India

Inner Peace - Part V - Bathed in Light

by Janet Elizabeth... | February 10th, 2010
Image from B.A.P.S. website

Inner Peace is a Pavo series highlighting a few non-mainstream spiritual centers in Birmingham.  There are many, and though this journey will surely leave some important stones unturned,  for those of us who are not quite right for the mainstream Christian world or who may just need a different world view, there may be peace to be found here in Birmingham, yet.

Hinduism, to Westerners, is about as far away from the mainstream as I think one can get.  Our preconceived notions of Hinduism revolve around the taboos of deity worship, reincarnation, wheels of fire, and the overcrowded, impoverished nation of India.  Read more...

Transforming the Role of the Elder in American Society - One Woman’s Vision for a New Kind of Intergenerational Community

by Opal South | October 15th, 2009
Sheila Rubin

When Sheila Rubin wasn’t convinced that the local education options were good enough for her own daughters, she founded The Redmont School’s preschool program – in her own home.


When she realized that there wasn’t a local elementary school that both acknowledged and revered the whole child – not just their intellectual IQ, but their artistic talents and moral development – Sheila spearheaded the grades program at Redmont, by teaching her own class of 1st graders. 


When Ms. Rubin contended that no other Middle School program advocated the teaching of both the academic capacities and the developmental needs of the preadolescent, she stayed with her class of 1st graders and followed them through the 8th grade. Read more...