Dancing with Dharma
Dancing with Dharma (McFarland 2016) features 27 authors from 6 countries writing about the intersections of movement and dance with Buddhist practice. The anthology features sections on Movement, Dance, Performance, Ritual, and Theory, ending with Guided Practices, which leads readers in practicing several of the modalities themselves. Contributors range from professional choreographers to Buddhist masters to dance/movement therapists.
"This book offers a series of rare insights into the increasingly relevant intersection of dharma, dance, and community... useful for enthusiasts, scholars, and fans alike."
-- Amazon.com review
"This is a long-awaited, and somewhat overdue, first book of its kind...a landmark text."
-- Goodreads review
"Dare We Leave Our Buddhist Centers?"
In this volume of urban Dharma stories, my chapter "Dare We Leave Our Buddhist Centers?" challenges largely white, Western Buddhist centers to expand anti-racist efforts - beyond welcoming people of color into their centers - by partnering with local organizations serving people of color and/or people of low socioeconomic status. Findings are shared from the two pilot series of the Mindfulness Allies Project.
"An amazing collection of Dharma practice stories, narratives of the messiness of the present moment and opening to freedom of heart and mind right here in the midst of it." -- Sharon Salzberg
"Mindfulness and Compassion practice in daily life? Still, in the City has many thoughtful and inspiring essays by Dharma practitioners and teachers, all ways to bring the teachings alive just where you are.” -- Jack Kornfield
"Buddhists, Get Your Prayer On"
“Holy envy is a fascinating dynamic in the field of Interfaith relations and this book does an excellent job exploring the various academic and theological dimensions of it.”
--Eboo Patel, Founder of Interfaith Youth Core
"Buddhists, Get Your Prayer On: Reflections on Christian Spontaneous Prayer by a Buddhist Chaplain" chapter in Learning from Other Religious Traditions: Leaving Room for Holy Envy, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
Abstract:
Buddhist chaplain Harrison Blum draws inspiration from spontaneous Christian prayer in challenging Western Buddhists to expand the often internal, silent, and measured nature of their practice into something more relational, spoken, and prophetic. Drawing from examples of his university, medical, and psychiatric care chaplaincy work, Blum describes his own path to finding his authentic voice in praying across faith traditions, and in turn invites further modalities of Buddhist practice beyond silent meditation and Dharma talks.
On the book:
This book brings together academic scholars from across various religious traditions to reflect on the beauty they find in traditions other than their own. They examine these aspects and reflect on how they inform and constructively assist with rethinking their own religious worldviews and practices. Instead of focusing only or primarily on the theory and practice of interreligious dialogue, this book presents living examples of learning from other religious traditions, identities, and persons.
"Mindfulness Meditation and Anxiety in Adolescents on an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit"
Published in the Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, April 2019
Abstract
This study presents the impact of chaplain-provided mindfulness meditation (MM) groups on state-anxiety in adolescent inpatients on an acute psychiatric unit, an understudied topic that warrants further research given that anxiety is a demonstrated predictor of suicide attempts in adolescents and the elevated suicide risk of this population. 53 adolescent patients, age 13-19, attended optional 30-minute MM groups while hospitalized for inpatient psychiatric care. State-anxiety was assessed immediately before and after each MM session, and psychiatric symptom severity upon admission was compared between patients choosing to attend MM and those who did not. State-anxiety was found to decrease significantly between pre and post MM upon first exposure regardless of patient age, sex, and prior experience with MM. Findings also suggest the possibility that patients experiencing symptoms of psychosis may benefit more from MM as compared to other patients. Admission symptom severity was not found to be an indicator of MM attendance. These findings suggest the possibility that MM could be an effective and relatively immediate transdiagnostic intervention to lower state anxiety in adolescents on an inpatient psychiatric unit and invite further implementation and research by staff chaplains on such units.
"Mindfulness Equity and Western Buddhism"
International Journal of Dharma Studies, 2014.
This article shares research findings on the first pilot of the Mindfulness Allies Project -- a model to partner meditation teachers and centers with organizations serving people of color and people of low socioeconomic status.