Andrew Lang

Happy Wednesday Reader! As many of us in the United States travel to see family in the next couple days (both chosen and related), I’ve found myself thinking about stories of upbringing. Or more specifically: the stories we're told during childhood that teach us who we are, who others around us are, how we might relate to the Universe, and who ultimately belong in “our group” and who don’t. The stories that, in one way or another, tend to shape our initial posture toward the world. The...

Happy Wednesday Reader! If you live in the Seattle-area, this weekend I'll be hosting an in-person viewing of Richard Rohr and the Center for Action and Contemplation's virtual event Living Into the Hidden Story: Mystery, Meaning, and You. There's more information at the bottom of this email if you're interested in coming! Here's 1 teaching, 2 questions, and 3 resources to explore this week: 1. Teaching Inner work cannot be done in a vacuum. The posture we carry, the depths of our inner...

Happy Wednesday Reader! The teaching today comes from Kaitlin Curtice and is a bit more Christian experience-centric in focus than I usually share here. I've found it helpful in processing where I am in the landscape of changing beliefs and practices. Perhaps it will be supportive for you as well. Here's 1 teaching, 2 questions, and 3 resources to explore this week: 1. Teaching As my closest friends and colleagues know, I spend a lot of time in coffee shops. They serve as my personal and...

Good morning Reader, Today is officially Unmasking the Inner Critic’s one-year book birthday! As part of celebrating how it’s moved the past 365 days, I’m offering a free extra copy to share for anyone who buys a copy in the next couple days. More info on this is at the bottom of today’s email! Here's 1 teaching, 2 questions, and 3 resources to explore this week: 1. Teaching Before reading today, I invite you to pause and take a deep breath. The world feels so heavy right now. I've been...

Happy Wednesday Reader! If you have a moment this week, I'd love to hear what you're getting out of The Wednesday 1-2-3. You can write a quick note here or just hit "reply" to this email! Thank you so, so much! 🙂 Alright - here's our teaching, questions, and resources to explore this week: 1. Teaching There have been times in my life when I haven’t recognized the person I’ve become. Sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise – the moments I realize I’m actually really proud of me, awe-struck...

Happy Wednesday Reader! Here's 1 teaching, 2 questions, and 3 resources to explore this week: 1. Teaching How often do you feel pressure to respond immediately? In our urgency-driven society, it can seem like there’s never time to take a breath, to move slowly, to pause for a moment, or – dare I say it – to enjoy a nap in the middle of a workday. But usually…there is. Christena Cleveland, a social psychologist and public theologian had this to say on a recent podcast: I move through life so...

Happy Wednesday Reader! I really struggled with knowing what to share this week. I had written and re-written this email a couple times, and the teaching I had planned for this week just didn’t quite feel “right.” Intellectually, it was fine, but in my body there was a quality of “offness,” or unease. I experienced it as a numb but deeply obvious and visceral, "meh." And so on Monday, which is when I usually finalize these emails, I hopped on Instagram and found myself staring at the poem...

Happy Wednesday Reader! Here's 1 teaching, 2 questions, and 3 resources to explore this week: 1. Teaching Today’s teaching comes from an old family friend and Sufi teacher, Imam Jamal Rahman. In his book Spiritual Gems of Islam, he writes: Perhaps the greatest meaning of compassion for self is that we give ourselves permission to embrace not only our happy feelings but also our difficult ones. The latter have an uncomfortable edge only because we want to keep them separated from us....