Spiritual

In my business, there are few sounds more ominous than that of a good friend's book landing on your desk. When that friend isn't a professional writer, the desire to run can be almost irresistible: "Your book? No, I never saw it. You know I've been in Costa Rica. Beautiful place, but I lost my sight to a rare tropical parasite." Father Greg Boyle, the Jesuit priest who founded Homeboy Industries -- Los Angeles' most successful effort to fruitfully engage young men and women caught up in the gang life -- has been my friend for more than two decades.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has long bedecked its ensemble in suits (the jazz crowd in "For Bird - With Love") and took a recent turn with androgynous menswear (Camille A. Brown's "The Evolution of a Secured Feminine"). Yet in previous incarnations, these fitted jackets and rakish hats have been of a jazzy, romantic stripe, spurring angled moves and scurrying feet. One imagines a crafty urban vernacular born from fast pedestrians, tight corridors and dizzying heights. Those speedy, showy creatures of past Ailey seasons bore no resemblance to the crumpled, besuited unisex ensemble that came to life Wednesday night at the Music Center premiere of "Minus 16" (1999)

Regarding "Feed the Soul, Trim the Fat" (July 10) on spiritual diets: They are not new at all! We Jews have the original spiritual diet, namely kosher. This diet is still in effect and is probably the one Jesus would follow if he was as good a Jew as they say he was. To make any food even more spiritual, remember to say the appropriate bracha (blessing) prior to eating. MICHAEL PELL Los Angeles

Snoop Dogg has been called many things over the course of his two-decade career -- Snoop Doggy Dogg, Bigg Snoop Dogg and Snoop D-O Double G are just a few of the monikers. When the multi-platinum rapper announced last summer that he'd been reborn as Snoop Lion and would trade in the menacing gangster rap that made him a superstar for rasta patois and issue a disc soaked in reggae rhythms , reaction was mixed, with a few critics writing it off as a gimmick. The rapper-turned-Rastafarian has announced his new album, Snoop Lion's debut, “Reincarnated,” will arrive on April 23. RELATED: Snoop Lion: 'La La La' and a rapper's transition into reggae Executive produced by Diplo and his Major Lazer production team (who even gave Beyoncé a sampling of their dancehall influences)

I respect the sincere beliefs and dedication of Christian missionaries who work in regions where there are other religious beliefs ("The Blood of the Lambs," by Claudia Kolker, March 28). On the other hand, while they are saying, "I'm here to help you," they also seem to be saying, "My religion is better than yours. You have to change." In stressing religious differences, we overlook the important features of respect, love, compassion, generosity and devotion that we all share and that can bind us together.

I was shocked and dismayed to read Tim Rutten lament that when it comes to matters of faith, "the problem is that so many [Americans] think they can believe anything -- and that believing one thing doesn't preclude belief in another" ["Concoct a Word War? It Won't Crack This Code," May 20]. How many countless lives have been lost over the centuries because one religious ideology has insisted their beliefs precluded another's? And why should we (as Rutten suggests) want to "throttle" those who describe themselves as "spiritual" and are open-minded enough to include various religious icons in meditation altars in their yoga studios?

Lynda Guber's days sizzled with stress. Her husband, Peter, ran Sony Pictures. Everyone wanted favors. She had to change her life. Her first step: "I decided I would drop everything that didn't serve my dharma." When a yogi anointed her with the name of a Buddhist goddess, Tara, she took it as her own. Empowered by this beloved and compassionate deity, Tara Guber began to move down the spiritual path that led to the creation of her personal refuge, "a place to get away to serve the spirit."

My frustration has finally gotten the best of me. Reading David Gritten's report on the four-hour version of "Dances With Wolves" (" 'Dances With Wolves'--the Really Long Version," Dec. 20) was the last straw. Obviously Gritten and the London reviewers he mentions don't have a clue what this film is about. What everyone seems to have missed here is that main character John Dunbar undergoes a spiritual quest and is transformed. In the beginning we see him in soldier's clothing at war, riding back and forth with his arms out, truly a martyr for other people's sins.

The correct term for the plight of the runaways in Livingston, Mont., is spiritual abuse. Unfortunately, Americans have so little language for spiritual realities other than that provided by institutional religions that spiritual abuse goes unrecognized not only in this extreme case but in millions of American homes. If it were adults who were being forced into the spiritual practices described, it would be grounds for revolution. But because they are young adults, they forfeit our collective protection.

