Tapestrywith Mary Hynes
Latest
The spiritual impulse in art from van Gogh to Monet
How do you find a spark of light when everything around you is darkness? We investigate how great artists found inspiration - and consolation - during turbulent times.
Tapestry
Illuminating: Medieval art form meets 21st century knowledge in The Saint John's Bible
Imagine a book that combines age-old artistry with what we know about the world in 2017. It's the incredible story of the Saint John's Bible.
TAPESTRY
Five pearls of Buddhist wisdom from The Princess Bride
Ethan Nichtern has loved The Princess Bride since he was a kid. Now, as a senior teacher in the Shambhala tradition, he sees Buddhist wisdom throughout the movie. From the Cliffs of Insanity to Wesley's mantra to Princess Buttercup ("as you wish"), Nichtern decodes the beloved fairy tale through a Buddhist lens.
Pop Culture Wisdom
You know those movies, books and records you return to when you need a little comfort? Most of us have them - pop culture companions on the path. In this episode, a senior dharma teacher unearths the Buddhist wisdom in The Princess Bride. Plus, a documentary about a pilgrimage from Montreal to Kahnawake.
Montreal to Kahnawake: One pilgrimage, many quests
This summer, a group of people spent three days walking from Montreal to Kahnawake. The Mohawk community is a short drive from the big city, but in many ways they're worlds apart. Every pilgrim was striving to bridge the physical and cultural gap and each one had personal reasons for being there.
From Jehovah's Witness to Cult Following: the spiritual overtones of Little Scream's indie rock
Though musician Little Scream (Laurel Sprengelmeyer) no longer practices the religion of her childhood, she says, "I understand why people become Jehovah’s Witnesses. It gave me this sense of purpose in life. It made me feel like I was loved and special."
Instead of working harder, people should consider doing nothing, says author
There’s plenty of advice out there on how to accomplish more and more each day. Instead, author Jenny Odell argues if you want to live a better life, you should focus on doing nothing "productive."
'You have no idea what it means to me': P.E.I. prayer shawls comfort sick and troubled
We take you to Stratford, P.E.I., where a group of women from Our Lady of Assumption parish make prayer shawls for anyone seeking comfort from illness, addiction, or grief.
The power of stillness
There’s plenty of advice out there on how to accomplish more but artist Jenny Odell says in her new book that people should probably focus on doing nothing productive. And in PEI a group of women from Our Lady of Assumption parish make prayer shawls for anyone seeking comfort from illness, addiction, or grief.
We need to listen openly to everyone, even if we abhor their views, says Irshad Manji
Author Irshad Manji argues adversarial behaviour towards people you disagree with holds back social progress.
Reconnecting with those left behind
Author Irshad Manji argues adversarial behaviour toward people you disagree with holds back social progress. How do you ask for forgiveness after you abandon everything? Mathieu Arsenault, a filmmaker who suffers from bipolar disorder, is trying to answer that question.
How a bipolar manic episode almost led this man to abandon his life to take up a 'divine mission'
Mathieu Arsenault was working as a TV editor in Montreal and expecting a second child with his girlfriend, Alix. Then one day, Arsenault abandoned it all after a voice in his head told him to head to San Francisco to start a spiritual revolution.
Humans are 'a species in a very rare planet': cosmologist makes the case against existential dread
While some might respond to the vastness of the universe with a sense of existential dread, physicist and cosmologist Marcelo Gleiser takes a different approach, offering up something he calls “human centrism.”
A drug overdose put him in a six-week coma. He found a new purpose, farming goats
A drug overdose left Brendon Meister with a serious brain injury. Following the incident, Meister left Toronto to live with his family in Kentville, N.S. Just as difficult as recovery, however, was finding a new purpose in life. That came when he discovered goat farming.
Should you feel guilty for taking family money to buy a home?
Niki Andresen ended up with a home in Victoria she'd never expected to have, thanks to a surprise gift from her family. Andresen says while she's grateful, she can't help but feel like she cheated.
Goats, houses and grandpa's stacks of cash
Jen Doll tells us why we need to talk about where wealth comes from and the advantages it gives people. Meanwhile another woman confronts her housing privilege and a man goes from drug overdose to goat farmer.
The moral dilemmas of Game of Thrones and online recommendations
Game of Thrones wraps as a secular fantasy epic that questions and subverts the genre's typical theological narratives, argues a Canadian political scientist. Mike Rugnetta tells Tapestry how recommendation algorithms can have an impact on identity.
What do Game of Thrones' key characters reveal about the role of religion in Westeros?
Game of Thrones wraps as a secular fantasy epic that questions and subverts the genre’s typically dominant theological narratives, argues a Canadian political scientist.
Don't click that video!: the moral dilemma of going down the YouTube rabbit hole
Mike Rugnetta wanted to know what recommendations YouTube would give him if he searched for "How to run a 5K," and the results were... tempting. He tells Tapestry how recommendation algorithms can have an impact on the people we become.
Why David Wallace-Wells is OK with being called a climate change alarmist
David Wallace-Wells's 2017 article, "The Uninhabitable Earth," outlined the horrifying consequences of climate change on our planet. Despite the article's success, Wallace-Wells says we are still not alarmed enough to fight against climate change.
Why large-scale activism is the 'most powerful path out of climate despair'
Individual lifestyle choices — such as recycling or reducing meat consumption — are not enough to slow down climate change, according to journalist David Wallace-Wells. He says only engagement at a high level can help mitigate the disastrous ecological impacts of human activity on the environment.
Jean Vanier reflects on a life devoted to people with disabilities
Jean Vanier, the Canadian who created the L’Arche network of communities for intellectually disabled people, has died. Tapestry revisits a 2005 interview in which Jean Vanier told Mary Hynes about the genesis of his beliefs, the founding of L’Arche and what it brought him.
The secret to good parenting? Lose the guilt
Parents today are facing more scrutiny than ever before. But Ann Douglas wants to celebrate the fact that parents don't have to be perfect, rather than spread the narrative that parenting is an exercise in misery.
You don't have to come out to your whole family, says this gay writer
Erica Lenti’s traditional Italian nonna doesn’t know she’s gay, and if Lenti has her way, she'll never find out. She said it gives her freedom within her family she might not have otherwise.
What should parents know?
Parents today are facing more scrutiny than ever before. But Ann Douglas wants to celebrate the fact that parents don't have to be perfect. Erica Lenti’s traditional Italian nonna doesn’t know she’s gay, and if Lenti has her way, she'll never find out.
