Guide to spiritual  groups
By Roz Brown

My teenage daughters want to know what I am and I still don't have an answer. I was raised in the Protestant church and regularly attend St. John's Episcopal in Boulder. On the other hand, when I learned the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh was coming to Colorado, I counted down the days. The mere sound of his voice can "soothe the savage soul," as the saying goes. Naturally, my girls demanded a God vs. Buddha discussion and, "By the way Mom, could you please explain all those other esoteric spiritual books on the bookshelves?"

      To be honest, I'm grateful I don't have all the answers, that I don't "know" which path is best, even if it is confusing at times.

      There are hundreds of different religions around the world, and just as many ways to practice spirituality. At the center of them all, however, is a belief in a greater power. Many of the earth-based religions have no word such as Brahman or symbols like the cross, but instead let nature create "a time for every purpose under heaven." Others believe that a greater power is a loving mother or father, or a male and female with many names.

      To help you in your search, this month's guide offers an overview of the non-traditional spiritual groups in the Denver-Boulder area. The area's visible and accessible mainstream churches and synagogues, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish, are not listed here in order to introduce you to other practices. This year we have also included as many websites as we were able to verify

 

 

 

The peace prayers are collected by James F. Twyman and printed on the Praying Peace Cards  (Findhorn Press).