Thank you for the engaging article about the resurgence of gospel music (Nov. 10). Your readers might also be interested in knowing that significant credit for the popularization of gospel music as well as African American spiritual and folk music should be given to Paul Robeson (who, incidentally, would have turned 100 years old next April 9). During 1998 there will be events worldwide, nationwide and throughout Southern California celebrating Robeson's legacy. Events will include concerts featuring spiritual/gospel music.

ALLAHABAD, India - It's dusk, and the sun's rays succumb to the twinkle of amber streetlights at the sacred confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. The day's last bathers, intent on washing away sins and purifying their souls, take a dip in the cold, dirty water and then relax on blankets and launch boats covered in marigolds. This is as close to peace and quiet as it gets at India's Maha Kumbh Mela, a once-in-a-lifetime (well, this lifetime) Woodstock-gone-viral event billed as the world's largest religious festival.

Conservatives frequently complain that Hollywood never makes movies that take religion seriously. Whether you're a true believer or an atheist, you probably would agree with that assessment. The reason is not some nefarious left-wing conspiracy; it simply happens to be difficult to make a film that deals thoughtfully - rather than simplistically - with questions of faith and the supernatural. Yet this winter, for the first time in many a season, several major films do have religious underpinnings.

I'm a "None. " That's what pollsters call Americans who respond on national surveys to the question "What is your religious affiliation?" with a single word: "None. " According to the Pew Research Center, the ranks of the Nones have ballooned in recent years, making the fastest-growing religious affiliation no affiliation. Between 1972 and 1989, about 7% of Americans identified as having no formal religious affiliation. However, between 1990 and 2012, that figure jumped to 19.6%.

"Spiritual" estate planning is becoming a hot topic for baby boomers who want to make sure their values are passed down along with their money, financial planners say. Bequests to charities are up 19% in a year, according to Charity Navigator, a nonprofit that monitors charities. But it goes beyond leaving money to a favorite group, said South Florida attorney Alice Reiter Feld. "It's leaving money with a purpose," she said. That extends into deciding how to give money, or not, to family members, Feld said.

Swami Swahananda, 91, the longtime spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of Southern California who had previously headed the Hindu religious organization's branch in Berkeley, died Friday at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center after a stroke, according to an aide. Since 1976, Swahananda had led the Southern California society, which has its headquarters in a domed white temple in Hollywood and is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Order of India. But Swahananda, a senior monk of the order, was also known for his role in founding Vedanta centers around the United States, including one outside Washington, D.C., and another in upstate New York.

Lamar Odom leaned forward at lunch, his eyes bright, a smile on his face, as he explained his thoughts about the inner peace he has found. Odom said it took some "spiritual and psychological counseling" to find the necessary resolve to gather himself. And he has embraced the process since becoming a Clipper again in June. "My focus is a lot stronger," Odom said. "I had to take care of myself mentally before anything else. "Because of life's burdens or anything that … didn't go my way or that hurt me, it started to weigh.

In her review of an important new show by artist Karen Carson, Susan Kandel misreads irony and sarcasm in work that is baldly sincere, tremulously honest and blatantly spiritual ("Beautiful Photographs of a Beautiful World," June 23). When she claims that Carson's past work has relied on "marked sarcasm," Kandel shows that she has no understanding of the history of an artist whose work has always been daringly earnest and pointedly direct. Carson's stripped-to-the-bone graphic medium presents her simple message: "You are a soul."

It is unfortunate that the Vatican seems to be concentrating so much of its effort on defining proper sexual and moral conduct of individuals, while placing less emphasis on the spiritual guidance of humanity as a whole. One can try to instill spiritual inspiration by repressing one's basic animal instincts, or else by pointing to future achievements that one may judge to be of greater importance than one's individual and selfish cravings. I believe Christ opted for the latter. KEITH W. SCHINDLER Irvine

What a miserable lot we humans are, wallowing in violence, oppression and cruelty. This was the starting point for Akram Khan's latest ensemble dance, "Vertical Road" (2010), which had its West Coast premiere Friday at Royce Hall, presented by the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. The "vertical road" was a spiritual journey, a loose depiction of the writings and philosophies of Rumi, a revered 13th century Persian poet and theologian. Khan, an award-winning British choreographer of Bangladeshi descent, began with the most base of human behaviors, setting the stage for a through-line that all could experience as the search for the divine progressed and the dance unreeled.

For the record, Akram Khan has not spent the last couple of months obsessing over the possible reasons for why NBC edited out his eight-minute dance about mortality in its coverage of the Olympic Games opening ceremony, using the time for Ryan Seacrest to interview an athlete instead. Granted, the television network never sent Khan a personal note of apology or explanation but "I'm a big fan of swimming, so maybe I took it better than I might have because it was Michael Phelps," he says jokingly.