Articles

Just as each individual has a spiritual identity that isn't tied to history, geography, and ethnicity—in fact, that is untouched by these and other material circumstances—so, too, do nations. The Bible lauds the oneself with oneself with God's household: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Ps.

Daniel had been shot while trying to protect a family member. Doctors operated on him, but said it was too risky to remove a bullet near his heart.

My sister always had such an artistic eye that, early on, I thought, "Well, I can't be the artistic one. I'll be the bookish one.

There's a widespread belief in the artistic world that pain and suffering are a necessary part of the creative process. That to be successful artists have to suffer, they have to be emotional.

I can't think of the arts without thinking about one word: collaboration. It's not just because I love teamwork or because I've spent decades as a member of a professional orchestra.

Art isn't just built. It builds.

"You have a gift. " People tell me that all the time—usually us an explanation of why they could never do what I do.

Michelangelo said, "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. " To me, that's the essence of creativity.

"You either are or aren't. You've either got it or you don't.

"What's the best way to pray?" a sincere woman once asked me. "Do I kneel, sit with my eyes closed, chant, meditate, or just empty my mind of every possible thought?" I replied that successful prayer doesn't start so much with what you do with your body as with what you're doing mentally and spiritually.