Profiles of Roothbert: Dr. Maria Jaoudi
"My husband and I lived in a cabin in the woods for six years," began Maria. "Our family thought we were crazy!" For 93 dollars a month, Maria and her husband resided in a small cabin, resting on 65 acres of land along the Delaware Water Gap. "We ate a lot of bean tacos," chuckled Maria. The couple pursued a lifestyle more permissible to painting and writing, rooted in solitude. "My painting style really evolved there in that cabin."
In 1983, Maria became a Roothbert Fellow. "I applied to the Roothbert Fund because my main focus and passion was spirituality and how it joins people together." Maria's original attraction to the Roothbert Fund continues to guide her professional and personal endeavors today.
A painting by Maria titled “Mysterious Agreement”
Currently a professor at California State University’s Depart of Humanities & Religious Studies, Maria lives in Sacramento, California. Maria passes her time caring for her three dogs, seeking out the best chocolate ice cream, and furthering her art and poetry.
Maria describes her academic discipline as "on the cusp" during her time on grant. "No one taught world religion back then," recalled Maria. "There were absolutely no textbooks on world religion and no one was seeing the connections between the world religions.”
A photo of Maria’s chow chow’s, Kaden and Kole
Maria's interest in interfaith perspectives, in the connections found across seemingly distant religions and cultures, stems from the diversity and cross-cultural circumstances of her upbringing. “I had a checkerboard childhood,” shared Maria. “I was born in Brooklyn, but spent my first year of life in Dakar, Senegal. I also lived in Beirut.” Having lived through three civil wars in Lebanon, Maria and her family would often alternate between Lebanon and France. “I saw so much suffering,” recollected Maria. I would pass Palestinian refugee camps on my way to school. This had a big impact on me and my future vocation."
One of the first scholars to teach world religion courses, Maria had to craft her own curriculum. Maria's academic work shifts the debate from approaching religions as separate entities to illuminating commonalities and connection. "World religion is communication across religious lines," claims Maria. "Rather than creating an antagonist in the other, world religion is much more about communication and connection."
On June 26th, Maria will be leading a virtual Pendle Hill Retreat, titled “Mindfulness as Sustainability”. “Mindfulness as Sustainability”, also the name of her book, centers on the concept of an outer and inner ecology.
"When one becomes mindful in life and what they're doing," began Maria, "it emanates from us and flows from us." However, this drive to create change, whether in a social, environmental, or political context, requires a spiritual grounding. Maria hopes to facilitate a discussion on harnessing an inner ecology to support and sustain our interactions with the world.
"Historically, when people have gone through a profound spiritual metamorphosis, they impact the world in a new way with new eyes." To accomplish this, to bring about change, Maria advocates for the constant appreciation and development of our inner strength. "As you create a strong center in yourself," asserted Maria, "it is crucial to not lose yourself in the process." The virtual Pendle Hill event advocates for mindfulness as sustainability, cultivating a form of spiritual sustenance and grounding to continue our pursuit of social justice and reform.
Maria has high hopes for the virtual Pendle Hill. "Diversity is such an emphasis of my professional studies. And what I feel when with other Roothbert Fellows is very rare. It's very rare to find a group with such a well-formed social consciousness on so many diverse issues."
"I would hope that, because we all come from such diverse backgrounds,” continued Maria, “that we would all enrich each other and help one another through this very difficult time as planetary citizens. Knowing the Roothbert people, I'm sure it will be enriching for each of us to dwell on the topic of mindfulness as sustainability and see how people develop this."
Register for our Virtual Pendle Hill Event, June 26th from 12pm to 1:30pm, here.