Have an enlightening getaway

Many religious retreats in N.Y. area welcome visitors Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.27.2008 NEW LEBANON, N.Y. — At the former Shaker village, where the Taconic Mountains roll into the Berkshires and New York touches Massachusetts, Yaqin Aubert read aloud Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Zoroastrian, Judaic, Christian and Islamic texts during the Sunday service at the Sufi religious retreat. With two dozen worshippers, who mainly resembled any mostly white upstate congregation, Aubert invoked "the Omnipresent God" and repeated scriptures of peace from seven religious traditions. He told a story about Jesus, whose disciples were angry at their rude treatment by several villagers in ancient Palestine, while Jesus was unbothered. "I can only spend what is in my purse," was his reply. "All he had inside was peace," explained Aubert, a... [read full story]