Your Fears.

Courage leads to doing good for yourself and others.

Who doesn't want that?

By Doug Pedersen

"97% of people have an improper diet, don't exercise, or smoke,"

Nurys repeated this headline to me the other day.

Sounds feasible. I weighed 275-pounds before.

And I smoked for like a day—being dramatic for Nurys before we dated.

YEAH—not proud!

She laughed; she knew I couldn't smoke for real.

Most people know that lousy health can lead to chronic stress, illness, and disease.

But most people don't know that harmful health can lead to an incoherent self.

The self—as in the mental, physical, and spiritual elements of you.

An incoherent self is a detachment of the mind-body-spirit system.

It's not a good kind of detachment either. It's spiritual quarantine.

I say: Take Charge Of Your Self-Care.

Feeling good leads to doing good for yourself and others.

Who doesn't want that?

By Doug Pedersen

I'm not sure about God.

When people say this, they're really saying, "I'm not sure about the person who told me about God."

And why would they be sure?

Many of us have seen, heard of, or experienced religious contradictions. Scandals. Hypocrisy. Corruption. Power. Control. Guilt. When I was a child, our pastor cheated on his wife. It was hard to trust the church after that. Religious institutions, communities, and figures have not been perfect throughout the ages.

Bible stories can also make people unsure. I mentored a friend as he explored his faith. He struggled to believe stories in the Old Testament. Noah's ark. Jonah and the whale. Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt. He couldn't even read long enough to get to the part where Jesus rose from the dead. These biblical stories can be troublesome to a modern, science-dominated, practical thinker. They sound crazy!

When in doubt about God's truth, beauty, and goodness, I say this: Go directly with God. Do s...

By Doug Pedersen

What side are you on?

1.) Vaccinations
2.) Government spying
3.) Big Tech
4.) Defunding the police
5.) Critical Race Theory
6.) Doctor-assisted suicide
7.) Prison reform
8.) Ending the drug war
9.) Fossil fuels or renewable energy
10.) Roe vs. Wade

As the world turns, humanity spins around on its moral dilemmas. Ethical questions increase as generational shifts, technology advances, politics, global economics, and more evolve our world. Personal conflict and public debate are rampant. People’s anxiety and stress levels are at all-time highs. Many people are agitated in this climate.

Will it ever end?

Not likely. Nor is this the time for escapism. So, what’s a spiritual seeker to do? How do we determine the truth? Who is the authority? How can one person’s moral choice be another person’s moral crime? How does a polarized world affect us spiritually?

Emotional fitness and coherent living can alleviate the chronic stress and tension of the times. You will feel better. How...

By Doug Pedersen

What To Do When You Feel Like You Don't Matter

Why do people struggle with the meaning of life? Because life likes to slap people in the face!

Why does life give people lemons? To keep their cauliflower from turning brown, of course!

What do you call a person that gives reckless life advice to people? Life Hack.

Feel better now? I'm kidding, of course.

This article is for you if you feel insignificant and like no one listens. Or if you feel trapped in your circumstances. This article is for you if you believe that people are corrupt or that the world is dead. If you feel like life has no meaning, like you don't have meaning, this article is for you.

A survey from the Pew Research Center (2017) shows that Americans have no problem finding meaning in life. People find meaning in their family, career, or with their money. A more recent Pew study (2021) shows that we also see society as a source of meaning. However, "much of the emphasis is negative." Credit COVID...