I had a conversation with a woman recently who was very sad that I was no longer going to church. She was even crying as she tried to express the heart of Jesus that not all churches were bad, that he sees my pain and wants me to heal from my hurt and let my wounds...

For many of us, the church was a place of very unnatural and complicated relationships. In fact, often our relationships were codependent where jealousy, envy and competition was rampant. In such contexts feelings of exclusion, being ignored, unappreciated or needing...

Yesterday was a lovely day so Lisa and I walked down to the river beach and sat while the waves rippled in. We had a heart to heart talk. She's feeling sad because she doesn't know how to pray right now. The old comfortable way no longer suffices. She asked me if I...

Many of us have had terrible church experiences. Many of us talk about "triggers". Is it any wonder why? Read about one story in this forum thread, Angie's Story. It takes courage to talk about it and, therefore, to relive it. But this is the first step in disarming...

Some of us are still in the church. And I love that about us. Actually, there are some of us who are in ministry or preparing to be. I applaud that. I stayed as long as I possibly could. Some say I stayed longer than I should have. Maybe. Although it was time for me...

One of my greatest pleasures is watching you guys be vulnerable. That shows incredible strength. My next greatest pleasure is watching you guys as a community gather around each other's vulnerability with such gentleness, wisdom and care. This thread started by...

This is a continuation of yesterday's post, All Illusion is Stripped Away, in which I tried to show how deconstruction is a healthy part of spiritual growth. Instead of the word "cell", the monk's room where she spends all her days, replace it with the word...

I want to tell you a little story about TLS. When I first started this site last year it was called davidhayward.ca. I Imagined myself providing resources for people transitioning spiritually. Our own Ashley Clift Jennings helped me design the site and helped me start...

I love true community because it is made up of real people engaging in real relationship. What I admire most about community is when it survives a challenging time. Lisa and I fight. We have disagreements. Arguments. Our relationship goes through strain sometimes....

Hi guys! You know, I never ever expected that TLS would become the community it has. It just goes to show that I think what we want most out of life is love. We want to be connected. Actually, the desire for connection is a desire for the manifestation of what already...