Emerging Tools for Innovative Providers

CROSSROADS....
Exploring research on religion, spirituality and health
Newsletter of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Volume 5, Issue 4, October 2015
http://www.spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/images/pdfs/CSTH%20Newsletter%20Oct%202015.pdf

www.spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu

FOR RELEASE: Monday, June 29, 2015

CONTACT: Don Lehr – The Nolan/Lehr Group
(212) 967-8200 / [email protected]

YOUTH ESSAY COMPETITION ON THE PRINCIPLES OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, TOLERANCE, AND LOVE FOR ALL HUMANITY

A new essay competition for young people ages 12 to 21 to support the principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and love for all humanity without exception regardless of belief, was announced today by the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, a non-profit public charity founded in 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio, and currently based in New York (www.unlimitedloveinstitute.org).

The Institute supports research and education on “Unlimited Love” at the interface of science and spiritual thought through conferences, publications, and grants to scholars at universities throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. It is now expanding its activities to youth through worldwide essay competitions.

Stephen G. Post, Ph.D., president and founder of the Institute, defines love as follows: “When the happiness, well-being and security of another is as meaningful to you as your own, you love that person. Unlimited Love, often associated with spirituality and religions at their best, extends this love beyond our nearest and dearest, and beyond those who believe as we do, to all humanity based on our shared dignity and interdependence.”

“Human progress requires a peaceful co-existence between religions, freedom of religion, and a respectful tolerance of individuals and groups with widely different beliefs, but recent world events demonstrate that these values cannot be taken for granted,” says Dr. Post. “Unfortunately, in some places around the world religious hatred is found in children as young as four years of age, and intolerance leading to religious persecution and violence is on the rise. We want to encourage youth to help us find a path to a future where Unlimited Love for all humanity replaces religious hatred, brutality, and violence.”

The essay competition draws from one of the Guiding Questions which drive the Institute’s research strategy and collaborations, namely, “How can the major religions of the world come to abide in their various concepts of universal love, and practice love for all humanity rather than merely for those who adhere to a particular set of beliefs?”

The Institute invites youth to write essays that encourage all people and religions to abide by the principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and love for all humanity. Stories and reflections from personal experience can be a valuable part of the essay, including the motivations for speaking out through essay writing. The Institute offers a series of questions on its website to spark imaginations, including:
• If you were able to speak to a fellow young person in your own religion who advocated religious hatred, how would you engage him or her? What would motivate you to do so? What would you say, and how would you steer him or her to Unlimited Love?
• If you were confronted with religious hatred from a fellow young person in a different religion, how would you respond, and why?
• Can religious arrogance and hatred be replaced by a spirituality of tolerance, equal respect, freedom, mutual appreciation, and love?
• How might the spiritual principle of Unlimited Love be lived out and achieved in practice? Can it be shared and promoted within religious communities or even between different religious communities?
• Could a religious toleration youth movement be developed across all religions worldwide? What tools might make this possible that were not available in the past?

An international panel of Institute advisors will choose the winning essays, which will be published on the Institute’s website and included in a forthcoming book. Essays can vary in length but should be no longer than 1500 words, double-spaced, and written in English. Three competition cycles are planned with up to two prizes in each cycle (first prize US $1,000, second prize US $500). The due date for the first cycle is October 30, 2015. Essays or inquiries should be submitted as email attachments to [email protected]. Complete details for submitting essays are available at the Institute’s website at http://unlimitedloveinstitute.org/institute-activities/program-areas/.

Home Page - The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love This is an example page. It’s different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site

Dr. Lee S. Berk proves laughter can actually be the best medicine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt0QrmATtfk

Dr. Lee Berk proves Laughter can actually be the best Medicine! Dr. Lee Berk At Loma Linda University is the world's leading MD and scientist on the healing powers of laughter. Here are 3 interviews with him from CNN (San...