Paul Katz

When the announcement came that President Obama had declared his support for gay marriage, a few gay friends of mine put in their Facebook status updates that they felt the president was merely "pandering." Their attitude was that the announcement was disingenuous and felt like saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."...

The evolving story of the alleged victims of former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has struck an enormous nerve with me.

In reading the Sandusky indictment, it appears that Mike McQueary walked in on Sandusky raping a boy he approximated to be 10 years old. The indictment...

People seem to be up in arms over the fact that a gay soldier's videotaped message was booed during the Republican debate on Thursday night.

Frankly, the booing -- which to my ears only sounded like one or two people -- didn't bug me as much as Rick Santorum's response...

Barbra Streisand has confirmed her intention to tackle the role of Madame ("Mama") Rose in a second silver-screen adaptation of the venerable musical Gypsy, according to an interview in the Los Angeles Times.

Although no deal is signed, I'm glad this rumor appears to be panning out...

Recently, some friends and I decided to embark on an exercise and healthy eating program in order to get in shape for some exciting upcoming events.

I've always exercised with fair consistency and watched what I eat. Even so, I eat out a lot and my options on that...

I was 12 years old and desperately trying to get away from a mob of kids chasing me as I got off a school bus. I had just made it to the front door of my house when the lead bully pulled me away from being able to turn the...

I was 12 years old and desperately trying to get away from a mob of kids chasing me as I got off a school bus. I had just made it to the front door of my house when the lead bully pulled me away from being able to turn the...

Writer-Actor Norman P. Dixon's powerful and moving one-man show Becoming Norman is about to begin a six-week run at The NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood. The engagement follows a highly successful "tryout" in February 2010.

With charming humor, touching sensitivity and five original songs written by Dixon, Becoming Norman...

Part eighteen, and final in this series.

The final theme of "Mental Muscle" Spiritual Boot Camp was accountability. To kick off the week, James Mellon asked Boot Campers to explain why we took Boot Camp in the first place.

Back in January, my intention was merely to bring...

Part seventeen in a series.

Of all the themes in James Mellon's Mental Muscle Spiritual Boot Camp, the one that loomed largest was that of judgment. In reviewing my journals from the past 15 weeks, the issue of judgment was there from the start and continued...

Part sixteen in a series.

"Mental Muscle" Spiritual Boot Camp is winding down with only two weeks left. This week focused on the theme of "feelings."

James Mellon's first directive was for Boot Campers to assess how we felt upon waking up in the morning, and then...

Part fifteen in a series.

"There is a reason why Communication Week follows Self-Esteem in Spiritual Boot Camp," said James Mellon. "First, you get clear that you have the right to be who you are, and then you step into actually saying and expressing it!"

I am good...

Part fourteen in a series.

Week 12 of James Mellon's "Mental Muscle" Spiritual Boot Camp focused on self-esteem. "Self-worth is not the basics of spiritual practice, but the graduate work," James said.

My self-esteem is a mixed bag. It's high in some areas and low in others. The...

Part thirteen in a series.

This week's theme in "Mental Muscle" Spiritual Boot Camp was "intention."

To James Mellon, an intention is "active purpose" and not merely a plan or a goal, but the energy behind a plan or a goal.

Say I intend to go...

Part twelve in a series.

The focus for week 10 of "Mental Muscle" Spiritual Boot Camp was perfection and perfectionism. James asked Boot Campers to keep a daily list of why we view ourselves as either perfect or imperfect, and also asked that we examine whether or not...

Part eleven in a series.

Having used a Darth Vader / Yoda analogy during Belief Week, it was inevitable that James Mellon would get my attention by using Star Wars as a lead in for "Life Force" week of Spiritual Boot Camp.

Han Solo may not...

Part ten in a series.

This week marks the end of the first half of James Mellon's "Mental Muscle" Spiritual Boot Camp. For the second week in a row, Boot Campers were asked to focus on two intentions: boundaries and priorities.

I begin with priorities because, frankly, they...

Part nine in a series.

This week in "Mental Muscle" Boot Camp, we were asked to focus on two directives, "listen" and "resolve." With the former, we needed to pay attention not only to sounds of the world around us, but what we say to ourselves. The latter...

Part eight in a series.

For Patience Week, James Mellon asked Boot Campers to score our patience level on a scale of 1 to 10. I gave myself a 9 and wrote with pride, "I feel I am an extraordinarily patient man."

Mo'Nique was on Oprah's post-Oscar special...

Part seven in a series.

As I went through "Be Present" week of "Mental Muscle" Boot Camp, a life-changing experience from the past was never far from my thoughts.

Two years ago, a fight with a longtime friend escalated while I was at work and could not...