Faith, Fern and Compass

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In Episode 121 – Spirited Motion, we let the spirit move us as we explore our relationship to the natural world through movement, exercise and travel. Living an embodied existence on this sacred earth, how we move from point A to point B affects everything from the strength of our muscles to the agility of our minds, from our spiritual health to our physical health, not to mention the health of the planet.

We unpack the recent controversy surrounding a new study that says exercise might not be as good for you as you thought — or, at least, those were the headlines. What did the research really say? And what can lab mice tell us about why yoga is such a great spiritual exercise for the practice of nonviolence? Plus, we learn some of the great benefits of walking, and the touching story of a newly-elected mayor transforming his unused parking space into something quite unexpected.

What do geography and dance have in common? You can ask the students at Weber State for the answer to that question! With online technology and social networking, we are living in a futuristic age where your iPhone can help you find green business, and robots can be jogging companions. As a special treat, Jeff entertains us with a reading of his short story, “The Last Man to Believe in God.”

We also look at a new theory of immigration policy that suggests we should treat human migration as a natural part of ecology, and adjust our understanding of foreign policy and national borders to fit our growing understanding of how humans move around the planet in response to changing cultural and environmental pressures from both within and without.

In our Pro extension, we take a look at travel from a religious perspective as we explore the tradition of sacred pilgrimage and how it connects us more deeply with our gods and each other. Religious traditions all over the world have encouraged pilgrimage as a way of honoring a shared history and re-enacting the patterns of Spirit in the physical world. Muslim writer Dilshad D. Ali offers ten tips for how to craft your own spiritual pilgrimage, and Alison shares excerpts from her journal reflecting on her experiences two years ago during her own sacred pilgrimage to Ireland.

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• Why Does Exercise Make Us Feel Good?
• Exercise doesn’t help depression? Let’s take a real look at that study.
• Holy Sacred Cow! Why Reactions to the Exercise and Depression Trial Go to the Heart of Scientific Controversy
• 8 astonishing benefits of walking
• Ithaca mayor turns his personal parking space into a mini-park
• 500 million reasons to rethink the parking lot
• Students learn about mapping, environment through dance
• Joggobot is a Flying Robotic Companion That Keeps Pace With Runners
• “The Last Man to Believe in God,” by Jeff Lilly, from his ebook Wild Enough and Free
• Population, Migration, and Globalization
• Migration as Ecology: How Culture Evolves
• Matters of Scale – Human Migration

• 10 Tips for Performing a Spiritual Pilgrimage

• Opening and closing theme: “Dragonfly” by Brian Boyko
• “I Feel Fantastic” and “Shop Vac,” by Jonathan Coulton

• “Yoga in the Mountains” by lululemon athletica
• Thanks to ~ Essence of a Dream ~ for the background texture!

This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA License.

© Faith, Fern & Compass, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments
Post tags: driving, ecology, exercise, immigration, jogging, migration, parking lots, pilgrimage, robots, science fiction, travel, walking