Pastoral counselor, chaplain, teacher and speaker.

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Dearly Beloved:
Prince, Spirituality, & This Thing Called Life

When Prince spoke those words over celestial organ sounds in the opening moments of "Let's Go Crazy," he wasn't just inaugurating yet another Billboard Hot 100 hit--one of forty-seven in his career; he was also giving voice to the deep-seated and richly complex spiritual underpinning of his art.

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More about Dearly Beloved:

Publisher’s Weekly: Rocking with Prince as a Theologian

Writer’s Digest: Listen Deeply to What People Say

Spirituality & Practice: Appreciation for the transformative power of Prince’s music.

Religion News: New book explores Christian end times, devotion and other spiritual themes in Prince's music

Spirituality & Health: The Spiritual Teachings of Prince

Vårt Land (Norway): Guds budbringer forkledd som sexmaskin and Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark)

Interfaith America: This Easter, Consider the Gospel of Prince

Prince Gospel Music Conclave

After Dearly Beloved: Prince, Spirituality, & This Thing Called Life was released, I realized that I still had hope -- hope that someone, anyone, would nominate Prince to be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (GMHF). I also realized that there are songs that the GMHF would never consider and that his body of work could be taken as undermining his gospel music contributions. With these things in mind, knowing that Prince's fans are passionate and immeasurable, and inspired by the conclave to elect Pope Leo the XIV, I decided to invite Prince fans on Facebook into a conclave to select Prince songs they would put on a double album that would demonstrate his gospel music commitments. We created two lists, one for the GMHF and the other for sacred music programs at colleges and universities.

For your consideration Gospel Music Hall of Fame, we nominate Prince

For your consideration sacred music programs, we suggest Prince

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Other recent books include:

The Nautilus Book Award-winning Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us About Race Resilience, Transformation and Freedom, co-edited with Cheryl A. Giles (2020, Shambhala Publications)

The Awake Network: Spirituality, Creativity, and Psychotherapy: A Conversation with Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde

In this free 50-minute session, Dr. Yetunde shares wisdom from her recently completed book project, Songbird Birdsong: The Story, including discussion of the healing power of the creative process, the relationship between spirituality and psychotherapy, and guidance on how to support a client who feels unlovable. Plus, she leads a guided practice on connecting with loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

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Pamela Ayo Yetunde, J.D., M.A., Th.D

"The greatest gift in life is the joy of truly recognizing each other.”

An interfaith pan-Buddhist practitioner, Ayo’s articles regularly appear in Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Journal of Buddhist-Christian Studies, Religions and Feminist Theology.
Earned her law degree from Indiana University School of Law
Earned her M.A. in Culture and Spirituality from Holy Names University in Oakland, CA
Earned a Doctor of Theology in Pastoral Counseling from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, and post-doctoral work at Harvard Divinity School
She is a Community Dharma Leader certified by Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA.