Smart, spiritual bloggers?

June 9, 2007 6:43 PM

I'm looking for thoughtful, down-to-earth blogs (and other websites) that concern themselves with matters of spirituality.

I'd like to fill up my RSS reader with the experiences of folks on "the path"--doesn't much matter which one(uh, is my UU upbringing showing?)--or those who just write intelligently and clearly on spiritual matters in general. For instance, I really like just about everything I've read at Killing the Buddha. That sort of stuff.

Blogs are great, webzines and such are fine. Bonus points for sites about Buddhism. Quality non-spiritual/atheist/secular humanist* writers totally welcome, too. I'm just not interested in hearing anybody getting shouty about their beliefs or their lack thereof. Thanks in advance!

*related question I just had: do people still use that term?

posted by 2or3whiskeysodas to religion & philosophy (18 comments total)

By the way, I have already skimmed both of these threads, but they're not really asking about what I'm asking about.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 6:43 PM on June 9, 2007

I like Real Live Preacher. Very laid back.
posted by Liosliath at 7:02 PM on June 9, 2007

http://www.zenunbound.com/blogmandu.html
http://bhikkhublog.blogspot.com/
http://www.bswa.org/
http://yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org/
http://www.hermitary.com/
posted by ataraxian at 7:04 PM on June 9, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Can't vouch for it personally, but someone around here mentioned buddhist geeks.
posted by phrontist at 7:48 PM on June 9, 2007

I enjoy the blog not native fruit.

There isn't a lot of talk about spirituality or metaphysics but sometimes she talks about contemplation, being in nature, or relationships in a very grounded and grateful way. This is a close match with what I find to be at the heart of things. If that also agrees with you, check it out. I found out about the blog through her posts at the hermitary.com forums. The front page there is good but the forums get a bit preachy. If you like her writing, check out some of her posts there. Her handle was deerpath. In a number of those threads you'll find other posters who are also insightful and grounded, but few of them posted more than a couple of dozen times.

The blogs she links to largely share this view. I remember some of them being pretty good reads as well.

A while ago I was on a Quaker blog that had a good collection of quotes. I can't remember the name, but if you google +quaker +blog, there can't be all that many.
posted by BigSky at 8:32 PM on June 9, 2007

Seconding "Real Live Preacher." I also like the Internet Monk.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:43 PM on June 9, 2007

RLP and iMonk are regular visits, and also GetReligion for discourse on media coverage of religious issues.
posted by brownpau at 9:34 PM on June 9, 2007

You might be interested in The Happiness Project, which is one of my favorite regular reads. Essentially, the writer picks up various tenets of different faiths and philosophies that help one to gain happiness or achieve joy in life, and practices them, and then talks about how they actually affect her day to day life.
posted by padraigin at 9:37 PM on June 9, 2007

My favorite buddhist website is Buddha Dust. Philosophy Talk isn't really a spiritual blog but the programs that deal with spirituality are interesting.
posted by calumet43 at 9:47 PM on June 9, 2007

Walk Slowly, Live Wildly is a great multi-topic weblog. She writes thoughtfully and well about many things, but her Following Jesus category posts are really insightful and thought provoking (also, completely non-preachy) in the way that you might be looking for, since you're not so concerned about exactly which path the bloggers are on.
posted by mewithoutyou at 10:09 PM on June 9, 2007

Seconding the Hermitary.
posted by hermitosis at 11:08 PM on June 9, 2007

Might be obvious, but there's a lot of wisdom in the AskMeFi archives. Just search using the tags function.
posted by humblepigeon at 1:11 AM on June 10, 2007

Will Shetterly (er, a fantasy author) has a blog where he's re-translating the New Testament, along with commentary and discussion. He's also done the Bible. And he has a blog which wobbles between discussing class, environmentalism, religion, and sometimes his fiction writing...
posted by anaelith at 8:41 AM on June 10, 2007

Waiter Rant is a waiter, but he also was in the seminary, and that, along with associated philosophical and spiritual musings, seems to inform his blog entries quite frequently.
posted by WCityMike at 9:45 AM on June 10, 2007

I find Slacktivist really well-written, deep, and entertaining. He writes from the perspective of a progressive evangelist. Worth it for the Left Behind Fridays series alone.
posted by Durhey at 5:56 PM on June 10, 2007

I'm late to the party, but I like Everyday Wonderland and Genkaku's blog. Both are from a Zen perspective.
posted by desjardins at 9:03 AM on June 11, 2007

Chas S. Clifton's Letter from Hardscrabble Creek
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 11:05 AM on June 11, 2007

I've enjoyed Brad Warner's online work for a while now. He has a blog up, Hardcore Zen, and writes a weekly column for Suicide Girls (check the sidebar links on the blog). It may be difficult to get into, as the blog is mostly news or info about signings or talks, although he does have a Zen-related post in there every once in a while, so if you like his stuff you might want to dig to find those. Most of the content seems to be on his weekly column these days. He also has an old site with a few articles, which is the first stuff that I read of his. You may want to start there. There used to be more articles up, but he may have taken them down to put in his most recent book. If you want, you can use the Internet Archive to see the older ones. He has two books out now, too, if you like his stuff.
posted by wander at 9:19 PM on June 14, 2007